Headlights are being stolen

I was at my Porsche Dealer this past weekend and they have had over 15 996's (pre-face lift) and over 20 Boxsters come in missing the headlights, the entire assembly. One of the body shop guys told me that they've become quite popular with the ricer crowd. Just an FYI and my $.10

Think about it, it takes less then 5 mins to pop the two out and a pair of Lits are worth $800+ used and standard lights are worth $500+ ...Easy money for theives. It is to bad...

Terrible...yet another reason to not like ricers!

what's a ricer?

I will start off with this.... Ricer can be an individual of any race or color... It is a term that is used to describe an individual that modifies their vehicle in a certain Ricer style (Usually asian cars but many "Ricers" have adopted the BMW into their clan) So what are they into you ask? Lot's of stickers, large "fart can" exhausts, flashy things to add apearence, High end engine modifications like: cold air "snorkle", changing the plug wires to blue, NOZZZZ.. etc. Ricers are mostly kids that know nothing about their car other than an exhaust and a cold air filter adds at least an extra 100HP to the 124HP Honda engine. in short It is a derogatory term about this group of car enthusiests. NOT a racial slur.

I used to be employed by McGard who makes security fasteners (including our locking Wheels studs). I just forwarded this to one of my old engineering buddies there. Maybe they'll sell some security fasteners for this.

well said Sandoval

At least Porsche headlights are not as easy to steal as Maxima headlight 2 minutes with a pry bar, and about $2000 later. But this is also the first time I have ever heard or them stealing the Boxster's or 996's lights.

This has been a HUGE problem among the Audi crowd. I haven't heard of it happening to P-Cars yet.

This was (still is?) big problem with Acura headlights a couple of years ago in large markets. The early HID lights that were on the certain Acura models were interchangeable with certain Honda vehicles and could be removed easily without opening the hood of the vehicle. It seems odd that the Porsche headlights would be popular because it doesn�t seem like they would be direct fit for any other cars.

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What if we replaced the stock screws/bolts with torx (sp?) heads, or something like that? At least that would slow down the thieves, and hopefully by the time they return with the right tool, I've left the restaurant/theater/shopping mall...

Security hardware would just result in even worse damage to your car's fascia and fender well after the lights are finally yanked -or worse , the keying of your car because they are p*ssed off, IMO.

Ricers..... When I was in Japan there seemed to be a dominance of huge over-sized WOOFERS in cars. Almost always mounted in such a way, typically near or in the rear window area, that the general public was forced to notice where the LOUD, THUMPING, bass sounds were originating. Can you imagine someone doing that with a Porsche??

9966c2: Tool Pants posted a good example of a riced-up car. There are the Porsche headlights alright. I think the goal is to make your car the ugliest one around. A good place to start is the front end; which has to have a lot of big air holes in it and be low enough to scrape the pavement on dips. The car shown also has the requisite ugly, highly polished, large diameter wheels, and is so low that the tires rub the fenders in turns. The car didn't look quite low enough, so lower side skirts were added. The owner decided to go with a red and crome motif in the engine compartment. That car is still an unfinished project until it gets a huge rear wing and dark tinted glass, however. I can't hear the booming sound system, but I think I see the car vibrate with the bass beat. I've seen a couple of 944s riced-up, but no 911s so far.

Wow, I think I met get very violent if I saw some moron trying to rip the lights out of my car so that he can 'upgrade' his $5k beater... Until I saw that picture that tool pants posted, I thought they were being stolen to resell to other p-cars owners... A friends brother has a maxima, 3rd set of light so far, $2k each time...soon he'll spend more on lights than the car is worth.

