Turbo car reccomendation
- Thread starter Tobias
- Start date
I'll disagree with that, all the people I've known with them have never had any such problems.
You can buy a decent one for 3k quite easily.
I'm not surprised that a P1 features in your list though as they are known for going pop for various reasons. But no one otu of all the people I've known with them (which is scarily quite a lof of people lol) has ever had any problems with them. Apart from the guy who tuned his up a silly amount, it ate gearboxes
I'd avoid imports, stick to a uk turbo and you'll easily find something in budget.
Throwing the doors open to RWD I'd also add in 200sx.
Soldato
- Joined
- 18 Oct 2002
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- 2,626
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- Worcestershire
There's probably plenty more about as well if you're willing to have a look on pistonheads/autotrader/ebay motors. My uk turbo cost £3500 6 months ago and I've not had any problems as of yet. Look out for a car with FSH and as few owners as possible - mine had 1 previous owner who had it serviced every 6 months without fail since he bought it new. If you do buy a bad example then it probably will be a money pit so keep looking until you find something decent!
Handling is also about whether the car understeers or oversteers, turn in, response etc. etc. Grip is just, well, grip.
My complaint about the Subaru system is that by default it tends to understeer in a very unpleasant, FWD-like way, and it also likes to oversteer in certain consitions such as lifting off in a corner. Obviously a decent driver will learn how to deal with this and it can be quite fun to do though I'm sure the think of the children brigade will be along to say you should never be getting the back end out on the public road.
In contrast the Nissan system keeps the car under a lot more control, it's set up to be RWD most of the time, but to avoid wheelspin on launch by directing some power to the front and it will do the same thing so that you only ever get a manageable amount of oversteer, and alwas oversteer, which again makes for a lot of fun, and a much more predictable ride.
Of course, this is why Skyline GTSt owners start making comments about how the GTR is for people who can't drive, but if you agree with those you'd be looking at RWD cars not 4WD.
The real problem with Subaru's system is the above mentioned knuckle dragging inbreds (and a fair number of enthusiasts too). Subarus have tons and tons of grip such that many drivers never learn how the car handles when you're reaching the limits of that grip. To such a driver the car is totally unpredictable at it's limits and you never know which end is going to let go first. Problem is that the car lulls you into a false sense of security with it's excellent grip, and the inbreds start to think that they are driving gods "I'd've had him in the twisties" is the stereotypical Subaru driver response when they've just been spanked in a straight line by an M3 or an R1 or whatever. Then one day they actually hit the car's limits and the next thing you know they're backwards through a hedge and/or upside down in a field.
Full disclosure: My Subaru did get written off backwards through a hedge, but my lift off oversteer incident was caused by a poorly timed catastrophic engine failure rather than stupid driving. I'm glad it went off because otherwise I'd be looking at 2-3 grand for another new engine.
e: As for 200SX, for that money you're going to be looking at either a really good condition S13 or a slightly ropey S14. Both will be money pits.
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No, they are completely different. Handling is about feel, grip is about sticking to the road.
An MX5 is a brilliantly handling car, yet has very little in the way of grip. An Audi A4 Quattro has loads of grip, but in terms of handling is quite poor.
Turbos have bigger exhausts and usually sound better than the eqiv n/a, but the turbo can act a bit like a silencer so it's double edged...also on old school turbos you got the lag and whine as it spooled up - then all hell breaks loose! which I kinda liked
I'm not a big fan of atmos dump valves though....
I'm not a big fan of atmos dump valves though....
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Have you any idea how much the price of Imprezas has collapsed in the last eighteen months? A good buyeye STI will only cost about £6k, so a mint classic WRX/UK turbo etc for £3k is hardy difficult to find. That's where the market is now.
M
Once I hit 30, I dont want to be driving an impreza / skyline. I will be in a "family" car, probably a VW TD, which doesnt make a statement of "im over here" and which doesnt whoosh
Thats all I meant by my time is limited with a turbo car of this nature.
There's absolutely no reason not to be driving a show-off turbo-chaged car after thirty. There are however, many reasons not to drive such a car with a VTA at any age.
M
To buy a car purely for that fact is chav, no if's and's or but's.
Surely just as Chav as buying an e46 M3 CSL purely for the induction noise?
Or a F430 for the resulting noise of a flat-plane Crank?
Or a Type R because of the sound of the V-Tec switch-over (Maybe a bad example?
)Buying a car because YOU think it sounds good is not a crime!
No, but fitting one to a car that doesn't benefit it (which is to say nearly every turbo car that uses a MAF sensor) is pretty Barry. "pointless or unsafe modification"
Personally I prefer the pidgeons sound you get on overrun on a car that has no dump valve at all.
£3000 will get you a excellent condition s13 or a good condition s14. I won't argue about the potential to be money pits though, especially if the powers been upped which imo it needs to be as a standard s14 is a bit dull.
I do like the look of the s13, maybe ill have a read of their forums, i know there is a huuuuuuuuuge community out there.
As for the reasons why I want a big dump valve? Irrelevant, I wasnt asking for opinions on the reasons behind my choice of car, just the car itself - which I might add many of you have been very helpful with, so thanks for that!
When I have made a more concrete decision, perhaps i will start another topic inquiring about specifics to that car, what to look for, usual mods, etc etc
sxoc are a good forum, but I'll tell you for free that if in your first post there you say that you want to put a dump valve on it because you like the pssscht sound then you won't exactly be popular there.
OTOH at least you don't post in SMS speak like many of the recent influx of chavs are doing. That makes them much easier to spot and ban
OTOH at least you don't post in SMS speak like many of the recent influx of chavs are doing. That makes them much easier to spot and ban
Associate
- Joined
- 29 Dec 2005
- Posts
- 1,196
if you want to know anything about an rx7, have a read of my thread from start to finish, should tell you everything you could want to know
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18105730
if you have any questions im more than happy to answer them
The sxoc is the best owners club for information and advice I've been a member of. There's very little chance of having a problem or wanting to do something that some one hasn't done or solved before.
Part of what makes it so good is they don't like chavs and tend to be more about modifing for performance. Atmospheric dump valves aren't popular as they can cause running problems on sx's, as on most turbo cars with a maf.