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Car Comparisons Compare any cars and find out what every body else thinks. Just refrain from making stupid comparos like Viper vs. Geo Metro :)
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Old 06-02-2005, 11:34 PM   #106
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Re: Need Help: Narrowed It Down To 5...

Okay, thanks. Surprisingly, the Miata look has grown on me so I may get it now. RWD is another plus too. One more thing, do you know if any come in a hard top version? I have only seen the fabric covertible type. Thanks.
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Old 06-02-2005, 11:37 PM   #107
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Re: Need Help: Narrowed It Down To 5...

I believe that it come from the factory with a $1000 hard top option. I don't know if anyone sells aftermarket hard tops (though I suspect that someone does).
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Old 06-03-2005, 01:21 AM   #108
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ahhh...miata. good choice. very overlooked car. make sure you test drive one because they dont seem to be too confortable to me. but i hvae never driven one, just seen other people driving them and they look like they are driving an old triumph.
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Old 06-03-2005, 10:46 AM   #109
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I think you’d be better off with the 240SX 4 passenger, bigger trunk, it would make a better daily driver then the Miata. The Z31 would also work better.

Don’t get the CRX, if your going to get a FWD car for fuel economy just get a basics Civic.

I’m not trying make you decision any harder. But have looked at the Mitsubishi Starion? Starion on eBay. I don’t know a lot about the it. Other then they all have independent front, rear suspension, LSD diff and a (not 100% shore) 188HP turbo engin.
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Old 06-03-2005, 01:05 PM   #110
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Re: Need Help: Narrowed It Down To 5...

I don't think you want the Starion. The fuel economy is less than impressive, and the reliability is pretty sketchy too. And the handling isn't that great, either.
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Old 06-03-2005, 02:31 PM   #111
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I would personally go with the 5.0 Mustang with a 5speed. They can run in the 14's stock and it dosnt take as much to get it into 13's. Since you don't know that much about cars I don't think you are going to want to tackle motor swaps and aftermarket turbo kits in the 240sx. Stop light to stoplight the 5.0 is great. Its handling is acceptable, I wouldn't take it stock onto a road course but I wouldn't take alot of stock vehicals on a road course. If you just want a fun car thats easy to work on than the 5.0 is definately my choice.
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Old 06-03-2005, 02:51 PM   #112
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I don't want the Mustang because the gas mileage is so bad, otherwise I probably would...
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Old 06-03-2005, 04:41 PM   #113
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Re: Need Help: Narrowed It Down To 5...

Yeah, like I said, the 5.0 Mustang's powertrain is perfect for stoplight to stoplight messing around, or serious drag racing, but the gas mileage is just plain awful. That's the price you pay for the endless torque and deep rumble of a V8.
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Old 06-03-2005, 07:36 PM   #114
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Re: Need Help: Narrowed It Down To 5...

the 5.0 is pretty quick, and i admit my bias toward Camaros, but I think the fox body is one of the ugliest cars out there, most of the other mustang designs are alright, but the fox body looks like an oversized escort with mutated headlights.
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Old 06-03-2005, 09:44 PM   #115
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In defense of the fox body's looks, the 87-93 were alot better looking than the 79-86, I wasn't a big fan of the 4 eye fox. Also, that was how cars looked back then. The camaro was boxy too, maybe a little longer though. I am also a camaro fan but the camaros of the period were not as good in my opinion as the 5.0 Mustang. Most were the 305, which was definately not as good as the 302, and the ones that had 350s were automatic.(maybe I am mistaken but I am pretty sure) As for the gas mileage...you got me there, it certainly won't top a 4 banger for that, but I have owned 4 cylinder and 6 cylinder cars and liked them enough, but I don't ever think I can go back. The insurance really didn't increase when I got the mustang and I had a taurus before. I am just a firm believer that because of the natural good aspects of the 5.0 mustang and the giant aftermarket, anyone looking for cheap performance would be happiest purchasing one.
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Old 06-03-2005, 10:59 PM   #116
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Re: Need Help: Narrowed It Down To 5...