What's wrong with "Ricers" and what don't you like about them? Is it a racial thing??? Ricers are generally considered Asians....you (itzkirb) being one, I can't believe you said that. I'm a ricer, I have a 11 second Honda Civic with plastic headlights a different year Civic. (Totally riced out but faster than your Porsche) I also own a Porsche, Mercedes, BMW and once a Ferrari. I think that the import crowd is one of the better crowds to hang with, we have good imagination, creativity and pretty good mods. Sure some of the mods are questionable and sometimes not of good taste. But there is no reason to bash anyone for their imagination. Their creation is their own creation, people are proud of what they can make. It is an unfortunate stereo type that "ricers" are Honda Civics with big useless wings, it is also unfortunate that Porsche drivers are stereo typed as stuck up ******, that pay to have their mods done for them. (only a generalization) For Itzkirb to exploit hating a group of people because they are different and most likely not as fortunate to have a Porsche like us, I think you (ItzKirb) are falling into the stereo type of a stuck up (*****) Porsche owner. I'm sorry to step on your toes but I think I have to stick up for the import crowd this time. Also: you want to talk Rice, we'll talk Rice, how about a whole bunch of people that own $70K Porsches' "scrounging" around for a $.40 plug that is not even a car part to modify their intakes.....TALK ABOUT RICE....why don't you buy the Fabspeed since you're wallet is so Phat!

http://www.beaterz.com one of the funniest sites, and a good source of information on ricers. Enjoy, Rob

Oakland, read what Sanduval said. It's not a racial thing. From his post... I will start off with this.... Ricer can be an individual of any race or color... It is a term that is used to describe an individual that modifies their vehicle in a certain Ricer style (Usually asian cars but many "Ricers" have adopted the BMW into their clan) So what are they into you ask? Lot's of stickers, large "fart can" exhausts, flashy things to add apearence, High end engine modifications like: cold air "snorkle", changing the plug wires to blue, NOZZZZ.. etc. Ricers are mostly kids that know nothing about their car other than an exhaust and a cold air filter adds at least an extra 100HP to the 124HP Honda engine. in short It is a derogatory term about this group of car enthusiests. NOT a racial slur. My comment was a general comment....Another reason to hate 'x'. You can really put anything in there. There a reason to like things and a reason to hate things. Always two sides to everything...well most things. Man I sound like Yoda. I'm sure on other boards there are many reasons to hate Porsche drivers. I'll even add that I have Ricer friends, or friends who like to fix up their honda's/toyota's...doesn't mean I have to like ALL Ricers. I apologize if I offended you or any other ricers that read the board.

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[QUOTE] Originally posted by Itzkirb [B]Oakland, read what Sanduval said. It's not a racial thing. I hear ya ItzKirb, however, you gotta give these guys credit, young but atleast they're trying. When I was 18, I did not know squat about cars and mods, I had to find out for my self. Now I am a certified master technician at 28, I know cars very well. These young ricers will be Porsche owners one day....(like me) and I would never look down on them, regardless of race or type of people. A little history on the whole "Rice" phenomenom. (As far as I can gather), it started in the street racing scene of San Jose and SoCal. Where young Asian kids would have little Honda's & Toyota's, would fix up their rides and street race them illigally in industrial areas. Soon they were confronted by Big V8 American cars in which they kept getting picked on by the generally caucasian V8 Camaros, Mustang owners. Non of our Honda's back then could keep up with their V8s'. They started to call us "Ricers", generally because we are Asian and we eat a whole lot of rice and hang out at Rice serving restaurants. They didn't like the fact that we were racing these small Japanese cars on their street tracks. So then the slurs went about. Also, the imports we had were all made in Japan, a whole group of people who generally ate a whole lot of Rice.....So this whole "Rice" thing is pretty racial....we just don't think of its roots. Yes other crowds, race and now domestic manufactures have adopted to it. So there, that is the true meaning of Rice.

I have a different interpretation of Ricers. I think they are just like we were when we were young. They modify the cars that are readily available to them. For the past decade the cars most available to young people tended to be small cars built in Japan. Some of the mods are pretty impressive and some are just plain silly. Sounds familiar to me. I grew up in the seventies when the first thing we did was jack the backs (and sometimes the fronts) of our cars up so they handled even worse than they did to start with. As for the stereo, my first car had a quadraphonic 8 track and four big old pioneer 3 ways. We used to crank up Frankenstein just to hear it work it's way around the car. If we would have has a sub-woofer I'm sure we would have had it cranked. I don't like modified Japanese imports but then again I don't like Rap music. I do however accept that that's just me getting old. Jim

I couldnt have said that any better. BTW, JimB, did you know that you have a twin username in the Mercedes Benz (BenzWorld) forums. His name is also JimB....just like the way you have your handle.

