Best First Tuner Car

What is the best starting tuner car out there?

Well, in high school I drove my dad's old truck, and I gave it an off-road suspension and off-roading tires, and had a grand old time in the mud with my friends.

However, I have now gotten to college and realized that I am more interested in performance tuning, autocross and rallycross events primarily, though I think drifting looks pretty fun to get into someday maybe. Even though I am interested in these events, I really just want to get back to wrenching, like I used to, it is fun and calming. But I really don't know all that much about how to tune except for the stuff I have gotten from pounding my buddy with questions (he is the one who introduced me to the scene) and reading his modified, turbo, 0-60, import tuner and hot rod. A little while ago I started sending out requests for a bunch of different car brochures just for fun, and since I am in need of a new car after wrecking the truck in a rock crawling gone awry situation.

Since I got a full ride scholarship to my college, I was thinking I would just use the money that I have stored up to help pay for college as a way to pay not just for the car but also for the performance parts as I move along in the project. I have about 18,500 in the bank, but I am willing to take out a car loan.

So to get to the gist of it, I am looking for a great car to start my tuning journey on that is a quick, great handling car that is easily tunable and has a large aftermarket, as well as a large amount of cargo space for hauling my stuff from my home in Colorado to my college in Iowa. Also, due to a number of off-roading related tickets and their effect on my insurance tab, I need to get a car that won't break the insurance bank or get my insurance to drop me outright.

I was looking at cars like the following: Civic SI, Subie WRX, GTI, Lancer Ralliart, Mazdaspeed 3, Acura RSX (used), Hyndai Genesis, Nissan Sentra, Honda Fit and the Dodge SRT-4. Right now, I want to start out by modding breathers, then turboing and reflashing before maybe trying an engine swap or if I am satisfied with the performance of the car, stylizing the car.

Basically, what is the car for me? If you guys have any other questions or advice feel free to give it.  

Well man it depends wat you're looking for really.  FWD RWD AWD? You lookin to run cheap tuner or higher end, do u plan on enginer swaps or just engine mods? my advice find a car that has a lot of parts available for it...makes it easy to choose.  I am 21 but I rebuilt a 1967 Pontiac GTO 454 Big block sweet ride ground up resto and a 1976 that i set up for drag but I am new to this tuner scene but being that ive run cars before it helped me out a lil bit...Honda isnt bad but if you looking into drifting as well, you're gonna be better off with say a Nissan 240 easy motor to mod...but drifting is a different set-up than drag, or street  

Well, I would not be drifting this car I can tell you that, probably would just autocross with it, and I do like the 240, but the best mod for that car would be an engine swap in my opinion and I am not sure that I am ready to do that kind of mod yet, since I am pretty sure that it would send my insurance through the roof.

I am just looking for a easily moddable car that is fun to drive and won't get me in copper trouble. My gut would say the WRX but I think that that is too much of a cop magnet.  

So after checking out the aftermarket on the Galant I have decided to add that one to the list of possibilities. Can anyone think of a good way to methodically decide which one to get?  

Does anyone know if the evo's rear seats can be put down in order to open up the trunk and give myself more cargo room for traveling? Cuz if it does, then I would definately be getting that one  

ya they do  
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the godfather has spoken

Well, I was bouncing ideas around in my head, what about the ACURA TSX, I like the JDM version of the Accord quite a bit, and buying a TSX seems like the easiest way to get it here in this country. The only problem is that I haven't been able to find a large performance aftermarket for the TSX, I mean sure there is a great bippu market but that is not want I want... I want to wrench my car into a speed demon  

you should stick with a evo, new rally art, wrx, or sti.  
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the godfather has spoken

I can tell you right now, drop the Galant.  I know someone in the 2 year auto program here at my school and he has a 2000 Galant that he races autocross with.  He's spent almost 11k on this car.  Everything from reprogramming ECU, port work, tranny swap, cams, higher compression pistons, weight reduction, the whole lot.  The sad part is, my roommate's STOCK 98 GSX beats it in the quarter.  Granted the thing is built for a road course, tho...

My choice, with that kind of bank, would be an Evo.  Good storage space, GREAT fun, easily modded...  
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"It's either a fuel injection or carbeuration problem" said the man with a 2001 Saturn Ion
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Daily: 2000 Honda Accord Coupe F23A1 VTEC
Project: 1995 Eagle Talon TSi AWD

Well I just went out and looked at a bunch of cars that are out there, and I think that my favorite for the money has got to be the Honda Fit, it is practical and very easily moddable, however, I cannot forsee this car being any more than a daily driver, so I have a modest proposal to make.

A few blocks from my school there is a busted up Nissan Silvia S14 with a blown out engine, however I looked at it today and the damage to the body is completely cosmetic, and other than the engine everything appears to be in working order. The interior is slightly trashed, but not destroyed. The carpeting is disgusting, but I could probably just tear that out anyways who needs it.

What I am thinking is I would buy the Fit for a daily driver, and buy the S14, which this guy is offering up for 7.5K. (I have a feeling I might be able to get him to drop it to 6K). I would then play around and mod out the S14 by dropping in either a RB26DETT or the original SR20DET that it was originally intended to have, but probably the RB motor.

Do you guys think that this would be a good idea or do you think that I would regret it? I would also like to know if you guys think that it would be a better idea for someone with no engine swapping experience to attempt to do the swap myself or if I should send it to a shop. The only problem I would have with sending it to a shop is that I want to be able to look underneath the hood and say to myself "Yeah, I did all of that with these hands and tools." But at the same time, I don't want to mess up what could be a really awesome car.  

the honda fit is not a tuner car, its a ricer car. stay away from the fit.  
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the godfather has spoken

Yeah but I love the amount of storage space it has, that is really the only reason that I would buy it, that and it is a fuel sipper so it would be great for the twelve hour drive I would be making from colo to ia. But then again I have been looking at the aftermarket for it and you might be right, it seems that most the aftermarket products are show and not go, and quite honestly, given my driving record, I think it is best if I only put in the go, cuz lets face it, one more ticket and I lose my lisence for a year at least.

Damned adolescent rock crawling.  

Alright, so after looking around and evaluating things, I have come to a few final decisions.

I have decided to either by a 1992 240SX [it has already been modded (a negative given I do not know the tuner's skill), but since it still has the ka24 I will probably save up for an SR20 swap]or a Integra Type R. This car would not; however, have to be a daily driver.

Allow me to explain: An older friend of mine will be graduating this year and will be moving to Japan to work for Asics (a shoe company) for 4-5 years before he attends B-school at DU. He has offered to allow me to borrow his '03 ford f-150 while he is gone so long as I pay him the accumulated depreciation, take car of it and do not turn it into a rock crawler (as I told him he should multiple times). I would use this car for daily driving and make the 240sx into a race car.

Anyways, so I was thinking that this seems like the best possible scenario that I could find, save the fact that the ford is a effing gas guzzler. So in your guy's opinion, what would be better, the 240SX or the Integra Type R