Getting your start in car mods can be a daunting task, with so many options that are both hard and expensive. What options do you have if you don’t have the time and energy to put into these mods? Not to worry. We’ve made a list of easy car mods that won’t break your back or take endless hours to finish to help you upgrade your pride and joy and truly make it your own.
Easy Car Mods – Interior
Seat Covers
Give your seats a new look and cover up wear with seat covers
This cheap and easy car mod can do a couple things for your car’s interior. First, seat covers will protect your seats from any further damage with regular use. This would include rips, stains, or fading. Second, it also transforms the look of your car seats.
Seat covers are especially useful for older cars with seats that are worn or have permanent staining and discolouration. We recommend choosing seat covers that come with two back pieces. This lets you keep your headrest adjustability better than a one back piece car cover. You will still be able to adjust your headrest height with a one piece seat cover, but how it fits to your seat may be affected.
Shift Knob
Make this frequently used touch point feel that much better with an upgraded shift knob
Because a new shift knob will have a different shape and weight, this easy car mod can make a big change to your driving experience. The weight of the shift knob affects how it will feel when you put the car into gear, and the shape will change how you reach and grip it. The main thing that you will need to keep in mind with a new shift knob is matching the thread size of the knob to your car.
Heavier shift knobs make shifting between gears easier, needing less effort and energy from you. Lighter shift knobs will need more effort, but will feel more precise. And as for the shape, a round ball shaped shift knob will be harder to reach but comfortable for using with an overhand grip. Cylindrical or rod shaped shift knobs will be easier to reach and comfortable with a fist grip.
You can also combine this with a short throw shifter which will make the distance between each gear shorter. Combined with a heavier shift knob, you will be able to make very quick shifts, but on the other hand you will also need to be very accurate and careful in shifting into the right gear.
Interior Vinyl
Black interior carbon wrap is a great way to get a sporty yet clean look for your interior
Fading interior plastics bothering you? Want to add some extra colour and style to your interior? Try out interior vinyl as a cheap and easy solution. Whilst we don’t recommend car wrapping as something that is easy to do, interior vinyl wrapping is a lot less complicated.
Interior vinyl comes in many different colours, patterns and also comes as dedicated kits for your car. For a sporty look, black carbon patterns are the way to go; for a colourful pop, choose a metallic wrap in a vibrant colour. We recommend choosing a colour that is the same as the existing interior or the paint of your car. And if you change your mind about the colour, just peel it off and start again!
Floor Mats
Elevate your interior with new floor mats
Some new floor mats will not only protect the carpeting, but also add an extra layer of style to your car’s interior. Choose from floor mats in funky colours or match them to the rest of the interior colour scheme. We recommend looking for floor mats made specifically for your car model. These will have a much better fit compared to universal floor mats and are generally made to a higher standard.
Easy Car Mods – Exterior
Racing Stripes
Add a sporty touch to your car with some racing stripes
An easy car mod to make your car stand out from the rest is with some racing stripes. For this mod, you’ve got a few options to choose from. Either use rattle can paint from your local auto or hardware store or buy some plasti dip. Both will need some masking or painters tape to mark out your stripes, and we also recommend getting a painting mask to protect your lungs.
First, plan out what part of your car you want to paint your stripes on. The most popular option is to have two stripes running the entire length of your car down the middle. Another more subtle option is to have a stripe on both sides of your car on the lower portion of your doors and guards. Then mask up the car to shape the stripes, spray your paint or plasti dip on, and peel off your tape to reveal the results of your mini paint job.
Let your racing stripes dry for a few hours. We recommend spraying multiple layers of paint or plasti dip to help with colour depth and durability. Please always remember to do this easy car mod outdoors or in a well ventilated space.
Vanity/Custom Number Plates
Custom plates let you change your plate style and lettering to make your car more memorable
The simplest and easiest car mod on the market is a vanity or custom number plate. Custom plates let you change the style of your plate and what they say on them. This is a great and fun way to add the aesthetics of the car and make it memorable while putting in minimum effort.
All you need to do here is go onto the website of your state’s authorised custom plate maker, choose the style and choose the characters of your new plate. Do keep in mind that having custom plates with custom letters and numbers will carry an annual fee, whereas a custom plate with your car’s standard characters will only incur a one-off fee.
Get Started With These Easy Car Mods!
Modifying your car doesn’t need to be hard. With these easy car mods, you can upgrade and personalise your pride and joy without ever breaking a sweat. And for more tips and advice on car mods, head to the Seven Smart Auto blog.
