Comparo Megathread!

[Xerexyz]

This thread is a place where you can put your 86 (past or present) up against all of the other cars you've owned. Just give a quick 1 sentence response to how they stacked up, I find it interesting to see how and why people have come to owning their 86s and this is could be a fun place to compile this information.

I'll start... This list is chronologically setup.

92 Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight: This car was only 6 years old when I bought it, yet it was already worn and terrible, a boat of a car with a 3800 170hp engine.

99 Hyundai Accent L: This car was 7k new, manual everything, and I received a check for Hyundai lying about the hp rating; made me love cars.

93 Buick Regal: Was the same car as the Oldsmobile, just a little smaller; Grandmother willed it to me.

85 Mazda RX-7 GS: Had the 12a rotary, best engine I ever had, brown on brown, drove it everywhere in the mountains.

90 Mazda Miata MX-5: Almost as nice as the RX-7, better suspension; great convertible.

13 Scion FR-S: Hot lava, stiff suspension, lots of fun, made me love LSD (not the drug).

14 Honda Civic Si: Almost a good replacement for the Scion, was worried about having a kid, had to get a sedan (dumb move).

89 Mazda MX-6 LX: Not bad to drive, fun transmission, was rotting away though; had fun swinging air vents.

17 Mazda 3 GT: Sold the RX-7 for it, Civic was totaled (now afraid of driving old cars in Illinois), rather boring despite 6MT and 2.5l engine, bad transmission ratios.

Current Cars:

17 Toyota 860 Special Edition: Great car, almost love it as much as my old RX-7, sold the Miata for it.

19 Honda Civic Si Coupe: Fun to drive, a little more practical than the 86.

[Clutch Dog]

In order

1993 240sx: cheap, clunked alot barely ran with a c18det swap that was done back in what? 2009?
1993 240sx se: cheap, cracked dash, 5 lug car, got bored of having a beater
2002 WRX: all the grip, understeer nationals, peaky engine. decent all arounder car. snaps transmisions like crazy ( was crashed..)
1999 BMW M3: one of the best cars to ever drive, not insanely fast, not peaky with power, smooth linear and refined, raw car. I loved it. ( lost my license in it, sold it when i moved)
1995 Mustang LX, v8 power, bad transmission, wonky steering, decided I hated live rear ends..
2001 2.5RS Coupe: like the WRX only lower on hp, but... LOCKING DIFFS, tuned NA, would still have today if roomate didnt total...
1988 RX7 GXL: Smooth car, maroon with bronze skyline rims, classy, smooth smooth, popped a radiator hose and blew rear apex seal. had three cars at the time, decided to trade it for a forester.. oh yeah and a LSD, but it was slow. i really enjoyed it but i was cramped
1993 RX7, ran fine. ignored the carfax, bent frame. sold to a guy who threw in an ls2 and wrecked it two months after I sold it
1995 240sx LN1 coded, 1uz swapped, bitchin car, loud exhaust, clunky and old. mismatched parts. got masted and sold because future was unknown ( i regret this the most next to the GM7 Subaru)
1996 240sx realized I wasnt getting kicked out, bought KA-Supercharger kit, never put it on and sold car because
1992 Honda Civic Hatch, winter time beater, made me love the civics, great gas milage, easily chuckable. also regret selling it but excess vehicles. I sold alot and ended up with..
2010 RX8 R3, beautiful car, low milage, smooth power, cushy interior, great feedback, good transmission, great seats.. but rotary tings. I moved down to cali and sold it to a collector. I didnt want to ruin a pristine R3 in aurora blue.
2007 Toyota Yaris, ex b-spec car, deconverted to street, ran in SCCA, whicked fun. realized its a fucking yaris and sold it for something cooler ( also regret, having a car you give no shits about is great)
2006 s2000. Hyper whicked car, extremely agile, like driving a razor knife, 3 sides are smooth and useless but the 4th whoa buddy. I got this after my years of modifying cause of hondas reliability, and i missed the small sports car feel. Sold to a mexican due to blown engine, prior owner..... lied to me and i found rtv and wrinkle coat in the head and oil pan.
2016 MX-5 Club, best car to own, short wheelbase, great brakes, great milage, cushy interior, i barely fit, but i fit. so nice to drive, lots of torque. sold cause i would not pass a broomstick test ( even sitting on the floor, no seat)

And that is why I have a FRS -> BRZ Ts clone.
RWD, small wheelbase, decent power for the size, manual and track ready. and i fit..


that list also doesnt include the other vehicles ive owne
2008 Grand Marquis
2007 Charger LX detective edition
2007 Accord Coupe v6 manual ( rare rare rare)
74 Duster ( unknown model)
78 C10 with 454 swap long bed
my current 2005 Saab 97x arc and damn near the best thing to own if you are a camping/car guy

[Bluefire98]

This is neat thread idea...

