Best Bang For Your Buck Hothatch/sports Car

[katabeachbum]

No hot hatches though

Please what do you mean 'No hot hatches though'

maybe wrong but would have thought the 5 door hatchback Audi sold here 3.5 million, 211HP Turbo was hot ?

or the Mini Cooper is a hot Supercharged hatchback sold here for 3 million.

or the Volkswagen Scirocco, sold here 2.4million, is a hatchback 200HP Twin Supercharged is that not classed as a hot hatch ?

Then you have for 3.9 million the Subaru Impreza WRX STI 300HP + this is a hatchback.. is this a hot or cold hatch ?

the above are all 0-60 in 7 seconds or under.

then for 2.4 million you have the Volvo C30R hatchback maybe the warmest of the rest

I was replying to made in LOS powerful cars

I have mentioned some of the above models earlier in this thread, but none of them are made in LOS.

[123ace]

Subaru WRX or STI are the only options availble in Thailand that are real sports cars and don't require modding.

Expats can get finance, even the WRX has 220 bhp (detuned fro the Thai market) and a 2.5l turbo engine. If you want it can be modded to 270bhp very, very easily. With 4 wheel drive it out perfoms everything on the road except supercars, in the dry and in the wet. It is amazingly reliable and is the real deal.

I have not found anything to beat it - there are no EVO's sold by Mitsu so fogrt them, the GTI has just arrived and is not sold by teh VW main dealer (read spare risk for both).

Forget everthing else and at least test drive the scooby - you will be smitten!

[crs]

Subaru WRX or STI are the only options availble in Thailand that are real sports cars and don't require modding.

Expats can get finance, even the WRX has 220 bhp (detuned fro the Thai market) and a 2.5l turbo engine. If you want it can be modded to 270bhp very, very easily. With 4 wheel drive it out perfoms everything on the road except supercars, in the dry and in the wet. It is amazingly reliable and is the real deal.

I have not found anything to beat it - there are no EVO's sold by Mitsu so fogrt them, the GTI has just arrived and is not sold by teh VW main dealer (read spare risk for both).

Forget everthing else and at least test drive the scooby - you will be smitten!

Ta. Will take a look. What's the VW GTI price? Shame about the Evo - always liked better than Scoobys.

[Grant]

What's the VW GTI price?

2.48M

Edited March 2, 2010 by Grant

[Brigante7]

Focus TDCi then chipped to 160bhp?

Brigante7.

[Donnyboy]

Focus TDCi then chipped to 160bhp?

Brigante7.

yup

best bang for buck imo

[Donnyboy]

Focus price is 1.1 M baht

is the GTI twice as good?

i wouldnt think so

Edited March 3, 2010 by Donnyboy

[crs]

Yeh, someone mentioned chipping the Focus TDCi - not a bad idea unless you want to spend plenty of cash on a car.

For 2.5m I'd def pick the Scooby WRX (saloon) over the Golf GTI - but £50k (increasing rapidly what with GBP/TBH!) is.... well - you all know what I'm thinking. (I bought a new Evo 260 and modded up to 350bhp all for about £18.5k around 5 years back!) I'll need some serious excuses to let myself get away with that. Probably would be hard to beat an Evo or Scooby around N. Thailand though...

Edited March 3, 2010 by crs

[Donnyboy]

Yeh, someone mentioned chipping the Focus TDCi - not a bad idea unless you want to spend plenty of cash on a car.

For 2.5m I'd def pick the Scooby WRX (saloon) over the Golf GTI - but £50k (increasing rapidly what with GBP/TBH!) is.... well - you all know what I'm thinking. (I bought a new Evo 260 and modded up to 350bhp all for about £18.5k around 5 years back!) I'll need some serious excuses to let myself get away with that. Probably would be hard to beat an Evo or Scooby around N. Thailand though...

WRX would be fun around the North agree, but have you seen some of the potholes during the rainy season?

