Worth changing *from* FN2 to EP3R?

Hi folks

So here's the story... I have a FN2 - they are not that terrible IMO - I really like the styling, the practicality, the gearbox & the steering. However it certainly is slow, and at the limit of course it has bad plough understeer (though this hasn't been too much of a problem). (The high seating position is a bit annoying too...)

Anyhow I have taken the FN2 to one hillclimb, and it was just OK. It kind of felt like just driving the car around normally, and wasn't that exciting.

I thought the FN2 would be unsuited to track use for the above reasons (I never originally had intentions to go to track days or do hillclimbs etc :/ ) so I picked up an old tweaked wrx... It has straight cut gears and I put on some stupid-stiff second hand coilovers and it's a lot of fun -- it was a lot more exciting than the FN2 on the same hillclimb. Although driving the rex around town can get a bit annoying if you are feeling queasy for any reason, not to mention the constant gear whine in 4th gear. Obviously the feel of the gearbox and steering are miles off Honda standards though :/.

I'm not sure the wrx sounds "nice" at WOT. IMO it just sounds too aggressive and harsh when you put your foot down (like a bogan in a commodore.......), whereas I like to think of myself as a mild-mannered person who likes cars for their technical merits and I love the way you can put your foot down and use VTEC or even the mid-range of a Honda in town, without breaking the speed limit or drawing attention (at least with the stock exhaust). :) [I do like the boxer rumble sound in the low to mid-range though.]

On the track with a wrx you think "do I really need to be going so fast in an old road car" and "is it gonna break" :/, whereas in a honda I suppose you can merrily thrash it to the redline in the vtec zone all day and have a blast :D . It seems like there's more incentive, or it's more fun, to drive a Honda hard and push it.

Anyhow I can't help but think it would have been best to get an EP3R in the first place, as it would be better suited for trackuse and just as practical as the FN2... :/

BUT now that I have the FN2 (and it's been flawless) would it be madness to change it to an 8-years older jdm EP3 (and maybe sell the wrx too, the wrx has also been flawlessly reliable, impressive for an 16 year old car)? Everyone says the EP3 is much a better car, and I think it would be a good car for occasional trackdays & other club events even in "comfy & quiet old-man spec" completely stock form, hehe. :o
OR should I sell the WRX and put the money towards mods of the FN2? Say a supercharger or maybe just I/H/E? This wouldn't fix the FN2's understeer though, but it would keep the fun styling of the FN2 whilst making it fast (or less slow at least) - I'm very wary of getting carried away with mods having seen this former road car http://www.carsales.com.au/private/d.../?Cr=0&sdmvc=1 , and how they can turn into a bottomless money pit though. Anyhow, the spruced up FN2 would then perform better, and it would have all the mod cons and styling that will remain contemporary over the next 10 years or so that I would keep it.. :)

[One annoyance with the wrx (since it's a standard wrx) is that it can't (or you're not supposed to) do handbrake turns in Gymkhanas as it has a viscous centre-differential which you will promptly destroy if you try. :/ However the wrx does have a friendly and well organised car club, and it is very easy to get second-hand parts, which is nice. :) ]

Cheers, thanks for your thoughts...

Fn2 daily
Wrx track/weekend warrior

Thanks Jasemas... Yeah that was the plan originally. :) But the stock FN2 is kind of harsh anyway, and it feels a lot more like a racecar than the wrx (the fn2's steering ratio is much, much faster - the fn2 rack is similar to the STi Spec C (which is mucho $$ to put in a wrx, lol) and of course the fn2 has a close-ratio box (which, again, only comes in the raciest versions of STis)) so it's kinda all a bit strange and backwards. :/ hehe :)

In stock/mildly modded form the wrx is a great road car - lots of torque, really relaxed gearing & steering, soft roly-poly suspension (by Honda standards) - you just kinda cruise along in the rexy, corners aren't the strong suit of the stock suspension... :P

S chassis track car and a more comfy daily?

Nissan S chassis? I kinda think the Nissans would be in the same boat of not having that Honda "racecar-like" feel, like they were designed as more of a gt car, but have become popular for their modding potential.

have u modded the fn2?

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Originally Posted by curtis265

have u modded the fn2?

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Nope it's bog standard. :)

Kinda seems pointless to mod a car that's widely regarded as being really crap IMO. :/ Plus I like how it sounds, looks & handles stock, it's loud "enough", low "enough", responsive "enough" etc.... Just a bit slow...

If it had EP3 performance I probably would be satisfied, but I didn't really look into the EP3 at the time as I wanted a newer car and had no intention of tracking it at the time (plus EP3s weren't readily available in my state at the time, although they are now strangely enough). :)

A rear sway bar with fix your understeer issues completely. Then spend some money some breathing mods and tune.

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Originally Posted by androo

A rear sway bar with fix your understeer issues completely. Then spend some money some breathing mods and tune.

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Thanks for the tip androo!

Androo is right - a upgraded rear swaybar is a fantastic addition to any FWD daily.

How is your clutch ? IMO get a new clutch , ep3 flywheel and a LSD gearbox out of dc5r or ep3. Or perhaps upgrade your diff to a LSD unit. This will enhance the performance / handling considerably and bring it to similar to anep3r.

TBH very few street cars make excellent track cars straight out of the box. some will be transformed with the addition of a few tweaks (WRX's respond brilliantly to rear ARB) while others are just plain crap, no matter how much you throw at them.

Personally I think that the Rex has more potential to go fast than the FN, though it is probably flogged and will need some TLC to get it up to scratch. When new the 99-00 WRX's were very sweet and balanced (first time I drove my friend's 99 model with 165,000km on the clock was enough to convince me to buy a Rex)

An EP3 will make for a more fun road car than the FN, and be quicker around a track, but you'll still be slow compared to a lot of dedicated track cars. It will also need mods to be properly quick.

If you want a reliable car for the road, and a quick track car, you will be hard pressed to beat an Evo 6/7. You can still get a reliable one under $20k, and it doesn't have to be heavily modded to go quickly. The WRX's aren't too bad, either, but tend to be a bit more fragile than Evos. I've had plenty of success at track days, motorkhanas and dirt sprints in various bog standard Rexes (as well as the Forester XT family hack), so don't let the AWD thing throw you. Don't get too hung up on using the handbrake either. Even in wet motorkhanas I never bothered with the handbrake and managed a second outright in the Forester (pipped by a tarmac rally Subaru Legacy, who was doing a shakedown to compete in Targa NZ at the time)

There are currently some bargains for AWD gravel rally cars, which can easily be transformed to tarmac spec. You'll have the bonus of having a cage and harnesses. Of course these won't be suitable for daily duties, but I see Evorexes crop up for low teens quite regularly, so you can afford a daily as well as dedicated track (gravel) toy.