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Looking for a hot car...
hey ive seen you answer some questions about cars, so i was wondering if you could give me some help.
i drive my moms car now(sadly), but im about to get my license. i was wondering if you knew of a car that was easily upgradeable(other than a honda), and had good room for a turbo/supercharger. i was also wondering what other upgrades i should get for this(I.E. short throw shifter, new shocks, etc). im looking in the 10-18k ($) price range for used. any help is appreciated.
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Want to answer more questions in the Technology category?
Maybe give some free advice about: Cars?
4 cylinders=bad low stroke no power no acceleration beyond 4000 RPM's
japanese= lightweight but no real power just a lot of noise
european= expensive repairs plenty of power and handling but still the most costly
american= your best bet for power, performance, and speed.
the cars you should look at are as followes
pontiac trans-am WS6 (2000- 2002)
lincoln mark VIII (93-95)
ford mustang GT (64 1/2-2006)
chevrolet camaro Z/28 or SS (67-70...95-2002)
chevrolet nova SS
chevrolet el camino SS (69-71)
pontiac ventura (67-73)
pontiac fiero (do a V8 swap with this one... it's a beast after that point)
ford thunderbird/mercury cougar (any year but the 80's and late 90's)
chevrolet chevelle SS
AMC javelin
AMC AMX
you will note that of these cars they're mostly musclecars/american tuning icons for a reason. i am not a fan of mopars and i'm not a fan of forced induction (it's expensive, and needs a lot of mathematics and timing to get it just right) i am also not a fan of front wheel drive. to quote the engineers at BMW (front wheel drive is the work of the devil) it's cheap, it's inefficient, it's prone to poor handling, and working on an engine in which everything is stacked on top of everything else is a chore.
japanese cars i suggest
nissan 300ZX turbo (1985-1989)
datsun 280ZX turbo (1983 same as 300 but cooler bodystyle)
toyota cressida (1989-1992)
toyota supra (1985-1995. they're all very overpriced though so good luck)
toyota celica all trac (any year you can find one)
toyota MR2 (1985-1995)
datsun 240Z (1974-1979)
all of the japanese cars i've suggested except the celica all trac have a 6 cylinder engine. the celica all trac has a 4. the difference is a 6 cylinder can do more and hit higher speed and not suffer from low stroke or low acceleration like the 4 bangers. again i don't like front wheel drive at all and all of these cars are rear drive or 4 wheel drive. much better in any situation where turning is important.
european cars i suggest
porsche 944 turbo (1986-1989 engines prone to overheating)
porsche 968 (any year)
porsche 924 turbo (1984-1985)
BMW 2002 TII (70's rally car foo)
alfa romeo GTV6 (1980's)
MG midget (70's super small coupe)
triumph TR6
peugeot 505 turbo (very fast practically bulletproof and cheap)
mercedes benz 190EII
mercedes benz 300SL (80's ones are cheap)
audi S4 (early 90's ones can be gotten at a decent price)
now with european makes and models you enter into a world where repairs can be expensive and hard to perform. the porsche's especially are plagued with this. they run a high pressure oil system and if there is a crack in that system you will need to patch it and fast. they also run on a timing belt that can't just be bought and replaced. it has to be serviced by a porsche technician and will cost you about $1000 to do. and the problem with upgrading the turbo in any of these cars is the RPM range the turbo kicks in at and the car's max horsepower RPM range. a car develops it's peak horsepower at a certain range and that's where it's at it's best. now if you install a turbo that starts boosting at a range too low or too high you will not get the best performance out of it and you'd have wasted your money. you have to calculate when and where your turbo should boost, when it should spool, how big the wastegate should be to lose the turbo exhaust and the downpipes to pipe the turbo into the engine. also there is the problem of buying a turbo that is too large (common mistake) the turbo is too big and cannot be spooled up and boost as it's not of a small enough size for the engine. i see nothing wrong with turbo when it's done right. but doing it right is a bitch and a half.
and the thing you need to know is when you buy a car beefing up the engine is the stupidest thing you can do to it. you need to first look at the suspension and brakes. if you beef an engine up to 400 horsepower but the car's brakes and suspension are left untouched you will kill your brakes prematurely. the springs will snap, and the tires will run bald. you need to first make your car able to handle the power before giving it the power. up the brakes, the coils, the coilovers, the control arms, the torsion bars, the sway bars, differential and transmission/driveshaft first before doing anything with the engine. the engine is the last thing you need to worry about. the first should always always be can the car handle the power i want to give it? you need to make sure that it can take it. i have nothing wrong with beefing up a car but it has to be done right. if not you will be paying the consequence of not doing the job properly. you can half ass a lot of things but cars should never be half assed. your best bet would be to buy one of the cars i listed (as they're only around 1-4 grand cash) and use the rest of your money to beef it up. just please don't kill your car like so many other "tuners" do . tune it right, do the job properly, and the rewards will be tenfold better than what would have happened otherwise. if you have any further questions ask me. i'm a mechanic, and i've been working on all sorts of cars since i was about 4.
