Is the era of "Ricers" over?

[SkyActivG]

I use to always see cars with aftermarket exhausts and usually springs. Most of these cars were usually Civics and Inregras until turbo models became popular such as the Evo and WRX. It seems as though this "hobby/Scene" has vanished.

I guess possibly due to most of these cars requiring premium gas, or maybe it's the legality? I'm guilty of exhaust and race headers on my old Subaru.... Gotta love the boxer engine rumble; however exhausts have to be done right meaning a full exhaust, not some coffee can muffler.

Things that make me think of Ricers:

1.Annoying deep blue HID headlights without projectors, anything over 5000k is rice
2.Cars that have only springs and not full coil over suspension
3.Coffee can mufflers instead of a real exhaust from the header to the end
4.Cars that are base model Civics with sub 200hp trying to act like they can beat an Evo LoL

Maybe the endangerment of Ricers is due to the Economy?

 

[Clevy]

The ricer/ tuner scene is dying because of the current vehicles being produced. I'm no fan of rice however some of those older bubble back civics weren't bad.
I think the scene has just grown up,or become too expensive.
It used to be cheap to build I rice rocket however the costs of components today have climbed to the point that makes it unaffordable to the age demographic that was interested in it.
Jmo

 

[daves87rs]

It's called a lack of money....people can barely afford gas, so modding the car beyond walmart is not going to happen for most people...

I actually had plans when I first got my Cavalier years ago, but after life got in away the first few years, I wised up...granted, my plans were all under the hood, but still....

 

[SwampSurvivor]

That's what the "tuner" scene was mostly. Stick on stickers from AutoZone, maybe a hood vent or two and cut springs.

 

[SkyActivG]

I stopped modding after I traded my Subaru because I am older "30" and am now exclusively focused on saving gas. I traded my Impreza RS for the CR-Z hybrid and now a 2014 Mazda3 with SkyActiv. To me gas saving is more important than standing out in traffic.


Looking back on it... I loved the exhaust sounds, but I'm sure there were many that despised it

 

[Colt45ws]

I don't know. I just saw a ricer Aveo yesterday.
Then again, that might be a sign.

 

[Trav]

You forgot the cool satin paint job, flat black primer.

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: Trav
You forgot the cool satin paint job, flat black primer.

Remember those...

 

[CHARLIEBRONSON21]

Muscle cars are back. You can't take on 8 cylinders of raw power with a 1.8L single cam...

 

[spackard]

You can buy really fast cars from the (Japanese) factory now, you can also buy things with mood lights from the factory. I hear someone going down the residential street with a superlarge turbo that dumps air out a wastegate at every shift. Man, that would get old.

Since the trends seem to start in Southern California, then the current trend is to go out late at night and burn doughnuts (which you need RWD to do). Start in residential neighborhoods with big intersections, then progress to big steets, then graduate to normally extremely busy freeways. I'm seeing the remnants of this weekend play more and more.

Quote:
1.Annoying deep blue HID headlights without projectors, anything over 5000k is rice


Heh, well by that definition ricers are alive and well. I think 13,000K is the default. But, alot of pickups are taking out their standard bulbs and putting in God-awful light-scattering HID conversions. I can see it being thrown everywhere from a low-beam housing. That should be a form of rice. It lights up the top of a tractor-trailer, overhead signs, and cars and truck beds a few lanes to the left and right.

 

[Spazdog]

Rice is not dead. It's just moved on to pickup trucks.

10,000K HIDs in reflector bulb housings? Check.
Gaudy baubles and inappropriate badges? Check.
Ridiculous wing? Sometimes.

Let's cut the frame and comprimise the truck's ability to be a truck so it can ride an inch off the ground.

You have a 4200lb truck powered by a 220hp engine...I guess you need the loudest exhaust your muffler shop could cobble up.

Oh, rice is still alive. It's just moved on to a different class of vehicle

 

[Olas]

I used to hear the term 'rice' and think it was a mild form of racism - ie. anyone who drives a Japanese car is an idiot..

But after reading this thread I'm starting to think the term is used to describe distastefully modified vehicles regardless of where they come from.

So, if you'll excuse another dumb question from the Brit on the forum..

Is it possible to 'rice' a Mustang? Camaro? or would there be a different name given to people who do 'rice' type modifications to US built cars?

 

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: Olas
I used to hear the term 'rice' and think it was a mild form of racism - ie. anyone who drives a Japanese car is an idiot..

But after reading this thread I'm starting to think the term is used to describe distastefully modified vehicles regardless of where they come from.

So, if you'll excuse another dumb question from the Brit on the forum..

Is it possible to 'rice' a Mustang? Camaro? or would there be a different name given to people who do 'rice' type modifications to US built cars?