[crs]

Yeh, someone mentioned chipping the Focus TDCi - not a bad idea unless you want to spend plenty of cash on a car.

For 2.5m I'd def pick the Scooby WRX (saloon) over the Golf GTI - but £50k (increasing rapidly what with GBP/TBH!) is.... well - you all know what I'm thinking. (I bought a new Evo 260 and modded up to 350bhp all for about £18.5k around 5 years back!) I'll need some serious excuses to let myself get away with that. Probably would be hard to beat an Evo or Scooby around N. Thailand though...

WRX would be fun around the North agree, but have you seen some of the potholes during the rainy season?

Oh yes, often at a steep angle while hanging off my 650R. (Not rainy season - but I get the idea.)

[123ace]

The WRX is the best of what is avaialble here. The GTI is next (200 bhp & front wheel drive, paddles), but I would be far less confident in their after sales and spare parts as teh volume of sales will be low and it does not appear to be distributed by VW direct (needs checking as I may be wrong), whereas scooby has an amazing facilty with a mini test track and excellent service, spare sparts etc.

The Focus here is probably only available as auto (not 100% sure though) and 160 bhp is quite far off 220 bhp and it is front wheel drive only, no recaro seats, no brembos etc. Chipping it will void the warranty. If you plan on having the car for a long time, go with the scooby - I did and love it!

Resale values for wrx's & sti's are suprisingly high, partly as real sports cars are so rare here that there is always demand.

I am only tempted by the new sti, but at THB 4m / GPB 70k sterling!! it is just too much, equivalent to 3 new sti's in the UK! i will stick with my WRX and just slowly tune it.

[WarpSpeed]

(INTJ @ 2009-12-04 14:23:13) *

The Honda B16 etc can be tuned to make power, but anyone who's been to Bira will know how awful they sound............plus putting all that power through the front wheels means that as well as chronic understeer, you're fighting with the wheel to keep it going in a straight line.

smile.gif

Cheers

Not with equal length driveshafts you don't smile.gif

How can you not like the sound of 8.5k rpm ?

It's not the FWD that causes understeer at Bira. It's the drivers and mechanics who don't have the first clue how to set them up properly and there's nothing wrong with an 8.5 sounding redline, it's music to my ears.. And torque steer is also easily controlled with proper technique being both hands on the wheel in proper positioning not this one handed steering rubbish with one on the shifter and the other on the top of the wheel..

Edited March 4, 2010 by WarpSpeed

[crs]

The WRX is the best of what is avaialble here. The GTI is next (200 bhp & front wheel drive, paddles), but I would be far less confident in their after sales and spare parts as teh volume of sales will be low and it does not appear to be distributed by VW direct (needs checking as I may be wrong), whereas scooby has an amazing facilty with a mini test track and excellent service, spare sparts etc.

The Focus here is probably only available as auto (not 100% sure though) and 160 bhp is quite far off 220 bhp and it is front wheel drive only, no recaro seats, no brembos etc. Chipping it will void the warranty. If you plan on having the car for a long time, go with the scooby - I did and love it!

Resale values for wrx's & sti's are suprisingly high, partly as real sports cars are so rare here that there is always demand.

I am only tempted by the new sti, but at THB 4m / GPB 70k sterling!! it is just too much, equivalent to 3 new sti's in the UK! i will stick with my WRX and just slowly tune it.

Has the WRX and WRX STI been an official import for a while? Maybe a 2nd hand one makes sense. Maybe...

[123ace]

The WRX is the best of what is avaialble here. The GTI is next (200 bhp & front wheel drive, paddles), but I would be far less confident in their after sales and spare parts as teh volume of sales will be low and it does not appear to be distributed by VW direct (needs checking as I may be wrong), whereas scooby has an amazing facilty with a mini test track and excellent service, spare sparts etc.

The Focus here is probably only available as auto (not 100% sure though) and 160 bhp is quite far off 220 bhp and it is front wheel drive only, no recaro seats, no brembos etc. Chipping it will void the warranty. If you plan on having the car for a long time, go with the scooby - I did and love it!

