This may be more of a thought experiment than anything but I figured it might be fun to think about. And I'm posting in the general cars section since it would pertain to just about any car.

My son just turned 15 and will be getting his learners permit soon. Followed by his license in less than a year. At first, I figured I'd buy a used Corolla or Civic or something. Then I thought, what if I get a new(er) car and pass down the TL to him? It's got nearly 200K on it but it's in great shape. I know its history and all the in's and out's if anything were to go wrong. The problem is, I don't want him driving a vehicle with much power. The TL ain't no racecar but with the mods and tuning, it climbs to 60 in about 5 seconds which is far more ponies than I want him controlling.

My immediate thought was no dice. Not a good idea for a new driver. Then I got to thinking, is there some way to limit the throttle or output of the engine? I have KTuner but don't see an option for limiting throttle. Limiting RPM would be another idea, simply so he can't accelerate as quickly. But I'm not sure how to do that either. Some might say to return it to stock but it's still got too much guts even at stock.

So, thought on how to "dumb down" a TL into a base Corolla?

 

Maybe a custom tune for a 'new driver' map with less power, less throttle response?

Not sure what that would do to overall driveability.

 

Maybe I'll get in touch with Kenny at Turbogixxer. But from what I can see, there isn't a throttle setting in KTuner. Maybe it's a more advanced feature that I'm not seeing.

 

My first car was an '82 non-turbo diesel Mercedes with >300k on the clock. It had 68hp when it was new, so the slowest car I've ever driven, perfect for a 16 yr old in a small town. Everything else I drove was like a rocketship afterward.

 

My only other addition would be. No matter what tune you put on it you will still be paying out the nose to insure a new 16 year old driver in a car with a hot v6 and a luxury badge.

I vote 2002 vw beetle na, auto with flower vase.

 

That's the 2nd concern. I've yet to get a quote for him. I got a quote for $75/month for a 2006 Corolla

 

Funny story - back when I first had my '07 M5, my then-12 year old son asked me if I thought I'd still want the car in 4 years...I said "Maybe, why?" His response - "I just wondered if maybe I could have it when you're finished with it." I believe my reaction was something along the lines of choking on incredulous laughter and a "Ohhhhh, helllllllll no! No, son. You are NOT getting a car with a 500HP V10 as your first car!!!!"

 

Buuut, daaaad

 

Seems like it would be best just to get him that corolla.

 

Kinda leaning that way......






Might work with my daughter. Not my son.

 

Tough choice. We're kinda in that same boat, except our 15 y/o will be handed down a 2014 Grand Cherokee Limited. Not a tuned TL, mind you, but too nice of a car for a kid (IMO). However, I just can't see buying a used car for my kid when we have a perfectly good one that's paid for to hand down.

 

I had a 2G TL for my first car and believe me ... that thing was way too much for a 16 year old

My vote goes for a Corolla. Or Volvo

 

Have you driven a car in limp mode before? because you are basically thinking about putting the car in similar situation as Limp mode, or Eco Pro Mode or a Prius.
You will be putting your son in a more dangerous situation when you limit the throttle or RPM.

I know you can put a limit on top speed, one of the rental cars i had had a top speed of 70mph

If your son wants to be fast and furious, a civic or a Corolla will do as much damage as a 700HP supercar on the street.
If your son is responsible, he will be ok with any car.

Only you know how your son is.

If i were you, i would buy a used MANUAL Civic and let that be his first car. Keep the Manual alive!
Dont embarrass your son with Corolla please.... at the end of the day, you do want him to pick up some 9s and 10s along the way sometime in the future

 

This is more in line with what I was thinking too. Only you know your son and what would be best for him. When my son turned 16 and needed a car to drive to school (he was enrolled in an out-of-neighborhood school), we bought him a 92 Toyota MR2 because we knew our son and with that car we knew he would drive very carefully since every cop would be watching him and he would be so proud driving that car making him extra careful. Now, 20 years later, he still has the car as his "project car". He has learned how to do all things possible with that car - from a simple brake job to swapping out the NA engine for the MR2 turbo. And he has never received a ticket in that car. I don't think I would have the same story to tell if we had gotten him a "student car". Your "mileage" may vary but that is what worked for our family.

 

I had the same thought as my 11 year old. Keep the TL for him for when he starts to drive or get rid of it and get a TLX A-Spec for me.

 

Sticking with the "A"?

 

As for OP... Teach him not to speed. I never would exceed X speed limit regardless of power. Also, that much power must be used in moderation in crowded city streets and inclement weather.


I rarely ever speed, but I appreciate smooth power to thrust me up to the speed limit with ease.


If he gets the TL make sure he knows about smooth and fast...


Don't you want your son to be smooth and fast?

 

Any car will be too much if he doesn't respect it.

But if you're wanting to get something new and pass down the TL, disconnect three of the coil packs. That will surely slow it down enough to be manageable.

