Prospective FD buyer
07-02-09, 08:28 AM
#1
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Prospective FD buyer
Here is the unabridged version of my path to the FD ...
Back in college, I owned/maintained/autocrossed an '88 Porsche 924S with the M030 suspension and it was a great experience. The chassis was brilliant, but deserved more power and better reliability, kinda like the FD.
After owning a couple 600 cc sportbikes, I learned a few things: acceleration is addicting, wrenching more enjoyable when the engine is simple and accessible, the lighter the better, and my wife can only go so far on the back of a sportbike. So my next toy has to be something light, powerful and simple for track days while being relatively quiet, comfy and stylish enough for my wife to enjoy with me on occasion.
I have loved the FD for a long time, but until recently had wrote off ever owning one due to reliability issues. I've spent some time lurking, learning about reliability mods, watching the progress made with water/meth injection, considered a normally aspirated 20b build.
I’ve spent way too much time on many different car forums, studied all their respective issues and came to the conclusion that there just aren’t a lot of great dual-purpose sports cars out there. To me a dual purpose sports car is something that is equally capable on track days and road trips.
The E46 M3 with that smooth I-6 is a great all-arounder, and I could very easily see myself in one of these. I went for a test ride in one with a very young, very fun, slightly naive salesman who didn’t mind when I turned the traction control off and hung the tail out on several occasions. I don’t know that I would appreciate all that weight at the track, and many owners complain of the reliability of the VANOS system. If I were looking for a sports car that was also to be my daily driver, the E46 M3 might be it.
My complaint after driving a stock S2000 was the embarrassing lack of torque, although I loved the chassis and tranny. I’d imagine a turbo would go a long way on one of these, but I don’t know how well an aftermarket turbo kit and a highly strung engine would get along during long, hot track sessions. I wish Honda would build a coupe version with a factory turbo. Hell, they put a turbo in a crossover SUV, the Acura RDX … where’s the love?
Used prices for a decent 2001-02 Porsche 996 turbo are down around $40K these days, which is quite a bargain for an extremely capable car. The GT1 derived engine in the turbo is both durable and mod friendly. However, with AWD and 3500 lbs, this car leans more to the road than the track. Also, having a lift in the garage is a must have if you want to enjoy wrenching on this beast yourself. Just changing the sparkplugs requires removing a lot of parts.
I think the Cayman S is a perfect platform for me in terms of size and balance, but the M96 engine in the 2005-2008 cars is frankly a pile of ****. The all new 3.4L direct injection engine available in 2009 looks to be a pretty solid and a limited slip is finally available from the factory. If Porsche would offer the Cayman with the 3.8L engine from the Carrera S, it would be the perfect factory sports car, but marketing is too concerned with protecting the 911’s image. So I have a hard time supporting a company with its priorities so out of whack.
A few months ago another forum member let me drive his LS1 FD. So now I’m having a hard time justifying the rotary. I will probably end up with a modest LS2/T56 build of my own in the not too distant future. I absolutely respect the rotary, but I plan on doing tons of track days, so a stock LS2 making a reliable 400hp/400lb-ft mated to a transmission that can take some abuse really appeals to me. Probably, the only way I would consider staying with the rotary would be if the right car came up for sale, specifically something with sensible mods, including water/methanol injection.
My wife and I will be moving into our first house in a few months and are very excited. I’m only 27 and feel very fortunate that my hard work is paying off so early in life. By the way, all you kids out there reading this … get an engineering degree! It’s one of the very few bachelor’s degrees that guarantees a good job these days.
After we get settled, I plan to hunt down a 94-95 FD without a sunroof and go from there. It might be a runner; it might be a roller; not sure if it’ll be a 2-rotor, 3-rotor, or a pushrod cross-plane V8. Hopefully my intro doesn’t start up the “rotary-vs-V8” debate again. =)
Back in college, I owned/maintained/autocrossed an '88 Porsche 924S with the M030 suspension and it was a great experience. The chassis was brilliant, but deserved more power and better reliability, kinda like the FD.
After owning a couple 600 cc sportbikes, I learned a few things: acceleration is addicting, wrenching more enjoyable when the engine is simple and accessible, the lighter the better, and my wife can only go so far on the back of a sportbike. So my next toy has to be something light, powerful and simple for track days while being relatively quiet, comfy and stylish enough for my wife to enjoy with me on occasion.
