6k Fun Car Challenge

>350z
Good luck finding a Z worth owning for 6k. They're the go-to boyracer special for this generation of car enthusiast and all of the Z's in this price range will be:
>high mileage
>beat to fuck
>autotragic
>burning oil almost guaranteed
I'd say 10k and up is where the garbage Z's fade away.

Can be had, not bad

in most states you'll be lucky to find a V6 S197 for $6 that wasnt previously a crime scene.

c4 corvette but I dont think that they are going to be be in good condition.

eh there is a few in my area around 6. This particular one just has a stupid shift knob and some sort of exhaust.

Would I dare buy a speed6?

v6 Accord coupes with 6 speed manuals are pretty spiffy.

No, the AWD system on those it dogshit

He's not getting an V6 Accord coupe for $6k, not unless it's a much slower 7th gen or older

Actually he may be able to get a 3rd gen TL, but at $6k the mileage would be way too high

nah you could get a v6 s197 for 6, there are a bunch in his area, but a GT would be a tall order

I have an 8th gen Si, it's a great little car. Just as a potential heads up, one problem you may have when you buy it though (I did) is that 3rd gear either pops out sometimes, won't go in sometimes, or grinds sometimes (mine would pop out/not go in). It's a problem that only happens with some of them and I think it's based on the factory it was built in. If this happens, it's a super easy fix. I know someone who used to own an 8th gen Si and his would grind and both of us just drained the transmission fluid and replaced it with Honda-approved fluid and never had those problems again. Just so you don't panic if it happens when you test drive it and miss out on owning a good car. The only other gripe I have with the car is its infamous rev hang and that can be fixed by buying "Hondata Flashpro" which costs $700 and allows you to edit the car's ECU. Everyone I see reviewing it on YouTube and talking about it on the 8th Gen Civic forums highly recommend it but I personally haven't bought it yet.

7th gen Accords are decently fast, 0-60 in under 6 seconds IIRC.
How fast is OP looking to go anyway?

With only 240hp in a FWD large family car? I doubt it

It's definitely not going to be as quick on the turns as the lighter cars, but OP was asking for something with a 6-ish second 0-60, which that Accord does have.

FWD has the least drive train loss, 240 HP in a RWD car is less power to the wheels than a FWD car would.

Gen 1 mazdaspeed3

Depends on the layout of the car. Mid and rear engine cars would have just as little drive train loss
Also when launching the weight is shifted off of the driven wheels in a front wheel drive car

I'd only consider the Civic SI/RSX/350z out of that list. The 350z is the fastest of the group but doesn't have a back seat so if you think you'll need such a thing, you should pass. e46 330ci is nice if you've got money to burn on repairs, they are needlessly complicated, have a lot of parts that can and will break and BMW parts are expensive even if you can do the labor yourself.

MR2 turbo

I daily a 08 civic si. Dont buy a 08 civic si. The ride is underwhelming, the speed is meh at best, and the car looks on the uglier side. The only way it might be worth it is if you get aftermarket intake and headers so you can have hondata reflash that shit. Even then i would recommended just going with a different car.

>fellow tampabro

westchase checking in

It its not a super easy fix for everyone. For some It involves taking the whole transmission apart and fucking with the syncro's. Read the TSB my dude, some people are fucked. If i remember right you can tell if the car is royally screwed by its vin number.

Good luck finding an SW20 Turbo in good condition for $6k.

They don't fulfill his criteria of a fast 0-60 (except for an SW20 Turbo, which you would be lucky to find in good condition for anywhere near $6k).

From his current selection of cars, it doesn't look like he wants an MR2 anyway. Everything on his list is relatively easy to work on and pretty common (except for the e46 330ci, but I don't know anything about that). MR2s don't have many replacement parts because of their rarity.

3rd gen mr2

Why not save up another grand and get an e90 if you can swing it? they're like an NA WRX(but better because they don't break lol)

In reality you’d be lucky to get under 7 seconds. Especially with a 10-14 year old car.

It would also be highly and I mean highly dependent on the tires as well.

It was ok when it came out but yeah, it’s beaten by most new cars on the road today.

The Si has always been that car that’s half assy. Even with the new Si, Honda really cucked everyone with the basic 1.5t. It was underwhelming, especially not having any extra HP over the last gen.

I dunno, it’s a neat car but not something I’d ever consider. Absolutely buy a GTI or Focus ST over it any day.

What states do you live in? New edge GTs here are regularly private market $2500-$4500. Z28s are $6-$12k.

For an answer op, I think the BMW or the Mustang would be the most cost-effective. RSX can be made fast, especially if you like cornery stuff.

Z28 would be the best, but at least in my area you're going to spend every bit of $6k to get a mid-range not-in-great-condition Z28. I'd personally rather a mustang for half the price.

