Pimp my ride Mzansi style: Only in South Africa

South Africa is car crazy, with many enthusiasts treating their vehicles as a blank canvas for modifications. From subtle accessory tweaks to downright ludicrous alterations, the passion for personalisation runs deep. 

We’re ranked ratio-wise as the top country globally for the uptake of performance cars such as BMW M, Mercedes-Benz AMG, Audi RS and Golf GTI.

If you’ve ever attended a car meet where like-minded enthusiasts gather you’ll have an idea of what owners do to make their cars look better, go faster, sit lower, make more noise, handle better and generally make them one of a kind.

Growing Industry

According to the American International Trade Administration the last decade has seen a rapid growth in automotive aftermarket specialty equipment and accessories.

“Accessorising and improving performance of vehicles has transformed from a hobby to a fully-fledged culture of fierce competition. In the race to individualize and distinguish their vehicles from others, enthusiasts constantly seek innovative, authentic specialty components and accessories with little regard to price,” their website says.

Vague legislation

However, not all modifications fall within the bounds of the law.

Unfortunately, the legislation surrounding vehicle modifications is rather vague, which is why you often see modified cars on our roads. Not all traffic officers are fully aware of what is and isn’t allowed.

According to Arrive Alive's website, the law states: “A motor car, minibus, bus, or goods vehicle fitted with at least four wheels, or a trailer, operated on a public road, shall comply with the relevant requirements as specified in the Government Notices issued in terms of section 22 of the Standards Act, 1993 (Act No 29 of 1993) and listed in Annex A to code of practice SABS 047: ‘The Testing of motor vehicles for roadworthiness.’”

It further states: “Notwithstanding anything pertaining to the extent of the application of the requirements referred to in sub-regulation (1), any motor vehicle design or any design of a motor vehicle modification submitted to the inspectorate of manufacturers, builders, and importers in terms of regulation 43, shall comply with the requirements relevant to such motor vehicle design or any design of a motor vehicle modification.” So, as you can see, the legal framework is quite complex.

So, clear as mud then with the legal framework quite complex.

Categories of modification

Modifications fall into four categories:

Visual modification: The most common which is why cars like Volkswagen’s R-Line, Merc’s AMG-Line and BMW’s Sport Line are so popular. They only affect the aesthetics of the car and have no impact on the car’s function, performance or safety.

Functional modifications or enhancements: These include bigger wheels, HID lights, increasing or lowering the suspension or tyre diameters. Essentially they improve the driver experience or make the vehicle more capable in certain environments.

The most obvious example of this is the Toyota Land Cruiser 70-Series range. Loved by adventurers and overlanders they modify them with bigger wheels, suspension lifts, winches and underbody protection to make them more capable in remote areas. For road cars, this could involve a change in the wheel diameter or lower-profile tyres and some tweaks to the suspension.

Performance modification: It becomes tricky when performance modifications come into play. We want better handling and more power so the engines are upgraded either with turbo-chargers, super-chargers, chemical augmentation like AvGas and Nitrous Oxide or software enhancements. There’s also a whole after-market performance exhaust industry.

In this case it’s likely that the brakes and suspension are upgraded (even going so far as to grind down the suspension coils), although this is not always the case, endangering the driver and other road users.

These cars are more often than not a lot louder than when they came off the showroom floor. There is a specific law that states it shall not exceed 89 dB for a vehicle that has a power unit rated at less than 150kW and 91dB for any other vehicle. To allow for any lack of precision in the measuring equipment, the highest sound level reading obtained shall be reduced by 1dB.

I’ve driven some really loud cars in my career and the only reason I’ve been pulled over is for the traffic officers to admire the car and then ask me to pull away with exhausts howling. 

In this case, if there is any doubt the vehicle has to go for a roadworthy inspection.

Design modifications:  This is when the vehicle is almost completely rebuilt to purpose.

This would be for applications like track racing cars or extreme off-road competition vehicles.

Roadworthy concerns

There is however a major concern when it comes to roadworthy testing in South Africa.

As long as your ownership papers, registration number, engine number, VIN number and make of vehicle align, you’re good to renew the vehicle's licence. And even then, there are no verification checks in place.

Unlike many countries like the United Kingdom where a MOT is a mandatory roadworthy test every year three years after its first registration, once our vehicles are registered it’s simply a case of renewing the licence disk every year.

Locally it’s the owner’s responsibility to take it for a roadworthy test either by their own cognisance or if there’s been a fine issued.

Judging by the state of many of our cars on the road though, both modified and standard, it doesn't look like testing stations are particularly overcrowded.