2006 Subaru Tribeca: comfortable car, hated the transmission, had constant coolant leaks. Didn't like driving something so big but the room was nice.

2000 Subaru Impreza wagon: this car was great. Had a 5spd. Got decent mpg, had plenty of room, easy to work on, and had surprisingly good steering. Had a bad leak and a clutch issue so I sold it to a friend who broke it more lol.

1986 Ford Ranger STX 2wd: I bought this truck just cause it was cool.

1998 Honda Prelude: ok I still miss this car. This car had a special charm to it that I can't describe. It handled beautifully and had more power than you'd expect. It was burning so much oil and had a knock so I got rid of it. I wish I would've kept it and threw some money at it. Too late now.

2002 Rsx Type S: I did not like this car. The interior was cheap, and the shifter was eh. Handling was lackluster and the car wasn't that comfortable. Only things I liked were the k20 engine, the liftback, and the mpg. A serious step down from the prelude in my opinion.

2015 Scion Frs: this is the best car I have owned. I had the opportunity to get another prelude but after driving one of these, I was seriously impressed. Plus the conveniences of a modern car are so nice. Maybe I'll pickup another 5th gen prelude as a project, but so far the frs satisfies my need for a reliable, fun to drive, driver's car.

[zberz]

1983 Buick Regal on Crown knock-off wire wheels and super-dark tint. This car was gangster. Had tons of problems with the choke, but sold it for what I paid for it.

1986 Ford Escort. Paid $100 for it, spent $200 and about a month replacing the clutch, but ran it until it died. Crashed (backward) into a guard rail in it. You won't be disappointed with a car that starts after crashing if you paid $100 for it.

2007 Nissan Versa. Wife bought it (not my fault), but I drove it a lot. It sucked, CVTs suck, I want this part of my life back.

2001 Porsche Boxster. Only car I regret selling. It had transmission problems and a vacuum leak, but was very fun and surprisingly easy to work on.

2015 Subaru BRZ. Never selling this car. It doesn't handle as well as the boxster did, but it's close. Turbo coming soon.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


Edit: This doesn't include the Suzuki SV650 I rode for about a year between the Buick and Ford.

[Norotor]

I can imagine @humfrz list..


Seeing trend that some of us have owned the same cars.


1986 MR2 - Go-Kart. I think I was too young an inexperienced, got this car when I was 16. I got distracted on the freeway, braked hard in the rain and spun out, hit by another car.


1989 RX7 GXL - I always feel bad that I never tried this car with a rotary in it. Bought it as a rolling chassis and swapped in a LS1 with T56. Fully stripped, If I remember correctly it was about 2600 pounds, and 300whp. Car was faster than anything I had ever been in at the time. Couldn't afford a proper wheel/tire setup so it was kind of useless. Sold it because my commute changed and became 1.5 hours one way.


2001 330i - comfortable car for my commute, but then I got into the whole ridiculous fad of stretching tires X_X embarrassing now that I look back at it, 225 tire on a 10.5" wheel, bleh. At least I didn't neg camber the hell out of it. Insane amount of maintenance costs just for parts added up.


2006 Corolla - Boring commuter car that I also took to several states on road trips. After 220,000 miles a tiny filter in the vvti system got clogged and the engine seized 10 miles after I got back road tripping from California to Washington and back. The most boring car I've had yet its tied to some of the best memories I've had.


2013 FR-S - Love this car, Never selling it. Has a wide body and a turbocharger setup. Completely regret the wide body, ruined perfect body lines. Blew the engine while being lazy and lugging the engine at around 2k rpm with such a small turbocharger, it started knocking a mile later. It ended up having 2 bent connecting rods. Rebuild is almost complete with a forged motor, waiting on being able to afford a transmission solution. The old lady hates it, she always complains about the wastegate dump tube being too loud, tires being too loud, being too low to get in and out of it easily, catless smell, etc. All things racecar about it.


2018 WRX - Basically a fast and nimble corolla. Bought it because I thought I needed a sedan, and to have something cool to drive while I fix the FRS. For what it is, its great for the price, but will sell it off once the FRS is fixed. I don't think it does anything better than the FRS, except have 2 more doors. GF loves that its more civilized though.

