Modern Competition to the F
09-07-20, 07:58 AM
#1
Advanced
Thread Starter
Modern Competition to the F
So while I'm a car guy, I'm mainly a "my car" guy. I don't keep up with many makes outside what I own or truly care about (which right now is very very little) - enthusiast Lexus, classic American muscle cars, enthusiast Bimmers up to the e9x, the RS5, occasionally a new Vette turns my head, and so on. There are very few modern cars that do anything for me. That being said, I tustled with a brand new Infiniti-something the other day & while I bested him, I was a little surprised at the performance of the car. This is what inspired the question for me. So outside the obvious (Vettes, Hellcats, M cars, Porsches, exotics), bring me up to speed. What do you guys consider to be competition, performance-wise, to the F nowadays? I ask that you make no mention of Stingers or anything Kia as that brand sickens me & throws me into terrifying rages, but I'm the one asking questions, so if you must...
Popular Reply
09-08-20, 12:01 PM
For the $20-40k prices that you'll find a decent F I've personally considered all of these when switching from my 08 F to the 12 F. One unique factor for me is that I used to put a lot of miles on my cars. My first 2 years I owned my 08 I did 60k, before then I'd often do 35-40k a year. So daily drivability is a HUGE factor for my purchasing decision. Some people "daily drive" their AMG, but do 10k a year at most..
-Dodge Charger Scat Pack/392 SRT. Boat, but cheap power and looks and sounds great. Huge interior and some nice tech, big aftermarket, but darn if these aren't on every corner. They are quick from a dig with a good tire/surface, but mod for mod they are slightly slower than the F. The newer ones and wide bodies especially come with thick sticky tires on all 4 corners so it can handle surprisingly well for it's weight.
-Chevy SS. Loads of potential with the LS3, though anything less than headers/exhaust/tune+ F can handle. Hard to find with a stick and still GM cheap inside. Bland in and out, but so is my F.
-Q50 3.0t. A little unreliable, though not German level. Doesn't have the handling, but straight line potential is plenty with minor mods. Red Sport is best choice, but the regular 3.0t with a tune is RS quick and either of them with downpipes exhaust and tune will beat FBO F's, add E85 and a few more grand and even SC ISF will struggle. Boring car other than the speed, no LSD, decade old 7 speed(that was bad when it first came out and isn't better now). Interior is outclassed even by a Maxima. + for AWD
-Nearly same as above goes for the Stinger/G70 though the nice benefit is the size of the Stinger and the looks. + on AWD
-B8.5 Audi S4. Most reliable Audi there is(though RS3 is supposedly catching up). Great interior, classy exterior, great car overall with AWD benefit.
-340i. As much as I love the new Supra, the 340i is nearly the same powertrain and has plenty of upgrades available without spending F80 M3 money. As with most BMW's, it's not the powertrain that gives you the $$$ issues though, so I wouldn't own it out of warranty. + for AWD
-CTSV2. Fast, potentially much faster, cheap interior. Great other than having the worst MPG for a daily you can have on this list.
-ATSV. Fast, potentially also much faster, even cheaper interior, and exterior looks like a fancy Cruze. Sounds like poop but a great chassis. Probably best handling coupe compared to M and RCF and C63.
-F80 M3. Fast, and again potentially much faster, but compared to previous M's it's a little lacking in sound and feel. Handles great, but close to soul-less. Crank hub fix is pricey, but not more than what a valley plate+header job fix will cost.
-C63/E63. Fix the head bolt and have a gas card and it's a great car. Glorious sound and mean looks. A bit rough suspension, but later years are better.
-GSF. Clearly the closest to the F, but pricey and slower, less raw, and the aftermarket is much pricier for similar products. A little underwhelming, but much nicer interior for a daily.
All can run high 12's at very minimum and get into 11's with mods, like the F can. Many can easily be faster.
ISF is rarer than all of them, seems to depreciate better, and IMO is the best "all-arounder". It's not the quickest, cheapest, most aftermarket friendly, nicest looking, nicest riding, nicest sounding, or best handling. But it is more reliable, and easiest to daily drive and does everything well enough, and it constantly gets "WTF" attention as it's rare. May be the best thing about the car tbh. I test drove all of them including the RCF, and still picked an FBO 12 ISF. That being said, rather than one car for a Swiss army knife, I think my next move is a LX470 and a MK5 Supra. You can only be so quick while being comfortable and still easy on the wallet to daily drive. For that, the F is king.
TLDR, F80 M3 is the closest I came to buying something over the ISF though. I'm just a sucker for the looks.
-Dodge Charger Scat Pack/392 SRT. Boat, but cheap power and looks and sounds great. Huge interior and some nice tech, big aftermarket, but darn if these aren't on every corner. They are quick from a dig with a good tire/surface, but mod for mod they are slightly slower than the F. The newer ones and wide bodies especially come with thick sticky tires on all 4 corners so it can handle surprisingly well for it's weight.
