Hi-Riser (automobile) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Hi-Risers are a type of highly customized automobile

Automobile

An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...

, typically an inexpensive American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

-built sedan modified by significantly increasing the ground clearance

Suspension lift

A suspension lift is a modification, often done by Jeep, truck, SUV and offroad enthusiasts to raise the ride height of their vehicle. Suspension lifts enable steeper approach, departure, and breakover angles, higher ground clearance, and helps accommodate larger wheels and tires...

and adding large-diameter wheels with low-profile tires. Depending on the model and build year, autos customized in this manner can be labeled "donk," "box," or "bubble."

Hi-risers originally grew out of the Dirty South subculture, but the trend has spread across the United States. Vehicles customized in the hi-riser style are distinguished by their oversized (even disproportionate) wheel

Wheel

A wheel is a device that allows heavy objects to be moved easily through rotating on an axle through its center, facilitating movement or transportation while supporting a load, or performing labor in machines. Common examples found in transport applications. A wheel, together with an axle,...

s, ranging from 22 inches to 30 inches or more in diameter, as well as fanciful custom paint-jobs and expensive audio

Sound recording and reproduction

Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...

equipment. Suspension

Suspension (vehicle)

Suspension is the term given to the system of springs, shock absorbers and linkages that connects a vehicle to its wheels. Suspension systems serve a dual purpose — contributing to the car's roadholding/handling and braking for good active safety and driving pleasure, and keeping vehicle occupants...

modifications similar to those employed on lifted pickup trucks are made to give adequate clearance for the large wheels. Often the suspension is modified so the front end sits slightly higher than the rear end, giving the car a swaggering appearance. Because of the exaggerated look gained from installing a lifted suspension and
enormous wheels, donks are also known as "hi-risers" or "sky-scrapers."

The most popular vehicles for these types of modifications are full-size Chevrolet

Chevrolet

Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...

models, namely the Impala

Chevrolet Impala

The Chevrolet Impala is a full-size automobile built by the Chevrolet division of General Motors introduced for the 1958 model year. Deriving its name from the southern African antelope, Chevrolet's most expensive passenger model through 1965 had become the best-selling automobile in the United...

, and Caprice

Chevrolet Caprice

The Chevrolet Caprice is a full-sized automobile produced by the Chevrolet Division of General Motors in North America for the 1965 through 1996 model years. Full-size Chevrolet sales peaked in 1965 with over a million sold. It was the most popular American car in the sixties and early seventies....

, as well as mid-sized models such as the Monte Carlo

Chevrolet Monte Carlo

The Chevrolet Monte Carlo was an American-made two-door coupe introduced for model year 1970, and manufactured over six generations through model year 2007. It was marketed as a personal-luxury coupe through most of its history, with the last model version being classified as a full-sized coupe...

, and Chevelle

Chevrolet Chevelle

The Chevrolet Chevelle is a mid-sized automobile produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors in three generations for the 1964 through 1977 model years. Part of the GM A-Body platform, the Chevelle was one of Chevrolet's most successful nameplates. Body styles include coupes, sedans,...

. However, similar fullsize Ford models (Crown Victoria, Lincoln Town Car

Lincoln Town Car

The Lincoln Town Car is a full-size luxury sedan that was sold by the upscale Lincoln division of Ford Motor Company; it was produced from 1981 to the 2011 model years...

, Mercury Grand Marquis

Mercury Grand Marquis

The Mercury Grand Marquis was a full-size rear-wheel drive sedan sold by the Lincoln-Mercury division of the Ford Motor Company; the Grand Marquis was the flagship of the Mercury lineup. The nameplate itself had been in use since 1975 as the premium trim level of the Mercury Marquis; the Grand...

) are also popular, largely due to the ability to cheaply buy former police service Crown Victorias. There are three main sub-types of hi-riser, although the distinctions are blurred and open to debate. Most hi-riser enthusiasts agree that a "donk" traditionally is a 1971 to 1976 Impala

Chevrolet Impala (fifth generation)

The fifth-generation Chevrolet Impala are full-size automobiles produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors for the 1971 through 1976 model years and was one of GM's top-selling models throughout the 1970s...

. They were given this name because the "Impala" symbol was referred to as a "donkey" by owners or "donk" for short. To complement the sloping rear, the suspension of donks are frequently higher in the front end than the rear, resulting in a nose-up stance. Other hi-risers are usually raised evenly, resulting in a more or less level stance. A box

Box

Box describes a variety of containers and receptacles for permanent use as storage, or for temporary use often for transporting contents. The word derives from the Greek πύξος , "box, boxwood"....

is another sub-type of hi-riser, usually a 1977-1990-era Impala or Caprice with a boxy or squared-off front and rear end. Other models that are frequently made into hi-risers include the G-body Buick Regal

Buick Regal

The Buick Regal is a mid-size car introduced by General Motors for the 1973 model year. North American production ended in 2004 and began again in 2011. For the 2011 model year, Buick re-introduced the Regal to the North American market, positioned as an upscale sport sedan...

, Oldsmobile Cutlass

Oldsmobile Cutlass

The Oldsmobile Cutlass is a line of automobiles made by the Oldsmobile division of General Motors. The Cutlass began as a unibody compact car, but saw its greatest success as a body-on-frame intermediate car....

