Need Help!

[kennykimny]

Hey all -

I'm interested in buying a car. I will probably leave it stock for a while, about 3-6 months, until I get the resources to soup it up. My dilemma is that I want a car that is not too expensive (new/used doesn't matter) but has a big powerplant so that when I do install mods, I won't be bored after installing a cold air intake, you know what I mean? I'm looking to spend about 20-25 grand. Any suggestions? I was thinking the Subaru WRX...maybe the Hyundai Tiburon? I will probably want to add a turbo or supercharger (depending on which one applies) so please keep that in mind.

Is it possible to up your horsepower significantly without increasing the overall noise coming from your engine? What can I do to quiet my car?

[jncodave]

Originally Posted by kennykimny

Hey all -

I'm interested in buying a car. I will probably leave it stock for a while, about 3-6 months, until I get the resources to soup it up. My dilemma is that I want a car that is not too expensive (new/used doesn't matter) but has a big powerplant so that when I do install mods, I won't be bored after installing a cold air intake, you know what I mean? I'm looking to spend about 20-25 grand. Any suggestions? I was thinking the Subaru WRX...maybe the Hyundai Tiburon? I will probably want to add a turbo or supercharger (depending on which one applies) so please keep that in mind.

Is it possible to up your horsepower significantly without increasing the overall noise coming from your engine? What can I do to quiet my car?

Do you like domestics? A V8 Camaro, Firebird, or Mustang is definitely the way to go. You can get them in great condition for pretty cheap and have plenty of money left over for the huge aftermarket. Plus the engine is bigger so you can squeeze much more hp and torque from it. The subaru is a great car. The tiburon sucks.

Superchargers are going to whine, and if you dont want noise coming from your engine bay, that can be annoying. Turbo's are quieter and more efficient, since they run off of your exhaust rather than a belt from your engine. To keep the noise down, you can get a Hoodliner from Dynamat that sticks to the bottom of your hood and keeps noise from getting out. It costs about $180

If you do decide to go with the V8 though, you have the possibility of Twin Turbo's. now thats a rush.

[curtis73]

Ooh yeah. American EFI V8 is the way to go here. If you're going to spend 20k on a car, you could be well on your way to 10-second timeslips with a 98 Camaro, still drive it daily, and be able to dial up the shocks for some more than adequate handling.

For $12k you can buy the car and spend $8000 on mods. If that's not enough, I don't know what is

Keeping it quiet can be a real engineering feat. If you have the benefit of a billion-dollar R&D budget you can keep it quiet. Like, the new 350Z. All that power and a nearly silent idle. The bottom line is that performance mods tend to make things louder. I don't mind intake roaring since you only really hear that at wide open. If you're trying to impress a date, just keep it below 3/4 throttle. Most chicks don't like motion sickness anyway. Exhaust can flow well without too much noise, but many aftermarket exhausts are designed to be both loud and flow well. I'm with you, I spend hundreds on things like Dynamat and padding to keep it quiet, but most people like to hear performance. You can use forums like this to get feedback on others' mods and how it affected their noise levels. Usually internal engine mods don't add much noise, its the peripherals (like cold air intake and exhausts) that add the noise. But, its those peripherals that allow the engine to develop its full potential. They could design exhausts that are quiet and flow really well, but not enough people would buy them so they aren't typically developed. Sometimes they mess up and it works to the quiet benefit... for instance, Borla's exhaust for Impala SS flows just as well as any of their exhausts, but it ended up being very quiet for some reason. Nobody buys them, but its a tidbit of info that helps me.

A few nice things about Domestic V8s:

1) Incredible aftermarket street-legal options. I know of at least 15 smog-legal header applications for LT1 vehicles like Camaro and Impala SS.
2) Insane number of forums. Worried about how loud the Brand X exhaust is? Chances are you'll find thousands of answers on any one of the hundreds of forums.
3) Cheaper parts. (in general)
4) RWD has usually more room in the engine bay for mods and work room.
5) RWD is usually considered superior in most performance circles. AWD has its place, but I can't think of one single performance aspect where FWD is preferred... well, except maybe snow performance, and that's debatable.
6) Cheaper to buy up front.

Buy an LS1 Firebird, pocket the extra cash, drive 12s all day, get 24 mpg, and kiss your mid life crisis goodbye

[clawhammer]

Used BMW may not be bad. Not very good 1/4 mile times, but superior far superior to anything on the road. For 26 grand you can get about a 2000 golf to 400+ hp. 1/4 mile times around 12 sec at that power.