Heres the jist of it. I'm 14, grade 9, and been playing LFS for almost a year. I don't fit in at school, they all talk about getting drunk or stoned, and going to parties, and who's the hottest chick. And me, well I talk about cars, think about cars, stare at cars, but none of my friends share the same passion. I have a cousin who owns a 1996 Toyota Supra MKIV. It has the twin turbo set-up and back in the fall she took me out for a drive, and when she popped it into sixth at 210, hearing the waste-gate open, the engine drop revs, the tires hum along, it made me feel so, alive. Time stood still, and I was in awe of the feeling of breaking 200. I honestly felt like I was one with the car. The sense of speed didn't scare me, I trusted the car, like somehow I would never be harmed in it. And this was all when I was in the passenger seat.

After we exited the free-way we parked in a parking lot and my mind was stuck on the moment where I felt inhuman. She actually let me drive (mind you this was in an empty parking lot, with no curbs, and no polls) So I took it upon myself to learn. After driving LFS with a clutch setup I kind of knew what was going to happen with that, so I started slow, everything just came to me. Taking off smooth without burning the clutch, shifting second smoothly at right revs, judging corners and how sharp to take them, it all just came second nature. I felt like it was something I was born to do. I wasn't scared, I wasn't confused, it felt like I've been doing it all my life.

So after that night my cousin took me out once a week to drive, first parking lots, then back-roads, then finally we went to an old airstrip. I forgot all my problems, my shitty mood was gone, time stood still. After driving for two months I started cutting loose (Not publicly, staying at the air-strip), whipping the back end out slightly coming out of a turn, getting on the gas right after the apex of a turn, shifting faster and downshifting properly, trail braking, I even experimented with drifting. Again, it all seemed so natural, and I was scared of myself that I knew how to do it all. This was all in a Supra, with barely any mods, and since that one night I got a real taste of cars I just can't go back to normal life. I play LFS, my cousin takes me driving, I look on the net for racing techniques to practice, and watch all the car videos I can get my hands on.

So I ask you guys, is something wrong with me? Is it a physiological thing inside of me? Or do I have O.C.D? Or am I simply a car obsessed teenager?
~Bryan~

No, nothing wrong with you. Most of us are here because of that passion.
Actually, right now, I'm not listening to music but to the sound of an onboard video of a Gallardo doing the Nordschleife. Thrills me everytime.
Read my signature.

Vain

You're 14. With so many new hormones racing through your system you can expect strange behaviour and emotions. There's nothing wrong with you, it's natural to get excited about things like this when you are a teenager.

No, no, no and yes

as long as you aint getting a woody on, then your normal, while all your school mates are thinking there all big and hard drinking away and getting stoned, your out doing stuff that should be done, and when it comes the time to take your driving test, you will be more confident and experainced, then you can laugh at all your mates, when your driving round in your own supra while there still in there learner cars....

but 1 think i must stress is although your cousin sounds great for letting you drive the car, remember its illegal too drive on the open roads at 14...

but on an other note, you will prob loose intrest in all that car business when you finally get laid, because that always has a better ending

Thanks guys, it really helps to hear that there's other people that have the same kind of thing going on. I can't wait untill I can actually get something on a track.
~Bryan~

EDIT: Lmao, yea I'm sure getting laid will get me distracted from cars, and I've driven on a public road ONCE, crossed a 3 lane road to get to a different parking lot. The back roads are more like packed dirt paths more then anything, lol.

Quote from niffer022 :

but on an other note, you will prob loose intrest in all that car business when you finally get laid, because that always has a better ending

No it doesn't. Cars don't go haywire and scream at you and do silly stuff when you dump them.

Vain

Quote from Vain :

No it doesn't. Cars don't go haywire and scream at you and do silly stuff when you dump them.

