True ricer question.
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HCF Member
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 3,086
From: West Virginia
True ricer question.
Ok I realize that I am a ricer becuase I have a huge wing, 18" rims, body kit, and neons but do I really make the tunning scene look bad like these ppl they are talking about here. You know the ppl that have tuns of stickers on their cars, say nos when talking about nitrous, and are generally just stupid when it comes to their cars and don't really know ****. The only reason that I don't think that I am like them is because of the facts that I now hate my spoiler, I do want nitrous but I'm not really stupid about it, I want it because it is a cheap power adder and safe if I do it right. I don't drive/act like an *** and I don't street race because I know that my car is slow so I'm not going to act like I can win a race with anyone. In this article they mention the attention that these ppl get from their towns and refers to them as the "town gods", well I get that attention a lot and ppl think that is why I do this stuff to my car, thats not true, I do it because I like it and I don't give a flying **** if other people like what I do or not. When I started modding my civic when I got it last year I didn't even realize that I would get nearly as much attention as I do now. I just don't want to be just another stupid *** ricer.
btw after writing this I just reilized its kind of like travs post about ppl calling him a ricer... oh well, my point of this is to hope someone else with agree that I'm not a complete ricer like the asshats that have cars that look god awful and rev their engines and race anything they see. Although I do realize that my car is kind of rice. Hopefully someone will acualy all of read this and have something to say.
The true tuner.. lost in the shuffle.
"Dude, when are you gonna put NOS and neons on it?" asks the kid at the McDonald's Drive Thru. I reply with a perfectly normal, "I don't do that stuff." As Jimmy hands me my 300oz Coke, he just gives me a stare of disbelief like I was going against everything that a true import tuner believes in....unfortunately I have. I have broken the unwritten rules of import and more specifically Honda modification. I have no yellow neons or altezza taillights, no 20" deck or 18" chromies.. I am not modding the right way. I'm not modding the way that Hollywood and Super Street has been force feeding the general, unsuspecting public for the past few years.
It's not just about The Fast and the Furious, although it is a major contributor, it's about the slew of cheap crap that people are fed by magazines, movies, television shows, and wannabe counter boys at tuner shops. Anyone in business knows why rice thrives... the profit margin is huge, so why not push it out your doors? I don't fault any business owner for making a living, but I fault the general public into buying into this auto glitz import culture that we see. The wings, altezzas, graphics, and neons are sickening to look at, although they do provide entertainment on a Friday night cruise. Before the Hollywood push for this kind of import scene, these kids were generally known for being the unpopular ones, but now they are the town gods. No longer is hot-rodding for the mechanically inclined, it is now for anyone with a functioning (or non-functioning) brain. In this new auto glitz culture, the true tuners are being phased out as fast as a cassette tape. They are being replaced by a culture of smack talkers and show queens who pack a punch with 50lbs of vinyl and 900ft of neon lighting on their cars. As unfortunate as it is, it is something that most tuners have to live with.
It isn't just blatant rice-ism that is catching on with the uneducated, rich, baller status kid, it's every style of tuner. There's always a 16 year old with a 300hp turbocharged Integra or a 23 year old who just won the Daily Lotto with an S15 converted 240SX and the new career man with a, for all intents and purposes, perfect LHD replica of a Civic Type R. Now, the true tuners are being blended in with the wannabe tuners and the scene is becoming more jumbled than ever. The true tuners are those who brought it up, and they will be the last to go down.
You can always spot the true import tuner. For one, he's not in the crowd around the latest widebody RSX and he's not even interested whatsoever. You will notice his car has some scratches and never really is 100% clean because he just doesn't care what others think. He is in the hobby for himself and his own personal enjoyment. There is no glory for him, other than getting that MSD Ignition installed without messing up his timing or rotating his tires in record time. The true tuner will never get the respect he deserves, but he'll never ask for it either. It's all in a day of the life of the true import tuner, lost in the latest trend, forgotten by many, and barely respected at all. But when the day is done and the fads are over, he'll still have his rice rocket, drive it to work everyday, and crack a smile when he takes that perfect turn on the way home. The true tuners have been lost in the shuffle, but as long as they are still around, the import scene still has a bright future ahead.
Words by Jon Lauer
"Dude, when are you gonna put NOS and neons on it?" asks the kid at the McDonald's Drive Thru. I reply with a perfectly normal, "I don't do that stuff." As Jimmy hands me my 300oz Coke, he just gives me a stare of disbelief like I was going against everything that a true import tuner believes in....unfortunately I have. I have broken the unwritten rules of import and more specifically Honda modification. I have no yellow neons or altezza taillights, no 20" deck or 18" chromies.. I am not modding the right way. I'm not modding the way that Hollywood and Super Street has been force feeding the general, unsuspecting public for the past few years.
