I.) Stylin' your ride with the following in mind: Simplicity is key.

1.) Stance. Start of by getting your stance right. Most cars go for the low stance where all all wheels are an equal distance to the body. Another stance is a Muscle type stance where the front sits .5 - 3" lower than the rear. To accompany this stance, rear tires and rims are slightly larger and wider. The VIP or Japanese stance usually involves large rear wheels (too large for the car) that are tilted inwards. They do this by adjusting their camber angle, which is too complicated for this basic guide.

Gains:  +Style  +Acceleration  +Top Speed  ++Handling

 2.) Body Kit. Be careful here. By getting the stance first, you will be able to determine the question that separates the Ricers from Men (Ricers don't have... well, you know.....): DOES MY CAR REALLY NEED A BODY KIT? If the answer is yes, follow the steps below:

Gains: +Weight  +Style  +Airflow

If you are a true "Anti-Ricer / Tuner" then you'd go for the lightest kit available. Remember, you don't need to go for a kit with a front bumper/side skirts/rear bumper. You can buy parts individually.

Step 1: If you feel your car needs a little dash of something, start of with a front lip if you haven't so already. Most of the cars that aren't in Japan or Europe are based off of JDM vehicles. You can either buy one that fits onto an aftermarket front bumper or one that fits onto your stock bumper.

Optional Step 1: If your car still needs a little zest, buy a full aftermarket front bumper. Since your car is already low, I've prevented you from buying a big ridiculous bumper.

This isn't a bad thing though. Observe the following vehicles:

They have one thing in common, they are tuned and have aftermarket bumpers that are small and dont scrape the ground. AND, most importantly, THEY LOOK GREAT. If you look at the second picture, most front bumpers come with either fog lamps or places to insert them. From here in the US, you can get fog lams for as little as $6. They add a stunning quality to the bumper.

Step 2: Side skirts can take your "lowered" stance to a new level. As seen in reference picture 2, a simple straight skirt can go a long and low way.
Step 3: If that still isn't enough, go rear bumper hunting. Before, or along with, your rear bumper you may want to buy some flashy exhaust tips. THAT DOES NOT MEAN THEY SHOULD BY 12INCHES IN DIAMETER AND YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO LOOK INTO THEM! Take a look at this:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HED-17165/

They have to be the most attractive tips anyone has ever conceived. And guess what ricer scum, they're only 2.5" in diameter. A WHOLE LOT smaller than the typical 6" tips on every tuner wannabe tuner.

Back to the bumpers, you want something that flows with the rest of the kit but at the same time complementing your tips. Well guess what, lip lovers, also available are rear lips to match the front:

Instead of a real show-shine bumper, lips pull of the task of style effortlessly. Best of all, lips are light weight compared to full bumpers.

Optional Step 3: If you are opting for a full rear bumper consider the following: Go simple. Most cheap body kits have too many curves and are too complicated to please any human being. Believe me, that shape isn't appealing. Go for something that looks as close as stock to possible, but at the same time adds a few vents, lines, and a place that your tips will look good. Here's and example:

2nd Optional Step 3: You can also opt for rear bumper "aprons". They're like fender flares, except for your bumper. They're little attachments that go into each corner like this:

 

Once they're installed, they look like this:

Whatever styling conclusion you've come to, and as long as you use this guide, I'm sure it'll be great.

3.) Hoods. Hoods play a crucial role in keeping your engine cool. Pick according to your needs, i.e. if you have a turbo or not. The fresh air that enters your car from your front grille escapes from the back of hood, where the hood meets the windshield. A custom or aftermarket hood adds vents to push the air out quicker allowing more fresh air to flow in.

Gains: +Style  -Weight  +Airflow

Step 1: If you haven't already, get to know your engine setup, like where your turbo, intercooler, and intakes are located.

Step 2: Even if you do have a turbo setup, go for something simple. Don't go for bulges if you want a clean look. Look at the following examples:
His setup is ok, but his hood is clean and simple

Step 3: What color? If you haven't already opted for carbon fiber, I suggest you get it color-matched. But for cars colored lighter silver, most whites, medium gloss blues, gloss yellows, and light to medium gloss reds, you can get a high-gloss black hood.

4.) There are a few types of vents on the market for different parts of your vehicle. Apart from the vents on top of your hood, you can also add vents to your front fenders and rear bumper.

Gains:  +Style   +Airflow

Type 1: Fender Vents/Portholes/Gills. Common sense says that cooler machinery runs quicker and more efficiently. This is because the function the machinery is performing generates heat.

Air entering the engine from the front grille usually escapes from the seal where the windshield meets the or from below the engine. If your engine is producing a lot more than standard horsepower, your going to need an alternate method of removing heat. Fender vents allows used entering from the front vent providing a constant flow of cooler air.

Gills:


Type 2: Rear bumper/Front fender vents. These are different than Type 1's because they do not have any relationship to the engine. Instead, they remove excess heat from the wheel wells that cause extra drag. Front fenders usually have the vent low behind the wheel.

Bumper Vs. Fender (the mesh area by the exhaust pipes)

5.) Next, you can choose a paint job and, if you haven't so already, rims. When buying rims, always remember: CHEAP CHROME IS FO' BALLAS'. Be careful when choosing between more vs. less spokes. Complicated car designs are complimented by an increased amount of spokes while less complicated cars are complimented by a decreased amount of spokes.Chrome doesn't belong on Civics or Corollas! The only time chrome is good is when its on the rim's lip. Here are some tips on how to choose your rims (sorted by rim color). And remember ask opinions:

Gains: +Style  -Weight

Our first color is gunmetal. This can go with, really any color, but looks exceptionally well with:
Gloss(non-metalic): Red, Blue, Yellow, Black, White, Orange
Metallic: Black, Silver, Pearl White, Arctic White

 Our second color is white. This is my absolute favorite type of rim, specifically because it signifies a light wieght rim. When Purchasing white rims, make sure they are not painted. They typically go well with:
Gloss: Yellow, Blue, Red, Orange, Silver/Gray (but not plain white)

Chrome is the next type. Be EXTREMELY careful with chrome. Chrome only looks good on black and white cars. Some other colors may work too. The problem with chrome is that you should be prepared to spend $600+ on chrome wheels that don't look cheap. Companies to stay away from: Dub (because it has been so overused by cheap companies) and any 3rd party wheels. Good companies are SSR and Asanti.


Our next color is Silver or Brushed Metal. These go well with any car. 


Our final rim color is bronze. Bronze rims are an EXCELLENT way to complete the look of a tuner. They look simply stunning with various gloss colors.

 

Coming soon: Decals, Hoods, Front Vents, Angel Eyes