Reccession kills the Boy Racer phenomenon?

finnegan2010

Is it Just me, Or has the reccession Killed off the last of the boy racers?
I remember the days I would be sitting at home and the roars of the cavalcade going by. I actually cant recall the last time i saw a Micra with a 6 foot wing on the roof :eek:
Or a blacked out Mitsubishi Colt with 20 inch allows and 12 exhausts.
Are they still out there?:cool:

Atomic Pineapple

The bottom falling out of the construction industry would be the main reason in my mind. I used to work in the construction industry a few years ago and every second apprentice or labourer had some form of modified car, some decent, some bad.

With a shift towards people now wanting to get an education because the high wages and plentiful work for people with no 3rd level degree is drying up you'll see people give up spending money on cars.

By the way they are still out there though, I seen a 206 in Drogehda with six exhausts a few months ago.

NIMAN

God bless the recession then.

Atomic Pineapple

NIMAN wrote: »

God bless the recession then.

Try to keep the posting in this thread informative and make sure when your posting that your actually adding something to the thread. I don't want to see a thread of posts like the one quoted as we've seen it all before.

Any further posts like that by anyone will be deleted as they don't contribute to the thread.

mikemac

Construction work, even labouring was decent money and easy enough for young people to get. Sometimes cash in hand
That's gone now and it can be difficult for young people

No money means no money to spend on the cars.

Can't say that I noticed fewer modified cars, didn't realy think of it.
But now that I do think of it, I suppose you're right, far fewer around my area and there used to be loads.

Or maybe the owners have the cars but can't afford the fuel.

One bright side, a good time to buy if you find what you want advertised, a buyers market

finnegan2010

Well Im a casual driver, I used to get them over taking me the usual stuff. Car parks, industrial estate's they would be everywhere messing around.
Last few months I have really noticed it. A guy I know also works in a mod shop he said business is gone through the floor for big ticket items such as rims and paint work.

I suppose Petrol prices cant help either, It used to cost me 50 euro approx to fill now near 65 yikes ! Fell into a daze filling up recently and nearly died when i looked up at the Price on the pump

I know there are 2 of these style vehicles a neighbours kids have and they havent moved off his property in near 15 months. I suspect the tax and all the variables are hitting hard

Sofiztikated

I'd be more inclined to say that its more that tastes/styles have changed.

Gone are the days of 1.1 206's with a tonweight of fiberglass bodykits, and neons everywhere.

Now its VAG cars, straight pipes for the WOOOO, and making them look like the high spec petrol equivilents. See TDiddlyI Golfs with R32 kits and exhausts or RS4 badged TDiddlyI A4's. Felt spec, basically. And nothing annoys me as much as the puff of black smoke, RRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP woooo.

Of course money would be a major factor in it as well. No money, no money for mod's. And take into account the amount of people emmigrating as well.

FiSe

Maybe it's not the 'R' at all, maybe the boy- and girl-racers just got older

spoonface

FiSe wrote: »

Maybe it's not the 'R' at all, maybe the boy- and girl-racers just got older

I heard first-hand the other day that the Gardai are getting their hands on noise measurement equipment so they can actually do something about boyracers whose cars have the modified exhausts that you can hear from a mile away. There's still a few out there for them to catch...

Sofiztikated

spoonface wrote: »

I heard first-hand the other day that the Gardai are getting their hands on noise measurement equipment so they can actually do something about boyracers whose cars have the modified exhausts that you can hear from a mile away. There's still a few out there for them to catch...

Yeah, I'll believe that when I see it. They were supposed to be getting them 5 years ago. Now there's feck all money, I doubt it very much.

spoonface

Sofiztikated wrote: »

Yeah, I'll believe that when I see it. They were supposed to be getting them 5 years ago. Now there's feck all money, I doubt it very much.

