Need Advice and Suggestions for buying new JDM | The Car Community | Page 1

crude nest Jun 18, 2023, 10:17 PM

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Currently looking to buy a new car, I originally wanted a 2021 Honda Civic Type R but after much consideration, decide not worth. They're selling over their MSRP of 38k with an average of around 45k used.

Currently looking at some cheaper alternatives, mainly the 2020/2021 Subaru WRX STI, and the 2020 NIssan 370Z Sport. The STI seems to be about 33k on average, while the 370Z seems to be about 35k. So, pretty close prices. However, albeit I like the aggresive and angry style of the STI more, the 370Z is a lot faster. On top of that, the STI is slower than the Mustang EcoBoost, while the 370Z is not. What y'all think? Which would y'all go for? Any other alternatives?

Generally speaking, I'm not tryna be slower than an EcoBoost dog 😭

last monolith Jun 20, 2023, 3:46 PM

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At the price point of the STi or 370 why not look at a 5.0? Or are you just comparing to an EcoBoost? EB Mustang’s can definitely move, especially when you throw bolt ons + tune.

If you want a more similar car to the Type R maybe look at Golf R, Focus RS, Audi S3/RS3.

crude nest Jun 20, 2023, 10:35 PM

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last monolith At the price point of the STi or 370 why not look at a 5.0? Or are you just comp...

I'm simply comparing it to the EcoBoost. I'm a personal fan of JDM, but the mustang is a beast, even the ecoboost, and I feel like it'll just be embarrassing being slower than an ecoboost.

Some key points that I like about the Type R (and Hondas in general) that I look for in other cars,

Auto-Rev Match, otherwise known as Auto-Blip for downshifting, seems neat.
Easy to work on and aggressive sporty look.
Lots of aftermarket, decently tunable engine
Reliable, reliable, reliable.

I'm considering the 370z as I have only ever driven FWD cars, and would like a car that has the ability to drift.

The reason I'm not going for the 5.0 is because, like I've said before, I'm into the JDM tuner scene, but the larger reason is because its a bit out of my price range. Seems most 2021 5.0's are in the high 30s low 40s range, while the 370z sport is right smack dab in the mid 30s. Ideally, i would like to get a car somewhere around 30-35k.

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So at the moment:

2020/2021 Subaru WRX STI: ~32k (No Auto-Rev Match, but nice looking and practical, however not as reliable as other options)
2020 Nissan 370Z Sport: ~$36k (Much much faster than the WRX STI, and a bit faster than the EcoBoost, less practical but more reliable than the WRX STI and possibly the ecoboost)
2020 Mustang GT Premium: ~$38k (faster than all of the above, but I personally am less attracted to it. Still a sexy beast absolutely, however, no JDM vibes to be found here. Also a lot more common to see out on the streets, kinda daily traffic, despite it being incredibly fast.)

last monolith Jun 20, 2023, 11:15 PM

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Honestly between the 3 I’d probably drive them and see which one you enjoy the most first. Then find out what is easiest for you utility wise (STi is 4 door vs 2 door). That should narrow it down.

Between all 3, they are all decently reliable with proper maintenance and have good aftermarket support.

The easiest to make power would obviously be the 5.0, then the 370 and last the STi.

The STi with some bolt ons and tune can probably make around 350-400 whp. STi you can maybe do 450 reliably with a turbo upgrade.

You could maybe get 350 whp without boosting the Z, when boosting you’re looking at $7-$12k. But can probably make 400-600 whp reliably.

A Gen 3 Coyote (2018+) will make 500+ to the wheels on bolt ons and tune. If you boost it, easily reach 900+ whp.

crude nest Jun 20, 2023, 11:18 PM

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last monolith Honestly between the 3 I’d probably drive them and see which one you enjoy the m...

About how much whp with boost can I get in each without extensively compromising the reliability of each vehicle?

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I mean, the STI already got reliability issues from what I've heard, haven't done much readup on the 370z's reliability

last monolith Jun 20, 2023, 11:20 PM

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See above ^

STi on stock turbo can make between 300-400. That’s still reliable.

The Z about 400-600 reliably.

5.0 literally 900+. I’ve heard of people daily driving 1000 whp.

crude nest Jun 20, 2023, 11:20 PM

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last monolith See above ^ STi on stock turbo can make between 300-400. That’s still reliable....

