Help an excited 19 year old buy their car!
06-07-11, 06:42 PM
#46
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
This may not be a popular opinion here, but based on my experience, if you want a decently affordable sporty car with some style, get yourself a mid-to-late 90's Firebird or Camaro with the LT1 or LS1 engines. They will be difficult to work on(but so is the Lexus), but parts are significantly cheaper and they haul ***. They might not ride as nice as a Lexus(they're not luxury cars), but i've driven them and they are fun as hell. Especially if you get the t-tops. I can't say anything about the SC400, i've never touched one, but my LS400 does have plenty of get up and go for me(right now), and has a nice ride. But for cost of parts, I probably wouldn't go this route again.
Also. Both are kind of... ugly.
06-07-11, 10:38 PM
#47
Lexus Test Driver
I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Maybe it's because this is the first luxury car i've owned, but i've generally been pretty find with most(but not all) of GM's interiors and appearances. Although the Firebird/Camaro are about the only GM's that get me going. I'm generally a Ford guy.
And i rarely see an engine swap in that generation(4th) of the F-body. No reason really to swap out the LT1/LS1 engines. Very decent performers and easy to mod. They were rolling out with 325 hp stock by 2000. The more amazing part though is the TORQUE. That's the one thing i sort of miss since i've been driving my Lexus(Don't get me wrong, I love this car), LOW END TORQUE.
The 3rd gens had more engine swaps IIRC. I can see why too, the 3rd gens came with crappy, slow, gutless engines. The cars themselves were light and cheap. Take one and put in a much more powerful engine, and there you go.
That's just the background I come from. I've generally been more of a fan of American muscle cars.
And i rarely see an engine swap in that generation(4th) of the F-body. No reason really to swap out the LT1/LS1 engines. Very decent performers and easy to mod. They were rolling out with 325 hp stock by 2000. The more amazing part though is the TORQUE. That's the one thing i sort of miss since i've been driving my Lexus(Don't get me wrong, I love this car), LOW END TORQUE.
The 3rd gens had more engine swaps IIRC. I can see why too, the 3rd gens came with crappy, slow, gutless engines. The cars themselves were light and cheap. Take one and put in a much more powerful engine, and there you go.
That's just the background I come from. I've generally been more of a fan of American muscle cars.
06-08-11, 11:12 PM
#48
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With the properly torqued head bolts at 72 ft lbs, the 7M is a very reliable motor, as reliable as the previous M series engines.
06-08-11, 11:14 PM
#49
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I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Maybe it's because this is the first luxury car i've owned, but i've generally been pretty find with most(but not all) of GM's interiors and appearances. Although the Firebird/Camaro are about the only GM's that get me going. I'm generally a Ford guy.
And i rarely see an engine swap in that generation(4th) of the F-body. No reason really to swap out the LT1/LS1 engines. Very decent performers and easy to mod. They were rolling out with 325 hp stock by 2000. The more amazing part though is the TORQUE. That's the one thing i sort of miss since i've been driving my Lexus(Don't get me wrong, I love this car), LOW END TORQUE.
The 3rd gens had more engine swaps IIRC. I can see why too, the 3rd gens came with crappy, slow, gutless engines. The cars themselves were light and cheap. Take one and put in a much more powerful engine, and there you go.
That's just the background I come from. I've generally been more of a fan of American muscle cars.
And i rarely see an engine swap in that generation(4th) of the F-body. No reason really to swap out the LT1/LS1 engines. Very decent performers and easy to mod. They were rolling out with 325 hp stock by 2000. The more amazing part though is the TORQUE. That's the one thing i sort of miss since i've been driving my Lexus(Don't get me wrong, I love this car), LOW END TORQUE.
The 3rd gens had more engine swaps IIRC. I can see why too, the 3rd gens came with crappy, slow, gutless engines. The cars themselves were light and cheap. Take one and put in a much more powerful engine, and there you go.
That's just the background I come from. I've generally been more of a fan of American muscle cars.
06-09-11, 07:12 AM
#50
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
If I was persuaded to buy one, I'd probably try to swap a 1UZ-FE into it like RedPheonix did.
Last edited by LunaVyohr; 06-09-11 at 07:22 AM.
06-09-11, 07:29 AM
#51
Lexus Test Driver
THe interior issue is a relative thing anyway. Depends on the taste of the owner. Maybe it's because i grew up with American cars, so i've been used to their interiors(and actually like them). To be honest, out of the imports we HAVE owned, this is the only one with an interior that I like(although the dash is a little dated).
06-09-11, 08:07 AM
#52
Lexus Test Driver
Reason why I never owned an MR-2 :Snap Oversteer
There's more vids on YouTube but here are 2 examples. I've also seen this happen in person as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnhiFucXoVk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5j_w...eature=related
There's more vids on YouTube but here are 2 examples. I've also seen this happen in person as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnhiFucXoVk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5j_w...eature=related
Last edited by suislide; 06-09-11 at 10:57 AM.