It's a fair point but it was stated by a local Garda here at a community meeting that they're getting equipment in the near future for this. I'll update you here if I hear something progressed.

finnegan2010

Pardon my ignorance, but whats a VAG CAR?
Vagina Car?:eek:

Atomic Pineapple

finnegan2010 wrote: »

Pardon my ignorance, but whats a VAG CAR?
Vagina Car?:eek:

Volkswagon Group

Audi, Volkswagon, Skoda etc

skipz

A Lot of my mates and people i know that had boy racer cars drove the sh1te out of every single one of them.
All money was spent doing the car up to look the sh1t but were never looked after mechanicaly.
Id say most boy racer cars are either scraped, crashed or lying up somewhere not running.
Why spend stupid money now on the look when 4 wheels and a engine that drives is better than nothing?

JimmyCrackCorn

Couple of factors.

1. Construction industry failing
2. High taxes on fuel/road etc
3. The lack of jobs
4. Insurance on a modified car is almost


High powered cars can be picked up for buttons now depending on engine capacity.

FiSe

skipz wrote: »

A Lot of my mates and people i know that had boy racer cars drove the sh1te out of every single one of them.
All money was spent doing the car up to look the sh1t but were never looked after mechanicaly.
Id say most boy racer cars are either scraped, crashed or lying up somewhere not running.
Why spend stupid money now on the look when 4 wheels and a engine that drives is better than nothing?

I think that, in reality, there weren't as many modified cars as it might look. There were the lock-stock-all done up Jap imports and the original Irish modified cars, which were bought and sold within a few months time and were doing round around the country. well, they got the odd that'll do respray.
Because of the quick and periodical owner change, nobody really was bothered to look after the vehicle, invest money into upkeep of the vehicle or improvement of the vehicle.

I have been called to see a car, which I have worked on back in 2003-4 to see if the paintwork and some other body imperfections could be fixed.
The car is in desperate state for the age /2001/ due to lack of basic care and rough treatment of many previous owners.

And then they are the standard boyracer's civics and corsas with the bucket instead of exhaust...

glaston

I have noticed a lot less doughnuts on the roads where I live.
Obviously an expensive hobby.

Atomic Pineapple

glaston wrote: »

I have noticed a lot less doughnuts on the roads where I live.
Obviously an expensive hobby.

Nobody sells cheapo tires anymore since the checking for the standards mark has come in

CarMuppet

NCT killing off a few of these cars too?

EDIT: For the record as an, ahem, older racer.... I still have the cars of my youth parked up and preserved... 93 Black Civic 1.5 non-vtec / 96 REd MX3 1.8 / 93 Red MR-2 non-turbo with turbo sticker... that sticker put can boost to 2 bar...

Midnight_EG

CarMuppet wrote: »

NCT killing off a few of these cars too?

EDIT: For the record as an, ahem, older racer.... I still have the cars of my youth parked up and preserved... 93 Black Civic 1.5 non-vtec / 96 REd MX3 1.8 / 93 Red MR-2 non-turbo with turbo sticker... that sticker put can boost to 2 bar...

Racer cars that have no 'go' at all? :pac:

Tefral

that the whole scene has taken a hit in general. How many of us are now driving powerfully standard cars now? I think the modified car scene is literally dying on its feet.
There are no cars being brought into this country at the moment, the Yen happens to be at an extortionate rate compared to the Euro. This has a huge knock on effect on importing anything and also parts coming in now are being opened wholesale by Customs Officers and the revenue is taking a massive interest in the contents of the packages, resulting in paying VAT on parts that otherwise we would have gotten cheaper. The upshot of this buying on the ‘net has closed nearly all the modified car shops in Ireland and now you can’t cut a deal with the guy behind the counter as he doesn’t exist anymore.

So, with no cars and no parts there is nothing new to look at when you go to shows. Cars these days are quite simply boring to look at. You can’t see power. Personally speaking its great looking at a car that looks like it came out of a showroom even though its 15 years old, however while I can appreciate it, when I go to a show I want to see something that I don’t see down the local car park.
The only people these cars suit are the people who come to the shows as spectators and then piss off home. We are involved in the scene and as a result the cars are belonging to us. It’s becoming somewhat of a pain in the arse going to all the effort at shows just to be alongside a stand that rolls up with a standard car.


