Sports car comparison

[Cruiserhead05]

I would have put this in chat but knew it wouldnt last long and wanted some serious opinions.
I currently have a '98 prelude sh. 5-speed.
Most would not consider it a sports car but for the purposes of the discussion, lets.
I got the car less then a month ago for a good price and have been debating just selling it to make some coin or upgrade.

I've always loved 3000gt VR4's and they seem to be easely had for about 10k or so.

Today i went and test drove a 92 with 89k miles. it was fast, but had lots of driveline noise and didnt seem nearly as solid as my prelude with 96k miles.

So lets hear some opinions....
the honda gets slightly mpg, but is FWD and 200hp
the 3000gt's in general will be older, 320hp, AWD.

What would you guys do, keeping reliability as an important issue. As well as fun factor, and fuel mpg.

 

[Sno bored]

86 Fiero

 

[Cruiserhead05]

I should've known that was coming...

 

[fsusteve]

well 300 ponies and AWD drive make it a clear choice for fun, just keep looking till you find one, but remember someone else has prolly had a s***load of fun with it already.

 

[SPDSHFT]

72 Vega

Oh wait...you wanted reliablity....

After spending too much money, and a few late nights driving imports in the mid 90's, I would go with the Honda. $ for $ you can make the Prelude as fast and fun as the Mitzu's, and a lot cheaper to fix IF it breaks. If you really want an car for under 10K with spunk and good mpg and reliability find a higher milage Acura Integra GSR (3rd generation) You can get it with the same power as the Prelude and weights a ton less....just my opionion from a "been there, done that) point of view.

 

[Cattledog]

Stay away from the mitsu 3000gt vr4. Do some internet searching. Cool car, but very expensive to fix and you will be fixing it alot. Keep the honda and drive the car.

IMO, way more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow.

 

[Gappy]

No brainer...Honda all the way. No I don't have a Honda but have owned 2 in the past. Great cars. The 3000 looks sporty but it ends there. Over all value in general, Honda kicks Mitzu's!!

 

[lexusman450]

The GT does have allot of Balls, and of course the SH have allot of Vtec Screams. What you really need to decide is what you really want, i mean what would make you switch from a H23 200hp to a V6 with twins. Are you planning to Drift, Drag, Cross etc.. Or are you looking for high HP's vehicles.

 

[Cruiserhead05]

I guess im not totally sure what i want. I've realized over the last few weeks that going fast is only so fun, and can get me into a lot of trouble. I actually have more fun going 50-70 mph down mountain roads than 100+ mph in a straight line.

I need reliability, decent gas mileage(20's)

Problem is i got the prelude for a really good deal and its very clean, has an awesome stereo and in general it does everything i need.

I guess my main problem is that i do want something a little quicker, and something thats different. Thats part of why i like the cruisers, they are fairly unique. I see built jeeps all day long, but rarely see cruisers. I think i would love a mid 90s mr2 turbo, a 1jz powered 3rd gen supra, or a clean VR4.

 

[Cattledog]

Go for a 5spd 94-95 flyn miata turbocharged miata with DOT legal race tires. Fun and fast.

Kinda like a street legal gocart. I had a areodyne turbo miata for 5 years, very fast and amazing in the corners. The car was more fun without the turbo. BTW, 30 mpg and very reliable. Almost cruiser like reliable with way less p.m.

 

[AATLAS1X]

Well if you are talking Mazda's why not a 323 GTX all wheel drive and super charged! I believe it was the fastest car from 0-60 in 87 and 88. Toss in lockers and a full cage and go.

 

[Cruiserhead05]

I know there are alot of miata fans here so i will do my best to be nice, but i just dont think its a viable option for two reasons. Its so small, and i apologize but too much girl factor. I'm know they can be made fast, and handle well but i'd rather have a 90s mr2 if i was going to get a tiny car.

Perhaps i will just build the prelude, i love the styling on the car. Although no matter how much $$$ i put into the honda, its still a FWD ricer.

 

[IB14A69]

my 05 subaru sti is pretty damn fast, handles well and is awd.

 

[Cruiserhead05]

I have a few friends trying to convince me to get an STI. I'd love one but it seems as though i'd be hard pressed to get into one for under 20k. My prelude is worth about 10-11k, that leaves a slight gap to be filled with $$$

 

[MuddyOval]

aging BMW M3's are all over the place- many are grocery fetchers. Aftermarket support is good.
Go European... once you do, it's hard to drive anything else. I found one recently for $11K with low miles, all documentation, adult owned... they're out there.

 

[Cruiserhead05]

I have been widely turn away from M3's because it needs to be a reliable daily driver. That, coupled with the price of parts and insurance its kind of off the radar, unless someone can convince me otherwise.

Right now its
mod'd 90's mr2
300zx
Evo or sti if i could come up with $$

 

[Desertmaster]

Stick with Honda....reliability is by far the best over the mitsu.

 

[MuddyOval]

Bimmers are reliable if maintained. I had an old one with 160K miles on it, 20K of that being on Summit Point Raceway. Avoid the dealers for parts- no worse than any other decent car.
None of the cars on the list are really sports cars, but I'll throw a vote in for the 300ZX- but only if you can find a rare decent one. Back in the day I had one with a Stillen Stage IV twin turbo. Reliable, but an absolute monster if you lay on the loud pedal a little. Tried to teach the wife to drive a stick in that car. She got nervous at a 4 way stop and dumped the clutch hard and punched it, we spun through the intersection, sideways over the curb, through a row of bushes and into a Post Office parking lot before the broken rear wheel jammed against the suspension and killed the engine. All the while being watched by a police officer at the intersection- my boss.

 

[MudHunter]

I second the thought that if you are honest and want reliability...RUN FROM THE VR4 and towards the Honda.

If you want RWD and good fun....Look into a NA Supra and put a single large turbo on it...you will make much more HP with less cost than fooling with a factory TT Supra. Aftermarket support is high...and its a Toyota.

Your SH is pretty rare...at least around here. I test drove a new one in 98...and coming from an 85 Vette...it was at least "decent" at the time.

If you want most bang for the buck...Corvette hands down. You can have a 93 LT1 for around $8k if you look for them...

IMHO as always.....

 

[mot]

I used to have the 2nd gen. Integra once upon a time.
As much as I like Hondas I do not like the fact that you have to rev the poop out of it to get any ooomph/rush out of it and that gets old, fast (Don't flame me! At least, for me it got tiring).

However, whenever I got tired of my vehicles the trick that almost always worked to rekindle the flame was to get a new part or accessory for it. It'll either make you want to stay behind the wheel driving it (performance or audio/visual mods) or keep looking at it as you walk away from your vehicle in parking lots (aestheticdal mods).

I've been fond of the 3000GT in the past, as well as the (older) Galant VR-4, as well as the (first gen.) Eclipse GSX(T).

I have a buddy who has the Eagle Talon (Tsi) and drag races it.
I think you can (performance) mod it reasonably cheap as it is turbo charged. He can do 12 flat, if not a little better. (1/4 mile).
It's viciously fast and the awd certainly is a nice plus when it comes to driving in foul weather.

I really like the previous generation 300ZX (TT) though.
I know it's not an all-out sports car, but I would be more than happy to have it as a GT.

I hope I've made "some" sense with this post.

Good luck!

Mot