(not my image. I just find these comical and incredibly dangerous)
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They are not legal in the civilised world.
It’s pretty common to see these on the road in Houston, Texas.
Oh wait, you said “civilized world”, my bad.
Surprisingly, even Brazil is more civilized in that regard. Tires and rims may not extend laterally farther than front or rear bumpers.
The downside is that people weaponize the sound system, so they don’t even need to be driving to be hostile to everyone within 300 meters.
Cars with these rims usually have outdoor external speakers on the bottom. So they weaponized the wheels and sound.
It’s illegal here in the US too people just don’t care.
In the US, what is street legal depends on the locality, most of which is decided by the different states. I heard that in one state, the rule was that tires and rims couldn’t extend farther than the side mirrors, and so these people made their side mirrors stick out a lot farther too.
They aren’t. There might be places with shitty cops that tolerate them. (Quick search shows this is mostly a Texas thing)
They aren’t.
Confidently incorrect. Maybe they’re illegal some places, but definitely not most places. In Texas, they’re not illegal, but it can be illegal if they make your vehicle more than 8 feet wide. Since they’re usually on sedans, they usually don’t hit 8 feet.
Also they’re more specifically a thing in Black culture in Houston. I see them pretty rarely in other Texas cities
Maybe they are legal in a few places. There is more places in the world than just a couple of US states.
I’d be interested to hear where they’re illegal and what that law says
Edit: Coming back to this, just looked into EU regulations and it’s clear these are not outright prohibited, as the laws related to hubcaps focus only on fitment and detachment risk. However, most EU countries require non-OEM parts to receive government approval prior to hitting the market, almost certainly ensuring nothing like this would ever be sold there.
Every single European country. No moving part of a car can extend beyond the fixed bodywork. Even “open wheel” cars have to have the top 180 degrees of tyre covered.
I’m reading something different in the EU, that only the tire treads can’t extend beyond the car body
In Germany for example this is so unthinkable it’s like somebody saying “tell me the law that says I can’t steal vegetables from the super market”. Please do your own research, some things just are illegal without me needing to cite a law.
My thoughts exactly. “Show a me law that says I can’t attach two giant swords on each side of my car that will cut in half everyone that I pass by close enough. I’m sure you can’t”. American mind is sometimes hard to comprehend.
So you can’t cite the law, I knew it. I won the discussion /s
“It’s illegal because obviously”
You should become an attorney
It’s illegal because it endangers other people. People on bicycles, motorcycles or on foot are particularly vulnerable. People don’t expect literal whisks to stick out from the wheels of a car.
Without even knowing which law regulating vehicle specifications is violated, I am positive that the German §1 (2) StVO is already violated:
Anyone participating in traffic must conduct themselves in such a way that no other person is harmed, endangered, or hindered or inconvenienced more than is unavoidable under the circumstances.
I appreciate you giving an actual rationale for how they might be illegal
Even Texas has unsafe protrusions rule, but a cop would have to enforce it. No part of the vehical can endanger pedestrians.
Australia, can’t protrude past the factory wheel arches. Also, a trailer can’t be wider than the vehicle towing it.
Sensible rules 😀
“It is unlawful to attach stupid dangerous bullshit to your vehicle.”
Coming back to this, just looked into EU regulations and it’s clear these are not outright prohibited
No law expert either but the pointy figurines people put on the hub front in the 70s? They are illegal; not specifically but by endangering all the other participants on the street. Bet wheel spikes fall under the same rules.
Btw, this is something i observed recently: US tends to make rules reactively and case-specific, which is why it needs to also define wrong-doing or not specifically (“don’t dry your hamster in the microwave” warning label). While europe countries try to abstract general rules, just like in this case. I think the second approach works better for a healthy society.
In the UK you’d 100% get pulled over by the first police car you crossed paths with.