Vain

Haha, he speaks the truth, I've dumped the valve of the supra too many times to count, and all it does is scream once, maybe a chrip from the tires, and the process repeats
~Bryan~

I've had similar obsessions at times. When I was 3, it was video games. At the age of 10, it was airplanes. When I was 13, it was computers (building one piqued my interest). At 15, I fell in love with motorcycles (and finally got one of my own at the age of 18). Now at age 21, I'm still very interested in all of them.

My brother was always the ladies' man. I was far too shy for girls and had a reputation as the quiet kid. So I had my machines.

Thats awesome, I've also had a brush with motorcycles (125cc Honda, 250cc Yamaha) Never touched a crotch rocket though. What bike do you have now?
~Bryan~

2002 Kawasaki Super Sherpa (also known as the KL250, the KLR250's air-cooled brother)

250cc single-cylinder, DOHC (4 valves), air-cooled, about 25HP @ 8000 RPM
250 lbs dry
semi-dirt tires (they look very dirt-oriented but they work okay on the street)

Considering it's long-ish rake, it has surprisingly light steering. I was amazed when I hopped on a friend's Kawasaki Ninja 250 that the steering was so heavy on his. The Sherpa's very light, and although not terribly powerful, it's still fun. Top speed is about 90 mph, although I've had it up to 94 (indicated) down a slight hill. It wasn't exactly what I wanted in a bike, especially considering I live in the middle of suburbia hell where there are no trails, but my father refused to get me a sportbike for fear that I'd get suckered into racing by another sportbike rider. He figured no one would even want to challenge me on a dual-sport bike. I still rode it pretty damn hard, though, right up until I dumped it going around a corner at 35 mph at a very high lean angle, scraping my knee up a bit. Let me tell you, roadrash hurts like hell.

Wow man thats awesome. My dad used to race enduro back in highschool. He had a 400cc four-stroke Kawasaki (Thats pretty much all I know, I'm not good with bike lingo)
~Bryan~

dropin_biking, (not really bosting here... well ya i am but i have a point) ive prob done twice as much shit as what all them guys do.. been stoned, wasted, high, screwed(other way around).. and trust me... youll never loose your intrest for racing.. for cars.. NEVER!!! go get immune to that shit lol and youll love cars more hehe.....



....sortaa

Its good that you have road expereince.. i used to joyride (safely.. very stupid of me.. im against it, really) but i learnt road rules , and road safety by my self.. and um.. when you go for a drive with your mum or whoever for the first time, act abit nervous, make a mistake.. cause i didnt and my mum picked up on it straight away!

You can live in a car but you can't race a house.

Sounds perfectly normal to me, pretty much the same except the cars I learnt to drive were FWD, and only recently had small goes of 'daddys' V8 Soarer (Automatic though so it wasn't that much fun) Yet the same, you learn it in LFS and practice it IRL which amazes those people who think you know nothing about the handling of a car.

Yea, I don't want to act like some pro driver when my parents take me out when I get my G1. My mom was PISSED when she found out my cousin let me park her car (this was last year) so if she knew that I'm going to start drifting once the snow leaves I think she might kill me.

For auon, I've had my fiar share of shit with alcohol, drugs, and women. It's what got my into cars in the first place I think. I got scared away from what the normal teenager does. At least it will pay off when I'm hitting the tracks while my friends are writting their G1 test for the eigth time.
~Bryan~

Nope, nothing wrong with you at all. Most of us here share that passion.

Quote :

So I ask you guys, is something wrong with me? Is it a physiological thing inside of me? Or do I have O.C.D? Or am I simply a car obsessed teenager?

Nothing wrong at all. You are passionate and intrigued by the automobile. I fell in love with cars about age 12, and now I am 31. What is great is when you happen upon another car nut like yourself. you have this...bond with them.

