SCCAForums.com

BadBrad:

I having the same dilemma now.  After driving Miatas for years I now have a son and I'm looking for something more practical for the family but still fun to drive and hopefull fairly competitive for autox.

---

Chike Dellimore - Blue Ridge/Washington DC Regions
2006 Galaxy Gray 6MT Mazda RX-8 (B-stock)
Former 2006 Steel Gray 5spd WRX (D-stock)

"Between now and Nats, f!ck seat time - I'm working on crazy!!!"

Chiketkd:

BadBrad:

I having the same dilemma now.  After driving Miatas for years I now have a son and I'm looking for something more practical for the family but still fun to drive and hopefull fairly competitive for autox.

You mentioned you've driven miatas for years, any reason you don't have an RX-8 on your list?  You can probably find a low mileage '04-'05 6MT RX-8 from reputable dealerships like Carmax in the 15-16K range.  It's a great B-stock car and makes an excellent daily driver - I regularly pick-up my 4.5yr old son & 9 month old daughter from Pre-school/Daycare with mine.

I've thought of the RX8, but a few things turn me off from it.  A big one is that you can't put a child seat in the center of the rear seat, only on the left or right side, which isn't as safe.  The fact that it gets about the same mileage as my Expedition is also a deterrent, and I've personally never cared much for the styling.  They do look like a bargain in the used car market, though.

 

 

BadBrad:

I've thought of the RX8, but a few things turn me off from it.  A big one is that you can't put a child seat in the center of the rear seat, only on the left or right side, which isn't as safe.  The fact that it gets about the same mileage as my Expedition is also a deterrent, and I've personally never cared much for the styling.  They do look like a bargain in the used car market, though.

It sounds like the 330i ZHP would probably be the best match for your needs. As an fyi, in my RX-8 I get 20mpg in my daily commute with 50%+ city driving. On the highway I get up to 24mpg if I keep speeds within reason.

---

Chike Dellimore - Blue Ridge/Washington DC Regions
2006 Galaxy Gray 6MT Mazda RX-8 (B-stock)
Former 2006 Steel Gray 5spd WRX (D-stock)

"Between now and Nats, f!ck seat time - I'm working on crazy!!!"

I think the ZHP is a great choice.  I have owned several E46s of the M and non-M variety over the year and -knock on wood- have never had to do a single thing other than an alternator in one and regularly scheduled maintenance in the rest.  The parts for the E46s are very reasonable (except the M cars which are a TON more) and there arent very many "chronic" problems (and no fatal ones).  Just shop carefully for a clean one and I think you'll be fine.  Also, a lot of those cars are still under CPO warranty...     

---

Ha..there's a lot of us in this boat!  I'm looking to get rid of my 07 MCS to get some sort of fun and autocross friendly four-door for a newborn.  Mazda3/3-series/Acura TSX are being considered.

Yup having an 11 week old changes things quite a bit.  Anyways went to the local mazda dealer yesterday and no dice.  I guess they dont want to do business since they had no cars in stock.  Was interested in getting qoutes on an rx8 and a mazda 3 and they had only one rx8 in an auto, and one mazda 3s 4 door which had 2k in dealer protection and other crap installed.  So i figured what the hell let me get a qoute on an ordered car.  They tried to tell me a lease on an rx8 was 520 a month i told them to keep it.  Gonna go check out an audi a3 tonight.  Might not be competitive but nice car and lots of money.  Also called a friend and they only had one civic si in stock and they wouldnt budge on the price.  I think some of these dealers havent gotten the memo that we are in a recession.

Sacha

Well, I bought a ZHP yesterday.  Probably not the optimum options for DS since it has a sunroof and leather seats and HK sound system, but it's a very nice car.  I actually found it at Carmax of all places.  I generally find Carmax overpriced, but $21,900 for a 2004 ZHP in excellent condition sounded like a fair deal.  It's red, which isn't my favorite color, but it looks nice and my wife likes it.  Exterior looks brand new, and it has new looking Pirelli P-Zero Nero tires.

 Of course, wheels and tires for DS will probably cost more than my Miata did!

Brad B.

BadBrad:

Well, I bought a ZHP yesterday.  Probably not the optimum options for DS since it has a sunroof and leather seats and HK sound system, but it's a very nice car.  I actually found it at Carmax of all places.  I generally find Carmax overpriced, but $21,900 for a 2004 ZHP in excellent condition sounded like a fair deal.  It's red, which isn't my favorite color, but it looks nice and my wife likes it.  Exterior looks brand new, and it has new looking Pirelli P-Zero Nero tires.