Single biggest thing in my opinion is money This applied to allot of people who bought other peoples cars built. These people were rolling in bank loans, bought some else’s car and then wrecked it. No love for the car was there in the first place, they only wanted to look cool. Now that the money has dried up the interest is gone. Irish people can’t afford to keep up with the Jones’s anymore and as a result only the people with petrol in their veins are left.
The car scene is shrinking back to a group of hardcore individuals who will always be around in one way or another.

Midnight_EG

cronin_j wrote: »

Now you can’t cut a deal with the guy behind the counter as he doesn’t exist anymore.

If I give myself a half hour to an hour to get to a tuning shop I've got a lot of options...

I have :
Icetronix
Tuning Factory
Urban Performance
32 Tuning
Red Power Motorsport
MCG Autostyling


I'm sure there's plenty more, just can't think of them, so any of that about nobody being there to supply is bollox.

Tefral

Midnight_EG wrote: »

If I give myself a half hour to an hour to get to a tuning shop I've got a lot of options...

I have :
Icetronix
Tuning Factory
Urban Performance
32 Tuning
Red Power Motorsport
MCG Autostyling


I'm sure there's plenty more, just can't think of them, so any of that about nobody being there to supply is bollox.

I spoke to nearly everyone of them on that list about parts for my engine and only 1 replied back about being able to get them.

Midnight_EG

cronin_j wrote: »

I spoke to nearly everyone of them on that list about parts for my engine and only 1 replied back about being able to get them.

I know the deal behind your engine...and I'd be 100% sure that the first three could all get them easily enough :eek:


Sure I was with TF today and I needed a new Droplink...15 minutes later another Honda rolled up and delivered right there was a brand new OEM Droplink!

Tefral

Midnight_EG wrote: »

I know the deal behind your engine...and I'd be 100% sure that the first three could all get them easily enough :eek:


Sure I was with TF today and I needed a new Droplink...15 minutes later another Honda rolled up and delivered right there was a brand new OEM Droplink!

Not true. I wanted ACL race bearings and the 1st two dont do them and Urban performance didnt even bother their arse getting back to me

Midnight_EG

cronin_j wrote: »

Not true. I wanted ACL race bearings and the 1st two dont do them and Urban performance didnt even bother their arse getting back to me

Aren't TDP or Westward the distributor for ACL bearings?

Tefral

Midnight_EG wrote: »

Aren't TDP or Westward the distributor for ACL bearings?

I rang and they didnt get back to me either. In fact i followed it with an email and they didnt bother responding. I got them in America after it all. I really wanted to keep my money in Ireland.

Midnight_EG

cronin_j wrote: »

I rang and they didnt get back to me either. In fact i followed it with an email and they didnt bother responding. I got them in America after it all. I really wanted to keep my money in Ireland.

That's weird, I'm nearly sure Kearney over on DTD got ACL bearings for the R33 from one of them fairly sharpish :eek:

Tefral

Midnight_EG wrote: »

That's weird, I'm nearly sure Kearney over on DTD got ACL bearings for the R33 from one of them fairly sharpish :eek:

he very well could have bud, I could have too I'd say if they called me back or answered my emails ha ha

Midnight_EG

Midnight_EG wrote: »

Racer cars that have no 'go' at all? :pac:

A 3S GE powered MR2 isn't too slow in fairness :pac:

projectgtr

I love how these threads pull in people who dont normally post in here

The scene is alive and well its just in transition, imports will be seen less and less and i can see the VAG scene being "the next big thing"

NCT will never kill off the scene, people allways find a way, im finding lately parts and conversions and Garage hourly rates have all dropped, plus its never been cheaper to get a decent car, ive seen s2000`s going for 6k :eek: has me thinking

projectgtr

cronin_j wrote: »

I spoke to nearly everyone of them on that list about parts for my engine and only 1 replied back about being able to get them.

Cant imagine TuningFactory or 32Tuning not getting back to you, i deal with both and they have allways had time to deal with me and get back to me

Testament1

projectgtr wrote: »

I can see the VAG scene being "the next big thing"

I hope not. Not a fan of Volkswagens at all I'm afraid and theres really only a handful of Audi and BMW models that I like. But there is still a lot of imports on the road, I see modified cars driving around everyday. I guess its just the casual guys decided to get out when costs started to rise so we're just left with the guys who are dedicated to their cars and will do their best to hold on to them.

