I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "its easy to see what a boy racer is. They're those w****rs that screech round the roads in their alloy-wheeled, big bore exhausted and lowered scrapheap cars and piss the rest of us drivers off". Well, yes, you're right. However this feature, the result of several years'* exhaustive research, might make you think that there's more to Boy Racing than a clapped out car and a sunstrip... * more like several hours, but who's to know.
INTRODUCTION The term "Boy racer" was originally coined as a derogatory insult for young male drivers who drove in a way that would not look out of place at Silverstone, had loud stereos, done-up cars and bad attitude problems towards other drivers. However it has been adopted recently by "Boy Racers" themselves as a way to describe themselves (rather unsurprisingly - the average boy racer is not original enough to invent a new term) to each other and to members of the public. Boy Racers tend to be young, usually in the 17-25 age group, although there are exceptions to this generalisation. After 25 or so many boy racers lose interest, get more commitments (decent jobs, decent cars or a family), or simply grow up and become more sensible. With the success of films such as The Fast and The Furious, some boy racers have now taken to calling themselves "Street Racers" as if bombing round their local town centres makes them in any way similar to the characters in that film. Unsurprisingly most boy racers are male, although there is a sizeable number of "girl racers" too which are by and large identical in mannerisms to their male counterparts. Boy racers are often "scallies" (also known as "townies") with the dress sense associated with this kind of person. Financially most boy racers have a lot of disposable income, essential to fuel their expensive hobby. Most have basically menial low-paid and temporary jobs but are prepared to work long hours to earn the money needed. Boy racers have no concept of budgeting, and it is not uncommon for a boy racer to take out a loan to buy a new bit of kit rather than save for a few months before buying it. Many boy racers also have minimal living costs to deal with, often living with their parents who will pay most day-to-day costs. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CAR MODIFIERS AND BOY RACERS It is worth mentioning at this point that there *is* a difference between boy racers and car modifiers. Boy Racer is a term used to mainly describe the driving style (i.e. dangerous), whereas "car modifier" is a term used to describe the practice of "doing up" a car by adding "performance" parts and "styling" to it. Most Boy Racers are car modifiers, although the reverse is not always true. For a start many professional (or even amateur) car modifiers do a good job of car modifications, when all Boy Racers usually do is stick the same old tired mods on their cars in a haphazard fashion. As Boy Racers tend to give car modifiers a bad name, they tend to be disliked by the latter. Boy Racers can be described as "Max-ing" their cars, a term which is originally named (rather unfairly in our opinion) after a car modification magazine called Max Power, but which has since become synonymous with badly modified, tasteless cars. A comparison between the stereotypical characteristics of boy racers and car modifiers can be seen below;
At the heart of every boy racer's heart is a car. It may have only barely passed its MOT, may have debatably valid insurance and may resemble a pile of rust but to the boy racing owner it is the centre of the world. It is often claimed by its owner, often hilariously, that no other car can outperform it in speed, handling, manoeuvrebility and/or looks. The average boy racer's car is with him just six months before he either sells it, writes it off or just dumps it, yet they still spend a huge amount of money on their cars. To understand the boy racer we must look at the various aspects of a boy racer's car and examine their significance to the boy racer. In Car Entertainment has grown more and more sophisticated for boy racers, who often have a lot of disposable income to buy the best in audio (and increasingly video with console systems and VHS and DVD players appearing in some of the more professional boy racers' cars) for their motors. After all, if you spent most of your time in your car wouldn't you want to be entertained? Here are some of the more common aspects of ICE; STEREO - At the heart of any boy racer's pride and joy is a stereo system. Typically rated at around 300 - 400 Watts these babies are a joy to listen to and watch, as many of them have pretty but ultimately pointless graphical spectrum analyser displays on them which dance to the music and provide a welcome distraction to the boy racer if they ever get bored of watching where they're going. Boy