I've been reading alot in magazines lately and noticing on the streets that fewer and fewer peole are rocking body kits and going more for the stock look or lip. Just wanted to know what has sparked this movement and why the dislike of body kits?

Im interested in hearing everyone's thoughts and opinions.

This post has been edited by Lil-Joe101: Sep 10, 2011 - 6:02 AM

To be honest I think for starters F&F started a trend years ago and everyone wanted a kit and crazy colors. Also I think most of the people on this forum are in the older or more mature crowd so they don't want something so flashy and in some cases tacky (based on ones own opinion)

I don't like most kits (manly because my 1st celica had one and I hated it =p) but I also don't mind them, they keeps things different so not every car looks the same =p

That F&F time is over...who gets excited about NOS and vinyl anymore? It's about drift, JDM, EDM, and OEM (and some EBM thrown in). No particular order.

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: Sep 10, 2011 - 8:58 AM

If installing one is done right, it can still look very nice. The issue is that most people don't and it looks like **** plus it cost money which most kids don't have. An engine no one can see but a bad paint and bondo job everyone can. Like what NYp8tBaller07 said, the older crowd like me don't like it. Then again I never did like it from the start even before the movie F&F.

My first car was 1989 Supra Turbo. I believe I ran somewhare in 300+ hp range as I can keep up with vettes, and depending on driver a viper. Never dyno because I was never into the HP counting nor was I into the looks. My car look stock all the way to rims. Only thing that made my car look different was the 1.5 drop, HKS Supper Dragger, and JDM clear coners. I sold the car for parts due to school, but afterwards I got the ST185.

Supra Mods in case anyone thought I was blowing smoke up my ass, as most people with and an intake thinks they got an extra 30 hp, LOL.

CT26 TO4E 60 Trim w/10 degree angle Running 20psi
Port and Polish Head w/3 angle valve cut
Light weight valves
Micro Polish Crank
HKS Metal head Gasket
ARP Head bolts
bluprinted and balance block
550 cc Injetors
HKS VPC w/550 chip
HKS AFM removal Adaptor
HKS EVC4
HKS FCON
HKS FDC
HKS GCC
HKS SMF
HKS SSQ Blow off Valve
HKS TWIN Power
HIgh flow oil pump
ACT Racing Clutch
Greddy/Trust Intercooler kit upgrade
HKS Super Dragger Catback system
HKS 3in down pipe
High Flow Cat with 3 in inlet and outlet
Fluidyne Raidator

Plus some other things for handling, sensors and such....

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and i thought the military was bad about acronyms, no but seriously depending on the kit and if installed correctly (as already said not everyone does) some cars look good with kits. mot everyone is going for a more clean oem look these days. or that new honda fad with the stickers thing idk whats up with that lol. im keep my st205 all stock the only thing i would think about running is a C-ONE front bumper other then that its all oem for me. now the wife's ST202 its guna get a kit but thats just because i already have the kit (i got it when i bought the C-ONE hood at a junk yard). my 5GC in the states it probably one of the ugliest cars you could ever look at everyone laughed until it came time to run and especially in an kind of twisties. sometimes those are the best ones when there like haha thats a piece of junk and they get there doors blown off hahahaha.

I think a stockish looks makes the car keep looking "clean" not over the top or TOO flashy i had a time when all i thought was what body kit to put on my car but i think it was just a phase for me that i got over it, i think it was as stated before the whole F&F movement, that's how a lot of people got into car to begin with. but as you get a little older it becomes a little more about functionality than just cosmetic. i don't mind over the top body kits but it's no longer my cup of tea. reason being i love the original look and design of the car why completely change it?

