"Lowriders" - The Complete Lowdown (With Video)

Updated: Wednesday, April 30, 2014, 8:54 [IST]

For some, cars are not just transport, but a way of life. Across the world to the United States, to a kind of car called a ‘lowrider'. Heard of it? If you haven't, we'll give you a rough definition first - a ‘lowrider' is a car whose height is lowered so it skims the ground, with smaller diameter wheels than stock and modifications to the suspension. The term can also be used to refer to the driver of the car.

People have been lowering their cars in the US since the 1940s during the craze of ‘hot rod' modification, but lowriders as a class of modified cars gained popularity in the late 1960s and early ‘‘70s. Today, lowriders are a part of hip hop and urban culture - you can see still see examples of these in music videos.

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By far, the coolest thing about a lowrider is how it is able to lift off the ground, either jumping entirely or with one or two wheels in the air. These cars are able to do this because of extensive modification to the suspension, where springs and shocks are replaced either by air bags that inflate and deflate to adjust the ride height, or through the more coveted hydraulics systems, where the car can be made to ‘hop' and ‘dance' by ‘flipping switches' inside.

How these hydraulic systems work is rather interesting, if you're into that sort of thing. They use a hydraulic actuator or a bladder that can be filled quickly with fluid. This bladder is attached to a compressor that shoots the fluid into the bladder extremely rapidly, causing it to expand and ‘explode'. The rapid expansion pushes hard on the suspension components around it, causing the car to ‘spring away' and ‘dance'.

Lowrider hopping is very similar to how when you jump, your legs exert a downward force to the ground that propels you upwards since the ground is stationary, and you come back down when that force is removed.

Hydraulic actuators require a lot of power to work, so the boot or load bay of the car or truck is filled with several car batteries to run them, and as a result make the cars very heavy. But they were never really meant to be fast cars. These cars don't take corners well, don't create land speed records or win hillclimbs, but only do one thing well, which is delivering a huge style statement.

While several cars today are modified into lowriders, the most popular base cars are Chevrolet Impalas from the 1960s, Chevrolet Monte Carlos from the ‘70s and 80s, Buick Regals, Oldsmobile Cutlass Supremes and even trucks like the Chevrolet El Camino. These cars are modified quite dramatically, with flashy paint jobs, elaborate rims and extremely powerful stereos so the car can dance to its own tune...

Lowrider shows happen through the year in the US -- some of them hold popular dance contests. It's quite an amazing sight, seeing cars leaping several feet off the ground or jumping from side to side. During these performances, owners usually control the hopping cars via remote as a safety measure as injuries might occur otherwise.

The video says it all

If you are a lowrider, you don't drive too fast. True that. You ‘drive slow' because everyone needs to see you. Check out the accompanying video, "Lowrider" by "War", it's a great listen that captures the culture with simple lyrics and great music.

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It seems highly unlikely this culture will ever reach India, because we don't have those extravagant American classic cars or streets to cruise. Who knows, maybe one day someone will convert a Contessa or an Amby into a lowrider here. But somehow a bright purple and green Ambassador with lowered suspension and fancy rims hopping down M.G. Road doesn't sound right. Or does it?