Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that there aren't any nice driver vehicles over there, but everyone on here is driving plastic econoboxes so you're not doing yourselves much justice, and I think you will find a lot of the 'good vehicles' that you have over there are available worldwide, not just in Europe.

You might have heaps of exotics that I don't know about, but if they are stupidly expensive to buy and keep on the road, what's the point?

finally got some motorvation to work on the rx7

stripping the interior down this friday and fixing all the electrical problems, re-earthing everything and finding any current leaks. Along with fixing all the shit that doesn't work.

I've already fixed the majority of the vaccuum leaks and it runs alot smoother

Yeah when I'd painted the top coats of my car and the resto was nearly finished, I started puttings things back together and testing the electrical systems (admittedly there aren't a whole lot in a rana! lol) and yeah there was a whole bunch of problems that just came from crappy connections, went around everything and cleaned every terminal (joint, earth, whatever) so it was shining bare metal (can use anything for that - sandpaper/scourpad/wire brush/glass strand brush etc) and coated it in a product that stops the surface from oxidising so they don't go bad again in any hurry. Every globe glows twice as bright now! hahaha probably less of an issue with a more recent vehicle like yours

I have a 1st gen / Series 3 Rx-7
Aint nothing recent about it :P
and mazda are known for their terrible electrics

On an unrelated note, I've got enough money for 10 driving lessons. My mum passed her test back in the day after 12 lessons, is it realistic with modern regulations to hope to be able to pass after 10 hours? I've driven my dads old peugeot around a carpark and it was pretty easy, as well as karting..etc.

Quote from Klutch :

I have a 1st gen / Series 3 Rx-7
Aint nothing recent about it :P
and mazda are known for their terrible electrics

I've always loved those, I'm not sure why, but I do. And I know around here there are a few guys who rallycross them (at least until the engine literally falls apart).

Klutch, that's pretty recent compared to the shit I work on most of the time :P

UK dude, I don't know what the regulations are like over there, but I wouldn't want to hit the road with under 10 hours of practice. Things may well be quite different over here but I had 200-250 hours before I got my probationary license over here, including towing, four wheel driving, circuit racing, motorkhana'ing, night, day, rain, hail, country, city, and over here you're "supposed" to have 120 hours before you do your license test, but that's just a new 'rule' that most people don't pay much attention to.

Quote from Hezath :

Things may well be quite different over here but I had 200-250 hours before I got my probationary license over here...

Yes, but that's in a country that has a decent driver system. In Ireland (And UK, I believe) you can get a license with literally 0 hours experience, and drive straight home. It's ridiculous how far behind we are, there's none of what you've mentioned examined other than city driving (and towing, if you're sitting a towing test obviously). All I had to do to get my license was do a hill start, a 3-point turn, and drive around a housing estate for 15 mins We're supposed to be getting a new law for a minimum of 10 hours lessons before getting a license, but I haven't seen it yet. So right now, anybody can walk in off the street, pay €10, and drive home

Ridiculously easy to get a license in this country, it's scary the amount of incompetent drivers we have. Back in the 60's, there wasn't even a formal test. If you were on the waiting list for more than a year (the average waiting time was two years), you automatically got a full license. So we now have seniors driving around that have never sat a driving test. And still think they know better than young'uns

I got two lessons before my test, and one was a pretest, so that's two hours of lessons. I did have at least 100 hours behind the wheel by the time I sat the test though, as I was lucky enough to have access to a car every day. It's more than possible to pass a test with little or no formal training, plenty of people have done it. 10 hours is about the normal max people do, most people I know did 5-6 hours of lessons, but there are plenty who've done more than 20 hours too...It depends how confident you are behind the wheel, really, which you won't know until you start driving (not around a carpark, on an actual road, with traffic).

Ohh look the system might be okay compared to some, but we still have a huge proportion of completely incompetent drivers, there isn't really anywhere near enough training (sounds like an issue in both of our countries) so people have terrible attitudes and no awareness because they've never seen a car at the limit (including simply just braking in a straight line!). The main problem over here is that you can actually get an 'automatic' license, that feature breeds the worst drivers in the world, because none of those people actually learn to drive. I could go on about it for hours, but all these silly driving aids just make it worse.

