Whether it’s the bass from their stereos, the smoke from their burnouts or the distinctive, high-pitched “veee!” of their engines revving, modified import cars can make themselves known even without being seen.

During the last 10 years, the underground world of car modification has surfaced to the mainstream in undeniable ways.

With films like “The Fast and the Furious” and video games like “Need for Speed: Underground 2” and “Burnout 3” along with a myriad of high-production magazines and automotive clubs, the car scene is expanding and gaining attention.

As evidence of this expansion, Iowa State’s Asian Pacific American Awareness Coalition sponsored a car show and competition on Oct. 23 geared toward lovers of modifying.

“Me and my friends saw some pretty nice modified cars around here,” says Alex Ung, co-president of the coalition and sophomore in chemical engineering.

“We thought if people like to show it off in the streets, they’d like to show it off competition-style too.”

Even on a cold Saturday afternoon, Ung says about 150 people showed up to check out the cars being shown off, which ranged from an Eagle Talon modified only by a car wash that morning to Ford Mustangs and Hondas with upward of $10,000 invested in modification.

John Nguyen, junior in finance, won first place in both the Viewers’ Choice and Mildly Modified categories at the show with one of his three modified cars.

At 24 years of age, he owns a 2002 Lexus IS300, a ’98 Honda Prelude and a ’94 Toyota Supra. Combined, Nguyen says he has spent between $35,000 and $40,000 in modifications.

“You know how everybody has their baseball card collection or their stamp collection,” Nguyen says. “This is my stamp collection. You know what I mean?”

To the average vehicle owner, it may seem to be quite the expensive stamp collection, but based on the costs of the most popular modifications, the numbers add up quickly.

Nguyen says he spent $1,100 on each rim for one of his cars. Add that to the televisions, body kits, intake and exhaust systems, fiberglass hoods, stereos and gaming systems, and tricking out a vehicle becomes quite the expensive hobby indeed.

Rap music videos, as well as the popular MTV show “Pimp My Ride,” have flaunted shiny, 20-inch wheels and spinning rims so much that the term “spinners” has practically become a term known by every youth.

Ung says many car modifiers, including himself, are more interested in their car’s image than its ability to race.

“It’s just to get stares — to get some attention,” he says.

There are also modifiers in Ames who focus on racing, but most are concerned about safety, despite the stereotypes that exist.

Cheng Sayaxang, sophomore in pre-business, says he and his friends take their cars to racetracks in Minnesota rather than racing in the streets of Ames.

Although minimal illegal street racing does occur in Ames. Ames resident Pek-Yee Teoh, owner of a ’99 Honda Prelude, says he and his friends gather near South Dakota Street about once a month to drag race.

Although Nguyen says he likes modifying cars to go fast as much as Teoh does, he can’t afford risking his life, education or the feelings of loved ones by street racing.

“I’m not putting myself in jeopardy with that,” Nguyen says. “One of my friends got in a car wreck and is the sole survivor, and they were gonna try him as an adult as a killer and he’s only 18.”

Nguyen says hearing about experiences like his friend’s and seeing reports of race-related deaths on the news causes him to take a step back and evaluate his priorities.

“There’s no track around here, so why do it?” he asks. “No one’s showing me a time slip. There’s no quarter mile. I’m not trying to get into that.

“I’m not trying to knock on the import scene around here,” he says. “I’m just saying I don’t get into it ’cause it’s illegal. It’s not illegal to modify a car.”

Track racers, lookers and law-breakers — all can be found in Ames’ small car-modification community. Many local enthusiasts say it is the diversity within the community that helps it thrive and evolve. Although Sayaxang takes his racing on the track, when in Ames, he says, encounters with other car buffs can happen anywhere.

“Whenever we stop by a parking lot and see someone with a really nice car, we just go up to them and ask them what they’ve done to their car,” he says.

“That’s where some people get ideas.”

Sayaxang says the cost of making these ideas into a reality are akin to expensive sports equipment or other hobbies. Not only that, but car modification is about the process — not just the results.

“It’s about getting your hands on it and knowing that you built the car,” he says.

“It’s a good feeling.”