This is my first time starting a new topic on this forum so please bear with me.
Sometime before the end of this year I hope to be buying a new car :D . I have roughly $30k US to spend on whatever car I decide to get. I've stuck primarily to new cars because I plan to keep the car for many years to come. After a great deal of research and consideration I'm leaning toward getting a Nissan 350z. The other cars I had in consideration were the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII, the Subaru Impreza WRX STi and the Ford Mustang Mach 1. Granted all of these cars will drive very differently; my primary area of focus was on how much power I get for the money I put into it.

I'm looking for a car that can be worked on and trully show an improvement in performance and speed. I am a US resident so there will be restrictions as far as emissions tests. Ultimately the final deciding factor will be the actual test drive :P , but I would appreciate your opinions on the matter. Feel free to suggest any other cars besides the 4 I listed above, but keep in mind that nicer used cars often carry many miles with them :cry: .

Hi, welcome!

Get the Dodge Neon SRT-4. It has a V-4 DOHC 2.4L turbocharged with 15psi. It is the fastest car under $20,000. It go 0-60 in 5.7 sec and the top speed is 153mph.

I have an upper limit of $30,000. Even the 350z, which is the slowest of the bunch, can do 0-60 in 5.5 sec. I believe the STi is the fastest out of all the cars I listed.

I just thought if you bought the srt-4 you could have $10,000 for mods. But if you dont want to, get the STi. It has AWD :D

The car's being paid for by my father and he set that upper limit. I'm not sure if he would allow me to spend the difference of the money on car mods. I do plan on modifying the car, but very gradually.

As for the AWD aspect of the STi and the Evo, the prospects are very enticing, but from what I've read the car will loose more power at the wheels. I'm looking for a head turner, something that will catch people's attentions, which is why I picked the Z. I believe the Z possesses a great deal of potential; we are just beginning to see what forced induction can really do in the Z.

The SRT-4 catches peoples eyes. They all do. For losing power at the wheels is easy to fix. All you do is buy dog-bone-motor mounts. The Z is very hard to mod since its pritty new. It's up to you. The SRT-4 has a SWEEEEEET sounding dual exhuast witch EVERY one I know loves the sound! It also has the seats from the Viper :) Its up to you.

Greddy's in the process of tuning their TT system for the Z. Stillen is working on a supercharger and there are a few others who are working on superchargers as well. NISMO is also working on parts for the new Z; they've already released the S-Tuned parts. They say they are working on R-tuned parts and finally Z-tuned parts.

Personally I prefer the looks of the Z over any of the other cars mentioned, especially after veilside mods. The other cars can be spotted on the road everywhere around here, which makes them a common sight. In other words they rarely turn heads.

Psh is right...the veilside mods will look hella good on a Z car...

If you're in school.....
:arrow: Coupe(s): CL, 3-Series coupe, G35, RX-8, C-Class coupe, or any other 2+2 in your list (you'll need the 2+2 for school; it's more functional)
:arrow: Sport Sedan(s) (if you want one): TL, TSX, A4, 3-Series (sedan), G35 (sedan), I35, X-Type, IS, C-Class (sedan), Maxima, or a 9-3

If you're just getting a ride and don't give a crap about functionality.....
:arrow: Coupe(s): Z car or a Crossfire

i wuold get the Honda Civic Type-R very nice and nice enterior. :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

or i saw that you could get a used jag cabriolet 1997 but if you want a new car i would go with the civic type-r :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

i wuold get the Honda Civic Type-R very nice and nice enterior. :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

or i saw that you could get a used jag cabriolet 1997 but if you want a new car i would go with the civic type-r :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

Handa sucks!! Type-R :roll: give me a break!! A saturn SL2 can beat one of those! I did it. I kicked his ass :twisted:

Well, I would definitly go for a Mazda RX-8. The N/A RENESIS rotary engine is punching out 250 hp and 159 lbft of torque . That's with no turbos, which will definitly be produced, making it even more potent and buzzy. With a 6-speed tranny, it's not to be taken lightly. Though It does weigh in under 3k pounds, has a very tight body design, and the engine is set down nice and low for the best handling for the money. Fuel economy is more than reasonable. I find it very sleek and sporty looking. How many people can say they have Rotary power?

(Hm, I'll leave the Si bashing alone,it's been beaten to death already)

[quote=McLaren F1 LM]A saturn SL2 can beat one of those! I did it. I kicked his ass :twisted:

Sorry but for example ION is damned boring, and as for SUVs VUE really sucks, that V6 behaves like an l4, that SL2 looks better, sure but i guess a Second gen Eclipse AWD will kick your ass

What you need to realize is that hes got 30K to spend, dont waste it on some shitty Honda or The SRT-4, I'd say for the EVO 8, dont get the Subaru, you wont be happy with it, and the Z is a nice car, but you will only have 2 seats, and thats it. The Evo has room for 4, and its faster! And its cooler! And its got AWD!

I'm fine with just a 2-seater. Rather than looking for a practical car I'm looking for whatever will drive the best. The Evo sounds reasonable, however, I believe there is a limit to how much power an inline-4 engine can pump out. Although 30k is all I have to spend on the car to begin with I eventually hope to apply various mods and upgrades (forced induction). I realise the stock Evo is faster than the stock Z, but I believe the Z possesses incredible potential.

On a personal note, I prefere the appearance of the Z over the Evo, but that's just my opinion.

With a few tweaks and mods you can easily get the Evo to over 400 horsepower, but Hey, if you want the Sporty pick up chicks look, go for the Z, and not only that, get the convertable Z, its awesome. I'm sure you could boost up its horsepower too.

but Hey, if you want the Sporty pick up chicks look, go for the Z, and not only that, get the convertable Z, its awesome. I'm sure you could boost up its horsepower too.

:arrow: Evo

Do you buy a car simpaly to pick up chicks lol :D :lol:

one of the reasons yep ...
and who doesn't like the back seat with a chick :lol:

Actually I bought my Evo cuz it goes really fast, and only people who know what a good car is will know its fast. So I dont have any ***s keying it because they are jealous peices of ****. If I wanted to get a pus sy car, I'd go for the Z car all the way, or some other type of convertable.

No one can deny the speed of the Evo, but one has to consider the fact that it is turbocharged. Most of the other cars previously mentioned do not have forced induction. I believe the Z could possess the same kind of speed if it were also turbocharged. On top of this the styling appeals to many people; giving you a fast "pus sy car". :D

k... i simply joined this site because i was also doing research on the same thing and camp up on this discussion... If you want a sick car evo IX has got a 0-60 of 4.4 while the STI has a 0-60 of 4.7. Although a good point was made about those cars already having forced air induction an upgrade can always be done for another 30 to 40 even more horsepower boost. On those light bodies it will def. b fealt. The 350z has a 0-60 of 5.4 sec but with the release of the new HKS supercharger that will be drastically improved. Overall if your looking for a mad dash and incredible handeling but do not want to touch the car go with the evo. But the sti is amazing too. If you want a head turner the 350z is always really nice but unless you want to have to shell out another 5k for the supercharger your better off with the others.

^^^ this thread is 4 years old bro

congradulations. people wake up old threads all the time, but this one is by far the longest tme between dying out and being woken up again.

I wanna give you a trohy right now, lol

welcome to scf. if you wanna talk about something like this I suggest you make a new thread, well be happy to discuss cars for under 30 grand