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Automotive Discussion Thread | OT2 | Zero to pointless fighting faster than a GT86

So she has a couple of thousand dollars she can use to buy a car in the Orange County/Laguna Beach area, and she just needs something that'll get her from point A to point B. I'm thinking a mid 90's Honda Civic or Toyota Camry, cheap, reliable, and nearly immortal engines. But I'd be better off getting additional opinions before telling her "Yeah, use your money on this".

Thanks in advance guys!

Since no one else has replied I guess I'll throw in my total non expert advice. I'd go for a Camry / Corolla / Mazda 3 if you can find one. Civics are great, but they get stolen a lot for parts and such.
 

AlphaSnake

...and that, kids, was the first time I sucked a dick for crack
Hey AutomotiveGAF, I need some help finding my sister a car. I figured I'd ask here instead of posting a thread in OT and getting a bunch of awful advice.

So she has a couple of thousand dollars she can use to buy a car in the Orange County/Laguna Beach area, and she just needs something that'll get her from point A to point B. I'm thinking a mid 90's Honda Civic or Toyota Camry, cheap, reliable, and nearly immortal engines. But I'd be better off getting additional opinions before telling her "Yeah, use your money on this".

Thanks in advance guys!

Does a couple of thousand literally mean $2000 to you? We need an actual budget number here. Because for $2000 you won't find shit, just unreliable clunkers.
 
Does a couple of thousand literally mean $2000 to you? We need an actual budget number here. Because for $2000 you won't find shit, just unreliable clunkers.

Since no one else has replied I guess I'll throw in my total non expert advice. I'd go for a Camry / Corolla / Mazda 3 if you can find one. Civics are great, but they get stolen a lot for parts and such.


She's on her own for the first time so she's got much more than that, but she doesn't want to use much than $2500-$3000. I'm willing to kick a few hundred her way(she's my sister, last thing I want to see is her fail because I pushed her towards a cheap shitty car).

Thank you for the tip on older Civics and their habit of being targetted, by the way. I'm aware that people like stealing everything off Hondas, but I was always under the impression it was newer ones.
 
Wait you have 2 Porsches? Also Watermill is a crazy tight track, looks barely wide enough to pass on straights lol.

Yep, my '82 911SC and this '83 944. I've had the 944 for three years now but I've been reeeeaally slow to do the work on it. The track feels a little wider in person, and I've seen video of cars going side by side for a full lap so it's not impossible.

Yeah, here's the video. Two corvettes going side by side for waaaay too long. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnTgtKq22jw
 

Momentary

Banned
20150822-l1000129m6pxq.jpg


20150822-l1000161x6pmr.jpg

Man... I would have that thing on a track somewhere wearing it out to hell and back.
 

Zoolader

Member
She's on her own for the first time so she's got much more than that, but she doesn't want to use much than $2500-$3000. I'm willing to kick a few hundred her way(she's my sister, last thing I want to see is her fail because I pushed her towards a cheap shitty car).

Thank you for the tip on older Civics and their habit of being targetted, by the way. I'm aware that people like stealing everything off Hondas, but I was always under the impression it was newer ones.

I'd add infiniti g20 to your list. I use to own one back in the day and they are easily found around $2000 now. It did require a few repairs but I drove the piss out of that little car every day. Even made money on it when I sold it.
 
Procede ordered! The shop it ships from is 3 hours away so I hopefully get it before my Pismo trip Friday. If not, it's big test will be down in LA the next weekend.

Should be a stupid simple install as well. Splice two ECU harness wires, splice the boost control wire from the throttle switch I currently have, ground the whole system, and flash the map for it.
 

No Love

Banned
Procede ordered! The shop it ships from is 3 hours away so I hopefully get it before my Pismo trip Friday. If not, it's big test will be down in LA the next weekend.

Should be a stupid simple install as well. Splice two ECU harness wires, splice the boost control wire from the throttle switch I currently have, ground the whole system, and flash the map for it.

Let me know how it is to use and if it works effectively. Perhaps I can utilize it for different cars as well. Don't see why not.
 
Let me know how it is to use and if it works effectively. Perhaps I can utilize it for different cars as well. Don't see why not.

Will do. While the logic on the board itself is probably locked down, using it with an ECU to send a signal based off the 0-5V signal it receives for throttle should work with anything really. The output signal can be modified with the included software.


God that looks fun.
 

No Love

Banned
also, Z06[Z07] versus GT3RS. both are basically track cars so why would any of you choose the slower one and why?
I've been spending a lot of time on rennlist admiring the RS, but keep coming back to the fact that the Z06 will be faster at half the cost.