Especially when you can junkyard turbo the 4.6 mod motor and make solid power. HotRod has an article on it.

I mean or a fox.

Anything “manual” and “fun” for 6k is going to have a laundry list of issues.

You might try your luck at copart auctions. But you’ll absolutely be fighting the BHPH lots for what you’ve described and there are no guarantees. They love to get cars like that and sell them for double to idiots.

Basically, it’s going to be a gamble.

i think you’ll reliably be able to find Mustang GTs and maybe some Z28s. Buts it’s going to be difficult to find a 2005+ GT that’s in decent shape.

$6k is a tough area and you’ll be in a sellers market for sure. Good luck.

Z32 is cooler than literally all of those

E34 525i faggot

Utilizes the semi faultless mile eating M50, billions of mods on the market because it's a fluffy version of the e36.

Don't like the roar of a straight six? Buy the 540, if your into all the junk in your trunk, buy the wagon.

It is BMW's last hurrah before the advent of OBD2 fucked it all up.

Did I mention you can swap in just about any modular V8? or if you like rolling coal, commit the ultimate heresy and stick a mercedes OM606 in it...

I paid 400 bucks fro my schnitzer and it needed two IAC hoses to run properly. Nowhere near as expensive to maintain as people lead you to believe.

get a GC8! I did and it was a fun car although it did tend to be a gas guzzler at 23mpg

Doesn't meet the requirement of a "fast" 0-60. Also, based on the rest of the cars on his list, he wouldn't like a ZZW30 anyway. Also, he doesn't even have a Miata included on his list, so he definitely isn't in the market for a lightweight convertible.

RX-8 and spend the 3k left on a cheap turbo kit

Bump up to the 400 and get a real engine. They're actually cheaper too.

6k would get you an early high-mileage 2.5, which are pretty fucking slow.
Eligible for spec racing though.

Even the 2.5s can do 0-60 in 6 seconds if you can shift quick enough
Could always swap in a bigger engine down the line when OP stops being poor

MR2s are only slightly harder to work on than a FWD.
Parts are easy to find, MR2s are not that rare plus they use common Toyota parts.

They're also fugly

Regular 2.8 Z3 Roadsters are plentiful in that price range.

yeah but 0-60 is overrated. any mr2 is fun to redline even if it's not fast

>$0-999:
"Does it run? Or do I need a tow truck?"

>$1000-2999:
"I'll get it home and do a major overhaul. Hopefully it'll be reliable. This won't be my only form of transportation"

>$3000-5999:
"Wow. Not bad. I would drive this for an extended period amount of time without worry of issues."

>$6000-9999:
"I could realistically purchase a vehicle that's less than 5 years old with good mileage"

>$10000-14999:
"I could actually purchase a new vehicle with this budget, or a very nice used vehicle.

You're in a good section with your budget, but you're also at a section where you can over-reach and get a great car with big issues. Try to stick to something a little more conservative, but offers high trim levels, extra factory options, low mileage, recent service.

Try to stay away from the first year of a model change, they usually have gremlins that we're later sorted out.

My recommendation?
MKV GTI, but stick to 2008.5+ models because they got the new TSI engine vs the previous years FSI engine that had a few issues.

02-03 maxima. 3-4 grand will get you one with 100k~ miles on it and excellent condition everything. Puts down about 210wph bone stock. Throw on headers, 4 inch intake, 560cc injectors, full exhaust, intake spacers, 75mm throttlebody, and an ecu reflash to tune it and youll get around 290whp with a flat as fuck power curve. People have gotten into the 12's with this setup.

Not the fastest car but its a god damn sleeper.

Also forgot to mention that the car has a fuckhueg support community, and all of these parts are readily available, you wont have to hunt for any of this stuff at all. All of those mods would be 1500-2000 dollars at the very most, which ontop of a 3,500 dollar car in excellent condition puts you below your 6k limit.

Aw shit, I didn't know that. Guess the guy I know and I were lucky. Though that does remind me that I've heard that the transmission is the weak link on the Si and most people who modify theirs (like forced induction and shit) blow the transmission apparently.

Stop looking in a mirror

e90 is good if you go for 328i but still even then its high maintenance.
I just had my n51 valve cover gasket replaced for leaking, and power steering pump for leaking. I haven't even broken 30k miles yet. Off warranty thats easily $800-1k in repairs at a shop or dealer.
Then there's the power steering pump going out at 60k miles which is $3k.
but if you do your own maintenance its worth.