Resale values for wrx's & sti's are suprisingly high, partly as real sports cars are so rare here that there is always demand.

I am only tempted by the new sti, but at THB 4m / GPB 70k sterling!! it is just too much, equivalent to 3 new sti's in the UK! i will stick with my WRX and just slowly tune it.

Has the WRX and WRX STI been an official import for a while? Maybe a 2nd hand one makes sense. Maybe...

Yes there all generations of WRX available here, if you go to the main Scooby showroom thay can quietly put you in touch with customers looking to sell. Sti's are rare - that is genuine Sti's, as many you see on the road are based on the 1.5L model, sold for approx THB 1m and then retrofitted with STI components.

There are few S04's and other limited editions out there, but these sold new for over THB 7m - crazy stuff!

[easylife]

Has anyone heard of the ford focus RS being for sale in Los, i read a post from another member that had recently bought a pajero sport and then talking about the focus RS and if he'd known it was available at the time would of bought the focus instead, and being surprised at the price tag of 1.5 mil Can i find the thread, can i f---k. I've searched all over for it. By the way i called in to the Ford dealer in Phuket got the usual haven't got a clue crap, then mailed Ford from there website and they told me to call in to my local dealer, talk about going round in circles. Any truth in it ???

[INTJ]

"proper technique being both hands on the wheel in proper positioning not this one handed steering rubbish with one on the shifter and the other on the top of the wheel.. "

So how you gonna change gear then...........

.

FWD + big power = understeer and torque steer.

[deadman]

But where to get a modded or high performance car tuned and serviced in BKK? Certainly difficult to find a good tuner who won't rip farangs off in this country. Anyone recommend a relaible one here in BKK?

by the way i had my EVO9 (import) for about 6 months now and love it

cheers

DM

[jay1980]

@INTJ

any update on your e30 V8 project

cheers

[123ace]

Has anyone heard of the ford focus RS being for sale in Los, i read a post from another member that had recently bought a pajero sport and then talking about the focus RS and if he'd known it was available at the time would of bought the focus instead, and being surprised at the price tag of 1.5 mil Can i find the thread, can i f---k. I've searched all over for it. By the way i called in to the Ford dealer in Phuket got the usual haven't got a clue crap, then mailed Ford from there website and they told me to call in to my local dealer, talk about going round in circles. Any truth in it ???

No truth to it, the RS has never been sold here. They had a normal auto model with stickers at one point to make it top of the range, but it was not an RS or de-tuned RS.

The options are:

- WRX & STI (the 2010 WRX here is not the same spec as now sold internationally - the version here is the 2008 spec from UK / US with 220 vs 265 bhp)

- GTI & Sciroccco (not from VW)

- Mini Cooper (girls car...ahem)

- New Lancer GT / auto & 150 bhp

- Hyundai Coupe (B 1.6m & auto only 2.0L)

Not much else at present, from new anyway. Quite a few EVO's of all but the latest generation out there.

[katabeachbum]

Has anyone heard of the ford focus RS being for sale in Los, i read a post from another member that had recently bought a pajero sport and then talking about the focus RS and if he'd known it was available at the time would of bought the focus instead, and being surprised at the price tag of 1.5 mil Can i find the thread, can i f---k. I've searched all over for it. By the way i called in to the Ford dealer in Phuket got the usual haven't got a clue crap, then mailed Ford from there website and they told me to call in to my local dealer, talk about going round in circles. Any truth in it ???

No truth to it, the RS has never been sold here. They had a normal auto model with stickers at one point to make it top of the range, but it was not an RS or de-tuned RS.

The options are:

- WRX & STI (the 2010 WRX here is not the same spec as now sold internationally - the version here is the 2008 spec from UK / US with 220 vs 265 bhp)

- GTI & Sciroccco (not from VW)

- Mini Cooper (girls car...ahem)

- New Lancer GT / auto & 150 bhp

- Hyundai Coupe (B 1.6m & auto only 2.0L)

Not much else at present, from new anyway. Quite a few EVO's of all but the latest generation out there.

