Used fairly inexpensive fun car?

[roninsoldier83]

i still say if you decide to sell the bimmer. and keep the money. put some sticky non rcomps on the miata with some TRc1 wheels. or go full JDM with it and watanabes
my miata is about 225rwhp and it faster than my old nco's intake/exhaust/chipped 335xi not by much, but i still inched him and it still weights quite a bit more than your miata. i bet if you got yours to 200rwhp (which is pretty easy and cheap in an NA) you would have all the speed you want and breakages are downright cheap compared to your previous cars except for maybe the dsm
with some interior help from redlinegoods and a set of good katskin seatcovers. and a stereo + headrest speakers. its down right nice in the interior I'm actually going through this now since my msm is my daily, im bringing the interior closer to BMW/audi/lexus quality
and get a really vanilla DD like a few people have suggested for a couple grand. something cheap slow and probably automatic will make the miata even more fun

just my opinion, but if i was in your situation, a powerful 2 seat roadster thats so nimble would be a perfect little fun car and escape from the daily boringness.

Right now the Miata is rocking a fresh set of Yokohama Advan Neova AD08 tires, which are about as close to R-comps as a set of street tires can be (ranked as "Extreme Performance Summer Tires"). I just put them on recently, and they're grippy as hell.

We're kind of thinking along the same lines, as I was going to aim for around the ~200whp mark with the Miata, and you're not lying, parts are dirt cheap for that car. Never in any other community I've been a part of have I seen such dirt cheap parts, full (non-eBay) turbo kits for sub-$2000 new, $1000-$1500 used.... PnP Standalones for $600 new.... full longblocks for sale for $600.... insane. Much of the appeal of the older NA Miata.

However, I think a car like the Civic Si is about as "vanilla" as I can live with as a daily haha! I would look at the older ones if most all of them weren't so abused/beat to sh*t. I can give up a lot in the power/handling department, but I have my limits haha! I also just can't bring myself to buy an auto... considered another older (AWD) DSM, but don't want to spend all of my time fixing one haha! It seems as though a lot of the "fun" cars that are practical enough to be daily drivers from the 90's seem to have cult followings, and demand more cash than I would be willing to pay for an older car (old Celica All Trac, Galant VR-4, 98-01 Impreza 2.5RS, ect).

Either way, I think I'm going to take a newer Civic Si for a spin tonight after work... I'll be sure you give my thoughts. I'm more curious than anything now...

[erod550]

SRT-4. Dirt cheap these days, strong and reliable, pretty quick with just a couple bolt-ons. Same thing as the Civic Si though, might be hard to find one that hasn't bean beat to shit.

[roninsoldier83]

Yea but the civic is still high-priced. I was checking them out and for the car...it's a lot of dough for what you get. Granted it will hold its value come time to sell it. Tit for Tat.

I would agree with that statement. Although cost of ownership is comparatively low... and as you mentioned, resale is high... I used to work in the car business, so trust me when I say that I wouldn't be paying what most people seem to be asking for them.

I don't know. Even if it's just for driving to work, I don't think I could own a boring plain jane car anymore. I have fun driving my Mustang to Walmart 3 miles away. Even if you only have a 2 second opening to punch it to get up to the speed limit quickly, it's still enough to put a smile on your face and make it worth it. It's why when I was looking for a beater I didn't just get a Civic for 2k. Sure it would get great gas mileage and be reliable, but I would hate every minute of driving it because it would be so freakin boring. At least in the Miata it handles great and I can drop the top so even though it is crazy slow it's still fun to drive.

I hear ya... and I agree, I think I do need to have a little bit of fun, which is why for a Civic, I'm looking at the Si as opposed to the 1.7L SOHC base model version with an open front diff.... it won't be anywhere close to fast, but that doesn't mean it can't be fun with the right driver on the right road(s) Even though they're not "fast", like I mentioned above, I've actually had a blast driving small cars like the MCS & RSX-S, as they're light, nimble, have close ratio gears mated to a smooth shifter, and just enough power to make them somewhat interesting.