To be different and stand out? yea but you might get a little attention from the wrong people like the cops. i know around where i live sometimes cops just drive around looking for someone to make a mistake and give em a ticket (see them following lots a cars with loud mufflers and tricked out civics) and also i don't want my car too flashy because there are always some haters the just cant stand to see someone doing better than them or with something nicer than them and they scratch the car. (if i find a s.o.b. doing that though) and lastly there not a lot around in my neighborhood but you never know when a thief might want a nice car for a joy ride.

also good body kits are expensive and if you want them too look right you either gotta put in the work or drop some money to get it done right. and not everyone does (i do like your car and how its looks you did a great job with your body kit and if that's what you like keep doing it bro i had seen your car at cardomain before i saw it here and i always thought that's a sleek looking 6gc)

A good point people keep bringing up is if the kit was done right. when I see a kit on a car that was installed correctly with an actual paint job I can appreciate the work one put into the car.

It really depends on the car too. Look at most of the nissans used in drifting and the hellaflush look.
Most of them have full kits and they can pull it off well.
I think the only reason a kit looks tacky is the kit itself, because theres too much going on.

Like the invader kit, imo looks like complete garbage.
But my buddy has a s14 silvia witha full kit, and it looks a lot better than stock with a lip would, simply because of how clean the kit is.

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drifting? it was so overrated and it never picked up here in the states. auto-x is becoming huge.

f&f came out what, 8? 10?? years ago? it was huge then because import car modding was on the rise. it slowly died because idiots put on frickin' high ass wings/aluminum spoilers, unpainted bodykits, had a front bodykit and didn't have the rest, had a horrendeous bodykit, or blah blah i can go on and on. people started backing away from bodykits and looked for cleaner lines (oem kits, oem lip, nice clean drop with wheels, etc). I was never into bodykits so i wouldn't be able to tell you guys why it really died. it's just how i feel died after talking to folks and just seeing it out on the streets. i usually roll my eyes at people with bodykits/unpainted bodykits because i never got the idea of putting one on. and dont forget those stock cars driving around with a huge ass 5" muffler outlet no wonder people hate us.

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true, only certain cars will look good with a kit.

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^ this.

too many people who cheap out and just slap a "mold of a mold of a mold of a mold" kit on their car and then don't know how to do anything else and drive around like they're from F&F. It's like if you slap one on, people associate you with those kinds of people. I still think kits can be done right but alot of them are very overdramatic and kills the body/lines of cars. Factory styling was researched, marketed, and made for their specific cars. Lines, shape, form, look and all that had thought and research put into it and also they are made of much better/stronger material. I dropped my TOM's lip and slammed it into walls moving it around and never cracked. Wouldn't be too confident doing that with cheap ebay kits. I like the non-flashy looks of OEM/JDM/EDM styling. thats just my opinion though.

There's also more of a movement for OEM/JDM on 6gc due to a few reasons. First and foremost, I like to think we're a more mature bunch than the backwards-hat wearing, pants-at-knees wearing, gansta-hand-sign making Civic crowd. Second, I think it's due to a lack of variety in appealing aftermarket body kits for the 6th gen. The OEM stuff wasn't a one-size-fits-all design that was varied slightly to fit different cars like some of the other body kits. On the whole, I think today's trend is still Hellaflush. Or you can never go wrong with an artifact of an Impala with 45" rims that give you more ground clearance than most pickup trucks. That look is a classic. It'll never die.



This post has been edited by richee3: Sep 12, 2011 - 6:05 PM

I know body kits died out where I live mainly because of 2 reasons
1 the cops around here will profile you in a hurry if you got a body kit so you got would get pulled over atleast once a week for basically no real reason
2 was winter the big flashy bumpers would turn your car into a snow plow or if you slid into the ditch normally atleast one pf the bumpers wouldn't make it out

me personally Ive never been that big a fan of kits on most cars I feel a oem look with some nice rims an a lip kit can look just as good
but I do feel eclipse/talons look odd without a kit
but that might be because most of those around here still rock body kits

I think a body kit works more on thin cars like a 94-99 Corolla, where from a side profile the bumper looks thin and you have this huge gap from the ground up. The Celica has naughty curves from the factory so adding to the body lines makes it look odd or ugly. The one or two times a year I see a 6GC I stare at it. Even stock it still has some presence and stands out.

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nicely put.

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Lol, I don't know how they're doing it where you live, but drifting is HUGE over here on the coast.