Teh Official "Dude Where's My Forum?" Thread, Brought to you by the minds of Box, and her fiancée, Lorelei Options

[Bitter]

A good 350Z would be good.

[1994Celica]

Well box may not have decided on his car but I decided on mine. I drove a Tacoma today, and loved it. After some college debt gets paid off I'll be getting one for sure. But Box you're going to have to make a compromise or you're constantly going to be changing cars.

[Bitter]

That'll be good for towing the Porsche 911 around once you buy it.

[1994Celica]

With my luck I'll need it to tow the vehicles I already have. Also I'm buying brand new when I can afford it. The difference between a nice used Tacoma and a brand new one is almost zero.

This post has been edited by 1994Celica: Jul 8, 2017 - 5:11 PM

[Box]

Well box may not have decided on his car but I decided on mine. I drove a Tacoma today, and loved it. After some college debt gets paid off I'll be getting one for sure. But Box you're going to have to make a compromise or you're constantly going to be changing cars.

I know that's part of my problem, I want a car that has everything all in one because I've been exposed to cars that do everything. I think so long as the rotary proved to be reliable(I did do some research into it last night) I'd like the RX-8 well enough provided I shift my driving style to revving it out all the time, since the handling is supposed to be so good. Though a 350Z is supposed to be a good handler and I think I'd like the VQ35DE well enough.

[1994Celica]

Well go test drive one and see.

[Box]

I was going to do more research on rebuild costs and expected mileage on a rebuild for the RX-8 first, but I don't see any glaring reasons not to get a 350Z though. If I'm going to test one without the intention of buying that day I'll want to find a dealership with one, I still feel bad about it but at least the salesperson is being paid to be there and I guess that disconnection of the car not being owned by an actual person makes it somewhat more ok. Which after thinking about it and every car made somewhere between 1994-2010 or so the only ones I'd feel totally comfortable with buying are the Miata, 350Z/G35, and the Corvette. The 300ZX with its interference engine and timing belt that needs done every 60K miles/4 years in addition to most having questionable history makes me weary(in addition to being slow apparently), the RX-8 should be obvious, the MR2 makes the Firebird seem easy to work on, the 240SX is slow and dorifto taxed to stupid prices, and the SC300 is hard to find and it'd need an expensive LSD from a Supra. Then anything else is unobtainable or worse than the Firebird. Ideally I'd find a C4 Corvette, but '94-96 daily driver 6-speed cars are so nonexistent hence looking at other cars. I'm really good at nitpicking crap down it'd seem, which is why I went with the Firebird since I figured "Well it'll be everything I want except the solid axle, I can live with that." Apparently I was wrong.

[1994Celica]

But it's a car you're interested in. If you drive it find out you like it then problems solved. If you end up not liking it then you know you can cross it off the list and move on.

[Box]

That's true, but I just don't feel right doing it to a private seller and effectively knowing I'm wasting their time. Like I said a dealer I don't mind as much since they're being paid to do it.

[Box]

I do know I'll never buy a European car, been helping my brother do the timing and camshaft on the Audi and my god... Even with working at VW and having the tools and being familiar with the engine, jeez there's a bunch of nonsense in which I respond by growling "GERMAN ENGINEERING!"

[Bitter]

How about that water pump location and belt.

[1994Celica]

I will never buy a vw/Audi product. I feel like they overemgineer their cars for no reason just to make owners suffer.

[Bitter]

So no Porsche after 2012 then.

[1994Celica]

So no Porsche after 2012 then.

Nope haha, dream 911 is 993 but those will be out of my league forever but I'm hoping one day I can maybe get 996. Still would prefer a Tacoma over both.

This post has been edited by 1994Celica: Jul 9, 2017 - 1:10 AM

[Box]

Water pump and belt wasn't so bad since the entire front end of the car has been removed, getting to the thermostat still a pain since you have to remove the alternator and other crap.

[Box]

Looked up the rebuild kit for the RX-8, screamed at the price, and then closed the page. Also apparently Nissan has a class action lawsuit against them for premature timing chain failure on the VQ35DE, so that's nice. That t-shirt was right, the answer is Miata.

[Box]

So after thinking about it and looking around some more I've decided to either keep the Firebird and just deal with the mediocrity that is the solid axle, or sell it and get a Miata of some sort. Rather a NA8 or NB2 I can't really decide, NB2 is a tab bit stiffer from the factory but the NA8 should be a fair amount cheaper to buy and for the difference do the Flyin' Miata butterfly brace and NB2 seats at least. I almost say NA8 just so I can continue using E-code lights, I've been spoiled now in that regard. Anything else either has some quirk that I'll hate or worry about, or it means buying some higher mileage example than I'd care to. It just doesn't makes sense to buy a 2003 350Z/G35 with 175K miles for $5,000+ when I can get a 2002 Miata with 100K miles for the same amount or slightly less. The RX-8 unless I could find one with a fresh rebuild or swap I just couldn't trust at all knowing a $2,000 rebuild kit is looming somewhere in the distant future. So that's pretty much where I've finally decided on things. Of course If I hadn't slipped into RWD and LSD snobbery that'd open up a lot of options, but those are two things I've decided are needed in a car for me to be happy. Bleh, I am too picky for my own good.

[1994Celica]

Every car has its flaws., I wouldn't go rotary but I still don't think you should rule the 350 out.Or Just keep the bird and find a way to make it handle or win the lottery and do what do what Matt Farrah did to his Fox body.

[Box]

There has to be a perfect car out there somewhere. I don't know would just have to be prepared to do a $600 timing job on the Z and then make sure to get one where the synchronizers aren't grinding. The Firebird handles well for the most part, just the rear gets twitchy when you push it hard and the rougher the road surface the twitchier it gets. That and sure they can be made to handle exceptionally on a track, but the solid axle will always pose problems out in the real world. It's one of those things where do I want to spend a fortune on suspension on the Firebird to never be entirely happy because of the solid axle, or do I get a Miata and still do some suspension but then spend more money on going forced induction. I think I've just reached a point where I rather have the best handling possible and then deal with power later. I never use the power in the Firebird anyway, 95% of the time I'm using 25-50% of the throttle. Of course a lot of that is because you don't have to use it, which is great, because if you do use it you find yourself speeding all the time in short order. Every time I use the power I end up speeding, and I'm not even pushing it. I'm so used to pulling third in the Celica and Miata and at 5,000 rpm you're barely at 60, but in the Firebird you're doing 85. Like honestly it's more than enough power for me, I rather have less power and better handling. At least the handling I can utilize 100% of the time without breaking the law, whereas maybe 5% of the time I can utilize all the power under the same pretense.

This post has been edited by Box: Jul 9, 2017 - 9:51 AM

[Bitter]

I think about 90% of your problem is budget, you're looking for champagne with beer money.