Failing that, get him something low powered, with a CVT, like a Nissan or something. They are the least sporty things on the planet.

 

Those are some good opinions. It's funny, my son had the same feeling on the Corolla. When I brought up the idea between that or a Civic he immediately opted for the Civic. On that note, there's a pretty hilarious Corolla in my parking lot at work that I was about to take a pic of and post it in the Official WTF car of the day thread. I'll have to get to that sometime. Of all the cars to trick out. I guess ya gotta rock whatcha got.

My son is pretty responsible. He's already driven the Pilot on several occasions - with me or my wife in the passenger seat of course. I'll have to give him a go in the TL and see how it goes. And of course, drill into him the need to be safe and all the threats about no longer paying for his insurance and not getting another car if he wrecks it (which I've already made clear). I've also through about getting one of those OBD2 logging devices that monitors speed/RPM which you can review, or even one that's real time and can be brought up on a phone app, though I think the latter requires some sort of subscription. At least he'd know I'd be keeping tabs on him that way.


I think you're right. Messing with the ECU or any of the mechanics in an attempt to limit output is probably a bad idea. Although I had a misfire on cylinder #3 a few weeks ago that I was trying to diagnose and had to take a few trips around the block to get it to throw codes. One cylinder misfiring is about the level I'd like it to be at. That's kind of what gave me the idea. It ended up being a faulty spark plug BTW. I've never heard of that happening, especially with NGK iridiums. Coil was good, injector was good, swapped the plug from #1 to #5 cylinder to confirm and boom, #5 was now misfiring and #1 was fine. Replaced the plug and solved the problem. Weird.

 

RE logging speed. There's an app called Life360 that tracks driving/location & records max speeds. Free app. Paid version has a bit more to it. No OBD or anything needed, unless you're wanting to keep an eye on if he's wringing it out at every light.

 

If KTuner doesn't work out, you could always try a low-tech solution like a pedal stop to limit travel. If your son is mechanically inclined, he could figure it out. Then there is the issue of fabricating something like that in the first place.

You never know about your son is driving when he's by himself, really. I've done stupid stuff and even gotten pulled over while I was younger and driving my parents' cars. I always felt in control, but I surely would not have driven that way with them in the car. Still, I have always driven carefully with other people in the car, partially for their peace of mind and also because my mom gets really bad motion sickness. Abrupt acceleration, braking, or not turning smoothly would aggravate her headache and I would hear about it immediately. Made me a better driver, at least.

 

I was reading through this thread two days and more than honestly forgot how 1st time drivers actually drive til I ran into a shit feast yesterday while on my way to get a hair cut. One asshat in a Mercedes CLA 250 decided it was a genius idea to go blast around a line of cars behind a transit bus while wrong way driving to show off and flex for his bros walking from school. A 2016-17 honda CRV filled with 5 teens decided to blow the stop sign at least doing 15-20 mph and almost causing the vehicle to lose control when he decided it was also a bright idea make a hard right turn after blowing the stop sign with vehicle loaded. A majority of us just deal with the typical daily occurrences like traffic, someone doing something stupid on the highway, but this happened in a congested town with local roads. We were all young at some point and have done stupid shit but that was also a time where social media and being on the phone wasn't priority #1.

I thought hard about this but the best way to "Control" this situation, might be as easy as installing a dash cam. Set the rules off the bat. Hey, I'm installing a dash camera in your vehicle to see what you do and how you drive. Add by saying, when you get into the vehicle put the cell phone away, no friends in the vehicle and watch your speed. Maybe knowing that you have the ability to go back and see what they do, they may have that "fear" in them to obey the rules or pay the consequence.

You could try to build some sort of custom block or plate that sits behind the pedal to restrict WOT.

Another thing, if you're shopping around I believe Subaru makes a vehicle geared more towards teenage drivers. I think Ford also makes a vehicle where you can set certain things like max vol settings and other things.

Best of luck with everything!

 

Does your insurance offer safe driving ODB2 plug ins? If the teen knows they're being monitored, maybe they will drive more safely and less wrecklessly?

 

I didn't think about that. I have a hardwired dashcam in the car so I'll probably leave it there.

No, my insurance doesn't off the OBDII incentive. I've heard of that but they don't have it.

 

Saintor knows how to dumb down a car. He's dumber than dumb.

Too bad his banninated

 

Many of the newer keyless Fords (2011? up) have the My Key system where top speeds can be set, radio will be muted until seat belts are fastened, limit radio volume, have low fuel minder come on sooner.

https://owner.ford.com/support/how-t...se-my-key.html

 

That would require buying a Ford. I'd opt for their pickups but not their cars

After discussions with the little lady (and an insurance quote....), we're going to get him an older little gutless car. Civic or Corolla. Insurance will go up about $80 with him driving the TL anyways. Nope.