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https://www.roads.sg/vehicles-with-illegal-modifications-have-to-undergo-more-frequent-inspections/ Now those caught with illigal modifications for 2nd time or more will face with more frequent car inspection. So take note guys, unless you guys don't mind every 3 or 6 months go for inspection.

An image of an LTA officer checking the undercarriage of a Mazda RX8 with a flashlight is circulating on WhatsApp group chats and social media. In the image (see full image below), we can tell that this incident happened sometime at night and it's at a HDB estate. Image taken from Roads.sg Just so you know, LTA officers are obligated to come down and visit you whenever they receive a complaint about your vehicle. It could be illegal parking matters or of course illegal modifications, which is exactly what the LTA officer is checking for in the image. The best part about these visits is that you won’t even know about them! Upon inspection and if found guilty of modification violations, you’ll only hear about their visit through a letter from LTA accompanied with a fine/summon that will probably tear a hole through your *censored*. Why people want to “sabo” you If you’ve done modifications to your car and someone made a complaint against you, it could be a couple of reasons 1. They have nothing better to do and damn cb 2. They cannot tolerate the disturbance your car causes to the neighbourhood Generally when people complain, it’s because of No.2. What should you do if you don’t want people to call the polis? LTA has very clear guidelines as to what modifications need or don’t need LTA’s approval. They’ve also included modifications that are specifically not allowed. Everything else not mentioned, is fair game. Taken from LTA.gov.sg Keep within the guidelines and LTA won’t touch your car. As you can see, not everyone appreciates how loud your vehicles are. Especially in residential areas. Like, why? Louder isn’t always better. Facebook comments and feature image taken from Roads.sg Also, we aren't in America where we can own the car for a lifetime. It's just a 10-year lease! Don't need mod lah! Call 1800 2255 582 for the LTA customer service hotline if a car is disrupting your peace.

It's no longer a secret that car modifications are something favoured by plenty of car owners out there. In fact, some even feel proud if they are able to modify their car and give it a cooler look than any other cars out there. This is also felt by Kelvin, a young man from Bandung, Indonesia. Kelvin is an owner of a Toyota Ist, a hatchback from Japanese automaker Toyota. At first, Kelvin wasn't really a modification enthusiast and he was only used to dressing up his car a little. Nevertheless, living among several extreme car modification enthusiasts, he was eventually plagued by the car modification virus as well. As a result, his dressed up Toyota Ist changed completely. The first thing that came to his mind was how his car could catch the eyes of passer bys. For this, he chose a candy gold paint. According to Kelvin, not only can this colour catch people's eyes, it also has a high artistic value. It took two months for the Signal Kustom modification house to paint the car completely and, quite perfectly, too. The result was indeed eyecatching. However, a nice body paint wouldn't be complete if not accompanied by nice body kits as well. Therefore, Kelvin decided that he would use a VeilSide product and finally chose one that's actually meant for use with the Nissan 350Z Fairlady. As you can tell, the installation of this body kit required a lot of work due to the different curves and dimensions on the car from those of the Fairlady. Things got even trickier when Kelvin demanded that the body kits should be easily detachable. Unfortunately, not all parts of the car, such as the bumpers, could be made so. Kelvin's demand for the detachable body kits could only be applied on the front spoiler, front/rear fenders, side skirts, and the engine hood which featured air vents on the centre and the sides of it. The next thing to pay attention to was the rims. To match the bloating fenders, Kelvin had to use 8.5" rims (front) and 10" rims (rear). For the design and appearance of the rims to look attractive, Kelvin decided that he would use six-spoke rims painted in gold, too, just like the body of the car, surrounded by a chrome accent. For the interior, Kelvin only applied minor modifications. He modified the audio and applied leather material to the seats. Unfortunately, though, all the modifications seem useless in the end. You can say it was nothing but wasting money. For your information, though, Kelvin's Toyota Ist did win several trophies. Costing Rp150 million in total, the Ist was reverted to its original look with only minor modifications just within a month after the makeover was completed. We don't think it's worth the hard work and the total cost incurred in modifying his car. What do you think? Photo credit: Kompas Otomotif

