This week has seen the famous British rapper, Stormzy, plead guilty to driving his Lamborghini Urus with illegally tinted windows.
It may not sound like a modification – or ‘mod’ – but anything that is installed on your vehicle that hasn’t been fitted by the manufacturer or dealership is classed as one.
In the UK, there are legal requirements for the amount of tint on a car’s front windows. A total of 70 per cent of the glass must be clear, however the rapper’s Lamborghini was showing as little as four per cent visibility. Additionally, the front windscreen needs to be at least 75 per cent clear, too. However, there is no law for how dark the rear side and back windows need to be.
So dark front tinted windows are illegal. But what other car modifications are breaking the law? And what should you do to prevent yourself from landing a big fine? Here is a list of car modifications that are illegal here in the UK.
Neon lights
Neons are projected coloured lights that fit to the underside of your car. In the UK, it is illegal to drive around with them as they can become a hazard to other road users for being distracting.
However, you can buy neon tubing, which as the name suggests are coloured tubes which can be stuck to the underside of your car, or fitted into the interior. Their brightness can be altered which allows these to be legal, which can be an alternative.
Tinted headlights
By tinting your headlights, it can reduce their beam images, which will make it harder for you to see the road ahead when driving at night.
Also, if you fit coloured halogen bulbs, they can be too bright. This could cause other drivers to be blinded by your headlights causing a greater risk of an accident occurring.
Loud exhausts
In the UK, the maximum decibel limit is 74dB, but for all new vehicles, the limit is 72. This applies to cars, motorbikes and vans. The sound is measured from a distance of 0.5 metres away from the exhaust pipes and if they exceed the noise limit it will make the vehicle illegal to drive on our roads. The way to get around this is to fit a bigger exhaust silencer or if it’s not the original unit, to revert it back to the stock example.
No one wants to be woken up in the early hours of the morning by someone with an excessively loud exhaust. Meanwhile, the UK has also introduced noise cameras in a number of areas to try and stop and fine people with unnecessary loud exhaust systems fitted to their car or motorbikes.
Poorly fitted spoilers
Another point to consider if you are thinking of installing one is to check it doesn’t obstruct your rearward view and that it isn’t too large, too.
Nitrous oxide
