Neons + WRX boards

[immortal_suby]

Originally posted by Noir

hey matt are you going to be at the smokies meet?

I'll be there. How was the dragon?

[Noir]

matt, the dragon was fun. since i missed it in may, i was thrilled to go through it a few times. i also had the pleasure of riding in 2pt5rs' RS (another matt). that car was very fun to ride in and i'm actually in the market now for one. the way that car was driven made the bikers cringe as they could not out handle those subaru's on the mountain.

a few evo's showed up, one viper, some blue bullet looking car i've never seen. i also noticed how crummy the drivers of SUV's are up there. i've never really driven a SUV so i don't know how it fairs, but i saw them cutting over the yellow lines all the time and one actually almost hit a biker.

all in all it was beautiful up there. interesting mix of people and i'd love to do it again . i broke away a few times to do some back country exploring and caught up with the subaru group later.

two thumbs up for the dragon !

[Noir]

landshark, no problem. always ready to give rob something to write about.

i actually wasn't trying to bring up why or why not a neon is better, because it is all a matter of opinion. i like vanilla, you like chocolate....who cares right? i just found that story humorous and also the fact that i found that on another subaru board. (not to say that if i ever go a honda board something similiar to this would not be found...i'm pretty sure some have said the same thing on all the boards about neons, civics, wrx's, corollas, etc.)

jeez....

[Chicane]

Originally posted by Noir
i like vanilla, you like chocolate....who cares right?

Not really. I think we all have pretty similar tastes, since we all drive and love the same car here. I just think you haven't gotten a ride in a good neon R/T yet. Once you go around a 90 degree turn at 55mph without squealing and have your face plastered against the side window and simultaneously crapping your pants, I think you'll have a newfound respect for the little buggers.

I welcome any of you to the neon 2004 meet, it'll be next July.

- Rob

[Noir]

thank you for the invite to the next neon meet. i have driven as well as ridden in cars that flew through 90 degree corners at 55mph. the problem is that i do not like to have my face plastered to the window because i want to watch the road ahead of me. also i have many a times thought that i was going to crap my pants going though some of the turns at certain speeds. hell the last time was riding in a 2.5rs this past weekend. going through the dragon at higher than recommend speeds, watching good drivers and the way they utilized the awd, and riding in one has flipped the 'must have' light switch in my mind. i am not interested in just flying through corners. i'm more interested in launching the car through a corner after causing the wheels to lock up for a second. having more control over the car for harder driving is what i'm interested in. if a neon can do such a thing, then i am interested. if not, then (for me anyway) it's for the birds.

if you like the neon. i'm happy for you. if 10 million people like the neon. i'm happy for them. do i like the neon? not particularly. isn't that all that matters?

i swear, nothing is more fun then feeling the car not grip for a second and then all of a sudden feeling the awd grab the road by hitting the gas. if you have not experienced such driving...you should come to the next dragon meet in May. i'm sure after you've run the dragon once in a wrx, evo, or rs, you may change your mind about which is a better ride....a suby/poopsubishi or a neon. and geeze, i haven't been on a REAL gravel one with those guys (hey huck bring out your XT for the next gravel run )

i think you will meet some of the finest people at some of these meets rob. most of the wrx'ers and RS'ers i've met actually appreciates our svx's and loves driving. from past experiences, most neon people i've met have turned out to be jerks and punks that only enjoy going fast (which i don't consider driving). i mean just because you can run a sprint race, doesn't mean you can survive an obstacle marathon.

[Chicane]

Excellent response!

Thanks for actually taking what I write seriously instead of just throwing insults, I appreciate it. And no, I have not been in a modded 2.5RS that can do the things you spoke of. I'd really like to, and I bet its a lot of fun also.

However... the big thing right now is that I'm a student, working 2 part time jobs, so I don't have a lot of $. Hence, I'm into cheap thrills. How much does a 2.5 RS cost? Or a WRX? Or an EVO? Or an STi? Neons can be had for $1500 complete, in decent running condition. If you find one with a bad engine or transmission, it'll be around $600-1000 dollars. Dropping in a 2.4 can be done for under 1 grand, and its AMAZING how well it drives afterwords. So much torque in such a tiny package... you can be driving along in 3rd gear, and HIT the gas, WITHOUT DOWNSHIFTING, the tires will break loose and desperatly scrape for traction, then they'll hook up and away you'll go. The fact that they weigh about 2400 lbs makes the cornering abilities incredible, and while it might not be as 'fun' as the AWD slingshot effect you are talking about, it might actually be faster, since they aren't losing traction in the first place. Anyway, if money were no object, I'd have a crapload of cars, but seeing as what my bank acccount looks like at the moment, I'm content with JUST the SVX (and my boat and 68' scooter), and maybe in the future, a neon coupe for autocrossing. As my finances increase, I'll be more interested in more expensive cars, but for right now, the sheer idea of putting together a 2.4 powered nitrous sniffing 'neon from hell' built entirely out of junkyard parts for about $2500-3000 and kicking the CRAP out of Honda S2000s, Integras, BMWs, VWs, and Subarus and Audis with their fancy pants AWD systems just totally turns me on. Yes. It'll be crude. But hot damn that'd be a blast!

