Engine size restrictions for p platers

[pottery beige]

wow.. i couldnt afford decent cars on my Ps.. i only had heaps of ... ......

[krzysiek]

I think you actually are allowed to drive any V8, as long as the power to weight ratio meets the requirements.

From my knowledge, the blanket statement is 'no turbos and no V8's but if any of those meets the power to weight, you can get an exemption. My knowledge only, go and confirm. Probably not many people know about it.

[Streets]

For some reason, Joe Public's perception of cars is tragically simple. They really do think that V8 = hoon. In the OP's example, the reason his Galaxie has a 327 is because back in those days, you needed a V8 just to lug those huge cars around; it wasn't a "high-performance" thing at all. The public doesn't understand this, and just thinks that V8s are hoon machines because the sound they make is scary. Just this week I read a reader comment on news.com.au that said "if you ask me all V8s should be banned as they are unnecessary". WTF. This is the kind of genius we're up against.

[Streets]

Sorry, Impala, not Galaxie!

[sk8xr8]

Originally Posted by grandpa_spec_F6

Please excuse the rant but I see this type of thread once a week at least. It's a complicated answer with multiple layers but I've tried to analyse it as best I can.


Every thread I see a thread regarding this it comes down to the same conclusion... Joe Public doesn't care if you want a "cool" car on your P-Plates, they only care about what the media tells them to care about.

The hysterical cries of "WON'T SOMEONE PLEEEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN" echo in my mind, as does the media beat-up of car enthusiasts.

It all boils down to politics, the pollies only "care" about getting a vote and thus they prey on bandwagon mentality of the masses that are force fed said BS by the puppet masters controlling the current mass media, which reports on what it's told to in all their almighty bias glory.

What sells? That's the first question that is usually asked. If you saw the latest charity cruise AFF put on across multiple states, with pics of RussellW handing out toys to kids and everyone putting along merrily with their x-mas cheer,.... it'd be heart warming, but would peak as much interest to the general public as road kill.

HOWEVER! If one of those people happened to break the forum rules (and cruise / road rules) and screeched the tyres on a public road as they were leaving, two words, "Open Season". Immediately they are labelled a hoon, everyone knows what it means, everyone knows it's a bad thing...... but how do they know this? Because the media told them of course...

So how did they achieve this instant recognition now hard wired into the general public? Firstly, they took a leaf out of the racism book, pick on a minority i.e. someone who is weaker or of fewer numbers than you and invent a persona for them as a collective. In wartimes this was seen as a way to de-humanise the enemy thus making it easier to kill them, or hate them as a collective, i.e "Let's give Charlie hell!"

Thus "HOON" was born, a faceless, nameless branding of anyone that was deemed to be "in the wrong" or partaking in "objectionable activity" on the road.

BIG PROBLEM!

So you've invented a catchphrase, now you have to give it personality, you have to give it character, depth, something that people can instantly recognise (and victimise) but not feel that they could ever be one themselves... more or less, you have to make sure that it is a derogatory, demeaning term that instantly allows Joe Public to get on their "moral high horse" by providing key identifiers so that people can recognise it.

Bit of a mouthful? Sure is.... and this is where it gets interesting kids.... the lines have long since blurred as to what "IS" and "ISN'T" a "HOON" despite the media's best attempted to spew it's fear mongering indoctrination of the nation far and wide.



Their failure to accurately represent the car culture currently in Australia is of bibilical proportions, so let's go back to the 90's, where one of the most impounded "HOON" cars began.

In the beginning, there was a VN, and it revved like BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM and selected "D" for maximum respect, most likely with Riksta somewhere in the vicinity.

NOT SAFE FOR WORK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoGKdQxg3rU

Then there was highway drags, and illegal burnout meet and greets, and street drags, and drifting.... then they ran out of actual things to pick on... more so, they ran out of ways to keep a consistent revenue stream via sensational stories that make ma and pa cus at the tellie. Alas, much like Nintendo flogging the Mario franchise like the dead horse it is, they got inventive.

