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HybridZ

Function Vs. Form


ModernS30

Function Vs. Form  

19 members have voted

  1. 1. Should hybridz allow fully form builds or not?

    • Functionality rules.
      18
    • Form is where its at.
      1


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Okay guys, In the ever growing car scene form and this whole "Stancing" thing is blowing up. Now I am hoping that we are all aware of what Hybridz started as. Hybridz was the small block chevy swapped early z car forum. Hybridz has always been about making your car perform well and how to do it in any way possible. With the recent happenings with people slamming cars and such more and more threads are popping up about how to get the lowest and such. Do you feel like Hybridz should allow this or should Hybridz stick to its roots?

 

I am looking for mature discussion, keep out profanity and name calling. We are all adults here, so lets act like it. Strong opinions are fine, you should know where to draw the line.

 

My personally opinion is that Hybridz is a forum based on performance and function. I feel like if you get some form out of it that is fine, if you have form AND function that is also just fine. I feel like the forum should avoid cars that are for all practical purposes paper weights. I am all for function, I do like a little form on the side, but I don't like doing things that make my car worse. I feel like form is just not what this board is here for and it needs to be taken to forums that are hella-flush supportive.

 

Again, lets try to keep this civilized because I am really curious on how the large majority of the active member base feels.

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Personally I don't care for the look. Plus since it's mostly popular with the younger crowd it's done on a shoe string budget. As a fabricator I always enjoy looking at good fab work but that's not always the case. It's more like how fast and cheap can I get this done because I have to drive it to work on Monday style of fabrication.

 

My gut feeling is they would be more comfortable on a site that is dedicated to stance type cars. I can take nuggets of knowledge from any forum on Hybridz and apply it to my car. I'm not sure what I would apply from a stance topic.

 

Just hold fast to the "no texting" style of posting and any problem child will just fade away :)

 

Derek

Get off my yard you punks (said in my best geezer impression)

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Form over function is fine. It has it's place. Further, it's your car, so do with it what you like regardless of what others think. HOWEVER, when it becomes extreme it doesn't belong here. When your mindset is this...

 

Low is a lifestyle. As far as how screwed up my suspension geometry is, I really don't care.

 

...you're in the wrong place. There are other forums that cater to that life style, and they'd love to have you. It's out of context here.

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The mindset you mentioned above is what I meant. I like threads such as the picture threads and wheel threads, I like my car to look good, but I feel like once your car has gone all stance then its too far and that is not what Hybridz is about. :) Basically, I agree with you Ron.

 

 

As I said, some form is fine, what I am really talking about is the paper weighting of cars. Such as this:

 

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It's not the black and white. Of course most of us would never do something to our car to make it look cool that took a second of your quarter mile time, but what about half a second, or a tenth? You going to get a different set of wheels that you might not like just cause they are slightly lighter and you couldn't imagine making your car look cooler but be slower? It's a balance, do both.

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I am torn on the subject. While some are taking it to extremes using questionable methods, others are putting thought into their setups. For instance, the pursuit of cheaper coil over solutions has yielded positive results (DC2 and Megans IIRC). As long as the discussions are based on technical merit they should be allowed. While some may disagree about a screwed up suspension geometry having no place here (hi Ron!), as long as the fabrication is safe, etc. then it leads to creative discussions and innovation.

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I joined this site and continue to come here (although not as often as I used to) because it contains the most extensive library of information on how to modify an S30 for performance that can be found anywhere.

I'd hate to see that diluted with a bunch of threads dedicated to making modifications that are all about a current automotive fad and detract from the performance of the cars we love.

Just as I supported the moderators when they banned political topics in the past, I would support them if some sort of guidelines were developed that limited the threads posted discussing these types of mods.

The other option I would support is creating a sub-forum just for that topic and enforcing it's use by moving any threads discussing stance type mods to it, sort of a stance tool shed if you will.