Cars are sexual, powerful, beautiful, coy and unattainable...just like a woman. And as you get older, your tastes in cars, like women, change too. Right now you probably have quite a love affair with that Supra! I remember when I was around your age it was the Porsche 959...what a vehicle.
Right now I am starting to appreciate sports cars from 50-60 years ago, or cars that are just pure art, like a Bugatti T57. That is sex on wheels for me. Sometimes it is not the power, but the design of them, like Alfa Romeos; you can tell the person(s) who designed them really deeply love the automobile. Or sometimes I like the boldness and flamboyancy of the design, like old Citroen or TVR's.
But I do love the power cars can generate; I remember driving a 1964 Pontiac Catalina SD with a 421 with 3 4 barrels on it, and a 4 speed manual. It was so ....raw, the car shuddered and snarled like a feral animal was underneath the hood wanting to kill me. I could FEEL the power through my body, like it was something alive and channeling its energy into me.

Alright, I'll stop babbling...for now.

the hell?! drinking at 14, LOL! their livers will be shot before age 20, thats... cool.. i guess?? .... not lol

no for me i was pretty much a loser i guess you could call it (i didn't talk that much so.. yea) until this year actually (senior) .. kinda strange i have to say that you're in highschool at age 14, but... whatever lol, i guess thats canada for you

im as sober as a bird though, one of my sisters tries to get me to get drunk but i just wont do it, i find it useless, i get my highs through other means (no i dont do drugs either).. so really i am the oddball of my family with the red hair and shyness and.. nonexistant drinking problem lol

but yea, thats how it is for me, i didn't know drugs went around my school friends as much as i thought until the past few months but yea, doing drugs... big no no

Quote from dropin_biking :

Heres the jist of it. I'm 14, grade 9, and been playing LFS for almost a year. I don't fit in at school, they all talk about getting drunk or stoned, and going to parties, and who's the hottest chick.

There's something wrong if you DO fit into that group

Reading your first post, if you don't become a race driver, I hope you become a motorsports writer.

There's nothing wrong with having a passion about something like motorsports. Just don't let your passion get stronger than your sense of good judgement. Having no interest in getting ratted, seeing no appeal in doing drugs, is all great to hear. But similarly, don't drive on roads without insurance or before you have a licence. Don't step beyond the boundaries of good sense. Don't forget that all other car drivers are morons (and drive accordingly). Don't forget that quiet roads are rarely empty, and they're never free from surprises. Keep your head, and nothing will stand in the way of whatever you want to achieve. Go get 'em, tiger

Quote from XCNuse :

the hell?! drinking at 14, LOL! their livers will be shot before age 20, thats... cool.. i guess?? .... not lol

Hmm, my brother lost his license when he was 13 for underage consumption, LOL. I was 16 and had just gotten my license. Yea, I did my fair share of drinking and smokin pot. That's about all though. That was a loooooong time ago. Didn't really drink much until I was 21, and even then it wasn't that much. But, I was a pothead, big time.

Still loved cars though. Never had much for my own. Mom talked me into a POS Geo Storm because it was "new". Her mentality is anything new is better than anything used. That car wasn't fast, but after the tires I put on it, boy did it handle. I live way out in the boonies, so lots of nice twisty open back roads to drive on. Bud at school and I would race around all the time.

I'd like to have a decent car now, but 12 years ago I bought my first Toyota 4x4. Been in a Toy 4x4 ever since. What other car/truck can you safely lay a brick on the throttle pedal and leave it in neutral at 7500 rpms for an hour? LOL. Those things are indestructible.

I was still a car nut, even though I drove a truck. I used that truck for what it was intended, 4 wheeling. I 4 wheeled everywhere and all the time. Now, I'm old and decrepid and basically only commute back and forth to work. Just no time to go out and enjoy driving a car. Sometime I'll have a car and the time to head out on the track.

Congrats on learning how to drive! Even though it was at the age of 14

I'm into cars a lot and I still manage to maintain a healthy relationship with my friends. One thing that you'll notice is once your friends get cars you'll have a lot more to relate about and I'm sure you'll meet a lot of new people with the same exact interests as you. Until then, you've got the LFS fourms.

Quote from SamH :

Reading your first post, if you don't become a race driver, I hope you become a motorsports writer.

