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Best "Beginner Car" for Modifying/Tuning

58 messages,  Last post on Dec 10, 2012 at 8:44 AM

You are in the Speed Shop Tuning and Modification Forum.

What is this discussion about? Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen, Performance Mods

Messages Page 4 of 7

#28 of 58 Re: Best "Beginner Car" for Modifying/Tuning [kirstie_h] by jerdmenger

Feb 03, 2006 (11:33 am)

Replying to: kirstie_h (Mar 23, 2005 12:54 pm)
HI I AM NOT TRACKING OR RESPONDING TO THE PREVIOUS DISCUSSION BUT AM WONDERING IF SOMEON COULD HELP ME OUT.
 
WELL THE THING IS LAST YEAR MY PARENTS GAVE ME A CAR FOR GRADUATION, IT WAS A 2.0 GOLF, THEY DIDN'T REALLY WANT A CAR THAT WAS FAST, IT'S NOT LIKE I CAN BUILD A HOTROD WITH A GOLF BUT I WOULD LIKE TO TWEEK IT UP BECAUSE IT IS, HONESTLY STUPIDLY SLOW.
 
WHAT CAN I DO, ANY IDEAS?

#29 of 58 2.slow by ateixeira

Feb 03, 2006 (11:43 am)

That's what that engine was nick-named. To be honest I'm not sure there's all that much you can do to it, so I'd focus on the suspension, make it go fast around turns.
 
-juice

#30 of 58 Re: Best "Beginner Car" for Modifying/Tuning [jerdmenger] by carlisimo

Feb 03, 2006 (3:02 pm)

Replying to: jerdmenger (Feb 03, 2006 11:33 am)
Yeah, that was not a good engine.
 
Your options are to swap it out for a GTI engine, or to give it some forced induction. Given the ideosyncracies of VW electrical systems, it might be hard to make the first one work.
 
Someone makes a supercharger for the base Golf engine. It doesn't make it fast though... I don't know if it's worth the money. Find some Golf experts, and look into the possiblity of using junkyard turbos and intercoolers.

#31 of 58 Re: Best "Beginner Car" for Modifying/Tuning [jerdmenger] by m1miata

May 06, 2006 (9:16 pm)

Replying to: jerdmenger (Feb 03, 2006 11:33 am)
Watch your oil. Those cars can use up to a quart per 1,ooo miles. The HP is plenty to learn on. Driver learning power first, cornering skills, and such, then more straight line power.
-Loren

#32 of 58 Re: Best "Beginner Car" for Modifying/Tuning [kirstie_h] by fordtough60

Aug 15, 2008 (9:01 pm)

Replying to: kirstie_h (Mar 23, 2005 12:54 pm)
Well, as everyone has said, it depends on what you're going to do with the car.
 
As for drag racing, the Ford Mustang is a cheap and powerful option.
 
If it has anything to do with great handling, I'd go with either the Honda Civic, Mazda Miata, VW GTI, or a Dodge Neon for a cheaper, well handled option. If you have a lot of extra cash, the Porsche Boxter is an extreme, but quick, option. A few other cars tha tcould be useful here are the Nissan 350z, and the Subaru WRX STI.
 
For street racing, any of the above are great options. I would go with the vehicle with the most aftermarket options, most likely the Civic.
 
If you just want to look good, the 350z is a great looking car. The Mustang is a good lookign car as well, but it has more of a muscle-car feel, as apposed to the tuning feel of the 350z.
 
-Jake

#33 of 58 Re: Best "Beginner Car" for Modifying/Tuning [fordtough60] by paisan

Aug 18, 2008 (6:19 pm)

Replying to: fordtough60 (Aug 15, 2008 9:01 pm)
For street racing, any of the above are great options. I would go with the vehicle with the most aftermarket options, most likely the Civic.
 
We do not promote street racing. Perhaps a bicycle is good for that!
 
Seriously though, innocent, non-involved people (not participants or spectators) often are the victims of street racing. Before you do it, think what you would do if your Mother, Father, Brother or Sister were to be killed by a street racer.
 
-mike
Motorsports and Modifications Host

#34 of 58 Re: Depends what you want, don't it? [john500] by fadetoblackii

Sep 08, 2008 (9:18 am)

Replying to: john500 (Mar 30, 2005 4:20 pm)
"Almost all of the other vehicles will require an engine swap to be competitive with the GT."
 
Wow. There is an awful lot of mustang love going on in here... did the original post say that we were only supposed to consider cars that are currently in production?
 
If you want straight line speed (we'll talk about handling later) then forget about a Mustang GT. It requires way to many mods to make it go fast and you'll still get beat by the occasional ricer with a turbo.
 
For simple, straight line, affordable speed, there is nothing better than a 4th gen F-body. Get either engine you want (LT1 or LS1) they're both amazing and easy to mod. The LS1 is probably one of the best V8's ever made in terms of ease of modification and out of the box power delivery. In a straight line, the Camaro/Firebirds will flat out smoke the equivalent mustang stock for stock and once you get into mods, the mustang will need a pulley to beat an F-body with just bolt-ons.
 
If you buy a '98 Firebird Trans Am (or WS6 would be better, but for money's sake we'll say T/A) and just do bolt on mods, you'll have a car that will be in the 12 second range for far less money than it would take to get a fox body Mustang GT to do the same thing. If you buy a 2001 or 2002 it'll be even cheaper to get them to go fast because those cars had the LS6 intake manifold installed from the factory bringing base hp/tq on the T/A to 310/340 (325/350 in the WS6). The LS6 manifold is able to support upwards of 500rwhp so there's no need to worry about an engine swap to support more power. If cheap straight line fun is all you want, then you don't need to look any further than the 4th gen F-body cars.
 
They won't handle as well, but they're incredible as daily drivers (provided you stay street legal with your mods) and even stock you'll be running low 13's at the track with practice.
 
In terms of handling, I'm surprised the Mazda RX-8 hasn't gotten any love here. It's one of the best handling cars available (think Miata but better) and with a few mods it'd be a great beginner car, especially since you can get an '04 for ~$13K now.

Messages Page 4 of 7

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