You’ve purchased your second-hand Hyundai Genesis Coupe and you’re anxious to make it into the street-racing machine you’ve always wanted. With a 0-60mph time of 5.2 seconds (with the 3.8-liter V-6), the Genesis is no slouch. The average length of vehicle ownership is increasing over the last ten years, so it’s worth putting some time and money into making your car into one you want to drive whether commuting to work or racing through the city at night. The relatively low price tag on the Coupe has left you with some extra money to spend making it the coolest car you’ve owned yet. What do you need for your car interior and exterior to draw eyeballs whether in the parking lot or on the road? Make it yours with aftermarket customization.
Car Interior
In your car’s interior there are many things that are easily changed out to suit your style. Shift knobs, steering wheels and covers, floor mats, seat covers and more. But where you really want to focus your attention if you’re looking to impress is the dashboard. Other than staring out the windows, it’s where your passengers are most likely to be looking. It’s the most impressive part of your vehicle interior and its still not too hard to swap out for different parts.
Dash kits are available to change the accent color in your dashboard. If you’re the classy sort, you can choose a wood grain or a brushed aluminum. Hoonigans might prefer something in the neon green or carbon fiber variety, but there’s plenty of choices out there.
If once you have a custom colored dash, you want to take it a step further, check out custom gauges to mount on your dash. They can be set up to display almost anything about how your vehicle is performing and can add activity and interest to your car interior. Just don’t let it distract you from the road!
Lighting under (or in!) your dash can really make your car interior pop after dark, and it has never been easier to install and control. LED light strips are cheap and easy to stick up beneath your dash. Designs are now made to be controlled with your smartphone and can be set to a single color to match your scheme, to cycle through colors, change to the sound of music, and more. And lighting is, of course, not constrained to the inside of your vehicle, either.
Car Exterior
When adding accessory lights to your car, it’s important to be aware of local laws. In some jurisdictions underbody lighting, certain headlights or other lights are illegal and can get you pulled over and fined. With that out of the way, lighting is the only way to set your car apart after dark. Just like interior lights, underbody lighting can be controlled by a smartphone app, allowing colors to be changed while you’re driving, to the music, or even from outside the car.
An LED bar in the front of your car can make it look like it’s ready for a performance rally, whether you plan to take it off the pavement or not. You can give your car an aggressive look with grill lighting, or increase your visibility with custom headlights or brake lights.
During the daylight, the big things you need are rims, a spoiler and a custom bumper kits, especially in the front. Each is going to run you a few hundred dollars, but they give the look of a custom vehicle and can improve performance, too.
Overall, you might want to consider whether you’re driving more at night or during the day. You don’t necessarily want to turn a car you commute to work with into a neon-green performance racer. Having a car that looks normal in the day but is lit like a Christmas tree at night could be the perfect option for a hard-working, closet hoonigan. On the other hand, if you’re trying to show you’re the boss of the road whether the sun is up or not, you need the front bumper kit and grill lighting that tell people to get out of your way.