Racer stereos are usually replaced around once every three months (incidentally as long as the average relationship) as their owner is lured by the promise of an even more impressive graphical display in a nearby electronics store. SUB WOOFER(s) - Sub woofers are speakers designed to play the bass range of sounds. Boy racers are notorious for their love of bass, and due to their characteristic lack of any musical appreciation tend to ignore the need for treble and midrange sounds resulting in the thumping noises usually associated with boy racer cars. Sub woofers (or "subs") are usually located in the boot in a specially constructed "sub box", which takes up half of the storage space in the boot and makes it impossible in most cases to take out the spare tyre. OTHER SPEAKERS - Many boy racers have two "six-by-nine" (named after their dimensions in inches) speakers on the car's back parcel shelf, if possible. "Tweeters" can be used by boy racers to boost the treble range of their sound systems, but are often not used or used clumsily (for example being placed at foot level, the optimum position being at ear level). Mid-range speakers are very rarely used - a boy racer usually does things to extremes. AMPLIFIER(s) - Despite the fact that their stereos usually are more than powerful enough to power all the speakers they could wish for in their car at decent volumes, most boy racers opt for extra amplification. Amps are usually rated at stupid powers such as 1200 watts, and mean that the boy racer's stereo is even more annoying. Many boy racers make the mistake of hooking their amplifiers to the bass only, this is an unfortunate offshoot of their inability to see the importance of the rest of the musical range. OTHER I.C.E. - It is not unusual for the boy racer to have other gadgets in their car, such as consoles, DVD players and the like. Quite how they are supposed to safely watch or play anything visual while driving is beyond our knowledge. "Mods" (short for "modifications") are changes the boy racer makes to their car to attempt to make it appear to look, sound, handle or drive better. Boy racers are not usually particularly skilled in either engineering, mechanics or styling so predictably 99% of mods done to boy racers cars make them look slightly more than ridiculous. Mods are also expensive. A whole industry has sprung up to serve the needs of boy racers, and body shops, accessory stores and custom car companies are very common. However this industry also realises that the average boy racer is unlikely to have any control over their spending (which is usually on impulse) and is a niche market, and thus prices are invariably very high, especially when branded goods such as tires and air filters are concerned. One of the most common arguments boy racers will use to defend their "modded" cars is "it makes it original". However, as you will see, most mods have been done before and are merely cheap rip-offs of motorsport designs or copies of the ideas of their peers - meaning most boy racer cars can only be described as "original" in a bad way. Below are listed some of the most common "mods" and the reasoning behind them; EXHAUST - Often complementing the boy racer's already impressive bass power is his exhaust system. These can range from the bog-standard "exhaust pipe" (an overpriced bit of metal to attach over the exhaust to make the car sound like an angry bee in a tin can rather than just an angry bee) to the top-of-the-range "sports exhaust" (an overpriced bit of metal to replace their car's existing exhaust and make the car sound like a HGV and give the boy racer endless opportunities to claim his car is a racing car). SUNSTRIP - If you are a fan of rally driving you will notice that many professional rally cars have these "sun strips" to protect the racer from the sun and advertise the racing team name / sponsor on the car. Boy racers, keen to emulate their far more talented idols, also stick these "sun strips" on their cars. Typically just plastic strips these are the ideal first mod for the aspiring boy racer as they are not difficult to fit (well, not difficult to fit badly) and very very cheap. Unlike most of the other mods... ALLOY WHEELS - These are purely to make the car "look better". Most boy racer cars need all the help they can get in this department, so boy racers are willing to spend amazing amounts of cash on their alloy wheels. Models range from the cheap plastic (incidently, not technically "alloys") "fake and untrendy" ones (which will no doubt cause the aspiring boy racer to get laughed at) at around £30 each to the hyper expensive "£1000+ a set" proper alloy-metal models (which will no doubt cause the aspiring boy racer to be the victim of an easy theft). Purchasers must be careful to buy the right types of alloys however, because the three spoke ones are untrendy (for reasons unknown) and generally the more of your brake disc you can see (i.e. the smaller the actual alloy) the more fashionable the alloy wheel is. UPRATED BRAKES - The reason that smaller alloys are more fashionable is because they show off more of the boy racer's braking system. These may be expensive "performance" parts designed for more powerful cars, but it will not be that rare a sight to see the alloy merely revealing the boy racer's bog standard drum brakes. Most people agree that better brakes are a Good Thing for boy racers to have. 