First off, for lack of a better word, I'm using "haters" to describe the group of people I'm talking about as I can't think of anything that would describe this group without being overtly insulting. You know who you are, I'm not naming names, but here's the deal:
1. Do not tell me how to spend my money. If I want to mod my car, nothing you say will change my mind. Until you are personally handing me the money that I will be using to purchase something, you have no say in how I spend my money, whether I earn it from working, get it for a holiday, or just get cash from my parents.
2. Don't give me shit for wanting to mod my car. Here's the way I see it. I'm 16 (not 12) turning 17 this Friday, May 6th. Now, I can spend some money modding my car to make it a more enjoyable driving experience for me, because guess what, I'm driving the car. Not you. All this shit about saving my money to get a car that is "faster" stock is getting on my nerves. Consider the following:
Job or not, income as a teenager is not exactly enough to buy a new or used car, especially one that is "fast" stock (such as a MS3 or MS6).
I will be starting college Fall of 2012 which means I will graduate Spring of 2016. For what i want to do (Aerospace/Aeronautical Engineer), while I will likely end up moving back to Colorado, I will pretty much need to go to graduate school as well as regular undergrad studies, which will likely happen out of state.
Once I have graduated, 5+ years from now, closer to 7 or so if I do graduate work, I still won't exactly be making big bucks when I get my first job. Still not enough to be able to buy a "fast" car and be able to say I can afford it and I am spending money wisely. It will be a few years before anything like this happens.
Now until then, I'll take what I can get as a car. Yes, obviously ever teenager has their dream car. Obviously, if I had the choice, I would be driving around in my cousin's dad's Ferrari 360 Spider or a Lotus. But that isn't happening. So I'm happy with my Mazda. That's not to say there isn't room for improvement though. The way I see it, it'll be at least 15 years before I can reasonably afford a "fast" stock car, so if I want to spend some money to get parts for my car to make it faster, then I'll do it. Look at you guys. You spend money making these "fast" cars faster. Bigger turbos, intakes, exhaust, etc etc.
So until you want to give me all this money you seem to think is growing in my backyard and my magical money tree that was planted by a freaking leprechaun that actually isn't there, don't tell me how to spend my money.


And as for my new engine, well here's the deal with that.
My car is not something my parents bought me when I turned 16. It's not a car my sister got when she was 16. We've had the car for over 5 and a half years. Not quite since it was new, but pretty damn close. I know how the miles that are on the car were put on the car. I know how the car was maintained. Yes, the engine is going out, probably because I drive aggressively when I shouldn't be so aggressive. I don't try to pretend I am the most wonderful teenage driver you have ever seen, but 9 months without an accident is more than I can say about a lot of the people I know.
Anyways, as for the engine, well I can get one for about $2500, and then pay someone to install it for a few hundred more. I'm probably looking at no more than $3750 ideally or $4000 if it gets there. So what does that mean? Well, when a car is paid off, it means that it's the wise investment. My family could either spend $4k to keep a car that we've owned most of it's life running and running well, or we could take our chances spending twice as much on a car that might end up breaking down a few months after we buy it. So any money spent on repairing the engine will not be spent rebuilding the current engine, it will not be spent buying a new car, it will not be spent on a v6 swap. It will be spent buying another remanufactured 2.3L 4 cyl engine for it. So again, unless you wanna go give me the money to buy that Acura 3.2 CL-S I really want, again don't tell me how to spend my money.


I'd like to just say, I swear to god if I get any more shit from people about wanting to mod my car after this post, I might just have to punch you in the face next time I see you whether I've talked to you in person before or not.

mod your car however you like. its your car do whatever the hell you want to do with it. some people might like it some might hate thats the fact of life.

hell, id rock pink rims on one side and purple rims on the other just cause "I" think its looks cool. if anyone hates, ****em. then again this is coming from a typical fc owner that beats the shit out of their car lol

^^^ Love the signature quote

Learjet45 wrote:I'd like to just say, I swear to god if I get any more shit from people about wanting to mod my car after this post, I might just have to punch you in the face next time I see you whether I've talked to you in person before or not.

Don't mod your car.

erod550 wrote:Don't mod your car.