One of my personal favourites that I spotted at SIN 09 Very recently, I blogged a post on the dilemma that I was in about modifying my car given the high COE prices these days. Well, one post leads to another, and I was inspired to blog another post on car modifications - this time to express my opinions on our local modifications culture and scene. Car enthusiasts will surely agree with me that LTA has laid down rather draconian rules on the issue of car modifications. Whether these are warranted will rightly be the topic of a subsequent post but I would like to commend local modification enthusiasts for they have often ingeniously worked their way around these rules to modify and customize their beloved rides. Despite the strict regulation, I personally find that our local mod scene has not has its creativity stifled. While perhaps lagging behind the Japanese and the Europeans, our local enthusiasts have often managed to churn out gems of modified vehicles that could hold their own in our region. Well, let's not discuss the "disasters" for I believe that every country has its fair share of people with strange and acquired tastes or a limited budget or both. But generally, when we find a nicely done up specimen, it is really of a standard proud enough to compete with our neighbours. This, I believe, takes plenty of effort and dedication and (in my books, at least) is highly praiseworthy in light of our harsh laws. And if legislation were loosened, I am convinced, our scene could develop even further. And much like our national culture, which is a hodgepodge of all things from all races, our local modification scene borrows on ideas and concepts from many diverse mod cultures. Very often we see elements of JDM concepts fused onto very European automobiles. And in a nod to our high car prices, we see VIP style and ICE monsters creeping into humble machines like vans or lorries. And, no car, is too small or too humble to be dressed up. And being an open nation, we often have ideas flowing in from all corners to a relatively receptive audience. With all this, our modification scene is strangely vibrant and colorful despite our small size and car population. All in all, I am hopeful for the continued development and progress of our local car modification scene. With the completion of the Changi track and car storage facilities, more might find it viable to purchase a non-road legal vehicle solely for track or showcase purposes. With that, we could jolly well find ourselves in a car modification renaissance of sorts. And I can hardly wait.

The inspiration for modifying my Swift In my previous post, I was counting down to the delivery of my new car. And I had mentioned making mental modification plans for it. All along, in my car crazed brain, it was accepted as the norm that I would modify any car I buy. It was only a matter of degree. But with the recent spike in COE prices since I collected my car, another dimension to the decision to modify my car has been thrown up. Yes, you heard me right. Beyond affecting your car price and trade in values, the recent spike in COE has a seldom discussed impact - on whether you should modify your car. On one hand, with higher COE prices, it is often taken that short of a drastic improvement in financial circumstances, most car owners would hesitate to trade their vehicles in for newer ones as they are deterred by the high prices. If the car serves well, most would just hang onto it. From another perspective, I would say that it is in the financial interest of existing car owners to look after their cars so that they can last longer. But, as we all know, there are quite a few modifications that can have quite the reverse effect. Any power gain, if sufficient to be felt, is likely to be met with an increase of wear and tear on vehicle parts. We can't have the proverbial cake and eat it too. So with increased wear and tear, keeping the car for an extended period may become a costly financial proposition. But with high COE, we can't just trade it in because purchasing a replacement is just also a costly proposition. But from another perspective, if we hang onto our rides longer, it actually makes the modifications more value for money. Let's face it. Modifications often depreciate even faster than the cars we install them onto. So if we are forced to drive our rides longer, the cost of the modifications are spread out over a longer period of driving. Making it more worthwhile. Furthermore, with high car prices, it may no longer be so easy to change up to a better spec-ed car. So car modifications could prove to be a cheaper way of renewing the fun factor on your existing car or giving it a new lease of life. And lets not forget that most people who modify cars derive enjoyment from the process. With equally persuasive logic on both sides, it is now proving to be a tough mental struggle. For now, I think I will stick to scratching my modification itch by sticking to some simple and basic stuff. Until next time.