I peaked too soon...HELP

[Troubleatmill]

Jalo1548 said:

So basically, at the ripe old age of twenty I own a 240-260bhp fiat coupe 20vt, and I fear I have peaked to soon. ]

Set your aspirations a little higher.
You haven't even come close to peaking.


Treat this as good news.

[TwyRob]

A fast Saab? Older ones (like a 9000 Aero) can be made to put out near to 470bhp with a few mods, 250bhp or so with a simple stage 1 remap. Newer ones like a 9-5 have similar outputs.

Also, I hear that insurance quotes on standard ones (circa 225bhp for a fast one IIRC) aren't too bad as they are seen as a grandad car.

[43034]

Drive a GTV before discounting it. That Busso block will have you hooked, I guarentee!

If it has an aftermarket exhaust set-up then it's all the better

[Jalo1548]

I have clearly phrased this wrong. I don't mean I have peaked completely, just for now until a few years at least. I didn't realise how much I would have to spend to reliably surpass my current performance. Most cars mentioned struggle to match the performance figures of the coupe. I look at cars in my budget like a s3 or a favourite of mine a BMW 850 and it don't feel right buying a car I cannot afford to run properly. I am not a fan of modifications either, my car was the most standard coupe in my budget and I make no mods at all. I like handling mods before just making more power.

[sebhaque]

Try ringing specialist companies, I had a 320bhp Impreza STi when I was 19. This was only 6 years ago.

[TREMAiNE]

Jalo1548 said:

Most cars mentioned struggle to match the performance figures of the coupe.

Ignore paper figures, they're utterly meaningless unless you're showing off to your mates.*

How a car feels to drive means so much more than how fast the dials are moving, I recently picked up a cheap MX-5, its the slowest of all my cars but its an absolute blast to drive and I can't stop taking it for drives, don't necessarily try to get a car that trumps the coupe in terms of performance, look for something that's going to give you a really enjoyable driving experience.

*DISCLAIMER: relative to that sort of budget etc

[Jalo1548]

Any chance you remember who that was with? Id happily save up for a STI hawkeye if the insurance was only around £1700 or so.

[Jalo1548]

TREMAiNE said:

Ignore paper figures, they're utterly meaningless unless you're showing off to your mates.*

How a car feels to drive means so much more than how fast the dials are moving, I recently picked up a cheap MX-5, its the slowest of all my cars but its an absolute blast to drive and I can't stop taking it for drives, don't necessarily try to get a car that trumps the coupe in terms of performance, look for something that's going to give you a really enjoyable driving experience.

*DISCLAIMER: relative to that sort of budget etc

Yeah I completely understand, but the lad who hit my car said he was shocked how the turbo whacked you in back and how it pulled, bearing in mind he had a 300bhp astra vxr and now drives an m3. A lad from work who has the 300 evo x as his daily said my car felt like lightening once you get out of first and get some half decent traction. This is why I think something mr2/mx5 that's low and nippy should give me the fast feel but with probably more long term reliability and better mpg. I'm not sure how much hard tops for the mx5's cost either, any idea?

[TREMAiNE]

Jalo1548 said:

Yeah I completely understand, but the lad who hit my car said he was shocked how the turbo whacked you in back and how it pulled, bearing in mind he had a 300bhp astra vxr and now drives an m3. A lad from work who has the 300 evo x as his daily said my car felt like lightening once you get out of first and get some half decent traction. This is why I think something mr2/mx5 that's low and nippy should give me the fast feel but with probably more long term reliability and better mpg. I'm not sure how much hard tops for the mx5's cost either, any idea?

My hardtop came with the car, but you tend to see them on Gumtree for £300-£400 ish. Definitely worth the money for the window months though, if you have room to store it.

For reference, I paid £1200 for a 1990 Import 1.6 Eunos, 59000 miles, hard top, tonneu cover and wind deflector... Take away the cost of the hard top and scrap value of the car (should the worst happen) and I'm only in it 700 quid!

[rb5er]

Crap list bar the 350z.

After a 260bhp coupe you will be disappointed by most things on that list.

[clarki]

rb5er said:

Crap list bar the 350z.

After a 260bhp coupe you will be disappointed by most things on that list.

Nonsense, it's not bhp based.

Sure at 20 it's usually all about willy waving, but most people soon grow out of that.

If I could be 20 again i'd forget about cars for a while and concentrate on the girls. The cars will get better over time, but the girls just get older, so it's not all good news, lol

[rb5er]

Not nonsense, Thats list of cars is a snoozefest. Not necessarily bhp based but for me generally cars under 200bhp feel underpowered and bore me unless they gave something interesting going for them Very few cars on that list imo have that.

[thatdude]

I bought a 1000 cc motorcycle around christmas time


it's bloody fast


You could try a motorcycle?

[R2T2]

I have 120hp in a small Italian turbocharged Fiat.

Whilst in a straight line it's not rapid, in the corners it's a laugh. I can stick with people with 100hp more easily.

What about a Focus ST 2.5?

Straightline pace isn't the be all and end all, the corners is where you can be a serious menace to some much more exotic material.

Out of that list?

350Z, or the Cupra R, but that will need fettling to match the fun of the Z; and it'll never be RWD like the Z.

A 350 may very well be my next car.

[dogzilla]

S3 8P - 225 facelift model that has been remapp'd and some extras will get on for 270bhp, quattro is nice off the lights and Audi reliability.

I've had mine for 2.5 years and it's cost me nothing to run. Except for the tt that scraped the bodywork last week. Price of living in London.

[Fastra]

dogzilla said:

S3 8P - 225 facelift model that has been remapp'd and some extras will get on for 270bhp, quattro is nice off the lights and Audi reliability.

I've had mine for 2.5 years and it's cost me nothing to run. Except for the tt that scraped the bodywork last week. Price of living in London.

and what about replying to the comments on this thread:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[GreatGranny]

Honda civic 2.2, NO
Toyota mr2 Mk2, Possible
Volvo c30 d5, NO Try the 5 cyclinder model
Ford focus st170, NO
Alfa Brera 2.4, 2.2 petrol model?
Audi a3 2.0 TDI 170 NO
Mazda mx-5, NO
Honda Prelude 2.2, NO
Honda s2k, Struggling unless you up the budget
Another fiat coupe, NO
Citroen c2 VTR, NO
Leon Cupra r, Possible
Clio 172/182/197, Possible
Ford puma 1.7, Not sure why?
Skoda Octavia vrs, You're 20! :-)
Ford Fiesta ST (05 bubbly shape) Possible
Toyota Celica 190BHP (1.8 VVTI?), Possible
Nissan 350z. Possible

[sparkyhx]

Nissan 200sx, you will get a nice one for your money

[n3il123]

I haven't read all the replies, however am I right in saying you're 20 and you have £2000 budget?

You then list a load of cars including a Honda s2000? You have of course run some insurance quotes on this? Assuming that you can actually find one in one piece for £2000?

[dogzilla]

Fastra said:

and what about replying to the comments on this thread:

Not going in that st heap of a thread listening to all the absolute knobends until I've got the proof to shut them all up for good. Still waiting on insurance company to send me something solid.