-Chevy SS. Loads of potential with the LS3, though anything less than headers/exhaust/tune+ F can handle. Hard to find with a stick and still GM cheap inside. Bland in and out, but so is my F.
-Q50 3.0t. A little unreliable, though not German level. Doesn't have the handling, but straight line potential is plenty with minor mods. Red Sport is best choice, but the regular 3.0t with a tune is RS quick and either of them with downpipes exhaust and tune will beat FBO F's, add E85 and a few more grand and even SC ISF will struggle. Boring car other than the speed, no LSD, decade old 7 speed(that was bad when it first came out and isn't better now). Interior is outclassed even by a Maxima. + for AWD
-Nearly same as above goes for the Stinger/G70 though the nice benefit is the size of the Stinger and the looks. + on AWD
-B8.5 Audi S4. Most reliable Audi there is(though RS3 is supposedly catching up). Great interior, classy exterior, great car overall with AWD benefit.
-340i. As much as I love the new Supra, the 340i is nearly the same powertrain and has plenty of upgrades available without spending F80 M3 money. As with most BMW's, it's not the powertrain that gives you the $$$ issues though, so I wouldn't own it out of warranty. + for AWD
-CTSV2. Fast, potentially much faster, cheap interior. Great other than having the worst MPG for a daily you can have on this list.
-ATSV. Fast, potentially also much faster, even cheaper interior, and exterior looks like a fancy Cruze. Sounds like poop but a great chassis. Probably best handling coupe compared to M and RCF and C63.
-F80 M3. Fast, and again potentially much faster, but compared to previous M's it's a little lacking in sound and feel. Handles great, but close to soul-less. Crank hub fix is pricey, but not more than what a valley plate+header job fix will cost.
-C63/E63. Fix the head bolt and have a gas card and it's a great car. Glorious sound and mean looks. A bit rough suspension, but later years are better.
-GSF. Clearly the closest to the F, but pricey and slower, less raw, and the aftermarket is much pricier for similar products. A little underwhelming, but much nicer interior for a daily.
All can run high 12's at very minimum and get into 11's with mods, like the F can. Many can easily be faster.
ISF is rarer than all of them, seems to depreciate better, and IMO is the best "all-arounder". It's not the quickest, cheapest, most aftermarket friendly, nicest looking, nicest riding, nicest sounding, or best handling. But it is more reliable, and easiest to daily drive and does everything well enough, and it constantly gets "WTF" attention as it's rare. May be the best thing about the car tbh. I test drove all of them including the RCF, and still picked an FBO 12 ISF. That being said, rather than one car for a Swiss army knife, I think my next move is a LX470 and a MK5 Supra. You can only be so quick while being comfortable and still easy on the wallet to daily drive. For that, the F is king.
TLDR, F80 M3 is the closest I came to buying something over the ISF though. I'm just a sucker for the looks.
09-07-20, 02:50 PM
#5
Advanced
Thread Starter
09-07-20, 05:36 PM
#6
So while I'm a car guy, I'm mainly a "my car" guy. I don't keep up with many makes outside what I own or truly care about (which right now is very very little) - enthusiast Lexus, classic American muscle cars, enthusiast Bimmers up to the e9x, the RS5, occasionally a new Vette turns my head, and so on. There are very few modern cars that do anything for me. That being said, I tustled with a brand new Infiniti-something the other day & while I bested him, I was a little surprised at the performance of the car. This is what inspired the question for me. So outside the obvious (Vettes, Hellcats, M cars, Porsches, exotics), bring me up to speed. What do you guys consider to be competition, performance-wise, to the F nowadays? I ask that you make no mention of Stingers or anything Kia as that brand sickens me & throws me into terrifying rages, but I'm the one asking questions, so if you must...
The following users liked this post:
chrisp1 (09-09-20)
09-07-20, 08:29 PM
#7
Advanced
Thread Starter
Maybe I should've left that alone in my original post. I wasn't trying to bait with that comment but I can't bring myself to lie when asked about KIAs.
Trending Topics
09-07-20, 11:20 PM
#8
Pit Crew
KIA brought grand theft auto/sleeping dog cars to real life 
Against the comp the ISF will probably slightly walk or slightly get walked so it isn't bad at all still.
Against the comp the ISF will probably slightly walk or slightly get walked so it isn't bad at all still.
Last edited by LSpho; 09-08-20 at 11:36 AM.
09-08-20, 03:06 AM
#9
I believe every single element of a KIA is shamelessly & outwardly plagiarized. The copy/paste of it screams cheap & plastic. The infotainment screams "electrical fire." I am certain that the next time I get hit by a careless/distracted driver, which will happen, they'll be driving a KIA. And I hate the name. I don't like hearing another man say "KIA" in a discussion about cars. I'll never own one and I'll never care how far people say they've come.
