Car Modifications in India: Legal and Illegal Modifications

From the time cars have existed, there have been car modifications. In the first couple of decades
since the advent of motor cars, modifications were majorly utility oriented, but since then modifying
a car has had sub-categories – Performance, Function, Aesthetic. It is natural to feel the need to
make your car have something extra in terms of the looks or an added value in some form or
another over any other regular car of the model you own. In India, regulations change often and
what was valid till yesterday might land you in trouble today. Here, we take a closer look at some of
the most common modifications done by Indian buyers. We will also categorise which of these
modifications are legal and which are illegal.

What are the types of car modifications in India?

Performance Modifications:

These are the modifications that increase the performance of any automobile. An average car is
usually tuned to find a perfect balance between performance and fuel efficiency when it leaves the
production line. For those, who want to extract more excitement from their everyday car, the power
can be increased at the cost of reduced fuel efficiency, or some other kind of compromise. Things
like putting an aftermarket exhaust (or the entire exhaust system), ECU remapping, and using other
performance parts are commonly used by people around the world to increase the power output of
cars. Where some of these modifications are not allowed, some can be done if done within limits.

Functional Modifications:

These modifications are done to make the lives of the driver and the passengers easy. These
modifications are more utility-oriented and result in a more comfortable experience when inside the
vehicle. Despite offering more practicality, some modifications like tinted screens are not allowed by
the law. Darker screens do save you from the blistering summer heat in India, but cannot be
overdone for various other reasons related to safety of people. Then there are modifications, like a
louder horn, that might seem necessary, but are harmful to people and the environment in the long
run. Functional modifications should be aimed at providing more comfort and practicality, and not
create problems for others.

Aesthetic Modifications:

The most common urge after buying a car in India is to add bling to it. Aesthetic modifications are
done to make the car look nicer, better, and funkier than before. More often than not, they do not
add anything to the performance or the utility, but are extremely common in the Indian market. If
you repaint your car, or put some decals on it, or chop off some parts of it to change it to another
type, or add some parts on the body of your car, you are changing the way your car is supposed to
look. Where certain things are clearly not allowed by the new Motor Vehicle Act, some can be
played with. Make sure you do your homework before you decide to turn your sedan into a
limousine or get it wrapped in a colour scheme that you saw in some movie.

What are the legal car modifications in India?

ECU Remapping: Most of the cars these days are fuel-injected, which means they rely on an ECU to
supply the optimum fuel-air mixture to the engine. Usually, these ECUs are set (mapped) in such a
way that the car delivers just enough power without compromising on the fuel efficiency and vice
versa. This is why some people go for ECU remapping to extract more power from their car’s engine.
This is a slightly less popular mode of increasing the power output of a vehicle as it is an expensive
affair and costs people more in the long run. Well, there is no law in India that stops you from
remapping your car’s ECU, but it does kick the warranty of your car out the window. For maximum
output, the exhaust has to be changed as well. This means the new exhaust will be much louder than
the stock one in order to complement the remapped ECU, and will most-likely won’t be within
permissible noise limits. While remapping the ECU of your car is not illegal, your car will still need to
comply with emission norms. Any major performance remap could increase the emissions your car
produces and might lead to your car failing the PUC test.

Using Performance Parts: You can also use some performance parts under the hood of your car in
order to extract more from it. Things like forged pistons, turbochargers, performance air filters are
some of the things you can do to your car for that added fun. Where most of the performance parts
are ‘legal’ to use on Indian roads, most of the people stay away from these for practical reasons. For
example, forged pistons do not come cheap and the process to install them correctly itself is an
expensive affair. Then there are things like turbochargers that can give you a considerable gain in the
power output of your vehicle. But here is the interesting fact, installing a turbocharger in your car
will, most probably, cost more than the car’s value. Another problem is the serious modification that
will be needed in order to install one, and one wrong step can lead to a disaster. Unless you want to
do these things as a pet project, and want to use your car only for racing purposes on a closed track,
it is not worth the effort. Feel free to use any performance part without breaking any law, but it
might not be worth the risk and the money involved to get it done.

Changing Suspension: Changing suspension is legal in India as long as the change does not increase
or decrease the ground clearance drastically. Considering the condition of the Indian roads, and your
adventurous side, you can always go and change your suspension for a more comfortable ride
quality.

Installing Aftermarket CNG Kits: It is legal to install an aftermarket CNG kit on a car in India. Make
sure that you get it updated with your local RTO and get it mentioned in your car’s registration
certificate.

Making Arrangements for the Differently-abled: Depending on the disability of a person, it is legal
to make changes to a car to suit the needs of a differently-abled individual. According to the revised
guidelines, an orthopaedic disabled person with permanent disability of 40% or above can drive a car
with length less than or equal to four metres, with engine capacity of 1,200cc for petrol cars and
1,500cc for diesel vehicles. According to the Motor Vehicles Act 2019, such cars should be registered
as ‘Adapted Vehicles’ with the local RTO.

Body Wrapping: One of the first things people do after buying a car is to get it wrapped. A wrap is a
vinyl that is applied directly on your car’s surface mainly to protect the car’s original paint from
fading away with time. This also protects the car from scratches and other unavoidable scars that it
might endure with time. Technically, you do not need an approval from your RTO before getting
your car wrapped, provided the wrap is of the same colour as that of the car. You can choose
between matte and metallic finish, but the colour needs to remain the same. If you want to wrap
your black car with a yellow vinyl, your RTO needs to be informed and it needs to be updated on
your registration certificate.