Fors has not sold Focus RS here. Individual importers have. They seem to "detune" engine to 219 hp to avoid hp tax and keep it at less than 3 mill baht. Dont remember what uk hp is for the volvo sourced 2,5 inline 5, but must be much more

I find the Scirocco 210/ 265 hp more attractive though

[123ace]

Has anyone heard of the ford focus RS being for sale in Los, i read a post from another member that had recently bought a pajero sport and then talking about the focus RS and if he'd known it was available at the time would of bought the focus instead, and being surprised at the price tag of 1.5 mil Can i find the thread, can i f---k. I've searched all over for it. By the way i called in to the Ford dealer in Phuket got the usual haven't got a clue crap, then mailed Ford from there website and they told me to call in to my local dealer, talk about going round in circles. Any truth in it ???

No truth to it, the RS has never been sold here. They had a normal auto model with stickers at one point to make it top of the range, but it was not an RS or de-tuned RS.

The options are:

- WRX & STI (the 2010 WRX here is not the same spec as now sold internationally - the version here is the 2008 spec from UK / US with 220 vs 265 bhp)

- GTI & Sciroccco (not from VW)

- Mini Cooper (girls car...ahem)

- New Lancer GT / auto & 150 bhp

- Hyundai Coupe (B 1.6m & auto only 2.0L)

Not much else at present, from new anyway. Quite a few EVO's of all but the latest generation out there.

Fors has not sold Focus RS here. Individual importers have. They seem to "detune" engine to 219 hp to avoid hp tax and keep it at less than 3 mill baht. Dont remember what uk hp is for the volvo sourced 2,5 inline 5, but must be much more

I find the Scirocco 210/ 265 hp more attractive though

Apologies, as I have not seen the RS as a grey import - I look forward to seeing some on the road and would love to drive one, but they probably sit in private collections. I like the Scirocco, would just be wary of availabilty of spare parts and long term servicing as so few will likley be sold and they are very niche. Very niche is part of the attrcation though.

[katabeachbum]

Has anyone heard of the ford focus RS being for sale in Los, i read a post from another member that had recently bought a pajero sport and then talking about the focus RS and if he'd known it was available at the time would of bought the focus instead, and being surprised at the price tag of 1.5 mil Can i find the thread, can i f---k. I've searched all over for it. By the way i called in to the Ford dealer in Phuket got the usual haven't got a clue crap, then mailed Ford from there website and they told me to call in to my local dealer, talk about going round in circles. Any truth in it ???

No truth to it, the RS has never been sold here. They had a normal auto model with stickers at one point to make it top of the range, but it was not an RS or de-tuned RS.

The options are:

- WRX & STI (the 2010 WRX here is not the same spec as now sold internationally - the version here is the 2008 spec from UK / US with 220 vs 265 bhp)

- GTI & Sciroccco (not from VW)

- Mini Cooper (girls car...ahem)

- New Lancer GT / auto & 150 bhp

- Hyundai Coupe (B 1.6m & auto only 2.0L)

Not much else at present, from new anyway. Quite a few EVO's of all but the latest generation out there.

Fors has not sold Focus RS here. Individual importers have. They seem to "detune" engine to 219 hp to avoid hp tax and keep it at less than 3 mill baht. Dont remember what uk hp is for the volvo sourced 2,5 inline 5, but must be much more

I find the Scirocco 210/ 265 hp more attractive though

Apologies, as I have not seen the RS as a grey import - I look forward to seeing some on the road and would love to drive one, but they probably sit in private collections. I like the Scirocco, would just be wary of availabilty of spare parts and long term servicing as so few will likley be sold and they are very niche. Very niche is part of the attrcation though.

Scirocco and Golf GTi are now officially imported by Yountrakit, the authorized VW importer, making them less exotic when it comes to spareparts. Prices arent bad either for highperfomance import.

