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Pixelpeep
Original Poster
821 posts
11 months
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Friend of mines son has just swapped his first car (pug 307) for a 2001 BMW 330i auto.
Insurance and fuel has all been taken care of its just he has been driving barely a year and we are both a bit worried about the car getting away from him, especially with a RWD car in the wet!
Can anyone recommend a course / track day / instructor that might be able to teach the young whippersnapper how to keep the beemer under control should something bad happen
they live in brentwood, essex so something local would be great.
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H_Kan
4,742 posts
68 months
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With an auto, I imagine long as traction control stays on then he'll be ok.
My 330 is pretty tame is unless you take the piss with it.
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Pixelpeep
Original Poster
821 posts
11 months
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H_Kan said: With an auto, I imagine long as traction control stays on then he'll be ok.
My 330 is pretty tame is unless you take the piss with it. he's barely 20 - lol.... can we trust him?
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Aviz
1,317 posts
38 months
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Pixelpeep said: Friend of mines son has just swapped his first car (pug 307) for a 2001 BMW 330i auto.
Insurance and fuel has all been taken care of its just he has been driving barely a year and we are both a bit worried about the car getting away from him, especially with a RWD car in the wet!
Can anyone recommend a course / track day / instructor that might be able to teach the young whippersnapper how to keep the beemer under control should something bad happen
they live in brentwood, essex so something local would be great. Mate had the same car when he was younger. He was fine for a few years, then he read the manual and worked out how to turn Tc off. Think it was about 8 minutes later that it was wrapped round a lamp post. Education is the key! A wet track day would be ideal !
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Willy Nilly
2,885 posts
36 months
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Pixelpeep said: he's barely 20 - lol....
can we trust him? no
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daemon
8,742 posts
66 months
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Pixelpeep said: H_Kan said: With an auto, I imagine long as traction control stays on then he'll be ok.
My 330 is pretty tame is unless you take the piss with it. he's barely 20 - lol.... can we trust him? No you cant. But he has it now, so just pray to your particular god that he keeps it in a straight line...
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JREwing
1,850 posts
48 months
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A month at 17 in a 3.0 litre X-Type caused no problems for me. And that was during a horrible winter. You know him better than we do - why ask us?
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McSam
4,810 posts
44 months
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The DSC is very good. It will sometimes allow a tiny bit of slip, but reacts extremely quickly and will curb all stupid exuberance, even in the wet. If that stays on, you needn't worry at all. Signed, a 20-year-old with an E46 328i 
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Pixelpeep
Original Poster
821 posts
11 months
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JREwing said: A month at 17 in a 3.0 litre X-Type caused no problems for me. And that was during a horrible winter. You know him better than we do - why ask us? i do know him which is why i'm trying to get some education / skills into him!! - having zero experience with RWD cars i thought i would ask the question here 
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Pixelpeep
Original Poster
821 posts
11 months
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McSam said: The DSC is very good. It will sometimes allow a tiny bit of slip, but reacts extremely quickly and will curb all stupid exuberance, even in the wet. If that stays on, you needn't worry at all. Signed, a 20-year-old with an E46 328i excellent - ill burn the user manual and get his dad to remove their internet connection for fear of him finding that TC Off function
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g3org3y
6,839 posts
60 months
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Pixelpeep said: Can anyone recommend a course / track day / instructor that might be able to teach the young whippersnapper how to keep the beemer under control should something bad happen Problem with something like this is that on driving back from the course he'll assume he has new l33t driving skills, inevitably push the car too far and end up in a ditch.
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Deva Link
26,934 posts
114 months
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Make sure it's got very good tyres all round. It'll eat rear tyres if he's at all exuberant.
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Pixelpeep
Original Poster
821 posts
11 months
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g3org3y said: Problem with something like this is that on driving back from the course he'll assume he has new l33t driving skills, inevitably push the car too far and end up in a ditch. hadn't considered that.. :-/
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chris182
442 posts
22 months
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I bought a RWD car with a 300hp 5.6l V8 at 22 and I'm still alive. As long as he isn't a total numpty then I'm sure he'll be fine.
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McSam
4,810 posts
44 months
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Well, that's the problem - it ain't exactly hard press the button in the centre of the dash in front of the gear level and you're done. But in seriousness, if you're concerned - which is not unreasonable - you really do need to do something about it, whether it's tuition or simply explaining the risks to him. I don't really recommend tuition because you're not going to be able to do enough to make him actually able to control the car properly in a hairy moment, all you'll manage is making him think he can which is even worse. I might even consider taking him out in the passenger seat, turning the DSC off and spinning it to show him just how easy it is.. If he doesn't seem to grasp the concept in theory, that is!
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vsonix
1,066 posts
32 months
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daemon said: Pixelpeep said: H_Kan said: With an auto, I imagine long as traction control stays on then he'll be ok.
My 330 is pretty tame is unless you take the piss with it. he's barely 20 - lol.... can we trust him? No you cant. But he has it now, so just pray to your particular god that he keeps it in a straight line... Hard to generalise, when I was in my 20s I had mates that were 20 going on 50 and totally risk-averse. I wouldn't have let myself have one age 21 but then again had I been given more responsibilities from an earlier age I might have stopped acting like a teenager a bit sooner lol
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JREwing
1,850 posts
48 months
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Pixelpeep said: i do know him which is why i'm trying to get some education / skills into him!! - having zero experience with RWD cars i thought i would ask the question here That's a fair comment, but truthfully, is there really an enormous difference? Do people really have problems moving to a car which drives wheels at the other end? I've always thought it's just a bragging point, because it doesn't seem all that different. At least not driving as a normal, sane person of reasonable intelligence does.
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chongwong
601 posts
16 months
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JREwing said: A month at 17 in a 3.0 litre X-Type caused no problems for me. And that was during a horrible winter. You know him better than we do - why ask us? there is a small difference though, the xtype is 4wd and less likely to get away from you
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JREwing
1,850 posts
48 months
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chongwong said: there is a small difference though, the xtype is 4wd and less likely to get away from you That was one of the winters it barely stopped snowing, and the ice was continual. I would say that evens it out easily, since this is summer.
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H_Kan
4,742 posts
68 months
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Pixelpeep said: H_Kan said: With an auto, I imagine long as traction control stays on then he'll be ok.
My 330 is pretty tame is unless you take the piss with it. he's barely 20 - lol.... can we trust him? Whether he can be trusted is not my call. However, as I said, with the driver aids on, the car is pretty benign and the tc/ dcs will kick in and put an end to most things going awry. I drive fairly quickly and sometimes it kicks in. If you switch it off then yes you may have an issue as it's a 230bhp rwd car. However, tbh I doubt a basic car skills course is going to endow him with sufficient skill to save the day if the tc is off and he balls it up. Best explaining the risks and ensuring he understands the importance of keeping it on. A little training may even have the reverse effect of him turning it off to have some fun...
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