5.0 is insane

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Recently learned of an even more insane car, that new dodge with over 1k horsepower

last monolith Jun 20, 2023, 11:21 PM

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Yeah it is lol. Difference between the dodge and mustang though is price. You won’t be finding that 1k horsepower dodge for less then 60k.

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But don’t get too caught in the numbers. They’re just numbers, once you go above 500 whp it actually can get scary to drive. Believe me.

And if you’re scared to drive your car what’s the point.

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If you don’t care about the trim the WRX is a great car too. It has the newer FA motor (vs STi old EJ). Can also make decent power.

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Plus cheaper so leaves more room for modifications.

crude nest Jun 20, 2023, 11:24 PM

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True, gotta look into that.

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Just out of curiosity, if you had roughly 35k cash, what would your go-to JDM be to modify and daily? 35k nowadays, unfortunately, is a kinda tight budget for newer sports cars.

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Not sure if you're even a JDM guy

last monolith Jun 20, 2023, 11:25 PM

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I am lol I can show you my prior builds if you want. I had a Subaru myself.

crude nest Jun 20, 2023, 11:25 PM

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Lotta people here seem to favor the mustang over a lot of the other cars i was interested in

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Subie Gang and Honda Bois

last monolith Jun 20, 2023, 11:26 PM

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Coincidentally I’ve had a Focus ST, a 2013 WRX, super modded, a Lexus IS350, and my current build is a 350z with a Honda K24 swap.

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My buddies have had several mustangs and I enjoy driving them but just not for me lol.

crude nest Jun 20, 2023, 11:27 PM

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350z with a k24 swap huh? I've currently got a 8th gen si, good ol high-revving k20

last monolith Jun 20, 2023, 11:27 PM

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35k cash, that’s actually a big budget. I’d probably look for a used STi bc that’s what I’m looking for right now haha.

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I miss my Subaru.

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crude nest Jun 20, 2023, 11:27 PM

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That's clean, nice build man

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What do you miss about it? My buddy has a 2017 Subaru WRX, I think two of my favorite things about it is the aggresive 'face' to it, and the mean sounding exhaust, albeit the 370's exhaust aint bad either

last monolith Jun 20, 2023, 11:28 PM

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tepid nexusBOT Jun 20, 2023, 11:28 PM

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GG @last monolith, you just advanced to level 9! Chat more to level up and earn top roles!

last monolith Jun 20, 2023, 11:29 PM

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Just such a fun car to drive. It wasn’t extremely fast but wasn’t slow.

crude nest Jun 20, 2023, 11:29 PM

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My man drove to the windows background

last monolith Jun 20, 2023, 11:29 PM

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I regret selling it for sure.

crude nest Jun 20, 2023, 11:30 PM

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Something about slow cars that feel incredibly fast is just so fun

last monolith Jun 20, 2023, 11:30 PM

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It’s just different than other JDM cars to me. The only other car I’d consider right now is an Evo or a Type R.

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The Z is fun but idk I love 4 doors.

crude nest Jun 20, 2023, 11:31 PM

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Four doors look good for sure, but I could honestly never imagine anyone sitting in the back of my car, like, ever. Not at least for another 10 years.

last monolith Jun 20, 2023, 11:31 PM

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Same but I never cared. My daily is a 4Runner. I don’t plan on having anyone back there for a while.

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But it’s nice to have when you need.

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Not sure where you’re located but you could probably find a built Subaru for $25-$30k.

crude nest Jun 20, 2023, 11:32 PM

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The only thing that puts me off on buying the 370 is it's too smooth for my tastes, I really enjoy aggresive sharp edges on a car, which the WRX definitely has, but you cant exactly drift a WRX unless its snowing.

last monolith Jun 20, 2023, 11:32 PM

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500-600 whp.

crude nest Jun 20, 2023, 11:33 PM

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I figure some body kit can fix that, although the ones I tend to enjoy people seem to absolutely hate.

last monolith Jun 20, 2023, 11:33 PM

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I mean if you really wanna go down that route you can convert the STi to RWD.

crude nest Jun 20, 2023, 11:33 PM

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No idea how to do that, doubt a shop will do it for me, not entirely sure its a good idea in a daily

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The only drivetrain conversion i'd do would probably make some fully built civic AWD

last monolith Jun 20, 2023, 11:34 PM

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Easier to make a STi RWD than a civic AWD lol.

crude nest Jun 20, 2023, 11:35 PM

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Lemme see if i can find some examples of body kits, you'll probably dislike them too, but I personally like them, dont know why other people hate em.

crude nest Jun 20, 2023, 11:35 PM

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last monolith Easier to make a STi RWD than a civic AWD lol.

yeah lmfao

last monolith Jun 20, 2023, 11:35 PM

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I mean I do things people don’t like all the time. Built it for you lol.

crude nest Jun 20, 2023, 11:37 PM

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I like this widebody kit, but have some problems with it.

