Name a car modification that people think is cool, but isn't

.

Big wheels and rubber band tires on a muscle car.

cars slammed to the ground.

fart exhaust pipes on cars that are no way fast.

Stupidly loud exhaust and crackle pop tunes. Thanks to both aftermarket exhausts are currently being banned all over the place regardless of loudness

hughe wings on ricers, fart cans, oversized wheels and ruber band tires, slammed to the ground, neon lights underneath and/or behind the wheels,

Thrush glass packs on my old coronet when I was a kid. They were so loud I had to remove them after a few weeks as my neighbors and law enforcement didn`t like them. LOL

Eyelashes on your headlights

Carolina squat.

Lowered dually truck.

Lambo doors.

Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

Big wheels and rubber band tires on 4X4 trucks.

Fart cans on 4 cylinder Civics are today's version of Thrush mufflers on 16 second "muscle cars." Lowered cars = the air shocks of the 70s. Rubber band tires = the N50s that only fit thanks to said air shocks.

Fart cans and the back fire exhaust systems, there are a few around my house and they sound like crap .. message to the one guy in my neighbor hood .. your four door Ford Taurus with tinted windows , Cold air intake and fart can exhaust isn't fast or cool .

i have to agree with all of the above.

Oh boy...wings, scoops, black wheels, fart cans, the "stance" thing where the wheels are like 10-degrees of negative camber.
Frankly, if I never see another set of polished TT2s, poorly-built rat-rod, flame paint job, lifted 4x4, or ricer, I'd be OK with that.
Blowers through the hoods & tunnel rams on street cars always seemed to me like Posing.
Oh, and lemme add those goofy dummy kids you see at car shows...

Now, get off my lawn, ya punks

See also: any modification done to any PT Cruiser.

I would go with this one! I got stuck behind one of these idiots and he was going about 30 until a bump then it was down to 10mph. What is the scene of having a lowered car and have to drive 10 mph? Guess they never heard of air bags. Not to mention the angle of the wheels.

not saying it isnt cool but ...oh look another ls powered gm truck slammed to the ground

Ah yeah...how 'bout it for those parts store stick on hood scoops!
That and diesel trucks with the exhaust stacks sticking up from inside the bed.

Straight pipes on newer cars that pop for 20 seconds when they let off the gas.
Excessively big wheels and stock brakes.
Custom consoles in old cars that are big and ugly.
Customizing a dash on an old car and making it worse.
Big stereos that ruin your hearing and shake the vehicle apart.
Guys who mess up 68-70 Chargers with body mods thinking they are going to make them look better. Never works out.
LS engines into every GM car out there. Everyone who has one thinks they have 500+ rear wheel horsepower even though they pulled it from a wrecked GM pickup and didn't do anything to it other than degreasing it.
Most diesel truck exhaust mods. Not the most pleasant sounding engines to begin with so who really wants to hear more of it.

Tweed interiors. I know that's going to upset the geezer rodder crowd, but tweed interiors have always been hot garbage.

FIFY,

You guys are still seeing riced out hondas with fart cans? Those died out around here at least 18 years ago.

Ben-Hur wheel spikes.

as well as the 6" long pointy lug nutz.........

Truck Nutz and Punisher decals.

Import guys are still here, but in very small numbers now. When the Fast-n-Furious movies came out those Honduh guys were everywhere in traffic driving like morons and wanting to race everybody. That lasted for years, but eventually the pants down around their ankles frat boys crashed them, blew the engines up one too many times, or got bored and moved on. Now the fad is lifted 4x4 diesel trucks blowing soot across 3 lanes at 110 decibels when they get on it.

This ...

or make like 18 wheelers rolling coal out the stacks..........

This!

Exactly!

The wheels and tires? Or the extended tow mirrors while not towing?

Yeah we have the diesels too, the worst one yet was actually a very clean 93 or older dodge cummins but the kid put the exhaust stack straight up through the box, right at windshield level so you'd get a face full of nasty diesel soot at every green light when behind it

Come on now...the coal rollers here got their feelings hurt when we made fun of them for that the last time. One guy even hit the notify moderator button on my post making fun of him.

Guys like that get a couple of cans of expanding foam down the pipe one late night. Same with the Harley straight pipe clowns that feel the need to fire up their POS at 5am and let it run for a half hour before leaving for work.

Yeah, I was thinking he's going to get followed into a parking lot somewhere and not enjoy the confrontation. That has to be the most arrogant "mod" you could possibly do

All of that, plus the tinted windshield

I thought the mirrors were out so he could see around the tires

Ed

This.