[Spuds]

2003 Saab 9-3: First manual car I ever drove. It was exciting for a college kid, and very good at just being a car. Didn't have enough experience at the time to make a better evaluation. I really regret not having kept it when I bought my...

2013 FRS: I remember that everything was so much more precise in this than the 9-3 during the test drive. Steering, throttle, brakes, shifter, and even the clutch were just better. Really taught me what a fun car should be like.

Now the list of cars I've owned alongside the FRS...

2002 Subaru Outback LL Bean Edition: Bought it as a winter beater after I tried one winter in the FRS with stock tires () and something my gf (now wife) could drive. Great car for that purpose and moving twice. Handled well for a bigger car, H6 and transmission were decent, and the interior was pretty nice. I very much enjoyed not worrying about where I parked or flying rocks and road debris, or even surprise off-roading. Too bad the back fell off...

2008 Hyundai Accent: Bought this off a friend when the Outback's back gave out. No ABS, TC, ESC, and everything was manual. Actually gave more feedback than the FRS in some ways (low assist hydraulic steering, less weight, etc.). It was fun to toss around back roads and extremely easy to work on (easier than the FRS even). Lived at 4000+rpm on the highway for 1.5 hours every day. Also could be parked anywhere and didn't GAF about paint/body damage.

2008 Subaru Tribeca: My girlfriend bought this from her parents when the Outback fell apart and now we're married I guess I own it. It's... Ok. The engine is good, but the transmission isn't and the brakes have problems. I preferred my old Outback to this one.

2018 Buick Regal TourX: Bought this in February at a huge discount to replace the Hyundai for commuting. Great, quiet car for highways if you can get over the lazy AF transmission mapping. It handles well for a car which isolates the driver, and the AWD system (GKN Twinster) is a riot if you can get it into the right gear to push you through a corner. Opposite of and complimentary to the FRS in many ways

Out of those, I think the Hyundai was the most similar to the FRS. Not a great comparison I suppose, but the theme here is that I'm basing my second car around things the FRS isn't so good at IMO.

[Yoshoobaroo]

2002 Audi TT, 225hp Quattro version. This was a brilliant first car. It was quick, AWD, and had a good manual box.

2007 BMW 335i Coupe.
Bigger and heavier, RWD and manual. Ended up throwing all the bolt-ons at it so it made a ton of power, which made the open diff cry.

2006 BMW Z4.
Wife's pre-kid car. Feels like a big Miata. Looks great. The only car I really regret selling despite being auto.

2003 BMW 330i ZHP.
Replaced the 335i cope with this because baby time. Had a bunch of Dinan mods which was cool but it always felt like someone else's car.

2011 SAAB 9-3.
Great car, but once I started daily driving it instead of my wife, the auto+FWD got way too boring.

2011 BMW 335i (4door).
Wife's current car. Not as modded as the old 335 but it's an M-sport and ECU+TCU tune make it damn quick. Also requires a lot of money each year to keep the fluids on the inside.

2011 Mercedes GLK (RWD).
Current baby hauler. Cheapest SUV in its class on the used market. Drives like a C class wagon, V6 pulls nice, and it's pretty damn reliable.

2013 BRZ.
I replaced the SAAB with the BRZ because my commute was such a drag in that car. Problem solved.

[HaXx]

2000 Subaru outback - given for free from mom when i turned 17 in 2009 and she bought a Subie OBXT~ driven for ten years for free, maintenance aside. my first and only car, until now!

2013 BRZ - purchased in 2019 - subaru was naturally the only thing ill drive after the experience with the outback for ten years.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Norotor

I can imagine @humfrz list..

I'll work on it. It may take a while.


@Tcoat - you should only include your cars that ran -


humfrz

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by humfrz

I'll work on it. It may take a while.


@Tcoat - you should only include your cars that ran -


humfrz

All of the cars I owned ran at some point or another.


Ones I cared about:



1) 55 Chev 4 door hardtop - 327 4 barrel built engine from a 66 Pontiac stockcar (CASCAR), 3 speed stick. Fast as hell but was virtually a rotted out wreck.

2) 64 Chev Impala - 327 4 barrel, 160HP, 2 speed auto. Certainly a boat but quick on takeoff and could bury the needle if you had a long enough run.

3) 66 VW Karmann Ghia - 1300ccs, 50HP (YES 50 not a typo!!!!) 4 speed stick. Not the fastest on the list by far but not "slow" either.

4) 64 Ford Econoline short box van - Had a 1970 351 Cleveland squeezed into the "dog house" between the seats, 320HP, 3 speed auto from a 70 Fairlane. Could lift the front end off the ground for 50 feet from a dead start.

