Wife drove the 1M . . . will need to hide the keys now!

CarJunkie · 03-25-2016, 06:10 PM

So my wife has now driven two manual transmission cars in her life. Her parent's cant even drive a stick, so she never learned and has been deathly afraid of it.

The night before I traded in my RX-8 for the 1M, we went out to dinner and I convinced her that she really needed to drive the car one time before we got rid of it. It had a lot of sentimental value, and she agreed. We used a large empty parking lot next to the restaurant and she learned how to launch in 1st, and even made a 1-2 shift. Then she'd had enough. It was too bad, because she actually did pretty well.

She has repeatedly stated that she would be afraid to drive the 1M. Too much power, might break something, yada yada yada.

Today she realized she can save $500 if she rents a manual during the 2 weeks she will be in Europe this summer . . . and said she is finally ready to learn.

We used a new street in the neighborhood that has no houses on it yet and she did pretty well. I asked her if she wanted to drive back home and she replied "we aren't going home yet." She then proceeded to drive around the neighborhood for over an hour, even stopping on some hills to see if she could get going again. These were all 25 mph roads at most, only got into 3rd gear a couple times. She may have stalled 5 or 6 times early on, but got really good toward the end.

Later in the day, we went to a store that requires a drive on much busier roads including a traffic circle and a left turn across two lanes of oncoming traffic. She asked if she could drive . . . Lets just say that was when CarJunkie's heart rate increased for the first time. She did awesome.

I have seen comments on here before about not wanting to let someone use a 1M to learn to drive. I must say, the clutch is pretty easy and forgiving, and in normal mode the throttle is easy to modulate. I don't think a Civic or a Golf would have been any easier or more friendly. Obviously she was timid at first and very careful. I am not sure I will hand my keys to the kids when they turn 16.

I suggested she might be ready to autocross by next summer. She did not agree or disagree . . . Maybe she didn't hear me. In any case, this could get interesting. I may need to start hiding the keys!

1mm2 · 03-25-2016, 06:54 PM

You're fooked...

Gangplank · 03-25-2016, 08:24 PM

Had the same issue w/ my 135i w/ DCT. My solution was to get the wife a Mini. She loves it.

ayao · 03-25-2016, 08:30 PM

Need to engage the M button and test her again.

CarJunkie · 03-26-2016, 09:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ayao

Need to engage the M button and test her again.

Good idea!

velociti · 03-26-2016, 09:59 AM

Re: RX-8 being sentimental...I have an '05 RX-8 that I ADORED. Did shocks, springs, and Mazdaspeed exhaust on it, and I just loved everything about that car. Obviously didn't have a ton of power, but handled like a dream, made a great noise, epic gearbox, and winding it out to 9k is special. Congrats on the 1M, man. Super jelly.

Solo_M_Tech · 03-26-2016, 01:10 PM

Next she'll want to take it to the store for some bread and you'll get that fateful phone call " honey someone hit your car and it's totaled". You have opened a can of worms and lost the lid. lol. Glad she learned how to drive a stick though. I think it should be a requirement to obtain a drivers license.

Esteban · 03-26-2016, 01:55 PM

People who don't know how to drive a manual don't know what they're missing. As I've said before here on the forum, because of an injury I absolutely can't drive a manual anymore, but if I could, my 1er would be a manual. That said, the DCT is a great transmission.

CarJunkie · 03-26-2016, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Esteban

People who don't know how to drive a manual don't know what they're missing. As I've said before here on the forum, because of an injury I absolutely can't drive a manual anymore, but if I could, my 1er would be a manual. That said, the DCT is a great transmission.

Where in the Inland Empire are you? Near Tri-Cities?

Esteban · 03-26-2016, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CarJunkie

Where in the Inland Empire are you? Near Tri-Cities?

Inland Empire, Southern California. Alta Loma, to be more specific.

