spooled240

W55 which is even weaker than the W58.

The car is heavy and needs at least 350hp which means turbo. Now that the GTE's are expensive, you're gonna be about 20k in the hole for a properly done GTE swapped IS300 with 300whp. Evo X's are 16k and pass smog.

Corbic

Bingo. Emissions and Torque.

IS300 was billed a BMW 3 fighter, not a AE86 revival.

Luxury cars don't have shitty 4-cylinders ... Duh.

Corbic

Better to swap a UZ engine.

Actually, I'm so old and grumpy, better to just buy a car with the engine you want.

G35/6/7 sounds like a better buy even if uglier and fatter. At least it has a bullet proof trans and makes +300hp.

dorkidori_s13

most likely correct as the majority of Japanese motors IN JAPAN werent OBD2 compliant (the majority of them were OBD1 only). OBD2 compliance laws didnt become mandate in Japan until the 2004 model year... hence why by 2004, the bulk of JDM motors we all know and love (with MINOR exceptions like the 4G63 and 2JZ) vanished over night.

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KA24DESOneThree

I've never driven any of these cars, but the Mazdaspeed Protege or Protege MP3 are on my list, too.

I wonder if good examples of any of these cars are on Turo. I just want to drive some of them fairly hard to see if they're worth a damn.

SupaDoopa

I come back and people are jerking off over Protege's. Bye.

KA24DESOneThree

Fun cars are fun cars.

The Citroen AX GT is uglier than shit and has the build quality of a mid-70s Lada but is supposedly a riot to drive.

You can look down your nose at whatever you want. I'll never look down my nose at something that's genuinely good to drive.

Corbic

Next up, the 2006 Corolla S.

SupaDoopa

Things that are good to drive are my '95 Pajero Mini.
Things that are good to drive are my '99 Wrangler.

deolio

Only car that I ever miss is my nb Miata. Totally impractical, but fun and cheap. They're still relatively cheap, but finding clean ones can be tough.

My dad had a 2000 V70r and that thing was a blast to drive. I think it'd be the perfect balance of fun and practicality, but I just wish they could be found in the US in manual.

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KA24DESOneThree

My wife had a sub-10k-mile NA6 that was 100% stock and it was more fun than my modified NA6.

I want to try my hand at fun FWD. Something fun to throw around the narrow, bumpy, dirty back roads of San Diego and Riverside counties while returning 30mpg.

A manual, FWD V70R might be fun. 250hp and a limited slip. Like you said though- we only got auto, and we only got AWD.

e1_griego

You need a Fiesta ST.

SupaDoopa

No one needs a Fiesta ST. Bye.

deolio

That 25 year mark is coming up next year though 👀

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SupaDoopa

Good. Sell your good shit and spend all your money on that garbage and join another forum away from us who are still interested in dumping our spare cash into shit boxes that will end up in a wall.

zombiewolf513

dudeweedLMAO

ronmcdon

Fiesta ST’s not that bad as far as a fun fwd option w 30mpg goes, unless you dont care for fwd period. I do wish used models would depreciate more.

not a lot of promising alternatives out there fitting fun fwd car with 30mpg, considering 90s cars are so overpriced these days like a b13 sentra ser or crx/civic si. shocked people are paying $10k plus for them.

KA24DESOneThree

I've heard good things and I've heard bad things.

The 2017+ models have the softest ride, and compliance is necessary on the roads I like to drive. Depreciation on a $15k Fiesta ST would be a bitch whereas some elbow grease on any of the other possibilities may yield break-even or profit.

I don't care about speed, I only care about tactility and playing to my nostalgia. The more I think about it and talk about it and have to deal with my limitations, the more it seems that I really just need to get on the sheetmetal replacement my 911 needs, bolt on the 935 front suspension and coilover rear, and start tuning spring rates and dampers. That way I can write off some of the parts costs but still have something good to drive.

spooled240

100%. I would just bite the bullet and get what you want. A few years back I was thinking about buying a new FiST, Focus ST, Cadillac ATS or even a new WRX/STi for a daily. Instead I got an old Evo 9 and it was the better purchase imo. The car is appreciating and it's just a way cooler car that I can hang on to forever before they get even more expensive. It was one of those bucket list cars for me.

Spending more money that will remain/increase > spending less money that will eventually diminish.

ronmcdon

hard to say if the fist will maintain its value in the upcoming years. it just went out of production last year and some of the low mileage models seemed to have slowed down on depreciation. kinda fun to predict what will appreciate in value.

S14rebuild

Had a good friend with a mazdaspeed...talk about fanbois....they were the greatest cars ever!! (Their opinion) everyone locally blewup... they were just stock protege motors with turbo kit..nothing special

S14rebuild

All about the 2005 trd corolla XRS...... legit 4 door 4 cylinder killer!

e1_griego

I had a matrix XRS for 5 years, not even half as fun as the fiesta.

S14rebuild

Talkn about 10yrs of difference in technology

Corbic

Same Generation for most Nissans....

PoorMans180SX

I feel you, though I'm not looking for anything that's going to stay FWD. Even Eclipse RS' and 3000GT SLs are starting to become pricey. Everything gets rare eventually I suppose. I really just want an NA Z32, but I've thought about an SW20 as well. Looks like I "missed" the good time to buy an FD shell, I've always wanted to own an FD, but they're going for pretty insane prices right now.

Then again, these Acuras with SH-AWD are starting to get cheap, and wouldn't require $10K in work to make them drive nicely again, they're probably pretty quiet and get decent MPG too... It's hard to accept the reality that 90's cars kinda suck in a lot of ways haha. I feel like I'm becoming the old guy talking about muscle cars.

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Corbic

Fun fact, if "That's 70's Show" was made today with the same premise, it would take place in 1998.

Another problem with 90's cars is the reality that many are not as well build at 60's and 70's classics.


Sheet metal is thin and cheap so it rusts to dust quickly.

Wiring and interiors are light, delicate and extremely vehicle specific.

Aftermarket refurbishment parts are non-existent for most models or high need parts.

Lastly, production numbers are an fly shit compared to the classics.

I'm sure Plymouth built more Dusters in a week than Nissan made 240s over 8 years.

ronmcdon

A 2nd gen crx si (88-91 i think) imo is more fun, but definitely not as quick as a fiesta st. have owned both and like them. Is the fiesta st that technologically advanced? it has torque vectoring maybe but have never known it to special technologically in any way.

of all 90's cars and FWD I regret never getting a ITR. Never was brave enough to own one. even my POS crx got stolen twice.

S14rebuild

^for me i luv the 90's simplicity of the cars..feel more connected to car n road. Might not have the power but more of a hands on driving experience feels like real racecar lol

Phlip

My biggest regrets were NOT getting the CRX I literally left the house to buy in 99, then selling my Corolla SR-5 because I was tired of fixing shit in 01, a year before the internet opened a whole new world to me, automotively.

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