1st off, Im new to import tuner. Im 16, live in detroit metropolitan area..looking to get a car in 2009. i understand theres a billion of "my 1st car" "need help with first car" etc etc threads..i've read alot of them and none of them cater to what i want. I have also read the "New Car sticky" and have picked up alot of helpful information. here is my situation.

Budget: no more than $16k (financed). from what i understand i will be splitting cost with my parents.. insurance can't be ridiculously high either (remember i am 16..and a male)

Needs in a car: obviously something that i can get around with. under 100k miles. ability to tune up (or supe up..not tryin to sound ricey). doesn't have to be a BEAST..but i want to see some kind of gains.. and something that is attractive. FWD, RWD, AWD..doesnt really matter to me..i would like the FWD b/c easy handling..RWD b/c of drifting (yes i like drifting..im still learnin how, but i have someone teaching me) and AWD..just cuz everyone says its good lol..oh and DEFINATLY a stick

ANYWAYS..i basically want something that is a fun drive/ decent hp when STOCK..i'm in highschool so i cant blow all of what money i have on parts to make it zoom. i want to eventually do that...but for now i'm just planning on gettin simple bolt ons for it. i guess u can call it a long term project car..every few months or so i will add something new to it.

here's my list of what i'm interested in (assuming insurance/mpg is not a killer):

06+ civic si
03-04 350z (touring)
03-05 eclipse GTS
01-02 is300
02-04 rsx type S
04 SRT-4

at the moment, thats all i can think of. ill add as they come

i dont really want anything like the 240sx..they hard to find in decent condition (atleast around here) or GTI..any mazdas..and the evo looks pretty exspensive lol

i've been reading on tuning and engines/cars for the past few months now..went test driving in a few cars and have done quite of bit of homework, so i'm not a total noob..but im still somewhat of one

feel free to add cars that u think suit my needs to the list..take cars off..comment on what i have..anything!
i need some type of direction! lol

thanks A LOT in advance..i hope u guys can help me!  

Out of the ones you listed, i would take either the civic si or the 350z, and i think the RSX is good too.

other ones you might wanna look into are a 99 or lower eclipse, audi a4 (or s4 if you can find one cheap) i would say s2k, but being your 16 insurance would be a killer. An MK3 supra wouldnt be too bad, if you find one with a decent body (with recent head gasket!!!)... umm, thats bout all i can think of right now.

Im assuming you want something newer so itll last you awhile so the 3z, civic, audi, or rsx would be your best bet  

03-05 eclipses are good cars. i prefer the gs though. for the weight gain of the v6 you dont get enough hp or tq. the gs comes stock with 147hp and 157tq. and its like 4gs less then the rsx type s. the cast iron block can take a load when tunin.  

I thought with the eclipse GS it was a waste of money putting any performance parts on it since u would see little to no gains, thats not true?

b/c i know with the civic ex there's no point in putting performance parts on because the gains would be little to nothing.

i really like both the civic si and the 350z, i just hope the insurance is not ridiculous.
i kinda like the rsx..but it's at the bottom of the list for a reason lol

nobody has any input on the is300? i really like the look of it and there's not to many around here.  

the only elcpise that are worth putting parts on are for the GST and the GSX  

thats what i thought..

so godfather, why recommend the gs? i read somewhere that u had one..i can't remember where though


and still nobody has anything on the is300?  

**added to the list, Dodge SRT-4**

havn't done much reading on it, going to right now
can i get some opinions..pros/cons on it?  

you can stick a t16 at 7psi and push 190 hp. it is the best stock 4cyl ff tuner out there. its as wide as a 350z so it handles like a queen. with just intake and exhaust i keep up with new sis. older sis and teggi type s cant touch my car. everybody talks down on the 3rd gen eclipses cause they dont know them. you wont fine a 1st or 2nd gen gsx or gst with less then 150000 miles on them. for newer cars past the 2000  model year, you wont find a better bang for your buck.  

what about the GT?
the 04 GT (200hp) , 04 GS (147hp), and the 03 GTS (210hp) are all priced about the same.

in that case would u still recommend the GS?

i also got some noob questions for u..lol
what u mean by "stick t17".."ff tuner".."new sis. older sis and teggi type s"
lmao sorry..

and u have a gs right?  

t16- 16mm turbo. ff- front engine front wheel drive. sis- civic si's. teggi type s- integera type s.

the v6 only gives you 50hp more with 800lbs extra. because of the weight its not as fast as it sounds. yep i own a gs. ive driven a v6 and it had to much lag. the 3.0 isnt a strog motor thats why they replaced it with the 3.8, yet the 4cyl is still the 2.4l 4g64.

i enjoy my car cause everyone talks *** about it until i smoke em.