, just looked into EU regulations and it’s clear these are not outright prohibited
I don’t even know what are we talking about here. I’m 1000% sure you would not be able to drive more than 100m with rims like that in Europe. Someone would immediately call the caps and they would immediately immobilize the car and send the driver to jail.
what? they are a pedestrian hazard, how would these not be illegal in every state?
Simple, make your city unwalkable. Pedestrians are no longer a concern. Anyone dumb enough to be a pedestrian deserves it.
Obvious /s is obviousI see you have been to many Alberta towns
AKA Notth Texas.
i mean actual policy
bet money it is illegal and just not enforced
pretty sure the tire, including rim must be in the tire well (in Texas it’s to the length of the mirror specifically even)
apparently this is a moron red state kinda thing where because it is not specifically called out cops cant be assed to enforce laws for general vehicular safety
Well that’s definitely commonplace with pickups having low offset wheels. I’d be curious if there is policy to support that though!
Considered unsafe/sharp protrusion that would endanger a pedestrian, but cops would have to enforce that subsecrion…which probably doesn’t happen in texas
5 foot tall hoods are also a pedestrian hazard, but fashion trumps safety.
again that just sounds like lazy cops
Worse. Lazy rules.
Americans proving their inability to understand their country isn’t the world just never stops.
You’d ever only see these in the US, it doesn’t matter if they’re specifically illegal elsewhere because it just doesn’t happen (on normal roads, outside very rare shows etc.).
It’s so fucking tiring not being able to get away from 'Muricans like you who are so deep into their own shit that you’re unable to even start to understand anything else.Welcome to a post about the US on an US-based instance. Feel free to continue acting like a total asshole
What’s US-based about fuckcars? Most posts here are not about or from the US.
It’s a troll account
Texas is just a fictional place. Doesn’t really exist. (/j)
If only
They probably aren’t. Doesn’t stop them from existing though. 🤷
Swangas are among the most fucked up modifications you can do with your car. It’s literally not just a “fuck you” to other road users but actively hostile to everyone around you.
Just reflect for a moment what kind of culture can be so deeply submerged in toxic displays of hostility as a form of “swag”, “coolness” or “masculinity” as to create something like that. How insecure do you have to be?
New term for me. Looking it up, found this though.
I’m okay with this. Gotta appreciate the creativity.
Zooming in, appears to be tinfoil and cardboard… So, much like those caterpillars that mimic a snakes head, it’s a false protective threat display. Wise technique if you have to ride a bike in traffic with assholes rolling real swangas.
This is fucking gold
Haha Scott street not surprised
Just reflect for a moment what kind of culture can be so deeply submerged in toxic displays of hostility as a form of “swag”, “coolness” or “masculinity” as to create something like that. How insecure do you have to be?
Looks around at my death metal albums and shirts… well shit 😳
(Edit: added quote)
What harm does an album cover do to other people?
Gramma rocked her head right off 🤘😔
The term used was ‘hostile’, not ‘harmful’. There’s a difference IMO.
But anyway I would argue some album covers could be considered propaganda, which is potentially harmful to society.
And then there’s stuff like the original cover of Virgin Killer by the Scorpions. A lot of folks would call that directly harmful in some way.
There’s a difference here that’s important about what it means to be actively hostile.
Yes, some types of art in general have a hostile face. Some metal, some gangster rap, some pop even.
The difference is that nobody but the most fucked up people is going around forcing it on me. I don’t have to fear getting to close to the cover of Mayhem’s “Dawn of the Black Hearts”. I can ignore it if it’s right next to me. Ignoring Swangas is detrimental to my health. Album covers don’t amputate my legs when they come to close.
Sure, I can definitely agree with that.
I was really just making a joke in the first place.
It makes them feel things. That’s offensive. Feeling. Absolutely disgusting.
Don’t worry too much. It’s becoming more common for people to realize that in reality metal fans are generally more calm, considerate, and helpful than your average human.
When I fell down at a “not-metal” concert, the nice and friendly and approachable people around me nearly stepped on me. Nobody cared.
