Will be gone by xmas :-(

[stargazer30]

Sorry to say my MR2 has to go.  s:cry: :cry: s:cry:    s:cry: :cry: s:cry:    s:cry: :cry: s:cry:    I don't want to sell but fate it seems has forced my hand (again!)

My TTE turbo is getting taken off mid November (sold already) and then the car will be up for sale or traded shortly after.  So this thread has 2 purposes.

1. Heads up on some bits for sale mid Nov.  Breast Plate (corkys style), UD Sub box and JL Sub, my recently purchased 60mm gauges and pod!
2. A what should I buy next thread.

The rules;
It must be something remotely fun to drive.
It must have at least 4 seats.  I tried to barter putting kids in boot but the missus didn't like it.
It must be practical enough to be a daily driver
Max price of £9K
Nothing > 10 years old or with starship mileage
Must get urban MPG of 22mpg or better (Focus ST is out been there done that)

So far I'm very tempted by a Civic Type R FN2.  Any other ideas?

[s12vea]

Sad times!
I'm sure you will be back  s;) s;)

I would be looking at subaru impreza wrx / sti - great value / sound and performance

[Two's Company]

Golf GTI edition 30.

[purplepowermonster]

Real shame. What kind of money are you looking at for the sub?

[StuC]

Sad times!
I'm sure you will be back  s;) s;)

+1

[cptspaulding]

Would be v interested in the sub/box & if I have to take a drive down to Newcastle to get it so much the better. =P

Let me know what you'd be looking for

[loadswine]

Ocyavia VRS, doubt you will like the type R if you have been used to torquey cars. You need to work a bit to keep the revs up on those. Fun for a play now and then, but not enough of the time. The VRS can be easily remapped as well. Scoobies will be fun, but I expect possibly expensive to run.

[K T M Rider]

To keep it RWD, think I'd be looking at a 3 series.

325i m sport coupe perhaps ? (Urban mpg 22.1 ! )

 m http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p m

[redcarblackhorse]

Mazda 6 MPS - if you can find a good one - very rare but great fun to drive - also practical for the family! Can be thirsty tho! Or the 3 MPS - more around but again finding a good one is the challenge.

 m http://www.mpsowners.co.uk/ m

[stargazer30]

thanks for the replies guys  :-) :-) :-)

For the Sub and box I paid about £80 fo rthe box and about £90 for the sub IIRC.    It not really postable so would be pick up and would sell for £100.

Cars - Octavia VRS, thats one I didnt think of.  Scoobies too expensive to run.  3 MPS, those are silly road tax right?

[cptspaulding]

I'll take that sub & box from you at £100. PM me when you're ready to part with it & I'll come get it.

Would be nice to see how it fits & all.

[james_gt3rs]

BMW M3 surely?

[stargazer30]

I'll take that sub & box from you at £100. PM me when you're ready to part with it & I'll come get it.

Would be nice to see how it fits & all.

Okay matey will give you first dibs.  It going to be toward the end of Nov though okay.

[redcarblackhorse]

thanks for the replies guys  :-) :-) :-)

For the Sub and box I paid about £80 fo rthe box and about £90 for the sub IIRC.    It not really postable so would be pick up and would sell for £100.

Cars - Octavia VRS, thats one I didnt think of.  Scoobies too expensive to run.  3 MPS, those are silly road tax right?

Yes they have the silly road tax unless you can get one pre road tax hike!   s:( s:(

[Chris_h]

I quite liked the fn2. Apparently a fast road geo transforms what is a slightly too inert chassis. Add progressive eibach springs and it sorts out the crashy ride.

As mentioned above, you may mss the torque, but I found it added to the challenge of driving and gave it a Jekyll and Hyde character.

Also, mine always averaged low 30's. Good urban mpg and I reckon if 6th was taller it would do 40 on a run - but unfortunately it's not - forget how many rpm at 70, but it's somewhere approaching 4k. Not a chore though as the engine is silky and quiet when not under load.

Read about the gearbox issue, but otherwise they are rock solid (dire visibility aside)

[Two's Company]

Another member here (Lee H) told me Fn2 is better than ep3 model because the vtec kicks in 600 rpm lower so you don't have to take it to the redline in each gear to stay in the vtec zone. I think he said it was lighter as well.

