Best all around performing car for 10-15K

[6 Speed S4]

Yea, Ive driven wheel bearing last week, now electrical problem this week. Timing belt due, parts alone are 350 plus the 100 crank tool.

 

And put those rings back on your A4's grill!

 

 

Thats my winter grille, haha I still have my RS4 grille in the garage.

[Supplicium]

when you b5 s4 owners give up hit me up.

[Stimmel1647545512]

Mod the fox since you are soo deep into already might as well finish her up

[spankis]

Mod the fox since you are soo deep into already might as well finish her up

 

You know what, all the talk in this thread and this is the one I most agree with. Make the damn thing go around corners. It's already quick as balls in a straight line, so why not build yourself a little all-around sleeper. Big brakes, coil-overs, etc. etc.

 

THAT, my friend, would be sweet.

[Bigbird]

I know you said only a turbo 4 banger...but drive an S2000. It's the most fun I've ever had in a car and I've only ever driven one for a 20 minute cruise. I would do many many things to have one of these. High 13-low 14 second quarter mile, amazing handleing, good gas mileage, top down fun, reliable as can be, 9k redline. They're awesome cars.

 

INB4NOTORQUE

[Stimmel1647545512]

You know what, all the talk in this thread and this is the one I most agree with. Make the damn thing go around corners. It's already quick as balls in a straight line, so why not build yourself a little all-around sleeper. Big brakes, coil-overs, etc. etc.

 

THAT, my friend, would be sweet.

 

 

True to that and thank you my friend, my fox isnt half as sweet as yours and i love it..(kinda lookin at 03 cobras) and am having a hard time with my lil ol fox i paid 2500 for its gonna be hard to part with your car unless someone offers you a saleen s7

[turbospec29]

I know you said only a turbo 4 banger...but drive an S2000. It's the most fun I've ever had in a car and I've only ever driven one for a 20 minute cruise. I would do many many things to have one of these. High 13-low 14 second quarter mile, amazing handleing, good gas mileage, top down fun, reliable as can be, 9k redline. They're awesome cars.

 

INB4NOTORQUE

 

no torque!!!!

[Farkas]

I'm still having a hard time agreeing with everyone's suggestions, while providing some kind of advice or suggestion of my own.

 

I come up with possible cars I could recommend but I think no matter what you choose, it will let you down in one aspect or another. That's one thing I hate about automakers and cars in general, they're all appealing in some way but none of them are fantastic in every way possible.

 

For example, take a look at my 1980 Corolla.. I know people are like, "Why in the hell?" Or, "What a slow piece of shit." But the end of the day I bought the car for myself and the qualities that I personally find appealing. It's fucking cake to work on, extremely reliable once I get it together, light and agile but god damn it's slow. I would never consider it fast, maybe quick, but never fast which is disappointing when I see everyone racing and competing to be the fastest on the boards and etc.

 

Only thing I can really say is get what YOU want, I won't tell you what to get because obviously my taste in cars can differ quite a bit than what you may typically go for.

 

we need a 2 cents smilie lol.

[hpfiend]

Thanks guys-

 

well scratch the S4 off the list-

 

I have spoken with tinman numerous times about his v6 and v8 FCs, and am on v8rx7forum and researched/posted a lot about an FC with my engine in it-thats a cool idea but after some thought, I already have a car almost as light with the engine already in it it was engineered for (well close anyhow) which for my purposes could be made to handle good enough for my needs if I wanted to throw more money away. Hence my stock or very close to stock requirement.

 

An LS1 FC is cool no doubt but I would much rather have a C5 corvette with the transaxle in the back, true double wishbone suspension and hydroformed frame for just a bit more which is recovered in resale- I actually know a few guys with LS1 FCs that sold them to get C5s and would never go back.

 

Not sure why but the stealth/mitsus worry me... I will research them more though- maybe its chrysler/dodge reputation and the fact that the mitsu is its almost its identical cousin... that neon srt4 I drove had clutch chatter with 10 miles on it I dont care if it had a 70000 mile warranty I just didn't have good feelings about that car.

 

Maybe an M3 but a v8 is hard to pass on for the same price or less with comparable handling (C4), cheaper parts and ease to work on. I guess before I cross it off my list I should see one/research some more as some of htem do have a back seat which is nice but not really a requirement at this point

 

GTO interiors are awesome but they are too heavy and muscle-car oriented for my needs.