When I stumbled and fell at a metal concert, multiple people were helping me up before I even had time to realize I’d tripped. They looked scary and not the kind you’d approach for a chat. I’m still in contact with one of them. He likes to hear black metal while he knits. It’s absolutely like out of a badly written comic book.
I know this is not representative and I’ve met my share of racist fellas over the years that wore the cut-offs. But I swear most were big teddy bears in black clothing, and accompanied by some tiny goth goddess in the highest heeled combat boots.
When I stumbled and fell at a metal concert, multiple people were helping me up before I even had time to realize I’d tripped.
They’ve been to a lot where moshing and death walls are common to those concerts, moshing is so much like a contact sport with sportsmanlike behavior, and anyone falling will be helped to get back up as much as possible.
In a lot of regions metal is the official theme music of white nationalists so I can’t say this is true
Classic pop fan thinking.
Total hatersRap and house music and I used to lead sing in an alt rock band. Just a fact in certain parts of the US that metal fans have to live with.
Oh, did you sing in an alt rock band? As someone who has played and presently plays in actual metal bands I can tell you that there are racists in every type of music but there is no region where metal is music exclusively for racists.
Shit, what type of metal? You get different types of fans whether you’re into the thrash metal, death metal, black metal, power metal, numetal (and the thousand subgenres) scenes.
You dig into this even a bit and your argument straight up falls apart.
In a lot of regions metal is the official theme music of white nationalists so I can’t say this is true
Eh, it doesn’t belong to them. Racists try to insert themselves into things the same way other groups do, e.g. “christian rock” that tries to use the appeal of the genre to spread their particular message.
As a counterpoint to your statement, metal is immensely popular across South America. Look up any Iron Maiden concert in Brazil and you’ll see vast legions of diehard fans going nuts. And the overwhelming majority probably wouldn’t be considered white, at least not in the way European or North American racists want it to mean.
Masculinity in 2026 America is doing rude or harmful shit to show you’re beyond the reach of consequences, or just dont give a fuck. It’s Nietzsche’s discharge its strength quote turned into culture-war ideology.
The recent examples I use are Hokit’s comments about Michelle Obama at the White House UFC match, or Trump getting a World Cup red card penalty cancelled because he wanted it.
There are probably more recent examples. Renaming Lake Ontario comes to mind. Bombing Iran or Gaza are particularly grotesque examples.
Insecurity poisons your life and that of those around you until you do something really stupid or you deal with it in a healthy way.
Just cause they have them doesn’t make them legal. Cops probably don’t even know so they just let it go
Usually, US law enforcement errs on the side of illegal since they have the presumption of good faith (or at least did until ICE went gonzo about lies and cover-ups).
But anything that looks suspicious counts as probable cause meaning they can search you and relieve you of cash and valuables. Nowadays, they presume they can jusy rob you and it enhances the precinct budget for fun stuff.
We see this kind of overpolicing done more to minorities than whites, but so long as you don’t look super rich (enough to have a lawyer on your contacts list) then you’re fair game.
If this sort of thing is uncommon in their parts, it’s going to draw more attention than a red sports car.
I think this is uncommon in most areas. Seems way outside of what should be even manufactured
They make a lot of shit purely for show. As in put it on while the car is on display.
Why would you assume they’re legal?
They’re surprisingly common in the Houston area. If they’re illegal, you certainly wouldn’t assume they are based on how often you see them.
Consider, however, that cops are all lazy bastards.
True that.
Lol here (Estonia, not the US), they get a perverse pleasure out of giving people tickets, some of them anyway. If a cop saw those things, that car would rightfully get its annual inspection voided and potentially the driver would be forced to take it off the road immediately rather than being allowed to drive home or to a workshop to get it fixed.
A lot of the time I disagree with how ticket-happy they can be (it’s not always about safety critical things), but in this case I’d agree with them 100%.
Why would you assume they’re real?
They are, unfortunately, real.