Too expensive, costs over 20k from what I remember
I'd probably change up the colors and replace the hood with carbon fiber
Maybe a smaller wing, although I like that style of spoilers.

last monolith Jun 20, 2023, 11:38 PM

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What a coincidence. The body kit on my Subaru is the same company lol. Varis.

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It’s definitely about $20k and doesn’t include paint. And that’s also if you get the non carbon kit.

crude nest Jun 20, 2023, 11:38 PM

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This one here seems to attract the most hate, I personally love it, gives batman kinda vibes. I'd make the wheel potentially a different color. Everything else is pretty good imo though, I like the sharp edges and sunk in gas cap. Might change the spoiler.

last monolith Jun 20, 2023, 11:39 PM

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I love that. Just very aggressive, huge wing.

crude nest Jun 20, 2023, 11:39 PM

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The cleanest and smoothest one by far that I like is this one, some build I found on insta, looks pretty good too.

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Screenshot_2023-06-19-20-35-25-33_1c337646f29875672b5a61192b9010f9.jpg

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Big things I look out for in body kits is

Sharp edges, aggresive look
Sunk in gas cap, but that's a 50/50 if it looks right
Sunk in door, kinda makes it looks cut out, where the fenders are wider than the door by itself by a decent margin

last monolith Jun 20, 2023, 11:41 PM

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I think that’s the guy who molded an Aventador bumper onto the Z. You probably won’t be able to buy that one anywhere.

crude nest Jun 20, 2023, 11:41 PM

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Ah, that front bumper?

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Definitely have to find a bumper to replace the stock one

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Kinda makes it look less aggresive, more 'miata face'

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if you know what i mean

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I personally love when you look at the 'face' of a car and it looks like it's incredibly pissed off

last monolith Jun 20, 2023, 11:43 PM

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My fav front bumper for the 370 is probably from Amuse.

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I don’t think they make the kit for the 370 but on the 350z my absolute favorite is from garage mak.

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I love excessive aero.

crude nest Jun 20, 2023, 11:45 PM

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lol, makes it look like it has whiskers. I'm personally not a fan of canards, but the rest looks p good

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What do you think of the

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I don't know what they're called

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back windshield things that are commonly seen on mustangs

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rivets

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the uh

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whatever the fuck

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window shades

last monolith Jun 20, 2023, 11:46 PM

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Louvers

crude nest Jun 20, 2023, 11:46 PM

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that french ass word

last monolith Jun 20, 2023, 11:46 PM

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Hahaha

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Personally not my style. I feel like it’s more of a muscle car thing.

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And classic exotics.

crude nest Jun 20, 2023, 11:47 PM

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True

last monolith Jun 20, 2023, 11:48 PM

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But if you like it don’t let me stop you. They don’t look bad, just not for me.

crude nest Jun 20, 2023, 11:48 PM

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If only that mf off of youtube

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hycade

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actually made bodykits

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I fuck with this hella

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He renders body kits onto many cars

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and most of them look amazing

last monolith Jun 20, 2023, 11:50 PM

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Looks like something out of the Cars movie lol

crude nest Jun 20, 2023, 11:50 PM

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lmfao

last monolith Jun 20, 2023, 11:50 PM

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Varis makes a body kit for that year STi as well.

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Just not cheap as we established lol.

crude nest Jun 20, 2023, 11:53 PM

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If only Rocket Bunny made a 370z body kit

last monolith Jun 20, 2023, 11:53 PM

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But anyway man, feel free to DM me w any questions.

With your budget I’d probably look at forums or Facebook car groups if anyone is selling something bc you can definitely get a nice modified car for your price.

My friend recently sold a 2012 STi Hatch that had a built motor. Made 500 whp for $20k.

#Need Advice and Suggestions for buying new JDM