These Are The Worst Car Tuner Fads

I hate scowling jeep grills and that whole mean off roader look.

Submitted by: 4jim

And...

Angry Jeep faces should be number 1. Ruins the look. Especially on the TJ

Submitted by: Spork

Using badges to unsuccessfully turn your car into one that was not sold in your region. Case in point: I saw an Acura RSX the other day, with what clearly looked like a homebrew job of removing the Acura and RSX logos and replacing them with a Honda and Integra badge.

Two things: 1) No one would notice or care except for a car enthusiast, and 2) a car enthusiast will know it’s fake and write you off as a complete douche.

And yes, the driver of the RSX I saw was exactly the twenty-something vaping tool you are picturing in your head.

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Submitted by: paradsecar

And...

“Two things: 1) No one would notice or care except for a car enthusiast, and 2) a car enthusiast will know it’s fake and write you off as a complete douche.”

This. Always this.

Submitted by: Tombay

And... a counterpoint

Counterpoint: I love when people upbadge so obnoxiously it’s obvious it’s not true. I put hellcat badges on my Chrysler 200 a while back. Still think its funny. My Transit Connect has SVT Cobra badges all over it

Submitted by: i86hotdogs

Rolling coal

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Nothing says “i don’t give a shit about you, your health, your children, my children or the environment” quite like one of these rigs.

Truck Nutz is a close second.

Submitted by: Earthbound Misfit I

The Carolina Squat. It was made illegal for a reason.

[...]

Lifted trucks should be banned too, IMO. But you cannot sit there and honestly say that those are “just as unsafe” (emphasis mine). The angle is going to have you tilting back in your seat and there’s more hood that you have to look over. I don’t even know how you can see the road at all over the hood, much less what’s right in front of you. The pic I shared was a minor example.

I cannot think of one good reason for the Carolina Squat.

Submitted by: Tim the KNinja

And...

Squatted-trucks.

Submitted by: Nemo

Huge wheels combined with tires with such low aspect ratios, it’s as if the vehicle has big rubber bands stretched around the chrome abominations:

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I call them “wagon wheels”.

The car rides hard enough to jar your fillings loose. When, not if, you hit a pothole and damage the wheel (no cushioning from that rubber band), then you’re faced with replacing the chrome monstrosity, possibly the tire too—all so you can go back to having your remaining fillings jarred loose—ugh.

I’ve got better things to do than be a masochist behind the steering wheel.

Submitted by: the1969DodgeChargerFan

And...

+1 I hate the oversized wheel/rubber band tire trend.

Submitted by: Manwich - now Keto-Friendly

LED light bars that blind everyone

Submitted by: fallsdownstairs

And...

I feel like we had the PIAA fog light trend of Y2k, had a slight break, then went right to blinding LED light bars. Common ground being that they are usually on when they have no reason to be and aimed to track the moon.

Submitted by: polka1

The fads that are the worst are those that put other people in danger: Bro Trucks with huge lifts, stanced cars with enough camber to seriously affect grip, tinted windshields... basically anything that negatively interferes with visibility, handling, or braking. Everything else; knock yourself out. It’s your money.

Submitted by: JohnnyWasASchoolboy

And...

Like blacked out brake lights. It’s not necessarily that it looks awful, it’s just a stupid thing to do.

Submitted by: 1downSup

Overland vehicles. We get it, you’re so outdoorsy, camping gear has to be with you at all times, even runs to Walmart for laundry soap.

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Submitted by: Clay...Bill Clay

And... a counterpoint

I kiiind of agree with this. But it’s only a few things, really. Like the dudes who have D shackles on their recovery points all the time. They’re ALWAYS a contrasting color too. It’s never a black D shackle that’s perma-left on a black bumper. Or the shovel and axe attached to the roof rack. Or the hi-lift jack mounted to wherever. That kinda shit comes off super quick, and you are not even using them frequently when you are on trail anyways. And if you’re the kinda dude who does use a D shackle on every trip out, well, you ain’t doing trails in an overlandy 4Runner, you’re probably doing some slow ass crawling in a custom rig, maybe not even street legal.

