most fun to drive car for 24k

hey guys

im new to the forum but have been reading threads here for quite some time and that is because I am soon to buy a new car. Most likely I will buy a used car and then upgrade it,( I have a budget for everything inc installation of 24,000) no matter what car I am buying, I am looking to 300whp. In the car that I plan to buy, besides my performance upgrades ( which most likely will have to be F/I for 300whp), I want
reliability,
obviously potential for 300whp
coilovers and other minor suspension upgrades,
basic transmission upgrades,
decent rims and excellent tires

The car has to be either AWD or FWD since It will be my only car and I will have to drive it in the atrocious Syracuse winter weather
the cars I am looking at are the rsx-s and the wrx. Please reccomend any other cars that you guys have experience with.

Remember, the main two things im looking for are: potential for 300whp and an extraordinarily fun-to-drive car ( the fun factor is probably my number one priority- the car has to 'feel' fast )

Why the arbitrary number (300 hp)? Different cars will be completely different degrees of fast or slow with 300 hp.

I say the best choice would be an SRT4. A factory stage 3 will put at 300WHP and well over 300WTQ. Stage 3 custom spec KW coilovers will make it handle beautifully. Stock quaife diff from 04 and up. And the list goes on.


Another excellent choice would be a WRX, its already plenty fast and has lots of aftermaket available too.

agreed on the srt4...
for 30k, you'd have a killer that handles.

i also agree with neutrino. either get a srt-4 or a wrx. both pretty nice cars.

im not a big fan of the srt-4 but if you liek the style it would be a good car. the wrx is also a nice car. thats the one i would go with.

1)ive heard the srt-4 has some traction problems
2)i dont have 30k to fork over for a car
3) no matter what someone says, its still a neon and is ugly as fuck

the random 300whp number was arrived at me being a passenger in a 300whp supra and ive never had so much fun being in a car haha

also, what do u guys think of a completely stock evo?....i can prolly get a used one for 24k...is it a good daily driver?

i'd say acura rsx-s its fun jus not 300whp...

or used s2000... the most fun thing in VTEC-land =P

s2k is rwd, he wants only fwd or awd

I suppose a WRX would be best, if you want a winter-beater.

Too bad you can't get Evo III's in the States :D

the random 300whp number was arrived at me being a passenger in a 300whp supra and ive never had so much fun being in a car haha

I see. Well the 2 main cars you're considering (RSX and WRX) with 300whp are gonna have a completely different feel compared to each other, and neither are gonna be like a 300 whp Supra... Between those 2, a 300whp WRX would probably be quite a bit faster than a 300whp RSX.

rsx-s undoubted u'll like it. test drive one.. go used its a good choice cuz you'll have some warranty left which'll all be void when u go 300whp+

get a 3.5L nissan maxima(2k2-3) or altima(2k2+), you'll be starting at about 250 hp which i think translates to 228 or so@the wheels; 300hp is only a stone's throw away and these cars are right in your price range. i can maintain ~25 mpg and 35+ highway which is displayed on a digital readout. the only major difference between cars is the maxima has a 6speed tranny, altima is a 5 speed and is about 35 lbs lighter.

the lowest WHP i've seen with F/I VQ35 was 355hp with a stage one stillen v2 supercharger. and the highest was a turbo 3.5 max at 14 psi which made 401 hp and 396 tq. you could acheive your target power N/A.

Well I was going to say SRT-4, but you seem to be against that choice so I'll respect that. Well a good car that came to mind was a 99 or 98 Mitsubishi Eclispe GSX or GST, both those cars have loads of potential and can be had for well under $20,000 I believe. Also I know reliability is an issue, and believe me they will be just fine as long as you take good care of them. The WRX is also a good choice and the Acura RSX Type S, I saw one over the weekend run a 13.6 and take out a Mustang GT. I'm with you on the $24K price tag, I'm saving up money to put $5,000 down on a car, my plan is to get a used 2003 EVO for around $24,000 in about a year, so that's an option too.

If you are going to be driving it in the snow, get the WRX. It is an awesome daily driver and is really fun in empty parking lots in the winter. FWD is boring.

Camaro SS, Oh wait, you don't want RWD...

get a 3.5L nissan maxima(2k2-3) or altima(2k2+), you'll be starting at about 250 hp which i think translates to 228 or so@the wheels; 300hp is only a stone's throw away and these cars are right in your price range. i can maintain ~25 mpg and 35+ highway which is displayed on a digital readout. the only major difference between cars is the maxima has a 6speed tranny, altima is a 5 speed and is about 35 lbs lighter.

the lowest WHP i've seen with F/I VQ35 was 355hp with a stage one stillen v2 supercharger. and the highest was a turbo 3.5 max at 14 psi which made 401 hp and 396 tq. you could acheive your target power N/A.

:iagree:

So you want 300WHP, obvious choice is an EVO like you said, Maxima or any other car would be great but sorry those cars aren't going to see 300WHP as easily as an EVO, a Vishnu Stage 1 upgrade gets the EVO to 310WHP-320WHP, but earlier I think I discussed in your thread about the possibilities of getting an used EVO for $24K, well seems like the EVO is holding it's value better than I expected, and I already have had to re-adjust my goal from under $25,000 to under $27,000. So yeah I think that just leaves the WRX and SRT-4, but I must admit the Altima has been impressing me, saw one with Exhaust, Intake, and some other goodies running 13.6-13.8 1/4 miles time, impressive (No Nos). Still can the Altima hang with WRX and SRT-4 in all around performance, or is it just a fast family car?

Can I just ask why FWD only? I mean, I drive a 220 horsepower FWD car, and it's fun as hell at times, but torque steer's a bitch, I can't imagine how horrible it would be with 300. RWD is a much better performance platform, and I'll take RWD in the snow over FWD, it's easier to regain control if you start to slide in a RWD car, I'm in Kansas, your winter's aren't much worse than ours and I've driven 5.0 Mustangs in the snow and ice no problem.

srt or maybe a 2gen eclipes

i would say 1st gen AWD DSM or subaru 2.5RS(I drove a freinds turbod 2.5 awhile back ago and man that thing was fun :iceslolan )

if u need FWD... uhh I guess maybe a CRX... really light, big after market and you can pic one up for not too much.. ffs, I know a guy who one in nice condition for 100bucks! lol :lol: