Overcoming the fear.

[Bauer24]

My fiance and I have just bought our first sportcar - a "51" 3.0l BMW Z3.

As I'm covered, I test drove it with the previous owner, but my fiance could not and was taken out in a spin. She loves the car, but has mentioned that she's a little apprehensive about driving it, due to the massive increase in power compared to our previous car.

We've both driven small 1.2 cars since passing our tests.

Any one got any hints on what we could do to help her overcome the fear and anxiety. Perhaps seeing the views of other BMW owners may help!

[R1 Loon]

Go out and drive it hard, when it rolls over, you've just about found the limit (either your's or the car's)

More seriously, just drive it and get used to it. It will be a surprise to start with, but if you have any sort of driving empathy then you'll settle into it in a couple of days and the power will start to feel a little low. At which point you need to buy another more powerful one.

[toasty]

As the dealer said when I nervously picked up my brand new Fireblade, "It'll only go as fast as you want it to". He was right, it was a pussycat unless provoked.

Yes, you can go quickly in a Z3 3.0 but unless you're throwing it into roundabouts trying to get the very last ounce of performance out of it or stamp on the throttle in first in the wet then it'll be safe as houses.

My wife regularly drives my E46 M3 and never takes it above 4k rpm. She knows the power's there but is happy pootling around.

[Truckosaurus]

toasty said:

...or stamp on the throttle in first in the wet then it'll be safe as houses....

Indeed. I suspect if you have only driven 1.2 type cars you'll be used to using full throttle all the time which isn't advisable in a more powerful car (front or rear wheel drive)

[Bumble SV]

Try www.cadence.co.uk or similar - money very well spent. My wife spent half a day with Hugh and found it incredibly worthwhile - she has recommended it to several others.

Good luck.

[AliA]

My husband and I have recently taken delivery of a 340bhp Z4. I am not ashamed to admit that although I was excited about my first drive in it, I was definitely a bit apprehensive. I'm no stranger to powerful cars but not that powerful if you know what I mean.

Having owned the car for 6 months now I genuinely don't know what I was worried about. The car will only go as fast as you want to drive it. Just tell your Mrs to take her time and get to know the car before pushing it on a bit.

Nice choice btw. Enjoy it!!

[edc]

Take it down some famiar roads when quiet for a first run then perhaps have a go on a similarly quiet dual carriageway for some foot down action. I hired an AMV8 for a couple of weeks a couple of years back. My familiarisation was the drop off driver showing me the switchgear then just got out and had a blast! Only way to do it.

[mgmrw2003]

I went from a 1400 rover to a 200SX with around 300bhp at the time, on skinny 16inch wheels...... Only way to learn was:

dry day, familliar roads, quiet time of day, and to gradually increase throttle use and pace. Learn the way the car handles and behaves.

Then jumped from that to a 320 touring, and had to re-adjust all over again, but in a new way

[mgmrw2003]

[redacted]

[thegreengoblet]

[redacted]

[mgmrw2003]

thegreengoblet said:

On a serious note though. I'm pretty ok with fast motors, but I did learn an awful lot following a "ride drive" day. It's pretty much common sense when you think about it, but it does help with driving higher power vehicles. It generally follows the concepts of "Roadcraft : Police Drivers Hadbook" - which you can get from Amazon. I personally found it very useful indeed.

If really struggling/wanting to do it properly, could always take the IAM course.

Worked wonders for my mum, after she was side impacted and sent down the central res on 2 wheels..... confidence went, so after IAM she's less nervous

[Vladimir]

Definitely do an IAM course or similar - I condition I set myself when I got a mk2 Gti (a much slower car!) was to do the course aged 22 - really helped. A 3.0 Z3 is likely to get in much worse shape than a 118bhp Golf too!

[mgmrw2003]

Vladimir said:

Definitely do an IAM course or similar - I condition I set myself when I got a mk2 Gti (a much slower car!) was to do the course aged 22 - really helped. A 3.0 Z3 is likely to get in much worse shape than a 118bhp Golf too!

