Aesthetic car upgrades do more for your car than just stand out from the crowd. Beyond the distinctive looks and styling that garner attention and turn heads, various interior and exterior additions boost visibility, protection and safety. Some also double as performance upgrades. And most additions undercut other car modifications and accessories for price while leaving you with a genuine grin.
The aftermarket is where to look when upping your car’s style. Popular yet affordable options include aesthetically pleasing and resilient car underglow kits to boost visibility, increase awareness and add a playful twist to your car’s appearance with different colours and patterns. These can be paired with other styling cues in exterior bodykits, aftermarket exhausts and the performance upgrades and sleeker looks that new alloy and tyre combos provide.
The Basics of Underglow Kits
Underglow car kits are an elaborate collection of LED lighting strips or Neon tubes that attach to the underside of the chassis to light up the ground under the car. Neon types are essentially gas-compressed tubes, providing ample lighting options with a hundred different hues. While older than comparable LED lightning strips, neon tubes still offer a warm and soft glow preferred by many motorists. Their downsides stem from the attention and work needed in their installation.
Still, newer, high-end types offer an interesting mix of technologies, with lights that can be controlled via remotes or smartphone apps and adjusted for mood or synced with your car’s hi-fi. And considerably more durable builds, with impact and water-resistant tubes proving their worth in inclement weather and poor roads.
LED underglow kits trump neon lighting in every aspect. They get much brighter, have a wider light throw, use less power, have a more compact footprint and are simple to install. Moreover, they’re sold as single-colour or full RGB options that change colours automatically or according to pre-programmed apps, and integrate simple controls via Bluetooth, cabin switches or remotes. Colour options and patterns abound, with chasing, flowing, strobing, pulsing and colour waves just a few choices.
All include tough adhesive on the strip undersides that attach to the car sides and underbody, with mounting brackets providing additional staying power. Where they differ from neon car underglow kits is their simpler, more durable build that lasts longer when exposed to heat, moisture and road debris.
Choose between neon or LED underglow lighting to highlight your vehicle with an array of colours and patterns, have dynamic hue changes to capture specific moods while driving and improve visibility in poorly-lit areas. Overlooked benefits are illuminating the car’s underside when performing repairs and that there are pre-packaged kits for cars, SUVS, trucks and motorcycles.
Consider length in LED strips that suit your vehicle, overall build and materials with IP ratings, lighting angles (120-degrees is standard), ease of use and supplied extras such as controllers, relays, fuses and wiring for seamless integration.
Pair Underglow Lighting with Exterior Additions
Continuing the theme of stylish exterior upgrades are additions like car bodykits, eye-catching tips in performance exhausts and new wheels and rubber. Parts packaged in car body kits include splitters, spoilers, side skirts and rear wings that not only steer the look of production cars towards more purposeful, race-ready machines, but also help with handling and performance.
When selected in the right materials, body kits counter wind resistance and provide improved stability, better cornering, considerably higher traction and shorter braking distances. Cars are not only faster, but also exhibit reduced body roll and stay glued to the road. The direct result is felt with a more direct steering feel. This complements the visual changes (reduced gaps in the wheel flares, cars sitting lower to the ground, wider bumpers for a more aggressive look) to offer a comprehensive driving package.
Exhausts are another popular option that turns more heads. Performance systems have revised piping from the exhaust manifold to the tips. These can be optioned in high-gloss and chromed stainless, burnt-blue steel, subdued matte and multi-layered carbon fibre or in polished and black ceramic titanium tips. Pair these with accented lighting in underflow kits to highlight your car’s performance credentials.
And consider adding new alloys lined with low-profile rubber. This improves road holding and traction for improved handling, cornering and braking. And with lower weight, faster acceleration, while maintaining the required durability for more spirited driving. Alloys can be optioned in gloss, matte, satin black, powder-coated and polished finishes and treated with diamond-cut machining processes for added flair. Moreover, aftermarket wheels are sold in a variety of colours besides the common chromed or polished silver/grey seen in most production cars. Lastly, choose wider, lower-sitting tyres to get the car lower to the ground and have the weight spread across a larger surface. This helps with performance by increasing traction, but also keeps the car stable in turns.
Shop for LED or neon underglow kits from automotive lighting specialists. And consider quality body kit parts, wheels, tyres and value-packed performance add-ons like throttle controllers from big brand names to get a balanced mix of style and driving fun in a rounded accessory package.