Ideas for "Low-Cost" Performance Cars

Hi All,

I've had a dream of owning a stupid fast car for some time. I don't know if I ever will as I'm fairly broke but you never know, I might win the lottery some day. I've built up my 4Runner into a vehicle that's a blast to drive off-road as well as holding it's own for on-road performance. My dream cars are ones made for driver's enjoyment: Porsche Cayman S, 911 Turbo, or a Lotus Exige. Small, lightweight cars with big power. I'm ok with turning a wrench and doing minor engine work but it must pass CARB smog rules. I don't want to do $500 smog checks every two years for the rest of my life.

Another thread brought up a Mercedes E550 that weighs 4400 lbs (ouch) but with a CARB approved tune makes 540 Horsepower, 715 Ft-Lbs Torque at 3400 RPM! I've ridden along in a Cadillac CTS-V with the supercharged V8 so I do appreciate large sedans that have serious power and can still turn (looking at you Dodge).

Any other favorites that the collective 4Runner family have owned or always wanted?

If you don't have much money, I would recommend against a merc or a BMW as a toy. Their initial cost/performance is great, but parts really are expensive when they break, and even maintanence parts are significantly more expensive. I love Mercedes cars, my dad goes through a lot of cars just for fun, and the AMGs are the only ones he tends to keep a long time. He's had his current one for about 10 years now and it has treated him really well. But, as an example, his brake jobs can cost 4 digits pretty easily.

Then there's weight. I've been in some kind of racing most of my life, and I can pretty confidently say that lighter race cars tend to be cheaper to operate. Heavy fast cars burn through brakes more, break drivetrain and suspension components easier, use bigger and more expensive tires, need more power to go fast, and will travel further in the wrong direction when you lose control. So, depending on how tight your budget is, the more lightweight fun cars can be cheaper to play with.

If you're really tight on cash, it sounds counter productive, but sometimes just geting an actual race car is cheaper. Especially if you want to use it often. Lots of classes out there to have fun in Miatas, and there are even some inexpensive formula car classes. I haven't looked in a few years, but Formula 2000s used to be less than 20k for a pretty solid running car, and they're a ton of fun. There are quite a few classes in drag racing that dont cost too much either.

But I'm digressing, for street cars it sucks that we're in CA lol. There are lots of good options for fun cars though . Not sure what your budget is, but mustangs have pretty good cost/fun ratios. I still have a soft spot for the old 03-04 Cobras. Throw a pulley and a tune on one and they're a lot of fun. 4th gen catfish camaros with the LS1 are great too. If you can find a good C5 corvette with an LS6 they're even more fun. Evos are suuper fun to drive, I love they 8 and 9 but they're getting hard to find, and more expensive.

It's hard to recommend stuff without knowing your budget though. If you can afford something a bit newer like a 5.0 mustang, or something similar with low miles, then having a mostly stock, totally legal funmobile (maybe even with a warranty) might be the way to go. Lots of this is just personal preference though, so idk if any of this helped lol.

The newest Camaro/ Firebird or Mustang V-8 you can buy. I'm partial to the foxbody Mustang 5.0's and really want one, but unless they're souped up, by todays standards they're not fast.

My brother in law had a Mercury Grand Marquis for a few years, and that darn car would FLY!

For sure, basically the same platform as a crown vic. I used to want to build a crown vic into something fast, maybe even do a manual trans swap. It was pretty cool seeing Cleetus McFarland build his, seems like it'd be a fun sleeper. Having fun project cars on the street in CA is such a PITA now tho, and the newer cars are pretty quick out of the box.

Lurkin said:

For sure, basically the same platform as a crown vic. I used to want to build a crown vic into something fast, maybe even do a manual trans swap. It was pretty cool seeing Cleetus McFarland build his, seems like it'd be a fun sleeper. Having fun project cars on the street in CA is such a PITA now tho, and the newer cars are pretty quick out of the box.

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Crown Vics are pretty good. The older Police service ones are somewhat fast, but they have a lLOT of miles from being daily driven all day every day. Expect many bizarre sounds. Damn tough cars though.
Pretty fun too, Big motor, RWD, heavy full size sedan. Last of it's kind really.
If you can find one at a police auction they're usually cheap. Otherwise expect prices to range anywhere from 1,000 to 15,000.

It's a lot more fun to drive a slow care fast, than a fast car slow. Miata's own the fun car on a budget world for a reason. While I have never had one, I've been around a couple. I can see one in my future. Still want the C-2 or C-3 roadster, but the Miata is a lot more attainable.

Ariel Atom.
Ariel North America

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gamefreakgc said:

Hi All,

I've had a dream of owning a stupid fast car for some time. I don't know if I ever will as I'm fairly broke but you never know, I might win the lottery some day. I've built up my 4Runner into a vehicle that's a blast to drive off-road as well as holding it's own for on-road performance. My dream cars are ones made for driver's enjoyment: Porsche Cayman S, 911 Turbo, or a Lotus Exige. Small, lightweight cars with big power. I'm ok with turning a wrench and doing minor engine work but it must pass CARB smog rules. I don't want to do $500 smog checks every two years for the rest of my life.

