Danger on the road
BY ROYCE CHEAH
PETALING JAYA: Thinking about souping up your engine or fitting bigger wheels on your car?
Well, think again! You are not only flouting the law but also endangering your life and those of other road users.
“Don’t gamble with your lives and just follow the rules,” warned JPJ director-general Datuk Emran Kadir.
He said the technical rules on car modifications were listed in the JPJ website. “The rules state our stand on the matter. They should be followed.”
Car modification experts Aaron Goh and Ben Mah, who run a car modification shop in Bandar Sunway here, said a radical modification like upgrading a car’s engine meant that the car’s suspension and brakes have also to be upgraded to match the increase in engine power.
“However, there are many people who do not do this,” said Mah, adding that changing engines and the size of wheels required JPJ approval.
“If a driver increases his engine capacity by 200cc or 300cc, it would not really affect a car’s safety.
“But what many people are doing is upgrading their 1,300cc engines to 2,000cc turbo-charged ones.
“This will dangerously affect the handling of the
car, unless the brake system and suspension are also changed,” said Mah.
He added that the danger in changing wheels would arise when the diameter of the new wheel was different from that of the original.
“This will affect how the speedometer registers a car’s speed,” said Mah.
He said changing the colour of the car, adding a new body kit and other exterior changes to the body did not need JPJ approval.
“However, you need to inform your insurance company about changes to the exterior of the car,” he said.
Regarding the change of colour for signal lights – for instance, giving the colour of the brake lights to the signal lights and vice versa – and adding blinking brake lights to the car, both experts said these were illegal alterations.
Goh said that this was common among drivers from the lower-income bracket.
“Car modification is a way for someone to get noticed. Since they cannot afford expensive modifications that run into thousands of ringgit, this is a cheaper way of getting attention,” he said.