Boy Racers/Car modifiers....Why????
Discussion
jolley said:
Does anyone know the origin of these anyway? .... I am sure that I used to see them on lorry cabs well before they started to appear on cars.
Truckies lights are usually orange. The dutch copied the yanks and then we copied the dutch. I had them in the old days as well!
Wouldn`t now though, as I am older and wiser and can`t be arsed to change umpteen bulbs every five minutes. Steve
... or how about one of these!!!!!!!
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=14256&item=4521187523&rd=1
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=14256&item=4521187523&rd=1
GKP said:
Blimey. Is it 1984? Are Mr O's predictions coming true?
Tosh thread. Might as well ask why doesn't everyone have the same clothes/haircut/smell etc.
Yeas, but there's tasteful mods and then there's the OTT ones. You know, the ones that you tend to laugh at, rather than with!
Quite fancy a 'Pimp my ride' Astra Van' or the A-Team's van or the Mystery Machine. Now that's
90% of that post is a load of crap, exactly what harm are they doing to anybody, they might look bloody silly I'll agree but most of the young un's love their cars and I'll bet if you pulled 20 of the boy racers over and checked their cars for dangerous defects, and another 20 of the general public you'd find a lot more wrong with the public cars than the Boy Racer's.
Whilst I'm a strong advocate of "each to their own" there are some drivers/cars which do require the p1ss extracting from them, and SC has done a most thorough job of highlighting the latest trends.
SC - fancy a transfer to Hants???
They let me out out today. Just for an hour, driving a Fiesta panda. I even stopped a car!
SC - fancy a transfer to Hants???
They let me out out today. Just for an hour, driving a Fiesta panda. I even stopped a car!
simon-c said:
90% of that post is a load of crap, exactly what harm are they doing to anybody, they might look bloody silly I'll agree but most of the young un's love their cars and I'll bet if you pulled 20 of the boy racers over and checked their cars for dangerous defects, and another 20 of the general public you'd find a lot more wrong with the public cars than the Boy Racer's.
Agreed. Minimum government inspection for a boy racer car - annual. A repmobil could go for three years without being looked at. How often do company car drivers (not PHers obviously) check their tyres?
Streetcop said:
EXHAUST
Guilty, but it is a full blitz system designed to reduce backpressure. This is a damn good thing
Streetcop said:
ALLOY WHEELS - These are purely to make the car "look better".
The hell they are. Stronger and lighter than stock, with less tyre wall flex. This has to be a good thing. And if you thing £1000 is 'hyper expensive' then you've not looked at proper performace wheels for a while. A grand is cheap
Streetcop said:
UPRATED BRAKES
Huge brakes as standard from the factory.
Streetcop said:
LOWERED CARS - "Lowering" your car is when you take out the existing suspension springs and replace them for shorter suspension springs, meaning your car is lower off the ground and (in theory) more manoeuvrable (for those idiotic high speed car chases most boy racers indulge in). However one major flaw overlooked by boy racers, who often lower their cars until they are mere inches off the ground, is that the average speed bump, hill or unevenly surfaced road can result in the bottom of their car scraping the ground and can cause considerable damage to the exhaust.
The car wasn't high as standard. Been dropped another 25mm which you really can't notice anywhere but the drivers seat. Chases? Please.
Wouldn't be a problem if the council hadn't decided that rather than educate people to drive they'd just
up the roads instead. Streetcop said:
BODY KIT
Skirts are standard from Toyota
Streetcop said:
BUMPERS
Standard
Streetcop said:
CLEAR INDICATORS
Clear rears are standard. I've added clear sides to match.
Streetcop said:
"SPOTLIGHTS" (FOGLIGHTS) - Boy racers often take their inspirations from rally cars
Standard, because it is a rally car.
Streetcop said:
WIDE TIRES - Designed primarily to give greater stability while cornering, these also have the unfortunate result of giving the boy racer's car the appearance of a badly modded 80's dragster due to the extra surface area of the tyres.
10mm wider than stock to suit the new rims. Looks nothing like a dragster.
Streetcop said:
BIGGER WHEELS - Boy racers are obsessed with the size of their wheels
Have we not done this already? 18"s went on with no arch work required, and actually made the speedo more accurate.
Streetcop said:
BETTER AIR FILTERS / CARBURETTORS - If the boy racer's engine uses a carburettor, improved air filters and carburettors can be fitted to "improve performance" of the car. Such improvements often cost a small fortune and result in a minimal performance gain of a few BHP, but the prestige of having an air filter manufactured by certain brands is very great for a boy racer and often worth every penny. It is also not unheard of for boy racers to fit parts from other, better, cars to make their car appear cooler - turbo intercoolers being the obvious choice.