 

I'm biased about this topic though, it's ALWAYS been function over form for me, I don't care for the ultra low look and can't understand why anyone would ruin their car like shown in the video posted above.

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Ratsun.net is a more suitable place for purely form builds and will be accepted there. Hybridz is known for being full of knowledge and function I wouldn't want to read a book about fabrication that's cluttered with pictures of Popsicles and elmer's glue. By sticking to function builds it makes it easier to find the info you want rather then sifting through "hellaflush stance" threads, where it could be possible to become misinformed on a modification.

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Bear with me.

 

I believe that functionality is a beautiful thing. If your car is a car built soley for the purpose of function, then it should by all means, meet those requirements, the 'stance' not mattering in this situation.

 

However, if you're into 'stance', the 'function' aspect of your build shouldn't matter as much.

 

Yes, I'm into stance. I enjoy seeing cars lowered, set on wide wheels with stretched tires that come to the fenders. I just like the way it looks. I think it's beauty in another art form. Because it can be done right, and it can be done wrong.

 

And a lot of people aren't into that. They see no reason why my tires rub the fender when I hit a bump. They'll say, your car would perform much better if you raised it up and put different tires on it.

 

I'll use another analogy.

 

As an artist and a musician, I frequently see this. Someone will look at an abstract painting, and not see the purpose. They see a mass of jumbled lines and shapes, and are instantly horrified that this is what some people call art.

 

Some people listen to certain genre's of music, such as metal or rap, and can't understand it. They say that music has been reduced to garbage, and is in no way an art form.

 

On the other hand, some people understand and relate to the things I've listed.

 

 

'Function' is in the eye of the beholder, and the purpose for which the car was built. The purpose, or the function, of my daily, is to look low and wide. It has a basically stock L28, which is reliable and gets good gas mileage. The ride, while stiffer than stock, is comfortable.

 

I also have a track car, which happens to be a Miata. The purpose of this car is to drift. Consequently, it has a functional 'drift' stance, which makes it perform better on the track. It's not 'slammed' or 'hellaflush', in some people's eyes, but it gets the job done.

 

 

That's why it's hard for me to cast my vote on something like this. Because they EACH HAVE THEIR PLACE, and that's what a lot of close-minded people have a hard time getting through their head.

 

 

For anyone interested, I am a 20 year old college student, I consider myself to be intelligent and well read. I like good grammar, and it annoys me to no end when people fail to capitalize properly and use correct punctuation.

 

However, in the 'stance' scene, there are certain slang terms that have their purpose as well. I don't need to list any, as I think you can all recognize what I'm talking about.

 

 

I hope that this hasn't bored all of you too much, and I hope that you've had the interest and patience to read all of what I've had to say. When I first saw HybridZ.org, I recognized it as a place where a person's creation could deviate from the norm, and not stick to the same old pattern that has been repeated over and over with these beautiful cars. Where people can combine elements of auto technology and style, and create a masterpiece that, to them, was unlike any other Z out there. For some people, that may be a SBC on stock suspension; for others it could be an RB25 in a slammed S30.

 

Either way, forgive me if I was wrong in assuming that this was a friendly community where people could share their ideas and opinions based around Z cars. I've learned a lot on this site, but if my ideas are no longer welcome then I can go elsewhere.

 

 

 

Best regards,

 

 

Ben Gibson.

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Ben,

 

Every example you've given is subjective. Performance is generally more tangible or objective... Did you improve your fuel economy, grip, down force, dyno sheet, structural rigidity, lighting, braking, interior noise levels, lap times, HVAC, etc, etc, etc. Many of these things can easily (or reasonably) be quantified. Unlike art.

 

But, if you want to use subjectivity as a marker, then let's approach it from this perspective. I'm a guy that can appreciate nearly all genre's of music. However, when I tune to KROQ, I don't expect to hear Rachmaninoff. Mind you, I enjoy Rachmaninoff, but not mixed in with my Queensryche. I tune to a different station when I want to hear Dizzy Gillespie. It's not hard, and not unreasonable, in my opinion.

