When recessions hit, people usually spend less on their hobbies. But if you’re thinking about modifying your ride on a budget, we’d recommend you save up for quality parts and go for taste over tack. You could also get a sporty car straight from the factory by saving up for a decent down payment and a low auto loan rate. Don’t go the cheap route or you’ll find yourself on our list of the worst aftermarket modifications. Ever.
1. Coffee Can Exhaust
It looks like a big, empty coffee can. The only thing worse than its looks is the way it sounds. Imagine if a car could fart while accelerating and you get the idea. Go ahead, draw more attention to your mom’s Corolla and keep telling friends the Folgers can gives you extra horsepower.
2. Wood and Cardboard Body Parts
So you heard that aluminum and carbon fiber body parts were used in F1 and wanted to one-up the engineers at some of the top racing programs in the world. Your answer: wood and cardboard. That’s right, and it’s even less expensive! I think I hear Ferrari knocking at your door already.
3. Neon Lights
You just saw all 4 Fast and Furious movies back to back and have come to the conclusion that you also live your life a quarter mile at a time. There’s nothing left for you to do except adding lighting effects to your car so that it’ll look like a giant glow stick is coming down the street at 25 miles an hour (don’t forget to add a light bar inside so you can see your own coolness from the inside too).
4. Scissor Doors
You pull up to a parking spot that’s too close to other cars and can’t open your doors wide enough to get out. Re-park somewhere else? Not you. No, you’ve got scissor doors that open upwards. Not only do you get the feel of driving an exotic, you’re brimming with pride about how practical they are. Don’t worry, everyone is actually laughing at how unbelievably cool you look right now…
5. Rims Worth More Than Cars
Ah, nothing says you have your financial priorities in order than a big set of shiny, expensive rims worth more than the car itself. Why would you spend money on car insurance when you can put that towards rims that spin? The bling on your rims will blind people as you drive up to order from the dollar menu. Speaking of which…
6. Unsponsored cars
Not only are you a baller, you live so large that you sponsor entire companies. You put out your own money, unsolicited, to champion brands you adore. And despite all this, you still don’t get a free Big Mac and fries. Nonetheless, you own that drive-thru and everyone knows it. Pull up to the next window with pride.
7. Giant Rims
You have always been a big dreamer. “22-inch dubs?,” they asked. Nope. “24-inch dub deuces?” Not big enough. When it comes to your car, only the biggest will do. “Give me the 100-inchers,” you said. Rims so big you could fit a Prius inside them. Rims so big the sun revolve around them. That’s how you roll.
8. Obnoxious Paint Jobs
When the guy at Maaco asked if you wanted to repaint your car the same color as before the accident, you responded in the negative After all, this was your chance to make your car as unique as you are, and you don’t want to mess it up. If you’re a girl, you think pink. If you’re a guy, you want a Louis Vuitton paint scheme to match your fake Louis Vuitton wallet. At least the praises you get from people are real.
9. Outrageous Body Kits
Half car, half Decepticon, your car came to Earth searching for the rare and precious energon cubes. Or at least it looks that way. Your car’s manufacturer came so close to getting the perfect car design, but thankfully you’re around to finish the job the right way.
10. Lowering SUVs, Lifting Sedans
You are a sedan trapped in an SUV’s body, or an SUV confined by a sedan’s frame. Sure, you could do the sensible thing and buy the car that’s actually right for you, but where’s the sense in that right?
11. Foil Rims. On a Bike
This one isn’t a car, but I’m sure we’re all at a loss for how awesome it is. I should have thought of this when I was younger.
You could also take the other route we recommend and get a good auto loan to buy a car that’s already perfect for your needs.
Which of these is the worst modification to you?
wat aesome cars espiccaly the bike and green car. i love tese cars.
I really like the lifted sedan.
Great list, But I think wings/spoilers should be on there too.
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Wow. Some of these pictures are insane! I love the one with wood and cardboard body parts – uh, fire hazard anyone !?!
Oh my god, these are so bad. I would have totally rocked the foil rims as a child though!
I kinda want foil rims on my bike now.
the louis vuitton car print reminds me of that silly old guy with the question mark suit. yuck!
anyway, the body kits can be nice if they stay low profile and not obnoxious. But everything else is a sure fire way to get laughed at, and if you’re that guy that doesn’t care what the haters think, then you’ll probably care when the cops start staring and trailing… Just a thought. Lol, personally i like underglow on the INSIDE of the car, under the foot area, but thats b/c I think its cool, and a personal touch no one else outside will have to put up with. then again ive got a cold air intake and my car is starting to sound like a jet fighter, kinda gets stares from people, but i dont care, its not too loud, just deep rumbles, and the sound doesnt travel far, so cops dont notice. anyway keep it discreet when modding, and be tasteful.
i completely disagree with the coffee can exhaust.. it just shows how ignorant and uneducated people are. just because some kid decides to rice out his Honda and put a crappy exhaust that looks just like the coffee can exhaust and sounds like **** doesn’t mean every coffee can looking exhaust is cheap. as far as i remember there are many exhausts that are up to $1600 (APS, turboxs, invidia) look like coffee cans and aren’t used just for the sound and the look they have.
so who ever wrote #1 in this article is ignorant and knows nothing about modding / tunning cars.
That’s why I don’t own a car.
I know I would modify it until it would look like a crossbreed between kitt and an alien vehicle in some weird amusement park. Now I feel all inspired! Can someone please slap me in the face?
I think Scissor Doors are awesome!
