Those who are keen participants in the world of car modification and tuning will undoubtedly be familiar with the term “ricer car.” For those not in the know, let us first make it clear that a ricer car has nothing to do with the cultivation or preparation of rice, nor with devices designed to chop vegetables into tiny pieces.

In today’s blog, we’ll be explaining what a ricer car is, how it relates to the world of car modification, and why it’s something that one would probably like to avoid owning. Let’s start with some basic definitions and comparisons.

What Does “Ricer Car” Mean?

The term “ricer car” is a somewhat derogatory term that refers to those who have tuned and modified their car in such a way that is wholly unsuitable for the type of car in question. It’s a term in line with those who might criticize others for gaudy displays of material wealth, or those with a tacky or unrefined sense of fashion. The opposite of a ricer car would be a “tuner car” which is the more regular and neutral term to describe a car that has been modified and tuned, but within acceptable limits and in a way suited to its appearance and style.

Below, let’s take a closer look at what exactly helps to define a ricer car.

Typical Characteristics and Features OF Ricemobiles

Below is a list of specific features that one might find on a ricer car. The main difference between these things appearing on a ricer car and on a regular tuner car is that they often look completely out of place.

Performance Exhausts

Fitting an exhaust that offers better sound is quite typical for tuner cars. However, on a ricer car it inevitably means attaching the largest- and loudest-possible exhaust tips to the car to make it as obnoxious and neighborhood-ruining as possible.

Wings

When a nice, elegant rear spoiler just won’t seem to do the trick, the owners of ricer cars tend to attach an extremely oversized wing to the vehicle that makes them look as though either that they’re trying to take off, or that they’re getting ready for the Daytona 500. On a subcompact hatchback car, in particular, it looks wholly out of place.

Spoilers

Similar to wings, oversized spoilers are often attached to ricer cars. It’s hard to gauge exactly why other than the owner believes it to look rather cool. There’s no reason for a ricer car to worry about the need for extra downforce when driving around the residential streets of somewhere like Indianapolis or Chicago, of course, but they go ahead and attach those spoilers anyway.

Stickers

One could argue that at the very least, wings and spoilers have some function that could benefit the ricer car. When it comes to stickers, however, we are in the realm of “go faster stripes.” Stickers are purely aesthetic, and when the owner invests in quality and places them with a bit of discretion and restraint, they can work to add a dimension of beauty to a tuner car. For instance, white stripes on the hood can invoke images of a classic Mustang.

On a ricer car, however, stickers are often overused, poorly placed, and may be lacking in quality or substance. Fireballs, lightning bolts, different colored stripes, or too many stripes of the same color on every side…the list goes on.

Suspension

We can use 3 words to describe how the suspension has been adjusted for a ricer car: far too low. The cars are sometimes lowered to the point where the wheels are rubbing against the wheel arches, and the sides and undercarriage dragging and generating sparks on the ground. Well, not quite, but you get the picture.

Wheel Rims

Following on from the extreme lowered suspension, the ricer car typically pairs this feature with the largest set of tires and rims that they can possibly find, regardless if they were even made for the car they are driving. Very often, in order to accommodate these wheels, the ricer car’s owner will have to cut away sheet metal from the wheel arches to make more space. This in itself isn’t necessarily a “ricer move” but when you’re doing it to accommodate wheels that really have no business being on your car, then it’s a bit strange.

On top of this, the wheel rims may well be in a gaudy metal finish like gold, but whatever the metal it will be so shiny that the sun could cause them to dazzle traffic from a mile away.

Colored Lights

One more added feature of a ricer car is excessive use of colored lights. These won’t just be placed as ambient lights in the footwells, but possibly on the undercarriage and elsewhere around the car to make it look more like a Christmas tree on wheels.

Rice Burner Vs. Rice Rocket

These 2 terms are sometimes used interchangeably by people, but there is some difference. The reason for the confusion is that they were once used to refer to any high-power cars and motorcycles (burner) or superbikes (rocket) of Japanese or other Asian origins.

Now, however, the distinction falls mostly into what kind of ricer car one has constructed. Rice burner refers to a car that appears to be very powerful and high-specification but is in fact quite the opposite when you get down to brass tacks. The rice burner is one that appears to have been made for extreme speed, but once again fails to deliver on that in reality.

What is a Tuner Car? How Are They Different from Ricer Cars?

As we’ve mentioned above, tuner cars is more of an umbrella term to refer to cars that have been tuned or modified by their owners. The term “tuner car,” however, is neutral and non-pejorative, unlike “ricer car.” One way is to think of a ricer car as a tuner car gone bad. In this sense, all ricer cars are tuner cars, but not all tuner cars are ricer cars.

Verdict: Is it Good or Bad to Have a “Riced Out” Car?

After all we’ve described, it should be pretty clear now that to have a car that is described as “riced out” is definitely not a good thing. It is a bit like having a room that you’ve over-renovated or decorated using a tacky color scheme and cheap furniture. It looks new and shiny, but housed within is a lack of taste and lack of restraint.

If you want to make a lot of noise while driving around a car that has been furnished with ill-fitting aftermarket gear, then a ricer car is for you. Otherwise, stick to the recommended limits of a more stylish tuner car.

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