Agree completely, I did mine at 23, when I'd spent few years driving small stuff and company vans, clocking up 6points and realised I was your typical "insurance nightmare" so decided to get some proper training

[Matt UK]

Bauer24 said:

My fiance and I have just bought our first sportcar - a "51" 3.0l BMW Z3.

As I'm covered, I test drove it with the previous owner, but my fiance could not and was taken out in a spin. She loves the car, but has mentioned that she's a little apprehensive about driving it, due to the massive increase in power compared to our previous car.

We've both driven small 1.2 cars since passing our tests.

Any one got any hints on what we could do to help her overcome the fear and anxiety. Perhaps seeing the views of other BMW owners may help!

Dude, you've not purchased a hair-trigger barely road-legal dragster. Try the old technique of modulating the pressure your right foot applies to the throttle, it's not an on/off swtich.


You'll both me fine I'm sure.

[Gunk]

Most modern powerful cars are easy to drive, the BMW has a dual mass flywheel so the power delivery is fairly gentle.

My wife has driven my old left hooker Porsche 964 RS (when I was too pissed after a BBQ to drive it home) and she drove it smoother than I did.

If it was a Z3M on worn tyres and a wet road I could understand the worry, but I have driven a 3.0 Z3 and they are fairly civilised.

Get the roof down this weekend, head to the coast and enjoy it!!!!

Edited by Gunk on Thursday 7th April 13:56

[Mr Whippy]

Does the Z3 have ESP/TCS like the Z4? You can drive like a pleb in the Z4 and get away with a huge amount, either on purpose, or by accident.

In either case, they are pretty docile engines so you won't get more than you bargain for unless you are asking for it. Only time I'm nervous in mine is in the snow, but it's still managed to get through the last few winters on balding summer tyres without issues.

Dave

[GBB]

Truckosaurus said:

toasty said:

...or stamp on the throttle in first in the wet then it'll be safe as houses....

Indeed. I suspect if you have only driven 1.2 type cars you'll be used to using full throttle all the time which isn't advisable in a more powerful car (front or rear wheel drive)

I learnt that lesson the hard way.

Seems an 86bhp Escort MK2 has a lot more power than a 57bhp Chevette. First time out, wet roundabout, floored it. Quick spin and I find myself sitting on the roundabout watching traffic drive round me. Fortunately no damage other than grass cuttings up both sides.

Take it easy and you'll be fine. A track session of some kind will help you learn to find the limits in safety. Just remember the grip is far more easily overcome in wet conditions.

[briers]

It is very hard to get them to "let go" you have to be doing stupid speeds.

Make sure your tyres and suspension are in good condition and I guarantee it will go round corners a lot faster than you think it will.

Don't start mucking around in the wet, that is stupid. Just enjoy driving it spiritedly, within your comfort zone. You don't need to be a road racer to enjoy it but i can safely say you are probably no where near the limit.

Start off by taking it up to max RPM when warm, get a feel for the brakes and keep a steady speed after entering a corner keep the car balanced. Don't go prodding the throttle or braking mid corner. Just keep everything nice and smooth. You can't go wrong!

[rm163603]

Bauer24 said:

My fiance and I have just bought our first sportcar - a "51" 3.0l BMW Z3.

As I'm covered, I test drove it with the previous owner, but my fiance could not and was taken out in a spin. She loves the car, but has mentioned that she's a little apprehensive about driving it, due to the massive increase in power compared to our previous car.

We've both driven small 1.2 cars since passing our tests.

Any one got any hints on what we could do to help her overcome the fear and anxiety. Perhaps seeing the views of other BMW owners may help!

I think all you can do is not get carried away with overtaking or whatever thinking it is faster than it is. By the sounds of it your GF is going to be pretty cautious so it's unlikely. As soon as she sees it is within her control I'm sure she will be fine.

[Mave]

IMHO, probably more important than learning to handle the car in corners, is learning to handle it in a straight line. You'll be able to accelerate twice as hard, but won't be able to brake twice as hard....