Whether your car is an older model in need of a few upgrades to keep it road-worthy or you’re an automobile enthusiast that loves working on cars, your vehicle could be due for a slight remodel. However, you want to be careful the upgrades you perform on your car, especially if you’re planning on shipping your car to another country. Customs and Border Control pay special attention to the changes you make on your car, and if the country you’re shipping to has automobile restrictions, you might find yourself in a bind. Here are 5 upgrades you can do on your car that won’t have your car delayed at Customs.
Headlights
If your car is more than five years old, your headlights probably seem a little out-of-date. It couldn’t hurt to upgrade them to a newer bulb. When you upgrade your headlights by replacing the bulb with a stronger one, you give yourself more visibility out on the road. There are lot of different headlights you can upgrade, but some aren’t legal in the States—meaning you might be able to get your car shipped elsewhere, but if you try to bring it in (or bring it back), Customs won’t allow it until you bring your car up to code.
One of the best types of headlight upgrades is a bulb with xenon gas. If you’ve seen blue headlights or headlights than cast a bluish hue, those are xenon. These bulbs are great for a few different reasons. One, the blue tint helps you to see the white lines on the road at night or in inclement weather. And two, the light doesn’t interfere with your fellow drivers’ abilities to see. We all know the feeling of driving down the road when all of a sudden, you’re blinded by the headlights of an oncoming car. Well, with these bulbs, you won’t be that driver everyone curses late at night.
Wiper Blades
When was the last time you changed your windshield wipers? It’s easy to neglect your windshield; it’s simply something you look through to focus on the road. However, you need to keep your wiper blades current for them to maintain the necessary level of efficiency your windshield needs. You don’t want a rainstorm to catch you off-guard while you’re driving on the freeway, and when you turn on your windshield wipers, you find out one side isn’t doing its job.
If you want some high-quality windshield wipers, you should look into getting some winter wiper blades. Even if you live in an area that doesn’t see much snow and ice, winter blades are still stronger than regular blades, and they’ll be able to withstand more of the elements. And if you do live in an area that gets dumped on every winter, these blades are the durable kind you need to keep your windshield clear during blizzards and the like.
Tires
Your car’s tires are arguably the most important aspect of the vehicle, but odds are, the tires you’re currently driving with aren’t the best ones for your car. Fortunately, tires come in all different sizes and types, and you can choose a set of tires that are exactly what you need. If you live an area that sees more rain than snow, there’s a tire for that, just like there are tires for snowy areas. You can select the durability of your set of tires—meaning approximately how long the tires will last (dependent upon driver usage). Size of the tire will determine how well the care handles on things like corners or in general. In the end, you should make sure your tires fit your car and your driving style perfectly.
Audio Wiring
If you’ve ever turned the volume up on your radio full-blast and then noticed that your headlights dim, your car’s audio wiring isn’t as good as you need it to be. If you were to measure the voltage in your car, you would notice that it is significantly lower than the recommended level. But don’t worry—all you have to do is upgrade the audio wiring in your car.
There are three specific wires you should focus on when doing what’s known as “the big 3” car audio wiring upgrade, and those three wires are under the hood. Between the chassis, the engine, and the alternator, you can use a larger-gauged wire to increase the voltage level.
Brake Lines
Another easy upgrade involves the brake lines in your car. Most cars have rubber brake lines, and while these are great, a better option is stainless steel. You probably won’t feel much of a difference between the two lines—and if you do, the stainless steel will be stiffer. The reason steel is better than rubber is that steel is a lot more reliable and durable. It will last longer than rubber, and it’s safer since the chances of a hose breaking and you losing your brakes are minimal. There are many different options for stainless steel brake lines you can install, but not all are street-legal in every country, so make sure you install legal brake lines for all the countries you’ll be in.
Don’t limit yourself to a factory car just because you’re planning on moving internationally. With these options, you can make your car safer on any road around the world that you travel on, and you’ll still be able to ship your car without any problems at Customs.
Author byline:
Eloise Hamilton studied political science and now writes primarily about politics and thought, and her other love—cars. She loves finding new ideas to use while upgrading her car, which she finds on sites like Execution Audio. However, aside from cars and Congress, her interests also include photography and cooking.