Badge intimidation? - BMW Forum

bighorns · 04-29-2009, 09:54 AM

I've noticed that while navigating through traffic that 9 times out of 10 ricer owners of what should be faster cars (Nissan, Lexus, Honda, etc. V-6s) will back off if I get an early jump. Honestly, people give up too easily sometimes, and it works to my advantage.
I used to do the same thing in my Civic: come out of the hole real hard off of a light and get 2-3 cars and my 'competitor' who could easily catch and pass me on top gives up. I love un-educated drivers!

dannyb · 04-29-2009, 10:09 AM

maybe they just dont want to race

witeshark · 04-29-2009, 10:09 AM

Interesting!

bighorns · 04-29-2009, 11:26 PM

Well, I guess I should have added more information because obviously in day to day driving most people are not out looking for a race, but at least here in SoCal people tend to take a lot of pride in their cars and won't always give up their lane without some resistance.
The point I was trying to make was that it seems most drivers don't know the capabilities of their cars, and will only resist to the point that they feel they can't win.
Believe me, competetive driving is rampant out here.

84bmw318i · 04-30-2009, 08:49 AM

I think it's to a certain extent. I mean i'll take on a civic and run it hard and make sure it's not gonna beat me but if an m3 or an sti rolls up....i'm not even gonna try, i'd just embarass myself

RoadsterMadness · 04-30-2009, 09:03 AM

Let them BRING me that STI at higher speeds and RPM's and then we'll see...I had one sputtering his wife exhaust chasing me with everything he had (sounded like a tin can with an angry bee in it!). I was enjoying my ride, crusing along at 80 on a hot Summer night, and I knew that the teenager driving the STI would have to be taken to 145 mph+ to be put down and I just did not want to do that on a public highway when I was enjoying my drive home so very much. Sometimes it's enough to just KNOW you COULD have them if you wanted to...

bighorns · 04-30-2009, 09:22 AM

True that. I let a Corolla 'beat' me once going through some esses at high speed because he got it up on 2 wheels and at that point it wasn't worth getting someone killed. I'll always choose my battles, and if it's unsafe then let it go.

bighorns · 05-02-2009, 08:58 AM

I let a friend of mine who has a Charger with a Hemi in it drive the Bimmer last night. He said he's never run his Charger against a BMW because he'd seen them and knew they were quick, and won't run his car against 'nice cars'. He explained that most of his 'playing' was against ricers that wanted to see how they stack up against the Hemi.
I took him over to a nearby road with a nice ess in it and hit it at 85 to show him how sticky the Bimmer is, then let him try. (He's a cop, so I wasn't too worried about him driving through there fast.) After he drove it he said now he understands what all the fuss is about, lol!

Jubeski · 05-22-2009, 09:55 AM

People would try to do that when I had my 996 C2 but I would always catch up then outrun them. I knew my 996 was all about top end power but now with my 99 M3 I have to play the 1st and 2nd gear game...after that I will just chill out and act like I just smoked them..lol.

RambleJ335 · 07-08-2009, 01:15 PM

Damn I rarely ever find anyone that wants to run with me anymore. It seems as soon as I added my lil JB to the car I have really yet to have a chance to give it a go against anyone..

AlpineSixAndSeven · 07-08-2009, 04:27 PM

^jb?

RambleJ335 · 07-08-2009, 04:33 PM

JB = Juice box. I have a JB2 hooked up to mycar and it raises the boost and fueling to my car for an extra +50hp/55tq

BimmerE39 · 07-08-2009, 10:48 PM

I had a dude in a new Corolla race me back in April, or I should say want to race me. He was an epic wannabe guido. We're talking my new haircut guido here, in a Corolla.

Also, I've noticed that I attract a lot of attention from a lot of stupid people ever since I've done my suspension, body work, and added nice wheels. 95% of the time I'm just enjoying the ride and people always seem to want to race me. I digress however.
Now, my car is not the fastest on the road and I'm aware of that but I felt the need to put his ego down for a minute.

I smoked him the first time...BADLY. At the next light I can see him looking at me out of the corner of my eyes through his rolled down window, with the fake Prada or Gucci glasses on. I made the mistake of looking over and making eye contact because the next thing he did was put his car in neutral and rev the shit out of his 4 banger.

I tried not to laugh, but I couldn't help it.

He says, and I quote "lets race bitch."

To that I only laugh again and then start to explain why I won't do it. I explained that for racing him the first time "I was retarded" because the only thing I did was damage his ego and I couldn't possibly do it again.

In reality, I was only pissing him off more so he would want to race again. What he didn't know was I could see a police cruiser sitting in a lot about 1/4 mile up the road waiting to pull someone over.

The light turns green and like predicted he takes off at a sluggish pace. I can hear the poor little 4 banger scream through the factory exhaust. I casually accelerate waiting for the inevitable to happen. This guy passed the police car doing at least 80MPH in a 40MPH zone. Needless to say the cop went after him.

I wish I had a camera, because the look on this guys face was priceless as I drove by him. His gelled hair glistening in the sun, his knockoff Prada glasses off of his face, his scotchgaurded collar not looking too stiff anymore, and the scowl he gave me as I drove by. It was perfect.

Am I a dickhead?

Short answer, yes. But I like to think that the people I'm a dickhead to have earned it. In this guys case, I hope the officer gave him a nice F-U of a ticket. The man earned it.

bighorns · 07-09-2009, 09:05 AM

The new Corrolla 'S' seems to be the car of choice here in my town, especially amongst 20-somethings who feel they must race away from every light to show how sporty and quick they are. My car is definately not fast per se, but dusting these little turds is effortless and satisfying. I detest Toyota drivers!

RoadsterMadness · 07-09-2009, 10:23 AM

I rented a Toyota "S" in AZ last month. For suich nice country, and in "Sport" mode, this car was soooo slow we nearly had to get out and push. Crap, I remember seeing some fast Corollas on the road since they are so light, but mine sure wasnlt. Also, way back in the pre E39 days, I had a great Celica GT that was, for the young F#cker I was, a terrific car to learn and grow on. All that said, I generally have a much larger beef with Hondas...

Great story BimmerE39 - classic!

I also note that my post above in this thread was written before I had the Dinan M3 and all comments in that post were based on teh Roadster. I cannot IMAGINE what I would have done to that poor fool with the M3. And as of yet, I have not had too much of the "cat-nip effect" from the M3. The Roadster is very flashy, has chrome rims too, etc. However, as I've briefly posted, this is not to say I have totally abstained from fun...

It is though truly dangerous in its temptation to have such a car on the road. It is a tough test of "maturity" to keep things reasonable, and a delicate balancing act between letting her loose and having fun and my strong desire to be safe, avoid tickets and also to assure nothing happens to my little jewel. All this makes me think of the track as a good and safe outlet!

PS - I replaced the M3 badge on my CF CSL trunk since some of the blue stripe was wearing off for some reason. I picked up a new one at the dealer and had them put it on. I wear it with pride, but have held off and will likely continue to hold off from puting the Dinan badge on the other side. A sleeper lacks some badge intimidation, but is also more fun in many ways!