The only reason that I did so much practise etc is because I actively chased it, and I was completely interested in learning to drive well. You can still scrape through if you don't give a shit

It would be so nice if the roads were reserved for people who have an interest in driving, and genuinely enjoy it. They should just invent a system to teleport people who don't like driving, so the roads can be enjoyed by all who us them :P

Quote from mcintyrej :

On an unrelated note, I've got enough money for 10 driving lessons. My mum passed her test back in the day after 12 lessons, is it realistic with modern regulations to hope to be able to pass after 10 hours? I've driven my dads old peugeot around a carpark and it was pretty easy, as well as karting..etc.

Get yourself insured on a parents car and do as much driving as you can. 10 lessons should be enough so long as you pace them out, maybe one every week or every other week and put in lots of hours in between. There's no point in paying a driving instructor to take you on your first nervous exploration of your residential streets, get your first driving lesson after you've got to the stage that feeling the clutch and changing gear are just second nature, and ideally if you don't find it too difficult/nerve racking get used to pulling away at junctions and driving on roads with light traffic.

Use your driving lessons to correct the inevitable bad habbits/non-test acceptable driving that anybody who isn't a driving instructor won't pick up on because they are so everyday. Lots of people seem to think that it is cheaper to not practice in another car between lessons, this is madness and such people tend to end up taking a lot more lessons, fail their test more often and are even less experienced when first let loose on the public highway. Driving is all about practice and making it become second nature. If you have to concentrate and think hard about what you're doing you aren't ready.

Quote from dougie-lampkin :

Yes, but that's in a country that has a decent driver system. In Ireland (And UK, I believe) you can get a license with literally 0 hours experience, and drive straight home.

Thats how the US is. Under 18 you need classroom instruction (I dont remember how much, but there is a ridiculous amount classroom compared to practical instruction), but once you're over 18, you just need to show up at a DMV that does tests, and take an easy written test, and an almost easier driving test (aprox. 5 minutes of driving around with a tester).

Quote from speed1 :

Thats how the US is. Under 18 you need classroom instruction (I dont remember how much, but there is a ridiculous amount classroom compared to practical instruction), but once you're over 18, you just need to show up at a DMV that does tests, and take an easy written test, and an almost easier driving test (aprox. 5 minutes of driving around with a tester).

same here with canada. I just went on monday (thursday night now) and all i had to do was show up at a testing place fill out all the personal info. take a 30minute written test and if you pass you are free to drive home with another person with a license in the car with you. then wait 12months to do the practical exam

BTW: i passed so I am legal to drive now!

EDIT: the minimum age is 16, not 18

Quote from ajp71 :

Get yourself insured on a parents car and do as much driving as you can. 10 lessons should be enough so long as you pace them out, maybe one every week or every other week and put in lots of hours in between. There's no point in paying a driving instructor to take you on your first nervous exploration of your residential streets, get your first driving lesson after you've got to the stage that feeling the clutch and changing gear are just second nature, and ideally if you don't find it too difficult/nerve racking get used to pulling away at junctions and driving on roads with light traffic.

Use your driving lessons to correct the inevitable bad habbits/non-test acceptable driving that anybody who isn't a driving instructor won't pick up on because they are so everyday. Lots of people seem to think that it is cheaper to not practice in another car between lessons, this is madness and such people tend to end up taking a lot more lessons, fail their test more often and are even less experienced when first let loose on the public highway. Driving is all about practice and making it become second nature. If you have to concentrate and think hard about what you're doing you aren't ready.

Wise words, Ideally, you wanna have driving experience, jump into a lesson and say the instructor. "I can drive, just teach me how to pass the test, and help to tell me what I am doing that will make me fail"

Quote from mcintyrej :

On an unrelated note, I've got enough money for 10 driving lessons. My mum passed her test back in the day after 12 lessons, is it realistic with modern regulations to hope to be able to pass after 10 hours? I've driven my dads old peugeot around a carpark and it was pretty easy, as well as karting..etc.

Driving a car is pretty easy, learning to drive on the road and follow all the various rules etc is the hard bit.

10 hours is not enough on its own - I was quite quick doing a lesson a week and I got through in 15, and I had my own car (although I didnt practice in it that much).