Don't confuse not being impressed with somebody's work with looking down on them. I can appreciate the amount of work and skill that goes into a small percentage of the cars, but I'd still never want to own one. The end result just doesn't appeal to me. And while there is some originality in the import crowd, for the most part it's like any other clique where the majority simply conform to the expectations of their peers: Japanese import Big rims exhaust with big tip clear corners blue lights etc. etc. etc.

Rob in WA, I believe the car (use the phrase loosely here) you posted started life as a Skoda.

I understand their skill and imagination, it is their taste I do not agree with. This is a matter of opinion. I too have many "Ricer friends" Many have higher end cars like Skylines and Supras that have double or Tipple in their cars. They are my friends and they have impressive cars but I still call them ricers. One of my "Ricer" friends owns a body shop catering to "Ricers" he even laughs at some of the crazy things these guys ask him to do. But their money is green just like ours. So ITZKIRB does not hate the person he hates the taste of their mods... which I am not fond of either 90% of the time. Also I will say every time I have gone to a store like Autobacs or an event the ricers drool over the Porshes. I think most of them are kids and if they could foot the bill of an $85K car they would buy a Porsche. As many of my "Ricer" friends have purchased Porsche's as they grow up... It is no different then the Greasers of the 50's and modifying old Chevy & Fords...

The only thing that takes away from Rob in WA's Skoda is that cheap timer on the steering wheel! Other then that......

I'd take the hit on keying etc. as long as they cannot get to them without damaging them. If you have an insurance deductable your are already well over it. I assume they must break into the trunk first. Guess that I'll need to figure out some way of protecting my LIT's

I didn't think that Red Rocket was legit until I saw the Playboy bunny stuck on the dash... Good one!

Fart Can exhaust!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL LOL

Young guys have been modifying their parents' hand me down sedans for decades . Hot rodders in the post WW2 years in SoCal , '57 Chevys, mid 60s Detroit iron, mid 70s Capris ( first wave of Asian American modders ), Rabbitt/Scirocco s in early 80s, Mustangs and Camaros to this day, Japanese sedans in the late 80s to present. The demographics of today's hot rodders simply reflects the changing demographics of the young people in certain parts of this country. For example , 40% of California's workforce in now Hispanic , and will become 60% in 10 years from studies. Yet , if you watch TV shows , everyone here seems to look like the Beach Boys and drives a convertible .

Damn! I'd go for a cold air filter and a big muffler to add an extra 300 hp to my C4S!!

Sure, "ricer" isn't a racial term. . . and the next time you see a bunch of black guys driving around, make sure you ask them if they like to eat watermelon . . and if you see a bunch of latinos in a low rider, always mention to them you hate "beaner" cars. I mean, come on, we're just talking about food right?

I'm asian, PI, and i love rice but dislike ricers...any. Sorry. My tastes are influenced by my father i guess and the love for precious things. When on leave I take part in small maintenance on his 1963 Studebaker Hawk and usually take it for daily drives to "ensure it still runs". I love the old muscle car scene of nothing but pure air/gas mixture and carburetors...sometimes 6 packs. I also am very fond of the european automotive industry and yes at number one Porsches. The thing about "ricers" is they think they are better than everyone else and they only concentrate on the 1/4 mile. I can make anything go fast in a straight line but can you make your car run laps on the Ring without flying off one of the many turns? I was at a PCA auto-X in Germany this past summer while on the runway the American drag club was running their thing. I over heard a young airman stating that his pretty much stock 2002 WRX non STi with all the nice stickers of parts not on his car beat a RUF BTR and other RUF's on the auto X. Come on don't let it go to your head because your head might explode and get blood on me and that's when i get mad..when you make my clothes dirty. Ok sorry just wanted to vent...a rough day at work here on the ROK. harrY

A Honda with P-car lights? Can we all say "Photoshop"? There's no way "Ricer" couldn't be taken as ethnic slur. It's all in the eye of the beholder, so if you're going to say/write "Ricer" remember there will be consequences depending on who is listening. I think the same is true of the term "Beaner", and what if I bust out the N-word? All are the same, derogatory. That being said, the so called import cars with huge grapefruit shooting exhausts and double-wide, double-high wings look cheap and fake. I don't care if an 11 second Honda can beat my Porsche, cause at the line your Honda is still a Honda.