Oh yes a person can certainly rice out domestics.
I define rice as modifying a vehicle in a rediculous way such as a huge spoiler wing on a vehicle that has a max speed of 100 mph,stickers covering the big icke advertising brands of parts the vehicle doesn't have,modifying the exhaust to the point it's snappy and high pitched so badly it'll make your ears bleed,dropping a vehicle so much the tires rub and/or the suspension makes the vehicle dangerous to drive,and/or poorly done mods that if done properly would look good but in the example I'm using the vehicle is 1 step up from painting with a brush and roller.
I'm not a hater. I like all power sport type vehicles and engines. I've seen civics that looked absolutely awesome,built very well pushing 20 pounds of boost without any fear of an exploding engine.
The sad thing about the hobby is that the tuner vehicles are primarily the ones that are done in a tasteless fashion and those examples ruin it for all of them and the stereotype gets confirmation.
For example
A friend of mine has a dodge colt. He bought an evo at auction(totalled-side impact)for 500 bucks.
So he removes the entire powertrain from this totalled evo. He cuts down the half-shafts for the awd system and makes it work in this colt.
So the rest of the car is a piece of junk. Misc fender benders,body panels dented etc,so he paints the car flat black and off to the track we go.
The car had the 2 front seats for an interior and his carpeted sub box and that was it.
It came across the scales at 2000 pounds including the driver. He blasts it down the quarter,first track pass ever,and cuts a 1.6 60' time and rolls across the line at 11.50.
So anything under 12 seconds needs a cage so they barred him from the city track.
That car was indeed fast and mechanically it was a piece of work however the rest of the car was just a piece of junk.
The reason it's rice is the finish. Sure it's fast but looking at it was painful.
So rice can be anything that has mods that are absurd or pointless,and is a billboard for brand names that aren't even being used on the car.
The only way my car will sport brand sticker is if that brand was a sponsor.

 

[Clevy]

I saw some pics of cars,typically 70s-80s model big boats with like 24-26 inch rims with tires that have almost non existent sidewalls. I forget what they are called but it's hilarious to see.
Because of the rim and tire sizes the wheel wells end up needing sheet metal removed to allow for suspension travel. The cars have almost 4x4 clearance underneath. It's absolute pandemonium to see these things.
Due to the bodywork involved as well as cost of rims and tires the conversions certainly aren't cheap I just can't justify that kind of expense for the finished product.

 

[dlundblad]

Around here, the ricer mentality has been passed onto diesel truck owners.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: Clevy
Originally Posted By: Olas
I used to hear the term 'rice' and think it was a mild form of racism - ie. anyone who drives a Japanese car is an idiot..

But after reading this thread I'm starting to think the term is used to describe distastefully modified vehicles regardless of where they come from.

So, if you'll excuse another dumb question from the Brit on the forum..

Is it possible to 'rice' a Mustang? Camaro? or would there be a different name given to people who do 'rice' type modifications to US built cars?


Oh yes a person can certainly rice out domestics.
I define rice as modifying a vehicle in a rediculous way such as a huge spoiler wing on a vehicle that has a max speed of 100 mph,stickers covering the big icke advertising brands of parts the vehicle doesn't have,modifying the exhaust to the point it's snappy and high pitched so badly it'll make your ears bleed,dropping a vehicle so much the tires rub and/or the suspension makes the vehicle dangerous to drive,and/or poorly done mods that if done properly would look good but in the example I'm using the vehicle is 1 step up from painting with a brush and roller.
I'm not a hater. I like all power sport type vehicles and engines. I've seen civics that looked absolutely awesome,built very well pushing 20 pounds of boost without any fear of an exploding engine.
The sad thing about the hobby is that the tuner vehicles are primarily the ones that are done in a tasteless fashion and those examples ruin it for all of them and the stereotype gets confirmation.
For example
A friend of mine has a dodge colt. He bought an evo at auction(totalled-side impact)for 500 bucks.
So he removes the entire powertrain from this totalled evo. He cuts down the half-shafts for the awd system and makes it work in this colt.
So the rest of the car is a piece of junk. Misc fender benders,body panels dented etc,so he paints the car flat black and off to the track we go.
The car had the 2 front seats for an interior and his carpeted sub box and that was it.
It came across the scales at 2000 pounds including the driver. He blasts it down the quarter,first track pass ever,and cuts a 1.6 60' time and rolls across the line at 11.50.
So anything under 12 seconds needs a cage so they barred him from the city track.
That car was indeed fast and mechanically it was a piece of work however the rest of the car was just a piece of junk.
The reason it's rice is the finish. Sure it's fast but looking at it was painful.
So rice can be anything that has mods that are absurd or pointless,and is a billboard for brand names that aren't even being used on the car.
The only way my car will sport brand sticker is if that brand was a sponsor.


Dude...11.50 in a beater Colt isn't rice. It's COOL!

 

[Olas]

So for clarification, it's a combination of things?

For example -

Guy spends $50,000 building a racecar. Everything is safe, functional, well thought out, and there are no shortcuts taken in the build.
Would a lurid paintjob and a stupid exhaust make this a 'ricer' even though it is a capable track machine?
(Most Brits would say 'if you can build a weapon like that, you can style it however you want!)

Or do you need to have something that looks like it belongs in The fast And The Furious, but drives like it belongs at a retirement home to qualify as 'Rice'
(Brits call it 'All show, no go')

 

[Truckedup]

"Ricer" cars have been replaced by Diesel pu trucks with big exhaust stacks, AKA, "The New Ricers".

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: Clevy
I saw some pics of cars,typically 70s-80s model big boats with like 24-26 inch rims with tires that have almost non existent sidewalls. I forget what they are called but it's hilarious to see.


Those are Donks...

 

[BISCUT]

With a lot of "kids" not able to afford mods and the cost of gas plus no real jobs out there; lots of the would be new generation of "ricers" aren't buying cars at all. Sociologists pointing toward a push back to urban areas for young where no car is needed due to mass transit.

Not empirical but by me (I'm 50 miles north of NYC) there has been a noticeable increase in ZIP cars over the last 2 years. Most of the drivers of the ZIP cars are early 20's.