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I'm in the market for a new (to me) car and I doubt I will leave it stock, but I have no intention of running in a prepared or modified class.  The car would be a daily driver so it would need to be fun and reliable, preferably an import, but not an '89 Civic Si.  Good aftermarket support such as Koni Yellows and Ground Controls would be great.  The car doesn't need to be a national contender, but should be regionally competitive among the STS cars that are not Civics.  Any suggestions?

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This season:
#9 GS/STS 2000 Nissan Maxima SE - sold
#9 STX 2006 Honda Civic Si - for sale
#? HS 2006 Honda Civic LX - driver mod needed

92 Civic Si? How about a base Mini Cooper?

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Brian Davis, 89 Civic Si, 158 STS

Didn't a Nissan 240sx win a couple of years back?  I would consider that the best choice.

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Mark Davis
1993 Toyota MR-2 White "Casper"

one of these would make a nice daily driver

 

 

2000+ Toyota Celica GT or GTS. GT has torque that the GTS doesn’t have down low but the GTS is a lot fast on the big end.

what about a 2.5RS?  Those do pretty well and pretty.

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carsonau.com

Having attempted to competitively run an EP3 Civic (02 Si) in STS for the past few years I will say that it is not even regionally competitive.   My vote would be for a Mini Cooper in STS or a Cooper S in STX.   Celica GTS in STS would be very competitive, but they are hard to find with low miles.

atechnica:

one of these would make a nice daily driver

I looked at one the other day and I am scheduled to look at another one on Saturday, but it is over priced due to its "rarity"   I have heard from several people that they are too heavy and too under powered to be competitive.

The Celica GT and 2.5 RS are difficult to find in decent shape and at a reasonable price.  I almost enjoy the GT more than the GT-S due the smoother torque curve. 

I forgot to mention that the car could fall into STX or STU as well.

To put all of this in perspective, I currently run a 2000 Nissan Maxima SE 5 speed in STS and I have taken 3rd, 3rd and 2nd in my first events ever.  When I took 3rd there was one spec Civic and when I took 2nd there were zero spec Civics (I lost to a Fit!).  The car has Tokico Illumina's, Eibach springs, a rear sway bar, and Azenis.  The 3200 lb chassis is not exactly ideal for auto-x, but it holds its own.  

Thanks for the suggestions, please keep them coming.
 

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This season:
#9 GS/STS 2000 Nissan Maxima SE - sold
#9 STX 2006 Honda Civic Si - for sale
#? HS 2006 Honda Civic LX - driver mod needed

I'm partial but 1st gen Neons still do pretty well and they're about as inexpensive as they get. For half of your budget you could build a pretty killer STS car. I have under 3 grand in mine and run well locally.

Now addimittedly, I'd get crushed at a national but 10 grand would be more than enough to step up my game.

Well supported by the aftermarket, plentiful, and easy to work on, they aren't a bad deal.

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Indy Region SCCA #374620
STS #19 Neon
ITA #19 Neon

www.performancedrivenllc.com

"The driver ran out of talent before he ran out of nerve." (Mark Martin)

Fun STS car, comfortable daily driver and cheap. . . Sounds like you should join the Korean bandwagon!

 Locally, 5-spd 02-03 Elantra sedans go for $3-4k, H&R's $200, KYB GR-2 Tiburon struts $250,  OEM Tib sway bar $75, eBay CAI $50 and any muffler of your choice $20. 

35mpg highway, 25-30 CITY, comfortable, quiet and fun. 

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"Drag racing is for fast cars, autocrossing is for fast drivers"

Scion TC

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Patrick Washburn
STU Evo
www.winghats.com

Mid 90's BMW 325i can be found for under $10k, that would leave some decent money to spend on shocks/springs/wheels/tires.

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Jason Frank
Bridgestone / datatoys.com / Redshift Motorsports STS Civic Si

TeamUndercoatRacing.com

Couple that come to mind:

1. 99-00 Civic Si - if someone comes out with a 225/45x15 or 215/40x16 it would change this car.
2. 92-95 Civic Si - lightweight more hp than the 89-91s)
3. 1992-2000 Civic Ex - pretty light and stable autocrosser and has lots of room for storage
4. Subaru 2.5 RS - this has been proven a good car several times
5. Nissan 240SX - proven at 2006 Nationals
6. BMW 3 series - really almost any year.
7. 92-01 Integra - more torque than the 89-00 Civics. And some say can fit wider tires.
8. 02+ RSX
9. 92+ Toyota Celica

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KAM Racing Sports, Falken Tires, Progress Technology, Brady's High Performance, Taggart Performance Engineering, Rotora Brakes
Autocross is: 90% driver, 5% car, & 5% CRAZY MOJO!
Buy my Civic parts!

cincy94max:

I'm in the market for a new (to me) car and I doubt I will leave it stock, but I have no intention of running in a prepared or modified class.  The car would be a daily driver so it would need to be fun and reliable, preferably an import, but not an '89 Civic Si.  Good aftermarket support such as Koni Yellows and Ground Controls would be great.  The car doesn't need to be a national contender, but should be regionally competitive among the STS cars that are not Civics.  Any suggestions?