There’s zero chance these are legal. And even in places where enforcement of such things is lax, is be surprised if this lasted very long, simply because of how crazy dangerous it would be to pedestrians and cyclists.
I refuse to believe that america is a real place
America is fine, as long as you steer clear of the United States.
What do you have against South America?
America is a scary story the Brits made up to keep the other colonies behaving.
I don’t know. Why are semi trucks allowed to have these?
I see them all the time even though they seem like a liability for a professional driver.
The idea is the driver can see if a lug nut is missing. They are typically just plastic, but would still shred a pedestrian or cyclist, two members of the woke left.
I’ve seen those sharp things on a pickup truck’s wheels
A few months ago a pickup truck cut me off and i crashed into its side and fell into the side of the wheel. If the truck i hit had these spikes, i’d be dead
You really don’t see them as much compared to when they were in their hay day, because they were/are a liability. But current ones are soft plastic with a thin metallic coating.
Fast rotating “soft plastic with thin metallic coating” will just as well mutilate or even kill pedestrians or cyclists in a collision. But then US Americans do not seem to care much about those.
Not disagreeing with you.
As God intended
Let’s be real, if you’re close enough that these are hitting you you’re getting hit by the multi ton truck as well. They’re a little silly, but not the huge hazard you’re making them out to be.
They make a wide vehicle even wider, for no good reason, your argument, can really only be made by an American who can not fathom that oversized roads are not only not the norm everywhere but are in themselves antipedestrian and get pedestrians and cyclists needlesly killed. There is also a good reason why tyre/axle parts extending beyond fenders are illegal in for example the EU. They are a risk to others in many ways, not only collission but also projecting stuff outwards. Last but not least, they make it harder for the driver to properly estimate the total width of the vehicle and invite driver error that can cost lives.
They are illegal in the EU and they are so for a reason.
_
They put them on to keep cars from crowding them, which they do have a legit problem with. I don’t really care as long as they stay in their lane it’s just psychological. The first time the wander a little into my line and tear up my car, i’m going to own their ass.
No, it is not just psychological, this stuff is real and absolutely mutilating towards any pedestrian or cyclist and also dangerous for other car drivers (doesn’t matter if they are just fake plastic or not). There is a reason this is not tolerated pretty much anywhere other than parts of the US.
It’s not illegal or unreasonable to use a bit of someone else’s lane when you can do so without getting unsafely close to them. For example, if you are in the right lane and there is someone changing a tire on the shoulder and you want to give them some space. These are not going to be easy to see from certain perspectives, and are kind of asking for someone to misjudge their car width.
The big trucks have 2 ft to play with. They max out at 9 ft wide in an 11ft lane. and if they wander into the next lane incorrectly, they’re responsible for 53 ft and are far more likely to kill someone.
Ode to local statutes, in most states (all the ones I checked) it is absolutely illegal to operate in other people’s lanes.
Statute: California Vehicle Code (CVC) § 21658(a)
Statute: Virginia Code § 46.2-804
Maryland Transportation Article § 21-309
Look, I don’t love the wheel grinders, but what you wrote is not factual
Up in Canada it’s similar across the board. Can we get someone to chime in from Mexico?
Ok you got me, I don’t know the vehicle codes of every state, nor am I an expert on them in any state. But I can tell you that people drifting into other lanes on occasion is a thing that happens, usually without it being a big deal. Sometimes by mistake though I gave you a scenario where it is arguably reasonable. I don’t dispute that it can also be dangerous, especially with big trucks.
While of course the lanes are there for a reason and should not be ignored, the relative positions of cars is the more important thing and our visual sense of where other vehicles is a thing we generally take in from the vehicle body and the expected consistent shape of them. And it is what we intuitively use when having to make sudden maneuver. Making your car have an unexpected shape and width below the body is asking for trouble.
illegal or unreasonable to use a bit of someone else’s lane
Yes it is? There are specific rules for passing cyclists and who has the right of way? If you are drifting out of your lane and/or without specific markings for a wide vehicle you are liable for collisions?
