Great Ways to Customize Your Car

Car manufacturers all seem to copy each other’s designs so there is often little to distinguish one brand for another when looking at cars in the same class. Take the hugely popular Ford Fiesta, for example and then compare it side by side with the latest VW Polo, at first glance they look similar.

Many people want to express their individualism through the car they drive so appearances and individuality are important. This desire to customize otherwise boring cars is spawning a huge industry in after sales components and upgrades.

We’ll look at some of the options that are available to ensure that your car will stand out form the crowd both in style and performance.

Customizing wheels

It’s amazing how changing wheels can have such a large visual impact on the appearance of a car. This is why car manufacturers often supply boring looking steel wheels on the low end models but try and upsell the buyer to flashy looking alloy wheel rims and wider tires to give the car a more sporty and purposeful look on more expensive models.

There is also a huge after market in wheel rim suppliers so changing the standard rims to sporty alloys from a completely different company will certainly make a big difference to how your car looks and will definitely give it a unique look.

Changing wheel rims and tires can be expensive, however, as you need four of them plus maybe a fifth for a spare depending on whether you have a run flat or space saver tire or carry a full size spare wheel.

Alloy wheels on an expensive Mercedes

There is no doubt that for those who seek a unique look for their car, changing the wheels is a cost-effective way to make their car stand out from the crowd.

Performance

The roar of a powerful engine is beguiling to many so no matter how a car looks, it is the way that it performs, and even sounds, that some customizers seek.

Upgrading or tweaking the suspension and brakes leads to better handling, often at the cost of ride comfort, however it is the engine that is often the focus of after market customization. There are many subtle ways to increase the power of an engine such as changing the engine management chips for a version that has been programmed for performance over economy.

Whilst the re-programmed management chip can boost and engines’ power curve, increasing the capacity of the engine by over-boring it and then using something like a Darton sleeve install or even installing a completely new engine will certainly boost a cars power.

Adding a performance optimized exhaust system will extract yet more power from the engine as well as give the car an exhilarating exhaust note.

Security

Customizing your car with various after-market products such as replacement wheels or an upgraded and tuned engine, whilst hugely satisfying, doesn’t come cheaply. Someone who is intent on really giving their car a unique and classy look as well as a kick in the pants performance will easily spend thousands of dollars on customizing their car, plus the purchase and running costs, of course.

Lightning strikes

So if this significant investment is being spent on a car, it makes great sense to ensure that it is well protected from thieves and adequately insured for collision damage. Whilst most people know about the importance of finding the best car insurance, there is another form of protection that is less well known that could make a real difference to the security of your highly prized car.

Depending on where you live, lightning can be a significant risk for drivers. Whilst many people think that they are protected by the rubber car tires and the car body acting as a Faraday cage, in reality, lightning hitting a car an cause serious damage not only to the body work as the electrical current runs to ground, but also to the car electrics. If you click here, you can learn more about how electromagnetic pulse protection (EMP) systems can be used to protect vehicles from electrical damage caused by lightning strikes.

A final point

Customizing your car can be a great hobby so although it can be expensive to make your vehicle look unique and improve its performance, you are modifying your car and so in many countries you will need to let your insurance company know that your vehicle is non-standard.

This is important as many insurers will invalidate your insurance if you have modified your car without telling them so that they can re-assess their risks and possibly adjust their premium so that they can provide you the cover you need.

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