Remember when we were kids and the first Fast and the Furious film had just been released? And do you remember telling all your friends that when you get your first car you were going to soup it up to the max; decals, wings, spoilers – the whole shebang?
Nowadays, when we see a Ford Focus or Vauxhall Corsa revving its way down the street looking fit for a street race, we feel our entire body cringe.
Those little modifications that we used to think were so dam cool now look utterly absurd. In fact, there are car modifications out there now that we hate to see, and hear:
Fake Engine Sounds
The sound of a turbo charger is one thing, but they actually come with a useful function – increasing your cars acceleration. Most people don’t understand fully what a turbo charger does, apart from it makes the car go faster and sounds kind of cool. There are two ways to let people know you have one; you can either put a sticker on your car that tells everyone, the second is to make sure everyone can hear it.
So why spend a whole bunch of money on a turbo when you can buy a kit that makes it sound like you have one. With a speaker system that mimics the characteristic of a turbo sound you can have your very own turbo at the flick of a switch.
Giant Wings
Most drivers couldn’t tell you the difference between a spoiler and a wing: they are both tail pieces placed on the back of cars that make road-legal cars look a little sportier and make the boot harder to open.
Spoilers are the one with no gap and are there to decrease the slope of airflow down the back of the car, supposedly decreasing drag, increasing mileage and keeping your rear window cleaner.
Wings on the other hand, are the things you see adorning the world’s fastest cars. So, if it’s good enough for Formula one then it must be good enough for your Renault Clio, right?
At high speeds, wings push the wheels down into the ground, making a noticeable difference in steering and control. Yet most cars you see driving up and down the high street with a huge wing are front-wheel drive, basically having the opposite effect – wheelies anyone?
Body Kits
If you love the sound of crunching body work every time you mount a curb or drive over a speed bump, then body kits are the one for you. On top of being an absolutely useless addition to your car and adversely affecting used car prices, they also result in some truly morbid Frankenstein-like used car creations.