Alright folks, let me tell you about my “changli upgrade materials” adventure. Buckle up, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride!
First off, I saw this Changli, right? The world’s cheapest car, or so they say. And I thought, “Hey, why not?” I mean, how bad could it be? Turns out… kinda bad. But that’s why we’re here, right? To make things better!
So, I started looking into what upgrades people were doing. The stock Changli is… basic. Like, REALLY basic. The suspension felt like riding a shopping cart, the brakes were more like suggestions, and the motor? Well, let’s just say it wasn’t winning any races.
I began by focusing on the suspension. Found some heavier-duty springs online – generic ones, nothing fancy. Figured anything would be an improvement. Getting the old springs out was a pain. Had to borrow a spring compressor from a buddy. Pro tip: wear gloves. Those things are rusty and grimy.
Next up: brakes. The stock ones were drums, and tiny. I decided to just upgrade the pads and shoes first, see if that made a difference. Managed to find some slightly better ones that were supposedly “performance” oriented. Swapping those out was fairly straightforward – watched a bunch of YouTube videos first, of course. Didn’t want to screw anything up.
Then came the motor. This was where things got interesting. The stock motor was… adequate. But I wanted more pep! Looked into swapping it out for a slightly more powerful one. Found a compatible one online, claimed it was “30% more powerful!” Took a gamble and ordered it.
Getting the old motor out was a wrestling match. It was bolted in tight, and the wiring was… questionable. Took a bunch of pictures before disconnecting anything, just to be safe. The new motor was slightly bigger, so I had to do some minor modifications to the mounting bracket. Nothing a little angle grinder couldn’t fix!
Wiring everything up was a bit of a headache. The new motor had different connectors, so I had to splice some wires. Used butt connectors and electrical tape. Probably not the most professional job, but it worked.
Finally, after a few days of tinkering and cursing, I got everything back together. Took it for a test drive. And… it was better! Suspension was a little stiffer, brakes actually stopped the car, and the motor had noticeably more punch. Not a huge difference, but definitely an improvement.
Was it worth it? Probably not, if I’m being honest. I could have bought a used car for the same price. But hey, where’s the fun in that? Plus, I learned a lot about wrenching on cars, even if it was on a glorified golf cart.
Would I do it again? Maybe. There are still plenty of things to upgrade on the Changli. Maybe next time I’ll tackle the battery pack…
- Suspension: Upgraded to heavier-duty springs.
- Brakes: Replaced pads and shoes with “performance” ones.
- Motor: Swapped for a slightly more powerful unit.
All in all, it was a fun project. A little frustrating at times, but rewarding in the end. Now I have a slightly less terrible Changli. And that’s all that matters, right?
