Unlike in Australia, the UK or the States, we Malaysians are shafted when it comes to used cars. In Australia for example, you could purchase a decent road legal Nissan S13 or S14 for as little as RM10,000 - RM15,000 ringgit. Due to the high Malaysian import tax on cars (300% import duties on all foreign cars), used car prices are similarly affected. What this means is that a used S13 or S14 will probably cost three times as much in Malaysia a compared to a similar car in Australia. This makes it a challenge for the average person to pursue his or her motoring dream, to build a drift machine or to own a dedicated track car.
We now move on to the question of what make and model would be suitable for a time attack car. I've narrowed it down to a few budget (and not so budget) vehicles, seeing as this should be cost saving exercise. After all, a time attack car would require a further outlay of money in order to make it track ready.
And here are the contenders with their pros and cons:
Nissan S13 Silvia Coupe
Pros
- Good RWD base to build up from
- Easy to get power out of the Nissan SR20 engine
- Option to retro-fit parts from other Nissan models
- Massive amount of aftermarket parts
- Huge supply of halfcuts and spare parts that are already in Malaysia
- Can be expensive to purchase
- Difficult to find one in good condition and tastefully modified
Honda Integra DC2
Pros
- Light weight
- Rigid chassis
- Loads of aftermarket parts available
- Plenty of halfcuts and spare parts that already in Malaysia
- Its a FWD, meaning the front wheels have to not only steer the car but also slow it down
- A bit expensive to produce big power being an N/A car
- Parts can be expensive
Mazda MX-5 (First Gen / NA)
Pros
- Extremely capable chassis
- Engine responds well to mods, especially when turbocharged
- Manual units are rare in Malaysia
- Turbo kit has to be sourced from abroad (costly)
- Not as many halfcuts and spare parts compared to the other cars on this list
- Cars in good condition still command high prices
- Standard 1.6 N/A engine is gutless and seriously lacking in torque
Subaru WRX GC8Pros
- Great AWD race car platform
- Capable car even in stock form
- Option to retro-fit parts from STI models
- Expensive to purchase
- Finding one in good condition is difficult
- Parts aren't cheap
- Stock GC8 WRX gearbox is crap
- Full STI conversion costs a lot of money
- Can be expensive to get big power out of the Subaru EJ engine
Mitsubishi Evo II to VIII
Pros
- Amazing AWD race car platform
- Very capable even in stock form
- Some models are 'race ready' (i.e. Evo VI Tommi Makinen Edition)
- Very expensive to purchase
- Difficult to find genuine Evos in good condition
- Will be expensive to produce big power after a certain point
So which car to get? Find out in the next blog posting!
