jam a potato in the tailpipe............

 

 

Maybe you should let him by his own RX8 like he wanted to. That way he will know it's his car and not a hand-me-down. It will be something he bought with his own money. Sell the Jag and put the money aside for another time. Aren't you limited to giving 20k per yr w/o suffering tax liability?

BTW, I'm the father of a 21 yr old.

 

Or, give him the car and make him pay the insurance. That'll keep him honest.

 

Would you have room somewhere to put the car away until he is old enough for it? I would actually be more worried about the RWD than the horsepower in the car.

Good luck with figuring something out. I can honestly say that I wish my dad would have given me his car

 

LOL! or maybe this https://www.rx8club.com/general-automotive-49/hilarious-142424/

take your pick

 

Best advice... so far!

 

pull the vacuum actuator for the supercharger bypass. (or just pull the linkage)

It won't completely eliminate boost, but will tone it down. 350hp or less.

 

different pulley so the sc spins slower, intake and exhaust restrictors, lower rev limiter...

 

geez, this thread is retarded. if this is not a prank,

its the driver not the car... if the son is a high risk driver, he would wreck the civic and hurt him self too. you need to worry about teaching the son rather than limiting the jag's power

 

While this is true to an extent, you can do a LOT more damage with a supercharged V8 than you can with some old 1.6l civic.

 

Right on. Torqueless low hp FWD car vs massively powerful rwd car. Too easy to go fast. Even my S2000, much like the RX8 is very easy to go slow in, and putt around in like a civic. To get the car to really move, you gotta rev the stink out of it, and have driver skills as well. Jump in even a 300hp 300tq car, and anyone can just push the pedal down and go. THose are cars that are much more dangerous for a younger driver. Our cars don't work that way, so I think letting him get his RX8 like originally planned ultimately is the best bet.

It's more about teaching a child values, so his money, his car, his responsibility to take care of a car he bought is ultimately the best way to go.

You can always give him the option to buy the Jag off of you or get an RX8, both with his own money.

 

Best thing I could suggest is doig some searches on ECU mods for the XK. I'm betting you could get a custom map made that would cut the power, throttle response, put in a top speed limit etc.

As other's here have said and I'd also reccommend getting him something FWD or AWD with low power like a Civic coupe or Impreza RS (not a WRX).

Kids are going to do stupid stuff. Now even if you have a monitor on the car it only takes one stupid thing to put himself into a guard rail. Although if I had a nice car, knew my parents had a monitor that would watch everything I did I might curb myself from doing anything wrong knowing if I did I’d loose the car. Of course I’d hit up the internet to find a hack on whatever my parents put on the car first.

 

i agree just let him buy his own car, so that he know its HIS responsibility, thus taking more care of HIS car....my dad gave me a hand me down 90 240sx automatic, and for me being 16 it was great, taught me responsibility and driving skills, when i turnd 20 i bought an 8 all by myself....even until now ive only gotten 1 ticket, an that was for runnin a red light, i learned my lesson and dont wanna go back to saturday school.

 

Or do what I did to myself....

Parents handed me $20,000 for any damned car I please, and I picked the RX-8. First thing I did was send myself to the Mid-Ohio Driving School for Defensive Driving. Then I did AutoCross, RallyCross, HPDEs...., etc.

Have no tickets. Have never been pulled over. Only run in I had with the cops was when I was doing 40mph powerslides in a parking lot that had a pile of snow built up. Cop was nice and told me to just leave. I drive my 8 like I stole it, just as the car would like. But at the same time, I drive smart.

 

Don't a lot of these cars have a "valet" mode that limits power and speed? If so maybe you can use that to achieve your goal?

 

Toyota Snorolla

 

buy him a civic, and maybe let him take out the Jag occasionally. A 400ish hp car, even a heavy one that only runs 13's, is too much for a young driver. My first car was a Cavalier.

 

If you teach him right, you won't have to worry about it.

 

Deflate all four tires to 0.

 

Put your son in a couple of driving courses. After he gets out of the courses, then make a judgment.

Have him taught how to drive the car properly and by professionals.

Also, consider getting him an RX-8. The RX-8 is a nice handling and nice looking car.

 

I appreciate all the advice that has been given. We have decided to get an 03' 325i that a local man was looking to sell. Great car with extended warranty- our son loves it! RX8 was a great car, but for the amount of money he had, he couldn't find one locally that appealed to him and was in his budget. Im going to see how he drives the Bimmer and according to that and how he does in school- he can inherit the Jag after HS.

 

03' 325i. Lucky kid.

 

Great choice of vehicles. Not super powerful but still rear wheel drive to allow him to adjust to that setup. Actually better than a lot of us suggested.

 

sell the jag, pre-2001 jags have nicksel or what ever you call it that coats the cylinder walls, this is going to wear down fast, even more now that you upped your power. this car is going to lose compression due to it be pushed futher then what it is intended to do. if you really want a jag, you have to buy 2001 and later because that is when they put steal liners in the engine because of all the issues with the original coating wearing off and causing low compression.

i had a 99kjr, damn nice car, but lost compression and thats how i found everything out about the changes in the motors.

1998 to 2002 kxr coupe is slower then the 1998-2002 kjr sedan believe it or not.

and for the new 4dr jag (the one with the dial gear selector for the tranny), im sorry but it has a chrslyer front end and looks like a camary in person. the car does not carry on with jags theme. the xj/xk series will always be the choice of the true jag enthusiest as these cars still carry the styling cues of the original.