- Rob

[Noir]

i like to throw in silly insults for fun. if i was really insulting, you'd probably end up crying . but i don't 'really' insult people anymore because it's a waste of time and i get absolutely no pleasure out of it. i like silly insults because they bring a smile to my face . anyway...it's funny watching you hammer away on your keyboard when someone says....neons suck....i litter......i love cutting in front of people without a turn signal....etc....

impreza l's and older rs's aren't that expensive. i've seen them in the ball park from $1,300-$12,000. the only mods that i know of in the 2.5 that i rode was a stage 2 suspension (whatever the hell that means), a different cat system, and a different exhaust/air intake. other than the suspension, i believe the rest aren't that expensive. i'll let you know, since i'm in the market for a cheap toy and i'm sure huck's toy project would be interesting to see. would be fun to tabulate the actually $$$ spent and man hours logged. i would like something to learn on (to fix and drive) and like huck, the less $$$ spent the happier i'd be .

as i said before concerning the neon...it's all a matter of opinion.....i like vanilla, you like chocolate.

hopefully at some point you can bring your next neon to the dragon and we can see how well it handles. then we can hit the gravel and see how the neon fairs.

[SubaruPartsGirl]

Wanna know what I hate more than Neons?

Cavaliers

Ohh...how I hate Cavaliers.

And HyunDIE's

I would walk 6 miles with no clothes on through a blizzard before I would be caught in one of those cars.

[Chicane]

Originally posted by Noir
hopefully at some point you can bring your next neon to the dragon and we can see how well it handles. then we can hit the gravel and see how the neon fairs.

You're still missing the point. When I do finally purchase a 'project' neon, it will be built for under 3 grand. Sure, some of the subies might be faster, and they might handle better, but running 13s and getting 1g on the skidpad isn't too shabby for 3gs.

- Rob

[Andy]

Sorry Rob, but if you want bangs-per-buck, you live on the wrong side of the Atlantic

http://www.locost-racing.com/

Locost For Sale.

Toyota twin cam 16 valve engine, re-built less than 500 miles ago (new bearings, oil pump, pistons, water pump, starter, cam belt etc.) 5 speed close ratio gearbox, LSD toyota axle, disc brakes all round, coil over AVO adjustable suspension, swept wings in red, aluminium main body Compomotive ML minilite style alloys wearing 14 inch colway soft compound tires. Will have 12 months mot when sold, breath taking performance, start the summer here! £3950 ono

[Mr. Pockets]

Originally posted by Andy
Sorry Rob, but if you want bangs-per-buck, you live on the wrong side of the Atlantic

http://www.locost-racing.com/

Locost For Sale.

Toyota twin cam 16 valve engine, re-built less than 500 miles ago (new bearings, oil pump, pistons, water pump, starter, cam belt etc.) 5 speed close ratio gearbox, LSD toyota axle, disc brakes all round, coil over AVO adjustable suspension, swept wings in red, aluminium main body Compomotive ML minilite style alloys wearing 14 inch colway soft compound tires. Will have 12 months mot when sold, breath taking performance, start the summer here! £3950 ono

Ooooh...I want!

[Chicane]

That's really cool. Too bad it isn't street legal. :\

Neat though, I wish we had them over here!

- Rob

[Kurt_W]

Locost 7...theres nothing unusual or unavailable about Super 7 replicas in the US...there are several companies that have them available in the US, they just have to be registered as Kit Cars, which they are. I would speculate registration would be state dependant. Anyway, here are several companies:

Birkin (can't find the US Birkin site, but heres a dealer: http://www.wirewheel.com/Cars/Auto_G...s/birkin.shtml )
CMC Seven ( http://www.championmotorcars.com/ )
Caterham ( http://www.uscaterham.com/ )

I'd love to have one, but they are a bit on the pricy side here if you go full out.

I do believe that Caterham is making one right now that is largely CF and only weighs 12-1400 pounds with the 200 hp ZETEC engine. Personally I would perfer a Honda S2000 driveline in mine, but thats how it goes

[Ron Mummert]

Originally posted by Chicane


You're still missing the point. When I do finally purchase a 'project' neon, it will be built for under 3 grand. Sure, some of the subies might be faster, and they might handle better, but running 13s and getting 1g on the skidpad isn't too shabby for 3gs.

- Rob

PERSPECTIVE:

Last weekend's Benz Club's autocross in Maryland.
(Rounded to whole seconds)

Best time - Suby WRX (or RS with mods) - 38 secs.
Other cars - '90s 'Vette - 42 secs.
Many Benz AMGs, SLKs etc. 40-43 secs
A certain '97 SVX - 40 secs.
Another Suby - 1.8 liter STOCK (OK, suspension modded a
tad)Impresa sedan - 42 secs.

Could the driver play a role in the car's performance?
I'm with Rob on the point of cheap thrills. Enjoy what 'ya got!

Ron (Thrillingly cheap).

[Andy]

Originally posted by Chicane
That's really cool. Too bad it isn't street legal. :\

Neat though, I wish we had them over here!

- Rob

They are street legal and you can get them over there. They are manufactured on this side of the pond so you have to pay high taxes and transport costs compared with us.

(Birkin = Westfield (UK) made under licence(?) in South Africa

CMC = Locost (UK)

Caterham = Original Lotus 7 (UK)

The whole point of the Locost is that you can have a street-legal racer for under £1000