Strange Question on the N54

[Dmacc]

Originally Posted by bluecat

I must confess, my first car was also a BMW... a 1984 318i in 1997. What did those make 75hp? It was passed down from one family member to another and beat to hell by the time I got it, but I loved every minute of the damn thing. Definitely a big part of my BMW obsession today. That's the kind of BMW this kid needs.

your family should have modded it and handed it down. slamming it with 225's and made it handle like a gokart

[JHOOPS2]

Originally Posted by bluecat

I must confess, my first car was also a BMW... a 1984 318i in 1997. What did those make 75hp? It was passed down from one family member to another and beat to hell by the time I got it, but I loved every minute of the damn thing. Definitely a big part of my BMW obsession today. That's the kind of BMW this kid needs.

Nearly the same boat here. My first car was a 1988 325i. But this was in 1995. LOL.

[romak47]

Originally Posted by onefastman

Get him a gsxr so he will only kill himself....

+1
LOL !!!!

[Jeef Beef]

Originally Posted by Yogijet

Thanks guys. They have their reasons and I think it's already a done deal that he's getting another bmw. I suggested the 128/328 and serious restrictions on use starting with serious parent-in-passenger seat-training-time.

My personal view is that you don't actually get a chance to learn to drive properly on cars such as these, and they probably shouldn't be the car you learn driving on. The reason is that with the proliferation and availability of driver aids - ABS and TC, for example - you really don't get a chance to experience brake-locked wheels with no steering effect on a wet road, glorious understeer in a poorly set up front-drive econobox, scary oversteer in a tilting Lada (google for those who don't know what this pos is) and the appropriate reaction in different settings, which is a pity. Nothing wrong with these driver aids but they just do too much where seat of the pants 'feel' for a car is concerned. This is not even considering the value of experience. Case in point - I am from a family of drivers (dad and brother are truckers, g-dad was a trucker, and 73 yr old aunt is a very keen driver and was a serious road warrior back in the day) and when I first got my driving licence as a kid in rural Jamaica, they made me drive EVERYWHERE, with one of them sitting in the front seat of the car. This wasn't just highway driving. There was quite a bit of mountain road driving fraught/nicely configured (depending on perspective) with hairpins. That training time is invaluable, and I think that is one element of parenting that is too often ignored. You can't just let the kid out on the road driving independently just because they have a driver's licence. All of us know that there are some skills, some situations you appreciate etc, that come with time. Having a sensible driving guide in the early stages of your driving life accelerates the skill acquisition and general appreciation and respect for the road. I won't say I didn't push the envelope at times but...you know. That was a lotta writing, sorry guys. This is supposed to be enthusiast talk, lol. Forgive me.

Couldn't have said it any better myself. Being a young driver, I've forced myself to attend a defensive driving course, a couple of skidpan days and have been on one track day. And you know what? They're awesome fun. I'm glad I got the experience. Like you said, the 'feel' of the car with all the aids switched off is an extremely important thing to learn. However, a lot of these driving courses do cost a fair bit of coin, so I think for a lot of parents that is a deal breaker.

If only the parents you were talking about had as much sense as you...

[BrokenVert]

I've been autoxing since the week I turned 18 and its made nothing but good things happen for me.

And those sidpad days are stupid fun

[Jeef Beef]

Originally Posted by BrokenVert

I've been autoxing since the week I turned 18 and its made nothing but good things happen for me.

And those sidpad days are stupid fun

It's a shame that autocross is not a big thing down in Aus. Oh well, I'll just have to keep doing 360s on the skidpan

[Cris]

Should've gotten a Yugo. And it's still European.

[BBBluey]

I'm willing to sell them my 135i and as far as cutting the power down to half, that's a simple fix...just take it in for the new software update.

[sb335is]

If this isnt a troll....
I know some dumb girl who had an e90 328 and wrapped it around a tree drunk driving, 16.
dad bought her a new one two days later.
two months later, wrapped it around a tree on xanax.
bitch is now in rehab.

= dumb teenagers and dumber parents

[BrokenVert]

Lol every member of my family has gotten a new car on our 17th if we did well enough in school and such.

My older sister wreaked hers and she didnt drive again until she bought her own car

[Dmacc]

Sounds like a case of a woman driver more than a teen

[BahamaBart]

Mini Cooper = BMW

[miro2296]

Originally Posted by BBK

Why would you slash it in half? Why not just get a 128? But even then, that still is more than half the power of a 135i.

I agree, get the idiot a 128 with a 135i front and back bumper, wheels etc.

[mtla4]

Originally Posted by Jeef Beef

What the hell? Yes I have an easy solution. Buy him a Toyota Yaris.

Exactly what I was thinking or buy them nothing and let him learn. Most of those parents are worried about their status and dont want to see their kids taking the bus. Who cares.....If I have kids one day and they ask me for a car I will hand them a 2000$ beater like a cavalier....go to work and buy your own. Nobody handed me anything and thanks to that I get by in life.

[Boosted1]

Originally Posted by MarkR171

No offense but... ah hell who am I kidding?


Look at it this way, if the parents are in a good enough financial state to buy him two BMWs, that's fine. Just remind them about their kid. The kid is obviously not responsible enough for a powerful car, so why get a 135? Get a 128, 328 or E46 325/330.

Young kids can have fast cars, I had a friend in high school who had a '00 Trans Am WS6, but he was responsible with it. Another friend had a V6 Camaro, wrecked in 2 weeks. His mom bought him a Subaru WRX, and he wrecked that too a month later.

Totally agree, Wont mention my age in here so it doesnt become an age thread (not that young tho), but "young" kids can have fast cars, its just a matter of wheter their responsible or not, if they're not, they will find a way wreck even a 80 hp chevrolet spark, an possibly their lives. Hell, a 1 hp scooter its as dangerous as a gun when handling it to a non-resposible kid. An underpowered car is just a band aid, a temporary solution and a quick easy way to ignore the real problem.

And not only while driving, kids like that, will get in troubles in and out of a car, its a matter of libertinism and the lack of responsability that affects nowadays young people, not all of us I can assure. Yes, we have to deal everyday with the bad name and tags those kind of kids makes for us, but I have nothing else but gratefullnes for my parents and pay them back with responsability, earning the trust.

Not trying to offend anyone, nor your friends nor his son, just had to vent a little bit, since I've been reading so much posts about this topic lately in the forum.