Best stock J-car under 2500 pounds? (cheap & used)

[WayOutCat]

japanese cars under 2500 pounds, rated for power, handling, in short, FUN!

trying to stay under $5,000.

your favorites?

[kman10587]

There are hardly any cars on the road today that weigh less than 2500 lbs, so that's gonna be tough. Your best bet for that price is probably one of the many turbo Chryslers and Dodges that were recommended in the other thread. If there's one thing they have a lot of, it's torque. The handling is quite good, almost all of them weigh under 3000 lbs, and they're cheap and reliable.

[kfoote]

The only car I can think of that's Japanese, under $5000, and under 2500 lbs stock is a Miata.

[clawhammer]

Or a highly modded CRX

[NISSANSPDR]

Civic Hatch, Civic CRX, MR2 1st Gen, Miata

[kfoote]

Originally Posted by clawhammer

Or a highly modded CRX

A highly modded, or even slightly modded CRX is not stock.

[WayOutCat]

thanks all.

and yes, Kman, i will test drive a dodge or chrysler sometime soon... i am not dead set on Japanese cars. open minded am i! : )

by the way, what do you think sets Mopar apart from the other American companies? why is their handling better?

[clawhammer]

Originally Posted by kfoote

A highly modded, or even slightly modded CRX is not stock.

Sorry, didn't know you wanted it stock.

[kman10587]

WayOutCat: I never said that the turbo Mopars were the best-handling American vehicles, but you don't want a Camaro or Mustang because they weigh close to or more than 3000 lbs. As far as lightweight, sporty FWD compacts go, the turbo Mopars are very capable. Good chassis balance, good suspension setup, nice powerband from the torquey turbo, and good braking.

[Jimster]

Originally Posted by kman10587

There are hardly any cars on the road today that weigh less than 2500 lbs, so that's gonna be tough. Your best bet for that price is probably one of the many turbo Chryslers and Dodges that were recommended in the other thread. If there's one thing they have a lot of, it's torque. The handling is quite good, almost all of them weigh under 3000 lbs, and they're cheap and reliable.

But how many of them are still going to be reliable (Aka have been looked after). If they're Americans are anything like Europeans, then most turbo cars from that era would be in bits by now.


I'd say go for a Honda Civic, so much to work from, endless possibilities etc.

[JekylandHyde]

"japanese cars under 2500 pounds, rated for power, handling, in short, FUN!"

1988 or 1989 Supercharged MR2.

[WayOutCat]

yeah, i've looked into MR2s... and civics.

Kman, how did Mopar pull ahead of other domestics in all these categories? why did they manage it and the others didn't? and why hasn't the word gotten out to people like me who are open minded but have been driving imports simply because they're usually better?

i'm honestly curious! if all that looked sarchastic, it wasn't meant to be!!

[kman10587]

Refer to post #9, I already answered that question.

Jimster, I have no idea how reliable they are, but Polygon says that they are very reliable if taken care of properly. But I see your point, finding a turbo car from the 80's that has been properly maintained.

[nbw]

there are allot of cars from the 80's that will meat your needs. From 1st gen mr2's to 1st gen rx7's to just about any honda. also worth noting the mazda mx5/miata, sentra se-r's and iirc the early ACR Neon coupes where just shy of 2500lb's

[Layla's Keeper]

The 80's turbo Mopar K-cars had very good reliability so long as the owner kept after the oil changes. My little brother Ian owns a 1986 Dodge 600ES convertible with 75,000 miles on it and the worst engine problem its had is a broken timing belt at 69,000 miles.

The fundamental strength of the K-cars was their simplicity. The engine was a single overhead cam, iron block, iron head, siamese port design with a big stroke crank that was originally designed to run on piss poor 1978 vintage unleaded gas. They were deadbolt solid economy engines with plenty of torque - a perfect candidate for turbocharging.

The suspension was very simple, too. Beam axle rear and strut front. The chassis "tuning" for these cars (vis a vis - Carroll Shelby) consisted of ultra-stiff springs, big sway bars, and very meaty Goodyear Gatorback tires. The best of the best for the K-cars - the Omni GLH-S - wore 195/50-15's. That's serious rubber on a 2400lbs car.

They rode like buckboards, were ungodly loud, and had heavy Macleod clutches without hydraulic assist, but the GLH Omnis pulled a solid .9g's on the skidpad and dashed through 100ft slaloms at well over 60mph. To quote Road & Track magazine, the Omni GLH is the world's #1 cock it, lock it, ready to rock it, finger in the socket, full-time pocket rocket.

Amen.