Here in Phuket, Barcelona Motors (BMW dealer) claim to service them. Dont know if it means they have VAG OBD computer

[Brigante7]

The WRX is the best of what is avaialble here. The GTI is next (200 bhp & front wheel drive, paddles), but I would be far less confident in their after sales and spare parts as teh volume of sales will be low and it does not appear to be distributed by VW direct (needs checking as I may be wrong), whereas scooby has an amazing facilty with a mini test track and excellent service, spare sparts etc.

The Focus here is probably only available as auto (not 100% sure though) and 160 bhp is quite far off 220 bhp and it is front wheel drive only, no recaro seats, no brembos etc. Chipping it will void the warranty. If you plan on having the car for a long time, go with the scooby - I did and love it!

Resale values for wrx's & sti's are suprisingly high, partly as real sports cars are so rare here that there is always demand.

I am only tempted by the new sti, but at THB 4m / GPB 70k sterling!! it is just too much, equivalent to 3 new sti's in the UK! i will stick with my WRX and just slowly tune it.

The Focus TDCi is a 2ltr 136bhp with a 6 speed manual gearbox but rises to 160bhp when chipped and believe me is a flying machine. while not able to keep up with a Scooby or Evo on a country road, for most people it's more than enough and the focus has always been a drivers car. I've got a Bluefin installed which is a diy chip which can be installed and removed in 15 minutes so in the event of a warranty claim you can remove the chip and the reinstall later.

Brigante7.

[INTJ]

@INTJ

any update on your e30 V8 project

cheers

E30 V8 is well on the way, I've been promised the wiring will be finished in the coming week

Just received my new number plates from ebay

Cheers

[culicine]

The Focus TDCi is a 2ltr 136bhp with a 6 speed manual gearbox but rises to 160bhp when chipped and believe me is a flying machine. while not able to keep up with a Scooby or Evo on a country road, for most people it's more than enough and the focus has always been a drivers car. I've got a Bluefin installed which is a diy chip which can be installed and removed in 15 minutes so in the event of a warranty claim you can remove the chip and the reinstall later.

Brigante7.

couple of questions: did your fuel economy chage at all? what fc are you getting? Would it work ok with the new model with the twin clutch auto? I've got a civic but really dont want to buy a new focus due to the depreciation. haven't seen a second hand auto for sale yet though..

[Brigante7]

The Focus TDCi is a 2ltr 136bhp with a 6 speed manual gearbox but rises to 160bhp when chipped and believe me is a flying machine. while not able to keep up with a Scooby or Evo on a country road, for most people it's more than enough and the focus has always been a drivers car. I've got a Bluefin installed which is a diy chip which can be installed and removed in 15 minutes so in the event of a warranty claim you can remove the chip and the reinstall later.

Brigante7.

couple of questions: did your fuel economy chage at all? what fc are you getting? Would it work ok with the new model with the twin clutch auto? I've got a civic but really dont want to buy a new focus due to the depreciation. haven't seen a second hand auto for sale yet though..

It will affect your MPG or KPL if you abuse the power to much. The biggest benefit is having more power and torque and thus less need to change down gear, on a long run I get around 60mpg. Not sure about it working with the twin clutch model, I bought it from

superchips.co.uk

Brigante7.

[philipm]

Gents,

for the best bang for the buck sport hatch,

a honda civic eg (hatch 3door) year 92-94,

they retail for between 150-220k,

dry weight is between 950kg, depending on options fitted they would weigh no more than 1050-1100kgs.

the std engine is not concidered by any measure a performance engine,

thus i would recommend fitting one of three types of NA engines.

B16A-160/170hp 1.6 double overhead camshaft vtec engine, redline 8200rpm. 5speed manual or 4speed auto.

B18C-180hp 1.8L double overhead camshaft vtec engine-used on the intergra dc2 redline 7800-8500rpm. 5speed manual.

