Top tuner car?

We're looking for a car that has tons of potential, is not old/outdated enough to make life uncomfortable behind the wheel, and has a huge aftermarket, as well as holds the title as number one tuner car among young drivers.

Examples:

The Mustang 5.0, or later models
The DSM Eclipse/Talon
The Honda Civic (If you name a Civic, please identify the model/year)
The Jetta, or the Golf

Anything else?

Again, we're not looking for top-secret sleepers or cars that are too expensive for your average tuner to buy (That then excludes the EVO and the STi). We're looking for the village bicycles that were produced in huge numbers and everyone and their brother wants to tune.

Foxbody Mustang. Cheapest to make fast. Car itself isn't all that expensive either.

Mustang 5.0 LX

Weighs less than a GT (I think) and is easy to make fast.

DSM's are cheap, fast cars, but they suffer reliability problems......at least the ones that i've seen!

if you're looking for straight line performance, the 5.0 will be the best on the list you mentioned, cheap fast and great aftermarket. for the twisties, it could be good but other cars will outperform it there, go for a light little rwd japanese or german car, they're great, pretty wick, light, and reliable. is this gonna be a daily driver or just a race purpose car

Actually we're looking at a car more for track events, to produce a limited number of tuned versions, but also remaining a daily driver and keeping the price low.

if you're looking for a huge aftermarket and tons of potential you should look at the jdm supercars like rx-7, supra or acura/honda nsx

if you're looking for a huge aftermarket and tons of potential you should look at the jdm supercars like rx-7, supra or acura/honda nsx

nsx?? since when

the nsx doesnt have a very big aftermarket at all, and the amount of people that tune them are limited... pretty much only the younger croud wants to tune them and in general, they cant afford it...

if you're looking for a huge aftermarket and tons of potential you should look at the jdm supercars like rx-7, supra or acura/honda nsx

the RX-7 is a good car, IF you know how to work on rotary engines.

Why would you suggest an NSX? They are at least $50k+ even for the older ones... kind of a rip-off... :rolleyes:

The RX-7 is too expensive to buy and maintain, especially since those in the know on rotary engines are few and far between. Not only that, but who wants to have to pay 3 grand everytime some little bits of plastic break inside the rotor housings?

I have driven and frankly am not so nuts about the NSX. It's price tag is a little too high for the performance it offers.

How about a Neon SRT-4? You can get one brand new for around $20k or less, or you can buy a used one. Probably one of the "best bang for the buck" cars out there right now. With a few minor mods, you can make that car pretty fast.

E36 BMW 3-series would work too, and there is just as big of an aftermarket for the non-M3's as the M3's.

I would get a DSM cause my friend got on a couple months ago and its pretty fast.

In my state of mn most tuner cars are civics and neon really sucks i hate them so much because there slow still.

How about a Neon SRT-4? You can get one brand new for around $20k or less, or you can buy a used one. Probably one of the "best bang for the buck" cars out there right now. With a few minor mods, you can make that car pretty fast.
I would. too bad the neon is probably the WORST compact car you can buy IMO (and most of other peoples IMO too).

So if you want cheap, low 1/4 mile times, Mustang, all the way. But I prefer the Texas backroads so out of that list, I'd take a 91 CRX HF weighing in at about 1900 lbs. I'd put some money into the motor, hit the 200 mark, and put 2000 or so in suspension and I'd have a car that handles like a go-kart and would be a blast to drive.

Sorry didn't know how else to write to audio guy so I'm just adding to the thread here.

I'm hoping you truly have a HOnda del Sol 1993. My boyfriend has that model car and I'm trying to purchase a blade carbon fiber racing wing for him for Christmas. I'm already running behind since it is a special order item. HIs car is sitting in a garage far away from me right now as well (otherwise I'd go out and measure the darn thing...grrr).

The wing I want is 59" long but goes 43" bolt-bolt length. Is that too long for bolt - bolt length. Also, is 59" too wide against the car width itself? I don't want something that looks stupid b/c this thing is over 500 bucks. It claims to be universal.

My other option is a 56" long wing that goes 33.5" in bolt-bolt length.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE help me!!!!!
THanks for your time.
IF you click on Profile you can email me directly. It's this s/n w/ aol at the end. Hope you get that. THanks!

back to topic...
civic- any hatchback. try to get a CX. why? cause the CX is literally just the car. no air, no radio. no nothing. stripped down and saves you time. swap a B series motor in there and your set with some good mods. this kind of car would be a auto cross thing. setup a nice suspension and your cool
if you want to turbo it, get an RX-7. the older gens like 89s take great boost, and you can't really blow the motor unless you REALLY try. its hard.
DSM motors are ok, but those shits are heavy as all hell. but the stock turbo is always a plus cause you could upgrade. anyway, good luck with whatever you pick.
civic imo would be the cheapest and has most aftermarket support.

Dodge Spirit Es Turbo 5speed or just a spirit R/t. But the cars u listed i would go with DSM

Shit I wish I had a CRX to drop my motor into, that would be a scary ass ride. How much do they weight? Im at 2950 with driver

no one mentioned the Nissan 240SX, and i kind of feel its an underdog. but it has RWD, handles beautifully, and even though its not the fastest car in stock form you can get the JDM SR20DET turbocharged motor for about two grand. that will make the thing FLY!

Ok first off im tired of the domestics are cheaper than import bs how fast we talking cause the second range can be reached very easily in some fwd 4 bangers. The first thing is that its not really that cheap when you get into building a fox body yeah the aftermarket is there but once you get to about the low 12's high 11's pushing it alot on all motor, you need juice or boost to drop it anymore and that is expensive as shit. Second i deal with alot of nmra drag racers every day and ive been to a few fun ford events and they break parts very easily trannys, drive shafts, and so forth (then again 500+ hp and 450+tq isnt a good combo for the stock drive shaft. im not getting into the rundown of price break down.

My second thought is tht any older civic body is extremely light and pretty easy to tune, considering a car that weighs less than 2200-2500lbs would be pretty easy to make fast with less hp. Hence the skunk2 rsx mid 9's with 1700lbs and 315hp, yeah let me see a domestic break the 12's with 300hp, mind you this is all motor. Swap and h22 in a civic eg6 hatch aftermarket is huge and these are, torque monsters among import motors and are boost happy. Rx7's, supras, any other japanese street destroyer fast from the factory but expensive to make faster and even more expensive to buy the damn thing, then again no on expects a little hatch to beat up a tt supra.

Now for the nsx the reason those cars are so much is that they are and achievment in modern cars, aluminum hand made body, a 3 liter that can rev up to numbers only seen in a ferrari, and the first variable valve system to be mass produced in the us. This is back in 91 this car could beat most domestics of this time stock, and now. There is aftermarket support but you have to know where to look they dont advertise it as much cause there not as comon as civics, and other imports.

The 240 is a great car sr20det, you can even fit a skyline motor in it if you can afford it. Now my tuner car would be an integra or and ealier 2 door accord 90-93 best body style my opinion. Drop and h23block/h22 head bump up the internalls and push about 10psi you should be able to run in the 12's maybe even 11's no one expects a soccer mom car to run fast.

i have a 1994 honda civec dx hb with a spooner engine it's a tight car really fast
I just got a 1990 mitsubishi eclipse GTS any thoughts on that

Civic HAS the largest aftermarket.and is cheapest PERIOD.

take taht back the 240 is also a nice choice with plenty of potential

I'd say build the car you want to drive.

And never listen to anybody that tells you what you "need" to do and hasn't outperformed you in what you wish to accomplish.

In this case, I wouldn't listen to anybody that traps slower than you.