Hey, I am new to the forum. I am from Columbus, Oh and go to college at Bowling Green State University. I am on a few other forums and I just wanted to see what this one is like and hopefully I can learn a few more things about cars. Right now I drive a slow ass Cavailer. Ya I can win a race here and there not many though. Mostly aginst other non turbo 4 cyl cars. I have a few modds but nothing big. I am saving cash up to get a new car out of college. I am looking into an Audi a4 1.8t , or a used WRX. So all i am doing here really is saying hi and telling you a little about myself.

If I had to pay for college, my priorities wouldnt have me driving a nice car in the top 10.

That is true, however, i play baseball here so i don't have to pay for all of school because i get some of it paied for. the rest my parents pay for. so in the summers all i do is work and put money back. i am also looking into an srt4 or an the new ss cobalts.

Buy an old Integra LS, Turbo it, buy some internals, some bolt ons, and run high 12's all day. I estimate about $10,000 for everything.

If you're looking at the srt4 and cobalt, go with the srt4. For a grand more than stock you can get the mopar turbo upgrade which will boost you to a published 260hp and 280lb-ft (the actual numbers on the srt4 tend to be slightly higher than published), not to mention numerous other mopar and dodge parts that you could put into a monthly payment. but, you'd be better off going with an import. the 1.8t from the germans is a good choice, but i'd stay away from a used wrx (too much risk of previous abuse). Then of course there's the honda and toyota and mitsubishi families to choose from as well (I'm partial to the tC, and it looks like companies are coming out with aftermarket support for it pretty quickly and it comes equipped quite nicely in base model).

I think that i have limited it down to the 1.8t a4 or an srt4. i just like how both of the cars look and they also run pretty well. I know the srt4 has better numbers but i also think that the a4 has a great deal of potential with awd and very good suspension. I know that the intrega can be made into a fast car when adding a turbo and internals but I really don't think that is the look i am going for. I have nothing aginst hondas and such and I know that they can be made into damn good cars. But if i am going to spend all of that money i would rather have a better base car to start out with. Something with less miles.

My 97 LS has 60K miles on it =P

just remember that starting with a higher displacement (the srt4 2.4L vs 1.8L) almost always means higher potential power (just like everything in life it ain't always true, but there aren't many cases where I'd bet against a bigger engine). also, AWD can be a hindrance if you don't have the power to overcome the bogging or just can't figure out how to get it to launch right (AWD can be tougher to get a good launch out of). That being said, pick what makes you happy and have fun with it (cause fun is what counts in life).

If you want an a4 1.8t. you could save some money and get a vw 1.8t and then chip it for $500 and pull 210hp and 190torque from the chip alone. A used 2000-2001 is around $9000 and the modding of the car is pretty easy.

If you do all your work on your own car modding it then you will keep it running easily. That is the important thing to keep your ride running when your going to school.