Scissor doors should be removed from this list, they are way more practical than standard crap doors and actually add flexibility to ALL cars you can fit em on.
scissor doors are indeed quite awesome. i want them!
I’ve seen examples of all of these “mods” here in So. Cal. running around, and I think the most rediculous is the larger rims on a car. These immediately make me think of a clown car at a curcus, and I expect to see 25 clowns come pouring out of them at a traffic light, LOL!
Here in Cali it is ILLEGAL to modify the exhaust on a vehicle in any way, so it’s eminitely STUPID to do so. Lots of logic to make the sound of your car turn cops’ heads and notice you, and issue a citation that WILL force you to replace the stock exhaust, complete with a nice fine.
I’ve also noticed a trend lately where drivers replace stock headlight bulbs and front directional signal bulbs with these WAY overly bright BLUE BULBS!
People, this is not only ignorant, but ILLEGAL also! Nothing will get a cops’ attention quicker than blue lights on the front, rear, or sides of your vehicle. Blue lights belong on emergency vehicles ONLY, and police are very jealous of their color blue.
Not only that, but these ultra-bright headlights generate TONS of heat, and will MELT most headlight housings, costing HUNDREDS to replace when they cease to function.
I have a friend who works at a car dealership, and he’s met people who change their stock bulbs to these high-heat bulbs in new cars, they destroy the headlight housings, and come back to the dealership demanding the housings be replaced under warranty! HAAAAA!!!
I wish I could be there to see the looks on their faces when they are told they have to pay for the repair!
Modifying your car is ok up to a point, kids… do some research in your state or country FIRST regarding what is legal and not legal to do and save yourself a TON of money and grief later!
Dave
Northridge, Ca.
Sorry, but the scissor doors really are pretty cool, even if you don’t like them. Some of the body kits are pretty cool, too; although sometimes they get pretty bizarre.
Let’s add the dinky skateboard wheels on the low riders. Especially the ultra low profile ones that look like a layer of tread glued directly to the rim.
i think the neon lights around the car is actually a safe concept. i would recommend them on all cars as a safety feature, but a little less extravagant next time.
Most are right-on-the-money for ‘yuck’…
But, I’m here to tell you, that black 4×4 camaro is nothing but cool…
You haven’t been crusing until you’ve been down the boulevard in a lifted trans-am, sitting on a Bronco frame and running gear, sporting 40-inch Gumbo Monster Mudders and 500-hp under the hood! Cruise until midnight, get the girls, the beer, then head for the bog and go four-wheelin’! This would better be known as redneck ‘surf-and-turf’ quisine.
lol sounds like the author hates cars and would rather you drive around in a not so “smart” car or a Geewiz or some other battery powered death trap that can’t go over 25mph. Each one should be evaluated on a case by case basis because yes most people have bad taste, but some are really nice and should be praised/rewarded for being “smarter then the box”.
First, if you ever sat behind the wheel of a car with the (std equip on BMW’s)Xenon lights, you will be totally amazed at how much more you can see at night, laterally as well. Seemingly every cop in the USA sees these lights, and they know how much more aware, a driver is by the breadth of his expanded vision….
Second, Daimler Benz makes the ‘SmartCar’ and their engineering is flawless. Demonstrated by a video, showing the tests of driving one into a Concrete barrier, 4 feet thick, at 70mph,,, darn thing bounced off of the wall,,, suffered minimal damage to the front, windshield did NOT shatter, and the driver’s ‘cell’ was intact that the passenger’s door open and closed with ease… Car actually can exceed 90mph for hours, on end.. 3cyl French gas engine(min octane 91), and 5spd auto/shift transmission makes the young and slight driver feel the amazing power and each one sits 6inches higher than other autos, to make it more visible, 3 different kinds of steel make up the ‘cell’ compartment noted by the ‘ring’ surrounding each door… The Cabriolet’s have a stronger windscreen support bar, which completes the ‘roll-bar’ facet front and aft…. Try one, you will be so amazed you will just think of ways to get one, financed by Daimler @2.90%
sorry, needed to correct mistyped name, forgot the ‘t’
Yes, my wife got one, and is so comfortable in it, she thinks of places to go, just to be seen in it…. the obvious gas mileage savings over driving her ‘Tahoe’ makes the payment, with some left over…
Everybody is a skeptic, until they subdue their predjudice, and actually drive one. The steering wheel ‘paddle shift’ takes some getting used to, but that is part of the fun, in driving this ‘gadget’ around…
Told my wife, when she parked the ‘car’ behind the Tahoe, “Look hun, someone dropped a ‘pocketwatch’ behind the Tahoe.” She ran to the door, looked out, the punched my arm, squealing in delight…. She had to go drive it around again!!!!! Bought it, for her birthday, took delivery on the spot,,,, Talk about someone being ‘happy’!!
Are you serious about the Smart cars? Have you not seen the crash testing videos on Youtube? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz-s1sIoLhU
The fact that it bounces off instead of crumbles into the barrier is bad. Bouncing off will cause the car to fly into other lanes of incoming traffic. There is also another video if a Smartcar crashing into a regular sedan. Smartcar was completely crushed.
[...] These sticker fake vents are becoming a spread problem. People see them as a mod by itself. These things are hideous on the wrong [...]
Who’s the dumbass that wrote this “coffee can” exhausts are Actually a good add on. Sure some of them can get annoying when there super loud and on really crappy cars but on most cars they are pretty cool.
I have run in parallel large generators but never small ones. A question. How do you synchronize the units and how do you ensure they share the load equally?RegardsPeter J