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. BODY KIT - Some boy racers also spend a fortune on plastic moulded panels to stick to the side of their car in an attempt to make it look better, or often to make it look like a better car than it is (for example a Ford Cosworth, rather than a standard Ford Escort XR3). These "body kits" contain front and rear bumpers, "side skirts" and occasionaly other things distinctive of the car the boy racer is attempting to emulate. The major part of the body kit is the bumpers, which are described in greater detail next; BUMPERS - Boy racers love having large, garish bumpers on their cars, which make the car look lower than it is. This, they feel, is a good thing. So you will often see boy racers with huge plastic front bumpers like snowploughs attached to their cars. Some boy racers even attempt to make these things themselves, resulting in the boy racer's car looking like it barely survived a collision with half a plastic bathtub (which is what the offending bumper probably started life as). Boy racers also tend to forget that bumpers are primarily designed to protect the car from minor impacts and so the bumper designs are more for show than for safety, cracking under the slightest pressure, and causing the boy racer to find it even more difficult to negotiate speed bumps. DEBADGING - It is not much good to the boy racer if their car looks like a Cossie but still has the telltale XR3 badges on the back. To make sure everyone knows the boy racer's car is "pukka" many will remove all of the badges from the rear of the car, or replace them with badges for the car they wished they had. CLEAR INDICATORS - Boy racers are renowned for their complete failure to appreciate the finer points (and often even the essential points) of design, and clear indicators are one such example. No doubt inspired by one person modding his white car with clear indicators, most boy racers have followed suit (in the traditional manner of boy racers to follow trends rather than actually think about their designs) and replaced their traditional yellow-tinted indicators with clear ones. "SPOTLIGHTS" (FOGLIGHTS) - Boy racers often take their inspirations from rally cars, and these often have several spotlights on the front which help the driver see the road better at night. However as usual many boy racers feel that modifications designed for rally driving would look good and be useful on a standard road car, and this is one of the more common modifications. Unfortunately for the boy racer the police have a dim view of these "spotlights" (which are better known to the law as "foglights", and have laws surrounding their use - even though many non-standard "spotlights" are not intended or wired as foglights at all) when they are used regardless of weather conditions. Also installation of these additional foglights often will ruin the boy racer's bumper. 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. TIRE PAINT - Having noticed that some race car teams paint in the names of the manufacturers of their tyres, some boy racers did the same thing. The result is hilarious, especially if the boy racer has purchased a "budget" brand of tyre. BIGGER WHEELS - Boy racers are obsessed with the size of their wheels (often noted by impartial observers to be suspiciously Freudian) and the bigger the wheel radius the more impressed fellow boy racers are with the car. Often drastic modifications need to be done to the wheel arches to accommodate the bigger wheels, so this mod is not recommended for novices. 18" wheels are an acceptably large size, especially on smaller cars where the extensive engineering work required to fit them is greatly admired. Aspiring boy racers must however be very careful to make sure that their modifications to their vehicle's wheel arches does not render the car illegal - it is easily done. 