How are 1992 Dodge Stealth ES 5sp?

[ThurzNite]

1992 Dodge Stealth ES 5sp
I'm looking to spend about $5000 on a 2door car. I wanted something w/performance (222hp and 5sp) and some room (5 seater, but crampy back). How is this car in terms of performance? Any figures? Reliability/overall?
Jay

 

[Wangel]

Rated reasonable, just make sure the previous owner hasn't 'hot-rodded' it and that it doesn't have too many miles. Still, have it checked by a mechanic.

 

[Viper GTS]

You'd be damned hard pressed to seat 4 in that car, much less 5. The back seat is practically useless.

Viper GTS

 

[ThurzNite]

Ok, I'll be more reasonable: 4 guys and a basketball in the rear middle, yeah? But then, it's not a full team! Darn! Hehe

 

[Farbio]

you'll never get 4 full sized guys in that car. my uncle had a 3000gt sl, which is the exact same thing and i could barely fit in the back seat about 5 years ago and i was alot smaller then

 

[ThurzNite]

4 is def the max I would take in a car. Being 20 and high insurance, I'd hate to get into an accident and hafta pay the bills for 5 people.
The extra room is actually for me travelling to and from home and university, which's a good 120miles (1.5 hr drive on my butt!)
I figure that if I had large stuff like tower speakers and sub and monitor, I'd need a lil extra room. And v6 5sp, I should be able to cruise pretty well.
Jay

 

[atomicbomberman]

Stealth are not realiable, and they're not great w/ handling too.

Oh.. ya.. their crash rating sux, and also you'll have killer insurance rate.

Bottom line, it's a really really bad choice.

 

[Farbio]

apparantly u don't understand how small this car is in interior room. the trunk is not very useful at all, putting a set of golf clubs in it pretty much fills it, so trying to transport all of your college stuff to and from is a pipe dream

and quit complainin about 1.5 hours, i have at least 5 whenever i decide to go home

 

[Sacotool]

1.5 hour drive? Hell, you should be commuting to school!

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

A friend of mine had one of these in college and I literally could not even fit in the front seat comfortably (I am 6'3&quot. The back seat is really too confined even for small children. The car overall had a really cheesy look and feel as well.

Why not look into a used Maxima, which would provide performance as good or better, very good reliability, and actually accomodate 4 adults in comfort? Early '90's Taurus SHOs are also in that price range and offer blistering performance.

 

[ThurzNite]

Wow...good thing I talked to you guys first! I'm 6'0 so roominess is very important. Looks I can get by with. Well, I better start looking elsewhere. Any other 2door cars I should check out? Criteria: v6, 5sp, roomy, about $5000.
Tee_Edwards: I'm an active member of Maxima.org...93-95 Maxima SE 5sp is tops on my list. However, 5sp Maximas are hard to come by, so I've started to look at other options. Keeping w/the 4door thing, 92-93 Camry SE 5sp is ok, but sluggish. Same w/all years of Mazda 626. Contour feels smaller than a 626, that's why I didn't bother w/it. Tourus's seem ok, but needs too many mods to compare w/a stock Maxima.
I started looking at 2doors to expand my options. I've never thought of getting a 2door due to practicality, as you all can see. Just checking

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

ThurzNite:

Not to beat a dead horse, but are you actually familiar with the first-gen Taurus SHO? It had a Yamaha-built 24-valve 3.0L V-6, with 220 bhp and 215 lb/ft or torque, and could dust a Maxima (a buddy had a contemporaneous Mustang GT and SHO and found the SHO was consistently quicker). An SHO would also be quicker than a Stealth. The early SHOs were only available with a 5-speed, and most of the cars on the used market are manuals. Helluva performer for cheap.

