oldopelguy said:Chrysler Crossfire plus boost? Solstice GXP? C5 vette?
Crossfire is a Mercedes and the Solstice is an Opel, no? Those both fail the "no German" criterium.
oldopelguy said:Chrysler Crossfire plus boost? Solstice GXP? C5 vette?
Crossfire is a Mercedes and the Solstice is an Opel, no? Those both fail the "no German" criterium.
yupididit said:A broken c5 Corvette
Hard to run boost at 10.8:1.
I would suggest we skip the "forged or close enough" and just say "something that will take boost without exploding." Forged doesn't mean what it used to. Back in the day you had a choice of weak castings or slightly better forged with the trade-off being big changes in size with heat making oil/bearing tolerances and oil consumption an issue. These days, the advances in casting tech means that many all-cast motors will take far more abuse than an all-forged engine from 1980. My all-cast LS will be making 550+ on a used, untouched longblock with 60k on it - cast hyp pistons, rods, and crank. I won't worry about reliability until about 650 hp on that assembly.
Ironically, many of your criteria can be met with an early-70s smogger. They're lighter than you think when you skip the 6 miles of wires to operate all the anti-death features of newer cars. People made fun of me for wanting to put a full STI drivetrain in a 74 Maverick. They said that the 4-banger was a mismatch with the heavier car... until I pointed out that the 74 Maverick weighed 50 lbs lighter than a new STI.
Your power/weight ratio also suggests you're looking for 400-500 hp. There are tons of cars out there that will make 400 hp on a hairdryer without exploding. Heck, the 4.0L in my 94 Ranger will reliably take boost to 350 before it bends a rod.
300Z.
E36.
W210 E55 (although a bit portly)
Z3
(yes, the last three are german, but they are proven to be the not german-like in reliability)
WRX
SVX
3000GT/Stealth
MR2
RX7
Actually with decent engine management you can boost at 10.8:1 compression engine, but I don't know how well an LS would take it. Both S2000s and ND Miatas have higher compression ratios than that, and people do run aftermarket turbos on those.
Then again, unless you go drag racing, I don't really see the point in adding boost to something like a 'vette on the cheap.
Doesn't mean I disagree with you, Curtis - far from it.
In reply to Curtis73 :
Oh they take to boost just fine. Part of the reason they take to boost so well is the combustion chambers are shaped so the fuel burns quickly, this also has the side benefit of making detonation less likely.
MBT timing on an LS1 is only around 23-26 degrees. Fast burn is efficient burn, and less time spent trying to compress a burning mix before TDC means less autoignition in the end gases.
High compression turbo engines are fun. Good power off boost and good spool.
The high scorer in the BMW Big Torque Club has 10:1 compression in an S52 making 33psi on pump fuel.
Knurled. said:In reply to Curtis73 :
Oh they take to boost just fine. Part of the reason they take to boost so well is the combustion chambers are shaped so the fuel burns quickly, this also has the side benefit of making detonation less likely.
MBT timing on an LS1 is only around 23-26 degrees. Fast burn is efficient burn, and less time spent trying to compress a burning mix before TDC means less autoignition in the end gases.
This is what I was trying to say. The LS chamber architecture is about as good as you can get, but they are wedge style with 2 valves so it will never have the flame speeds of something like a 4 or 5 valve head. One of the ways I'm getting 550hp with my LS is that I can pretty easily run 11.3:1 on pump gas, and if I choose, I could put in the cheap stuff and let the knock sensors pull a little bit of timing out... at the expense of a little power. I'm also planning on putting in the flex fuel hardware and software so I can use E85 wherever I find it. (it's not that common in PA yet, but available)
If there is anything direct-injection in his price range, then more can be done with high compression and boost with injection timing.
In reply to Curtis73 :
That longish post above this? That is precisely why I come here. Most of it does not and will not ever pertain to me but I love reading and learning. Plus your writing style is very readable.
*blush*
Thanks.
You want lightweight and good driving dynamics, eliminate AWD from consideration.
You want to find an RX8 with a lunch Renesis to K24 swap.
Are we really suggesting stock German cars are less reliable than engine-swapped or aftermarket-turbo'd anything?
The OP is of course entitled to base decisions on any criteria at all; that's a thing that's fun about playing with cars. But I feel strongly there are some internal inconsistencies in the suggested reasoning.
I don't know about the OP, but I will sometimes generalize. Like, if I were to say "nothing Japanese" because they have a tendency to be boring econoboxes, that wouldn't rule out a WRX, 350Z, or a Supra.
