The Lemon Series: 6 Car Modifications People Probably Judge You for

In the world of cars, there are thousands of things you can do to make your car stand out. Some of these things make them faster, more comfortable, or better looking. However, there are a few modifications that seem like they serve no other purpose except to annoy every other driver on the road and benefit the car in no way.

Here are a few we believe should be on the Lemon List:

1. Excessively Loud Exhausts

Most car enthusiasts can agree a great car should be paired with a great sounding engine. Carmakers today spend an immense amount of time giving a car the perfectly tuned exhaust to match its looks. An aggressive performance machine needs to have a matching exhaust, but there are some who go a little over the top. To a certain point, decreasing the amount of air restriction through the exhaust system adds some horsepower, not a lot, but maybe 5-10, which also makes it somewhat louder.

Where people go over the top is when they remove almost all of the restrictions inside the exhaust, creating this ear-piercingly loud sound that is more like a group of toddlers screaming than the sound the car designers were hoping for. This becomes really annoying when you can hear your neighbor 3 streets over start his car in the morning or you go a little deaf riding next to someone.

2. Train Horns

You have probably seen videos online of people honking their train horns and scaring people, which is entertaining, but having one honked at you is not as amusing. These horns were meant to warn people that a train that cannot stop is approaching, not for use in traffic. These horns are a bit excessive for use on the road when the horns that come standard on vehicles do the job pretty well already.

3. Lowered cars

Race cars are very low for aerodynamics but race cars are not driven on the street. Some people have taken this concept and gone a little too far with it. Also called “slamming”, these cars are as low as a few inches from the pavement. While this might be great for speed, it is not great for daily driving. Cars are designed with the ground clearance they have for practical purposes. When your car can’t move over a speedbump without scraping the bottom, it may be time to re-evaluate things.

4. Squatted Trucks

If you haven’t heard of the squatted truck phenomenon, you aren’t missing much. Relatively new and born in the Carolina’s, squatting is the name given to the modification of lowering the rear end of trucks to give it a leaning back look. This mod does not give any kind of advantages and can have some major drawbacks like aerodynamics, worse fuel economy, towing capabilities, headlight effectiveness, and visibility. Even worse, it also throws off the center of gravity and makes the car pretty unstable. But worst of all it looks quite ridiculous which earns it a spot on the Lemon List.

5. Blowing Smoke

On diesel vehicles when you have a heavy load or accelerate quickly, sometimes a small cloud of smoke will appear. This usually doesn’t mean anything is wrong with a vehicle but that the air to fuel ratio has changed. People have tuned their cars on purpose to create a larger, massive cloud of thick black smoke and this is what is referred to as “rolling coal” or “coal rolling”. Rolling coal is very annoying to other drivers on the road. While the person driving the tuned truck peels off,  you’re left in a fog of black smoke choking on diesel fumes. It has also been made illegal in some states due to the negative effects this has on the environment and visibility concerns.

6. Subwoofers

While a bit of bass can really make you feel your favorite song, huge subwoofers that rattle your car are a bit over the top. Most of us at some point have been sitting at a stoplight when you hear an earthquake-like sound coming from the car next to you. These extremely loud subwoofers emit vibrations that can literally vibrate a car to pieces that can unscrew screws, vibrate interior panels out of place, and even make body trim fall off. There are even competitions where you can see if your car has the loudest sound system.

Even though car modification is extremely popular in the United States and at times makes a car better there are some things that should be left alone.