Cheap Street Racer

So i got an interview for a job this weekend, and im sure ill get the job. I want to get a car that is cheap, fast, blah blah blah, the same thing every kid wants. Id prefer something RWD. I considering the typical ef/eg hondas, da integra, vw corrado, etc... and im also considering getting a bike (yamaha FZ6). I have a old explorer too, so if i really need to haul stuff i got that, but getting 12 mpg isnt cutting it any more, i need an alternate source of transportation. What do you guys think? I just want something cheap and fast, i dont care what it looks like, how popular/pretty it is, i dont care about having JDM shit on it. just performance. gutted, roll cage, solid motor mounts, something fast, uncomfortable, impracticle, but fun.

Reccomendations?

What kinda price-range?

a couple grand to start with, lets say 4g's tops.

Hard to find something "fast" for that kind of money.

which is why im considering the bike too. i do know a lot about cars, so i know im not gonna be runnin 12's on 4g's but i just wanna hang with the local cars, just be able to go out, and not be afraid to throw 50 bucks on a race.

im thinking of either getting a ef/eg and doing a homemade turbo setup on the single cam. or just getting the bike.

I'd go with the bike.

The only RWD drive cars I can think about for the price range and performance you want would be the Fox body Mustang GT, 1980s early 90s F-body, Crown Victoria or Dodge Daytona IROC. As for FWD cars with good performance and even more promise with tuning would be the Beretta GTZ or Neon ACR. You can also always look for a 1991-94 Subaru Legacy GT or Eagle Talon TSi.

street racing and getting arrested for street racing is a great way to get fired from your new job.

i think it depends where you live cause when i was looking for a car i found a firebird formula for 4k with 100k miles on it

i live in socal. i was thinking of getting a V8 of some kind, but i need something that gets decent gas mileage too.

Look at the other posts that are identical to yours. There is no car out there that is cheap, fast, reliable, good gas mileage, easy on insurance and a good beginner car all in one.

So 12mpg isn't cutting it, but you want a gutted daily driver with a rollcage?

No offense, but you're 17, congrats on the job and all, but stick with something cheap and reliable, and not balls to the wall fast. Give yourself more time behind the wheel. For a rollcage to even be required you need to be in the 11s or 10s...and there is no need for a 17 year old to be behind the wheel of a car that fast. I know you think you are more than experienced enough to handle it. Guess what, so does the other 99.99% of kids your age

Save some money, insurance, speeding tickets, and possibly your life, and stick witha Honda for awhile.

take it easy and make sure you got the job first. pass probation and once settled in the job, then get th car.

I know you're excited, but I think a 15s car is fast for a 17yo.

But to suit ur criteria, get a 250cc bike, it will be mroe than enough.

What kind of fast are you talking about? In a streight line either the Camaro or the Mustang. Cornering and drifting get an older 240SX.

Just get an older 5.0L Mustang, save up drop a crate engine it maybe a new rear end, suspention and tires. The 5L Mustang is cheap and light, it's a lot lighter than a supra, 300zx, 350z. This is obviolsy if its drag racing.

arent we forgetting something here!?!??! 240sx!

What kind of fast are you talking about? In a streight line either the Camaro or the Mustang. Cornering and drifting get an older 240SX.

I bought a 5spd 240sx when I was 18 and thought I was going to race and drift and everything and it never happened. But it handles like a dream even if it is slow. The turbo owners will argue with me but turbos are expensive too. I still enjoy driving it now because it's agile and 9 out of 10 times RWD is faster than FWD. :evillol:

But if you want the bike, get the bike, I wanted the 240 and got what I wanted, know what I mean?

9 out of 10 times RWD is faster than FWD. :evillol:


B.S.
And its exactly that attitude that has deprived North America from some quite amazing FWD chassis's.

Name some.

Yeah, I have to say....how many FWD chassis are better than a RWD one? For every great FWD car, you can name at least 2-4 great RWD ones.

Personally, I think FWD is retarded for anything other than safety and rallying.

Name some.

Heres a short list:

Nissan Pulsar GTi, VZ-R, SSS, Sentra SSS, Primera GT.
Honda Civic EF6 and EF9, EG6, EK6 and EK9 (SiR, VTi-R, Type R).
Honda Accord Type R, Euro R, SiR.
Alfa Romeo's (a whole pile of them).
Several Generations of Toyota Corrolla GT's
Mitsubishi Mirage Cyborg/GSR.
Pugeot 206 and 306 GTi.
Lotus Elan.