Nothing says idiot loser like these do.
This seems like a surefire way to get any insurance claim denied for dangerous modification to your car, or something along those lines.
They aren’t in any civilised countries, probably land you in prison when you are driving that on any public road in one of those.
According to Alexander’s tactics in Gaugamela, you first have to wear them down with javelins, and then open ranks to create alleys for them to pass through your infantry, then finish them off with hypaspists. Afterwards, you can charge your cavalry straight to Darius himself and win the battle.
Piece of cake really.
See also
- Scythed chariot – An ancient, military counterpart
Thanks.
Swangas (also spelled swangaz, and colloquially known as elbows (or elbos), 83s, or 84s (or simply 4s)) are custom extended wire-spoke wheel rims associated with slab car culture of Houston, Texas
Slab (sometimes in all capital letters) is an acronym for “slow, loud, and bangin’” that describes a custom car, music and surrounding culture that’s associated with African American hip-hop culture that emerged in the Houston area.
TIL. I always wondered what they were about.
Even more surprising is that Houston has any sort of culture.
Oh that’s easy! They’re not :)
Cite the law
I am guessing most states have a law about “unroadworthy vehicles” that pose a hazard
Sure, but they they also define “unroadworthy,” and this isn’t it. To be clear I think these are awful and would prefer they were illegal, it’s just that they genuinely aren’t a lot of the time
In South Carolina the law text is broad.
It shall be unlawful for any person to drive or move or for the owner to cause or knowingly permit to be driven or moved on any highway any vehicle or combination of vehicles which is in such an unsafe condition as to endanger any person or property
And yet I still see Carolina squats on bigass trucks. Their front blind spot has to be hundreds of feet at least.
I see squats riding around, too, and there is another explicitly written law against that. My impression is that SC cops don’t enforce traffic/vehicle laws at all unless you are doing something especially egregious.
something especially egregious
Like driving while black?
common sense?
But seriously, nothing can stick out beyond the body of the car (expect mirrors), not even wheels.
Edit: After checking the laws says the fender has to cover the tire to prevent splashing so it may not apply to rims like that. So back to common sense
nothing can stick out beyond the body of the car (expect mirrors), not even wheels.
That might be true for civilised countries.
But then it’s also the main reason why cars brought over by US military staff fail the inspection for road worthiness here.
Various US states have fender coverage laws:
- Fender Coverage Laws: States like California, New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania require the vehicle’s fenders or mudguards to completely cover the width of the tire and wheel assembly. If a rim protrudes past the body of the car, it is a ticketable safety violation.
Ultimately, the “slab” culture that popularized swangas remains highly localized to Texas and small pockets of the American South precisely because the rest of the world has closed the legal loopholes that allow them.
I thought it was because of the difference in emissions standards
Common sense is not a law…
Also the laws are different in different jurisdictions
Not a law.
I am not a lawyer but EU Regulation No 1009/2010 on type approval requirements for wheel guards states:
2.1.1. In the part formed by radial planes at an angle of 30° towards the front and 50° towards the rear of the centre of the wheels (see Figure 1), the overall width (q) of the wheel guard shall be at least sufficient to cover the total tyre width (b) taking into account the tyre envelope as well as the extremes of the tyre/wheel combination(s) as specified by the manufacturer. In the case of twin wheels, the tyre envelopes and total width over the two tyres (t) shall be taken into account.
In short: Nothing is allowed to extend beyond the wheel guards. Now, look at the image above again.
Deviating materially from the type approval makes your car not street legal as far as I understand. But this is a matter for a lawyer. Surely there is a reason why these psychopathic car mods are impossible to find in all of the EU on public roads.
Well written! But it misses my point entirely.
Common sense is not a law.
I did not quote “common sense” I quoted relevant law. If you want a full legal analysis rather than seeing relevant law, you need to pay a lawyer.
Then you replied to the wrong person. I didn’t ask for a law citation :)
