Big Si The Drift King is a post from LLE - Check it out for a lot more awesomes

Probably not the same learner car you will have…

For many the cost of owning a car is buying the car, and then buying petrol for the car. Although most teenagers know they need insurance they don’t realise how much it can cost to get them insured, and a lot of the time they probably don’t care too much because they hope (I won’t say expect!) that their parents will help them out.

Which is nice of you, isn’t it? You may be happy enough for your son or daughter to have their own car and be happy to help them out, but when car insurance for a 17 year old can be in the thousands you may have second thoughts. However, there are things you can do to help cut the cost of their insurance.

Drive a small car

It may sound obvious, but the car they get is a major factor in calculating the cost of the insurance premium. Your son may be happy enough to walk past the BMW dealership knowing such a car is unrealistic for his first one because he fancies a Fiat 500, with an Abarth badge. It’s a small car, it won’t cost much surely?

Your best bet is to opt for a small hatchback with a small engine and a high Euro NCAP safety rating. That way they won’t be able to go fast and if they do crash it will help keep them safe, reducing the chance of a bodily injury claim. Plus, it will cost less in petrol.

Add a second driver

Adding a second, experienced driver to a car insurance policy could reduce the premium. Insurers may think this reduces the risk on the policy. Beware of putting yourself or your partner down as the main driver and your son or daughter as the second one though. If you’re not the main driver and the insurance company finds out it could invalidate the policy.

I’m not sure this is what they mean by ‘second driver’

Have a large excess

An insurance excess is the amount of a claim you will pay yourself. So if you have a £300 excess and an accident causes £500 worth of damage, the insurer only pays £200. Not surprisingly the higher the excess you are willing to pay then the less your insurance premium will be.

Consider a blackbox recorder

A blackbox recorder is a device that is fitted to a car and through GPS and G-force technology records data such as speed, braking habits, cornering speed etc. If the car is driven well, it can bring the cost of the insurance down, and if it is driven badly the cost goes up.

The bad news about the recorder is that it is not an option with many insurers but the Co-operative, who do use it, offer a pay-as-you-drive premium which is recalculated every 90 days based on what the black box records. They claim a young driver can save several hundred pounds by using such a device.

Pass Plus

Finally, you could send your child back to driving school to get a Pass Plus qualification. The Pass Plus is a more advanced course and teaches a person how to drive at night, on a motorway, different weather conditions, etc. The aim is to give you experience at types of driving you might not encounter in normal lessons. Having a Pass Plus qualification shows you are a little more experienced at driving and take safety seriously.

Insuring A 17 Year Old is a post from LLE - Check it out for a lot more awesomes

This is a pretty badass video and the bike drifting is definitely better than in the first one, the guys must be getting the hang of it now. Oh and just how nice does that Mustang sound!

This is what Icon Motosport says about the video:

The sequel to the Icon original video: Motorcycle vs. Car Drift Battle – Nick ‘Apex’ Brocha is back and this time he brought his Empire teammate, Ernie Vigil. The two are mounted on a pair of crackling Triumph Speed Triples – built by Roaring Toyz for the sole purpose of going sideways. Over the last year their quest to find the ultimate drifting playground has led them to the rolling hills of High Plains County. Low traffic, perfect asphalt and endless twisties have kept them busy resurfacing roads with their rear tires for weeks. The only problem is the local authorities have had enough. Enter Police Officer Dan Brockett, the only man with the muscle to keep these two in sight. His 550 horsepower Ford Mustang Cobra was built for speed and he’s got a license to use it…

Bike vs Car Drift Battle – Take Two is a post from LLE - Check it out for a lot more awesomes

And for no other reason than it is also an awesome small Honda CB have a picture of Jason Lee on his CB160.

Honda CB125 Cafe Racer is a post from LLE - Check it out for a lot more awesomes

The strip down began last night and already I have fallen in love with how easy bikes are to work on. For a cheap bike that has had 7 years worth of mud thrown at it, it is in surprisingly good condition. All the fairings and plastics have come off and are being being painted, the carb will need a quick clean out and the exhaust needs fixing. The only new part we have to get is a rear wheel as the current one is rusted through, all in all it should be a pretty cheap fix.

I will keep you updated as we do more.

The Rampage Pitbike – Part 1 is a post from LLE - Check it out for a lot more awesomes

They have already released the proper teaser trailer but yesterday they put up a short video called Kick Start. Have a guess what it is about…

Kick Start is a post from LLE - Check it out for a lot more awesomes

If you have never heard or seen the name Robt. Williams, you will probably know a few of his drawings, his picture Hot Rod Race is probably his most recognised and was even made into a limited edition Vans shoe (which I have…)

He also drew the original banned cover for Guns N’ Roses debut album. His life must be full of amazing stories from hot rodding past and life as an artist outside of the mainstream so it should be a pretty interesting film.

Check out the trailer below and click here for the official site.

Mr Bitchin’ is a post from LLE - Check it out for a lot more awesomes

To start with you have to basically throw away the whole Escort until you are left with just a bit of the shell and a few trim bits

Then make up a whole new spaceframed chassis, new suspension, engine, drivetrain, wheels, etc, etc.

So not just a simple bolt on wide arch kit then…

Oh look that grille looks standard!

I won’t be taking on a Zakspeed project any time soon.

How To Make A Zakspeed Escort is a post from LLE - Check it out for a lot more awesomes

Any wrecked Mk1 Capri will bring a tear to my eye, I’m not made of stone.

Look how ruined the wheels are!

How To Make A Grown Man Cry is a post from LLE - Check it out for a lot more awesomes

Check out more of his photography here.

Chriz Quick’s Polo GT is a post from LLE - Check it out for a lot more awesomes