, Chevrolet El Camino

Chevrolet El Camino

The Chevrolet El Camino is a coupe utility vehicle produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors for the 1959–1960 model years in response to the success of its rival, Ford Ranchero. Production resumed for the 1964–1977 model years based on the Chevelle platform, and continued for the...

, Pontiac Grand Prix

Pontiac Grand Prix

Picking up where the Pontiac Ventura model left off, the Grand Prix first appeared in the Pontiac line for 1962. It was essentially a standard Pontiac Catalina coupe with minimal outside chrome trim and a sportier interior...

, and Pontiac Bonneville

Pontiac Bonneville

The Pontiac Bonneville was an automobile built by the Pontiac division of General Motors from 1957 to 2005. It was introduced as a limited production performance convertible during the 1957 model year...

.
Other vehicles gaining in popularity as hi-risers are the Cadillac DeVille

Cadillac DeVille

The de Ville was originally a trim level and later a model of General Motors' Cadillac marque. The first car to bear the name was the 1949 Coupe de Ville, a prestige trim level of the Series 62 luxury coupe. The last model to be formally known as a de Ville was the 2005 Cadillac Deville, a...

and Seville

Cadillac Seville

The Cadillac Seville is a luxury-type car that was manufactured by the Cadillac division of American automaker General Motors from 1975 to 2004, as a smaller-sized top-of-the-line Cadillac...

, as well as the Buick Roadmaster

Buick Roadmaster

The Roadmaster was an automobile built by the Buick division of General Motors. Roadmasters produced between 1936 and 1958 were built on Buick's longest non-limousine wheelbase and shared their basic structure with senior Oldsmobiles. Between 1946 and 1957 the Roadmaster was Buick's top of the line...

. Also gaining in popularity are the Ford Crown Victoria

Ford Crown Victoria

-1992–1994:Released in March 1991 as an early 1992 model, the Crown Victoria sedan was completely redesigned with a rounder, eight-window roofline . The redesign reduced the coefficient of drag from 0.42 to 0.34; the suspension setup was also heavily revised...

, Mercury Grand Marquis

Mercury Grand Marquis

, and Lincoln Town Car

Lincoln Town Car

The Lincoln Town Car is a full-size luxury sedan that was sold by the upscale Lincoln division of Ford Motor Company; it was produced from 1981 to the 2011 model years...

sedans. These three are the last full sized, body-on-frame

Body-on-frame

Body-on-frame is an automobile construction method. Mounting a separate body to a rigid frame that supports the drivetrain was the original method of building automobiles, and its use continues to this day. The original frames were made of wood , but steel ladder frames became common in the 1930s...

, RWD sedans of which the Lincoln Town Car is the only one still being sold for 2011. In fact, the Grand Marquis in particular is enjoying a slight sales surge due to the increasing popularity of buying them new and turning them into hi-risers. Several rappers have alluded to the Grand Marquis in their music. "Grand Marquis, paint job grape jelly."

Music style and slang

Hi-risers are an integral part of Indianapolis, St. Louis, Louisville, the East Coast, Central and South Florida music scene

Music of South Florida

Music of South Florida is music from the South Florida metropolitan area, which comprises cities such as Miami, West Palm Beach, Pompano Beach and Fort Lauderdale....

. Donk riders and rappers from this area in particular also share unique styles of slang and clothing. In South Florida, drivers of cars that would otherwise be considered classic and have had their stock tires replaced with 24s

Tire

A tire or tyre is a ring-shaped covering that fits around a wheel rim to protect it and enable better vehicle performance by providing a flexible cushion that absorbs shock while keeping the wheel in close contact with the ground...

, are referred to as donk riders. (The expression is thought to have originated with rapper Trick Daddy

Trick Daddy

Maurice Young , better known by his stage name Trick Daddy, is a certified platinum American rapper and producer from Miami, Florida.-Music career:...

, who hails from the Miami neighborhood of Liberty City.) The expression by Pit Bull Old School Chevy, Seven tray Donky Donk means the speaker owns this style of car. One prominent donk rider style in the South Florida area pairs dreadheads

Dreadlocks

Dreadlocks, also called locks, a ras, dreads, "rasta" or Jata , are matted coils of hair. Dreadlocks are usually intentionally formed; because of the variety of different hair textures, various methods are used to encourage the formation of locks such as backcombing...

with gold teeth or a gold grill
Grill (jewelry)
thumb|A gold dental grillIn hip hop culture, a grill is a type of jewelry worn over the teeth. Grills are made of metal and are generally removable. They began to be worn by hip hop artists in the early 1980s, but they became widely popular during the mid-2000s due to the rise of Dirty South rap...

, and over the years has spread throughout Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

Technical challenges

Raising a vehicle off of the ground by such a degree raises the center of gravity to a point where rolling the vehicle becomes a distinct possibility. The suspension modifications required are often meant for trucks and larger vehicles. If the vehicle's brakes haven't been upgraded to compensate for the significant increase in wheel diameter, its braking ability will be greatly diminished. In turning too fast, the weight of the vehicle may shift to extremes that were never considered for the vehicle in question, and may cause loss of traction or damage to the vehicle itself.
If not done the right way by a skilled technician, a wheel could come off while driving, resulting in significant damage to anything it hits. If done properly, it should handle in a similar fashion to a lifted truck or SUV.

External links

Donk-forums.com Donk-forums.com'

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Music style and slang

Technical challenges

See also

External links