As the beating stick came out the list of what constituted a "HOON" became exponentially longer.

Taking off with a little extra throttle to get in front so you could merge safely ahead? HOON!

Arm resting on the window? HOON!

Car meet and greet with some nice exhaust notes? HOONS!

P-Plater? HOON!

Low car? HOON!

Rims? HOON!

More power than a YARIS? HOON!

Granny in a YARIS doing 105km on the highway? HOON!

For the biggest bucket of FAIL I've ever seen in my life, look up what others now deem as "HOONING": http://stophoons.com/?page_id=297


What I'm getting at here is that now anyone or anything can have the label applied to it as it is subject to Joe Public's interpretation of the word.

The media have done "such a fantastic job" (/sarcasm) at educating everyone, we can now all rest easy knowing that the polies have heard our desperate cries for help and legislating the "tar" (pun intended) out of the road rules.

As Cardinia Highway Patrol Sergeant Nigel Atkins puts it, hooning is: "a mindless epidemic by stupid people that were too afraid to do it in their own streets in fear of parents finding out".... yes.... clearly we're all on the same page here...

Though picking on a minority, the media have adversely affected the vast majority of road-abiding citizens who might not have the same tastes as everyone else.

Yes you are a P-Plater, yes you may be responsible, but the legislation is there to get the polies votes under the thinly veiled guise of "it's to protect you", logic is lost amongst the bleeting of sheep and gnashing of teeth in this debate.

At the end of the day, the polies can and will get votes though bandwagon mentality, the mass media will hype up whatever it can to make a quick buck, and the legislation books will be thrown open to a roar of cheers from the Do-Gooders of society, however they forgot one thing....

YOU CAN'T LEGISLATE AGAINST STUPID!

That was VERY VERY well written and so very true, it drives me insane to know that my neighbors who know im a car nut assume I drive like my car is stolen, funny thing that considering they all ask for my help when it comes to their cars, but snicker and gossip about me "driving like an idiot"

Oh, before it is suggested, "SK8XR8" refers to when I used to take my old car to the TRACK...

[Rodp]

Originally Posted by sirweasle

when i did a defensive driving course they let us compare stopping distance with and without abs at 80kmh on wet concrete... if u could brake hard without locking up... u stop quicker then just mashin the brake and letting the abs take control. this was in a 09 corolla. maybe not all cars are like this.

The problem with this method is if you are faced with an emergency situation, you are more likely to mash the brake instead of threshold braking unless you are highly experienced. P platers are not highly experienced. 99.9% of drivers on the road would likely just mash the brake.

[Franco Cozzo]

Put on some gay as spandex, sweat bands on your wrists, a pair of sunnies, a sun visor and carry around a tennis racket in your car.

Then buy a BMW M3 and get an exemption for work reasons, when you get busted by the Police at 10PM at night, say you are driving to tennis practise.

[falconnut]

Hahaahh classic.

I think most P Platers (besides me of course) have a brain size restriction :p

[04redxr8]

I think you all need to get over it. Its only 3 years. Deal with it.

You don't have the patience to wait 3 years, whats to say you have the patience to wait in traffic?

Driving is a priviledge, not a god given right. So sick of these stupid threads day after day.

[falconnut]

Wow 04redxr8 You know it used to be 1-2 years, soon it will probably be 4-5+

I guess none of us have any patience...

[FAS33]

pretty funny how you cant drive a v8 yet can drive an FG with more power then some v8's lmao p-platers with rules now got it easy........and im lovin it

[falconnut]

Are you even on your p's ?

[FAS33]

L's P's same thing ......

[falconnut]

I knew it!

[FAS33]

Originally Posted by falconnut

I knew it!

^ guys......we have an intelligent species on our hands here!!

[flappist]

Well this seems to have turned into fruit break.......

Only 5 more weeks to go.

Closed.