Very nice glass man, nice choice in wheels too.

 

before you spend $$$ on the GTR, look at this. car doesn't seem to have any personality. maybe I'd change my mind if I drove one... but the car is like a robot. is that what you really want?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omG5O...eature=related

 

Yeah i have had my share of problems but luckily they were all minor (knock on wood). From grounding issues, a tps issue, clutch issue (and the shop told me tranny and i sank money into labor for nothing!!!) to misc coolant hoses bursting like crazy lol, i think the car has been easy on me.

I think the main thing i regret which cost me A LOT of money the past 8 years was impulse part buying, only to change my mind, then reselling it losing A TON of money in the process. I cant tell you how many parts i bought, just to never install it, or install it for a week or 2, then remove it and sell it losing half of what i paid for. It def cost me thousands of lost dollars over the years in parts i changed my mind on.

Those days are long gone. I dont buy anything for the FD unless i absolutely need it to get it running, or til the part im replacing it with is sold first, or at least i have a buyer for the part im getting rid of first. Then ill buy that new part to take its place.


Wow your vr looks immaculate. Its pics like these and some of the dedicated stories i see on this forum that are huge contributions of me still being happy to own an FD. It actually motivates me to make my FD as immaculate as some of you guys here and continue to own this rare beauty.

Thanks guys

 

One of the bigger reasons why I sold my Rx8. In auto-x, it's relatively easy to lay down some quick times, but I nearly fall asleep doing it. Not to compare it against a GTR or anything, but I need to feel like the car is not on auto-pilot.

 

from someone who has driven a GTR quite a bit... they are totally fun!

clarkson just had to come up with sommmmmething to complain about, its his thing.

 

Nowadays performance cars are not what they are used to be. Most of them are too heavy and too computerised. The limits of these cars are so high, you have take it to a track. It's not like in old cars where you hop in and have fun anytime anywhere.

I'd take a car (e.g. RX7) which feels mechanical and is light and agile over these fast but heavy, and computerised cars any day. A RX7 could make you feel like a hero where a GTR could make you feel worthless.

 

Back when the RX8 first came out, Clarkson had also said RX8 was the best car he had driven that year so we know where he stands. His points make sense. And a great car does not always equal great driving thrill.

 

I agree, lose the feel of the road, lose the fun of driving. I've felt that driving a corvette feels very numb after driving the ol' FD. I don't like being robbed of feeling, it's too much like wearing a rubber.

Some newer cars have some heart for feeling like the EVO MR, very fun to drive. I can respect the into of technology for the benefit of performance as long as it doesnt rob me of my fun.

I don't have much time anymore to play with my RX7 in the garage even though I love wvery minute of it. It costs me way to much when I could be working. The RX7 is still to me the best car because of its rediculous thrill but I might have to find something that has much less down time.

I'm very interested in a test drive of the GTR!

 

How do I stay dedicated to the FD after 13 years with it? Besides the fact that it's still a blast to drive...it is absolutely, positively, without question THE best looking car in the entire parking lot of hundreds of other cars where I work, and for that matter, ANY parking lot I end up parking it in. It's a beautiful classic-one of the best ever.

 

Yep it looks the same from where I'm standing

However it's the drive that really does it for me. As I said before just go to the Porsche dealer, BMW dealer etc.... take some test drives and when it's over you'll leave in your FD with no regrets.

PS while you're at the dealer there will probably be more people looking at your car than the ones on the lot

 

That's so true- shopping for my wife's car we went from dealer to dealer in the FD. There were more people looking at the 15 year old FD than any of the brand new cars on the lots. The buyers on the Mazda lot were going crazy over the car & the Honda dealer begged me for a ride. I think he regretted all of the begging after we finished our "spirited" ride on the twisty, hilly back roads (he discovered my broken passengers door handle in the middle of a tight downhill turn-too funny).

 

ROFLMAO Yeah .. I was getting a little sad as it was comming to a close.. but ROFL! ... did you try and get one with the back seats for the kids?

 

Pricelesssssss!! more motivation to get my car rolling thanks!

 

The glass Man... How many miles are on your FD?


I have 63k on my original motor.




John

 

There are some great points in this thread. I agree that once the car becomes more than a hobby and turns into a perception of never-ending maintenance you need to step back for a bit.

I have 2 general hobbies on my life: my car, and my job. Just like the FD my job is a neverending learning curve of programs and techniques. Sometimes working on the car gets in the way of "keeping up with the joneses" persay in my industry. When this happens I just have to curb the FD and let it sit for a bit. Sometimes several weeks. The car then becomes more of a treat.

