There are other, safer ways to beautify your cars than hellaflush
It seems that the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) is on the hunt for individuals who modify their cars with ‘hellaflush’ wheels.
In a post on its official Facebook page yesterday, PDRM said vehicle owners found guilty of adopting the illegal modification could face a fine of up to RM2,000 or a maximum jail term of six months under Section 6 of the Road Transport Act 1987 and Rule 138, Road Traffic Rules 170/59, which is vehicle modification without prior approval from the Road Transport Department (JPJ).
PDRM added that the ‘hellaflush’ trend is becoming increasingly popular among car owners in the country. The police are putting a stop to this fad as it can have an adverse effect on the car’s safety and braking systems, thus endangering the driver and other road users.
To understand how this trend can affect a car’s components, first you need to know what ‘hellaflush’ really is. As you can already see, it simply involves fitting oversized wheels wrapped with stretched tyres on an already lowered car to achieve that ‘slammed’ look.
As if that’s not absurd enough, the control arms are often modified to achieve negative camber, causing the wheels to tilt outwards so they can sit flush with the fender. Sure, a negative camber improves the handling of a vehicle, which is why it is often used in racing and drifting, but having excessive negative camber does more harm than good to a car.
To put it simply, it puts a lot of unnecessary stress on the suspension components and axles of a car. Due to the extreme angle of the wheels, the tyres are also exposed to premature and uneven wear, and the car will most likely struggle to gain acceleration and slow down when the brakes are applied when driving in a straight line. Hellaflush cars also tend to scrape on speedbumps and this could lead to serious damage to the undercarriage.
Of course, we agree with the old adage that taste is subjective but is it worth the danger you put yourself and others in? No, we don’t think so.
