BlueEyes

Of course I have driven it!! There are certainly cars I would rather have than this but that 15K budget really kicks you in the ***** sometimes. I want something I can make a dedicated track car in a year or two when I get a job. The other option is to save myself some dough and buy my buddies 99 (I think) Civic hatchback with TypeR drivetrain. It's only downfall is Fwd, other than that it's pretty fun.

DARKMAZ8

Have you considered the MR2?

BlueEyes

I considered it, it's a nice car. I need something with a little more room though and unmodded mr2's are impossible to find it seems.

Ike

That's what I suggested to him a long time ago. If I were you I'd be looking for a either a nice MKII MR2 if you want an autox car or a DSM if you want a car you can take to the strip, autox (not very competitive), and rallyx. If you could find a decent 1 or 2g AWD DSM for under 10 grand you'd have plenty of money to play with mods wise and could have anything from a 11 second 1/4 mile beast to your own little rally beast.

I love the E30 M3 as much as anyone, and it will always hold a special place in the car world for me. However when you consider maintenance costs I think the other cars above are a better choice for someone on a budget. Finding a decent E30 will prove more difficult to find than an unmodded and decent MR2 or DSM.

I really really wish I had the money for a project car right now, but I'm buying a house right now and I need to keep my priorities in order

DARKMAZ8

I think im confused.....you want to get rid of the 8 for a $15,000 dd/track car? I thought you wanted a good project car for the track.......sorry

If you want a dd then the BMW is most definately the wrong choice...imo

It will cost to much to maintain for the amount of performance you'll get out of it....I am a firm believer of having a car for each purpose....that way you can strip the race car and have a nice car to drive on the streets......

SpacerX

Actually, I've found the vast majority of this thread as a fairly good debate -- strong opinions, yes... but good, spirited discussion, nonetheless. The guys on either side of these issues have tended to take reasoned approaches, vice name-calling...

BlueEyes

My problem is this: Giving the solara back to my parents, so I need a car that can double as a daily driver. That means, I can throw a bikes and other sports equipment on or in it, I can hold 4 people, get reasonable mileage. I am not too worried about the maintenance, I will do all the myself. On the otherhand, it has to be a fun track car, no autox, I don't like autox. I want to try rallyx, but we'll see about that. Then, I figure in a year or two I will just convert this car into a race car when I buy a daily driver.

You see my problem, it's not good.

BlueEyes

I have no 8
I have a solara. The 8 is intended to be the dd in a year or so. I am not worried about hte maintenace, I can do most if not all of it myself, the part prices might be a little steep. If I could find a well maintained e30 I shouldn't have too many problems, they're supposed to be pretty reliable if properly maintained.

DARKMAZ8

In that case,

this is your best bet!!!!!

BlueEyes

I have been looking at that thing, it's just so damn slow out the box. Of course, I could fix that. It would be sweet if I ever tried rallyx though!!

I always pictured myself rallying in a 323 GTX

DARKMAZ8

Have you ever driven one?

I found the acceleration to be pretty good.....hell, I almost bought one in 1999 but went with the integra type r instead.....I say the subaru is the best platform for rally and is a descent daily driver for the money.....The aftermarket support is there so more power is readily available plus you would have a good reason to take a drive in a snow storm.... :D I would stay away from the Talons.....as they tend to break down a lot....

DARKMAZ8

The 323 awd turbo was a sweet car for its time but aftermarket support is not there and it is not the best looking car if you are planning to use it as your daily driver......It makes for a great sleeper tho, not many ppl know about these cars and the stock bottom end will support 400whp.... the weakest link for these cars is the tranny....I'd still stick with the impreza.....for the looks....

BlueEyes

I haven't driven the subaru for a while, a buddy had one a few years ago. It's probably faster than the e30 M3, but that thing feels fast. I'll see what I can do about driving one, I see a blue one around here often with a female owner, time to turn up that charm :D

DARKMAZ8

Model tested (MSRP): Impreza 2.5 RS Coupe
Standard equipment: all-wheel drive, air conditioning, power windows, locks and side mirrors, AM/FM stereo cassette, accessory power outlet, dead pedal, tilt steering, cruise control, viscous limited-slip rear differential
Options as tested (MSRP): carpeted floor mats ($64); subwoofer/amplifier ($310); premium speakers ($100); CD player ($120); remote keyless entry ($225)
Destination charge: N/A
Gas guzzler tax: N/A
Price as tested (MSRP): $20,809 US
Layout: four-wheel drive
Engine: 2.5-liter sohc 16v horizontally opposed-4
Horsepower (hp @ rpm): 165 @ 5600
Torque (lb.-ft. @ rpm): 166 @ 4000
Transmission: 5-speed manual
EPA fuel economy, city/hwy: 22/29 mpg
Wheelbase: 99.2 in.
Length/width/height: 172.2/67.1/55.5 in.
Track, f/r: 57.9/57.1 in.
Turning circle: 33.5 ft.
Seating capacity: 5
Head/hip/leg room, f: 38.0/52.6/43.1 in.
Head/hip/leg room, m: N/A
Head/hip/leg room, r: 38.0/52.6/43.1 in.
Cargo volume: 11.1 cu. ft.
Payload: N/A
Towing capacity: 1500 Lbs.
Suspension, f: Independent
Suspension, r: Independent
Ground clearance: N/A
Curb weight: 2840 lbs.
Tires: P205/55R16
Brakes, f/r: vented disc/solid disc w/ ABS
Fuel capacity: 15.9 gal.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
at 2800lbs and 165hp, 166lbs it moves pretty well...