You're such a ****ing prick. You spend your money on all these "fast" cars. '09 Speed3 to a 2011 Mustang... Seriously, if you wanna tell people how they can spend their money, then feel free to give me the money that I'll be spending. Then and only then can you actually have some sort of input on what happens with my money. Until then, **** off, grow up, and don't be a douche.

x2. Don't mod your car. I'm 6'5", 240lbs. Good luck punching me in the face.

No, in all seriousness, do whatever you want to your car. None of us really cares, I promise. Or, the ones who do have way too much time on their hands. Much of the advice you're going to get from those of us who have a few years (or decades-I'm 35) on you have been down this road more than once. Most of us get what it was like to want to sink money into a car that wasn't the best option to build just because it was what we had available. Financially, modding that car isn't the best bang for your buck. Frankly, saving or college would be the best bang-modding is a lousy investment and that rarely stops anyone. So, 2 pieces of advice:

1. Don't go crazy modding it. Spend a few hundred on parts that make you happy and call it a day. You won't see much gain on engine mods as compared to turbo cars. You'll see bigger benefits from suspension. A good set of shocks and an alignment may not be sexy, but they'll transform the way the car drives. Throw in a set of springs if you want something other people can see. Watch Craigslist and the forums for a set of wheels if you want to do that. I've had really good luck finding great deals on good wheels. Ask someone who knows what they're talking about to check out any used parts with you while you're still learning cars.

2. Grow a thicker skin. There are plenty of people out there who will give you a hard time just for fun and you'll always run into at least a few on any forum. You'll get better at dealing with this as you get more life experience, but the sooner you learn to not react the better your life will be. You're going to look young and inexperienced to people like me that have been doing this a long time, and that's OK. I look young and inexperienced to the 60 year old guys in my Bronco club. They've got lots to teach me and I try hard to be smart enough to shut up and learn. That wasn't always the case. If you put your thoughts about what you're doing on any forum, expect feedback about them. Some of it will be useful, lots won't. All of it is just opinion, some with more experience than others.

The reality is that it makes more sense to buy a fast car than it does to build one. It's cheaper and nearly always drives better because manufacturers and zillion dollar design budgets and you don't. Yours will never be spectacularly fast and I'm OK with that because I know how much of a lousy driver I was when I was 17. LOTS of stupid decisions including putting a modded CRX Si into a concrete barrier when I was 19 because I was intentionally sliding the rear end on a freeway on-ramp. That said, enjoy your car. You're lucky to have a nice one and it sounds like you're also lucky to have support from your family in keeping it on the road. Make sure they know you appreciate it. If they're going to drop 3+ grand on your car, take them out to dinner.

Learjet, I hear ya. Hey, we have a lot of strong personalities here, that's kind of what makes it fun/interesting, even with some occasional friction. Once you realize cars and driving are more than A-to-B for you, there are so many different directions you can go, and about as many opinions about what to do, how to do it, whether to do it, blah blah blah. Each of us has to plot our own course through it all. The best we can do is listen appreciatively to any advice others share, then make our own decisions anyway. Haha, I think getting a 2nd gen MZ3 has given me many opportunities to grow a thicker skin, though I'm still amazed how much negative (and also positive) attention it gets from folks driving down the opposite lane, or on foot. Anyway, it's all relative. If you live in the flatlands, maybe powertrain is where it's at. If you live in the foothills, maybe it's more about suspension/brakes on any given mile of road. Maybe your goal is to get it to 200K without (another) major rebuild so you can enjoy it while also focusing on getting life stuff done.

BTW, total sympathy over the engine stuff. In my mind, you've got to have at least one solid car in reserve before you dive headlong into performance mods, but I lack the experience/confidence/garage to be anything but paranoid/careful. Rebuilt engine sounds completely sensible, if you're going to go to the expense of pulling an engine, might as well put a known-condition solid one back in. I figure if (heh, when) my Honda's gives up the ghost, I'll just go with a good engine, then put the old one on a workbench and get busy learning.

Dude, I seriously could not possibly care less about what you spend your money on. I also never said you should go out and buy a 20-30k car. I was only making a suggestion that instead of spending several thousand on a turbo kit that you use that to put down on a car that bone stock will be faster and a ton more reliable.

And I only said don't mod your car here because of the statement that you will punch anyone who disagrees with you in the face. You want people to treat you like an adult and then you say something like that. And you are obviously taking stuff way too personally. So lighten up and mod your car however you want. Just be smart about it. Like Justin said, we've all been there and wasted money on cars that weren't worth it. Just trying to give suggestions so you don't waste as much money as we did.