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. SPOILERS - Boy racers often attach ridiculously large "spoilers" onto the back of their cars in the mistaken belief that a) it makes it look better and b) will actually make people believe their car can go fast enough that it will be in danger of taking off. Perhaps small understated spoilers would be okay but most boy racers believe in the concept of "the bigger the better" and so their spoilers invariably look like spare parts for Cessna jets. TINTED WINDOWS - Boy racers like to pretend they are more important than they really are and so try to copy the star's limosines by tinting the windows. However since tinted front and rear windscreens are illegal in the UK most boy racers just tint the side ones, which seems rather pointless to me. On the plus side, tinted windows can protect the outside world from the boy racer's appearance and any antics the boy racer might be getting up to inside the car. BIGGER ENGINE SIZES - It is a well known fact in boy racing circles that "the bigger the car the bigger the dick". The 1.2 litre engine in the standard car the boy racer plans to "improve" is invariably not powerful enough, despite being the only thing they'll get insured on for a reasonable premium, and so larger engines often with turbos are fitted sending the boy racer's insurance premium through the roof but making him the envy of his peers. DUMP VALVES - I really had to include these. You know the whoosing noises lorries sometimes make when stopped at traffic lights due to their air brakes? Well some boy racer's fit devices that make similar noises onto their cars, little aware that it makes them the laughing stock of the general population. It is quite amusing seeing a whacked out car zoom by making a little whooshing sound as the driver changes gear - a bit like seeing a cat roar like a lion I guess :) Many of these noise-producing devices are proper dump valves for cars with turbos, designed to reduce pressure on the engine. However some are just basically speakers with a prerecorded whoosh noise. We kid you not. WASHER JET NEONS - These little things attach to the boy racer's washer jets, and are commonly available in any colour as long as it's a bright garish blue. Consequentially they are completely illegal in the UK resulting in boy racers often fitting switches to turn them on and off at will (much like any other illegal "mod"). They also look somewhat naff, merely serving the purpose of proving they have washer jets. Oooh, lucky them. UNDER-CAR NEONS - Some boy racers go a step further than the "neons in the boot next to the sub" approach and fit neon lights underneath the car. Boy racers have the mistaken impression that this makes their car look cool, giving it a surreal "floaty" appearance, but in reality the only purpose of this mod would be to perhaps allow mechanics to look underneath the car easier at night when it's broken down on the hard shoulder of the M4. DE-LOCKING - Some Boy Racers feel their cars should look "smoother" so remove all of the locks from their car doors. They also claim this makes their car more secure, as there are no locks for scally kids to remove with a screwdriver to get at the stereo. However its a bit of a bitch if the batteries have run out on the Boy Racer's remote, and who's to say the kids won't just use the screwdriver on the window in combination with a brick? :) 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. Very Mad Max. Our instincts tell us to be wary of these, in the same way that you would be wary of any scally with a can of petrol and a lighter. "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. However some Boy Racers use them anyway, usually choosing the most illegible and naff fonts they can find. Some of the richer boy racers can also buy custom numberplates, although it only really serves to make the general public wonder why the boy racer bothered putting such a unique plate on such a cheap nasty car. "BAD BOY" BONNETS - Some boy racers love modifying their bonnets. As well as the tacky, pointless bonnet vents that they adore, they can cut the front of their bonnets in such a way that the bonnet is slanted over the headlights - kinda like a frowning cartoon car in a children's TV programme - and this technique is known as "Bad Boying" the bonnet. Presumably these boy racers like their cars to look like a character from a children's TV series, although we really couldn't tell you why. 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 and if driven properly shouldn't need additional cooling, but some boy racers add these vents into their bonnets anyway. This, as far as we can tell, is done either with the mistaken impression that it makes their car look good, to compensate for their inability to drive sensibly, or to cater for the stupid "performance" engine they've put in to help validate the insurance. WIRE MESH RADIATOR GRILLS - As with bonnet vents, radiator grills are designed to increase air flow to the engine and cool it down. However boy racers tend to shun standard and perfectly functional radiator grills for "wire mesh" versions. The similarities of this mesh to chicken wire can often have the unfortunate effect of making this modification make the car look like a chicken hutch, especially if the boy racer uses too much wire.
