Mazda 3? SRT4? OVER A MUDDAPUCKING RSX???
RSX have no real tq, suffer from ricer tax, and I need the backseats.
RSX wins on style points period, but I want a car thatās faster than my 5 speed accord. 140 tq isnāt an upgrade
RSX S is a great car. Yeah you get the lack of space for other folks, but all in all it is a really good car. I am biased anyway because I have had nothing but bad experiences with American cars. Hondas I have had nothing but great experiences, so of course I would go with the RSX-s
Iāve had nothing but great things with Hondaās as wellā¦I just want something with more power. I did find a 2002 RSX Type S with 120k miles for 5800$, and nother one for around 6000$. might just get that, the biggest turnoff of the RSX is seeing them sell for 8000+$ with 120k+ miles. I could get a v6 accord manual for that price and be way faster and probably have a better car in terms of how it was taken care of.
And then thereās the issue with the SRT-4 2004 and up: boost leaks, axles, and transmission problems, sensor problems on the 05. Itās a solid engine and it gives you performance that other cars canāt even begin to compete with 5.7 second car, 20 mpg on street 28 on highway, can boost it to 300hp 320tq for cheap only needing to upgrade the axles, but itās so fucking uglyā¦
Iām one to usually choose function over form, but I still like form a lot.
I think in the long run the rsx-s is the better bet. I mean the 2 type is what 200hp? I mean it may seem low, but at the same time you are also wanting something that is still a reliable dd. Or you could opt for a 5th gen Honda Prelude. Kind of like driving a civic for grown ups, lol. For 6k there is a lot out there. Celica GTS is one I am very fond of as well.
canāt do celicaā¦looks terrible, I only like the early 80ās late 70ās one.
the thing with Preludes is that they range at 180k+ miles and two owners. I donāt know how healthy the engines are, especially since they have timing belts not chains. thereās a risk of significant damage to the engine, iirc prelude should be free rolling so damage shouldnāt be significant but still. Then thereās the very common issue of people running their cars with inferior coolant or running straight tap water in their reservoir ruining the complete coolant system. And at that mileage I would have to change the water pump, hoses, regardless and then Iād have to be on the look out for
-radiator, gaskets, head deformations, oil consumption (at those mileages, Preludes can eat a quart of oil every two weeks), suspension (worst case scenario, everything has to be replaced because they are running that faggot stance shit, or thereās damage to the suspension due to having it lowered way too much), fuel pump.
Iāve had Accords at that mileage and things start getting bad at that range. I would love a Prelude, and I would choose the Prelude over the RSX in a heart beat if I could find one with ATTS still working and it didnāt cost 6k+ with 150k+ miles. I would actually choose the Prelude over the SRT-4 fully knowing that it will never be a better performance car than the SRT-4, I like them that much.
Is the RSX the better daily driver than the SRT-4? Yes, itās a better all round car. Itās softer, more luxurious, looks better, easier to maintain because it doesnāt even boost, built better from a comfort standpoint, low compression economy based engine that will last longer or forever be easier to upkeep, parts are probably cheaper for upkeep.
The only thing the SRT-4 has is that it will always be faster in a line and corner, seats 4 people, has 4 doors, cheaper on insurance, has more mechanical goodies, cops arenāt going to be paying attention to me, and any mods net more power for less, wonāt get stolen. But those things donāt make it a good daily driverā¦
What do you really want, what will you be doing with it the most etc. 6K is a lot and there are similar cars for that money.
Ill tell you one thing. The SRT-4 Looks ugly as hell but its by far the fastest car there. Those things arent slow at all and if you close the stupid wastegate on them they put out a stupid amount of PSI lol. But RSX better car in the long run, more modable too because hondas are basically lego lol. I have an SI with K20 and honestly theyāre such fun cars drive with great motors, great on gas etc. Whatever your choice dont get the Mazda 3. In like 4 years it will still be slow, but also a rust bucket. I dont know what the deal is with the paint on those cars but its awful. Plus for 6k you could get a REALLY nice RSX 
SRT feels like it oversteered or something. It also feels high to the ground and doesnāt stay balance on turns.
Puck up the RSX but youāre going to have to do a lot to it. It may be a Honda but steel will still (pun) behave like steel and gaskets or O-rings and stuff like that.
I would start with the low hanging fruits like the tires, rims, good brakes.
