Forget ya furry dice and tiger print seat covers. And even forget neon lights underneath!!

Its gotta be without a doubt them spinning wheel trims. :gag:

If you've got these on your car then please don't be offended......be ashamed!! :blush:

Blue Neons or any other colour!

I think a huge spoiler that doesn't even match the rest of the car... does exactly what it says on the tin! :loopy:

Originally posted by rudeboy
Forget ya furry dice and tiger print seat covers. And even forget neon lights underneath!!

Its gotta be without a doubt them spinning wheel trims. :gag:

If you've got these on your car then please don't be offended......be ashamed!! :blush:

Oh God yes, those spinning wheel trims look so cheap and tacky. I saw a Z3 the other day with the real deal chrome spinners, and low and behold up pulled a Red Vauxhall Corsa next to it with spinning wheel trims. The difference between the 2 was amazing. Do these people with the fake versions actually think it looks good. It looks shoddy.

oh yes! I forgot the worst EVER accessory on a car ever, which I saw the other day... a Corsa races up Division Street noisily, two baseball caps in the front, barely looking old enough to drive... they park up (very badly, not in a space, just kind of pulled to one side of the road, obstructing it), get out and start admiring their car... on which they had a HUUUUGE sticker across the rear side panels, proudly saying "Corsa" on each side of the car- what, having the badge on the back wasn't enough?!

I agree, wheel spinners are also so not a good look!

Worst car accessory?

A cheesy boy racer.

Seatbelt padding, names on the front windscreen ('Dazza' and 'Shazza'), A little Fiesta down our road has green headlight covers and gold alloys (gotta admire the creativity), oversized exhaust pipes, plastic stick-on air vents (why?!), big spoilers, extra racing lights on front, blue neon underneath, personalised number plates, especially those with fancy lettering...

Most of these things are illegal, so how come so many people get away with it?

Originally posted by noseyrosie
Seatbelt padding, names on the front windscreen ('Dazza' and 'Shazza'), A little Fiesta down our road has green headlight covers and gold alloys (gotta admire the creativity), oversized exhaust pipes, plastic stick-on air vents (why?!), big spoilers, extra racing lights on front, blue neon underneath, personalised number plates, especially those with fancy lettering...

Most of these things are illegal, so how come so many people get away with it?

As far as I know, only the headlight covers and the under car neons could be construed as illegal in your list. I think people 'get away' with it because the police have more important things to do than to stop people for something as stupid as having a neon light.

Its also illegal to have fancy lettering on a personalised number plate.

Originally posted by spyro2000
As far as I know, only the headlight covers and the under car neons could be construed as illegal in your list. I think people 'get away' with it because the police have more important things to do than to stop people for something as stupid as having a neon light.

yeah more important things like pulling subaru drivers and frightening the life outta them with a gun to the head ,, eh spyro:hihi: :hihi: :hihi: :hihi:

Originally posted by savbaby
yeah more important things like pulling subaru drivers and frightening the life outta them with a gun to the head ,, eh spyro:hihi: :hihi: :hihi: :hihi:

lol yeah you read my mind :D:D:D

Not sure what spinnng wheel trims are, but it sounds like something my friend's just started selling in the UK - except that his don't spin (or rather they do, but they look like they don't) - they project images inside your car's wheels, which are static even when the wheels are spinning.

Erm... I'm not very good at explaining this. Here's his website: http://www.tiretagz.com/

Originally posted by DanSumption
Not sure what spinnng wheel trims are, but it sounds like something my friend's just started selling in the UK - except that his don't spin (or rather they do, but they look like they don't) - they project images inside your car's wheels, which are static even when the wheels are spinning.

Erm... I'm not very good at explaining this. Here's his website: http://www.tiretagz.com/

There not bad those. I wouldnt have them myself but I think they look pretty decent.

Originally posted by spyro2000
As far as I know, only the headlight covers and the under car neons could be construed as illegal in your list. I think people 'get away' with it because the police have more important things to do than to stop people for something as stupid as having a neon light.

It depends what type opf headlight ocveres you are referring to, there are clear glass protecting ones, which are fine, and there are, what i call 'eyebrows' on the headlights, which should be ok if they don't block the beam pattern. I don't know of any that are illegal as such.