Honestly, I do enjoy driving my Miata even though it's a gutless wonder. Although, assuming I keep it, it won't stay gutless for long

There's something rewarding about driving a slow car fast.... although, if I don't get laid off, and get the position I'm hoping to get, I'll eventually buy a house with a REAL garage to work on the Miata, which will be nice.

[roninsoldier83]

SRT-4. Dirt cheap these days, strong and reliable, pretty quick with just a couple bolt-ons. Same thing as the Civic Si though, might be hard to find one that hasn't bean beat to shit.

I just can't bring myself to do it... I've driven a few of the old Neon-based SRT-4's (and even the new Caliber SRT-4), and I just can't bring myself to like them. I've never thought they were very fun to drive lol... they have plenty of power, that's not the problem, but I don't care for the chassis or the lack of feedback from the wheel... and honestly, since it would be a daily, wouldn't want to mod it, trying very hard to get away from that, as in the past I was always paranoid something was going to break haha!

I know some people have made those cars into decent track cars that handle well for a FWD vehicle, but I could never bring myself to really like driving one, and like you mentioned hard to find one that's not beat to shit.

It may sound weird, but I've always preferred the Mini Cooper S over a MS3... the chassis just feels more lively, like it wants to be pitched around. The MS3 is faster, in both a straight line, as well as around corners.... but I still always preferred driving the MCS. It just felt more connected to me and put a huge smile across my face (similar to the feeling of pitching a slow Miata around haha!).... which is kind of how I feel about the old SRT-4. It's fast, but doesn't feel balanced and I never really enjoyed driving one. Granted, I prefer the MS3 over any SRT-4 by a pretty wide margin.... sometimes there's just an x-factor for someone like me that numbers can't describe. Whatever it is, the SRT-4 never had it haha!

[erod550]

Just saying, if the goal is to save money, they're cheaper than a MCS or MS3 will be, and be more fun to drive than a Civic.

[iani1.1]

is300...

[Dange]

i agree with ronin, while i respect the srt-4, my buddy has one that i love, the engine is awesome. but the interior is downright horrible, and the feel is about equal. without suspension work they just feel wallow-y and well like a neon that has an absurd amount of power to me. there is the fact they are EVERYWHERE. they are almost as bad as subarus and evos up here. plus they have that reputation so you can expect everyone and their grandma revving on you and trying to race you. a 1gen ms3 or mini cooper has the ability to fly under the radar when you want to.

MC-s is a blast to drive, as long as you get the turbo one. they do lack quite a bit of power stock but nothing an OTS tune and intake/exhaust wont fix to bring it almost on par with a stock ms3 i wanted one for so long till i saw the engine bay and what it took to get power out of. otherwise its a sexy looking car and handles better than any fwd should but you run into the issue its made by bmw, so you can expect to pay absurd prices for parts and maintenance

about the civic. i drove my buddies rsx-s a few times, while the insane revlimit and vtec is fun, the car was zippy it just got me missing my turbo all the more. because like the saying goes, vtec is like a bad turbo set up, all of the lag but none of the boost. but it would make a good economical daily driver, that is at least interesting to drive.

[roninsoldier83]

So, I test drove a Civic Si on the way home.... Damn you BMW!! Seriously, every time I drive another machine, I am just reminded how good my BMW is.

The Civic is off the list.

I forgot why I loved cars with a lot of positive caster.... the steering felt too floaty, not very connected to the road. The clutch was a lot "grabbier" than I'm used to, although it would just take time to adjust to.... I try to rev-match when downshifting, and forgot how short gears are on cars with narrow powerbands haha! Of course it felt slow, that part was expected, but I just didn't feel connected to it. I remember loving Honda's 6MT gearbox, but going from my BMW to the Civic, it just didn't feel as "solid", felt more "floaty".

As a matter of fact, nothing felt nearly as solid as my BMW... which, it costs half the price brand new, so that should be expected, but I was really disappointed. I could have forgiven a lot if the car at least felt more stable/not so twitchy, but at this point, it would be a really hard downgrade to make. It's sad as the car has electronic power steering, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't variable... which sucks, as the steering could have used a lot less of a boost at low speeds.

I suppose I need to check out another MS3 & MCS...