It is not enough just having the car. Being a boy racer is more about image and how they act than what car they drive - so much that a boy racer can still be a boy racer driving something as untrendy as a delivery van. So what is the boy racer image? THE LAW - Boy racers are generally self-styled enemies of the law. Passive resistance against "the pigs" is therefore not an uncommon behaviour, with boy racers hanging around in groups in car parks or driving irresponsibly. The Law itself loves the easy fines boy racers bring, for such things as invalid insurance (see "insurance"), tax, dangerous driving, speeding, antisocial behaviour, and illegal modifications and it is not uncommon for boy racers in modified cars to be pulled over by the police far more often than a regular driver of the same age. INSURANCE - Insurance is an issue close to boy racer's hearts and worth commenting on. Car insurers generally hate boy racers - often being in the "young male" category and often driving poorly modified cars, they are a high risk. Consequentially premiums tend to be high. In an effort to bring these premiums down many boy racers fail to declare the modifications on their cars, which they see no problem with - after all it is only the greedy insurers taking all of their dole money. However this leads to problems for third parties involved in accidents with boy racers, with some insurers failing to pay out in accidents involving undeclared modified cars. Boy racers must be treated with caution for this reason. THE WHITE BASEBALL CAP - Ever noticed how many boy racers seem to be wearing that white baseball cap? Well this is no coincidence. The cap is an essential part of these boy racers' image, along with the lit cigarette and "scally" clothes. THE COMMUNITY - There is no "boy racing community" to speak of, with most boy racers being members of local gangs of scallies. However many boy racers visit online bulletin boards to discuss their interests, and it is common for many boy racers from different "communities" to turn up at events such as motor shows and "cruises" (see "the cruise"). GIRL RACERS - Having one's girlfriend practically live in your car is the trademark of just about every boy racer. Girl racers have been known to pick boyfriends almost exclusively because of what car they drive, presumably because they will spend most of their nights out sitting inside it. However beware of dismissing them all as just bimbos, this stereotype is not *always* true. Indeed half of girl racers are just female "boy" racers in their own right and not just expensive car modifications as commonly believed. It is however statistically true that most girl racers (and indeed boy racers) are just in relationships for the sex, so care must be exercised when dealing with them. There have also been some observations made by various people that many boy racer's girlfriends are rather... young, usually in their early to mid teens (perhaps due to the influence a big shiny car can have on young inexperienced minds) but generalisations cannot be made. ALCOHOL - Alcohol is an important part of the boy racer lifestyle. The driver doesn't usually drink (due mostly to drink driving laws more than any particular sense of responsibility) but as the boy racer's friends are usually stuck sitting in the car (which usually has minimal forms of entertainment contained within it, despite the boy racer's lavish spending on ICE systems) drinking is an established pastime. It also has the beneficial effect of numbing the brain to the boy racer's frightening driving and often complete lack of conversational skills beyond any subject other than cars. Many of the boy racer's friends may be under the legal drinking age, and unable to frequent pubs, so drinks enjoyed by young drinkers such as various alcopops and cider are popular. BOY RACER MAGS - Car modification magazines are heaven for boy racers. Some cater specifically for boy racers rather than the generally more sophisticated car modification community and merely contain the boy racer's two favourite things - porn and cars. Most feature articles about the more successful boy racer's cars, pictures of semi-naked women draped across bonnets, rants about speeding fines as well as adverts for car modification/ICE bits. Often expertly written, these are often an amusing read for non boy racers as well and definitely give a valuable insight into the mind of the average boy racer. THE SCRAPYARD - The scrapyard is the boy racer's Mecca. In it can be found cheap bits for almost any car, and there is plenty of opportunity to steal small items without anyone being the wiser. Such places do not guarantee anything about the bits you buy/steal so it is not recommended for aspiring boy racers unless you know someone who knows what they're talking about. Most scrapyards also stink and have mud and petrol/diesel/oil lying everywhere, which of course is no deterrent to the average boy racer (unless it makes his car dirty). STYLING - Car modifcation, as mentioned earlier, is a vital part of the boy racer image. However as also previously mentioned most boy racers are less-than-talented car modifiers, resulting in cars that look like they've been put together with superglue and polyfiller (see BarryBoys.co.uk). Many boy racers just don't see the problems with the dodgy styling on their cars. THE "CRUISE" - The "cruise" is a gathering of boy racers where they go to show off their cars to each other and completely ruin the lives of the local public. Most major towns and cities in the UK have one, in one form or another, seaside towns such as Southend and Morecambe being more popular than others for some reason. The format of the cruise