I will say I lost my first FD back in summer of 2006. For the first few months I was sad but sort of relieved. Then I got bored, lol. Then I felt inadequate when I saw other cool sports cars on the road. Seems like the grass is always greener with something else, but I did come back to the FD.

I do also agree with Dale that perhaps keeping to spending money on the car to keep it up rather than doing cosmetic and performance upgrades for a bit also helps clear your mind on why you really have the car in the first place. I bought mine current FD almost 3 years ago and have only done maintenance work to fix all the old stuff. I feel like I need like 3 -4 months of a mental break from work and broken things on the car before I can really see what new goodies I'd like to put in it. Like I could start with a radio, lol.

 

39,311 Miles as of this morning.

 

Dang it...42,391.



Crispy
- latest "performance upgrade" = interior aluminum door handle

 

lol I gotcha. But an undeniable fact about the GTR... is it's size. What a pig, a hulking beast! Still an awesome car, but holy crap it's huge. Relative to an FD, or NSX, of course

 

I also drove one extensively the first year they came out. It is a MONSTER off the line and in the corners, but the feel in the rack and nimbleness is not up to the FD in my book. Don't get me wrong, I'd totally take one if given the opportunity, but would likely do something to increase the exhaust note and give it a little more feedback if possible.

 

One thing that really pisses me off with todays supercars is..... that any schmuck out there can drive one fast due to all the electronics correcting potential off-track excursions...! This is so wrong in my book.
One example. The ferrari enzo and the maserati MC-12 is based of the same chassis and same engine. Clarkson is a fairly good driver, and he absolutely loved the enzo. Stig took it out and set a new track record with it, so, ye, its a fast car indeed!
Then, clarkson tested the MC-12. He was outright scared of the MC-12. unstable brake-ins, scetchy in the turn-in, blaablaaablaaa, basically a **** car.... So, Stig took it out...and beat the track record set in the Ferrari earlier... Why? The Maserati is basically the same car...without all the electronic aids, so, it will naturally appeal to a great driver that knows how co communicate and live "in symbiosis" with the car by listening to it!
And THIS, is what, in my book, separates a decent driver from a great driver.... A decent driver will feel unsecure, scared and uncomfortable with the Maserati setup, a great driver will love it and become one with the same car.
A supercar is for me, a car that scares the **** out of you, but when you learn how to handle the dragon, you will become a great driver!
Not everyone will be great drivers, and thats why not everyone should be able to handle one either...! But hey, money talks, and the car companies know it....

The 7 is a car like that, with its supergrippy setup. I mean, come on, lets be honest here. How many have spun out the first few times you kicked the *** out, due to the car giving you such short notise of when she is kicking her lovely *** out on ya?

 

What he said ^ nothing like a car that is you, a steering wheel and four wheels.
I have had to daily my FD for over 4 weeks now due to my daily getting stolen, this is on my fresh new setup with a 420hp ported motor, light flywheel and heavy puk clutch.
I honestly thought I would be much more over it than I am. But I still get excited to get in and drive. I must admit I enjoy it more when I only drive it once a week though, as warming it up for 15min in the morning gets pretty old fast, and I HATE leaving it anywhere whatsoever due to be worried about it being taken. Oh and the fact that I keep gas company's in business haha.

But that's what she's all about!!! Such character with this beast! And since I did the motor and everything myself, I certainly appreciate it alot more than if a shop had of done the work, same goes with anything.

 

From time to time I think about selling the car and looking for a different toy but what usually changes my mind is when I step on the gas or when before I go to bed I peak in the garage to look at her resting

 

In High School my dream car was a FD. Graduated 95', 1999 bought a 93' touring MB for $12k have it since then. Can't imagine anything else in my garage except this!



even got it framed lol

 

I dont drink, i dont do drugs, i dont sleep with random chicks (aka hookers) thats how i afford my FD

on a more serious note, i love this car way to much. i drive it in smiles per hour and the number of kids that come running up to me asking what it is and when i tell them and they reply with "im going to save my money and buy one just like it" makes the high cost of owning this beauty worth every second.

the other thing that helps is being single and having a decent paying (45k/year) job

 

[QUOTE=orange7;11136810]In High School my dream car was a FD. Graduated 95', 1999 bought a 93' touring MB for $12k have it since then. Can't imagine anything else in my garage except this!



I've never seen that 2 tone paint schema before now, but now that I have, I like it.