 Hmm...

Good Daily Driver - 89 Civic Si
Fun - 89 Civic Si
Reliable - 89 Civic Si
Import - 89 Civic Si
Not an 89 Civic Si - How about a 90 Civic Si?

The 4th Gen civic really matches your description exactly. If you want to be unique all the other suggetions here are almost as good I guess.

92 Civic Si
E30
2.5 RS
Neon
Celica

 

How about an 89 CRX Si?




 

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Jesse Caudill
74 STS
Colorado Region/Continental Divide Region

'91 Nissan 240sx coupe - STX - the car can win the Solo2, and has a pretty good shot at the Pro on the right course

They make adapters now to run modestly priced Koni Yellows on the 240; lack of good shocks for a good price was the biggest expense when I built the STS car.

Car: 3000 (finding a clean/unmolested/non-sunroof/5-speed/coupe '91 will be the hardest part of the build)

I/H/E/cat/ECU: 1800 (Injen, DC, eBay, Random, Jim Wolf)

Suspension: 2500 (Koni yellows, veilside180sx strut adapters, Tein camber plates, GC coilovers/springs, SPC RUCAs, Whiteline bushings, adj. f&r bars)

Diff: 1500 (ATS carbon 1.5-way)

Interior: 600 (decent seat, rails, & steering wheel)

Wheels/tires: 2800 (17x8 Volk CE-28N, 235/40-17 Neova or RE01R or whatever)

That puts you at 12.2, paying retail for brand new parts, which most 240 owners don't.  Figure a little bit more to replace wear items and other odds and ends.  The car will be more comfortable than the Civic because the rear doesn't have to be so stiff.  The coupe is a better choice for a racecar, but the hatchback has quite a bit of room for storage if you need to carry a lot of stuff.  I'd park it somewhere secure so it doesn't get messed with, same goes with the Civic though.

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--Jason Rhoades

Look in the results for STS all over the country for ideas.

How much of a Wrench are you, do you plan to do all your own work or pay a garage?

At the last event the winning car was a Subaru Impreza, 2nd was a Nissan Sentra, a Scion TC was racing, and some others already mentioned.  The car I am getting together is a '97 Acura Integra - it may be a bit heavy but it is very fun.  Practicality of a daily driver makes a big difference, hatchbacks are the best.  Most of the ones you will find have been modded.  It is not a money making program but I have not put much money into it, and sold a lot of go-fast parts that we can't have in STS.  The flywheel I just pulled out, (it is not legal in STS) retails for $450. 

Good luck!

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GregHavener

Jason (JZR) brings up a good point.  I RWD car most likely will be more comfortable for a DD than a FWD.  I know my Miata has WAY higher spring rates in the front and than I ran in my CRX and is much nicer to drive on the street than the CRX was.  Good quality shocks go a long way in helping in this area as well.  So, do not skimp here, you will regret it. 

 I would be looking looking for a 240sx or BMW 3 series myself.     

See STS: http://www.tsscc.org/2005/images/event5_fin.htm

Ford Focus.  Good aftermarket, including Koni and GC.  Great website at www.focaljet.com . It can win locally.

 

 

also...

Escort ZX2.  2300-2400 pounds and 140+HP(at the motor)...Mazda BG Protege Chassis...Not as nice of a driver as the Focus, but a more formittable autocrosser.  Have one event in mine...needs some sorting, but it should be very competetive when more is done.

 

Mazda3.  Great HS car...with good aftermarket for STS; heavier than Focus.  Nice driver.

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Erik B.
Wisconsin Autocrossers, Inc
www.waiautox.org ___/\___/\___/\___/\___/\___
2007 Mazda6
2000 "Fozda" ZX2 S/R--STS Anti-Civic

Patrick Washburn:

Scion TC

or, if you REALLY want to be an underdog, while still being locally competitive, an XA!

it gets up to 34mpg & it's so small, you almost don't have to turn the wheel in the slaloms!

(Not that I'm partial...)

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"Most amateur drivers go too fast in slow corners and too slow in fast
corners"
Emerson Fittipaldi

My friend races a focus SVT and he was nipping at my heels in a basically stock car. This season he'll waste me, plus his car is nicer ;)