I don't think the Z06 should be considered when the Viper exists. The FI Z06 just doesn't have the stamina of the NA GT3 RS and Viper.
 

Zyzyxxz

Member
fastest Lotus ever: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ng3cs5u5d14
sounds awesome.


also, Z06[Z07] versus GT3RS. both are basically track cars so why would any of you choose the slower one and why?
I've been spending a lot of time on rennlist admiring the RS, but keep coming back to the fact that the Z06 will be faster at half the cost.

A cars worth isn't about numbers, list, charts, and graphs.

It's all about how it makes you feel? It's all about the driving experience. Why should you care that there's something faster than you unless you want a pure track car. There will always be something faster. If you like how a car drives, how it feels, how you feel in it, how it makes your heart race those are the things that make me want certain cars (pending budget of course).
 

Jackson

Member
fastest Lotus ever: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ng3cs5u5d14
sounds awesome.


also, Z06[Z07] versus GT3RS. both are basically track cars so why would any of you choose the slower one and why?
I've been spending a lot of time on rennlist admiring the RS, but keep coming back to the fact that the Z06 will be faster at half the cost.

Is the new Z06 faster than the new RS? It might be quicker 0-60, but if someone buys either car to drag race at a stoplight they've missed the point.

The C7 Z06's Nürburgring time is currently confidential so we don't know it, and I can't find any other direct head-to-head circuit times. The GT3 RS's 7:20 which puts it very elite company.

I get the "at half the price" thing, but to be honest cars are more than pure numbers on a forum. First of all practically no one who buys either is going to drive it at racecar driver limits. Second most people can't afford either, so the majority of barking and fanboyism is from people who don't or have never owned either. But I will say Porsche is going to give you way better brand cachet, more exclusivity and much higher end luxury interior. I'll give you that styling is subjective, personally I think the Z06, while bonkers, looks more like a Hot Wheels toy, but I think the 911 outside of the GT3 RS is too bland and subtle for my tastes and the RS is pretty Hot Wheels itself with all the scoops and aerokits.

But brand cachet is a big deal. A z06 at the end of the day is a Chevy, a 991 911 GT3 RS at the end of the day is a Porsche.

There's a cool article comparing the 675 LT to the GT3 RS where again the GT3 is "half the price" hehe.

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/mclaren-675lt-versus-porsche-911-gt3-rs-comparison

All 3 cars are awesome bottom line if you can afford it, buy whatever you want.

Me I can't choose between the 570S or the GT3 RS, same price range even if they are pretty different cars.
 

boltz

Member
For a single guy, the CX-5 is way too big for me.

Footprint-wise, the CX-5 is just a wee bit bigger than the Mazda 3, but since we're speaking of Mazda 3s, what about one? Good mileage, power, and handling.

And as for the HRV, the interior is fine, but the exterior just looks really basic and won't age well. Not to mention that it has a pretty weak engine. It's calling card to its utility though, with that Fit interior versatility.
 

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
Footprint-wise, the CX-5 is just a wee bit bigger than the Mazda 3, but since we're speaking of Mazda 3s, what about one? Good mileage, power, and handling.

And as for the HRV, the interior is fine, but the exterior just looks really basic and won't age well. Not to mention that it has a pretty weak engine. It's calling card to its utility though, with that Fit interior versatility.


The HRV is heinous externally. And I was looking forward to it. And own a Fit.
 
She's on her own for the first time so she's got much more than that, but she doesn't want to use much than $2500-$3000. I'm willing to kick a few hundred her way(she's my sister, last thing I want to see is her fail because I pushed her towards a cheap shitty car).

Thank you for the tip on older Civics and their habit of being targetted, by the way. I'm aware that people like stealing everything off Hondas, but I was always under the impression it was newer ones.

Honestly?

Put that down payment into a Mirage. Yes, dynamically it's a terrible car. It's also far safer than anything she will be able to afford, and if it does break there will be no surprise bills as everything will be under warranty.
 
A cars worth isn't about numbers, list, charts, and graphs.

It's all about how it makes you feel? It's all about the driving experience. Why should you care that there's something faster than you unless you want a pure track car. There will always be something faster. If you like how a car drives, how it feels, how you feel in it, how it makes your heart race those are the things that make me want certain cars (pending budget of course).

Exactly. If you're buying a track car because you want to be the fastest guy out there, you're doing it wrong. It's supposed to be about having fun and being connected to the car. It's not like you can win anything at a track day.

Besides, you'll almost certainly be passed by a guy in an old car on R-comps.

Personally I think "track" versions of road cars are a bit silly. At a certain point you start to ruin what makes it a good road car, and it will never compete with actual track cars.
 