All, very agile, extremly capable FWD chassis's, all will handle as well as a 240sx, and several of them will easily out perform it. But none of them are avliable in the US, or ever have been.


RWD is useful on a drag strip, which is about as boring as motorsport can get utill you start playing with more than 1,000hp.
RWD is useful for drifting, which would be almost as exciting as figure skating if the drivers wore lots of tight fitting lycra.
Its useful in F1 and other high end forms of motor sport where you are playing very high HP numbers 3-400+.
In a very light weight chassis it can help improve steering feel. By light weight I mean Lotus Elise.

But the idea, that RWD is some inheriently superior to FWD is just ignorant.
Iv driven some very rewarding RWD chassis (a number of Lotus cars, Maseratti's, BMW's, Toyota MR2s etc etc) and Iv also driven some very rewarding FWD chassis's (Hondas, Toyotas, Lotus Elan, Nissans etc), and all of them were lots of fun to drive, provided huge levels of control and grip and generaly put a huge smile on my face.
They all did things a little differently, and had thier own handling quirks, but none were superior to simply because of which set of wheels had power directed to them.

but you also have torque steer when you get a high hp fwd car.

but you also have torque steer when you get a high hp fwd car.
Actually a high torque engine leads to more torque steer. A 1.6L FWD with 160 hp but only 115 ft/lb wont develop as much torque steer as a 160hp/180ft.lb V6 engine for example, or a V8 for that matter. Most of the cars Moppie listed aren't really torque monsters.

but you also have torque steer when you get a high hp fwd car.

Torque steer is a result of cheap chassis design, and cost cutting.
Even a poorly set up RWD can suffer torque steer, but from the wrong end.

FWD chassis are designed with less performance and/or power in mind, where RWD chassis all have performance and power in mind. Trucks are another story, they're usually plain when rear wheel drive. Maybe this wasn't true in the muscle car days but it is now for modern car makers.

Then there's
Mazda's first FWD sports car, the CX-7. Turbocharged 240 hp, like you said very capable but it brings me to another question, who would make a fwd sports car? Plus, it looks like, no, it IS an SUV. Maybe they're trying to rebel or something.

You forgot to mention Saabs, which are really nice but that's one car maker.

BOTTOM LINE:
The 240 is a good choice and so is the 250cc bike. You will have a hard time trying to find a fast fwd for that amount of money, period.

I agree with alot of people here. Hope it doesn't sound like we're ranting, but yeah a 17 doesn't need a 12s car. Sure we all wanted Porsches, Skylines, and the like when we were 17, and guess what I am 24 and I still want them. But I am glad I didn't get a fast car when I was 17 because even though I thought I was the shit behind the wheel I wasn't.

If you want some fast fun, go to a track, if you want to push a car a little, go to a stunt driving school. Get a feel for what cars can do, take a few more years; it'll make such a huge difference.

Oh yeah, get a 240sx if you want a fast, cheap car.

FWD chassis are designed with less performance and/or power in mind, where RWD chassis all have performance and power in mind.


What a pile of waffely Bull Shit.
Are you trying to tell me that a Chevy Caprice was designed with performance in mind, while an Alfa Romeo 147 GTA was designed with economy and comfort in mind?

Ill say it again, its exactly that sort of ignorance that has kept some very nice FWD chassis designs out of North America.

Go out and actualy drive some cars, get some experiance before you start spouting off of other peoples ignorant opinions.

And Mazda has been building FWD sports cars since the 80s when they built turbo charged versions of the 323/familia and 626/cappela coupe.
The CX-7 is nothing that new to them.


There is no such thing as a really cheap performance car, but there are lots of good places to start.
A 240sx is a good start, altough the engine is a huge let down compared to what the chassis is capable of.
A Honda Civic or CRX is also a great start, although the soft fluffy US spec suspension needs to go before they become lots of fun, and again the engine is a bit of a let down.

At 17, in the end, it dosn't really matter. Unless you have gown up with exposure to some really nice cars, and spent lots of time in entry level motorsport your not really goind to notice much of a difference between cars, and your still not experianced enough to form an opinion of what is best for you and your style.

So just go and buy what ever you can afford, that you also feel comfortable in. Thrash the shit out of it, and try something different when it dies.

Now you know I don't want to fight with a mod, right? ya know intentionally? But caprices are cop cars, they need some serious performance. Even though they're not chase cars, they still need to be prepared.

My first car was a CRX so I took some offense to that 'go out and drive a fwd' comment.

and your still not experianced enough to form an opinion of what is best for you and your style.
Be nice

But caprices are cop cars, they need some serious performance.