5) 70 Coronet R/T - 440 magnum with 4 barrel 380HP (remember gross vs net HP), 3 speed auto. The engine alone weighed 670 pounds! Could not drive it if roads wet at all as you would go into a spin as soon as the torque kicked in. One of the fastest cars I ever drove in a straight line but needed loads of room (and time) if you actually wanted to turn it.

6) 58 Ford Custom 300 2 door sedan - 223 six, 100HP, 3 on the tree. Fast on the take off but not a lot of top end. I understand they still use these engines (modded of course) for some sprint cars.

7) 84 Mustang GT - 5 liter 4 barrel, 180HP, 4 speed stick (might have been 5? wasn't my favorite). The Mustang boys will tell you the 5 liter was KING back then. Was OK but no R/T.

8) 91 Eagle Talon TSI AWD - 2 liter turbo, 195HP, 5 speed stick.


9) 03 OZ, 08 GTS, 12 GT Lancers - 03 was a good car. 08 was a great car. 12 Was a complete and total piece of crap.


Ones I didn't care about:
76 Pacer
77 Gremlin
82 Concord
83 Geo Metro
84 Citation
78 Oldsmobile
77 Maverick
80 Civic




I probably have forgotten a few in there and I would have had at least another 12 or so that I bought, fixed and flipped but never actually plated or drove (legally).


Don't have many pics but here are a couple.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

All of the cars I owned ran at some point or another.


Ones I cared about:



1) 55 Chev 4 door hardtop -

I'm still waiting to see a picture of that puppy - no, I haven't forgotten -


humfrz

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by humfrz

I'm still waiting to see a picture of that puppy - no, I haven't forgotten -


humfrz

Still looking. It will turn up someday. When I stop looking probably.

[soundman98]

my turn. it's not anywhere near humfrz or tcoat..

1994 chrysler lebaron convertible. had decent power from the mitsu-designed 6g72 v6, a suburban actually had a smaller turning radius, and was less floaty. the car looked great on the outside, but was a mechanical wreck, eating itself and my wallet every week.

1996 ford ranger, single cab, 2wd, parent edition. this truck was a stand-in, as it was cheaper to sell the lebaron than to attempt to keep it road worthy, the parents offered it up so i could save some money. i never owned it, but got a few years out of it. the 3.0 motor chugged gas, it barely moved under it's own power, it was jumped, mudded, and crashed, never missed a beat the entire time though it had every reason to.

2001 mitsubishi eclipse spyder. because i wanted something with a 2-din radio opening, and it looked sportier than the lebaron. same motor. more reliable, but boring.

2014 brz limited. had it for 4 months. learned the airbags work well when people ignore their stop signs.

current: 2014 brz limited. currently the most number of 'firsts' i've ever had in a vehicle. most non-modded years, most years owned, and least ragrets for the whole thing.

current: 2002 ford ranger 4x4 super cab. i swear it corners as well as the brz, brakes just as well, but everything is numb/boring. sucks gas to the point that i don't track usage. open rear diff has a sadistic sense of humor, unloading when i least want it to.

[DarkPira7e]

This seems fun! In chronological order -

1998 Corolla Automatic- Best car to learn driving in. learned very early that the steering was too light for my taste, and also learned in my first winter with the car that you cannot brake and steer at the same time, RIP.

1995 Mitsubishi 3000GT SL Automatic- What a great entry level spots car for a normal person to have. The weight of the car made it pretty good in the snow, and it also cruised super nicely. still could not turn while braking on snow and ice, I noticed a trend and started realizing that cars can be different ( FWD, AWD, RWD) so it sparked my interest and I began researching what I wanted my next car to be, I was already sick of the behavior.

1988 Firebird Trans-Am 5 speed- Came with a 350, Holley 4 barrel carb, this was a menacing car compared to the 3000GT. Learned how to drive manual in this car on dirt roads where burnouts weren't an issue. After having my friend teach me some things, I wanted something different.

1994 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4 6 speed-

Wow, what a car. This car felt invicible. It was great in autocross with KYB struts and Tein springs, Borla catback, had 15G turbos with the E-manage blue (holy hell, nobody could tune this system that I knew, which was ultimately why I sold it after I put the 2nd engine in), the car had a mix of low end torque and top end that no car I'd been in could come close to touching. It spun the tires in first at temperatures under 40F and felt like a rocket ship, was probably around 430AWHP. Sold it because I lost interest, I had 2 other cars I purchased during my ownership of this vehicle, they are listed below.