Tefral

projectgtr wrote: »

Cant imagine TuningFactory or 32Tuning not getting back to you, i deal with both and they have allways had time to deal with me and get back to me

Andy got back to me alright! in fact Andy gets back to you on just about anything even to give you a bit of advice. I didnt contact 32tuning.

Anyway i suppose this is off topic really to the thread but i said id mention it anyway.

CarMuppet

Midnight_EG wrote: »

Racer cars that have no 'go' at all? :pac:

I thought that was the whole point? All noise no go?

JimmyCrackCorn

Its not going to go away just look different. Thankfully over the years the max power fibreglass show-car craze faded away.

The drive with no exhaust craze also faded (i swear literally no exhaust)

Then there was the berlingo/ peugeot van phase, the only thing insurable for under 4k Punt at the time. Clouds of black smoke and spotlights.

Then there was the jap import craze. Honda civics, Swift GTIs, Corrola Gtiiii. Then in mid craze big bore exhausts and de-cats drew extra attention especially at 4am.

It changed a little as the boom arrived. Subarus, Silvias , Chasers, Evos were affordable to anyone with a qualification and a steady job. Drifting became a new craze and people discovered why the Rx7 imported 5 years before wouldn't go round a bend without trying to kill you. (the 2 way diff was now no longer a mystery)

Now its vag diesels a pasatt or audi on coilovers and extremely large wheel from another model or brand of car. A large sun visor is a must. Btcc spec with 55mpg+

In the previous generation(to me) hotter/lumpy cams and hotter carbs were the boy racers choice. If you had money a re-board block. 1600 crosflow anglia sleepers (yes i knew of one). An escort that used to eat its bottom end because its rev limit(lol rev limit) had been raised to match the hotter cams.

Fashion and economic conditions will change and so will the way cars are modified. But no doubt someone in a cold garage somewhere is sheering some bolt on a Saturday night while friends are in a warm pub, knowing if thy break anything there screwed till Monday when the motor factors is open.

the_syco

Sofiztikated wrote: »

And take into account the amount of people emmigrating as well.

I'm guessing this factor will take a lot of the cars off the road. Any of them with brains will be in Oz helping rebuild the flood drenched areas (there's a special visa that will them in by the bucket load).

CarMuppet

JimmyCrackCorn wrote: »

But no doubt someone in a cold garage somewhere is sheering some bolt on a Saturday night while friends are in a warm pub, knowing if thy break anything there screwed till Monday when the motor factors is open.

+1 happy days....

Sofiztikated

CarMuppet wrote: »

+1 happy days....

+2.

Spraying a panel over night because you have to drive to work in the morning, and fitting it while it's possibly still a bit sticky.

kona

JimmyCrackCorn wrote: »

Now its vag diesels a pasatt or audi on coilovers and extremely large wheel from another model or brand of car. A large sun visor is a must. Btcc spec with 55mpg+

In the previous generation(to me) hotter/lumpy cams and hotter carbs were the boy racers choice. If you had money a re-board block. 1600 crosflow anglia sleepers (yes i knew of one). An escort that used to eat its bottom end because its rev limit(lol rev limit) had been raised to match the hotter cams.

Fashion and economic conditions will change and so will the way cars are modified. But no doubt someone in a cold garage somewhere is sheering some bolt on a Saturday night while friends are in a warm pub, knowing if thy break anything there screwed till Monday when the motor factors is open.

Ew VAG cars just aint going to cut it IMO. But you are spot on, and well be better for it, I dont have a garage so I spend my time taking the engine out in the front garden , then if I run into trouble Ill be using a ****ty halogen worklamp, funtimes (not really!).
Proper engine mods are the way to go! none of your decat and air filter crap.

Midnight_EG

kona wrote: »

Ew VAG cars just aint going to cut it IMO. But you are spot on, and well be better for it, I dont have a garage so I spend my time taking the engine out in the front garden , then if I run into trouble Ill be using a ****ty halogen worklamp, funtimes (not really!).
Proper engine mods are the way to go! none of your decat and air filter crap.