Maybe he means "nothing that exhibits the typical German characteristics."
Cause I gotta say, there are some German cars that would put some Japanese cars to shame in the reliability department.
The car in question would need to be reliable for now as a daily driver - again, turbocharging it would not happen at this time.
Getting annoyed with people who can't accept the fact that Miatas aren't for everyone - it's not practical nor do I fit comfortably. The NC would be nice, but decent examples haven't dropped in price yet.
I'm actually looking for just 320 at the crank at most, nothing insane
I'm annoyed with the fact that you think this magical unicorn exists for $4000.
You need to make a compromise somewhere. Either go older, or more expensive, or German, or Miata. Cause it ain't happening otherwise. The sheer lack of RWD cars built in that time frame period kills you. C4's are too old but C5's are too much. SN95's don't handle well enough but S197's are too much. Miata's stink but RX-7's are too old. No German cars but nobody else makes RWD.
Getting annoyed with people who come here wanting a Miata, but saying they don't.
Kidding. Sorta. Your criteria are pretty tough to meet if it's not a Miata.
I think the G35 is probably your best bet here, if you can find one in that price range. It's gonna be tough from what I've seen.
Bro, the folks here are genuinely nice and always helpful. Most are very knowledgeable too. The general answer is "find a compromise"
if you don't like that I get it. But complaining about it or getting annoyed won't change anything. Starting a new thread on the same topic a couple months later won't change the answers you get. If there were some magic answer that fit all your criteria it would be here. Nobody is keeping a secret from you.
In reply to Dootz :
Best thing I could tell you is look for the Ford Police Interceptors at a police Auction. There's a guy in Virginia that has the awd 365 Ecoboosts from $4600.
People aren't trying to annoy you, you have just placed some limits that eliminate 90% of the available market.
I went through this same search a couple of years ago. RWD, manual trans, decent handling and HP, under $5k. If you take German cars and the Miata off the list, which I did as well, the selection gets pretty small. There just isn't much out there in that price range. I ended up with a G35.
This is available for the asking price of $4300. You could probably talk them down to under $4000. https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/891103357974366/
04 G35, 6MT, 130k miles. Looks like it has the Brembo brake package. Just shy of 300 HP out the box. Handles fairly well. They are a little portly at 3400 pounds but the creature comforts are pretty nice for a daily. The bottom end of the engine will stand 400 hp as is.
I'd sell my 2001 MR2 for $4k. Runs well, manual transmission, ~175k miles.
Dodge Stealth
Mitsubishi 3000GT
The AWD turbo models may be over the weight limit; I can't remember
Volvo 850r
I'm tempted to suggest a 1995 alfa romeo to be a smart ass.
Edit-all the alfas in 95 may have been fwd.
I'd sell my Impala SS for $2500, already "suspensioned", already close to 300 hp, would take a turbo, and RWD, but it's 4000 lbs
Dootz said:The car in question would need to be reliable for now as a daily driver - again, turbocharging it would not happen at this time.
Getting annoyed with people who can't accept the fact that Miatas aren't for everyone - it's not practical nor do I fit comfortably. The NC would be nice, but decent examples haven't dropped in price yet.
I'm actually looking for just 320 at the crank at most, nothing insane
That's just a number, though. 320 in a Miata IS insane. 320 in a big heavy 3500lb car is kinda meh.
That's just a number, though. 320 in a Miata IS insane. 320 in a big heavy 3500lb car is kinda meh.
I think you just referred to my SS as "meh."
I don't think I'm offended 
Honestly an S10 with some stock car suspension parts and either a V8 or turbo 3800 swap is probably the easiest way to get to the magic parameters. Start with a 98+ 2-door Blazer for most car-like, 4 wheel disc brakes, and wheel options.
Similarly, it wouldn't take much weight reduction to get a standard cab, short bed 99-07 Silverado under 3500# from the 3900#-ish stock weight, and they already come with a v8 that you can crank up to whatever you want. Plenty of lowering options, great brakes.
Knurled. said:Dootz said:The car in question would need to be reliable for now as a daily driver - again, turbocharging it would not happen at this time.
Getting annoyed with people who can't accept the fact that Miatas aren't for everyone - it's not practical nor do I fit comfortably. The NC would be nice, but decent examples haven't dropped in price yet.
I'm actually looking for just 320 at the crank at most, nothing insane
That's just a number, though. 320 in a Miata IS insane. 320 in a big heavy 3500lb car is kinda meh.
320 in a Miata is just getting started. :)
With your requirements, you're left with a G35/350z and that's about it. Even then, they're portly from what I can remember.
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