[chromal]

I think that floaty steering must be a standard feature across the civic line. I certainly notice the contrast when I swap between my MZ3 and my 98 Civic CX hatchback. On the Civic, the steering feels progressive, and you have to turn maybe 45 degrees +/- center before it starts to really corner. MZ3, you tweak the wheel and you're off in a new direction...

[roninsoldier83]

I think that floaty steering must be a standard feature across the civic line. I certainly notice the contrast when I swap between my MZ3 and my 98 Civic CX hatchback. On the Civic, the steering feels progressive, and you have to turn maybe 45 degrees +/- center before it starts to really corner. MZ3, you tweak the wheel and you're off in a new direction...

Yeah, it's been a while, but I remember the MZ3/MS3 having better steering feel... although most FWD cars have much lighter/more numb steering feel than I'm used to.

It's too bad this would have to be my daily driver and we live in a place where it snows haha! If I worked a job, or was applying for a position with more flexible hours, I might be inclined to pickup something RWD, like an older Infiniti G35 or something to that effect.

What's really sad is that I looked for a RWD 335i and couldn't find one for nearly as low as I owe on my 335xi haha! At this point, with the mileage I bought my 335xi with, I can't find a 335i or 335xi for any closer than $3k than what I paid for mine... and mine was CPO'd! I really did get an awesome deal, but it took me a year to find... unfortunately, the market has recovered significantly since I bought my 335xi haha! Or I guess it was fortunate that I bought it when I did.

Although as an alternate idea, if need be, if I refinance my 335xi for 72 months, while I would lose the 2.9% rate I'm paying right now, for what I owe on the car, I could save about $85/month... but in the long run, the extra money I would pay in interest, it would be a terrible idea.

It's too bad I'm terrified of VW's reliability or I might look into a GTI lol.

[erod550]

GTIs have a 4 yr 50k basic warranty and 5 yr 60k powertrain warranty so if you can find a late model one with low miles, you wouldn't have to worry about reliability, at least for a while. I have a couple friends with newer GTIs and they love them.

[roninsoldier83]

GTIs have a 4 yr 50k basic warranty and 5 yr 60k powertrain warranty so if you can find a late model one with low miles, you wouldn't have to worry about reliability, at least for a while. I have a couple friends with newer GTIs and they love them.

Duly noted.

It's been a long time for me, but just curious, were you just planning on putting a set of snow tires on your Miata in the winter?

I've considered an E46 3-Series, but most of the ones I find in manuals are RWD, not sure if I want to go back to that, but then again, with recent winters being fairly "light", I'm not so sure I would have much of a problem with a 330i and a set of snow tires....

[erod550]

I have a set of Falken Ziex 912s on my Miata right now. All-seasons which are pretty grippy for all-seasons yet half decent in the snow too. Not great on ice though. Then I also have a set of studded Hankook Winter iPikes that I use when it's going to be really snowy/icy. I got around fine with those on, even up hills in glare ice. The light at the intersection that leads into my neighborhood is on a hill and I got stopped at the light there. Had no problem getting moving again with the studded tires. They are awesome in the ice and snow.

My only problem is a lack of stability above 50mph on icy roads. I don't know if it's an alignment issue (just had a fresh alignment a couple months ago though), a loose suspension issue, or if my frame just isn't straight. So I can get around town with no issues at all, but taking the highway to work is a bit scary. That's why I'm trying to find a local job before next winter.

With a newer car that wasn't as "loose" as my Miata, I would have no issues daily driving a RWD car in the winter with a good set of tires.

[roninsoldier83]

Even though it would go against my "I don't want another Subaru" mantra, I thought of another vehicle to add to the list: Subaru Forester XT. It's AWD, semi-fun-ish to drive, plenty of power (basically a WRX motor), available 5MT tranny, plenty of ground clearance/space to haul stuff, I could take it to rallyX events/go back to ice racing, and as a comical side note: with an upgraded tow hitch, I could tow the Miata haha!

Another bonus is that they're generally not as abused/modified as WRX/STI's are...

[erod550]

But they're just tall station wagons :\ Then again, so are SUVs, heh.