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i went to the car dealer the other day and i saw some cars that were very nice... just curious, if i was going to, which of these cars do you think i should trade my civic for?

used nissan sentra se-r spec-v
used mazda 'mazdaspeed' protege
used honda civic Si (EP3)

 
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Mazdaspeed, turbo out of the box, so easy to mod it and get large amounts of power. Spec-V is a nice car too, the LSD is helpful. I think the Si is the weakest out of the group, but thats just my opinion.

 
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testdrive them and see which you like best. the nissan seemed too plastic to me, but the spec-v might be better. people that switched to that seem to be happy.

the mazdaspeed is a great choice also. never drove a protege tho, so i dont know.

the civic...well...its a mini-minivan, but theres tuning possibilities.

just drive them.

 
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This time last year, I was asking myself the same question. Read this:
http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/fe...scc_under20gs/

and this:
http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/fe...scc_20gsmazda/

"Hustling the Mazdaspeed Protegé down a twisty road elicits the same slack-jawed amazement once reserved for the Integra Type R"

This car is absolutely untouchable in the D-stock class for auto-x. There was another article, somewhere I forgot where, that said something along the lines of "the mazdaspeed protege has knocked the integra type-R off the mountain, and is the new standard for front wheel drive performance."

Honestly, I miss this car dearly. I really do. If I had my choice I woulda kept both cars. Just couldn't pass up the opportunity that I had so I took it.

I think you should test-drive them all, but make sure you include a good twisty road and a brake test. I think you'll find the Mazdaspeed Protege is a very well sorted package.

If you want alot of straightline speed, the turbo makes for very easy bolt on power. Turboback exhausts usually yield 20-30 hp easily. The thing about the exhaust on the car, is to keep costs low, Mazda used the original NA MP3 exhaust system. Too restrictive for turbo. Just a few turns of a boost controller and you're easily around 210-220 whp. If you really wanna get crazy, go to www.msprotege.com and search for azian6er. He's got pauter rods and standalone engine management. Running a T28 disco potato (same housing as the stock T25) and running insane amounts of boost. He's in the high 200's at the wheels.

Or...if you want a great out of the box, insanely good handling car, that feels and drives like a 4 door 5 seater Miata...the car is great stock.

Sorry to have written a book, but the MSP is in my opinion, along with the RSX-S is the best FWD platform PERIOD. The SE-R spec V is decent, but nothing special. The EP3 is lackluster, but it has a pretty cool shifter. Oh, and don't forget the stereo in the MSP and the racing hart wheels. Sorry but the other cars don't got nothing on it.

 
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Oh by the way, if you question it's track credibility check this out:

http://www.tripointmotorsports.com/index.html

The proteges have been spanking the BMW's lately in the speed world challenge championships.

 
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yeah, i watch the world challenge championships. mazda has deffinately been kicking some ***. they run protege ES models though, not the MS version. i'm planning on doing so auto-x with whatever car i get, or with the civic if i keep it. i've been trying to compare what other cars run in the same class. it looks like an EX civic is one of the top cars in it's class (h-stock). and the MS protege is up there with rsx-s' and nissan spec v's and srt-4's and the like. that would be pretty competetive. hmm... tough call...
MS protege; 170 hp, 155 tq (turbo)
sentra se-r spec v; 175hp, 180 tq (N/A)
the sentra is pretty mighty for an N/A car, i guess i'll just have to drive them. the MS protege has kickass brakes, i know that, it even out-performs the se-r spec v with the 4 piston brembo front calipers. the price for a used se-r is less than a used MSP though... hmm. this is interesting.

 
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I will tell you, that after driving my friends spec-v it's alot more sloppy in the corners. The MSP and Spec-V both have LSD's. The Protege ES' running in the speed world challenge have alot of mazdaspeed parts on them. The MSP is very close to what you see there. Just remember, that if you're tuning for power, turbo cars have loads of untapped potential.

 
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used honda civic Si (EP3) my vote

 
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THIS:


VS. THIS:


i guess i couldn't go wrong either way

 
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or the Si (getting lapped by a mazda). i drove the Si before. it's a sweet machine, i love the shifter too.

 
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i like the si but you have to do it right

 
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i say go with the si....

 
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mmmmm howabout a used rsx-s
thats what i would take...

 
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Haha, bear in mind that you are asking this question on a Honda website, so the answers are naturally going to be biased towards Honda based products.