Probably upset some people here, but...

Narrowed rearends, tubs, big tires and fuel cells in cars that run slower than 10's.

Poser mobile.

Hey I resemble that remark ! ...I run 11.50s with the above ( mini tubs ) ..

Under car lights.
Farm jacks on stock jeeps.
Stick on exhaust "holes" on front fenders.

Halo headlights.

I am really striking out here .. I just installed halo headlights in my 68 Dart to go along with the fuel cell, wheel tubs, narrowed rear and big tires 😃

Moparts will set you straight! LOL!

Mini tubs in a Dart are almost required for anything bigger than a 235. You get a pass on that one.

I'll say Farm Jacks on any Jeep. I used to do lots of rock crawling and offroading. The Hi Lift or Farm Jack is horrible for changing a tire, you have to jack the body up and on a lifted jeep the suspension droop is so much that it makes for a real sketchy setup. My Cherokee is lifted 6" on 35" tires and I just use the stock little bottle jack to change a tire, even on the trail.

I did use one as a winch once, it kind of worked. The tree flex and the strap flex took up about 75% of the jacks travel but it did work, just not enough to get me out of my situation. The phone a friend at midnight option worked much better but was the last resort haha.

Yeah, I had a Hi Lift jack on my CJ-7. 7 inch lift, 35’s. Worthless. Lightweight floor jack and some scrap wood was much more effective.

"Hot rodded" 4 door cars and long bed pick up trucks

Disagree with this. My regular cab 2nd gen would suck if it were short box, a longer truck is cooler in probably any situation I’ve always believed, be it semi truck or pickup truck. And I don’t want to have a pickup that is shorter than my B body car is so longbox pickups for me forever. In regular cabs anyway, if extended cab then yes I’d say short box for sure.

Had a mid eighties square body pickup years ago which I sold, and the new owner cut it up and short boxed it, and that’s when I knew for certain it looked better before when it was still a longbox. I miss that truck but I don’t want it back as a short box.

Putting a lift kit in virtually ANY kind of truck or SUV.

Considering 80% or more will never see off road anyway and it all just seems to be in vain simply to put on larger tires. Like....... why?

I've received a little flack for only putting 15x7 wheels with 235/60 rubber on my silly little V6 truck. But, in my time, 235/60 was actually a pretty serious tires and besides.... it's just a silly V6 truck!! I'm not lifting it, I'm not lowering it, I'm not doing a G-D thing to it other than getting some paint & some box liner in the summer. That's it! I'm very happy with the aluminum slots and tires.


P.S. - I have since put some center caps on the wheels.

Curb Feelers on old Cadillacs.

Tom

Putting an intake and header on a slant 6 and thinking it's fast.

Even with a power adder they are slower than a turtle.

Fat tires matter...

Anything lowrider/cholo/vato style and the crappy wire wheels that are 13in. Animal/people murals on said vehicles and windows soo tinted that you can't see out of.

Repowering any brand car/truck with a GM LS V8 or any Small Block Chevy...ugh.
So sick of non-GM cars with LS V8s...

JS

Whew,
I am so glad no one listed the
little winglets “ Wheeler Vortex Generators”
or the swimming pool foam “noodle” on the bottom of the front air dam.

Chicks must think those are so “cool” that they gotta be “hot”

custom antennas that will “blow you away”

https://www.vmsracing.com/products/...antenna-kit-green-finish-5-5-inches-long

Anything "Donk", which actuallyy should be called "Dork".

I mean, anything that can make a Japanese Bosozuku look better has got to be the dumbest ass way to modify a vehicle.

My god around the year 2000 the sunday morning TV shows started worshipping the big wheels and rubber band tires- "Pro Touring" blasphemy on muscle cars. Just awful. Take young prime Steve McQueen John Wayne and Clint Eastwood. Give them purple hair, tattoos and their specific pronouns. That's the equivalent of putting big wheels on a classic.

Looks like something the current US Secretary of Transportation would approve of.

Electric conversion.

I actually like the jacked up rear/slapper bar/N50 look. It's likely why the big wing/fart can thing doesn't bother me.

I don't care for anything larger than 15s on a 60s/70s car, but that's just personal preference. 18s on a car like yours make all of the sense in the world.

And if I ever do get my 60s/70s Cadillac or Lincoln, I'm dropping it 1.5 in the front, 2 in the rear, and putting curb feelers on it.