Then you can spend money on the suspension, buy an OS Gicken differential, on and on and on.
The old cars are super great because they still have mechanical throttles which have no latency or input lag.
Man, I canāt wait to get an FR-S. That car has so much potential. Iāve been saving $300 a month for it. I plan on putting a down payment of over $5,000.
Daily Driver with
- space
- real power out the door,
- strong engine
- relatively easy or predictable problems.
RSX fits 3 and 4 strongly, SRT-4 fits 1, 2, and 3 strongly
I was going to try and buy a mazdaspeed3 (groundwork for that glorious Focus ST), but thatās out of my budgetā¦
Hondaās are more moddable, but require more cash input. Building a RSX to compete with a SRT-4 stock requires 3-4k on top of a 6500+k car. IIRC you live not in LA so you donāt suffer from obscene ricer tax. RSX @ 120k+ miles cost 6500+ easy SALVAGE with multiple owners, there are 80k RSX Type S that sell for 12k+, fuck that shit. You can find clean SRT-4ās with 1 owner for 6k easy.
RSX is definitely the safer choice provided I can find one with less owners, but itās not powerful in any sense, and itās the risky because modding it can easily make it fail smog (Live in California which has the strictest smog requirements). My dad has a 2012 Civic Si with the K24z7 and it doesnāt feel fast in any sense at all, and Iāve driven it in a canyon road setting and at the drag strip. It only has 10 more lbs of tq while keeping the same tq curve characteristics of my 2006 Accord with a K24a8, that K20A2 isnāt going to be any better (but that high rev life is glorious). But thereās the trade off, power vs a better sense of reliabilityā¦tough choice indeed.
thatās odd. I do know that the SRT-4 are a strange car to drive becuase of the tq hitting as low as 2000 rpm. Lowering springs are cheap to, 130$ for the full set and I can install them. (I donāt like feeling like im high of the floor)
Either way, both cars will need replacing of parts soon. I will be forced to go with the more economical option in terms of maintenance and insurance. And Iāve found good candidates for both cars.
I could never be sold on the r35 or skylineās in generalā¦
a r34 is nice, and an r32 is better, but NSX is the epitome of Japanese engineering, and the RX-7 being second. Shame that the new NSX is going to be 150k+ with automatic transmissionā¦sadness 
After sitting on it for many years, Michelin have decided to put their TWEEL tyres (airless tyres) into production
Hopefully they are reasonably priced.
New Shelby GT350 Mustang
Iām curious what Chevy will do with the z28. If This car performs as good as the c7 z51 it obsoleted the vette, and invalidates the z28 as an overpriced pos. If you bought a z28 you where better off with a z06 to begin withā¦
Well played Ford, you actually made me say the vette could be obsolete in base form
all Japanese cars need a v8 Swap.
.
After losing my shit yesterday from road rage. I present to you a tier list of the 5 troll vehicles on the road:
- Mini vans aka Rally vans as the people think they can drive these things like wrc spec cars and have seen numerous lose traction and ended up in a ditch, island median, etc. Not sure if they once had a nice car or what, but I rarely see one go the speed limit, flow of traffic, only faster.
- Jeeps thinking that they are king of the off roads that means they are also bosses of the paved ones, Iāve met a few that were cool, but the majority are dick heads.
- luxury suvs, Mercedes, Porsche, BMW, Lexus
- Lifted trucks, I swear some of these people think that once they add a lift kit, they have a pass on being a douche bag on the road
- Dodge Stratus/Avenger/what ever mid size shit box that all looks like a Stratus, every time I am on the same road as one, they all of a sudden become impatient and have to cut me over with no signal or cushion of space. Especially those with the R/T paint scheme.
This is my list from living in the midwest, I know it varies from region to region, as when I lived in other states, the list alters a bit, but some stay on the list. Fuck these assholes, I hope they all blow their engines and get stranded in the middle of nowhere with no cell signal.
Man you know what? I donāt really care what other people do. I just drive in a way so that they donāt hit me and I also assume theyāll do things wrong so Iām actually surprised when someone is driving properly, not to say that most drivers are bad but it is to be expected.
It looks like a well built car.
@tekno virus, the 240sx build or 350gt
1993 Nissan 240SS
so I got an SRT4 with 78k milesā¦
Itās loud, too loud with but Iāll fix that by then end of the week. Fun car, only problem is that it turns wide. Itās OK though, it makes up with tq