 Of course, wheels and tires for DS will probably cost more than my Miata did!

Brad B.

Congrats Brad. Sounds like a very fair price. I bought my '06 6MT RX-8 for 20K from Carmax last November.

---

Chike Dellimore - Blue Ridge/Washington DC Regions
2006 Galaxy Gray 6MT Mazda RX-8 (B-stock)
Former 2006 Steel Gray 5spd WRX (D-stock)

"Between now and Nats, f!ck seat time - I'm working on crazy!!!"

BadBrad:

I actually test drove a 330i ZHP today.  Not as torquey in the low and mid range as I remember my E36 M3 being, and less feel from the steering and brakes, but more comfortable and more solid feeling and with a nicer interior.  Handling was great.  Seemed like the perfect combo of family comfort, practicality, and safety plus enjoyable to drive spiritedly.

I think you'll find this to be a great DD, and that a big bar and shocks will completely transform it on an autocross course.

When it's time to send my 330 on its' way, my current plan (if DS doesn't change dramatically) is to just buy a newer one, likely a ZHP, (with the alcantara seats, for the love of god!) and just transfer the shocks, bar, endlinks, etc over. (though it may be worth just keeping this car in good shape into old age, it's considerably lighter than the newer 330's)

---

DS #313 | the rolling couch of doom | La-Z-Boy Racing

BadBrad:

Well, I bought a ZHP yesterday.  Probably not the optimum options for DS since it has a sunroof and leather seats and HK sound system, but it's a very nice car.  I actually found it at Carmax of all places.  I generally find Carmax overpriced, but $21,900 for a 2004 ZHP in excellent condition sounded like a fair deal.  It's red, which isn't my favorite color, but it looks nice and my wife likes it.  Exterior looks brand new, and it has new looking Pirelli P-Zero Nero tires.

 Of course, wheels and tires for DS will probably cost more than my Miata did!

Brad B.

Congrats on the ZHP.  What's the mileage on it?  For reference, I bought the same car (same colors, sunroof, HK, interior and exterior in phenomenal condition) w/51 kmi a few months ago for essentially the same price - it took a couple months of searching and a 4 hour drive each way to get one in the condition and for the price I wanted, but it was well worth it.  I put a big front bar, Koni SAs and a set of used Hoosier A6's (actually, three A6s and one A5, but that's another story) on and ran it at a local autocross recently, and I couldn't be happier.  It handles incredibly well and appears to be very competitive at the local level.  Could do with less wheelspin at corner exits, but it wouldn't be a DS car if it had an LSD. 

BTW, I'm sure you'll quickly find that a set of lightweight wheels for autocross are basically impossible to find.  The only relatively lightweight (18 - 20 lb.) option I've found that are truly class legal for both staggered widths and offsets are a mix of two entirely different brands and styles of wheel for front and back fitment.  Unless someone comes out with a better option, I'll have to stick with the OEM beasts (@ 28 - 29 lbs ea.) for autocross and continue to run a set of non-staggered wheels for street.

Good luck and enjoy! 

---

Keith Q.
2004 BMW 330i ZHP

Brad and Keith,

I have 2 sets of BMW OE wheels in the staggered widths for the 330 that I ran on my 330Ci in 2004, 18x8 and 18x8.5.  They're what BMW calls "Style 32", a 15-thin-spoke design.  The 8's weigh 21.5lbs and the 8.5's are 22.0lbs.  I'm pretty sure they're the lightest OE 18's that BMW makes.  One set for each of you.    

Would love to get them out of the garage.  Only a few light scuffs around the edges from tire mounting.  I'm at the "make me an offer" stage.  You can contact me directly off-list:  ghsharp   at   aol   dot   com.

 GH

Guys,

GH is a first class guy.I bought his old Koni D/A's for my ZHP and he was great to deal with.
If you want to spend some more money on wheels you can have a set of Forgelines made to your liking at 17.5lbs per wheel. www.forgeline.com

Best,

George Thielen
Dayton Oh

www.mobileinspections.com 

---

www.mobileinspections.com

Yep, I bought one of these sets of BMW wheels from GH.  My bathroom scale agreed roughly with his weights, and the wheels look very good inside and out. 

 BB

BadBrad:

Yep, I bought one of these sets of BMW wheels from GH.  My bathroom scale agreed roughly with his weights, and the wheels look very good inside and out. 

 BB

Same here.

---

Keith Q.
2004 BMW 330i ZHP