TCRS

Banned
First Volvo in a long time I thought had good looks and lots of nice goodies (it's touch screen console and dashboard feel just iOS and offer lots of powerful tools intuitively). Engine is interesting, comes in either 4 banger twin turbo or plug-in hybrid and compared to some other luxury brands it's "cheap". It mostly lacks in the high-end brand cachet department compared to say Land Rover, MB,BMW, Audi though.

I like the new XC90, looks great. But 4 cylinder...I've read that the diesel gets pretty strained and loud under load. It is a huge fucking car, I've seen a couple around already. 4 cylinder just seems to small for such a tank.

But yeah inside and out great car.
 

FStop7

Banned
fastest Lotus ever: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ng3cs5u5d14
sounds awesome.


also, Z06[Z07] versus GT3RS. both are basically track cars so why would any of you choose the slower one and why?
I've been spending a lot of time on rennlist admiring the RS, but keep coming back to the fact that the Z06 will be faster at half the cost.

Porsches and Corvettes drive very, very differently.

The Corvette can't hold a candle to the Porsche in terms of build quality.

You'd never be able to find the limits of either car.

The Porsche will have far better resale value than the Vette.

The things the Vette has going in its favor are price and a manual transmission.

I'd rather have a Cayman GT4 than either of them because it's got 3 pedals and the Porsche build quality.
 
I couldn't find the M3 today.

I wanted to give him a thumbs up at least and say nice license plate or whatever, but it was gone when I drove by the spot this morning.

One of my coworkers know him and he's supposedly cool, parks around the same area too once a week so maybe I'll catch him next week haha.

Honestly?

Put that down payment into a Mirage. Yes, dynamically it's a terrible car. It's also far safer than anything she will be able to afford, and if it does break there will be no surprise bills as everything will be under warranty.

Go for the Fiat 500 or Mazda2/Scion whatever if you're gonna go that route coz at least those 2 aren't built using materials from a paper recycling plant. I've heard good things about the Nissan Versa and Toyota Yaris too but their interiors are literally ABS plastic heaven and I just can't recommend that at all no matter the price range.
 

ascii42

Member
I couldn't find the M3 today.

I wanted to give him a thumbs up at least and say nice license plate or whatever, but it was gone when I drove by the spot this morning.

One of my coworkers know him and he's supposedly cool, parks around the same area too once a week so maybe I'll catch him next week haha.



Go for the Fiat 500 or Mazda2/Scion whatever if you're gonna go that route coz at least those 2 aren't built using materials from a paper recycling plant. I've heard good things about the Nissan Versa and Toyota Yaris too but their interiors are literally ABS plastic heaven and I just can't recommend that at all no matter the price range.
I like the Fiat 500, but it's too expensive to recommend. Plastic heaven is fine for something that's just needed to get from A to B, but yeah, I'd second the Mazda2.
 

matmanx1

Member
New Motor Trend Ignition episode with Jason Cammisa as the host. I give props to Jason as I thought he did a great job. He's funny and seems more genuine than Carlos Lagos who sometimes looked as if he was just going through the motions.

This episode is all about the Porsche Cayman GT4 so it's worth a watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BFKU1Fj0j4
 
Go for the Fiat 500 or Mazda2/Scion whatever if you're gonna go that route coz at least those 2 aren't built using materials from a paper recycling plant. I've heard good things about the Nissan Versa and Toyota Yaris too but their interiors are literally ABS plastic heaven and I just can't recommend that at all no matter the price range.

Fiat 500 is an old design with dismal reliability.

There is a $3000 gulf between the Mirage and the Scion iA. If price is the primary factor take the Mirage. If 16k is doable, the Scion.

(fair disclosure - former Mazda 2 owner here. Great little car.)
 

Jackson

Member
Fiat 500 is an old design with dismal reliability.

There is a $3000 gulf between the Mirage and the Scion iA. If price is the primary factor take the Mirage. If 16k is doable, the Scion.

(fair disclosure - former Mazda 2 owner here. Great little car.)

Might as well go for the Versa then, I think the Sedan starts at 12 grand. I think I'd rather take Nissan reliability over a zombie car company lol.

Anyway, I'm currently reading Ben Collins' tell all book about him being The Stig. Only a few chapters in and it's pretty damn good... makes me wish I went the racing driver route as a kid instead of the musician path lol.
 

rokkerkory

Member
Excited... we are doing a wrench day this Sunday!

Refreshed brakes for me, new pads, SS lines and full fluid flush. Prepping for Thunderfull in Oct. :)
 
So I think im pretty dedicated to taking my e36 to 300k.