 
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out of those cars id definetly take the mazda speed

 
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looks like the SI forgot to close his gas lid after filling up at the station

I'd get either the Mazda or the Nissan.. both are hot

 
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I would personally go with the Si but to each his own. The Mazdaspeed does look pretty sweet too. I wouldn't go for a Nissan though it is just the same grocery getter Sentra but with more pep.

 
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that's true. but it has a lot of pep! does 15.6 in the quarter mile.

i'm pretty torn here. i guess i'll just have to drive them all!

 
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Well the MSP comes with the forged Racing Hart wheels $$$ (light light light)
Nice racng seats, overall good looking. I'm not sure about the reliability but Its fairly new and it should be under warranty. heard the ECU had issues, but I'm not certain on that.

The SI is good but for the price the MSP offers more, and its better looking. I don't think you should consider the Spec V.

 
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i heard that the ECU freaked out if multiple people drive the car, it adjusts to one style too much or something. i could be wrong. not like i let anyone drive my car anyway.

 
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id go mazda speed

 
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No, the situation with the ECU was that when Mazda originally released the MSP it had an issue with hesitation. To remedy the problem, Mazda released a TSB in which they flashed the ECU, and advanced the timing. BAD for boost. The car flashed runs fine up to around 9-10 PSI, but higher than that, and you're gonna need engine management and internals.

From my experience, if you plan on running higher levels of boost, just don't get the ECU flashed (timing advanced). Then, you can safely run about 11-12 pounds give or take. The ECU is hard to tune with a piggy back (E-manage or the like) because it learns around any changes you make, and negates them. Full standalone is needed, but if you're going that far, you might as well get the T28 disco potato, pauter rods, and all the supporting mods like FMIC, Turboback exhaust, Hardpipe kit, Forge BOV/BPV, and the like.

The MSP is a very spunky and reliable little car. It has loads of potential, but you gotta know what you're doing with it.

 
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id take the spec-v

 
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Off topic question.

Can a 240 sx 1990 with an sr20det do 12 seconds in the 1/4 mile? I had a hard time beleiving that a 240 sx with a 250 hp engine could do it. I mean a Ferrari 360 Challenge stradale which weighs almost the same as our vics does something like 12.4.

Is the 240sx owner brain damaged?

 
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I think it's very possible with the right set of tires, a good clutch, and a boost controller. Without turning up the boost or other supporting mods I don't see it happening....maybe high 13's.

 
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I don't get it howcome. The ferrari 360 cs is as light as a civic EX but its got more than 400hp. where as the 240 sx is about the same weight as well but 250hp.

I get turn up the boost to crank more HP. Is the chassis on those cars good?

 
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i think the 04-up sentra looks like crap hell i think they all look like crap
go with the si or msp but 170hp w/turbo is weak but they do look damn nice. i have a friend with a protege es blue 5speed with i/e, ground wires, spark plug wires,some misc. ****,and the ECU off the mp3 which is good for 10hp at the crank its the only diffarance from his with 130 stock and mp3 with 140 stock but any ways his car is just about as fast as my si. how about this just get the SI, boost it and call it a day

 
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You obviously have not read this thread. The MSP is a conservatively tuned. Mazda left alot of power untapped. 170 hp at the crank, but dynos show that they put down around 155 whp. If you calculate an average of 18% drivetrain loss, 155 whp would equate to around 190 at the crank. Take it as you see it, but the 0-60 and quarter mile times reflect that the car performs like it has closer to 200 hp at the crank. There are many more 12-14 second MSP's than there are Si's. Sorry Honda, but the Si is really failing compared to what it's trying to live up to. Nothing about it is special except for its shifter.

 
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You'll find the same is true for many cars. The quarter mile times really stop being good indicators for performance after a certain point. A good thing to remember is that 12-14's can be fairly easy to reach with a good platform, but anything under that takes some work. Most of the cars running less than 12 seconds are running slicks and are not very "streetable." Once you start looking at cars that are running 12 seconds, they're all seriously tuned cars, and alot more factors come into play to get them even faster. At that point top speed and 0-100 becomes more of a bragging right than quarter mile times. Remember the SRT-4, EVO, and STi are all known to hit high 12's low 13's stock. Rare, but it has happened.

 
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Do you think a civic ex has a good enough platform to support +250hp. Or is the chassis not rigid enough?