typically involves boy racers converging on a car park / seafront / main road and sitting in a traffic jam caused by their peers all night, while looking at each other's cars. Unsurprisingly the police are also attracted to these unofficial events, as they are often a convenient place to fine the group of drivers most likely to have something illegal on/in their car. Other side events often take place at the "cruise", including women exposing their breasts (don't get too excited, these are just average girl racers and usually not particularly attractive), magazine reporters' cameras, "sound offs" between vans and cars packed with huge sound systems and the obligatory boy racer driving manoeuvres such as wheelspins and burnouts (explained later). Boy racers are prepared to spend lots of money and time driving to their local cruise which can sometimes be hundreds of miles away from where they live. THE CAR PARK - When they cannot visit their local cruise, boy racers often just sit in local car parks and indulge in cruise-like activities. They should be avoided by members of the public due to their complete disregard for anyone's well-being. SPEED CAMERAS - With all the driving they do, boy racers invariably hate speed cameras (which is no surprise as most other motorists do as well). In the UK the main type used are GATSO ones which have the fatal weakness of being able to be seen by you before they can catch you, due to the fact that the camera takes pictures of the rear of the car. This weakness is aided by the law which requires them to be covered in bright yellow stickers, ever since local authorities were caught "hiding" them behind signs, bridges and trees. Local authorities therefore lately tend to place them on hills, dual carraigeways and other places where accidental speeding may occur to maximise revenue. Slightly newer are the infra-red cameras which take pictures of the front of your car and so tend to catch more people who don't notice them in time, but they're more expensive. Local authorities tend to put them on motorways and dual carraigeways, especially where there are temporary changes of speed limit due to roadworks, again in a bid to maximise revenue. Speed cameras by and large are not put in accident "blackspots", but merely where the local authorities think they can catch a lot of "criminals" easily. The sudden changes of speed that speed cameras encourage also can increase accident rates. BOY RACER FILMS - There are a number of these which presumably influence some boy racers. Apart from the obvious The Fast And The Furious and its' sequel, there are such films as Gone In Sixty Seconds, Vanishing Point, Grand Theft Auto and Mad Max. Entertaining though they are, some boy racers seem unable to distinguish real life from fiction as they drive as if they were stars in one of these films.
You may argue that driving technique is merely part of the boy racer image, but as it is such a significant part I have decided to give it its own section. Firstly, it must be understood that rather than being a heavy, powerful and very lethal chunk of metal, a boy racer's car is seen as just a toy by the boy racer. No thought is usually given by the average boy racer about the consequences of their driving, and while the vague threat of injury or death looms on the horizon it is considered too vague to be of any concern. This means it is very difficult to convince a boy racer to drive more safely as he honestly can't think why or how he might accidentally do something stupid. Boy racers are usually good drivers, due to the fact that they get a lot of practice, but only drive well when they HAVE to drive well - for example when being followed by police. Listed below are some of the more common boy racer driving manoeuvres. We apologise in advance for any factual errors in this section; we are not boy racers and have never performed these manoeuvres ourselves ;) THE WHEELSPIN - Produced when a driver presses hard on the accelerator while lifting the clutch quickly causing a screeching tyre sound and often black tyre marks, this is the easiest and most common of boy racer manoeuvres Oh no, wait, the next one is... BAD DRIVING - While boy racers are usually technically good at driving (when they are forced to / want to) due to their interest in cars / driving and their large amounts of practice, they often drive very aggressively with little or no regard for other road users and pedestrians. Most will not see anything wrong with racing their friends at several times the speed limit down residential streets at night. THE BURNOUT - Produced when a driver performs a wheelspin while the handbrake is engaged, resulting in a lot of strain on the engine and lots of smoke from the tyres. Boy racers often cannot successfully perform these manoeuvres and often blow up their engine or crash into something when attempting them. THE DOUGHNUT - As far as we can tell this is just driving round in circles in an effort to make the car behave even more unpredictably than it does normally. The manoeuvre is so named because one set of wheels spin around the other set of wheels when performed properly, leaving a circular tyre mark which kinda doesn't look like a doughnut. As far as we know it must be done in reverse by front wheel drive cars. Rear wheel drive cars must do it facing forwards, and we assume 4x4 cars can choose either. Also, apparantly trays like those used in fast food restaurants can help aid doughnut technique by reducing friction. THE HANDBRAKE TURN - Produced when a driver engages the handbrake and turns the steering wheel in the direction of turn, resulting in a fast turn. Not overly used by boy racers due to its technical complexity.
