dont wanna abuse my car..

[Black97]

Just to put in perspective...

...wonder how many of these were owned by newbie drivers that wanted to win every race?

http://www.billygrahamsfirebird.com/cars/index.asp

[Christopherrr]

Originally posted by Black97
Just to put in perspective...

...wonder how many of these were owned by newbie drivers that wanted to win every race?

http://www.billygrahamsfirebird.com/cars/index.asp

good point

[Roger in Kensington]

A '98 Trans Am, eh?

Keep abusing it. I'll need the parts one of these days.

[94 formula]

Take it from me I'm 18 bought my firebird when I was 17 and have had it a little over a year now. When I first started driving it I was scared of it and had total resect for it..for about a month then was a complete dumb a.. and decided to try setting it sideways on my way home from work. About $900 in body work later and a day of replacing an old ladies fence I got all the respect and then some for its power back, and haven't done anything that stupid since. At my school it sounds similar to yours a bunch of Ricers with nothing but exhausts and stickers and they all want to race. I just laugh at them and don't waste the gas or the parts I know I'll be paying for and replacing myself. If you have a job try paying all your expenses for a month and see how much respect for the car that gets you.

[Spades95formula]

Dang, what a lesson this guy is being taught.
hey man im going to say the sme thing the rest of these guys are saying . dude, when they rev at you just turn and laughf ,that seems to tick them off even more. dont waste your gas , its perty expensive.
and treat your car like a girlfriend,be a gentleman and dont do anything to hurt her. or shell leave you ............stranded.

[Zigroid]

that f-body graveyard site actually makes me feel safer about driving my firebird. by the looks of those pictures of them just got torn apart and are still somewhat intact. not like some smaller cars that get annihilated when something hits them.

and I bought my car after 1 1/2 years of driving. I went from one powerful RWD car to another, so I had a little experiance. my only accident though was when I wasnt speeding or showing off, I came to a T in the road that I could barely see and ended up skiding about 5 feet off the road and hit a sign. still drove it home though. Oh yeah and a damn deer ran out in front of me while I was cruising at 55 IN A 55.

[Fast Mother]

Originally posted by Zigroid
that f-body graveyard site actually makes me feel safer about driving my firebird. by the looks of those pictures of them just got torn apart and are still somewhat intact. not like some smaller cars that get annihilated when something hits them.

Dude, it's a salvage yard. Don't ever be placed under the false impression that any car is going to save you more than the next. I've seen a torn up Trans Am where you couldn't tell what it was anymore. It all depends on two things: Speed and stupidity.....maybe that's just one?

[Craig 94 TA GT]

Yep...compare Dale Earnhardt's Monte Carlo wreckage



to say Ryan Newman's multiple tumble wreck at Dayona



Looks don't mean everything...

[Camaro4-2]

Originally posted by Black97
Just to put in perspective...

...wonder how many of these were owned by newbie drivers that wanted to win every race?

http://www.billygrahamsfirebird.com/cars/index.asp

that brought a tear to my eye...not only for the occupants...but for the f-bodies... those cars aren't fast anymore....

I find it more fun to have a little honda rev at me while i turn my head look at his car and laugh and not even give him the pleasure to race me...it makes me feel even more powerful. Once you get the tearing the car up out of your system you'll probably get a little more respect for it and drive it slow. Your car shows off for you, theres really little you need to do. Whens the last time you saw a vette screaming around the roads...i see vettes everyday and they are all driven responsibly...because they know they are the shit.

burn some ricers every now and then but just be careful espcially in rain and gravel sided roads...my best friend spun his car into a guardrail....i spun my car in 3 different circles when it just started raining....the T/A's are really really hard to control once you lose control.(espcially if roads are slick)...

back to your original question...they can take some good abuse but i'd definitaly balance it out wiht responsible driving. When you start replacing parts you'll probably slow down. just my .02

but i'd stick with laughing at them...race nice cars...your in a way higher class then little 4 door sedans...ugly people dont stay the night at supermodel's houses for a reason

[jspeed97]