My favourites are rear spoilers on front wheel drive cars (so, you want to increase drag and take load off your front wheels which provide drive and stop you... hmmm, ok!), and low profile tyres (contary to the common myth, they reduce cornering ability, although they do improve feel). The spinny wheeltrims look hideous, of course!

Originally posted by spyro2000
There not bad those. I wouldnt have them myself but I think they look pretty decent.

I have to agree there with spryo.I dont like the tacky car accessory but they do look nice.I like to have the skull ones on a bike think it look great.Something diffrent but its when loads people get the same accessory for cars then it looks tacky.I use to think the neons under the car looked cool till you saw that every one had them in the end.But got to admit i never did like the spinning wheel trims, or the car fins that are bigger then the car itself.

Originally posted by Grim
My favourites are rear spoilers on front wheel drive cars (so, you want to increase drag and take load off your front wheels which provide drive and stop you... hmmm, ok!)
I always thought rear spoilers were there for cornering, to prevent oversteer and stop the back wheels from sliding out. Saabs have come with rear spoilers as standard for a long time now (more-or-less ever since they introduced turbos), and all Saabs are front-wheel drive.

Yes, they are... the Sierra and Escort Cosworths have a lot to answer for in the 'modding your car scene'.

If I remember correctly, the Escort was about 5mph slower (top speed) with the 'whale tail' than without it, but on it was a rally car, so actually needed that grip.

I've yet to see a 1.1 Fiesta that has the same problem, but odly quite a few seem to have them. :)

I'm familiar with both the expensive genuine spinning wheels and the cheap wheeltrim versions, and both look awful.
The genuine ones are just shinier and cost a few hundred times more.

Spoilers that look like the poor lad's borrowed his mum's ironing board and stuck it to his boot :gag:

And blacked out windows on crappy little boy racers' cars (they look OK on some more expensive cars)... although they do have the added bonus of concealing the spotty little beggar from us.

As an aside to this though - have you noticed how many drivers who have blacked out windows drive with their window wound down :rolleyes:

Originally posted by sniperwookie
Yes, they are... the Sierra and Escort Cosworths have a lot to answer for in the 'modding your car scene'.

If I remember correctly, the Escort was about 5mph slower (top speed) with the 'whale tail' than without it, but on it was a rally car, so actually needed that grip.

I've yet to see a 1.1 Fiesta that has the same problem, but odly quite a few seem to have them. :)

This is right in the remit of my job, and I think that if I understand correctly the spoiler is there to keep a car stable at speed. A front spoiler essentially diverts air away from under the car, which keeps the pressure under there low so the car tends to be sucked downwards aerodynamically rather than pushed upwards. Which would be unstable. Rear spoilers essentially swoosh air in a flick up at the back, which creates downforce and helps stick the car down at times when it needs a much grip as poss. Which includes cornering at high speed.

The Cossie-style 'whaletail' is actually a wing, just like that of an aeroplane but turned upside-down for the reverse effect of that desired on a Jumbo.

On a Saxo/Nova/Corsa etc, any spoiler is there to illustrate the driver's fantasy of great performance, sadly outweighed by the severity of insurance premium a real sports car would exact. And while it's deeply sad - as are the plastic version of spinners - I can't help applauding the fact that these cod-eyed delusionists still dare to dream.

Times have moved on a bit and I rarely deal with the real minging end of the modified car scene now, but back in the day I have seen some shocking sights that appalled yet warmed my heart with the endeavour behind them. One likely lad I interviewed wanted tinted lights on his Nova. He had a child and a mortgage and no money to speak of, so instead of buying tinted lamps or even tinting spray, he stretched an old pair of his girlfriend's tights over the light units. There's something heroic about that, even if the car was an utter humdinger.

However, there comes a rubicon of silliness which, when crossed, places the offender beyond parole. In this group I place the loony who had a Vauxhall Astra Estate. The old, dumpy model. He lavished a stinging 15 grand on making this the car of his dreams, which at the time would have bought a very nice Cosworth indeed and paid the insurance for a couple of years. This monstroosity featured many massive turd-polishing offences, but the worst had to be the fact that he had had the visible metal arts of his engine gold plated. For real. There are some rides that don't warrant pimping, and a metallic brown Astra Estate is one of them.

I love "Pimp My Ride", the one with the little van was the best, when it ended-up with a fishtank in the back and a stereo system so powerfull it needed it's own battery.

