How to Select a Car Performance Body Kit

Choosing the right car performance body kit for your vehicle depends upon whether you're adding these features for performance, style or a combination of both. In addition, cost and materials can be significant factors when you select the skirt, spoilers and bumpers for your car.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Select a car performance body kit based upon your specific performance needs. For instance, a ground skirt kit can improve aerodynamics and reduce the amount of lift underneath your car, which could cause you to lose control at high speeds. A spoiler on the rear deck lid can also reduce wind resistance and carve a few tenths of a second off your sprint times.

2. Choose a body kit for your performance car based upon the materials used and the overall cost of those materials. For instance, fiberglass offers a better-looking level of fit and finish over urethane and is less expensive, but it is easily damaged in collisions. In addition, new types of resin-infused fiberglass have been developed in the United States in recent years, which combine the strengths of both materials at a significantly higher cost.

3. Ask for the manufacturer's recommendations when you select a car performance body kit. By checking with the car maker, you may be able to find a body kit that has been designed with your specific make and model in mind. By picking a body kit that has been approved by the manufacturer, you may reduce the chances of voiding your warranty due to excessive modifications.

4. Seek the advice of a respected body kit installer for a specific recommendation for your vehicle. These installers should have a lot of experience with what does and doesn't work out in the street and on the track. Ask for references, look at their portfolios and discuss your options.

5. Use online resources, such as Majestic Modifications, to select the right body kit for your performance car (see Resources below). Many of these websites offer virtual galleries so that you can see mock-ups of the body kits on your specific vehicle before you make a purchase.

Tips & Warnings

• Consider adding the pieces of your body kit one at a time if you are concerned with cost and materials. Add a skirt now, and purchase the spoiler, grill or bumpers down the road as finances permit.
• Not every body shop has experience with installing car performance body kits. You should only trust a shop that has plenty of experience in these types of modifications before you commit to the service.

Resources

• Majestic Modifications to select a car performance body kit
• Car Tuning