Decats and air-filters/power-chambers work though...

Atomic Pineapple

Midnight_EG wrote: »

Decats and air-filters/power-chambers work though...

Proper ones do (CAIS) but you see a lot of open air filters and stupid K&N filters that add nothing but noise.

Midnight_EG

draffodx wrote: »

Proper ones do (CAIS) but you see a lot of open air filters and stupid K&N filters that add nothing but noise.

Once they're heat-wrapped or in a filter housing then they're fine...still not as good as a Ram Air or a CAI.

--Kaiser--

Midnight_EG wrote: »

Decats and air-filters/power-chambers work though...

DeCats usually decrease power on NAs. Air filters either decrease power or do nothing. Even if they do work the HP increase will be negligible.

However, they both make the car sound louder so people often think they are getting more power out of them.

Midnight_EG

--Kaiser-- wrote: »

DeCats usually decrease power on NAs. Air filters either decrease power or do nothing. Even if they do work the HP increase will be negligible.

However, they both make the car sound louder so people often think they are getting more power out of them.

Decats don't decrease power

Check out ITG Airfilters and try tell me they don't make power

challengemaster

An unprotected airfilter that's sucking in warm engine air will cause a powr drop, but if you've a proper one with a heat shield and decent cold air intake, you should see a power gain. They also add a nice sound

kona

Midnight_EG wrote: »

Decats and air-filters/power-chambers work though...

No doubt they do, but there is no real point in bolting random parts on to gain a few hp and some torque.
Real tuning comes from speccing a engine, working out what length manifolds you need, gas flowing them, pulse tuning them.

IMO aftermrket airfilters, Throttle Bodies, De cats, Manifolds, exhaust systems are all designed to work with a certain flow rate, a well tuned engine is one where its all balanced, not just lobbing the most expensive bits together and hoping for the best. At the end of the day a engine is essentially a huge air pump, the more air you get in and the faster you get it out, the quicker you go!

--Kaiser--

Midnight_EG wrote: »

Decats don't decrease power

Check out ITG Airfilters and try tell me they don't make power

If you've got any before and after dyno's that show a significant increase in power I'd be interested to see them.

Engines come very well tuned from the factory, they use the back-pressure from a Cat to have more torque, replacing it with a DeCat usually loses low-down torque with not a very appreciable increase in high power.

You will get more power if you Mod a car properly, e.g. high-lift cams, full exhaust, aftermarket ECU and full remap....but you're not really going to get anything worthwhile from silly Mods like a cone filter. I think it's hilarious the amount of lads that think you get an extra 10hp from an aftermarket air filter.

challengemaster

--Kaiser-- wrote: »

Engines come very well tuned from the factory, they use the back-pressure from a Cat to have more torque, replacing it with a DeCat usually loses low-down torque with not a very appreciable increase in high power.

Depends on the car/engine in question. Turbos dont benefit from cat back-pressure, but in weaker N/A engines, yes, back pressure is a benefit. Really, you need to test everything with the car in question and have a dyno readily available for constant testing to see if every mod actually benefits....

I think it's hilarious the amount of lads that think you get an extra 10hp from an aftermarket air filter.

Blame GT5 :pac:

Peavy

hmm I dont think it has dropped , i see in co.Clrae full of them untasefully modded civics etc. or corollas with Exhousts full of holes to make them noisy.Ive seen a few guys in court for the laud exhousts "Kid Racers" as i call them since half of em dont know how to drive. and the judge would just let them off with 20 euro fine and no penelty points ;/. hmm Halfords is good example of mods you can order pretty much anything you want there ;D

JimmyCrackCorn

Peavy wrote: »

hmm I dont think it has dropped , i see in co.Clrae full of them untasefully modded civics etc. or corollas with Exhousts full of holes to make them noisy.Ive seen a few guys in court for the laud exhousts "Kid Racers" as i call them since half of em dont know how to drive. and the judge would just let them off with 20 euro fine and no penelty points ;/. hmm Halfords is good example of mods you can order pretty much anything you want there ;D

My home town. The minimum fine im aware of was 150 and that was 8 years ago or more.

Ennis area regularly hands down fines also Galway.