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I understand that it appears that I'm putting Dizzy Gillespie in with your Queensryche, but I fail to see how I'm giving subjective examples. IF HybridZ is only to be saturated with SBC swapped S30's on Ground Controls (Queensryche, in other words), does that mean I shouldn't participate? I understand completely where you're coming from, but as a fellow S30 owner, I like to see what other people do to their S30's as well, no matter how our tastes may differ.

 

I understand that my tastes may differ greatly from the majority of the members on this site, but I hoped that as we are all Z car owners, we could participate in unison without unrest. I refrain from name-calling and starting trouble, and I hoped that while everyone is free to voice their opinion, I wouldn't be harshly judged for mine.

 

That's simply how I saw it.

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Mind you, I enjoy Rachmaninoff, but not mixed in with my Queensryche.

 

....and your Queensryche is in my Rachmaninoff! :)

 

 

I recently burned my old Operation Mindcrime CD to MP3 after listening to a co-workers CD in his car. That is one damn good album, even today.

 

 

Ben, I do not think people will judge you for your particular taste, at least not by me. I can appreciate the look, but its the attitude I see from the generation that endorses the look that bothers me. They see a well sorted out, powerful (swapped), properly functioning car as a POS compared to, say, Yuta's car. Who spent more time, more money, more sweat, more blood, on their car? Certainly not Yuta. He went for a look by simply slamming his car. I saw his car when he first debuted it at JCCS. It was, quite honestly, a POS. The only thing "unique" was that he was touching the grass blades. His interior was a joke and his engine bay horrific. Pictures of his suspenion fabrication gave many a fabricator the willies. Should we support such shoddy workmanship simply in the name of form?

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... I fail to see how I'm giving subjective examples.

 

1) "stance"... Subjective

2) "eye of the beholder"... Subjective

3) "abstract painting"... Subjective

4) "music"... Subjective

5) "The ride, while stiffer than stock, is comfortable"... Subjective

6) "drifting"... Subjective

 

You did mention MPG, so I'll concede that one.

 

 

....and your Queensryche is in my Rachmaninoff! :)

 

I see what you did there :-)

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I joined this site and continue to come here (although not as often as I used to) because it contains the most extensive library of information on how to modify an S30 for performance that can be found anywhere.

I'd hate to see that diluted with a bunch of threads dedicated to making modifications that are all about a current automotive fad and detract from the performance of the cars we love.

Just as I supported the moderators when they banned political topics in the past, I would support them if some sort of guidelines were developed that limited the threads posted discussing these types of mods.

The other option I would support is creating a sub-forum just for that topic and enforcing it's use by moving any threads discussing stance type mods to it, sort of a stance tool shed if you will.

 

I'm biased about this topic though, it's ALWAYS been function over form for me, I don't care for the ultra low look and can't understand why anyone would ruin their car like shown in the video posted above.

 

This does seem like a pretty reasonable middle ground if it was held to the other standards of the forum.

I do enjoy reading the builds for some of the solutions they need to come up with when slamming cars, but I'm not sure how it fits in with the rest of the site. A new sub-forum or section in the build threads seems like a pretty easy solution.

 

Stance isn't my cup of tea, but I don't mind looking at it when I can see the build story behind it.

 

When it all comes down to it, this place is about what Dan wants to see put up ;)

Edited by cockerstar
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1) "stance"... Subjective

2) "eye of the beholder"... Subjective

3) "abstract painting"... Subjective

4) "music"... Subjective

5) "The ride, while stiffer than stock, is comfortable"... Subjective

6) "drifting"... Subjective

 

 

Exactly.

 

function [fuhngk-shuhn]

 

noun

 

1. the kind of action or activity proper to a person, thing, or institution; the purpose for which something is designed or exists; role.

 

If you're designed "function" for your S30 is art, then you're on the wrong site. Ratsun.net is a better place. S30s were designed as cars and function well in that role.

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