Okay, I think he gets the point... : )

Okay guys, I think Trans Am 98 gets the point.... Don't let everybody get to ya Trans Am, they are just passing on wisdom, because we have all been there before. Heck, when I was 19 a dang deer jumped out in front of me on a flat corner and I swerved to miss it.... big mistake... I was only able to keep it from going into a 40 foot revine, instead I hit the hill on the other side, and my poor 93' Z28 ended up as totaled... I walked away with no cuts or bruises because I was wearing my seat belt. Car did an end over end somersault and landed the other direction. I learned alot that day. So don't think everybody is beating up on ya... they just don't want you ending up dead. Keep it real my F-body brother.

[Fast Mother]

Originally posted by Camaro4-2
Whens the last time you saw a vette screaming around the roads...i see vettes everyday and they are all driven responsibly...because they know they are the shit.

I just discovered something today. You only see vettes driven by older men and woman....why?.....because they are having their mid-life crisis, IMO!

[Fast Mother]

Re: Okay, I think he gets the point... : )

Originally posted by jspeed97
Car did an end over end somersault and landed the other direction.

As in a flip?

I would have crapped my pants.

[Dave M]

Since everyone else has thrown their 2 cents in, I might as well do the same. I'll just tell you what I did when I was new to driving:

I got my permit at 16 but took 9 months to get my liscense. It wasn't because I couldn't drive (I passed my test the first try) I just wasn't in any hurry. I learned to drive in a 91 2.0L front-drive Camry. I took my time and learned what I could. My first car was an 86 Firebird, 2.8L auto. It had decent handling characteristics but not enough power to really get me in trouble. It was probably the perfect first car. Being rear wheel drive, I had to learn real quick how to drive in inclement weather. It's like learning to swim by jumping in a pool. It handled well enough to inspire confidence and teach me about the physics of driving (especially about rear-wheel drive cars).

A few years later I got an 88 GTA, 5.7L. It was simply a step up. Now I had better handling and faster acceleration and top speed. It was like moving to level 2 in a video game. You get to refine your skills and improve without making a big jump in performance.

I now drive a 97 WS6, and consider myself one of the best non-professional drivers around (who doesn't?). But I truly believe that by starting slow and gradually moving up in performace, it has made me an extremely safe driver. I DO NOT drive slowly, which is what most people consider dafe. I drive very aggresively and fast on a regular basis, but am a firm believer that speed does NOT kill. It's like falling from an airplane, it's not the fall that kills you, it's hitting the ground. It's not driving fast that kills you, it's the mistake you make, or the hazard you fail to recognize that kills you.

Since you've lept right into a high performanc emachine, the best thing you can do is to take it slow,be careful in what you do for several months..... or longer. Experience teaches you more than any driving course ever could. Take time to study what other drivers do, and how they react to situations. You'll soon find yourself knowing what other drivers are going to do before they even know it. My wife still doesn't believe me when I tell her I can do that, but she'll realize it one of these days. I've often though about writing a book......

Rule number 1: Don't look at the back of the car in front of you. Look a car or two in front of him, then when he slams on his brakes, you'll be reacting to the same hazard he is (or even sooner) and not reacting to his brake lights. You're garaunteed to rearend somebody by being lazy and not actively looking around/ahead!

Off my soap box now.....

[Fast Mother]

Hey guys,

I just turned on the news and what's the first thing I see?

An accident on the highway. A White Trans Am WS6 was racing a Camaro and the Trans Am lost control and drifted across the median and hit an on-coming Oldsmobile. Both cars were DEMOLISHED and the Camaro fled the scene.

The occupants of the Oldsmobile was taken by ambulance, and the driver and passenger of the Trans Am were both taken by careflight to the nearest hospital. All are labeled in serious condition.

[Black97]

It doesn't even mean that you need to have an accident.

Your "reckless" fast driving could cause an accident to people that aren't even involved in your race or stunt.

As they always say: I'm a good driver I never had an accident! But how many they caused they don't even know!!??

Some people have to learn it the hard way and some never learn it.