2002 BMW 325i automatic - This car was garbage. Was only good as a daily driver because it was dead silent on the interior. I sold this at a huge loss to get it off my property, blegh.

1993 BMW 325I 5 speed -

This was my perfect car. Had Bilstein shocks, H&R Cup springs, upgraded sways, a Z3 steering rack and transmission, M3 cams, 3.15 M3 LSD, and a Jim Conforti tuning chip. It felt like it was standing still compared to the VR4, but the handling was vastly superior for lower speeds. Also had the M3 lux seats, which were the best seats I've ever sat in. This car taught me most everything I knew about driving. Ice racing, autocross, drag racing, backroad drifting, replace valve cover gaskets, replacing window regulators, etc. Lost this car to rust at 274,000 miles.

1994 325i 5 speed manual - This car was stock, unlike my last one. I couldn't go through tearing this one apart, finding the Z3 rack, trans, buying springs, shocks, seats, cams, etc. I sold it out of disappointment, the car was a loaf of soggy bread compared to my last one, I didn't realize that what I had put into the last one made such a huge gap.

1989 Miata 5 speed -


(Picture is the Miata and the Outback sport together) This car was great, but dumb as a daily driver when lowered. I'm not a very tall or fat guy, I'd say I'm average. I fit into the worn out cloth seat perfectly, I was able to put the convertible top down without taking the seatbelt off, and the manual windows were kinda neat as long as the window didn't slide down into the door slightly. This car ended up getting a hard dog roll bar, a 1.8L 1995 Miata engine swap with a lightweight flywheel, ditched the power steering, dropped it another inch and a half on Koni struts and springs. Sold this car because I got tired of bottoming out on everything. It was great for autocross, but that was absolutely it.

2000 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport 5 speed - This car was one of the best cars I've owned. I think because it really captured a mix of things I really enjoyed, and it said a lot about me. It was rotting, so half of it was bondo by the time I got rid of it. I painted most of the interior pieces black instead of the grey color they put in. I swapped in 04 STI seats and gutted the rest of the interior. This car saw a lot of dirt and snow drifting, I don't think I washed it once while I owned it, and it never asked for anything of me except gas. Junkyard claimed it because of rust.

2003 Subaru WRX -


This was an OK car at best. I bought it with a fart can exhaust. Had it tuned to 18 PSI, made about 240WHP, it had STI inverted struts from the 04 with grease fittings plumbed in. The steering response on this car drove me to sell it. None of my friends could understand why I couldn't bring myself to love the car. It just wasn't for me, it felt like I was on stilts, even with the STI suspension. The car had way too much body roll for my liking, the driver's position, even with the STI seats, was too high from the floor and I just didn't feel like any part of the car communicated well with me as the driver. SOLLLDIT at a profit to a Honda kid who had never felt boost, easy sale with mom's checkbook handy.

1992 BMW 318IS 5 speed -


This was supposed to be my adult compromise car. By this point, I'm married, own a house, have a career going, have moved away from my friends and think that my driving days are past me. Time to just settle for something with what I enjoy mixed in with gas mileage, and familiarity. enter a 90,000 mile 1992 318IS with a factory installed LSD. Car is completely stock, garage kept, blahblah grandma car, owner wanted $1,500 bucks. HELL YEAH. Loved the driving position, the center window switches, the nice steering response, the 38MPG highway, things were going great. Too great. It began to itch. I started to drive more aggresive, but stepping on the gas did little more than allow me to coast at a moderate pace. I started to go back to roads I used to tear up and down, finding that my summer tires were crying out way earlier than they should have, the tired suspension giving way to so much body roll that I felt like I was on a motorcycle. I still loved it. But I was restless when I drove it. Just a constant unrest in my soul, only during winter did my spirit come to life, as I blazed through snow and corners sideways during snowstorms when nobody else was out at 1 AM. The 1.8 i4 engine with this car just wasn't going to cut it. I sold it to a Bosnian kid who riced it out.

Enter the salvage 2013 Scion FR-S. Flood car. Perfect price, 6 speed, red, black interior, totally stock. 22,000 miles. This car embodies one trait or another from everything I've liked about any of these cars. Being a coupe, it's lightweight, it's low to the ground, it handles well, it's raw, it has some power ( and has a turbo ready to go on), it has great aftermarket support, it's red, it's RWD, it's a 6 speed, I could go on forever. This is an amazing platform, and I'm glad to have found it so early in its lifecycle. I know this is supposed to be only a couple sentences about each car, but I think to really relay the passion and this journey to come to this answer, I need to type stories. @Xerexyz please tell me if you want me to trim down my post, I will and won't be offended.