New trucks with the tires and wheels sticking out of the fenders a foot or more.. I was considering custom wheels for my 21 Ram it appears nobody makes a custom wheel with a stock offset...

Chrome "spinner" hubcaps
Huge wooden center consoles in 30s/40s/50s cars
18"/20" LX wheels on old cars
Stance cars- narrow tires pulled over wide wheels, then negative camber galore

Is this cool in some way???

if that car were mine, i would paint the wheels red, then run 5" stacks up the back with "flappers" on 'em at the top...............

It look like Godzilla stepped on it!

I actually like the 70s trends on classic cars....for the sake of appearance. I wouldn't do it to my car but I like seeing others.
Body modifications to 68-70 Chargers are a sacrilege. I cannot see any way that these bodies can be improved by shrinking or stretching anything. I've seen mods done to 3rd gen B bodies and am okay with it. Dave KIndig did a 67 Coronet and shortened the A pillars and to me, that was an improvement.
For me, I wanted a blend of all aspects of performance while staying as close to stock parts as I could. Dr Diff "Ford" based brakes, Tremec "Ford" based transmission. My wheels were chosen for the size and styling because I wanted good performance tires and a classic 5 spoke style.

Those are probably the nicest looking larger than 15's I've seen on any muscle car. They really look sharp.

I was considering doing the resto-mod treatment to my 78 Trans Am, but I knew I'd want to keep the stock 15 inch snowflake wheels, which would limit my braking options.

Thank you.
I wanted a wheel that looked like a classic design that evolved a little over time.
'78 Trans Am....I do like the GM F bodies from 70-81. The fender grilles, fins, flares and spoilers look really cool to me.
Years back I read a magazine article about the Trans Am models...The writer stated that owning a Trans Am is like hanging out with Andrew Dice Clay....He had a great time with it but often felt like he had to make excuses for it. I liked the styling though...much better than the plain Firebird models.

Yeah, even with the W-72 engine option, it was only a whopping 220 hp. Was a 4 speed with t-tops, though, so fun to drive. Handled really well too. And you're right about the appearance. Young and old alike loved that car. Something about the t-tops, the screaming chicken on the hood, etc. We'd take it to my daughter's soccer games, and kids would go nuts over it.

That’s the worst.

Yeah, I don't like that either. It clearly is a matter of form over function since no car would handle better when set up like that.
There are some Japanese trends that are odd....the extended spoilers and flares are the most outrageous to me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEeQqPRyD-g&ab_channel=Tpa84

N50-15's, Gabriel Hijackers, front runner tires, Cragar SS'

I can go on

Chevy cowl hood scoops on Mopars

...and that's when the fight started.

35” tires on any thing

You must not go off roading. 🤨

I have to keep checking back t see how many dumb modifications I've made on my truck.

So far, only 2 or 3 dumb things, according to the masses. Either I'm doing OK, or I better get busy, depending on the goal.. , ,. or

IMO, when folks put all that chrome plastic trim on a vehicle thinking it looks "classy". See it a lot on 1/2 tons, chrome gas filler door, chrome grill accents, chrome wheel well molding, chrome door handles. Just looks tacky.

Had a guy bring a brand spanking new GT500 to Advance Auto when I worked there in college. He bought all the plastic cheap chrome lip moldings, fake vents, accents...I cringed but it was his car.

I don't agree with all of them.

I remember when this came out and they where everywhere. If they where real neon and not led or plain colored lights i think in some case it looked cool. Not that i would install it on any of my rides.

Curb feelers on anything! I bet there are some members here who don't even know what they are.

Not only cowl hoods any GM styled raised hoods.
One i forgot one that may have been mentioned is the 8 inch chrome exhaust tip sticking out a foot on the back of any ricer. I think this fad died because i don't see it much anymore.

In case it hasn't been mentioned; This!

how 'bout those kewel fluorescent green and pink wiper blades, tag frames, and stick on "cell phone" antennas ?

I have a cowl induction hood on my 2nd gen ram and it looks great, I won’t be removing it either.

Repairs that won't last, or mods are trendy. Both create extra work for the next owner years later.

Dash and door panel hackery for aftermarket radios and speakers. See that a lot and many times the radio is low end junk.

Shaving drip rails and door handles on old cars.

Thick application of Bondo instead of lead where lead is the most appropriate material.

Cheap window tint that turns purple and is full of air bubbles. If it looks bad remove it and redo it at least.

Cutting a hole in a hood for a round chrome air cleaner that sticks up 1/2" above the hood. At least get a scoop for it. Or locate a drop base air cleaner first to see if that could have been avoided.