There's nothing wrong with having a passion about something like motorsports. Just don't let your passion get stronger than your sense of good judgement. Having no interest in getting ratted, seeing no appeal in doing drugs, is all great to hear. But similarly, don't drive on roads without insurance or before you have a licence. Don't step beyond the boundaries of good sense. Don't forget that all other car drivers are morons (and drive accordingly). Don't forget that quiet roads are rarely empty, and they're never free from surprises. Keep your head, and nothing will stand in the way of whatever you want to achieve. Go get 'em, tiger

Thanks for the motorsports writter compliment I actually write about cars, and do Car And Driver or Top Gear kind of reviews. I would really like to get into rally racing, or maybe GTR style racing. I really like staying safe, and I am well aware of the risks im taking now. But I never rip through back -roads, we usually drive slow and my cousin would point of what all the signs mean, and also what to do and not do comming over hills and down sketchy corners.
~Bryan~

Haha Bryan James Markle. I doubt I will ever be famous, maybe locally, but nothing ever national, or international. And I'm pretty sure I will be staying away from drugs, my experiances with marijuana and E wasn't too great.
~Bryan~

Quote from dropin_biking :

Heres the jist of it. I'm 14, grade 9, and been playing LFS for almost a year. I don't fit in at school, they all talk about getting drunk or stoned, and going to parties, and who's the hottest chick. And me, well I talk about cars, think about cars, stare at cars, but none of my friends share the same passion. I have a cousin who owns a 1996 Toyota Supra MKIV. It has the twin turbo set-up and back in the fall she took me out for a drive, and when she popped it into sixth at 210, hearing the waste-gate open, the engine drop revs, the tires hum along, it made me feel so, alive. Time stood still, and I was in awe of the feeling of breaking 200. I honestly felt like I was one with the car. The sense of speed didn't scare me, I trusted the car, like somehow I would never be harmed in it. And this was all when I was in the passenger seat.

After we exited the free-way we parked in a parking lot and my mind was stuck on the moment where I felt inhuman. She actually let me drive (mind you this was in an empty parking lot, with no curbs, and no polls) So I took it upon myself to learn. After driving LFS with a clutch setup I kind of knew what was going to happen with that, so I started slow, everything just came to me. Taking off smooth without burning the clutch, shifting second smoothly at right revs, judging corners and how sharp to take them, it all just came second nature. I felt like it was something I was born to do. I wasn't scared, I wasn't confused, it felt like I've been doing it all my life.

So after that night my cousin took me out once a week to drive, first parking lots, then back-roads, then finally we went to an old airstrip. I forgot all my problems, my shitty mood was gone, time stood still. After driving for two months I started cutting loose (Not publicly, staying at the air-strip), whipping the back end out slightly coming out of a turn, getting on the gas right after the apex of a turn, shifting faster and downshifting properly, trail braking, I even experimented with drifting. Again, it all seemed so natural, and I was scared of myself that I knew how to do it all. This was all in a Supra, with barely any mods, and since that one night I got a real taste of cars I just can't go back to normal life. I play LFS, my cousin takes me driving, I look on the net for racing techniques to practice, and watch all the car videos I can get my hands on.

So I ask you guys, is something wrong with me? Is it a physiological thing inside of me? Or do I have O.C.D? Or am I simply a car obsessed teenager?
~Bryan~

I completely understand where your coming from. All my life ive been an outcast, and have had a huge passion for cars. My dad bought me a car to work on, and i take it to parking lots, and sometimes up and down the road few times. It always calms me down. If im pissed off i go for a drive. Im the same age as you to (by a few months), so i know how it feels. Theres nothing wrong with you man. Whats wrong is the pupular kids that go out, get drunk, make out in the hallways and just act like total tards. Remember, everyone is different. Just go for a drive every now and then to chill out.

Pursuade your parents to buy you a cheap car like i did. They wouldnt mind hopefully. Peace.