Body Kit will make any car or truck stand out!

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Follow @Custom_Car_Mall Body kits for cars have a long history, but they started with the world of ground effects.

Ground effects for a car involve many different parts of the vehicle, but the underside and bottom half of the car are the primary concentration.

Race cars were the first to receive this treatment for the simple goal of lowering a car to improve race time through aerodynamics. By forcing the car downward, the air is forced to go up and over the car in a more efficient manner.

The first car aerodynamicist was Jim Hall. He was a pioneer in applying this science to cars. Previously, the technology had been exclusive for planes.

Hall's project to revolutionize the aerodynamics of cars started in 1961, but it wasn’t until 1970 that he was able to take his concepts and develop a car that could actually compete, although not win, at many Formula One races.

Hall had put as little room between the pavement and his car as possible. Recognizing that as the technology continued to develop, 1970 was also the year that Formula One banned such cars because of the advantage that it could have in the future.



There were too many complaints about Hall’s car. Following Hall there were several other designers (Peter Wright, Tony Rudd, Gordon Murry, among others) who took on the challenge of completing a car that could do what Hill had first envisioned.

After the death of prominent racer Gilles Villeneuve, from an accident in a similar car, the aerodynamic bottoms of race cars was banned. But even though the ban has been held to keep drivers at a reasonable speed on the track, it hasn’t dissuaded street racers from tinkering with their own “race cars.”

Since the time of Jim Hall, street racers and enthusiasts have worked to build their cars from the bottom all the way to the roof with aerodynamic designs to give them an edge.

Whether that edge means winning a street race or getting more looks and admiring stares, it seems to work.

The kit and ground effects started to boom on the streets of today after the arrival of the mega-popular movie, "The Fast and the Furious". The 2001 movie depicted the lives of street racers, those who chose to take their aerodynamic machines onto the roads and see which can go the fastest.

Each car was shown with numerous “pimped out” materials literally covering the car. From the front bumper to the back, these cars were hot.

Obviously, the sequel "2 Fast 2 Furious" kept the body kit scene alive and moving as people watched these flicks and rushed out to make their cars look similar in style and flair.

Following these movies were a string of street racing clips that started hitting the lower markets, yet appealed to anyone striving for more car videos. As the videos kept coming in, the kits continued to take off.

The biggest trends in body kits today are Lambo Doors, and car spoilers.

Lambo doors are the fashionable sliding doors that are held by a bolt and turn vertically at a 90 degree angle. Lambos work best for two door cars (yet can easily be done on almost any car or truck due to hinges), enabling each passenger to step out as the doors mechanically move up.

These are the doors that we introduced throughout the Fast and Furious movies, and they obviously grab a lot of looks upon stepping out of your vehicle. The doors are highly aerodynamic, and they are reminiscent of a race car or an expensive sports car.

Spoilers are the other major trend in the body kit market. When you think of race cars in NASCAR or street racing on city pavement, one of the first thoughts you are bound to have is the raised backs coming from the cars' tail-ends.

These stylish attachments, better known as car spoilers, come in many shapes and sizes (depending on makes and models of the car), and they will give your car a faster look and a sleek air mover.

Whether the car is used for drag racing or just driving through town, a back spoiler maintains the image of speed and fashion.

A hood scoop would give your car a similar "Fast" appearance. The body kit market, though, hasn't just been influenced by trends.

Another influencer on the body kit market is the emergence of popular Japanese cars. Cars from companies such as Toyota, Nissan, Subaru, Mazda, and Suzuki are making some real waves in the body kit scene.The Japanese car market has been providing many people with cars that are made out of the highest quality, sport and utility, at a pretty low cost - and increasingly, these cars can be pretty stylish!

This international car market has expounded on the body kit enthusiasts even more so, as now they have a car that seems like it is made to be perfected.

While many American made cars are fairly solid pieces of machinery, the majority of these foreign cars have the shape (body lines) already built in to assume a position of speed.

Those involved with designing these cars had aerodynamics in mind and developed the cars to fit that profile. If you are all about turning your car into a machine that has race car styles, then a Japanese car is probably the best place to start.

Sure, you may never have the engine capabilities of a Jeff Gordon race car, but with the right body kit, you can have the look. Retrive from online 10/25/2011, http://www.customautotrim.com/body-kit-trends.htm Return From Body Kit to The Custom Car Mall.