Excellent point Brian. I think that sums up what people have been trying to say for the last 3 pages! "I don't care if an 11 second Honda can beat my Porsche, cause at the line your Honda is still a Honda"

TP: are you sure that pic is not the 4 passenger Porsche concept car?

I guess this has to be one of those hyper sensitive California things, but I think pretty much everywhere else, "ricer" is short for "rice burner" which refers to Japanese cars not to the people who drive them. Up here that crowed is as lilly white as can be.

The ricer thing started not in San Jo but the San fernando valley. It has been around there as an underground street race thing since I can remember from the 80's back. Check any way old school turbo magazine I have them all from then and almost all the sick cars are from there. - The whole ricer thing however doesn't apply to cars that are tastefully done and are functional, i.e. not just cosmetic and detract from the car whether performace wise or in another facet. What a ricer is, is someone who takes a car that is a grocery getter and puts the monster wing on it which does nothing and screws up the suspension to actually make it handle worse than stock! Another reason for ridicule is the simple fact that they choose to modify a car that has such weak performance as a basis. And yes here comes the oh, well that's all they can afford so it's cool argument, but I bet to differ. They could start with the old time old school favorite of a starion or the american variant which back in the day were pretty much the first fun turbo car to wrench on. Of course the eclipse broadened that stroke, as well as the 300z, 3000gt which is an offspring of the starion with the variant dodge stealth just like the starion and eagle or whatever. Other things that come to mind were the spraypainting of the whole dash with that rock spray stuff which was popular around early 90's. And to clarify a few things: it is true that the phrase "a ricer" came from a japanese car and that it's origins are making fun of a japanese car not a person. It doesn't refer to any race or creed; just the cars origins and the higher percentage of the car being silly after "modding" a car that was meant for great fuel mileage and affordability. Again the argument is if you want performance take the same money and start with a better platform-

Its kinda funny that the Honda crowd stills refers to their cars as being part of the "import scene". Most Hondas and Toyotas sold in the US are built here, too. Those ricers ought to be glad of it, since it they're not paying a permium on cars that had to be imported.

Yeah, true, but at the end of the day, I also have a Porsche 2003, a new Benz, an E46 M3 and BTW my 11 Second Honda So clearly it's no longer a matter of brand car you got, or how much money you've got in your pocket. But lets get back to this topic, "headlights being stolen"...Someone started to point the finger to "ricers" stealing these headlights.....DOES NOT MAKE SENSE, wouldn't you think Porsche owners would be the first suspects here, SInce these are Porsche headlights. The first people I would suspect would be the people without Litronics because they were too cheap to buy the option. Much like the rest of the Porsche chop-shops in LA, I don't see them catering to Hondas'..or ricers for that mater. It's mainly the Porsche owners who flock to these stolen parts i.e. interior and carbon fiber parts. Clearly, I would never win in this board since you'all are Porsche people and look down on any Honda owners you see. I'll just be the better person who doesnt hate just because of a certain type of car, hobby, color or AGE a person is. Clearly, most of you have a thing against Young people. I'll let this statement speak for itself "I don't care if an 11 second Honda can beat my Porsche, cause at the line your Honda is still a Honda"

Who do you think you are Oakland996? That's a presumptious statement to make that you think you are younger, have a newer car, etc. What does that have to do win anything? If you are going to make statements like any of these. BACK THEM UP WITH RATIONALE! And it's not about "winning" a discussion. Clearly your age is showing. Just remember, there is always somebody better than you, older/younger than you, has a newer car than you, faster car, etc.. Just drop it.

I'm sorry LVDeLL, I didn't mean to hurt your Man-gina.

You guys are HILARIOUS!!! I thought I would add that all of the aftermarket "aero" parts must be left painted primer....God forbid that they actually match the rest of the car. Oh yeah, and don't forget to rip out the backseat to save an extra couple pounds (even though you add 50+ pounds of random crap on the outside of the car).

Oakland, I am not even gonna justify that with a comment. Obviously you are in the wrong forum. Go back to the rice rocket forum where there are people your own age and maturity level.

It's all good LVDell, I'm just giving you a hard time. I know some of the overly modified import cars are pretty annoying to you all. I'm just standing my grounds. All kidding aside, I'd rather drive my Porsche than my Civic in the streets, "it gets more action". OK, I'm gonna crawl back into VTEC.NET now.

hey oakland, somebody is sure salty about AGE. You can be Bill Gates and have one of everything in your driveway, but that doesn't mean you have any TASTE.

hey oakland, somebody is sure salty about AGE. You can be Bill Gates and have one of everything in your driveway, but that doesn't mean you have any TASTE.