Maybe I should've left that alone in my original post. I wasn't trying to bait with that comment but I can't bring myself to lie when asked about KIAs.
Maybe I should've left that alone in my original post. I wasn't trying to bait with that comment but I can't bring myself to lie when asked about KIAs.
The following users liked this post:
Quadrphnia (09-08-20)
09-08-20, 06:49 AM
#10
Moderator
Nothing competes with an ISF for the price range that ISFs currently sit in.
09-08-20, 11:28 AM
#11
So up north 2008 ISF's go for about 16-20k USD for one's with 100k miles. While 2008 C63's with similar mileage sell for 12-15k USD. It's a huge difference in price. The C63 is faster, has way better handling and sounds amazing so it's odd to say there's nothing that competes with an ISF. I'd still 100% have an ISF since I don't think the added costs of maintenance and repairs are worth the initial savings with the amg.
09-08-20, 12:01 PM
#12
For the $20-40k prices that you'll find a decent F I've personally considered all of these when switching from my 08 F to the 12 F. One unique factor for me is that I used to put a lot of miles on my cars. My first 2 years I owned my 08 I did 60k, before then I'd often do 35-40k a year. So daily drivability is a HUGE factor for my purchasing decision. Some people "daily drive" their AMG, but do 10k a year at most..
-Dodge Charger Scat Pack/392 SRT. Boat, but cheap power and looks and sounds great. Huge interior and some nice tech, big aftermarket, but darn if these aren't on every corner. They are quick from a dig with a good tire/surface, but mod for mod they are slightly slower than the F. The newer ones and wide bodies especially come with thick sticky tires on all 4 corners so it can handle surprisingly well for it's weight.
-Chevy SS. Loads of potential with the LS3, though anything less than headers/exhaust/tune+ F can handle. Hard to find with a stick and still GM cheap inside. Bland in and out, but so is my F.
-Q50 3.0t. A little unreliable, though not German level. Doesn't have the handling, but straight line potential is plenty with minor mods. Red Sport is best choice, but the regular 3.0t with a tune is RS quick and either of them with downpipes exhaust and tune will beat FBO F's, add E85 and a few more grand and even SC ISF will struggle. Boring car other than the speed, no LSD, decade old 7 speed(that was bad when it first came out and isn't better now). Interior is outclassed even by a Maxima. + for AWD
-Nearly same as above goes for the Stinger/G70 though the nice benefit is the size of the Stinger and the looks. + on AWD
-B8.5 Audi S4. Most reliable Audi there is(though RS3 is supposedly catching up). Great interior, classy exterior, great car overall with AWD benefit.
-340i. As much as I love the new Supra, the 340i is nearly the same powertrain and has plenty of upgrades available without spending F80 M3 money. As with most BMW's, it's not the powertrain that gives you the $$$ issues though, so I wouldn't own it out of warranty. + for AWD
-CTSV2. Fast, potentially much faster, cheap interior. Great other than having the worst MPG for a daily you can have on this list.
-ATSV. Fast, potentially also much faster, even cheaper interior, and exterior looks like a fancy Cruze. Sounds like poop but a great chassis. Probably best handling coupe compared to M and RCF and C63.
-F80 M3. Fast, and again potentially much faster, but compared to previous M's it's a little lacking in sound and feel. Handles great, but close to soul-less. Crank hub fix is pricey, but not more than what a valley plate+header job fix will cost.
-C63/E63. Fix the head bolt and have a gas card and it's a great car. Glorious sound and mean looks. A bit rough suspension, but later years are better.
-GSF. Clearly the closest to the F, but pricey and slower, less raw, and the aftermarket is much pricier for similar products. A little underwhelming, but much nicer interior for a daily.
All can run high 12's at very minimum and get into 11's with mods, like the F can. Many can easily be faster.
ISF is rarer than all of them, seems to depreciate better, and IMO is the best "all-arounder". It's not the quickest, cheapest, most aftermarket friendly, nicest looking, nicest riding, nicest sounding, or best handling. But it is more reliable, and easiest to daily drive and does everything well enough, and it constantly gets "WTF" attention as it's rare. May be the best thing about the car tbh. I test drove all of them including the RCF, and still picked an FBO 12 ISF. That being said, rather than one car for a Swiss army knife, I think my next move is a LX470 and a MK5 Supra. You can only be so quick while being comfortable and still easy on the wallet to daily drive. For that, the F is king.
TLDR, F80 M3 is the closest I came to buying something over the ISF though. I'm just a sucker for the looks.