Deslock

Some cars that do well in mag tests don't feel as connected to the road.
The RX8 platform is not suitable for a wagon/SUV. The RS increased 150+ pounds since the previous generation. Sure there are some new features, but not 150 pounds worth.So in reality the RX8 6-speed is $6k cheaper than the STI (as I wrote), but the MSRPs are $5k apart.
The base 6-speed weighs <2900 pounds. The STI weighs 3298 if I remember correctly.
Yes (mostly to improve the handling and shifter).

Deslock

Read the thread.
So you have time to write, but not read? While I disagree with IkeWRX, at least he reads threads before adding to them.

Ike

1.) Yes, but the STi is far from being one of them.

2.) What makes you so sure? I'm still waiting for the explanation of why you think the weight is is lower on the RX-8 than the STi as well as many other things I've pointed out...

3.) They're called safety regulations, airbags and various reinforcements are not light.

4.) If you want one with the sporty body molding like the STi has over the WRX they're about the same price.

5.) It absolutely does not weigh less than 2900 lbs when we're talking curb weight. Which I thought was 3029 for the base MT, the curb weight of the 04 STi is 3263 and 3298 which is probably a bit more since it has a stereo standard.

6.) What mods?

Ike

I love the little 2.5RS, the people above me are driving one right now that belongs to their father since their car is in for repairs. I guess it's just been sitting in a garage for the past year. It's pristine and I guess it's for sale for rather cheap... Every time I see it I keep thinking about how fun it would be to swap my engine into it

As for the Talons (DSMs) thye get a bad rap due to crankwalk on a few model years. Get an early 1gs gen and most second gens are good as well. They aren't the most reliable things on the road, but parts are plentiful and cheap.

Ike

Here are some pics of a car that a guy I know from autox now rallies. He got tired of rallying his daily driver so he went out and got him self this...

Plus a photo of an Impreza just for kicks

DARKMAZ8

I was a huge fan of the impreza before 2001...the rs coupes had a nice agressive look....they had a great thing going with that look....imo.........I would have bought one if they kept the coupe and it came with the sti motor.... :D

why oh why did they discontinue the coupe.....granted the sti looks better than the older WRX but I still like my coupes...

Ike

Behold, the holy grail of all that is Subaru. This car makes me want to weep...

DARKMAZ8

If only subaru came out with that car now.....

SpacerX

Concur, but prolly not fully loaded w/gas.

Used my RX8 to haul about 600 lbs of payload, plus my dog, Tucker this past Summer up to DC area for a reassignment.

I have a base MT with the sport package and a spare tire kit. Empty weight, with about half a tank of gas, minus the spare, but still with the strut bace/bracket, was a bit less than 2900 lbs. One place was around 2850, but I thought that was way low, so I had it weighed at another place, and that was closer to 2900.

Interestingly, IIRC the GVWR is somewhere around 3700-3800 lbs, so I couldv'e conceivably carried another 200 lbs or so (I wasn't wearing a roof rack at the time, but that would be the way to go...)

Deslock

1) That's your opinion... guess we'll have to agree to disagree.

2) Too small, and has been designed for chassis stiffness, balance, perfect weight distribution, low yaw moment. That adds some cost and it wouldn't make financial sense for Mazda to use that in a higher production wagon/SUV. I'm still hoping someone will come out with a cheap RWD platform that has those features and allows for more platform sharing (beyond a couple sports cars). Maybe Kappa will end up doing it, but last I read the Chevy Nomad isn't happening and the only planned cars based on it are the Pontiac and Saturn roadsters... and they weigh 2860 pounds! (~400 more than the rumored weight of the upcoming NC Miata) And they're not design for mass production. I think I answered your other questions in previous posts.

3) That doesn't add up to 150 pounds going from the prev generation to the current one. I attribute the increase partly to that stuff, but mostly to it being a larger car now (the greenhouse dimensions have grown quite a bit, yes?)

4) So you're saying we should spend $6k to make the RX8 as pretty as the STI? :p

5) Yes it does. Mazda lists 3029 with popular options... why they decided to list it that way has been a source for conjecture, but if you do some research you'll see that many have weighed their RX8s at ~2880 pounds (and some mags have reported 2933 pounds, though I forget if that was with the sport package or not).

6) Nothing too drastic: swaybars, short throw, exhaust, a few other things. I was going to replace the suspension, but after driving a couple WRXs with modified suspension, I was less impressed than I expected. And I was unhappy with my local Subaru service department (who lied to me a couple times and were generally incompetent) and I was afraid if I went too far with mods, they might start to give me a hassle over warranty work (suspension was just one of many things I had planned).

While the WRX was the best car I'd owned till that point (easy to mod, grin-inducing boost rush, AWD), there were some things I found lacking.... I disliked the understeer and I missed the nimble feel, steering feedback, instant throttle response, and quick short-throw shifter of my old GSR (the fastest cars aren't always the most fun). Mods can mimimize some of those things, but not all... at some point, you need to start with a new foundation. So the idea of getting something else had been floating in the back of my mind anyway and while I was figuring out what mod (if any) to do next, we decided to have a second child. The WRX having only one child-seat anchor pushed the decision over the edge and I started looking at other cars such as a used 328, G35s, EVO, and Forester XT (I wasn't about to go back to FWD). Drove the RX8 a few times and decided it was more fun than the others, despite being gutless down low (I previewed before posting and realized the last paragraph goes beyond the scope of your mods question... but it's relevant to the whole RX8 vs Impreza / sports car vs performance vs fun car discussion, so I left it in)

RX8-TX

I've read more than enough in the first pages.
Don't be a smartass. I really don't know why Ike takes the time to read and respond to some of the BS they throw out there.....