*meant water pump going out at 60k miles

I doubt that you could get 80hp from NA tuning

Well then you would be wrong.
Pic is for ants but heres a dyno of this setup making 295WHP/300tq

Over 80hp and tq gained at peak with huge gains all along the entire curve. No boosting, no internals, no shot. Straight NA bolt ons and tuning. The VQ35 is de-tuned from the factory, so throwing on a huge intake and injectors along with supporting mods and most importantly a tune will give you BIG gainz.

These cars are capable of making serious power. Theyre total sleepers. No one expects a family luxury sedan from 2002 to run low 13s and high 12s but its all true.

Miata
Is
Always
The
Answer

Interesting. Is the VQ underrated from factory?

VQ35 comes from the factory with 15 degree timing advance because the nips knew us americans are dumb and put 87 octane in the car when its supposed ro get 91. Part of the tuning advances timing to 17 degrees so you get a nice gain from that single adjustment alone. The exhaust is also very restrictive - 12+ whp from headers and some more from a catback. The intake manifold is metal and soaks heat from the engine; a company makes ceramic spacers that reduce intake temps by 40 degrees and thats another 10whp. Drilling holes in the intake airbox gives you another 10 - getting a huge 4inch intake with cone filter, a 75mm throttlebody (up from factory 68mm IIRC), and 560cc injectors (up from 320cc iirc) gets you the most gains but you cant do that part without tuning. Theres a couple of dudes who reflash ECUs for 5.5gen maximas to tune AFR, timing, tb response, raise the rev limiter, and literally everything else that can be adjusted - for only a couple hundred bucks. Throw on a fidanza flywheel and youre going to put down nearly 300hp and torque to the wheels - this is on par with a nismo 370z, perhaps even faster because of the huge gains below the peak of the power curve. I think the maximas run mid/high 14 second 1/4s but people can get into the 12s with this.

Its a 3000 dollar car (in good condition and relatively low miles), and maybe 2 grand tops in bolt on mods that any idiot can install. 5 grand for something that fast and imo nice looking is a no brainer. Again these cars are god tier sleepers, youd never expect something that old and by todays standards plain looking to put that much power down to the wheels.

Look into it. Im always surprised that these cars dont get more attention on Veeky Forums but then again most people here are not into doing any mods besides stancing and maybe a cone filter and catback.

>vag shit

kys my dude

>2 degrees of timing and air mods gaining 80hp

fucking retard

More like going from 2.5 to 4 inch intake, from 320cc to 560cc injectors, precat exhaust to equal length headers, lowering the intake temperatures among many other things and most importantly A TUNE. The tuning nets like 20whp alone without any mods whatsoever, and thats just at peak - you get similar gains all along the power curve which is something people generally dont take into consideration - peak whp/tq is only half the equation.

I already posted a dyno slip. Theres tons of discussion and theorycrafting that was eventually put to test and proven to give results by numerous individuals. Just because you refuse to actually look into it because it sounds outlandish (it is) doesnt mean that it isnt true.

In other words fuck off faggot, because you dont know wtf you are talking about.

Heres a vid of one of the guys that does the tuning (as well as makes the intakes if im not mistaken)

youtube.com/watch?v=hL8AayOCUJk

300whp/tq from a VQ35DE, 02/03 nissan maxima. The car in the vid has all the bolt ons mentioned earlier in the thread. Again say whatever the fuck you want, these are sleepers and they are fucking fast for a 16 year old sedan.

>fucking fast for a 16 year old sedan.

cough GS400

Comparable stock vs stock, definitely. But the gs400 is more expensive, more difficult to find, and not as fast with boltons + tune. I wouldnt exactly call it a sleeper either. You dont see them getting to the low 13s, maximas do.

Again, while both cars are ~300whp with tuning/bolt ons, the maxima has +20tq over the gs400 and weighs less. Not to mention all the power under the peak of the curve.

>no rx8

Good luck finding anything that handles better for under $15k

Just don't get an auto. And either get one with low miles or one that needs a rebuild for cheap.

I was in the same position as OP when I was looking for a daily from the S. Made two choices:

First I got an '04 WRX (Blob eye). Decent car, but couldn't get over how crappy the interior was and how floppy the car felt. From the slop in the steering to the dive in the stock suspension to the transmission that hating going into first, it was complete garbage. Sold it for more than I paid for and never looked back.

>>continued

Took that money and bought an '08 Si. Fixed every qualm I had with the WRX. Steering was super direct, the engine was a dream, suspension is stiff enough for spirited driving, and the gearbox is a million times better. And that's before we get to the interior, which is miles better on a daily basis.

In the end, as a car you can just have fun with for little worry, nothing makes a better value proposition than an Si.

>>continued continued

The last one on my short list was an E36 M3. It's will holds it's value much better than a 330ci and will be better taken car of. Didn't choose it because I already have a project car, but it's a great choice if you're looking for something to wrench on/modify

>Cali
>Everythings fun here are over 6k