Need a reliable turbo car, opinions please!

[NightKids]

wonderfully said czy_sol, but u haven't given your recommendation....

[weeman]

my 33t is as reliable as anything ive owned before, even my teg. its got a few mods, just the basics and full suspension. ive taken it down to the track a couple of times and it still runs like when i bought it a few months ago. altho i dont know how often the previous owner changed the oil as it was pretty black. ive owned the car for less than 10,000k's, given it a service and its coming up for another this weekend.

if the car has been well looked after you shouldn't have any problems with reliablity.

as for recomendations, i think with the money your looking at spending you should look at 180's 96-98 you should get for that price, s14's, r33's or even the mk3 supra with a 1j in it preferably, if not the 7m ones go pretty good too but dont get the 1g ones, just no power in them, that way you'll have money left over for insurance, rego etc and maybe a few mods if you like

[cristian]

some of the cons i've found over the years (i think these may have already been brought up)
R33 Gts-T = Ceramic wheel becomes frail when the motor's been deprived of oil or constantly not given time for warm up and cool down i.e not taken care of
S13/4 = hard to come by in good condition nowadays...although it doesn't cost much to acquire one and do an engine rebuild (easily within ur budget)
WRX = MY99's are known to have a very weak gearbox for the power its delivering...im sure there are mods to strengthen the tranny but im not sure how it would fit with the budget...
the MY99's are also the last rexies that came out before the subies became berzerk on car security...i.e. and is a target for many car thieves...

my suggestion...
an old school jdm MZ21 soarer...7mgte's are relatively cheap nowadays...they just have a tendency to have a sh!thouse head gasket that can be easily replaced by an aftermarket item...

[krogoth]

some of the cons i've found over the years (i think these may have already been brought up)
R33 Gts-T = Ceramic wheel becomes frail when the motor's been deprived of oil or constantly not given time for warm up and cool down i.e not taken care of

i dont get it, lol, ceramic wheel? something to do with the turbo?

[cristian]

i dont get it, lol, ceramic wheel? something to do with the turbo?

the wheel/blades in the turbo r ceramic...

a mate of mine went through 3 turbos during a span of 2 years coz he's a f^kwit and treats his car like an excel...

[krogoth]

ahhh, yes the notorios ceramic turbo wheel

theyr pretty reliable as long as u keep boost under 12-13 psi?

[cristian]

ahhh, yes the notorios ceramic turbo wheel

theyr pretty reliable as long as u keep boost under 12-13 psi?

yeah, i think stock psi on the rb25det is 13psi...

the turbo itself can handle up to 18 i think...not so sure about the motor though

[krogoth]

from wat ive heard its the engine that can take it, but the turbo that shits itself, lol

[nvmee]

yay im on the same boat too as this guy

[macoman69]

How I wish this weren't all true!

just keep it stock, or don't go with dodgy parts

[AzKik-R]

What is it that gives the WRX it's sexy rumble? Surely not the Fujitsubo exhaust?

The "sexy rumble" is caused by the 2 sets of exhaust gases converging, the boxer engine has 2 cylinders exhausting out one side, and 2 cylinders exhausting out the other side, where the 2 combine is where the gurgling noise is generaged, hence the similar sounds can also be found on motor cycles with 2 pistons where the exhausts are merged into one pipe. Or you can also find this same rumble on the holdens where the 2 sets of exhaust gasses are run down the pipes, and nearer to the back of the car you will see a pipe which connects between the 2 pipes, i refer to this pipe as a gurgle pipe. This is why holden v8's make the sound, but the ford v8's dont, the Ford V8's run 2 exhaust pipes down, but they dont have a gurgle pipe.


If you're going to get a WRX, and you are selecting one of the earlier models pre99, make sure you get a STI or an RA version, the early generation models have weak gearbox's, i've changed my mates gearbox 4 times!!! the STI & RA models are a much stronger gear box, some come with VCD.

If you're going for an EVO, stay away from the earlier models, evo 1, 2, 3, 4, They're great cars, and they have strong gearbox's but the AYC came out on the late model evo 4's.

Stay clear of GTi-R's, they have the weakest of all gearbox's, and the breaks are too small for the weight of the car and the speeds that thing is capable of.

Nissan Sylvia, Great to drive, high insurance costs. You may even get into drifting. change exhaust and get a lsd, you'll be laughing.

Skyline, depends on how much money you want to spend, but RB35DET is within a reasonable price, sucks gas(as you would expect with the turbo) r33 or r34 models, look good, and easy power mods. if your loaded get a gtr.

If your loyal to the HoMoCo, maybe you would like a Honda City Turbo II???

If you like small cars, you may even check out a Toyota Starlet GT, they're not as bad as they seam, If youre a tiny person and can fit in one, they're a great car

My last explored option would be a Rx7 series 6 or 7 (or even 4 & 5 if you like that porche 944 look) but the batmobile 6 & 7's are a pretty nice looking car, but that is kinda knocked back by your search criteria requesting something reliable.

hmmmmm, Evo 5? or a WRX STi v 4

ooooh, one other option comes to mind, you could pick up a 180sx type x (not to be confused with a regular 180sx) its a very sexy car the standard body looks awesome, they're rare, but they're out there. and they're fast

[Munted]

There's more to life than Honda and Japanese cars. How about these:

VW Golf GTi or Passat
The original hot hatch, Golf GTis have been loved for decades although it's only more recently that they got turbochargers, they're still brilliant though.

Saab 900 or 9-3
Waaaay back in 1972(!) 2L Saabs were leaving 5L V8 Toranas in their dust!

Volvo 850, S70 or S40
Volvo have a long history of turbo charging and in 1986 a Volvo 240 turbo took out the Australian Touring Car Championship to go with their 1985 European Touring Car Championship crown.

Audi A3 and A4 Quattro
Audi introduced the rally world to the wonders of a turbocharged AWD car back in the early 80s, changing rallying forever with the all conquering Audi Quattro Sport winning the Group B championship in 1985 and 1985. It also did very well at Pikes Peak

In short if you get a VW it's a cheap way to buy a legend, wonderful handling too. Saab have a reputation for being a bit quirky but were also responsible for bringing turbos to the masses and if you want a drop top, they're very reasonable. Volvos have a reputation for being reliable and safe and it's easy to find one that hasn't been trashed. Audis make nice sporty luxury cars and will hold their value.

Just thought I'd throw it out there!