Originally posted by nick2
I love "Pimp My Ride", the one with the little van was the best, when it ended-up with a fishtank in the back and a stereo system so powerfull it needed it's own battery.

Ah, that reminds me of the bloke in Essex who had a black Mazda pick-up. He pimped it so bad it hurt, including a stezzer that had its own alternator and batteries. He also included fish tanks in the doors, containing exquisite little fishies. Anyhow, the first time he cranked up some drum 'n bass to the max the air pressure proved too much, and imploded the fish. They were still there when I visited him, but by then they had become a layer of sludge on the bottom of the tank

The worst addition to any car is the "kids on board" sticker in the rear window :gag:

Or "Princess on board", as some of my neighbours have.

You can watch all the episodes of Pimp My Ride on their website (http://www.mtv.co.uk/mtv.co.uk/pimpmyride/microsite/index.html). I wouldn't mind having my ride pimped to a similar degree, though I'm not sure where I would keep it overnight.

Originally posted by joyphil
Ah, that reminds me of the bloke in Essex who had a black Mazda pick-up. He pimped it so bad it hurt, including a stezzer that had its own alternator and batteries. He also included fish tanks in the doors, containing exquisite little fishies. Anyhow, the first time he cranked up some drum 'n bass to the max the air pressure proved too much, and imploded the fish. They were still there when I visited him, but by then they had become a layer of sludge on the bottom of the tank

That reminds me of the pimped-up fishtank we used to have at work - a massive tropical saltwater tank with our company name in neon lights at the top. We had some jellyfish in it (among other things) but, other than being really boring to watch (they tended to go swimming about once every three days, do a circuit of the tank, and then land on the bottom again where they'd quiver for another three days) they kept getting sucked into the filter system where they'd gradually disintegrate. Think is, because a jellyfish is like a colony of cells rather than a single organism, all of the little lumps of slime stuck on the edge of the filter would just carry on pulsating, as if they were still part of a whole jellyfish. It was really quite gross.

Originally posted by DanSumption
That reminds me of the pimped-up fishtank we used to have at work - a massive tropical saltwater tank with our company name in neon lights at the top. We had some jellyfish in it (among other things) but, other than being really boring to watch (they tended to go swimming about once every three days, do a circuit of the tank, and then land on the bottom again where they'd quiver for another three days) they kept getting sucked into the filter system where they'd gradually disintegrate. Think is, because a jellyfish is like a colony of cells rather than a single organism, all of the little lumps of slime stuck on the edge of the filter would just carry on pulsating, as if they were still part of a whole jellyfish. It was really quite gross.

Fantastic. Maybe there shold be a spin-off series, kinda Changing Rooms meets Pimp my Ride, called Bling My Corp, where some marketing spods get to pimp up corporate lobbies on a tax-deductable basis. Night security desks with neons, Dolby 5.1 PA systems, some busty birds wearing PVC bikinis in the Max Power Live stylee, that sort of thing.

I also fantasised about the Queer Eye/Pimp ride axis, called Wimp My Ride. Get a bunch of aggressively heterosexual rappers and Gangsta types (and Tim Westwood), take away their monster Escalades with 23-inch rims and spinners, huge tumpin' AV rigs and coke mirrors, and make them drive round in a Daewoo Matiz or an MGF for a week. I think this should be pitched.

Originally posted by joyphil
Fantastic. Maybe there shold be a spin-off series, kinda Changing Rooms meets Pimp my Ride, called Bling My Corp, where some marketing spods get to pimp up corporate lobbies on a tax-deductable basis. Night security desks with neons, Dolby 5.1 PA systems, some busty birds wearing PVC bikinis in the Max Power Live stylee, that sort of thing.

I also fantasised about the Queer Eye/Pimp ride axis, called Wimp My Ride. Get a bunch of aggressively heterosexual rappers and Gangsta types (and Tim Westwood), take away their monster Escalades with 23-inch rims and spinners, huge tumpin' AV rigs and coke mirrors, and make them drive round in a Daewoo Matiz or an MGF for a week. I think this should be pitched.
Wow, I like where you're coming from on both counts. Actually, the fish tank was part of a kind of "Bling My Corp" experience: we brought in a consultant who as well as the fish tank installed white Space 1999 flooring, white kidney-shaped desks, red office chairs imported specially from Italy, and one of those wiggly bookshelves which takes up oodles of wall space but only actually holds about half-a-dozen books.