Just nabbed the kit to refresh my front end suspension.

Next up ill throw some SS brake lines on. (Probably shouldn't run on 17 year old brake lines all the time)

I refreshed the cooling system at about 140k, but its probably time I put on a Stewart water pump.
Already went with the metal thermostat housing and metal radiator. I should probably replace all of the cooling hoses with silicone stuff before they randomly decide to burst.
 

matmanx1

Member
So I think im pretty dedicated to taking my e36 to 300k.

Just nabbed the kit to refresh my front end suspension.

Next up ill throw some SS brake lines on. (Probably shouldn't run on 17 year old brake lines all the time)

I refreshed the cooling system at about 140k, but its probably time I put on a Stewart water pump.
Already went with the metal thermostat housing and metal radiator. I should probably replace all of the cooling hoses with silicone stuff before they randomly decide to burst.

You've got guts, I'll give you that. At least on the e36 there are less electronics to deal with than the more modern BMW's. I have fantasies of my current 128i being able to do 150k + and being the car that I keep the longest but with the oil leaks I have already had to deal with I'm not sure that is going to be realistic.

I don't mind fixing and maintaining a higher mileage car but I've got 68k miles and I'm already dealing with leaky gaskets. What's it going to be like when I pass 100k?
 
You've got guts, I'll give you that. At least on the e36 there are less electronics to deal with than the more modern BMW's. I have fantasies of my current 128i being able to do 150k + and being the car that I keep the longest but with the oil leaks I have already had to deal with I'm not sure that is going to be realistic.

I don't mind fixing and maintaining a higher mileage car but I've got 68k miles and I'm already dealing with leaky gaskets. What's it going to be like when I pass 100k?

The only gasket ive replaced in the 100k of mileage is my valve cover gasket twice.

I swear the M52/M54 engines are bulletproof.
 
A Jeep Grand Cherokee "Trailhawk" will be produced with the 707-hp Hellcat Hemi and AWD, achieving a 0-60 time of 3.5 seconds.

http://www.leftlanenews.com/hellcat-powered-grand-cherokee-to-hit-60-mph-in-35-seconds-89508.html


And the Tesla Model S P85D "breaks" the consumer reports ratings system scoring 103/100, the best car they've ever tested.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/...d-breaks-consumer-reports-ratings-system.html

We live in a magical world...

My procede is out for delivery. Can't wait to get it installed.
I'm pretty stoked it arrived before my Pismo trip this weekend!
 

No Love

Banned
So I think im pretty dedicated to taking my e36 to 300k.

Just nabbed the kit to refresh my front end suspension.

Next up ill throw some SS brake lines on. (Probably shouldn't run on 17 year old brake lines all the time)

I refreshed the cooling system at about 140k, but its probably time I put on a Stewart water pump.
Already went with the metal thermostat housing and metal radiator. I should probably replace all of the cooling hoses with silicone stuff before they randomly decide to burst.

You've got guts, I'll give you that. At least on the e36 there are less electronics to deal with than the more modern BMW's. I have fantasies of my current 128i being able to do 150k + and being the car that I keep the longest but with the oil leaks I have already had to deal with I'm not sure that is going to be realistic.

I don't mind fixing and maintaining a higher mileage car but I've got 68k miles and I'm already dealing with leaky gaskets. What's it going to be like when I pass 100k?

He has guts? Old BMW's are TANKS. Fucking tanks. E30's, E34's, and E36's are basically luxurious, fast German Hondas. My old E34 525i 5 speed had 258k miles on it... stock motor, stock everything. My E30 had 200k+, and my E36 did well over 100k.

The only gasket ive replaced in the 100k of mileage is my valve cover gasket twice.

I swear the M52/M54 engines are bulletproof.

They are basically big Honda motors... stock bottom end can handle like 500-600 wtq. Beast mode.

We live in a magical world...

My procede is out for delivery. Can't wait to get it installed.
I'm pretty stoked it arrived before my Pismo trip this weekend!

I've spent the last two days reading up on the ESC's and Procede. I'm 100% sure I can make this work on other cars that desperately need low end torque or ready for twincharging. If you're ever down in SD, I'd love to drive it with the Procede to get an idea of how dynamic it is and how well it works.
 
He has guts? Old BMW's are TANKS. Fucking tanks. E30's, E34's, and E36's are basically luxurious, fast German Hondas. My old E34 525i 5 speed had 258k miles on it... stock motor, stock everything. My E30 had 200k+, and my E36 did well over 100k.

The only thing that falls apart is the shitty interior.
 
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