17, 18, 19, 22..... sheesh! I don't know precisely at what age maturity kicks in as its different for each individual, but you all seem very young to me to be driving such cars.:wroom: I suppose I must seem very old to all of you.:7:
Perhaps we should institute some kind of "power-to-age" graded driver permit system whereby if you wish to purchase or drive a car that exceeds your permissible power-to-age threshold you can only get your "super HP licence" by having taken some required car control classes, some track time and had at least a year or two of reasonable street driving conduct. I also think the curve is bell-shaped and as we get older we should indeed take this kind of professional driving instruction and re-qualify. Relax, that won't happen.:1:
I spent years driving in the snows of Quebec learning the finer art of car control, drifting, throttle steering, etc. My kids who've grown up here in the southern US know none of this and I believe they are worse off. I plan to send them to some skid schools and track sessions. And no they don't and won't drive my 500HP cars (M6 and SL55).
Guys if you can pay for (or even ask your parents to pay for) some M school time for you (if you haven't already take the freebee that comes with the car) you should do this. Its a blast and you'll learn a ton. You can never have enough time spent on understanding and experiencing car control. It's a safe way to accelerate years of experience.
Don't ever assume that you won't make a mistake. Hell pushing the envelope is the only way to figure out the performance limits of the car, but you just don't want to be exploring the limits of adhesion for the first time at speeds you can't really feel on public roads.
Gosh I'm starting to sound like an old fart.
Be safe and THINK. None of us want to read another thread like the one about AmericanM5.