Why even bother telling insurance about mods? Get third party insurance only (covers liability + only the other person in an accident), then insurance won't be looking at your car if u get in an accident.
Well.... I'm sure this works fine for you... perhaps you don't have much to worry about if someone sues you.... but for me it's very important as I'm well into the multimillion dollar asset value.
So if I modify my car and kill someone the other insurance company will bleed me and my manufacturing company dry.
Basicly I need to protect myself and make sure my insurance will cover my ass under any and all circumstances.
Why would the other insurance company sue you? Your liability should still be covered, just not your car.
The other insurance company and or the person's family would sue because of the modifications to the car.
They might not win, but it would take a great deal of money to prove that the modifications to the vehicle had nothing to do with the death.
The second you modify your car you must inform your insurance company of the exact nature of the modifications.
Most insurance companies will drop you like a hot rock because of the risks associated with street racing.
If you do not provide "full disclosure" the insurance company has an out with respect to your coverage.
That is to say that you will be in breach of contract and your insurance company will not shell out a dime to help you.
It's no different than if you are in an accident when driving drunk.... you are pretty much on your own.
If you are street racing and they guy your going against slams into a post and dies, you can be legally charged and thrown in jail for manslaughter.
Street racing is a really stupid thing to do.... I'm not saying I don't do it here and there.... but when it comes down to it racing is for drag strips and tracks.
The one and only way to go with insurance is to go on "facility insurance" which can be very expensive ( $1400 a month )
I have a good record and I got a quote on facility insurance ( liability only ) and it was going to be right around $450 a month.
I was going to do that with my optra but then I thought ... why the hell would I pay out over $5K a year for a 300hp turbo optra when I can get comprehensive,liability,collision on a Mazdaspeed3 for $120 a month
So that's why I bought the Mazda as my daily driver.... I get the horsepower and features I want without having to go on facility insurance.
Most people that have modified cars get away with normal insurance .... and even when it comes to accidents most have no problems getting their claims paid for.... but I simply can't risk not having rock solid crystal clear insurance on anything I own.
Like I said before.... most if not all of the people on this forum can afford to take risks.... if something happens where their insurance falls through there is no significant amount of money to be lost.
For me... that's a different story... because I have more money than my liability policy.... and when it comes to being sued the lawyers allways follow the money.
So for you... the other lawyers wouldn't look at you twice unless you had a few hundred grand that they could try and squeeze out of you.
Lawyers will work on a commision of money they got for their client..... so if you only have $50,000 worth of assets they might only see a couple grand by the end.... so it's not worth their time or effort.
If on the other hand they are going after a 2 million dollar suit.... well that might mean $200K to them.... so they are willing to put in a year or two worth of work in hopes of being paid off.
There is allready lots of precidence in the courts for suits over street racing and modified cars...... the people who drive these types of cars are not looked upon favorably by the courts so the judges tend to side with the people that lost a family member.
The second you modify your car you are immediatly pegged as a "street racer" and no matter how hard you try you won't be able to shake that mentality.
It sucks.... but that's life..... it just means I can't have quite as much fun as you.
2010 BMW 335D
1994 Opel Calibra 4X4 turbo ( C20LET 2.0L Turbo )
2002 Daewoo lanos
Well..... I've been thinking about turning the red chassis into a mid engine rear wheel drive project car.
I have been thinking about it for a while and it only makes sense to try it on this chassis.
The polar express chassis is mint..... so it's the ideal chassis to continue with the regular setup (FWD)
The red chassis as many will remember had a completly crumpled front end.
I cut the front end off and replaced it from another car.
Even though I did a decent job on welding and supporting it the primary unibody beam on the passenger side still had a slight twist in it.
The car drives straight but I was worried that there would be too much stress on the chassis if I droped a high horsepower engine in there.
If I go mid engine then I don't have to worry about the front end..... it's only purpose will be for steering and holding the newly relocated fuel cell. (gas tank)
Garrett asked me why I don't keep the engine up front and use a RWD transmission to transfer the power to the back.
My response is that I think that would be as much or more fabrication than a mid engine.
I'd have to make a bell housing tunnel and most likely relocate my steering rack (among other things)
I would also have to relocate the fuel tank and build an independant rear suspension.
After all is said and done I think that the mid engine would have a better weight distribution than a front engine rear drive.
More of the weight would be in the center of the car and it would also allow for more weight to be put on the rear wheels.
I've also been throwing around the idea of an AWD electric system..... one motor up front and one out back.
I won't need to link the two motors because I can simply used a microprocessor to pick up wheel speed monitors and ensure that both motors allow the front and back to run at the exact same speed.
Additionally I can increase torque to the front and rear independantly depending on how I want the vehicle to behave around corners (over steer or neutral )
I don't really have a budget in mind..... so anything is a possibility.... even a dual gas engine or a gas electric or a gas diesel or a diesel electric setup..... this won't be a huge priority chassis.... probably be a couple of years before I get to fool around with it.
2010 BMW 335D
1994 Opel Calibra 4X4 turbo ( C20LET 2.0L Turbo )
2002 Daewoo lanos
The car has been stripped and ready for the wreckers, all of it's good parts were pulled for use in other projects, it's time this chassis was recycled.
2010 BMW 335D
1994 Opel Calibra 4X4 turbo ( C20LET 2.0L Turbo )
2002 Daewoo lanos
