I purchased my car years ago when the price for gas was about half of what it is now. I primarily use my car for auto x, and a weekend driver. But gas has been muscling it's way into my racing budget recently, rivaling parts for the top spot. I have a decent drive to compete anywhere. I've been considering trading in the FD for something more fuel effecient, like an M3 or Miata. What good is it having a play car if I can't afford to play with it? Don't get me wrong. I can afford to drive it around town. But almost 3 hours to auto x and even further for track time is raping me. Anybody else feeling the heat at the pump? I love my car, but I'd rather have something I can compete in rather than a driveway ornament.

 

It's virtually impossible for anyone not to feel the pinch of the astronomical gas prices these days, but any turbocharged performance car is going to feel them even more. Your case is somewhat unique, however, so I could see how you'd want something that gave you a little more financial leeway.

 

I agree. But gas prices are just another expense (among MANY others) that make FD's a true luxury to own. It's expensive but it's worth it I think.

 

the higher gas prices keep me from driving it as much, so in a way its good cuase it keeps miles off it haha

 

think about this. your fd should be getting 22-24mpg on the freeway, the miata will get 30-32. we'll just assume 3 hour drive @60mph = 180miles. @22mpg in the fd thats 8 gallons. @32 mpg in the miata 5.6 gallons.

thats a 2.4 gallon difference.

at 3.50 a gallon thats not quite $9....

 

FD highway mileage isnt THAT bad. But gas prices are only going to get worse, atleast you didnt buy an H2.

 

my fd is lucky to get 18 mpg ( 850 & 1600 injectors with 420 hp)

 

The Miata doesn't need premium.

 

Larz,
Keep the FD man, j9fd3s didn't consider the lowoctane fuel cost but the savings is still very minimal, I mean for the difference in savings you can just eat at home one day of the week. (Top Ramen).

 

Yeah the FD does still get good highway mileage. It's just gas prices are starting to kick my motorsport's weekends in the *****. That with the high maintenance cost of the FD is killing me. I could handle one no problem, but both is really testing my budget.

 

Well, an M3 isn't going to save you anything on gas.

I would personally choose an S2000 over a Miata (in that group of cars). Gas mileage isn't as good as the Miata, but it's a more fun car IMO.

 

Heat at the pump, my response was ...go single turbo.

Hell with it 850 primary, 1600 secondaries ...Yummy 440 hp and 10 mpg

Save your FD, eat PB&J

 

Or to put it another way, if gas were $2 per gallon, a 360 mile round trip would cost $36 assuming 20mpg. At three dollars per gallon, this trip is $54, a difference of $18.

$18 is noise in the FD universe (and particularly in the tracked FD universe) - it will barely buy you two spark plugs.

How much sales/registration taxes are you going to pay on an M3 if you buy one? At least $1k I would guess, which would take over 50 360 mile trips to recoup. (And you should not ignore that the M3 will probably depreciate $5k+ in the time, while the FD may not depreciate at all, or very little).

 

really, if you can't afford a little extra gas a few days a month then you shouldn't be racing anything on a track.

sorry to be harsh but go buy a metro if you are gonna complain about gas prices while owning a sports car and want to track them.

 

Here's another angle: if you sell your FD due to trying to save on gas prices, you're going to spend ~$400 to re-register, smog, and on sale tax for the new car. You'd be money-ahead if you kept it.

Edit: Damn it, moconnor beat me to it.

 

Forget the gas prices...don't you go through tires like butter at the auto-x?

 

17-20mpg isnt that bad IMO, but I guess I have a different view on this subject, as both my vehicles get ~ the same milage..actually my DD gets worse than my FD ('94 4Runner), so I dont bitch if my FD breaks 20mpg

 

that's another good point. My miata friend payed over 200 less for his V710s.

 

rather than bitch about the gas prices i chose to just ride my bike around. it's nice only needing to put in 3 gallons every week or so.

 

then just buy a pos to drive around town or buy a hybrid and use that as a dd n keep the fd for track n maybe sometimes for weekends seriously man just keep the fd ull prob sell it to some one who wouldnt love it as much n prob do something stupid n crash it

 

A metro isn't going to solve my problem. I already have a corrolla at my disposal. It wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't out in podunk Macomb going to school. The other university I wanted to go to is 2 hours closer to the auto x site. I wound up here because my idiot brother couldn't do well in school without adult supervision, and he started college a year sooner as I was still in the Marine Corps. I guess the moral of the story is if you have an idiot brother, tell your family he needs to man up on his own and go to the school you want to that is closer to civilization (auto x wasn't the deciding factor in any of my college choices, but it gives me one more reason to bitch about being out here).

 

dude, you guys are getting mpg in the 20's? My FD is completely stock... except for the ast and im getting like 15mpg... whats wrong with that?

 

I don't think you guys are understanding I'm not concerned with gas prices for just being around town. it's the long hauls to race that's killing me.

 

There is a reason I do auto-x: it is one cheap motorsport. About 120 bucks sometimes more for 2 days on a weekend. When I first got the car, it was 30 bucks for a tank. Now it's over 50. My typical weekend expenses are:
$30 entry fee for both days
$25 my share for the hotel room
Gas-whatever the current price is-a tank on average-now it's over $50
Food and water-$30 if that
Gas is the reigning champion for expenses granted I don't break anything
Tires-$800 a set for a full season
If I competed in ITS or higher classes of racing, yes, gas would be but a drop in the bucket. But as a poor auto xer (believe me, if I could afford it I would be doing more than auto x) it is taking up a major chunk of the budget.
I wouldn't be so pissed if OPEC execs needed more Bentleys in their garages. This is one of the few things I seriously enjoy, and I can't do it as much now. If I don't have anyone go with me, my expenses increase. I have to pay the full price for the hotel. I'm not the only one that can't play as much due to pain at the pump. Auto xing is a poor man's motor sport. As I said before, if the other forms of racing were as cheap, I'd be doing them.

 

well it's about another $15 in gas vs the other cars you mentioned and many people made good points about it being the registration/taxes and worn out/broken components at the track.. $15 isn't much in the grand scheme of things.


a suggestion i may make:

rather than drop $800 on tires, go out and search for some good used tires as that will save you a bit of money.