Affordable Performance RWD Cars

Vehicles & Mobility Cars
41

The "narrow" roads in the UK are at best a lane and 1/2 wide. It's actually pretty comical, many of the country lanes have hedges alongside the road and the hedges have a groove cut into them, which is precisely at the height of the average exterior mirror. When @Argon says that they are narrow, he is employing the understated humor, for which the Brits are world renown.

The last time that I went to England, I was with a large group. Since I just happened to not be drinking that night, I had to drive us back to our hotel in a 20-passenger, right hand drive turbo-diesel bus. I had to drive us down some of these "narrow" roads at night ... with a manual transmission ... with nineteen drunks in the back! It was terrifying!!! Thankfully, on balance, Brits are much better drivers than the average American and they kept their distance from me. If not for their driving skill, complete disaster may not have been averted.

Lesson learned ... when in the UK, always drink copious quantities of alcohol and you'll not be volunteered to drive the bus.

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42

73 Fury III here, same 400 engine
Only 185 hp but insane amounts of torque :slight_smile:
In winter in NY we didn't call it drifting, it was "oh S%$t!"

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43

I read a long time ago that they were super easy to work on. For instance the SOHC is immediatly accessable. Also fuck spelling. Just got off work.

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44

My 2cents:

  • new: BRZ

  • used: Lots of affordable used RWD platforms, pick your poison as to which one nails what your priorities are, priorities could be the following:
    Absolute most affordable, looks, brand loyalty/fandom, aftermarket support, tuner support, driving characteristic goals etc.

If I had to buy again, I'd get a Honda S2000, I have grown a very high respect for that platform for grip driving goals.

Something I have first hand knowledge on is the Lexus IS300-- its pricing has plummeted but aftermarket support has grown a lot = affordable platform to tune. A healthy dose of Figs Engineering parts plus your choice of engine swaps / boost and transmission upgrade and you have a 4 door supra (if you keep the 2jz in the mix, even if an Aristo swap). But it requires modding to become a fun RWD IMO- Lexus over-lexusized it, the bushings and additional weight requires you to mod the thing (front UCAs, rear LCAs, various bushings to poly) just to get it to feel like many RWDs do out of the factory.

But hands down, when I drove a stock S2K, that thing just read my mind- amazingly balanced, still very compliant to bad roads, healthy aftermarket.

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45

Yes, they are very simple and straightforward. They were also very popular track cars back in the day, so it was easy to find adjustable Koni's, urethane bushings, springs, anti-sway bars, etc. which probably doesn't sound too impressive, but this was back before the whole ricer/tuner scene.

The engine was pretty solid, it just didn't make a bunch of power and the gear ratios in the four-speed transmission were less than optimal, but five-speed transmissions weren't really a thing, back in 1970. Regardless, the car was still a hoot on twisty country roads. Not so much on the highway, except for cloverleaf junctions, which could be taken at ludicrous speeds.

IIRC, the engine looked like a Mercedes clone and apart from a dropped exhaust valve seat, I never had any trouble from it. The side draft variable venturi carburettors actually worked surprisingly well, were much easier to get set up and didn't require the near constant fiddling that the British carbs upon which they were modeled after, seemed to always need.

46

@Argon If you're not above getting an older car, have you considered the RX7? They are amazing machines. My dad used to race in a Gen 1 up at Sebring (Florida).

I don't know about the UK, but in the US, there are specific days for drifting at certain tracks. Because of the interest, there are usually a lot of new drivers, so they employ a few instructors to help the new guys learn and not crash. There's a guy on youtube that has a pretty good video on it by the name Chris Fix.

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47

Yep! I agree with all your points. This is why I want one. Very low entry cost.

48

They are getting hard to find. I haven't seen one on the street in ages. If you come across one that is in half way decent shape, you should definitely snatch it up. Just be aware that it is a very raw, basic sports car experience, with few creature comforts. It's nothing like the 280Z and later Datsuns that were plush, flabby and heavy.

I really miss mine. I have a Z06 currently and while it is also fun (for completely different reasons), you really feel that extra 1000 pounds of mass. You just can't throw it into a curve like you can the 240Z, without risking life limb and property!

Would DEFINITELY 240Z again!!!

