Which car to choose

[ldavies]

Ok guys just come into a decent amount of money and struggling to decide what car to go for lol.

So should I keep the 106 gti and have a full race spec engine built ie over sized forged pistons lightened and balanced components etc etc

Turbo / supercharge it

Nissan pulsar

Subaru wrx sti

So if people could comment on each one and give there reasons why that would be great.

Thanks in advance all

[griff_106]

Depending on your budget (and if you can afford a good one) I'd say go for a Scooby personally. It's probably more fun to turbo/supercharge a 106, but far less practical and costly to do it right.

And with a Scooby, you get that noise... :sweetheart: lol

[Chris_O]

I was in the boat as you with my vts, and was also thinking about a silly power pulsar, but went for the 200sx instead

[ldavies]

Depending on your budget (and if you can afford a good one) I'd say go for a Scooby personally. It's probably more fun to turbo/supercharge a 106, but far less practical and costly to do it right.

And with a Scooby, you get that noise... :sweetheart: lol

I was thinking the same with the noise of the scooby lol

[ldavies]

I was in the boat as you with my vts, and was also thinking about a silly power pulsar, but went for the 200sx instead

Ye the more I look at the pulsars they just keep growing on me.
I guess the main concerns that's really putting me off is with the age of them and having to pay expensive money for an engine re build and the boxes as well as everything going wrong with there age. Also the rust problems on the rear arches.

[Nik_L]

Pulsar without a doubt. Yes they aren't famed for being super reliable but they are getting on a bit now. The SR20DET is actually a very strong motor and tune-able. Start messing with it without having it set-up properly and it will break. Have it set up good and you won't run into major problems.

Gearboxes can be a weak point. But that's mostly down to constant hard launches. They do hook up off the line incredible though. Much more aggressive than the likes of Scooby's and Evo's.

Pay the premium for a good 1 from a careful owner, or even the likes of a well known car from the owners forum, and you won't lose on it. They are holding good money just now and will keep going up imo.

Here's my old 1......
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c257/turbo_nik/DSC00811.jpg (http://s29.photobucket.com/user/turbo_nik/media/DSC00811.jpg.html)

313bhp, thing was insanely fast and i never had any problems with it. Done a trackday in it and drove it like it was intended. Was immaculate. Sold it for £3500 and would easily still be worth that.

[ldavies]

Pulsar without a doubt. Yes they aren't famed for being super reliable but they are getting on a bit now. The SR20DET is actually a very strong motor and tune-able. Start messing with it without having it set-up properly and it will break. Have it set up good and you won't run into major problems.

Gearboxes can be a weak point. But that's mostly down to constant hard launches. They do hook up off the line incredible though. Much more aggressive than the likes of Scooby's and Evo's.

Pay the premium for a good 1 from a careful owner, or even the likes of a well known car from the owners forum, and you won't lose on it. They are holding good money just now and will keep going up imo.

Here's my old 1......
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c257/turbo_nik/DSC00811.jpg (http://s29.photobucket.com/user/turbo_nik/media/DSC00811.jpg.html)

313bhp, thing was insanely fast and i never had any problems with it. Done a trackday in it and drove it like it was intended. Was immaculate. Sold it for £3500 and would easily still be worth that.

Very nice indeed nick
Makes me want one even more now I've seen your old one.
If I go for the pulsar what are the most common things to look out for with them?
Thanks

[griff_106]

I was thinking the same with the noise of the scooby lol

Heh I saw one today and had to turn down the music, get the window and just listen to it purr haha.

One day, I will own one :luff:

[ThrushMotorsport]

Scoobies are more common than corsa's, there insanly cheap to buy, majority of them look shit, and if you've been in one.. your ears are ringing, and the biggest sore head ever, they drone allot inside the cab with next to any exhaust system in it.

Pulsars - got a love for them, havent driven one though, but when i was younger i raced a guy on my zx6r in his pulsar, and it could shift.. also love the noise they make, proper yobo's car.

Id love to have finished my turbo saxo properly, all that was missing was the ecu, and thats it, but i reckon you could have allot more fun in this with a turbo, and a BE box than you would either of the above (from my personal view)

[Nik_L]

Very nice indeed nick
Makes me want one even more now I've seen your old one.
If I go for the pulsar what are the most common things to look out for with them?
Thanks

Tbf they don't have much common faults that stand out. Rot would be my main concern. Really just need to make sure its running healthy and mechanically sound like any other high performance car. Make sure the clutch is good also as its not cheap to change. Its pretty much an engine/box out job.

I personally would look for 1 that's had money spent on it. Standard might be more appealing but when you crave to crack 300bhp (which you will) you will need to upgrade the brakes etc as they are shocking.