K20A-220hp 2.0L new generation vtec engine with a 6speed short ratio gearbox, redline is at 8000-8500rpm, it comes of the integra dc5!

power to weight ratio, its one of the fastest little cars you will find around.

fitting a k20a into the hatch, will offer greater power to weight ratio than a r32-r33-r34 gtr skyline!, more power than a evo and sti!

even fitting a b16a offers huge performance! handling wise, they are renouned for being one of the best FWD ever produced.

to that point, the engines i have listed are also renouned for being extreamly reliabile!

changing the valve springs and slight timing will allow the B16a to rev to 11,000rpms!

for the price of being under 500k with modifications it out right beats any on the market,

in terms of power, feeling, driveability and FUN!

to put it in perspective, these cheese wedge civics eg's are used in most major classes in fwd supercar thailand races!

plus their is a list of many performance mods options. even using forced induction, std internals are good for 6-7psi!

[123ace]

Gents,

for the best bang for the buck sport hatch,

a honda civic eg (hatch 3door) year 92-94,

they retail for between 150-220k,

dry weight is between 950kg, depending on options fitted they would weigh no more than 1050-1100kgs.

the std engine is not concidered by any measure a performance engine,

thus i would recommend fitting one of three types of NA engines.

B16A-160/170hp 1.6 double overhead camshaft vtec engine, redline 8200rpm. 5speed manual or 4speed auto.

B18C-180hp 1.8L double overhead camshaft vtec engine-used on the intergra dc2 redline 7800-8500rpm. 5speed manual.

K20A-220hp 2.0L new generation vtec engine with a 6speed short ratio gearbox, redline is at 8000-8500rpm, it comes of the integra dc5!

power to weight ratio, its one of the fastest little cars you will find around.

fitting a k20a into the hatch, will offer greater power to weight ratio than a r32-r33-r34 gtr skyline!, more power than a evo and sti!

even fitting a b16a offers huge performance! handling wise, they are renouned for being one of the best FWD ever produced.

to that point, the engines i have listed are also renouned for being extreamly reliabile!

changing the valve springs and slight timing will allow the B16a to rev to 11,000rpms!

for the price of being under 500k with modifications it out right beats any on the market,

in terms of power, feeling, driveability and FUN!

to put it in perspective, these cheese wedge civics eg's are used in most major classes in fwd supercar thailand races!

plus their is a list of many performance mods options. even using forced induction, std internals are good for 6-7psi!

I don't disagree, but with that budget I would still get a early generation WRX, less rev red line, but 4 wheel drive and less suspension, seats & brake mods required.

Whilst I expect the civic could just about handle the tourque through the front wheels only in the wet, this may be limited to a bit of a track day special only - but a good fun!

[jay1980]

E30 V8 is well on the way, I've been promised the wiring will be finished in the coming week

Just received my new number plates from ebay

Cheers

your project has really inspired me with a little work and imagination i will be able to drive a car i like for sensible money when i move to thailand, best of luck with it, hope u have it running soon.

cheers

[INTJ]

"your project has really inspired me with a little work and imagination i will be able to drive a car i like for sensible money when i move to thailand, best of luck with it, hope u have it running soon."

Thanks, this project will come in at almost half of that 500K amount mentioned above and will be a 1050kg car with a V8 and approx 280BHP through the rear wheels, and it is a BMW coupe. I am building this car exactly to find the best "bang for my baht".

I picked up the donor car, a very straight 1985 BMW E30 2 door off racingweb.net. It already had many expensive modifications that I would need to do (brakes, rear diff, wheels, suspension) plus I liked the colour and the MTEC bodykit. Plus it had a Toyota twin turbo engine but with an autobox. I paid 145K for the car, and so far have spent probably another 80 on V8 engine, manual box, clutch, bellhousing, exhausts and fabrication work. But I reckon to finish around 300K (the devil/expense is in the detail), so for me that is very good value and a much nicer car than an old civic with a 2 stroke style engine. Oh, and I got these nice Recaros in the deal !