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You're just about to get your drivers license - meaning u must be what... 15 16 yrs old?
And ya have a $18k 1st car budget... life must be good.
Buy yurself a used honda for $2k and put $16k in a savings account. Since this'll be yur 1st car... learn some driving techniques w/ a cheap used car, and tell your parents exactly that. They'll be like dayyamn, our lil boy really has matured. Then when yur ready for a real car in 2 years... hit your parents up for another $18k. That's the way to do it.
~Infamous Trump~
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Hello there,
If you are looking for "fast and furious" type advice, I am afraid I will not be much help. When it comes to horsepower I am the sort that likes a little steel to go with it. 69 Dodge Charger R/T 426 hemi supercharged, that sort of thing.
If you were going to go Nipponese, I would ask you to look into a mid 80's mid-engine Porsche (Your budget if you shop around) before you make up your mind.
Reasons? I have never seen an axle-shaft sheer on a Porsche. (wheel come flying off) (Something quite common in Japanese passenger cars that have a great deal of horespower added to them.)
Mid-engine layout improves stability.
All the parts are already high performance parts. The Porsche people in Germany know their stuff. The tests new models go through are the best I know of.
Example: Porsche tests their engines and drivetrain like so... There are two cities in Germany approximately 18 hours apart by way of a truly torturouse up-hill and down winding mountain infested nightmare of a road.
In the past, they would start by taking the cars out in person and, setting up replacement drivers at each fuel stop along the route, they would run the full 18 hour course full out at whatever speed the car would do stopping only for fuel/driver changes.
Today they save the false starts by testing the engine and transmission under load in a special test machine. The machine simulates the road conditions on the aforementioned run. They do 18 hours per test at an average of 120 mph. Non-stop.
Ask yourself this: would an Accura(honda)/Mitsubishi/etc be able to run 120 mph under uphill stresses for 18 continous hours? I doubt we have ever built a single production car in America that could do it.
This is the best part... When the test is complete, they dissassemble the engine, and if there is any serious bearing/ring/valve wear they re-engineer and run the test again with an improved motor.
Now wouldn't you like to know that the car you are driving could run 120 mph for 18 hours without showing visible signs of engine wear?
Ok, having said all that, here's the simple version:
1. Cheap.
2. Quality/reliable.
3. Fast.
You may only pick two. Do you get it?
Oh, you can go fast for cheap, but you will be fixing it all the time. If you are lucky enough to survive the parts falling off.
Dual turbo Porsche boxster will tear the doors off anything your friends have. And will still be able to in 20 years. Buuuttt... It isn't cheap.
Cheap and reliable. Yep, but not fast.
You see, most of the cars you are thinking of were never meant to go fast.
I have seen people doing customs on Neons! This is supposed to be a car that will get a schoolgirl to the mall after shool. I watched a video of some MORON running 140mph when the right front wheel sheered off and he became one with a retaining wall. Instant death. 17 years old, life over. Whammo.
If you run a p2p client, search for crash videos. There are quite a few where vital parts just fall off cars at speed.
I know this isn't the answer you wanted but it is what I have to offer.
You are about to get your license and you want to add a turbo-charger to something... You have basically nothing in the way of driving credentials at this time, correct?
Consider this: If you can keep your record pure for 5-10 years, then go for it. You MIGHT have the driving experience to handle what you want to drive. In that time you will be working up to more exotic vehicles. When you are ready to handle something that goes, you will be able to afford it.
Before you get into ANY street sports, NO MATTER WHAT, you MUST take an advanced driving course. Same thing the police take, or a stunt driving class.
Same thing for guns, until you know how to shoot you should try to avoid the .44 AutoMag. ;-)
You know, I just thought of something... There is now something that is fast safe reliable and cheap(ish): The volvo 744 Turbo Wagon.
Same 1/4 mile time as a Porsche 944 turbo. And by now the used ones should be inexpensive. If you think I am making a joke, I am not. I would be very pleased to own one of these. You would also be the only person you know that owned one. To the movies... Warp factor nine Mr. Sulu. :-)
If you want to get into something really interesting, look at euro style rally racing. See what cars they run. You are looking at a 1/4 mile, they are looking at 500-3000 miles for a single race. No Accura, no Neon... ;-)
Oh, I am quite fond of the Suburu WRX. It is designed as a rally car, and a damn fine one from all reports.
For 18k I would go for the used Porsche. It will do everything you want except haul more than two people. If you want to be able to haul a few friends and/or some stuff try the Volvo.
(Update) Just now had a call from a friend... He was where you are a few years ago. Wanted me to mention that unless you know how to do your own work, you can go through $10-12K just getting the engine re-built (mandatory for a quality turbo/supercharger install) and the transmission replaced. You'll gut the stock tranny if you put performance parts on the engine.
What he meant to say: It takes more money to make a grocery getter into a sports car than it does to buy a sports car.
Food for thought.
DangerNerd.
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