What car advice thread.

[thrdeye]

Miatas are much more enjoyable when in motion.

sent from typotalk

[gbwrx]

Miatas are much more enjoyable when in motion.

sent from typotalk

X10000000!

Don't sit in one to make up your mind. You gotta drive one before you do that. Better yet, find you a co-drive in one.

[John Brown]

Went and sat in a bunch of different Miata's the other day and they are out. No spark at all. I've got to at least like the car a little bit. With the possibility of new rules coming I wonder what will happen to the older cars.

I'm still thinking along the lines of ZX2, Protege, Escort GT or ???

right near the top of ..
"Things I never thought Id hear"


these two choices are as far away from each other as 2 things can get automobile wise..
believe me.. I have owned..and competed in both styles. Simply, one of these 2 types of cars is fast and predictable... the other...

not.

[flier129]

IHMO, mazda's interiors are pretty dull and simple. Which in turn can sometime mean light-weight . Don't just go sit in one, as others have said drive it! If you want some inspiration on "spark" visit this forum: http://clubroadster.net/vb_forum/home.php
Just about everything you could possibly do to a miata has been covered on that forum. A lot of the users on there are form over function, so keep that in mind.

Nothing wrong with FWD, but the zx2 and escort gt are at the bottom of the list of cars to auto-x. The protege is better but a miata is going to be better in every way.

I'm selling mine, although it's out of that $1000 range you're wanting. https://post.craigslist.org/manage/3694124095

[nicksta43]

Nah, no love at all for them. I did a ride along in one on r compounds once. Very impressive, thought it was going to rip my head off.

The other part of this equation is this car is also going to be my daily driver. It's gotta be something I like. I just don't like Miatas.

If I had the money I'd be driving a 500 Abarth.

[flier129]

It's Rife 2.0! haha

So what's wrong with Hondas?

[nicksta43]

It's Rife 2.0! haha

So what's wrong with Hondas?

I've managed to make it this far in life without ever owning one. Just like Microsoft Honda is of the Devil. Some prejudices I just can't get over.

I've actually been wavering a bit on my usual rigid anti Honda stance lately.

Hell I may just say to hell with auto x and buy a Buick to get back and forth to work in

[flier129]

Well, something that hasn't been mentioned yet and could be a nice fit for you.

Why not an e30? I driven one a few times..... in various stages and it was really fun. With the right suspension it was miata-ish handling. I'm sure you're aware of the potential the e30 has as well.

[steverife]

I drove with Brian Hatten in his CS '99 Sport for about half a year and it was crazy fun. John's car is crazy fun. Guffey's car was fun, too. I can only imagine how much more fun they'd be in CSP/SSM/DP/XP. With that said, Brian and I drove to Valdosta and I rode with Guffey to Huntsville and it was pretty miserable. I wouldn't want one as a street car.

For the budget mentioned, I think the Protege/Escort/ZX2 idea isn't bad. I recommend them for bottom dollar commuters all the time. You aren't going to win nationals in stock or RT in one, but I feel like I could beat some much higher dollar sportier cars in that class and it would be worlds better than a 320 BMW. I also think all those cars have potential in FSP if you ever wanted to run huge tires, make the car stupid stiff, and add an LSD.

...but I'm a guy that likes shitboxes and muscle cars and never really cared about "real" sports cars.

[oldmuscle69]

Have fun with your choice

[gbwrx]

What about an Impreza? You could rally it too.

[steverife]

Impreza or e30 would make a good choice.

[lcoleman]

E30 or E36 all the way.

[nicksta43]

After looking around on CL the E36 and E30 are priced very similarly. Having never driven either I would imagine the E30 to be lighter. Would a E30 325i be faster than an E36?

Personally I'd lean towards an E36 because I perceive it to be a much more modern car. Is that really the case?

[MARKP]

E36 if you have your choice. The E30 is just outclassed by the performance of the E36. 325is, 328is, and M3 are generally your friends.

Sent from the Galaxy