[stargazer30]

Update - all the bits to sell have folks with dibs already except the breast plate  s:mrgreen: :mrgreen: s:mrgreen:  

New Car -  FN2 is heavier than the EP3 by at least 50kg.  They kept the same 0-60 using shorter gears and lower VTEC engagement.  Hondata lowers it even more apparently.  I'm def gonna test drive one.

Also in the running BMW 130i anyone (minus run flats)

[s12vea]

Fn2 a nice car - have a test drive and see what you think.
Plenty of options if you fancy tweaking a few thinks  s;) s;)

Jackson supercharger maybe  s;) s;)

[loadswine]

My son had one. It was fun once wound up, but he and I both found it a bit wearing to keep in the fun zone. His one was owned from new and never did better than 30 mpg. I much prefer the Scirocco he now has. The performance is so much easier to access. I like torque though and never really been much of a fan of revvy units. Its horses for courses though, as some love that, and that's cool too, I respect that. The sound though, when in that zone, is very addictive and turbos rarely sound good.
I agree test drives are the way to go. make it a long one if you consider a Type R, so you don't just get hooked by the novelty value, and can live with it on a daily basis.

[dj2k21]

The ep3 is a better built car than the fn2. The fn2 also has a rear beam a bit like a saxo or 106 rather than I dependant suspension like the ep3. Vtec is very very easily lowered if you want it to be, for 9k that would see a supercharged ep3 on a facelift too. My aunt has an fn2 type r and it's lovely to drive and would suit a family better but hang tight because prices will drop rapidly soon as the new civic type r has been announced with a 2.0 turbo lump seeing almost 300bhp in stock form. The Americans as always won't be getting the type R which means there will be huge money to be made in exported engine parts also  s;) s;)

[stargazer30]

Well test drove the FN2 Civic Type R today.  Was on a 08 plate, with 50,000 miles.

What can I say, how about, " nooooooo I wanna keep my MR2!   s:( s:(    s:cry: :cry: s:cry:  "

Its slow.  I don't mean granny slow, but its not in the same league remotely as my MR2.
The brakes just don't work, period.  I nearly **** myself.
Steering feel, erm what steering feel
handling = compared to the 2 its not so hot.
Vtec - OMG what did they do, unlike the EP3 where you can feel the VTEC kick in, on the FN2, theres nothing.

To make matters worse the part x value on my 25,000 mile in super good condition MR2 was an insult.  To the point of me thinking it was a mis print.

The good stuff...
Engine sounds lovely
Its comfy.  They are supposed to be crashy on stock springs but no worse than thr MR2
Looks inside and out are nice
I reset the MPG and did some town driving taking it easy and it managed 28mpg.  Not bad at all for a car with a 0-60 of 6.5 seconds.

[s12vea]

I thought the handing was good maybe the geo wasn't sent up right on that car? I also had questions about the brakes as the pedal had a fair amount of travel but that was due to very very warn front pads in my case.
I would definitely have another. But your right in so many ways that will not compare to a 2 let a lone a turbo 2.
You have to drive them hard to get something rewarding out if them

[Chris_h]

I agree, very geo dependent apparently. I am thinking of getting one as a track day car - will feel v slow after an m135!
The brakes on mine weren't horrendous, but never amazing - maybe the be you drove needs new fluid or discs etc?

It's a car with lots of dynamic flaws, but one I enjoyed much more than a mk5 golf gti and as an everyday ownership proposition, it's a1 plus dead cheap for a well made car that can rack up the miles.

Whilst its worth noting that the mpg isnt mega, the advantage versus turbo charged hatches is that it never falls below mid 20's

[Lee H]

I think the FN2 is a great car, feels a lot more stable on corners to me than my Roadster even and most people who have actually had an EP3 and an FN2 realise the FN2 actually handles better with a proper geo setup. As for the EP3 being better built, no chance, the interior is dreadful for a start. We still have an EP3 as well as the FN2 and it just feels so dated to drive now.

This certainly livened my Civic up though like a turbo does on a Roadster.

[loadswine]

Now a type r with a supercharger, that would be worth having. I imagine they would cost a tiny bit more though.  s;) s;)