 

nice S2000s cost more than 15K and while our rsx is awesome at 8000 rpm it is not that impressive at anything below 6000 which really irritates me- this is is why I gave it to my wife to get my notch. I like pushing the gas pedal an 1/8 of an inch max in daily driving- call me lazy but torque works for me.

 

Man I feel like goldilocks- I never considered a c4 before though- The reason I am down to 10-15K is this is how much I was going to finance on a c5 z06 after selling my mustang- I figure if I had another fun car I could have the option of keeping the mustang (and letting it rot in the driveway rather than give it away- practical eh?) and then make taking the gas on it easier on my psyche if it is just sitting-

 

It seems I always end up with a corvette in these mental games I just can't justify buying one until I figure out how to get SOMETHING I can live with out of this mustang. I figure a c5 z06 will only cost me 3-6 grand more than my mustang over the next 5 years if you consider what I have to spend on the mustang to make it handle/stop, update the interior, and increased maintenance as it is older and the comparable resale values- A C5 would likely be cheaper than my mustang as they are typically 5-10 grand cheaper than z06s.

 

And yes there is the simple option of keeping what I have and changing the suspension/brakes- but what do I do another 3 years from now if/when I am bored with it again, it is worth even less but I have another 5 grand or worse sunk into it- I would never have imagined when I got this car 3 years ago I would have spent so much money on it- its been fun no doubt and its an awesome ride I am just bored with straight line action.

 

I guess after all of that bs its C5> C4> E36 M3>Max Motorsports Coupe 5.0

[hpfiend]

True to that and thank you my friend, my fox isnt half as sweet as yours and i love it..(kinda lookin at 03 cobras) and am having a hard time with my lil ol fox i paid 2500 for its gonna be hard to part with your car unless someone offers you a saleen s7

 

Andy hehe I know you are in the same boat as me- I looked at 03-04 cobras for a while as well until I realized they were basically same car (other than rear IRS) that just looked a little more modern.

[AudiOn19s]

At this point the next question you have to answer is how much utility does this vehicle need to have for you?..the Mustang and M3 are MUCH more practical as daily drivers than the Vette's. Not that you can't daily drive a vette, but you constantly deal with practicality issues that you don't have with the other two.

[hpfiend]

For example, take a look at my 1980 Corolla.. I know people are like, "Why in the hell?" Or, "What a slow piece of shit." But the end of the day I bought the car for myself and the qualities that I personally find appealing. It's fucking cake to work on, extremely reliable once I get it together, light and agile but god damn it's slow. I would never consider it fast, maybe quick, but never fast which is disappointing when I see everyone racing and competing to be the fastest on the boards and etc.

 

That is sound advice and that is why I bought my coupe in the first place- coming from my lt1 f-body and a brief attempt at contentment with an rsx-s, I picked the mustang 5.0, they sounded awesome, cake to work on, bulletproof rear-end (f-body days), factory forged bottom end, extremely light weight and rigid (hardtop- wasnt a big fan of the f-body t-top cowl shake), great aftermarket and somewhat rare (coupe)- the problem with this which I didn't realize back then is while it was a great foundation to add all of the parts too, people want to buy great foundations not finished works of art, so if for whatever reason you get bored with your now or future awesome 1980 corolla its a part of your family like an old cat noone likes but lives forever.

 

Financial losses like this are easier to take for some reason when you are single and younger even though you had much, MUCH less money back then.... I know depreciation is the same thing but it doesn't feel the same when you have significantly improved the car from when you got it

[baron_]

what about a Buick Grand National? Or other turbo buick from that era?

Might be a bit old for you...if you want something really comfortable/new

 

Very interesting little car. 15,000 is some good coin to throw toward one. You'll get a nice one that's tastfully modded...will do your 14 second quarter (and much lower)

Good daily driver, too

 

Will hold its value very well (you might even make $$ on resale in a few years)

 

Cheap and easy to work on...parts cheap...no crazy computers or anything too complicated

 

And they look pretty good

[hpfiend]

thats funny you should say that I was offered one of those and 5 grand for my car. Another guy wanted to trade even for a 9 second one but I declined. Nice ride but I want handling/braking/ride as well

[thorne]

You said you were not impressed with a WRX? Just curious what was the let down. Simple mods and you got a low 13 sec car. Turbo swap 12 sec car. One of the newer 2.5 powered ones can be made to be a demon for few graqnd.