It's not just about The Fast and the Furious, although it is a major contributor, it's about the slew of cheap crap that people are fed by magazines, movies, television shows, and wannabe counter boys at tuner shops. Anyone in business knows why rice thrives... the profit margin is huge, so why not push it out your doors? I don't fault any business owner for making a living, but I fault the general public into buying into this auto glitz import culture that we see. The wings, altezzas, graphics, and neons are sickening to look at, although they do provide entertainment on a Friday night cruise. Before the Hollywood push for this kind of import scene, these kids were generally known for being the unpopular ones, but now they are the town gods. No longer is hot-rodding for the mechanically inclined, it is now for anyone with a functioning (or non-functioning) brain. In this new auto glitz culture, the true tuners are being phased out as fast as a cassette tape. They are being replaced by a culture of smack talkers and show queens who pack a punch with 50lbs of vinyl and 900ft of neon lighting on their cars. As unfortunate as it is, it is something that most tuners have to live with.
It isn't just blatant rice-ism that is catching on with the uneducated, rich, baller status kid, it's every style of tuner. There's always a 16 year old with a 300hp turbocharged Integra or a 23 year old who just won the Daily Lotto with an S15 converted 240SX and the new career man with a, for all intents and purposes, perfect LHD replica of a Civic Type R. Now, the true tuners are being blended in with the wannabe tuners and the scene is becoming more jumbled than ever. The true tuners are those who brought it up, and they will be the last to go down.
You can always spot the true import tuner. For one, he's not in the crowd around the latest widebody RSX and he's not even interested whatsoever. You will notice his car has some scratches and never really is 100% clean because he just doesn't care what others think. He is in the hobby for himself and his own personal enjoyment. There is no glory for him, other than getting that MSD Ignition installed without messing up his timing or rotating his tires in record time. The true tuner will never get the respect he deserves, but he'll never ask for it either. It's all in a day of the life of the true import tuner, lost in the latest trend, forgotten by many, and barely respected at all. But when the day is done and the fads are over, he'll still have his rice rocket, drive it to work everyday, and crack a smile when he takes that perfect turn on the way home. The true tuners have been lost in the shuffle, but as long as they are still around, the import scene still has a bright future ahead.
Words by Jon Lauer
btw after writing this I just reilized its kind of like travs post about ppl calling him a ricer... oh well, my point of this is to hope someone else with agree that I'm not a complete ricer like the asshats that have cars that look god awful and rev their engines and race anything they see. Although I do realize that my car is kind of rice. Hopefully someone will acualy all of read this and have something to say.
Thread Starter
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HCF Member
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 3,086
From: West Virginia
RE: True ricer question.
It's not that I care what other ppl think its the fact that ricers are making the normal tuners look bad, I just don't want to be one of them. I guess I am because of the way my car looks I guess its not so bad though because I don't act like they do.
Thread Starter
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HCF Member
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 3,086
From: West Virginia
RE: True ricer question.
honestly, when I bought the wing I thought it wasn't going to be nearly as big as it is, if it wasn't so hard to fix the trunk holes then I would swap it to an si wing. I got the body kit when I like like 15 and I was stupid, but I don't like it looks bad although I could have picked a better front bumber.
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 2,459
From:
RE: True ricer question.
I like the simple body kits that don't look that much different from stock and lip kits are definetely stylish.
However, giant overexaggerated body kits that really give the car worse aerodynamics I think are a bit much, but I don't rip on people for doing it...
Okay, so I do rip on people sometimes.
I don't want you to be so easily molded by what other people say... you just gotta do what you want man. If you want performance, then get performance, then beat their asses with the body kit and that'll shut them up.
However, giant overexaggerated body kits that really give the car worse aerodynamics I think are a bit much, but I don't rip on people for doing it...
Okay, so I do rip on people sometimes.
I don't want you to be so easily molded by what other people say... you just gotta do what you want man. If you want performance, then get performance, then beat their asses with the body kit and that'll shut them up.
HCF Member
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,707
From: Carmi,Illinois
RE: True ricer question.
I built my car by hand it is my project car I spent alot of time working on it.I could of been spending my time doing something but no I didntand if someone that goes down to some shop and has his/her stuff installed by some dude rags on me for having a body kit then Fine go on What are they stuck in middle school.I have put stuff on my car taken stuff off my car passed out a couple times working on my car I have bleed,fought and almost gone to prison over my car But ifstill you want to call it rice go ahead cause I am going to build this thing to shine,go fast, and ride like a dream and you may call it rice but its still in the import scene.Sorry for the rant but some things juat have to be said.
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 203
RE: True ricer question.
i agree with pete...your car is hecka rice
i dont care, its not like its parked infront of my driveway
but when a car like yours drives by i cant help but laugh...
its really personal preference, if you like it do it up hard, just dont get too offended if somebody makes fun of your car or something because it is ricey.
i dont care, its not like its parked infront of my driveway
but when a car like yours drives by i cant help but laugh...
its really personal preference, if you like it do it up hard, just dont get too offended if somebody makes fun of your car or something because it is ricey.