jayscoobs

Hello guys, im stuck in a little dilemma. One thing about me is that I am really indecisive and its hard for me to make a decision on things. I might be getting rid of the 8 for the quest for more power. What the car is going to be used for is DD and occasional track use, probably 5 times a year, Dual purpose car basically. I just wanted opinions, I have been asking same thing on each of these cars forums but of course its biased to what they own. Ill say my own pros and cons of each. they all look great IMO, of course NSX and FD would get a lot of attention over anything else. All of these cars can be had for around the same price.

FD RX7 - Bad reliability and somewhat maintenance, nowadays quite easy to make reliable with non sequential or single turbo. Considered "project car" due to having to fix a lot due to age and working on her. Bad as a DD cuz of reliability and no TC but that just means be extra careful in rain.

E46 M3 - Great all around car, I think this would be better for a dual purpose car. Has useable back seat. Maintenance is a little high but its not a problem. I dont really see cons in the M3 other than its nothing special, looks like a regular 3 series. Very reliable.

996 - Quite reliable, I personally would rather have a 993 because they still have the signature porsche looks but their quite a bit more than the 996. A little worried on trying to learn this car on the track, never drove rear engine so it may be interesting. My friend has a 996 and I love it.

NSX - Loved this car ever since my dads friend gave me a ride in it when I was 10. Exotic look but would give a lot of attention. Honda reliability and maintenance. Downside is in order for them to handle as good as they do they have rediculous amount of toe which causes rear tires to shred quickly. Expensive to repair due to being all aluminum. No storage compartments, its either the floor, glovebox or trunk.

Im quite picky and I like the little things that each car has. I like pop up headlights and the door handle locations on the FD and NSX, makes the body flawless. Love the NSX dash layout as well as the FD, they all flow together from the door cards. M3 got to love the halo rings, quad exhaust and the window controls in the center. 996 love the interior, as well as the ignition being next to the door, like the trunk in the hood.

Im just talking now haha, shoot me some opinions and better comparisons as I havent driven all these cars and you might have. Thanks.

Davin

FD daily is a bad idea... very bad...

PatHammer9

I'm not sure why the FD is getting the bad rap. The key to getting an FD is don't buy an already modified one, there is where you lose your reliable. Some other dumb *** built the car with dreams of what he wanted with no care of what he might have taking away from the car. Stock you're working with a clean slate, built with sense and you will have a DD. Bought an FD 4 years ago, stock, no mods, then did a few mods for HP (nothing crazy), upgraded the brakes and got some nice SSR and it's still running nice. Worse problem it has had is the power window on the pass side. Damn thing gets stuck!

Problem is all of these car have some down fall, so it's a matter of when you get up in the morning what car do you want to see sitting in your driveway? What car makes you smile when you driving down the road.?

blackenedwings

You have good taste, but if you are going after reliable power in a car that can be used equally on the street and the track I would immediately write the FD3S and its legendary reliability problems off the list. The NSX is a great car, but its hard to get significant power out of it. I think you might find yourself in the same situation as the RX-8 after a while... excellent handling, good looks, low power by today's standard.

The German options are more likely. Both the BMW/Porsche are good road/street car, and can turn fast lap times with decent street reliability but modifications and maintenance are very expensive.

Out of this list, I personally would go for the NSX. It's a classic that never looks old or dated, handles excellently, and is arguably the most reliable. Even with its relatively low power it can still turn quick lap times for a fun track day.

StreetGT

M3.

Love the FD and NSX but they are very impractical. The porsche I would really want just because of the power.. But again, very impractical.

jayscoobs

The only thing I dont like about the M3 is that its very common and nothing special, to me it weighs a little more than i hope so im assuming its not as nimble as any of the other choices and the rx8. NSX is a little pricey for what it is, so im kind of weeding those two out even though I do like them.

My main choices are 996 and FD, maintenance isnt that bad on the porsche, my friend has one and its been great to him, just oil changes and replacing MAF and no problems whatsoever. I was kind of wrong to bash FD reliability, ive had quite a bit of people tell me they DD them and a few of them are shops. Just got to do reliability upgrades and motor should last 150k+.

I forgot to compare prices, FD prices are 13k for a good one, 996, NSX, and M3 are in same price range of 25k. If I get a FD thats extra cash in my pocket to do reliability mods and upgrades to the car. Im not sure if I mentioned but maintenance would be easy on FD because a friend of mine worked for a reputable rotary shop. This is a very hard decision, their all great cars.

StreetGT

I've driven an e46 M3, and you will not feel lost with nimbleness, there is a reason BMW is such a famous company, and there is a reason the BMW Motosports is known around the world. Find a Manual trans coupe M3 and take a test drive.