Looking For Info on Good Tuner Car

[Royal]

Hello everyone. I am in the market for a good tuner car, however I dont really know much about them. The ones I have been thinking about are the Nissan Skyline (1994), 300xz (Any Newer body types) and Rx7 (91 and up) The only thing is that I know the Rx7 is a piggy on gas and it can be very expensive to fix a rotatary engine.

I know that for around 10,000 - 15,000 you can get a pretty good car, I just want to know more before jumping into one. Is there any websites that can help me get more info?

Some of the things that I was wondering are the different models, engine types, hp put out, parts avaliablity, and overall satisfaction of the cars. I am doing some of my own research right now, but maybe you guys have some more personal input of these cars aswell.

[Isaiah]

Originally posted by Royal
Nissan Skyline (1994), 300xz (Any Newer body types) and Rx7 (91 and up) The only thing is that I know the Rx7 is a piggy on gas and it can be very expensive to fix a rotatary engine.

I know that for around 10,000 - 15,000 you can get a pretty good car, I just want to know more before jumping into one. Is there any websites that can help me get more info?

Skyline: You're at least 5 years late for that fad.

300ZX: If you're looking for the JDM version, it's called the Fairlady. Decent tuner car but not worth the money in my opinion as the latest model you'll be able to get is a 1994.

RX7: I'd do some research on rotary engines so you know what you're getting into. There's a recent thread about this on Beyond.

At your budget, you can afford to get a decent Japanese or Euro that's at least 6 or 7 years newer than a JDM and your dollar will go a lot further. If you don't know a lot about it, I would stay away.

[Royal]

Well my budget is just for the car, I am going to be spending a lot more than that on the car after I have it. But is the Skyline still a good car, I really could not care about the "fad" people had with them.

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

Originally posted by Royal
rotatary engine.

I think you mean Rotary.

[cjay^]

Originally posted by Twin_Cam_Turbo


I think you mean Rotary.

What else could he have meant?

How about a Skyline GTR? those arent quite completely whored out yet as far as JDM's go.

[YamahaV8]

An RX-7 can be very rewarding if done right and taken care of. Those rotary engines are great and fairly reliable after you build them up with good internals. The 300zx from what I have heard are pretty nice too but that engine is a nightmare to work on. If you plan on getting work done by a shop the 300zx can be a labour whore. The skyline is a skyline. Lots of power and power potential. Almost everyone has one though.

If it were me I would go with the RX-7. Get the engine built and converted to a single turbo and off you go

[Hatchback Hero]

Those are all nice cars I would mention. However my opinion is more based on what your experience with working on cars is first. Tuning can be a lot of trial, error and blown motors. Even then the cars mentioned are not cheap for parts etc.

If your just starting out I'd say start with something a little more simple with plenty of parts on the market. I loath saying this but check out a Nissan 240sx or an early 90s Honda.

If your experienced I'd say get the RX-7! I don't know a whole lot about rotary motors, but I do know (lets not get technical) if taken care of and built right. Downright amazing! Half the moving parts and twice the displacement.

Oh! The Skyline? Yea sure everyone has one so what? But not everyone has a Skyline GT-R. Buy the real Skyline and not the fan boy model. <.<

[Royal]

Whats the difference from a R33 and a GT-R?

And if I did get a rx-7, I would be treating that like the beautiful goddess that it is.

[Trini]

Originally posted by Royal
Whats the difference from a R33 and a GT-R?

R33 is like series..eg. R32 built from 1989- 1994

R33 from 1993-1998

R34 from 1998-2002

Now they come in various forms..like the GTS, GTR etc..different engine,specs etc.

google

[DonJuan]

for that money, you can almost get an early 350Z. Which is a better option I think. If you are really looking at spending that much money, avoid the RHD if you can.

If you want a RHD, don't forget about the MK4 Supra

[Kloubek]

IMO, one of the best tuner cars is the Audi/GTI with the 1.8 turbo engine. For that matter, any turbo Audi engine responds well to mods. You can pick up an early 2000's S4 for your price range. Then go to the APR site, and see what they can do for you for about $500-$600 in ECU tuning.

Let's take the A6/S4 2.7l for example. Stock, it "only" makes 250 horsepower, 258 torque. Add the APR chip, and they claim (others have confirmed) horsepower jumps to 307, and torque to a very impressive 366. With a manual S4, you'd be looking a quarter mile in the low 13's.

Now, I realize Audi isn't exactly the all-out sports car style you are looking for. But at least this way you get a car with all the luxury appointments, AWD, and a vehicle that is some 5-10 years newer.