Airbox replaced with a HKS induction kit for performance purposes. Cost about £60. Charge cooler + rads as supplied by Toyota from the factory.
Streetcop said:
SPOILERS - Boy racers often attach ridiculously large "spoilers"
Spoiler as standard from Toyota. I seem to be saying this a lot.
Streetcop said:
TINTED WINDOWS - However since tinted front and rear windscreens are illegal in the UK
Guess what. Standard. And I'd be very suprised if tinted rear screens were illegal. How would one then drive a van with no rear screens.
Streetcop said:
DUMP VALVES - I really had to include these.
Sigh. Standard. From Toyota. You need a BOV/DV on a turbo car unless you like your turbo knackered by shockwaves and such.
Streetcop said:
FLAMER KITS - Don't ask us what the point of these are. They can be fitted to exhausts, and ignite excess fuel escaping through the exhaust, making a nice pretty flame.
My car does that without any kit at all. It's called unburnt fuel hitting a red hot downpipe/turbo. Turbos usually overfuel as it's slightly cooler and safer that way.
Streetcop said:
"CUSTOM FONT" PLATES - These were introduced in the UK a while ago but became illegal soon afterwards as it was realised they're often harder to read than the standard ones.
I still can't get anyone to tell me if my sticky plate is legal or not.
Streetcop said:
"BAD BOY" BONNETS
BONNET VENTS - Bonnet vents on rally cars are designed to increase air flow to the engine, to cool it. Naturally 99.9% of boy racer cars aren't rally cars
WIRE MESH RADIATOR GRILLS
Guess what my jumping to conclusions, stereotypical friend.
It is a bloody rally car. The holes and scoops are there for a damn good reason.
Is there anything else you'd like to discuss? Christ, I thought this was pistonheads, not 'aunt Maudes knitting tips'
So, to sum up.
Why?
Because.
Streetcop said:
EXHAUST - Often complementing the
ALLOY WHEELS - These are purely to make the car "look LOWERED CARS - "Lowering" your car is when you take DEBADGING - It is not much good to the boy racer if
Showing your age here Street
The official terms are 'drainpipe' (3" or 4" exhaust), Slammed (lowered) and debadging is just the start - 'shaved' is the full monty.
So a Nova with drainpipes with a mild slam and a neat shave is only half way to chavsville - hideous bodykits are the way forward..
www.jimmy540i.com/bmwnightmare.htm
Still, keeps them off the streets (if the speedbumps are high enough)..
Christ Streetcop, what the hell have you been drinking?
Bonnet vents to supply cool air to the engine??? Since the bonnet top is at a lower pressure than the engine compartment, they are used to remove hot air FROM the engine compartment - Standard issue on my Maserati.
Tight ground clearance - Again standard issue. If speed humps damage my exhaust system, the local council WILL have to pay for it and may well fall over at the cost of their folly. After all, they have been warned.
Tinted windows - Again standard issue AND legal. Actually, tinted windscreens are fully legal where they allow >75% of light to pass, >70% for side windows - Source: VOSA.
Sunstrips were standard on all Ferraris not so long back - Hardly rally cars are they?
Uprated brakes - Again standard issue (ventilated brembos) Fully commendable mod from a safety viewpoint on any car. However, could cause embarrassing probs for Plod when they stupidly tailgate a "potential" customer and the customer has to stand on the brakes to avoid a child running into the road.
I am not aware that Spotlights or rather driving lights (not foglights) are illegal when wired into the full beam circuit.
SC, I usually read your "column" with interest and some degree of admiration despite being perturbed at your authoritarianism. In Poland, the Militia underwent retraining (or compulsory attitude adjustment, as my better half describes it) when the Communists were booted out in 1989. The much more mellow Politia as they are now known, are a big improvement. This sits uncomfortably with a friend, a Met Inspector, who assured me he would NOT reveal his profession if stopped by Provincial Plod - Perhaps they and you need some C.A.A. too.
Do keep up the informative posts Gary, but please ... stop the cr@p.
Bonnet vents to supply cool air to the engine??? Since the bonnet top is at a lower pressure than the engine compartment, they are used to remove hot air FROM the engine compartment - Standard issue on my Maserati.
Tight ground clearance - Again standard issue. If speed humps damage my exhaust system, the local council WILL have to pay for it and may well fall over at the cost of their folly. After all, they have been warned.
Tinted windows - Again standard issue AND legal. Actually, tinted windscreens are fully legal where they allow >75% of light to pass, >70% for side windows - Source: VOSA.