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

FWD chassis are designed with less performance and/or power in mind, where RWD chassis all have performance and power in mind. Trucks are another story, they're usually plain when rear wheel drive. Maybe this wasn't true in the muscle car days but it is now for modern car makers.

Then there's
Mazda's first FWD sports car, the CX-7. Turbocharged 240 hp, like you said very capable but it brings me to another question, who would make a fwd sports car? Plus, it looks like, no, it IS an SUV. Maybe they're trying to rebel or something.

You forgot to mention Saabs, which are really nice but that's one car maker.

BOTTOM LINE:
The 240 is a good choice and so is the 250cc bike. You will have a hard time trying to find a fast fwd for that amount of money, period.

:screwy: I'm having a hard time understanding what you are saying...a 240sx in stock form is basically a secretary's car...it's underpowered, undersprung, underdamped and in general it handles okay, but doesn't have much of any power. On the other hand an Integra type r or gsr handles great and will kill a stock 240sx on the track and in the 1/4mile.

Tuning is why FWDs are boring to drive. Everyone seems to think of a civic or escort when you say fwd and a supra or skyline gts-t when you say rwd. The difference isn't nearly as obvious. Granted rwd is great fun, but if you want to drive hard on an unfamilar road or push your car hard on the street...a fwd is more predictable, less likely to snap oversteer and overall more controllable and easier to recover.

To the thread starter, I believe you are saying 4g is what you want to pay for the car and after that you will start to mod it, correct? If so, then a 240sx or other car that is undervalued because it has great potential might be a good car to start with. Plus, the stock limits are relatively low, allowing you to "grow" with the car as you improve the power and handling.

I wouldn't buy a motorcycle if you live in socal. It seems like you're just asking for someone to kill you unless you live away from a major city. Personally you seem like you would do better with something like what I've got...a nissan sentra b15: it's relatively quick, handles good for a fwd, good gas mpg (I get about 27-30 even if I flog it) and most parts are pretty cheap...especially since a lot of owners eventually sell the car (they want something faster) or upgrade to better parts. The demand for these parts is less than say a wrx or other "tuner" car because the sentra isn't always purchased by someone who wants to modify it. Despite the looks being a tad boring, the car has potential (especially the 00-01 SE with an sr20de and the spec v with a massively stroked qr25de).

The spec v is capable of high 14s in stock or almost stock condition which is less than a second off what a 02-03 wrx runs). The only downside is that 12s aren't possible without a turbo kit or a massive n/a buildup. The 2000-2001 SE has a better engine for boost than the spec v/ se-r.

I wanna know why you hate rwd so much

You know what, I'm not even gonna try to fight you because you're in your own little fwd world. Rear wheel drive feels more in control to me. Japan's nissan 180sx was faster than the also original type R. You know the story there right? Even still I'm not trying to defend my car because there' reasons I hate it but it's a good little car.

I wanna know why you hate rwd so much



Who the hell ever said anything about hating RWD?
I love RWD, just as much as I love FWD, or for that matter any drive train layout.
They all have their own unique feel, but none is some how inherently superior to any other.

Superior handling and feel is all about chassis design and set up.
Iv driven some very VERY poor handling soft soggy RWD cars, but Iv also drive some of the worlds greatest, like wise with FWD cars.

What kind of soggy rwds? Something I should look out for?

What kind of soggy rwds? Something I should look out for?

Unlikely given we live in countrys with very different markets :)
But try driving some large 4 door family cars in your own market, then compare them with a Golf GTi, or an late model Si Civic, or Type R Integra.

Unlikely given we live in countrys with very different markets :)
But try driving some large 4 door family cars in your own market, then compare them with a Golf GTi, or an late model Si Civic, or Type R Integra.

My cousin has a brand new si so I could do that...now for the sedan...

I don't know if the new US spec Civic Si is anything to rave about, Iv heard some not good things about it. The old one should be lots of fun though

I don't know if the new US spec Civic Si is anything to rave about, Iv heard some not good things about it. The old one should be lots of fun though

What did you hear?

What did you hear?

That its soft and fluffy. But I wouldn't put to much weight on that, remember Iv never seen one, never likely to, and even access to a decent review of it is difficult, if not impossible with out importing a US mag at some expense.

just wondering moppie, but if you could build your own car, custom everything, no budget, no limit, would it be FWD or RWD? (those are your only choices)

It would depend on what side of the bed I got up on in the morning :)

It would depend on what side of the bed I got up on in the morning :)

lol thought so

Once again, I have to say it, get a Turbo Mopar. They are inexpensive, reliable, and quick.