Young driver & 330i - suggestions?

[Pixelpeep]

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.

[H_Kan]

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.

[Pixelpeep]

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?

[Aviz]

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 !

[Willy Nilly]

Pixelpeep said:

he's barely 20 - lol....

can we trust him?

no

[daemon]

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...

[JREwing]

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?

[McSam]

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

[Pixelpeep]

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

[Pixelpeep]

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

[g3org3y]

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.

[Deva Link]

Make sure it's got very good tyres all round. It'll eat rear tyres if he's at all exuberant.

[Pixelpeep]

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.. :-/

[chris182]

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.

[McSam]

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!

[vsonix]

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

[JREwing]

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.

[chongwong]

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

[JREwing]

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.

[H_Kan]

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...