Some of the terms used in The Boy Racer Guide may be a little confusing. Here are a few definitions; BACON - See Pig. BARRY BOY - A scally who has badly modified a car. As in "that guy seems a bit of a Barry Boy". Can also be used as a verb as in "to barry up", to make something bad. BIG BORE - Large exhaust. Can be described by size as in "Big Bore 4" (inches). BOLLOCKS - Slang for bad. Must not be confused with The Dog's Bollocks, which means good ;) CAV - Boy Racing slang for "Vauxhall Cavalier". Also see Pug, Scort, Onion, Fester, Cossie. CHARIOT - See Shed. COPPER - Policeman. Also see Pig, Bacon. COSSIE - Boy Racing slang for "(Ford) Cosworth". Also see Pug, Scort, Onion, Fester, Cav. CRIPPLE HOOK - Boy Racing slang for the way some Boy Racers hold the steering wheel while driving; leaning forward, one hand at 12 O Clock, bent wrist (hence "cripple"). Cheers to Is It A Boat? for coining this one. CRUISER - Someone who attends cruises. Unfortunately it is extremely common for people at these events to have incredibly badly modified cars. FESTER - Boy Racing slang for "Ford Fiesta". Also see Onion, Scort, Cav, Pug, Cossie. GATSO - Design of speed camera in the UK, which take pictures of the rear of the car. See Speed Cameras section. ICE - In Car Entertainment. A global term for the crap that Boy Racers put in their cars, not just stereos. MOD - Short for "modification". What Boy Racers usually do to their cars, usually badly. NAFF - Slang for bad, usually in a tacky way. ONION - Boy Racing slang for "Ford Orion", a commonly modified car in the UK. Also see Pug, Scort, Cav, Fester, Cossie. PIG - Slang for Police, as in "watch out - it's the pigs". Most likely taken from "gangsta rapper" terminology. Also known as Bacon. PUG - Boy Racing slang for "Peugeot". Also see Onion, Scort, Cav, Fester, Cossie. PUKKA - Slang for good. "My car is pukka". Also see Sorted. RICE - Boy Racing slang for modified cars of East Asian origin, usually Japanese. SCALLY - Also known as Townie - usually young people in their young to mid teens who hang around town centres in the UK in their tracksuit bottoms, grubby white trainers, jackets and (invariably white) baseball caps. The female scally dresses in a similar fashion to the male. SCORT - Boy Racing slang for "Ford Escort", perhaps the most common Boy Racer car in the UK. Also see Pug, Onion. SHED - A badly modified, or just bad, car. As in "that car is a bit of a shed". Also see Chariot, Trolley. SORTED - Slang for good, as in "this car is sorted, mate". Also see Pukka. SOUND-OFF - An event, typically at a cruise, where two boy racers pit their stereos against each other in an attempt to see which one is the loudest. SUB - Short for "Sub Woofer". Bass speaker. TOWNIE - See Scally. TROLLEY - A bad car. Also see Chariot, Shed.
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the boy racer guide is intended as satire and should be treated as such