This is the Internet... You just have to ignore people and don't take things too seriously. What are you doing up at 2am anyway? LOL.

Saw Fast Five at 10:40 Got home at like 1:30.

Let me just say this. Maybe you guys think I'm wasting money, but I don't see it that way.

First... not to come off rude but you did ask for advice. The great thing about this club is that people will give it, but it may not mesh up with what you want to hear. You just deal and move on.

Second... a lot of people have done the ridiculous mods to their cars and have great advice. It IS in your best interest to listen to them because they've been down that road before and want to save you from any hassel you may have to encounter.

Third... you are sixteen going on seventeen. Quite frankly, your priorities shouldn't be on a car, but on school and whatever else. Invest in your education that will carry you through life versus investing a ton of money into a car that will realistically only last you another 5 or so years if you're lucky.

BTW... don't make threats if you want to be taken seriously. And don't think you can threaten me because I am Italian... and I'm feisty and you'd be hard pressed to take me down.

This is advice and if you don't want to take it, fine. But don't get mad at us for giving it when we want you to choose a better direction than the one you're thinking of. It's for your sake, not just to hear ourselves talk.

erod550 wrote:Don't mod your car.

Bwuhahaha!! I was waiting for someone to say it after reading the OP's initial post.... on a larger/national website (since I'm a former Subie guy, Nasioc comes to mind), there would have been page after page of flaming...

erod550 wrote:Dude, I seriously could not possibly care less about what you spend your money on. I also never said you should go out and buy a 20-30k car. I was only making a suggestion that instead of spending several thousand on a turbo kit that you use that to put down on a car that bone stock will be faster and a ton more reliable.

And I only said don't mod your car here because of the statement that you will punch anyone who disagrees with you in the face. You want people to treat you like an adult and then you say something like that. And you are obviously taking stuff way too personally. So lighten up and mod your car however you want. Just be smart about it. Like Justin said, we've all been there and wasted money on cars that weren't worth it. Just trying to give suggestions so you don't waste as much money as we did.

+1

OP, the majority of times on forums, people aren't trying to put you down or discourage you, but instead share their knowledge based on experiences. With that said, for someone who has been modding cars for a long time, take my word for it, if you have a certain goal in mind (power specifically), it is generally cheaper in the long run to buy the "faster" version of a car.

Don't get me wrong, you can turbo anything, but when comparing 2 cars like the Mazda 3 & the MS3, sure you can turbo the Mazda 3, but you're lacking a gear (5MT vs 6MT), the internals aren't as strong, the clutch won't hold up as well, it doesn't have a LSD (harder to put power down), no DI (pro and a con LOL), suspension isn't as stiff, brakes aren't as big, ect. Yes, you can upgrade all of these things on a regular 3, but in the long run, it would cost you more money than it would to just buy a MS3. Not to say you're in the position, but those of us who have been (speaking from personal experience), understand this, and typically just want to share that information with you in order to avoid you spending lots of cash on a car, when it would be cheaper to buy the "faster car" in the long run.

Beyond that, I echo what Erod550 said, no one cares what you do with your car... it's not anyone else's money. Realize that, and don't take a personal when someone tries to give you their own subjective point of view. Take it with a grain of salt and move on. I didn't read the entire other thread, but I think I understand most of the members here enough to realize they weren't trying to "hate" on you, just offer advice based on experience. Take it or leave it.

If you plan to spend a lot of time of forums (lord knows I spend too much time talking to reprobates like these guys online haha!), learn to not take things so personally. It's not personal, it's just the Intarwebs

I think the main point was that recon, honestly retorted to a little child and insulted him for no reason.
Honestly, this whole thread could have been avoided if noone was imature in a dyno day thread.
So, he wants to spend 70$ on his car to see what HP it makes - who cares.

Are you his parents? No.

I'm in the same boat as everyone else, I spent a lot of money on my past RX-7s when I was 18+. I know where you guys are coming from, but honestly, he's a teen. He's not going to listen and want to do his own thing. When he gets older he'll see where we're coming from.

But you guys flaming him in the other thread was totally uncalled for, and if you think you're mature - act your age. No reason to stoop so low in that thread. This just needs to be dropped.. End of story.

edit:
cause i can't read s/n's well .. sorry ronin

Christi,

Brandon didn't post in the dyno thread.