06-09-11, 08:35 AM
#53
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
Oh wow. That's... definitely not a good thing. Haha. I could hardly watch the second video - not because of the crash, but because of the idiot holding the camera. "I GOT THA WHOLE THING ON VIDEO, BROOO"
But, I've been seriously considering how annoying the lack of a back seat would be, and how much it would cost to own one insurance wise and such. Although I've never gotten any speeding tickets, I was once caught doing doughnuts in an empty dirt parking in the middle of the night, and was charged with reckless driving. Because of that, my insurance rates for any car would be through the roof, especially something like an MR2.
I might consider a MK3 if I could find one that had the head gasket service done and had been properly maintained. I've heard that those cars can have tons of problems, though.
But, I've been seriously considering how annoying the lack of a back seat would be, and how much it would cost to own one insurance wise and such. Although I've never gotten any speeding tickets, I was once caught doing doughnuts in an empty dirt parking in the middle of the night, and was charged with reckless driving. Because of that, my insurance rates for any car would be through the roof, especially something like an MR2.
I might consider a MK3 if I could find one that had the head gasket service done and had been properly maintained. I've heard that those cars can have tons of problems, though.
06-09-11, 12:22 PM
#54
Pole Position
Supposedly the 93+ MR2's have an improved suspension geometry which aren't as tail swappy as the earlier models. But my memory is fuzzy on that as I haven't been an MR2 guy in quite some time (over a decade).
Either way it's something to consider if you are mainly experienced with RWD and you like to drive like a teenager.
I'm over 30, and I like to drive like a teenager.
For the record, I absolutely love my SC3, had it for 7 years now and the passion is still there. Best car purchase I've ever made in my life. Rock solid reliable and very little repairs needed thru the years, even at double the HP and torque.
I'd go SC3 myself. 5-speed.
The 5-speeds are fun cars for what they are, even stock.
But you have a point, a nicely set up SC4 with a properly done exhaust is a damn fine ride as well.
Either way it's something to consider if you are mainly experienced with RWD and you like to drive like a teenager.
I'm over 30, and I like to drive like a teenager.
For the record, I absolutely love my SC3, had it for 7 years now and the passion is still there. Best car purchase I've ever made in my life. Rock solid reliable and very little repairs needed thru the years, even at double the HP and torque.
I'd go SC3 myself. 5-speed.
The 5-speeds are fun cars for what they are, even stock.But you have a point, a nicely set up SC4 with a properly done exhaust is a damn fine ride as well.
06-09-11, 02:15 PM
#55
Lead Lap
If you decide to go with the MR2, I assume it will be a manual transmission. If that's the case, I recommend taking it on a relatively long test drive, getting it on the highway, and getting it up to normal, day-to-day operating temperature. The reason I say this is I learned a hard lesson when I bought my AE86 years ago. The car was clean and drove fine around the Hollywood city blocks, so I agreed to buy it. After I paid for it and drove it most of the way home, I discovered that the synchro between first and second gears was not healthy. It would be fine if the transmission was not completely warmed up, but once it got warmed up, it would grind and lash. Over the years, I dealt with it by shifting slowly or double clutching on 1-2 shifts. What a PITA, though. It's all been rebuilt now and I need to stuff the engine and trans back in the car. It's better if you can avoid these types of issues, though.
06-10-11, 05:15 PM
#56
Supposedly the 93+ MR2's have an improved suspension geometry which aren't as tail swappy as the earlier models. But my memory is fuzzy on that as I haven't been an MR2 guy in quite some time (over a decade).
Either way it's something to consider if you are mainly experienced with RWD and you like to drive like a teenager.
I'm over 30, and I like to drive like a teenager.
For the record, I absolutely love my SC3, had it for 7 years now and the passion is still there. Best car purchase I've ever made in my life. Rock solid reliable and very little repairs needed thru the years, even at double the HP and torque.
I'd go SC3 myself. 5-speed. The 5-speeds are fun cars for what they are, even stock.
But you have a point, a nicely set up SC4 with a properly done exhaust is a damn fine ride as well.
Either way it's something to consider if you are mainly experienced with RWD and you like to drive like a teenager.
I'm over 30, and I like to drive like a teenager.
For the record, I absolutely love my SC3, had it for 7 years now and the passion is still there. Best car purchase I've ever made in my life. Rock solid reliable and very little repairs needed thru the years, even at double the HP and torque.
I'd go SC3 myself. 5-speed.
The 5-speeds are fun cars for what they are, even stock.But you have a point, a nicely set up SC4 with a properly done exhaust is a damn fine ride as well.
sure motivates me to keep/enjoy my sc
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