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It's been a little over a year since I sold the G and truth be told I do miss it from time to time. To be fair I knew I would as it was easily the most "luxurious" and most powerful car I'd owned.
Lately the itch to get back to the track has been getting to me so I started seriously looking into another weekend/track/dd car. The G was suppose to hold that title for a while but I was just never really in love with the car. Also it was just in too nice of condition to tear up with track work and mods. I work from home and have a 07 TL-S, so while the new car should be capable of DD duties it won't necessarily need to fulfill that role often. Anyway the two cars I've been looking at are the 2002+ 986.2 Base Boxster and 2015+ BRZ/FRS.
I test drove a 2015 Premium(base) BRZ last weekend and immediately felt the "yup this is what I'm looking for" emotion. I'm sure everyones read/watched enough reviews of the 86 twins over the past 10 years so I won't bore you but they are true. This car seriously reminded me of my first ever car, a 93 Si-VTEC Honda Prelude with a H22, and later EuroR H23. 2800lbs and a basic sports car recipe will do that I guess. The H22/H23 were miles better engines though than the FA20. All I would need to do is a UEL + OFT Flash, oil cooler, and brakes to this particular BRZ. Previous owner just changed the clutch + TOB, added new pilot sport 4 a/s tires, and ceramic tint. The sellers asking price was a little high at $14.5k for a 2015 salvage(seen the damage, not bad) base BRZ. On the flip side its a 2015 so better reliability than the early 2013/2014 MYs and only 49k miles on the clock with a major clutch + TOB service completed. Offered him $11k and he came back with $12.5k. Going to follow up this weekend and see what kind of interest he's had and if he will reconsider my offer.
The Boxster I still haven't had the chance to test drive but I'm not a vert guy and I would need to find one with a lot of the services completed already by a true P-car guy. IMS, Clutch, RMS, AOS, Radiators, Cooling system, top, etc. I can do some of the work myself but never having worked on a Porsche I'm sure I'd need new tools. Additionally, I want a 987 Cayman and the Boxster feels like I'd be settling but then again its still a P-Car and I know I'd like to own one one day soon.
Sorry I missed all the GT-R questions guys. I was off yesterday and usually just check this forum when I have a down moment at work.
Originally Posted by TheDevilsG
Jokes aside, You werent tempted to take that vr38dett for a ride though? That engine is pretty bad ***.
I was tempted because they are fun to drive and it has been a while, but the car is a firm ride stock and the thought of it on coilovers just made my bad back cringe.
Originally Posted by rotarymike
I gotta ask... what are they going to list it at?
Great question. It either sold already or went to auction. I heard it was not in perfect shape. The previous owner did not trade it in, they just sold it outright to us.
Yesterday the red GTI 40th anniversary arrived! I drove it and really liked the car. By far the best driving GTI that VW has ever made. Unfortunately, using the clutch caused noticeable pain in my leg and foot. I thought it might be due to the fact that I did a fair amount of walking first. So to be sure, today I went to drive it again as soon as I got to work for about 5 minutes. My leg and foot started hurting again. I have used significantly more medicine today to try to help the pain, but unfortunately I have just not healed enough to drive stick shift. Such a bummer. I have never had an injury keep me from getting a car. Also a bummer because this car in this color brought back a lot of good memories of my late father who ignited the passion I have today for cars at a very young age and had a couple of GTI's himself. Maybe I pick one up used later.
Plan B: We also got in a gray 40th Anniversary with the DSG transmission. Probably my 2nd favorite color and no foot/leg pain to worry about, but would it be fun enough to drive? The DSG is quick to shift and somewhat entertaining. I tried using the manual shift mode and surprisingly it actually keeps you in manual mode instead of trying to shift back to regular auto mode every 5 seconds like most cars. Ultimately, it is just not as fun and engaging to drive as the manual transmission.
The good news is that the Leaf is a perfectly good car for me for driving around town and honestly, probably just as fun to zip around corners as the GTI if I put some sticky tires on it. However, I think I will wait until I can actually drive a Civic Si and Type R to see if those cars would be contenders for me once my back heals more and the pain is reduced. Our Honda store got one Type R this year and I am next in line. I am also next in line if they ever get a Civic Si. Or maybe VW's improvements to the GTI and Golf R are actually significant for 2024. Hopefully, I do some more significant healing before any of those cars arrive.
@4DRZ, not to come off the wrong way, but have you given any thought/ consideration to how your back may be well after you've recuperated? The possibility that future driving manuals will only exacerbate your previous injury?