Another thread brought up a Mercedes E550 that weighs 4400 lbs (ouch) but with a CARB approved tune makes 540 Horsepower, 715 Ft-Lbs Torque at 3400 RPM! I've ridden along in a Cadillac CTS-V with the supercharged V8 so I do appreciate large sedans that have serious power and can still turn (looking at you Dodge).

Any other favorites that the collective 4Runner family have owned or always wanted?

Click to expand...

My last car before my 4r was a 2014 e550....and YES id did the Wiestec tune that you are refering to. I cannot say enough how much i enjoyed that car. It was a beast and a real "sleeper". There were no drivability issues with the tune and I put over 100k miles on it with the tune and not a single issue with the car. It is a really well built engine the M278...It has fractured con rods, dry sump oiling and all the proven go fast internals. Because it was used in many models, it had all sorts of different levels of tune, so the wiestec tune was not pushing it to its limit. If i recall correctly the s550 with the m278 was rated at close to 500 hp stock.

I will say this....and i am not usually one to say something like this....it bordered on being too much power for the e550 suspension. I often wish I had purchased the e63 (which was approved by the wife) but i felt like it would be wasted as a daily driver.

Anyways i was always a really fast driver...so i know you should never street race, but I did like embarrassing sports cars. Other cars that i actually ran against from 60 ish mph to over a hundred and beat. Late model camaro ss, 392 dodges, late model mustang gts, a supercharged vette, m3 and many other "fast cars"

the only car that ever pulled away was a hellcat......i did run a audi r8 v10 and we were dead even up to about 120, we let off, but i think he would have crept away.

fwiw, because it was AWD, it was actually easy on tires.

get any merc with that engine (as long as tune is available) and you wont regret it.

my old baby....

Unfortunately I am too tall for the "little" cars unless I keep the top off - permanently. Poses a challenge being 6'3" with long legs.

Funny that a catfish Camaro would be mentioned, I almost bought a collector's anniversary edition with a blown engine for around $2K. Almost. Would have been easy to have that engine be rebuilt from top to bottom and have a beast of a vehicle for 7K or so. I wouldn't be opposed to it though.

I think realistically I could never stomach paying more than 25K for any car, not that I have 25K laying around right now as it is. I already have my slow car that I have fun driving fast and that's my 98 4Runner with 375HP at the crank. I like that I can floor it and not go so fast that it isn't safe. I am about to regear it down to 5.29's this year with stock tires so it'll have tire shredding torque down low and be a blast to peel out with. I hope to get it on the track sometime soon too. With that in mind, I'd be going for a small to medium sized sedan sort of car if it ever came to it. I appreciate all the suggestions as I'm a novice when it comes to the performance world and there's so ferocious engines and platforms that I've never even heard about before.

The obvious answer is a Miata. I have two friends with aftermarket turbocharged Miatas. The cars are the "NB" generation (one a 2000 and the other a 2004). They spent $5k-9K on the cars and $3500 for the turbos installed along with new clutch and flywheel. The cars make about 200whp and 200wtq or around 230hp/230tq at the flywheel. It doesn't sound like a lot, but the cars weigh around 2300lbs. The Miatas are pretty quick and should be in the mid 4 0-60s and upper 12 second 1/4 mile range. They feel even faster because they are low and tiny. I help them do work on the cars and the Miata has a straight-up race car chassis. They are damn easy to work and parts are cheap. I love driving them and I fit (barely). I'm 6' 1", 175lbs. I'd definitely fit if they had aftermarket seats.

On the flipside, I've owned a 2016 BMW M235 since new in early 2016. The car has 60K miles and have been trouble free. I've done routine maintenance like oil/filter changes, spark plugs, brake fluid, coolant replacement, and filter changes as well as preventative maintenance including an accessory belt ($30), tensioner ($110), and coolant overflow hose ($40). The car has never had a warranty repair or failure. It's due for new front rotors and pads all around. OEM parts will cost me about $600 and about 2 hours of my time with very basic tools. BMW has made significant strides in quality in the past 10 years. They are still expensive to maintain, but if you're a shadetree mechanic, they're not too bad. My M235 is a 6MT and is pushing around 450hp/450tq with a tune, downpipe, and some other basic mods. It hauls, especially after 40mph. It's still on the stock clutch too. The car is built exceptionally well and doesn't have a single rattle.

I'm currently looking at 2003-2004 C5 Z06s as a fun car and occasional auto-x. I thought about a Miata, but I'm more power hungry than my friends and wanted something different. Once I get the Z06, I'll likely sell my M235 and get an automatic 2018-2020 M240 or 2016-2018 M2 DCT. I love the 2 series, but I don't want two 6MTs.