Yeah, aside from the gas mileage, they are cheap to buy and own, and give great performance for the money. A good friend of mine owned a nice manual tranny '88 GT (until it got stolen, he bought a Z31 N/A after that), and that thing was quick as hell. It had 188,000 miles on it, and the interior was falling to pieces, but the engine and transmission were still running strong. It'd do low 15's in the quarter mile all day, and after he put in 3.73 gears, a stronger clutch, and underdrive pulleys, it hit mid 14's. It's just the gas mileage and insurance (some parts of the country are better or worse than others) that make the car a bit costly to own.
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Old 06-04-2005, 02:54 AM   #117
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well, if you think about it...by the time you mod a 240sx or soemthing of that nature into the 14 second 1/4 mile range. you will probably only be getting a couple of MPG better....

240sx - 25mpg/low 16 quarter miles
5.0L mustang - 18mpg/high 14 quarter miles

i figure by the time you get a 240sx to run high 14's, it will lose 5 or so mpg. not to mention the fact that you can pick up a 5.0 and a 240sx for virtually the same price. so for the money you spend turboing the 240sx you could have the mustang well into the 13's. my

but how about a Z31T...its not like i have mentioned that before. it has the same performance as the mustang but gets 20-25mpg, almost on par with a 240sx. so your essentially getting the best of both worlds... the mustang's power & modability and the 240sx's handling and gas mileage.
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Old 06-04-2005, 03:02 AM   #118
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Re: Need Help: Narrowed It Down To 5...

Sorry, but a Z31T does not have the same performance as a Mustang 5.0. It's down 20 horsepower, a lot more torque, and weighs 200 lbs more. It might accelerate as well, due to its short gearing, but that just means it'll get creamed on the top-end. I'm sure it handles better, though. And yes, the mileage is a bit better (though 25 mpg for a turbocharged V6 from the 80's seems like a big stretch to me).
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Old 06-04-2005, 03:45 AM   #119
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Re: Re: Need Help: Narrowed It Down To 5...

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Originally Posted by kman10587
It might accelerate as well, due to its short gearing
so bottom line, it still puts down the same 1/4 mile run, which means it has comparable performance. im not saying that a Z31 Turbo outperforms a 5.0 mustang, im just saying that they are very similar in times and performance. its better than trying to compare a 240sx and a 5.0L mustang...

a Z31T outperforms a Z32 N/A in the 1/4 mile...i have beaten many 5.0L mustangs when my Z32 was still N/A. so if a Z31T outperforms my car, then a Z31T should well outperform the mustang.

and i can only go on what other Z31T owners have told me they get for gas mileage...i have always been told by other Z31T owners that they dont get less than 20mpg around town and they do alot better on the highway. a turbo doesnt produce power if its not spooling, so if your on the highway cruising...your probably getting better gas mileage then the N/A version because your essentially driving a shitty compressioned N/A.
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Old 06-04-2005, 02:33 PM   #120
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Maybe its just my inexperience with turbos but I just dont' trust an old turbo engine. I know older turbos were not as efficient as they are today and they tended to wear out. It would be disappointing to get a car only to find that you had to replace a part already, not that you couldn't get a 5.0 and realize that the rings are bad. It just seems like more parts to break on an old car. I never looked into the aftermarket for the Z but the 5.0 has an almost infinite aftermarket. Performance on those things is so cheap that sometimes I think about selling my 2000 and getting a 91 and putting 6000 dollars worth of parts into it. Also, theres alot of 5.0 mustangs out there, which if you are concerned with "being different" you may not like, but the fact is that everything that can be done to that car has been done and someone always knows how to make that thing work. Its a proven way to go fast on a budget and a good car to learn on because it is relatively primitive compared to even 20 year old imports. I admire its simplicity and effectiveness.
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