About 45 years ago, I fell from a bicycle after being run off the road by a car. I fell full weight on my left knee fracturing the patella and partially tearing the meniscus. Back then surgery was not really a option. Long story short, 40+ years later I still have times when it bothers me after I've shifted gears countless times in my beater pickup. And God help me if I bang it on something (which is why I very rarely ride passenger).
FWIW, I am sorry you are going through this ordeal and I hope you are able to find that balance between your back and whatever new car you decide on.
Last edited by ILM-NC G37S; 07-28-2023 at 08:15 PM.
@4DRZ Sorry to hear that. I know you were really looking forward to that car.
Can you find a red 40th with the DSG? While I totally agree it's nowhere near as engaging as a MT, it's not bad. Sans passengers, I exclusively drive our A4 in manual mode. APR and others make transmissions tunes that are supposedly pretty awesome, and make the DSG even more responsive and harder shifting.
Otherwise, rolling the Leaf for a bit to see where you land is a good alternative. Who knows, maybe a year from now you're 100% and the car market is less crazy.
Thanks guys! I'm bummed about the GTI, but maybe that just means the VW upgrades for the 2024 GTI will be even better. Or maybe a Type R or Civic Si will become available and I will like that.
Originally Posted by ILM-NC G37S
@4DRZ, not to come off the wrong way, but have you given any thought/ consideration to how your back may be well after you've recuperated? The possibility that future driving manuals will only exacerbate your previous injury?
About 45 years ago, I fell from a bicycle after being run off the road by a car. I fell full weight on my left knee fracturing the patella and partially tearing the meniscus. Back then surgery was not really a option. Long story short, 40+ years later I still have times when it bothers me after I've shifted gears countless times in my beater pickup. And God help me if I bang it on something (which is why I very rarely ride passenger).
FWIW, I am sorry you are going through this ordeal and I hope you are able to find that balance between your back and whatever new car you decide on.
Thanks for the concern. This injury is a bit different. I have a severely herniated disc which is sticking out of my spine and pushing on the S1 nerve in my back which extends all through my back, left leg, calf, heel, and into my toes. Supposedly, as soon as my body absorbs enough of the disc, then the nerve will no longer be pinched which initially caused severe pain from my back all the way to my toes. The first two weeks I was unable to sit or walk. It has gotten progressively better since I got injured in early January, but I feel like I may have plateaued for a bit. I met with a surgeon in late May who said to give it through summer to see if I continue to improve. So at the end of August I will meet with him to discuss weather or not surgery is the best option at that point. The issue with a clutch that I never realized is that a lot of the muscle to do that comes from your calf. The S1 nerve is only allowing the outer half of my calf to function so I can walk ok, but running, pushing a clutch in, or trying to lift up my heel is nearly impossible. The good news is that time or surgery should fix the nerve issue completely according to my spine doctor and the surgeon. The bad news is that so much of the disc is not between my spine that eventually (10-15 years) I will probably need spinal fusion surgery and I can no longer lift anything remotely heavy.
Originally Posted by Lego_Maniac
@4DRZ Sorry to hear that. I know you were really looking forward to that car.
Can you find a red 40th with the DSG? While I totally agree it's nowhere near as engaging as a MT, it's not bad. Sans passengers, I exclusively drive our A4 in manual mode. APR and others make transmissions tunes that are supposedly pretty awesome, and make the DSG even more responsive and harder shifting.
Otherwise, rolling the Leaf for a bit to see where you land is a good alternative. Who knows, maybe a year from now you're 100% and the car market is less crazy.
That's what I was thinking with the gray with the DSG, but it is just not as fun to drive without the stick shift. The other weird thing with the DSG is that it was always a bit sluggish to respond initially and always seemed to be in the wrong gear for a touch too long. What this meant was the exhaust sound was always a bit off compared to the stick shift. It was a bit comical actually as it constantly sounded like it was farting. Strange. I didn't want to have to give up color, shifting, and sound. To get employee purchase the car has to be from one of our stores.