Sunstrips were standard on all Ferraris not so long back - Hardly rally cars are they?
Uprated brakes - Again standard issue (ventilated brembos) Fully commendable mod from a safety viewpoint on any car. However, could cause embarrassing probs for Plod when they stupidly tailgate a "potential" customer and the customer has to stand on the brakes to avoid a child running into the road.
I am not aware that Spotlights or rather driving lights (not foglights) are illegal when wired into the full beam circuit.
SC, I usually read your "column" with interest and some degree of admiration despite being perturbed at your authoritarianism. In Poland, the Militia underwent retraining (or compulsory attitude adjustment, as my better half describes it) when the Communists were booted out in 1989. The much more mellow Politia as they are now known, are a big improvement. This sits uncomfortably with a friend, a Met Inspector, who assured me he would NOT reveal his profession if stopped by Provincial Plod - Perhaps they and you need some C.A.A. too.
Do keep up the informative posts Gary, but please ... stop the cr@p.
Corrado G60 with:
Boge sports suspension kit (stiffened and lowered by approx 30mm)
Eibach anti roll bars
Poly Race Bushes
Chip and pulley (68mm)
Jabbasport induction kit
Magnex stainless steel oval exhaust
Uprated headlights with PIAA rally bulbs....
Apart from that, all pretty standard and very little to give the game away from outside appearances.
Oh yeh, and BBS alloys, but that's nothing unusual as these were standard issue.
Seems I've ticked a few boxes, so do I qualify for a Burberry baseball cap?!!
ps. now if you'd mentioned those stupid bonnet eyebrows...
>> Edited by foster3jd on Thursday 3rd March 00:31
Boge sports suspension kit (stiffened and lowered by approx 30mm)
Eibach anti roll bars
Poly Race Bushes
Chip and pulley (68mm)
Jabbasport induction kit
Magnex stainless steel oval exhaust
Uprated headlights with PIAA rally bulbs....
Apart from that, all pretty standard and very little to give the game away from outside appearances.
Oh yeh, and BBS alloys, but that's nothing unusual as these were standard issue.
Seems I've ticked a few boxes, so do I qualify for a Burberry baseball cap?!!
ps. now if you'd mentioned those stupid bonnet eyebrows...
>> Edited by foster3jd on Thursday 3rd March 00:31
omg!!! ............ does that mean im still classed as a 'boy racer'??
interior - black scorpio granada electricly operated heated leather seats,mk4 ghia velour black doorcards,ghia black carpet,2000e wooden glovebox cover/airvent surround,motolita wood/chrome steering wheel
exterior - hella spotlamp grill,2.8 granada front spoiler,rga rear boot spoiler
exhaust rear box - stainless backbox with a 3 1/2in bore outlet but the rest of the system is std.
wheels - polished 5-spoke rs alloys (14in) on 195/60's
air filter - k+n lunchbox
i.c.e - pioneer keh-p6900r,1260 12-disk multiplayer,200w rear shelf speakers,180w front speakers (soon to be fitted - legacy 1000w amp and infinity kappa 12in subwoofer)
horns - standard 2-tone plus 'dixie' melody airhorns
i just wanted my car to look a bit diffrent from other cortina's (which it does) and now im gonna be classed as a boy racer......oh well,at-least i live in the right place to be classed as one i suppose.
>> Edited by cortinaman on Thursday 3rd March 00:40
interior - black scorpio granada electricly operated heated leather seats,mk4 ghia velour black doorcards,ghia black carpet,2000e wooden glovebox cover/airvent surround,motolita wood/chrome steering wheel
exterior - hella spotlamp grill,2.8 granada front spoiler,rga rear boot spoiler
exhaust rear box - stainless backbox with a 3 1/2in bore outlet but the rest of the system is std.
wheels - polished 5-spoke rs alloys (14in) on 195/60's
air filter - k+n lunchbox
i.c.e - pioneer keh-p6900r,1260 12-disk multiplayer,200w rear shelf speakers,180w front speakers (soon to be fitted - legacy 1000w amp and infinity kappa 12in subwoofer)
horns - standard 2-tone plus 'dixie' melody airhorns
i just wanted my car to look a bit diffrent from other cortina's (which it does) and now im gonna be classed as a boy racer......oh well,at-least i live in the right place to be classed as one i suppose.
>> Edited by cortinaman on Thursday 3rd March 00:40
Streetcop your getting old! I have a different (stainless steel don't ya know) 'zorst, a K&N air filter, and 30mm lowered suspension....
Was your post not the light hearted piss-take i took it to be then? It appears you've upset some people...
>> Edited by Hollywood Wheels on Thursday 3rd March 02:03
Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff