I was just wondering what you guys would get if you currently were looking for daily driver/autox car to run in Street Touring. I'm getting bored of driving a non competitive SM camaro every year.

I've been contemplating a few cars:
IS300
BMW 330 ci or i
GTO (I'd go with this if it wasnt so heavy)
STI or Evo (not sure if I want that blue interior and big wing)
E46 M3

If I could afford it and wanted to save up some extra money, I'd go with the M3 hands down. I've also contemplated an RX8, Mustang Gt, or even another stock fbody like a 01-02 TA. I'd get a set of falkens for it in the summer and toss a set of winter tires on when the season is over.

Just wondering what you guys would personally decide. I am interested in what you guys think.

Howdy,

If I didn't care about gas mileage, I'd probably already own an STi. STU for that car, and it should be decent there.

If you want something a little more proven and a little cheaper, an STX WRX would be the way I'd go. Again, if you can deal with the gas mileage.

I don't think any of your other cars are competitive enough for me in class after you eliminate the BMWs (which, after having owned a '93, I don't really have any desire to own again).

The STi rocks. It just gets the same mileage as my truck. :-)

Mark

+1 on the STU-class STi/Evo. The RX-8 should be good in stock class or possibly STU. Another STU car is an E36 M3, the E46 is not currently allowed in STU, but will probably be in the future. STX Mini could be good, too. Great gas mileage. Just tint the windows really dark so people can't see you driving it

Wait and buy the new Camaro or Challenger.

Evo. It's fast on the street, fun to drive and practical. If you don't want the wing, get an RS. At this point they are probably around $25-26K in RS form.

Just do what I do - daily drive a 1995 R Package Miata and autocross a SM Camaro.

None of the above! I don't think any of them are competitive, except for the STi, but with the exception of the 06-07 models, the drivetrain is kind of fragile.

Get a 92 B4C and run F Stock. Or, a 2WD G35 Sedan and go ESP driving. It's been done, and both are competitive.

Howdy,

Gene, are you sure you're not thinking of the regular WRX vs. the STi? I hadn't heard that the drivetrain in any of the STi models was fragile.

Mark

Evos seem to have more issues than other makes. One in our Utah SCCA AX club broke a driveline component (tranny or center diff I think) doing autocross. Mitsubishi refused to cover it under warranty. Two local Evos both had major breakdowns during a track enduro, one of the breakdowns led to a crash. I was in the Miller Motorsports Park club house, and was sitting by a group of Evo guys. I asked "Do those things really break down as much as people say?" The answers went like this:

"No, that's just the 6 speed, the 5 speed is OK."
"No, the 5 speed is bad, too."
"I had to have 3rd gear replaced."
"We just got another one in our shop this week."
"People don't know how to drive them and think you can dump the clutch."

Web lore is they seem to get into more accidents on the track (narrower and taller than many sports cars, fast).

Corvettes, Mustangs, Camaros, Miatas, Hondas, Subarus, BMWs, Porsches, etc., all seem to have fewer problems.

I bought a Miata as a daily driver/occasional DE/instructor car. It was cheap and great on the track...but it sucked as a daily driver. So I sold it and upgraded to a used S2000. It was fairly cheap and great on the track...but it STILL sucked on the street. So I sold it and bought an S197 Mustang. It is relatively cheap, and makes a better street car than anything I've owned. These things are just orders of magnitude better than pony cars of old (including late model camaros). Save for the ridiculous throttle dampening, it is a great car, especially for the money. I test drove a WRX, and STI, an IS300, and two BMW 330s, and for the money I'll take the Mustang hands down.

The upcoming Camaro and Challenger might be a good option...but they're unknowns so far.

I'm leaning toward an STI. I live in New England so we can have bad winters. I have gotten through one bad winter pretty well with snow tires on my Camaro

To follow up on this, I bought a 2005 STI last November. It's completely stock.

I haven't liked it in the long run though... my Camaro on Strano springs and Konis is a lot more comfortable to ride in over the stock STI suspension. I'm selling the STI privately this weekend and planning on testing out BMW E46 330 models and the ZHP.

For something out of the box, I'd buy the 3-series BMW. Their handling record is well-proven. The new Challenger is a tank and its wheelbase is too long, and you'll have to wait for the manual version (next year IIRC). The '04-'06 GTOs are also heavy. I can't recall seeing any weights listed for the new Camaro -hopefully it will be in the 3400-3600 lb range.

If comfortable is important to you, then you really need to test drive a GTO. It's like Pontiac figured out how to fit a leather lazyboy into a muscle car. Weight is not a good as a Camaro, but not as bad as a Challanger. (figure 3600-3700lbs.) They're actually not too terrible in f-stock form with Pedders struts and a Hotchkis bar. Forget about STU though, it'll get eaten alive by the rally cars.

E36 M3, even an E30, their track record is immaculate, im not completely sure about AutoX but they perform well, as far as classes i don't know much. I'm looking for an E30 at the moment for this very reason

Howdy,

If you go with a BMW, get one without many miles in excellent condition. The various snap together interior bits, crazy german crap like brake light circuit checks, plastic impeller water pumps, plastic radiator necks, and non-availability of scan tools & manuals is a PITA. That's even if you discount that any aftermarket part you'd want has the $100 "its for a BMW" adder on the price.

If you really want a combo daily driver / autox car to run in street touring (and you want to be competitive), your choices are pretty straight forward:

1) '89 Honda Civic in STS. Forget about daily driver comforts like A/C.
2) Early miata or CRX in STS2. See #1.
3)WRX in STX. Good choice overall, good aftermarket, cars in the right range for used but good condition deals, car doesn't suck as much in STX form as it does stock.
4) Evo in STU. See #3, except for the 'affordable' part.

If I were looking for a daily driver / autox car I think I'd look harder at some stock choices... Mustang in FS seems like a good way to go for a reasonable daily driver. Ditto a Mini in GS or HS. The new Cobalt looks interesting in DS (but not a proven choice). RX8 in BS looks like a neat car, though I've never driven one. Mileage sucks on it it seems like.

Eerything else I've seen folks mention is just as bad as a camaro in SM for autox.

Mark

I'm with ya. A few weeks ago, I bought a 99 Miata "Hard S" Sport that's set up for CS (konis, front swaybar, alignment, hitch). It does have the optional A/C and P/S, but if I ever go totally insane I could remove both and remain Stock-legal. The previous owner kept the race wheels, and the Camaro has fresh Hoosiers, so right now I'm daily-driving the Miata and autocrossing the Camaro. The long-term plan is fuzzy, but both cars will probably share autocross and driver duty.

Unfortunately, the 99+ Miatas aren't eligible for STS2. We do have a local street tire indexed class now. If that had existed when I got into this (or if I had known that STU was coming), I would have probably never gone to race tires. I'm not crazy about competing on PAX, but I may give it a shot. OTOH, Miata race rubber is a lot cheaper than f-body race rubber.

I may slap some R1R or RE-01R "street tires" on the Miata and just drive it for the sites and/or weather that are poorly suited to big Hoosiers on an fbody.

I'm currently looking at a 2005 BMW 330ci zhp at the moment. I'm going to test drive it tomorrow. Should be interesting. I drove several e46 cars in the past but never a ZHP yet.