FMIC, uprated fuel pump, cooler plugs, filter, bigger bore system, MBC/EBC upped to 1.1 bar (safe) will easily see over 300bhp on a healthy motor. Standard clutch might cause issue's if its getting on a bit but mine was still on standard clutch and handled the power fine.

[griff_106]

Scoobies are more common than corsa's, there insanly cheap to buy, majority of them look shit, and if you've been in one.. your ears are ringing, and the biggest sore head ever, they drone allot inside the cab with next to any exhaust system in it.

My brother-in-law has a Legacy GT with a Jap style backbox (unsure which one) and that's quite loud but not too loud - just enough to enjoy that flat four burble. Admittedly it does sound slightly different but not too much - absolutely love it either way :D haha

[Jazz]

Hardly any good Pulsars for sale now, most are shagged or rotting or both. Almost got a standard one a few years back but didn't get a feel for it.

Old school WRX STi will be a bit of a minefield, older EJ blocks do go pop, even the jap versions with stronger internals have their fair share of issues.

Looking on Pulsar forums, all the decent spec cars are usually broken and off road half the time lol.

[ldavies]

Just to add to everyone that's commented if I went for the scooby I would be looking at the wrx sti around a 2004 + but I'm seeing a lot of the older models 90s running a lot hp to the newer ones?
Are the older ones better???

[Jazz]

Just to add to everyone that's commented if I went for the scooby I would be looking at the wrx sti around a 2004 + but I'm seeing a lot of the older models 90s running a lot hp to the newer ones?
Are the older ones better???

2004+ will be the blobeye with the 2.0 engine, more reliable than the classic models with the well-regarded 6-speed box if its an STi (normal WRX have the weaker 5-speeders).

A lot of the older models have had rebuilt engines now as the original engines are usually weaker. Rebuilt with forged internals and a big turbo is the reason for the higher figures.

[griff_106]

2004+ will be the blobeye with the 2.0 engine, more reliable than the classic models with the well-regarded 6-speed box if its an STi (normal WRX have the weaker 5-speeders).

A lot of the older models have had rebuilt engines now as the original engines are usually weaker. Rebuilt with forged internals and a big turbo is the reason for the higher figures.

^ This.

Alot of Scooby's have been abused though so turbo's may go bang as they haven't been warmed up/cooled down properly which can cause problems and cost a pretty penny at the same time :n:

It's one of the reason why the brother-in-law chose a Legacy as they "generally" haven't been abused as the Impreza's are obviously the one's to go for some boy racers.

[ldavies]

2004+ will be the blobeye with the 2.0 engine, more reliable than the classic models with the well-regarded 6-speed box if its an STi (normal WRX have the weaker 5-speeders).

A lot of the older models have had rebuilt engines now as the original engines are usually weaker. Rebuilt with forged internals and a big turbo is the reason for the higher figures.

Jazz thanks for clearing that one up lol now I see why they've got high figures over the newer models.

[Jazz]

Used to have a 2002 Impreza STi Type UK with the PPP pack. Excellent car. Not cheap to insure and run though, even thirstier than my M3. Launching off the lights was extreme, 5k and dump the clutch, a bit of 4 wheel chirp and nobody can touch you. Miss her!

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh140/jazz_360/DSC00363.jpg

[ldavies]

Very nice jazz but got to ask you what are these models like compared to the m3 as I've heard a lot of people say to me get a subaru and you will get picked out by m3s all day long?

[Jazz]

Very nice jazz but got to ask you what are these models like compared to the m3 as I've heard a lot of people say to me get a subaru and you will get picked out by m3s all day long?

Very different cars even with their similar outputs. The M3 has more brake horse power, the Scooby has more torque.

In the wet or snow the M3 is absolute shit lol, the Subaru will deal with what ever conditions you will throw at it. The scoob has low down grunt, a bit of lag below 2k but after that lovely torque and strong boost, you get a flashing red shift light and beeper telling you when to change.

The M3 has less grip but more feedack, you can get the backend out and catch it- it's more of a 'drivers' car whereas the Scoob is just an awesome cross-country tool that eats up roads in minimal time.

With the PPP pack the scooby was pushing 305bhp, I'd say up until around 100mph the scoob was a bit quicker, past 110ish the M3 feels a tiny bit quicker. More of a 'kick in the backside' with the scoob because of the torque, the M3 you need to rev it hard to get the power.

Not that it's particularly important but the Scoob struggled to get much above 150mph, the M3 has seen 170ish, big difference top end.

In the snow/ice/normal british weather the Scoob is more useful, hope that helps.