[hpfiend]

At this point the next question you have to answer is how much utility does this vehicle need to have for you?..the Mustang and M3 are MUCH more practical as daily drivers than the Vette's. Not that you can't daily drive a vette, but you constantly deal with practicality issues that you don't have with the other two.

 

Interesting... other than a backseat why do you think that the the M3 or mustang would be more practical than a c4 or c5 corvette?

[SpaceGhost]

http://www.motorcities.com/media/image/640/05J98293125700A/1990-Ford-Festiva-ShoGun-A.jpeg

http://www.dragtimes.com/images/10940-1990-Ford-Festiva.jpg

[hpfiend]

You said you were not impressed with a WRX? Just curious what was the let down. Simple mods and you got a low 13 sec car. Turbo swap 12 sec car. One of the newer 2.5 powered ones can be made to be a demon for few graqnd.

 

Turbo lag and 4 cylinder grunt (or lack thereof) when out of boost- This was on a 2004 WRX non STI brand new- I drove a same year 2.5 RS (if thats what they were called- same car without turbo) as well and I swear my wife's then 95,000 mile bone stock S14 240 SX was faster and more solid feeling. AWD is a nice feature though. Anyways on the wrx I got on it pretty hard at a stop light and it was on its face all the way until just past the intersection- after that it was nice but not shocking-

 

the srt4 in my brief drive was much better- virtually zero lag it felt almost like a v8 at all rpms- I just didn't think it was going to hold up and interior was cheap- I also drove one with the viper seats and since I am short 5'6" by the time I could reach the pedals the thigh bolsters put my knees into the bottom of the dash.... so I got the rsx-s.

[hpfiend]

http://www.motorcities.com/media/image/640/05J98293125700A/1990-Ford-Festiva-ShoGun-A.jpeg

http://www.dragtimes.com/images/10940-1990-Ford-Festiva.jpg

 

now thats a sleeper- those things are fast? I am actually intrigued

[Smokey]

Interesting... other than a backseat why do you think that the the M3 or mustang would be more practical than a c4 or c5 corvette?

 

a trunk my man!

 

I will adamently admit that a C5Z if you can afford it will outperform any of the other cars mentioned here in handling/braking while keeping stock civility. I can't imagine a standard C5 being bad either, but I've never driven one to compare.

 

I'm not a fan of the C4 idea though.

[AudiOn19s]

Interesting... other than a backseat why do you think that the the M3 or mustang would be more practical than a c4 or c5 corvette?

 

Easier to get in and out of, less overhang to scrap on driveway entry, and while i realize the Vette has a decent trunk space it's still not as useable as the others due to the high liftover to get items into the trunk....plus you can put the seats down in the mustang and M3 and you've got Massive useable space. When I take my M3 to the track I put a 12 x 12 canopy, 4 race tires, jack, jack stands, tools etc all in the car with me and go.

 

Again, I'm not stating that a Vette can't be daily driven...I've considered it many times and by no means would I not buy one because you can't daily drive it. Despite that, it's still not nearly as friendly as a daily as the other two. Obvioulsy the all around performance is going to be the best in the 'vette so you also have to factor that in.

 

Andy

[SpaceGhost]

I followed a C4 ZR1 around Road America in my stg 1 STI I couldn't pass him, he couldn't pull away from me.

[Smokey]

I followed a C4 ZR1 around Road America in my stg 1 STI I couldn't pass him, he couldn't pull away from me.

 

he can't afford a ZR1 though.

 

I pissed off a C4 owner last summer at Nelson when he was on 275 r-comps and had to point by my measly 240hp car running 235 street tires and weighing at least 100lbs more.

[Scotty2Hotty]

http://image.automobilemag.com/f/reviews/justdriven/6678736/0305_1+1999_To_2003_Ford_SVT_F150_Lightning+Front_Drivers_Side_View_Burnout.jpg

Hmmmmmmmm? It's in your price range.

[SpaceGhost]

he can't afford a ZR1 though.

 

I pissed off a C4 owner last summer at Nelson when he was on 275 r-comps and had to point by my measly 240hp car running 235 street tires and weighing at least 100lbs more.

 

I put bus lengths on a red C4 on 270 last year. Driver was very cool and waved afterward.