Of course it all ended in tears: as well as the jellyfish problems, we had a spat with the health & safety officer in our building over the flooring and the chairs, and ended up having to chuck the chairs away because they weren't ergonomic.

The desks were lovely (if impractical) though, I managed to nick one when we merged with another company, and had it at home until quite recently.

Ah yes. In fact, thinking back this sort of thing used to be an entire industry. I believe that in the superficial old Eighties it was known as Interior Design, a trade that inhabited the magical nether world where the more abject cock one talked, the more one got paid. If only journalism had followed suit, I'd be a millionaire. Nowadays, Llewellyn Bowen excepted, I suspect these people are known as Holistic Environmental Ergonomicists. Or something.

Great to hear about that furniture. Another triumph of Italian design, exquisite artefacts designed by drug addicts and built in the gaps between fag breaks.

Originally posted by KookyKoo
they had a HUUUUGE sticker across the rear side panels, proudly saying "Corsa" on each side of the car- what, having the badge on the back wasn't enough?!

I think the worst car sticker I saw was a huge Nike® swoosh on the back window

Originally posted by joyphil

I also fantasised about the Queer Eye/Pimp ride axis, called Wimp My Ride. Get a bunch of aggressively heterosexual rappers and Gangsta types (and Tim Westwood), take away their monster Escalades with 23-inch rims and spinners, huge tumpin' AV rigs and coke mirrors, and make them drive round in a Daewoo Matiz or an MGF for a week. I think this should be pitched.

I have a recurring dream of Charlie Dimmock getting new chrome 'bumpers' and a pink 'rear' spoiler fitted.

The show is called 'Ground Pimp, Force My Ride'.

Oh, and the worst accessory ever has got to be 'Babe on Board' when the driver is clearly someone's overweight granny.:gag:

Worst car accessory?

Up here in the real far north, that's an easy one, indicators, cos no one bothers to use the bl**dy things.
:rant: :rant: :rant:

Think its only a matter of time before we see these (http://www.strangevehicles.com/content/item/1179.html) on a Saxo or Corsa

Originally posted by rudeboy
Think its only a matter of time before we see these (http://www.strangevehicles.com/content/item/1179.html) on a Saxo or Corsa

Phew, that was close, I thought it was going to be a set of Lexus lights :D

Fellow Sheffielders, please note:

Lexus rear-light clusters are NOT fashionable on your old-shape 3-series BMWs or your Vauxhall Corsas.

In fact, I can barely stomach them on Lexus IS200s! They look good on the silver or grey Lexuses / Lexii, but look terrible on the others, especially the British Racing Green ones :gag:

Originally posted by DanSumption
Not sure what spinnng wheel trims are, but it sounds like something my friend's just started selling in the UK - except that his don't spin (or rather they do, but they look like they don't) - they project images inside your car's wheels, which are static even when the wheels are spinning.

Erm... I'm not very good at explaining this. Here's his website: http://www.tiretagz.com/

Dan,

Your friend has a really hot item. Any idea what he is charging for the tire tagz? I couldn't find any sellers online. I'm surprised that they have not yet come to any stores in the US. They presented at SEMA and this usually draws a lot attention to new products.

If they are still putting together their marketing and distribution channels, I wonder if they would be open to representation at various car shows to gain acceptance from the enthusiast market. I worked at the Chicago Auto Show this year and did not see their product nor have I seen them on the road. I have contacts with a group which sells items at all the major shows across the US and could broker a deal to promote the product.

Any chance that your friend would like to set up a trade arrangement?

THANKS! :thumbsup:

Big daft whale tale boot spoilers,neon lights on dust caps/dash/grille/reg plate,spin in wheel trims,big bore exhausts,some lexus lights,

hehe whilst driving back to Sheffield from Brighton today, I drove by a chavette driving a blue Saxo with a sticker in the rear windscreen, in massive blue letters (matching the paint) taking up about 1/3 of the windscreen. What did the sticker say? "Becki". WOW :loopy: I had to move into the slow lane cos I was laughing so much!

I hate those gearsticks which have lights built into them, but not as much as I hate neons. Are people seriously trying to be Vin Diesel in clapped out Fiestas and Corsas??

Not gonna do a single mod to my Astra SRi...