Modifying a car for stance is a controversial thing to do, one that can win adoration and condemnation depending on the audience. We suspect few would celebrate the mods on this Volkswagen Golf, though, given it’s slammed so low it needs a wheel removed to refuel.
Stance is all about slamming cars to the ground, often while giving the wheels huge amounts of negative camber. Lower suspension heights and negative camber were often pursued by racers and drifters with performance goals in mind. This created an attractive look that was then taken to extremes by the stance community to the point where it compromised a vehicle’s basic operation. Handling is compromised and ground clearance virtually non-existent, making any proper stance build difficult to impossible to drive on normal roads.
This car, belonging to a man named Dante, is a perfect example of the form. The suspension height has been dropped so low that the giant wheels live deep in the rear arches. This created a problem in that the rear wheel ended up taking up the space where the fuel filler neck would normally go, carrying fuel from the filler inlet to the tank.
Dante’s solution is both creative and ridiculous. The filler neck was simply hacked off the tank. When refueling, the car must be jacked up so the rear right wheel can be removed. A flexible hose is then fitted to the filler stub left on the tank, and the tank is filled up via a jerry can. Once finished, the flexible hose is removed, and the remaining filler neck is “sealed,” if you can call it that, with duct tape.
Even members of the stance community consider the build extreme, if the TikTok comments are anything to go by. Some recommended routing the filler neck into the trunk area for easier access. While this would negate the need to remove a wheel, it comes with its own problems. This would vent fuel vapors into the cabin which is both a fire and a health risk. Fitting a properly-designed fuel cell in the trunk would be a viable solution to the problem. However, it’s a huge investment to make for a car that is barely drivable anyway.
Overall, it’s difficult to recommend stancing a vehicle to the point where it can’t safely be refueled anymore. Additionally, sealing a fuel tank with duct tape is likely to lead to leaks and even potential fires, particularly if the giant wheels happen to rub on anything, thus generating excess heat. With that said, it’s clear Dante loves his car enough to get busy with the wheels every time he needs to put gas in the tank. Is that to be respected? Sound off in the comments below.
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