If you can drive your parents car (a lot) and they are competant drivers (i.e. will be able to tell when your making mistakes and actually have a good knowledge of driving) 10 might be ok. Maybe...

Remember you'll need a theory test as well (£30 odd), plus the cost of the test (£50) plus the cost of hiring the car for the test (usually charge you for an hour) etc....

10 is a bit ambitious imo And as Jak said you need to take other things into account, it cost me £100 each time for my test (passed 2nd time) £60 for the test and £40 for the car for 2 hours, that was with BSM though so you could get it cheaper (i wouldn't reccomend them tbh) It's so expensive...

Quote from Hezath :

Klutch, that's pretty recent compared to the shit I work on most of the time :P

Haha :P

Quote from speed1 :

I've always loved those, I'm not sure why, but I do. And I know around here there are a few guys who rallycross them (at least until the engine literally falls apart).

Yeah, they're great little cars if they've been looked after. Respond well to minor suspension mods, like a little gokart =p

I believe I did my test after 13 lessons/17 hours (I did a few hour and a half lessons).

However I also went out driving with my dad every so often (he taught me to drive before I was 17).

Wow that's not a lot of lessons... I did a shizzleload of lessons before it was even suggested for a test, but that wasn't because I was a bad driver, it was because my instructor didn't feel I was ready, plus I had a 3 month waiting period because it was around xmas... 6 months of driving, 2-4 hours a week, spent a lot of money in that time.


On the plus side, I passed with 2 minors, and my examiner said I was very confident and had excellent car/clutch control and road positioning ...

Hmm well the thing is my parents can't afford to pay for anything unlike 90% of my friends and who all get put on parents insurance..etc It would cost near £2000 to be put on their insurance, which is something they just can't afford and most likely will never be able to afford.

(pisses me off that the pig thick people at college get brand new 10k cars and then crash them a month later and their parents dont even care, when I get straight A's and don't get a thing)

Rant aside, my dad said any time I want we can go out to an empty carpark and have a drive around.

And whoever said they had 200-250 hours before getting their license, that's about £5000 worth of lessons......

I get what you mean, I was fortunate as mum added me onto her policy, but I agreed to pay the £90 a month, sadly the car was on it's last legs so I only paid about 3 months of that. So now I'm left saving up for a new car for my mum lol, and I'll be shelling out on that too, but I don't really mind.... it's me who is buying for my mum and paying for it, it's just a wee bit cheaper than on my own.

I also find it amazing that people at my college drive Vauxhall Astra VXRs and some BMWs even.... spoilt brats grr

Quote from mcintyrej :

Rant aside, my dad said any time I want we can go out to an empty carpark and have a drive around.

Driving around in an empty car park is all good practice but it's the sort of thing you'll pick up in a lesson or two anyway - the hardest part of learning to drive is all the traffic rules / regs.

I'm not saying don't do it - imo you should do it as early as possible because if you dont you'll always put it off - but that if you were to learn to drive, what next? A car is gonna cost you £400+, then there'll be insurance (£1,200+, an arm, a kidney and a backstreet blowjob) and maintainance, then running costs etc...

Just don't do what my friends done - got given £3k inheritance + christmas + birthday money etc which was meant to be so he could learn to drive over the summer, enough for an intensive driving course, and had already blown half before he started Uni. He's now halfed that again and hasn't even had his first lesson yet...

I'm not sure how well/badly British people drive, but I'm pretty sure having extra classes/lessons isn't the way forward.

We have the best roads in the country in here and, yet, it's difficult to not see at least one or two cars completely destroyed on my way to University (30 km).

And that's with compulsory 30 classroom hours with an exam + 18 hrs of driving lessons with a 20 minutes pain in the ass final exam (for each vehicle you choose to drive - i.e 36 hours/2 exams if taking licenses for both car and bike) + phisical and mental exams, roughly a 300 dollars investment! And that's to get on a 1-year probation period!

Being able to drive is about 25% of the test, possibly less.

Jack, your pretty much screwed unless you get a part time job or something. Its seriously expensive and if you can't get any money off your parents your going to have to do something :\

Did my second driftschool

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