CP 1///M · 03-29-2016, 01:54 PM

Lol - time to shop for another 1M then

03-25-2016, 06:10 PM	#1
CarJunkie Colonel 2617 Rep 2,819 Posts Drives: e82 1M, f87 M2cs Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Tri-Cities, Washington iTrader: (1) Garage List 2020 M2cs [0.00] 2011 BMW 1M [0.00]	Wife drove the 1M . . . will need to hide the keys now! So my wife has now driven two manual transmission cars in her life. Her parent's cant even drive a stick, so she never learned and has been deathly afraid of it. The night before I traded in my RX-8 for the 1M, we went out to dinner and I convinced her that she really needed to drive the car one time before we got rid of it. It had a lot of sentimental value, and she agreed. We used a large empty parking lot next to the restaurant and she learned how to launch in 1st, and even made a 1-2 shift. Then she'd had enough. It was too bad, because she actually did pretty well. She has repeatedly stated that she would be afraid to drive the 1M. Too much power, might break something, yada yada yada. Today she realized she can save $500 if she rents a manual during the 2 weeks she will be in Europe this summer . . . and said she is finally ready to learn. We used a new street in the neighborhood that has no houses on it yet and she did pretty well. I asked her if she wanted to drive back home and she replied "we aren't going home yet." She then proceeded to drive around the neighborhood for over an hour, even stopping on some hills to see if she could get going again. These were all 25 mph roads at most, only got into 3rd gear a couple times. She may have stalled 5 or 6 times early on, but got really good toward the end. Later in the day, we went to a store that requires a drive on much busier roads including a traffic circle and a left turn across two lanes of oncoming traffic. She asked if she could drive . . . Lets just say that was when CarJunkie's heart rate increased for the first time. She did awesome. I have seen comments on here before about not wanting to let someone use a 1M to learn to drive. I must say, the clutch is pretty easy and forgiving, and in normal mode the throttle is easy to modulate. I don't think a Civic or a Golf would have been any easier or more friendly. Obviously she was timid at first and very careful. I am not sure I will hand my keys to the kids when they turn 16. I suggested she might be ready to autocross by next summer. She did not agree or disagree . . . Maybe she didn't hear me. In any case, this could get interesting. I may need to start hiding the keys!
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03-25-2016, 06:54 PM	#2
1mm2 Lieutenant 434 Rep 533 Posts Drives: M2 Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Northern exposure iTrader: (0)	You're fooked...
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03-25-2016, 08:24 PM	#3
Gangplank Brigadier General 1541 Rep 3,071 Posts Drives: 2011 e82 135i n55 Sport w/ DCT Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Vero Beach, FL iTrader: (2) Garage List 2011 135i [0.00]	Had the same issue w/ my 135i w/ DCT. My solution was to get the wife a Mini. She loves it. __________________ 2011 135i w/ DCT \| ZSP Sport Pkg \| PPK \| Ohlins R
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03-25-2016, 08:30 PM	#4
ayao Thread killer 643 Rep 1,896 Posts Drives: 1M Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: CA iTrader: (2)	Need to engage the M button and test her again.
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03-26-2016, 09:59 AM	#6
velociti First Lieutenant 182 Rep 322 Posts Drives: 2009 E90 M3 Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: PA iTrader: (1)	Re: RX-8 being sentimental...I have an '05 RX-8 that I ADORED. Did shocks, springs, and Mazdaspeed exhaust on it, and I just loved everything about that car. Obviously didn't have a ton of power, but handled like a dream, made a great noise, epic gearbox, and winding it out to 9k is special. Congrats on the 1M, man. Super jelly.
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03-26-2016, 01:10 PM	#7
Solo_M_Tech Brigadier General 1688 Rep 3,140 Posts Drives: 2014 M5 6MT Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Massachusetts iTrader: (7) Garage List 2014 BMW M5 [0.00]	Next she'll want to take it to the store for some bread and you'll get that fateful phone call " honey someone hit your car and it's totaled". You have opened a can of worms and lost the lid. lol. Glad she learned how to drive a stick though. I think it should be a requirement to obtain a drivers license. __________________ 2014 M5 6MT
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03-26-2016, 01:55 PM	#8
Esteban Major General 43738 Rep 7,224 Posts Drives: a slow car fast Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: SoCal iTrader: (0)	People who don't know how to drive a manual don't know what they're missing. As I've said before here on the forum, because of an injury I absolutely can't drive a manual anymore, but if I could, my 1er would be a manual. That said, the DCT is a great transmission. __________________ Last edited by Esteban; 03-26-2016 at 04:23 PM..
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03-29-2016, 01:54 PM	#11
CP 1///M Private First Class 51 Rep 175 Posts Drives: BSM 1M Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Vancouver, BC iTrader: (0)	Lol - time to shop for another 1M then
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