Charles Bronson said:

The obvious answer is a Miata. I have two friends with aftermarket turbocharged Miatas. The cars are the "NB" generation (one a 2000 and the other a 2004). They spent $5k-9K on the cars and $3500 for the turbos installed along with new clutch and flywheel. The cars make about 200whp and 200wtq or around 230hp/230tq at the flywheel. It doesn't sound like a lot, but the cars weigh around 2300lbs. The Miatas are pretty quick and should be in the mid 4 0-60s and upper 12 second 1/4 mile range. They feel even faster because they are low and tiny. I help them do work on the cars and the Miata has a straight-up race car chassis. They are damn easy to work and parts are cheap. I love driving them and I fit (barely). I'm 6' 1", 175lbs. I'd definitely fit if they had aftermarket seats.

On the flipside, I've owned a 2016 BMW M235 since new in early 2016. The car has 60K miles and have been trouble free. I've done routine maintenance like oil/filter changes, spark plugs, brake fluid, coolant replacement, and filter changes as well as preventative maintenance including an accessory belt ($30), tensioner ($110), and coolant overflow hose ($40). The car has never had a warranty repair or failure. It's due for new front rotors and pads all around. OEM parts will cost me about $600 and about 2 hours of my time with very basic tools. BMW has made significant strides in quality in the past 10 years. They are still expensive to maintain, but if you're a shadetree mechanic, they're not too bad. My M235 is a 6MT and is pushing around 450hp/450tq with a tune, downpipe, and some other basic mods. It hauls, especially after 40mph. It's still on the stock clutch too. The car is built exceptionally well and doesn't have a single rattle.

I'm currently looking at 2003-2004 C5 Z06s as a fun car and occasional auto-x. I thought about a Miata, but I'm more power hungry than my friends and wanted something different. Once I get the Z06, I'll likely sell my M235 and get an automatic 2018-2020 M240 or 2016-2018 M2 DCT. I love the 2 series, but I don't want two 6MTs.

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I am with you on the larger displacement turbo cars....I think you loose a lot of reliability with a boosted small 4 banger such as a miata or similar. Even then, unless you go bonkers on a build, hp gains are moderate. I had an acquaintance that had a turbo s2000....spent a boatload on mods and my "stock" with tune E550 would pull away from it every time with no problem....he would be banging gears and blowoff valve was "blowing"...i just left mine in drive and walked away after about 60 mph and up to at least 130 or so.

gamefreakgc said:

Unfortunately I am too tall for the "little" cars unless I keep the top off - permanently. Poses a challenge being 6'3" with long legs.

Funny that a catfish Camaro would be mentioned, I almost bought a collector's anniversary edition with a blown engine for around $2K. Almost. Would have been easy to have that engine be rebuilt from top to bottom and have a beast of a vehicle for 7K or so. I wouldn't be opposed to it though.

I think realistically I could never stomach paying more than 25K for any car, not that I have 25K laying around right now as it is. I already have my slow car that I have fun driving fast and that's my 98 4Runner with 375HP at the crank. I like that I can floor it and not go so fast that it isn't safe. I am about to regear it down to 5.29's this year with stock tires so it'll have tire shredding torque down low and be a blast to peel out with. I hope to get it on the track sometime soon too. With that in mind, I'd be going for a small to medium sized sedan sort of car if it ever came to it. I appreciate all the suggestions as I'm a novice when it comes to the performance world and there's so ferocious engines and platforms that I've never even heard about before.

Click to expand...

off topic from your original post but, is it feasible to supercharge a 3rd gen anymore in 2022+?

amalik said:

off topic from your original post but, is it feasible to supercharge a 3rd gen anymore in 2022+?

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Yes, with a few extra steps to help reduce heat depending on where you live. The cost of them has gone up considerably though, so there's one thing making it not worth it. I paid roughly $1500 for mine 8 years ago.

S197 mustangs are in your price point. I ran mine (lightly modded) with the "A" group at PIR for a few years.

Stone simple to work on. Great reliability. And parts availability is great.

I've been out of the Rotary rx7 scene for quite sometime. I regret selling all my old 7's, but a 2 seater with a family of 5 just wasn't cutting it. To be honest my wife was fed up with me going through multiple motors.

Not sure what your budget would actually be, but whatever it is don't get a Rx7, trust me. Lol. I love rotary engines, it really takes a fan to own them long term, but you can't have both reliability and performance with them. Almost every aftermarket mod is not Carb legal either.

With that said, if you ever get the chance to ride in a T56- Ls1 swapped RX7, it will change your life. Lol. I've been out of the game for awhile, but it wasn't hard to get them Carb legal back then. I'm sure things have changed, since. Power to weight ratio was surprisingly acceptable with minor mods. My FD weight was around 2800 lbs. I had the opportunity to ride in one back then, and it was fully stock. I can only imagine how it would've been with a few bolt-ons and a tune. Right before I got out of the scene, a known forum member was building one with a LS7. One day.