Can someone tell me if i'd be considered a ricer? I used to own a 96' Bmw Z3 with Veilside bodykit, Dupont Chromallusion paint, Airbag suspension, Eclipse sound system, etc) Here's a list of vehicles that are currently in my garage: 2002 Lexus IS 300 (widebody, greddy exhaust, Ingen intake, CF wing & splitters, NOS, Headers, JIC coilovers, etc) (2000 Mercedes S500 (20" momo's, taillight updated, flush badges, straight pipe) 2002 Toyota Tundra Limited (3" Lift via King Coilovers, Mickey Thompson wheels, 33" BFG tires) 2003 Porsche Carrera 4S ($15k in options) I've always percieved myself as an automotive enthusiast and that's how i see these so-called "ricers", as enthusiasts. I tricked out my Z3 to be a So Ca cruiser and to experiment with all the crazy things that could be done to a car. While most bmw owners saw my modifications as sacrilige, i just did it for fun. kind of funny how something that makes one person smile, makes another cringe

I see this a little different then some of you... I see ricers as people who do ridiculous things to their cars that appear to be mods but are nothing other than stickers or fins, or really off the wall oddities that add nothing to performance. If you ACTUALLY increased the performance of your car that's something to be proud of, and it's still not my thing, but at least you DID it. I posted the link to www.beaterz.com earlier... go to the ricers section and read some of the comments... it's of course very sarcastic, but it's more of where I'm coming from. Rob-

Oakland 996, An 11 second civic isn't rice...a 17 second civic with a huge wing (for more downforce to the rear...of course..), 5" exhaust tip (coming from a 1.5" cat back system...of course), stickers for products the car doesnt even have and of course... 45# chrome wheels...

I agree with most of the last three posts, but IMHO, I believe that "rice" would apply to ANY Accord, Civic, or other car in that category. Basically people who take family sedans or compact commuter cars and throw a bunch of stuff on them. I don't care if a civic can do even a 10 sec 1/4...no matter what they do to it, it's still a car designed to be a highly economical commuter car. I mean, what would people think if we took out 911's and put 6" lift kits and off-road tires on them? While I know it has been done once or twice, it's just silly. That being said, the fast and furious crowd admittedly deserves more respect than the bondo and primer painted cars with 2 foot wings.

WHAT if Youre ASIAN (like Me, fr the Phillipines) and HATE RICE Actually, I dont hate RICE, but I would prefer a good plate of Steak and Potatoes over RICE any DAY

I agree with you Senna (Mr. Big Avaitar). I don't really like Rice either, if I have to eat rice I prefer Rice-a-Roni, it has flavor. White Rice is just too bland for my tastes.

Thats what that HOT SAUCE is for, you know! Its that big RED bottle with the Rooster on it, that they provide on the tables at the restaurants that I go to. I can eat rice if I have that stuff to go with it, especially HUNAN cuisine or THAI.....mmmmmmm...!! This is makin me HUNGRY

Oooooh I love that Srichi hot sauce (or however you spell it).

I'm pickin up the PHONE right now to order take out from the restaurant in front of my office........ this whole thread was productive enuff to make me laugh AND hungry (spoken outloud in my most sarcastically humorous filipino tone)

Coming from a Filipino background, I would consider you as a "Coconut". I still eat rice everyday, and I don't hate anybody for what they drive or what they have. But I despise "Coconuts". (Coconuts are Brown on the outside and wants to be white on the inside).

I love coconuts, especially when its in an Almond Joy bar, wrapped in MORE brown stuff, all nice a sweet, and chocolatey....... I DO NOT DESPISE anything.....or anybody, FWIW Party ON.......... DONT BE A HATER>>>>>I DISLIKE HATERS BUT DONT DESPISE THEM!

Coconuts are still WHITE on the inside.....no matter what you may believe!

Too Much of that Hater-Aid drink going around these days... Coconuts, hahaha never heard of that term! Gotta use that on my friends now! Thanks!

this post gets funnier and funnier....

Don't hate, Tolerate