Cars are like clothes; when the look is right, you can make a big impression. Styling your car to suit you is becoming more popular, and not just with the youth of today. Parents and professionals are getting in on the act.
If you are thinking of making your car unique and giving it some personalisation of your own, then read on for a quick guide to the different ways you can customise your ride.
Make A Statement On The Streets
There is no better way to personalise your car than with private number plates. This simple addition sets your car apart from the other vehicles on the road. No matter what car you drive or where you are going, a personalised number plate makes your car look special, and its owner too.
Check out this handy guide to buying and selling DVLA number plates if you want to know all the ins and outs of private plates. Regtransfer.co.uk makes the process easy, as they can take care of the paperwork for you and get you on the road quicker with your new personalised plates.
Start From The Wheels Up
If you want to start taking car personalisation seriously and make a few custom upgrades to your motor, you need a plan. Professional and experienced amateurs alike agree that the best way to make a start is from the wheels upward.
The tyres and wheels on your car are like a pair of shoes; if they do not suit you, it ruins the ensemble. Putting new alloys or tyres, or both, on your car can give it a fresh look and make it more exclusive. There are lots of styles to choose from too, so if you are trying to create a specific look for your vehicle you can set the tone with your wheels.
Go Faster Stripes
Putting some decals on your car is a quick and cheap way to set it apart from the rest, and it does not mean putting a pair of stripes down the bonnet, roof, and boot. There are many subtle ways to add some detail to your car without being a boy racer or making a bold statement in the car park.
Popular stick-on personalisation options include the representations of family members commonly seen on car boots with stickmen, women, and children figures holding hands along the back window or bumper. If you want something more personal to you, consider adding a phrase or motto above the registration plate or logos from the manufacturers of parts you have used to upgrade your engine.
Add Some Mystique And Mystery
Window tints are a low-cost way to make any vehicle look more exclusive, and expensive. There are several shades and gradients to choose from, all the way to the pitch black of a luxury limousine. You can even add some decals and decorations to the windows and incorporate them into the tint.
This simple upgrade can drastically change the presence of your car on the road and in the car park. It may look more exclusive and executive, or meaner and tougher. How it looks is up to you and how you add accessories and personalisation options to the rest of the car. Whatever look you are going for, window tints can help you achieve it.
Breathe New Life Into The Engine
Your car’s presence on the road is about more than its looks, though they will play a large part in it. One of the most popular car personalisation items among boy racers and dad taxis alike is a custom exhaust, but why stop there?
Air is just as important to an internal combustion engine as fuel. Both are mixed inside the cylinders, or in a carburettor in older cars, to produce the small explosions that power our travel. Performance upgrades that help your car breathe in and out better give you a lot of bangs for your buck and can even improve fuel economy.
Do not stop at adding a new exhaust to your car to help it breathe out, install an air intake kit as well to help it breathe in better. This can give your car a lot of extra ‘pep’, often replacing horsepower that has been lost over time through clogged air filters and poor airflow. Pair these upgrades together and people will hear you coming from down the street and turn their heads.
Set Your Stance
If you take driving seriously, then you should be taking your car’s handling characteristics seriously. How your car settles through a corner or reacts when you apply power on a straight road, is all influenced by your suspension set-up.
To get the most out of your car and personalise how it handles to suit your driving style, you may want to think about making some changes to your suspension. Springs and dampeners can be simple changes that make a significant difference, but also consider adding anti-roll bars to the front and back of the car.
These bars connect the suspension at the front of the car, and at the back. This helps it balance the forces the car is under when cornering and makes the existing suspension system more responsive and communicative.
This will take up some room in the engine bay and the car’s boot. Restricting your luggage space is a small price to pay for superior handling and a better driving experience.
Light The Way To A Cooler Car
Cars look good at night. The reflections of streetlights bouncing off the bodywork and spirals of light refracting from alloy wheels make a car look special as it prowls through the dark.
Nothing sets the tone at night like the car’s own lighting. Both interior and exterior lights can be easily and inexpensively upgraded and give your car a unique look at night. LED lights are popular, both inside and outside of a car.
There is a range of colour schemes to choose from, and lighting in the cabin of the car lets you set a mood for night-time drives. You can have a blast down a country road in a red-lit interior or choose purple or blue for a cool and calm cruise through town.
LED lighting in your headlamps and running lights not only looks cool, it adds a layer of safety. These powerful lamps produce a huge amount of light at full beam, helping you to see far distances along unlit roads. This can help you avoid accidents both big and small. Spotting a pothole ahead can save damage to your suspension and lower bodywork.
Do not get distracted by neon lighting unless you want to seriously personalise your car and make a loud statement to other motorists and passers-by.
They are expensive to install and maintain, though they look very distinctive when mounted beneath the car, giving onlookers the impression that your vehicle floats on coloured light. The truth is you never get a return on your money from neon lights, making them a very costly way to add little to your car but extra maintenance costs.