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49

Waiting on some Craigslist responses! heehe

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51

Oh no! What have I done? This is rekindling my car lust. Something that I thought I was long since over.

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52

Don't overlook the IS200 as a stripped one with a few sensible mods is a fun car to drive. Ebay auction for the car below ended yesterday though :slight_smile:

Would have bought it myself but I've still got my old RX7.

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53

So I've decided to say F$!K it and take your guys advice, looks like I'm getting me an MX-5, they just seem to be the best ban for the buck from a price-fun ratio, yeah, they're not the fastest, but I'm not really looking for the fastest thing around. :joy:

Mostly just after something fun... So why not, right?

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54

Such nice cars.
My brother is building a Lotus 7 and bought a Miata as a donor. The car he bought was a donor for a race team and is slightly dented in front with blown air bags. He finally got it running well and I said...
"Now that you have a good Miata, Why would you still want a Lotus?"

Lotus_7_Creamsicle.v5.jpg800x600 220 KB

This is why. The paint job Photoshop I made with him.

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55

They're also cheap as hell to buy, to run, and you can even modify them very cheaply, I mean I've looked up LSD's, turbo kits for them, even if you add the car, tax, insurance, and all of the mods up all together, it's still probably cheaper than getting a Z4 that's in good shape... Kinda insane, and tbf, it's not like their dog s$!t slow at stock, they're not super fast, don't get me wrong, they're okay with 0-60 in 8 seconds, but with a nice number of mods, you could easily reduce that dramatically..... And because it's so cheap, you can make it into a drift slag and not worry too much about damaging a bumper or whatever, they're that cheap! :joy:

56

Affordable
German

pick one

The Miata is pretty much the go-to car, but I recommend a Gen4 Camaro. LS1 V8, T56 6 speed transmission, cheap as fuck (like $3k), reliable, tons of upgrades, easy to work on, etc.

If you got the cash, a C5 corvette is the next level up, but pretty much just as cheap to work on.

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57

Sadly, here in the UK, even one that's been abused, I don't think you can find them cheaply because they're so rare, and it's a shame, I LOVE old American cars.

I mean this is the cheapest ol chevvy I've found so far:

Another reason behind getting the MX-5 is that in the UK, they're so popular that there's a TONNE of cheap and easy to do mods, I mean I've seen turbo kits, designed specifically for the MX-5, we're talking a couple of hundred... I would rather go for something a bit better personally, but I'm sure that there's not much wrong with these cheap mods..... Plus you can easily pick a MK2 or MK1 up for under £2k, I've also done some insurance quotes, and all jokes aside, it's so cheap, I'd actually insure it for road use, even though it would be more of a track day toy... I can imagine insurance would be a slightly different story with that chevvy.... Plus, seeing as old American cars are quite rare here in the UK, I wonder how many of them are manual... I could even stretch the budget a little and go for a MK3, but considering it'll mostly be a toy, I'm not sure that's necessary.... I mean the 2.0 vs 1.8 engine, there's hardly any difference(from what I've read), and you can still get a 6 speed 1.8, or so I've heard.

I know with petrol heads, you're gonna get abuse if you buy an auto, but here in the UK, it's to a different level again, I'd say most standard road cars have a manual transmission. Exception being lorries (even some of them are manual), new as hell cars and very sporty cars like a GTR R35. I'm not saying auto is a bad thing, but it would spin me out only having two pedals! :joy:

I mean if the car was something like a GTR R35 where the auto gearbox is probably better for performance than a manual, that's pretty much the only time I'd be happy to own an auto, and even then, personally, I'd want some glorious flaps in my face. :joy:

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58

Saw this thread, looked up cost of Z3 M, closed that tab, cried.

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59

Just going to drop this here since everyone is talking cars in a similar price range

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60

Yeah, the MX5 seems to be the best bang for buck IMO.

RX7.... Only thing that puts me off, wankle engine, if they weren't such a pain, I'd buy an RX-8 without thinking about it..... 4 seats and naturally quicker than the MX-5, plus in the UK, you can pick one up for less than £1,000 without even thinking too much about it, they're cheap asf to buy.. I won't lie, I am tempted to consider an RX-8, you can literally pick one up for about £500.... Makes the MX-5 look expensive.

61

just think of it as a massive service every 80k miles.