-Dodge Charger Scat Pack/392 SRT. Boat, but cheap power and looks and sounds great. Huge interior and some nice tech, big aftermarket, but darn if these aren't on every corner. They are quick from a dig with a good tire/surface, but mod for mod they are slightly slower than the F. The newer ones and wide bodies especially come with thick sticky tires on all 4 corners so it can handle surprisingly well for it's weight.
-Chevy SS. Loads of potential with the LS3, though anything less than headers/exhaust/tune+ F can handle. Hard to find with a stick and still GM cheap inside. Bland in and out, but so is my F.
-Q50 3.0t. A little unreliable, though not German level. Doesn't have the handling, but straight line potential is plenty with minor mods. Red Sport is best choice, but the regular 3.0t with a tune is RS quick and either of them with downpipes exhaust and tune will beat FBO F's, add E85 and a few more grand and even SC ISF will struggle. Boring car other than the speed, no LSD, decade old 7 speed(that was bad when it first came out and isn't better now). Interior is outclassed even by a Maxima. + for AWD
-Nearly same as above goes for the Stinger/G70 though the nice benefit is the size of the Stinger and the looks. + on AWD
-B8.5 Audi S4. Most reliable Audi there is(though RS3 is supposedly catching up). Great interior, classy exterior, great car overall with AWD benefit.
-340i. As much as I love the new Supra, the 340i is nearly the same powertrain and has plenty of upgrades available without spending F80 M3 money. As with most BMW's, it's not the powertrain that gives you the $$$ issues though, so I wouldn't own it out of warranty. + for AWD
-CTSV2. Fast, potentially much faster, cheap interior. Great other than having the worst MPG for a daily you can have on this list.
-ATSV. Fast, potentially also much faster, even cheaper interior, and exterior looks like a fancy Cruze. Sounds like poop but a great chassis. Probably best handling coupe compared to M and RCF and C63.
-F80 M3. Fast, and again potentially much faster, but compared to previous M's it's a little lacking in sound and feel. Handles great, but close to soul-less. Crank hub fix is pricey, but not more than what a valley plate+header job fix will cost.
-C63/E63. Fix the head bolt and have a gas card and it's a great car. Glorious sound and mean looks. A bit rough suspension, but later years are better.
-GSF. Clearly the closest to the F, but pricey and slower, less raw, and the aftermarket is much pricier for similar products. A little underwhelming, but much nicer interior for a daily.
All can run high 12's at very minimum and get into 11's with mods, like the F can. Many can easily be faster.
ISF is rarer than all of them, seems to depreciate better, and IMO is the best "all-arounder". It's not the quickest, cheapest, most aftermarket friendly, nicest looking, nicest riding, nicest sounding, or best handling. But it is more reliable, and easiest to daily drive and does everything well enough, and it constantly gets "WTF" attention as it's rare. May be the best thing about the car tbh. I test drove all of them including the RCF, and still picked an FBO 12 ISF. That being said, rather than one car for a Swiss army knife, I think my next move is a LX470 and a MK5 Supra. You can only be so quick while being comfortable and still easy on the wallet to daily drive. For that, the F is king.
TLDR, F80 M3 is the closest I came to buying something over the ISF though. I'm just a sucker for the looks.
Last edited by LexusfanVA; 09-09-20 at 05:56 AM.
The following 12 users liked this post by LexusfanVA:
breed (09-17-20),
EricNguyen (09-16-20),
FSporting (09-06-21),
Hardrvin (09-08-20),
Kron1ck (09-12-20),
and 7 others liked this post.
09-08-20, 12:28 PM
#13
Moderator
So up north 2008 ISF's go for about 16-20k USD for one's with 100k miles. While 2008 C63's with similar mileage sell for 12-15k USD. It's a huge difference in price. The C63 is faster, has way better handling and sounds amazing so it's odd to say there's nothing that competes with an ISF. I'd still 100% have an ISF since I don't think the added costs of maintenance and repairs are worth the initial savings with the amg.
If your shopping in that price range, you really may not be able too. The maintenance is a whole nother animal, and most don’t have the luxury of third cars, which means you also can’t afford the down time if your doing the maintenance yourself. I’d also wager that the 63 can’t actually compete to a FBO ISF, and especially on a road course due to its weight.
My buddy’s AMG is broken all the time, and it’s at the dealer for 1-2 months each time. It’s the bigger body model.
My saying about the ISF is that it’s excellent at nothing, but great at everything. Throw in the reliability, and you can’t find the whole bag of tricks elsewhere for the same price. Just my two cents.
Last edited by Jwconeil; 09-08-20 at 12:33 PM.
The following 4 users liked this post by Jwconeil:
09-08-20, 12:29 PM
#14
Advanced
Thread Starter
The following users liked this post:
LexusfanVA (09-08-20)
The following users liked this post:
LexusfanVA (09-08-20)