Well this is interesting. VW just filed a trademark for a new GTI emblem with a lightning bolt designed for when the car goes electric, supposedly in the next decade. My first thought was that I was glad that VW was at least planning to keep the GTI around in the distant future when electric cars will likely make up a much larger percentage of the vehicles on the road. Then I wondered when more brands would start talking about making performance focused EV's. Nismo is supposed to announce some dedicated performance EV's in December. I just hope they are not flops like the last Nismo Sentra. What a joke that was. Anyway, here is the GTI article I was referring to: https://carbuzz.com/news/volkswagen-...e-electric-era
Performance EV's should be relatively easy to make because most EV's are already fast and have instant torque with a 1 speed transmission. So it's not like manufacturers need to make a special engine or transmission like they do now. EV's also inherently have a low center of gravity and a lot of them have a near 50/50 weight balance due to the battery pack placement. All you really need are light wheels, sticky tires, and good brakes. If Hyundai does it right with the Ioniq 5 N as far as synthetic sounds and shifting, they might actually be engaging too. Once solid state batteries are a thing I am sure range can increase and weight can decrease. Maybe these cars can be really fun to drive after all. Stupid looking GTI emblem though.
Mass pure performance EVs are coming for sure. OEMs need to get a better handle on battery degradation and thermal stability from what I understand.
For sure. I wonder how much of that will be solved by solid state batteries. For street use most Ev's are already pretty fun- hell I"m having lots of fun around town in my Leaf and that is about as far away from a performance EV as you can get. But track use is another animal all together. I think it will be a while before we see EV's show up at track days regularly unless the track has easy access to chargers.
Considering the number of owners with the cash for track toys that also own teslas, installing a few chargers is probably a good investment for the track. OTOH, for actual track EVs there will need to be a bunch of them AND training and equipment for the emergency crews.
The Boxster I still haven't had the chance to test drive but I'm not a vert guy and I would need to find one with a lot of the services completed already by a true P-car guy. IMS, Clutch, RMS, AOS, Radiators, Cooling system, top, etc. I can do some of the work myself but never having worked on a Porsche I'm sure I'd need new tools. Additionally, I want a 987 Cayman and the Boxster feels like I'd be settling but then again its still a P-Car and I know I'd like to own one one day soon.
A good friend of mine owned a 996 for a few years and it was a love/hate relationship. He was literally always worried about what could go wrong with the car and what it would cost to fix, and the resultant resale.
I wasn't aware that even simple DIYs are discouraged on Porsches because the car maintains a higher resale if serviced by the dealer. Definitely sounds like a cool car to drive on twisty mountain roads, it's just the rest of the time where he struggled.
Performance Sedans seem to be an excellent compromise, but finding one that's a true RWD, more desirable than my present car, not an EV, reliable and has an aftermarket presence so that one can keep for 7-10 years and "tinker" to maintain interest has become very difficult.
Performance Sedans seem to be an excellent compromise, but finding one that's a true RWD, more desirable than my present car, not an EV, reliable and has an aftermarket presence so that one can keep for 7-10 years and "tinker" to maintain interest has become very difficult.
If you can get past the full-sized Chevy Malibu front end, it's one helluva car. Got to drive a 6MT a few years back, and wow! Just wow.
Considering the number of owners with the cash for track toys that also own teslas, installing a few chargers is probably a good investment for the track. OTOH, for actual track EVs there will need to be a bunch of them AND training and equipment for the emergency crews.
I never even thought about safety crew training at a track for an EV, but I wonder if that is an issue for some brands. The semi-flammable Bolt comes to mind with all of their stop sales due to starting on fire. It turns out it was due to a crucial missed step where the car was unable to disconnect the battery pack power connection from the car in an accident. I know Nissan added that safety feature with the Leaf from day one and no battery pack fires or recalls to date so it seems to be working. On track at speed, I bet there are a bunch of other things to consider. However, no gas in an EV which is usually the biggest issue in deadly track crashes so at least EV's are a lot safer in that regard.
Originally Posted by socketz67
Performance Sedans seem to be an excellent compromise, but finding one that's a true RWD, more desirable than my present car, not an EV, reliable and has an aftermarket presence so that one can keep for 7-10 years and "tinker" to maintain interest has become very difficult.
Add stick shift to the equation and it becomes really tricky. New, you are limited to M3 or the Blackwings. Used opens up some options depending on the age and M3's and ATS-V's still qualify.
Originally Posted by Rochester
If you can get past the full-sized Chevy Malibu front end, it's one helluva car. Got to drive a 6MT a few years back, and wow! Just wow.
Butterface
Road & Track did compare one to driving an E39 M5 and that is a pretty good driving larger sedan for its time. I saw one get traded in at one of our other stores, but I never got a chance to drive it. I have thought about this car a number of times as I bet the V8 sounds pretty good uncorked. I could just never get over the ugly and cheap looking styling inside and out. The other problem is that the last generation M3 is similar in price on the used market while being a lot better looking, much easier to tune, and significantly more capable and lighter. The ATS-V also exists.
07-27-2023, 11:18 AM