Changing Car’s Colour: Similar to wrapping, it is perfectly legal to change the colour of your car to
anything, except Army Green which is reserved for military vehicles only, provided your RTO is up to
date with your new preferences. The registration certificate of your car needs to specify the paint
scheme as accurately as possible.

Body Kits: Body kits seem to be a norm these days and you can go for one without worrying about
anything as long as it is bolt on and does not interfere with the structure of your vehicle. These kits
can enhance the way your car looks, and many manufacturers these days also offer their own body
kits so that you do not have to worry about the warranty of your vehicle. Bolt on parts like a front
splitter, body cladding, side panels etc. are totally safe to play with as they do not compromise on
the safety of the car.

What are the illegal car modifications in India?

Aftermarket Exhausts: This is the most common modification done by Indian car owners, both for
cars and motorcycles. Most of the aftermarket exhausts do not make much of a difference to the
power output of the vehicle, but some more expensive ones do. In both cases, they are usually loud.
According to the latest amendment in the Motor Vehicle Act, any exhaust that is louder than 80
decibel is illegal. Unless the exhaust you want for your car is approved by your RTO, do not go for it.
In certain cities, towns, and villages, the rule is not followed as strictly as most of the metros, but it is
still illegal.

Additional Lights: This is another interesting category. According to the Indian Motor Vehicle Act,
any light placed over 1.5 metres from the ground is illegal. This means any light mounted on the
rooftop of any vehicle is not legal. No vehicle is allowed to have more than four headlights. Also, any
lights that blind a person at eight metres or less are also not legal. No additional light is to be put in
the front above the height of the stock headlamps. These lamps are also needed to be covered when
driving around the city roads.

Engine Swapping: This, surely, is a big no. On your vehicle’s registration certificate, your chassis
number and engine number are mentioned, and they always have to remain the same, unless your
RTO says so. Usually, it is extremely rare for law enforcers to check your engine number against your
RC, but if they ever do, you aren’t seeing your car ever again. If you ever consider swapping your
engine, approach your local RTO first, and only then take your next step. There might be a loophole
in the system that will let you exploit a particular rule, but from where we stand, do not swap your
engine with another one.

Pressure Horns: This is one of those modifications everyone dislikes equally. Yes, on busy city roads,
one might find the need of louder horns necessary as the quieter ones usually go unnoticed by
others, including pedestrians. This is why slightly louder horns are permitted by the law, but
pressure horns, or air horns, are strictly banned, as they can cause permanent damage to people’s
hearing abilities. It can also cause distraction for other fellow drivers on the roads which can be a
perfect recipe for disaster at times. Any horn that produces sounds above 100 decibels has been
prohibited by the law.

Tinted Screens: According to the updated regulations, the screens at the front and the rear of any
car have to have at least 70% VLT (Visible Light Transmission) to be road legal. The sides can be
slightly darker and have to let 50% sunlight through them to the insides of the car. Very dark tinted glasses are deemed as illegal as these hamper the vision of the driver while also preventing a clear
view inside the car.

Bull Bars: Bull bars (or crash guards) is another common thing we see on cars in India. Bull bars are
metal structures usually installed in the front of the car to absorb shock and reduce damage to the
front of the car in case of a collision. However, bull bars are illegal as they are bolted on the chassis
frame of the car and reduce the structural integrity of the car. This modification also hampers the
functioning of the airbags as the sensors may not trigger in the event of a collision, resulting in
airbags not being deployed at the right time or not at all.

Changing Body Type: If you are thinking of turning your boring sedan into a limousine, or turn it into
a convertible by sawing the roof off, sleep over it. Making any kind of structural change to your
vehicle is banned by the Supreme Court of India. Changing the structure of your car can make the
chassis weak and pose a threat to the safety of people both inside and outside the car. If you are still
hell-bent on doing it, you need your car to be approved by the Automotive Research Authority of
India (ARAI), which is something we have never seen anyone getting done. Without the ARAI’s
approval, chopping or adding anything on your car means asking for trouble.

Fancy Number Plates: You must be living under a rock to not know this by now. Cars these days
need to have the high-security number plates with IND embossed on them. If you own a car that is
old (or a vintage) make sure that the numbers are written clearly and can be read easily from a
distance. If you still want to mention a relative’s designation or your favourite song on your number
plate, make sure you never get seen by the traffic cops.

What are the things to consider before modifying a car?

The most important thing you should consider before doing anything to your car is to not
compromise on the safety of everyone in and around your car, especially when on the road. Do not
do anything that weakens the strength of your car’s chassis. Another very important thing to
consider before adding or removing anything to your car is the environment. Using pressure horns,
loud exhausts, ECU remapping resulting in extra emissions can cause long lasting health hazards to
not just you but others as well. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction, and you need to
gauge carefully so that the opposite reaction does not outweigh your expectations. Aesthetic
modifications are all well and good as long as your registration certificate reflects those changes.

Summary

The rules in the automotive world change faster than the seasons in India, and it is next to
impossible to know each one of them by heart. When it comes to modifying your car, there are rules
that are not very clear as to what is legal and what isn’t. While modifying your car to your taste is
not completely illegal, there are restrictions to prevent avoidable long term harm to pedestrians,
other motorists, and even the environment. Knowing which modifications are legal will help avoid
any unnecessary complications with the traffic police and RTO, allowing you to make your car your
own within the confines of the law.

Also reads: Best DC Modified Cars in India

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