Any car painted w/ that awful color shifting paint!

Or Kindig door handles on every car I have ever seen them on.

He acts like he invented those handles when they came stardard on the 69 Pontiac Grand Prix!

Pistol grip shifter on an auto trans
Tuff steering wheel on everything
68 round side marker lights on other year cars
High impact paint on anything other than 70-71 cars
Green axle bearings
Pertronix ignition
MT valve covers
Mopar performance cast aluminum valve covers and air cleaner top
4 doors and wagons made into Road runner/GTX/super bee
Etc

I've done most of that stuff! Are you following me around?

I don't get most of these! Tuff wheels, M/T- Mopar performance cast aluminum valve covers you are saying are not cool? I would have to strongly disagree!
Here is one that will get a rise out of people, Black rims on anything!!!! Absolutely hideous! Don't know how this became a "thing". And i might as well mention raised white letter tires with the letters on the INSIDE. Seems one bad choice goes with the other.

Me too,except for the 4 door wagon thing.and I wouldn't change a thing!

i like your positioning of the 68 side marker lights in the stripe.
and your car is very nice as well.

Thanks,I cannot stand the 72 and up rectangular generic marker lights. They look like they came from Harbor Freight and belong on a utility trailer!

That list is more like a lot of the OK stuff to do.

Black rims are on my don't list and I've also never liked matte flat black paint jobs that look like the vehicle is sprayed in primer. Mainly because here in rust land that used to be a thing people used to do to their beaters. Same as aftermarket fender flares on trucks here usually means it has rotted out wheel wells.

I only ever had black wheels on one car ever,and that car was an A12 Superbee! I hate the clowns putting those stupid dog dish hubcaps on every Mopar you see now a days! Most of those cars didn't come with them,and the ones that did,had them removed in the first few days of ownership! I never remember anyone running them back in the day,especially on Chargers or E bodies!

The Hemi Daytona Charger that just sold on Friday at Mecum for $1,300.000 used to have a Chevy hoodscoop on it before it was restored!

How about the brake lights that flash on and off rapidly when the vehicle is stopping?

Yep thats a pointless one. People argue it's to get the attention of the person behind them. Distracting is more like it.

Not a fan of contemporary cars seats in an older car when they don't redo all the seats so they match. Stock black vinyl rear seat and light gray Honda bucket seats in the front is not a great look on an old car interior.

Also, nobody does this much these days, but I've seen a number of older cars/trucks where people have cut a big hole in the roof for a 70's sunroof. I still see this on El Caminos and Rancheros around here for some reason.

Ooops I probably shouldn't have sawed a huge hole in the perfectly good roof of this 70 Charger R/T!

It had to be done!

You all keep adding, my % of doing all those things you guys call dumb things to MY vehicles is adding up fast!
I might have to buy another car to get them all accomplished. Soon I should have most of you pizzed off.

I like it, and it HAD to be MUCH better done than ASC did it. Go to 10 seconds in the video. Damn it, I just HAD to see that damnable commercial again, now I want to go to the Dodge dealer and see how they'll trade for a '69 Charger RT/SE. Maybe I'll be able to afford the white hat special?

So cool,I can't wait to open up the sunroof for the first time!

I certainly do not like sunroofs that leak or make wind noise.

I have a nephew who suffered more than $5000 in damage to the dash instruments from a closed but leaking BMW sunroof..

I guess a sunroof is a somewhat safer way to transport a surf board.
Long ago I knew a guy who died in an auto accident where he was transporting a surf board out a side window. Left a wife and children. Parents owned The Courier Journal newspaper in Louisville, and mourned their son’s death until their own deaths.

Met a girl in Newcastle who drove a 2CV and used it like a small truck to move large beds, cabinets, bookcases, etc.
Until I witnessed that firsthand I thought the canvas roof inferior.
Always laugh when I see the James Bond 2CV chase through the hilly olive grove. Even better than the Lotus submarine.

I later read that Ferdinand Porsche designed the 2CV while in a French prison after WW2 for the war crime of using French prisoners of war in factories that made his misdesigned Nazi “supertank” which helpfully sucked up steel, skilled labor, and other scarce supplies - even delaying the important Kursk battle, giving the Soviets time to improve defenses.

76 Cutlass I had back in 1982 great car and comfortable but the “ T “ tops always leaked

My 1980 Mirada did too. One of the worst mistakes I ever made was getting the dealer to "fix" the leak, multiple times. If there was a rubber hammer in that dealership, no anvil was safe.