I have loved the FD for a long time, but until recently had wrote off ever owning one due to reliability issues. I've spent some time lurking, learning about reliability mods, watching the progress made with water/meth injection, considered a normally aspirated 20b build.
I’ve spent way too much time on many different car forums, studied all their respective issues and came to the conclusion that there just aren’t a lot of great dual-purpose sports cars out there. To me a dual purpose sports car is something that is equally capable on track days and road trips.
The E46 M3 with that smooth I-6 is a great all-arounder, and I could very easily see myself in one of these. I went for a test ride in one with a very young, very fun, slightly naive salesman who didn’t mind when I turned the traction control off and hung the tail out on several occasions. I don’t know that I would appreciate all that weight at the track, and many owners complain of the reliability of the VANOS system. If I were looking for a sports car that was also to be my daily driver, the E46 M3 might be it.
My complaint after driving a stock S2000 was the embarrassing lack of torque, although I loved the chassis and tranny. I’d imagine a turbo would go a long way on one of these, but I don’t know how well an aftermarket turbo kit and a highly strung engine would get along during long, hot track sessions. I wish Honda would build a coupe version with a factory turbo. Hell, they put a turbo in a crossover SUV, the Acura RDX … where’s the love?
Used prices for a decent 2001-02 Porsche 996 turbo are down around $40K these days, which is quite a bargain for an extremely capable car. The GT1 derived engine in the turbo is both durable and mod friendly. However, with AWD and 3500 lbs, this car leans more to the road than the track. Also, having a lift in the garage is a must have if you want to enjoy wrenching on this beast yourself. Just changing the sparkplugs requires removing a lot of parts.
I think the Cayman S is a perfect platform for me in terms of size and balance, but the M96 engine in the 2005-2008 cars is frankly a pile of ****. The all new 3.4L direct injection engine available in 2009 looks to be a pretty solid and a limited slip is finally available from the factory. If Porsche would offer the Cayman with the 3.8L engine from the Carrera S, it would be the perfect factory sports car, but marketing is too concerned with protecting the 911’s image. So I have a hard time supporting a company with its priorities so out of whack.
A few months ago another forum member let me drive his LS1 FD. So now I’m having a hard time justifying the rotary. I will probably end up with a modest LS2/T56 build of my own in the not too distant future. I absolutely respect the rotary, but I plan on doing tons of track days, so a stock LS2 making a reliable 400hp/400lb-ft mated to a transmission that can take some abuse really appeals to me. Probably, the only way I would consider staying with the rotary would be if the right car came up for sale, specifically something with sensible mods, including water/methanol injection.
My wife and I will be moving into our first house in a few months and are very excited. I’m only 27 and feel very fortunate that my hard work is paying off so early in life. By the way, all you kids out there reading this … get an engineering degree! It’s one of the very few bachelor’s degrees that guarantees a good job these days.
After we get settled, I plan to hunt down a 94-95 FD without a sunroof and go from there. It might be a runner; it might be a roller; not sure if it’ll be a 2-rotor, 3-rotor, or a pushrod cross-plane V8. Hopefully my intro doesn’t start up the “rotary-vs-V8” debate again. =)
07-02-09, 08:16 PM
#3
I have had a similar long path to my 3rd gen RX7.
I test drove one at 19, and had to wait 10 years to have one of my own.
Take your time, get one with a clean low mileage chassis, and do a rebuild if you need to. You won't regret it.
Just to illustrate that point, I just had knee surgery today.
My biggest concern is not the pain, or the wasted time sitting on the couch.
It's that i'm going to miss an autocross event with my local club.
It makes me sad that I might not get to drive my car for a couple of weeks. That's how much I love it.
get one.. you won't regret it.
I test drove one at 19, and had to wait 10 years to have one of my own.
Take your time, get one with a clean low mileage chassis, and do a rebuild if you need to. You won't regret it.
Just to illustrate that point, I just had knee surgery today.
My biggest concern is not the pain, or the wasted time sitting on the couch.
It's that i'm going to miss an autocross event with my local club.
It makes me sad that I might not get to drive my car for a couple of weeks. That's how much I love it.
get one.. you won't regret it.