Mine is overlandy, but no rooftop tent (RTT). I sleep on a platform I built with drawers underneath in the rear of the truck. So still overlandy. But yeah, I have a light bar, ditch lights, rear lights, front bumper, winch, rear bumper with tire carrier. They all serve a purpose. They all get used. Some less than others, but nothing is pointless. For instance, I’ve used my winch just once last year and this year combined. I just haven’t gotten stuck, and only one of my buddies has where it required winching (used MaxTrax a couple times, and a recovery strap a few times too in the past year). But, it’s also a huge fucking pain to just decide to remove a winch until you go wheeling. Sometimes I don’t go for a whole month or two, but still, I’m not gonna spend time removing the bumper, removing the winch and cutting wires, and then rewiring it and putting it all back together. I just leave that shit on. It’s kind of the same with RTT people. The things are pretty heavy and not something you can just lift overhead by yourself. You’re pretty much leaving that shit on year round, or at least throughout the camping season. Really, for the more overlandy stuff, it’s basically a waste of time to take the stuff off. Now if you’re talking about recovery gear, yeah, that stuff is all easy to mount and dismount, and rarely used, so it’s douchey to leave those on.

Submitted by: Lyle Petersminkle

Fart can exhausts or any exhaust that makes you proud of your car exhaust sounding like gun shots.

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I guess it’s fine on backroads, but I could never be that guy in traffic that everyone looks at and just rolls their eyes. I’m just trying to get home from work man, I don’t want to hear that shit. (same goes for loud motorcycles, bass pounding sound systems, etc)

Submitted by: Cam

I’ll make a very gross, generally sweeping statement. Most vehicles that have been modified by what amounts to adult children- people who are either immature or never really grew up, applied themselves, got an education etc usually means they also create monstrosities of the worst possible taste.

A: The ugly-ass hot rods seen by the 1000's. You know- the shit tons of 30's Ford coups painted yellow or purple with ugly chrome wheels. Apply that around at least 75% of all hot rods out there [...]

Submitted by: ROBOT TURDS

And...

I’m going to say modern-day, generic “hot rods” such as the one above. They’re not fads, really, but I think these are the absolute worst just because they’re all so same-y and bland. You take a 30's or 40's Ford coupe/sedan, put a 350 small block and 3 speed hydromatic in it you bought from Summit, add gray leather seats from a Park Avenue, and supplement that with air conditioning, a stereo with a 15 year old iPod hookup, electric windows, hugely oversized Torq Thrusts, and the cheapest tires you can find. These clog up cars shows across the country, and every single one of them looks like crap because the shop who built it cut corners absolutely everywhere.

Submitted by: The NSX Was Only In Development For 4 Years

Slammed/stanced to the point where the camber is at 45 degrees. It is both incredibly dangerous and crazy expensive:

Submitted by: klone121

And...

Stanced and tilted

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Submitted by: Harris_the_Unknowing

Non functional extra exhaust pipes. All you are doing is paying to add extra weight to your car.

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It is dumb enough when they come like that from the factory, but you always tell when some chucklehead has stuck some extra, non functional, pipes on too; just for the asthetic.

Submitted by: skeffles

Social media handles on the window of their cars. Main culprits are Mustang, old WRX, or Lamborghini Huracan drivers. Stop it. We’re not following your lame-ass Instagram.

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Submitted by: MrMcGeein3D

And...

and also on the 4runner/landcruiser/jeep for their YouTube channels.

Submitted by: 4jim

I know it is wildly out of date but the answer is, was and will always be Fiero kit cars.

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The nicest Fiero kit car was still worse than a standard Fiero (which was a shit car from the factory.) We are all so much better off that many of them caught fire.

Thanks, fire!

Submitted by: I think I’m a sofa

Volkswagen: Unpimp Your Auto (All 3) (youtube.com)

Maybe I am getting old and crotchety, but most tuner fads annoy me anymore. I like a clean, mostly stock car, maybe lowered a bit, maybe some nice wheels(that fit correctly and are not angled 45* my god).

Submitted by: jstump

And...

‘If it’s noticeable enough to be labeled as a “trend,” it probably sucks donkey balls.’

What you’re appreciating is also a trend. It’s called “OEM+”. Basically, modifying the car without it being noticeable that it’s modified. Wheel spacers, slight lower, painted reflectors, blacked out / removed badges, OEM parts from other models/trims.

It’s also not new, VW guys have been doing that for a while - putting some long beach rims and Euro-spec lights on a GTI.

Submitted by: put-some-turbo-on-meeeee