 

[extra]

I have a 93' taurus SHO
i'm selling it, but not because i dont' like it
it's got a 5spd manual....it fscking flies, man. also, the handling is awesome, and the best thing is, no one will notice you when you speed by, which means a lot less tickets than if you were in something like a stealth or 3000gt

 

[StageLeft]

Problem with the SHO is that its not very attractive at all

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Yeah, I agree the SHO is pretty bland in appearance. It is not fugly, though, and personally I have no problem with mere blandness. I would much rather have a bland-looking car than an eye-catching ugly one (think Pontiac Firebird Ram-Air or Aztek, or, hell, nearly any Pontiac), and its lackluster appearance makes it less obvious to law enforcement.

 

[Buttzilla]

man da hell with 5 seaters! you should stick with 2 seaters like the mazda rx-7 or nissan 300zx. you can probably find a 1990 nissan twin turbo for just under 7000 grand. 300 horse power plus its pretty fast.
but the best car is the 1993-97 twin turbo supra!

 

[lsd]

<< It had a Yamaha-built 24-valve 3.0L V-6, with 220 bhp and 215 lb/ft or torque, and could dust a Maxima >>



A 5 spd `92 Maxima SE does 0-60 in 6.7s (MT)
A sho Won`t Dust a Max.

If you havent visitied the other third gen BBS go here Thurz.

I currently own a `90 gxe With 186,000 miles with original engine. She still pull harder than a mofo

BTW: We 3rd gen max owners are anti-rice

 

[ThurzNite]

Pro-Taurus people: how's the interior of the car? The one I saw seemed to use a lot of plastic and I get the feeling the panels will come off. I know the reliability of the Taurus is very high because the late 80's early 90's Taurus competed w/Accords and Camrys.
The reason why Maximas wasn't a part of that competition (therefore less known) is because it's not a midsize sedan. I forgot it's formal name, but it's a semi-luxury car, like a Millenium or Avalon or 3series bimmer.
Anyways, you all have convinced me to stay w/a 4dr car. So now it's Taurus and Maxima. Any other 4dr, 5sp, v6, sporty yet reliable cars out there for 5 grand?

 

[vi edit]

Maybe a 4 door Chevy lumina Euro? I've seen several luminas go over 200k miles w/ minimal repairs.

The lumina Euro isn't a sub 7 second 0-60 screamer, but it's still not bad. It's also got great space.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

lsd:

I LOVE Maximas (I am shopping for a new SE to replace my bland '98 Accord V-6 EX, though a 2000 Contour SVT is appealing as well) and that was my first recommendation. 5-speed Maximas are relatively rare on the used market, though, and so I threw out the SHO as a possibility.

I still maintain that a 5-speed-equipped SHO is notably quicker than a Maxima. That MT road test is the only one I have ever seen that shows the Maxima as a sub-7 sec. 0-60 car (and I have looked far and wide; I used to be a near-fanatical Maxima lover). I have driven both, and the SHO felt much faster (admittedly a subjective comparison, but hey . . .).

Thurznite: The SHO will definitely not be as well-finished inside as a Maxima or other Japanese car. I am continually frustrated by the fact that even the nicest American cars continue to lag behind even inexpensive Japanese car in their interior fit and finish. Also, the Maxima was available with a killer Bose stereo, much nicer than anything available in a Taurus.

 

[miken]

Just MHO, but I have driven Tbird SC's that would be a good fit for you... 240 hp, 2 door with OK backseat, leather usually. 3.8L Supercharged, just gotta find one for sale. Probably could find a 93 or 94 for that $5-6k.

 

[StageLeft]

Tee_Edwards

The commercial gives the maxima a 6.7 0-60 (for the SE - the GXE is actually about 100 lbs lighter). Also the forums.maxima.org people are getting about 15 sec 1/4 miles with theirs...

 

[miken]

Tee_Edwards, We are all frustrated by the better quality of Jap cars, however we have unions that we have to pay, which cost ALOT more than Jap workers, thus to be competitive, our products have to be cheap.

High Quality - Lower pay for workers
Medium Quality - Medium pay for workers
Low Quality - Unions. ($21.17/hr for part time janitors with full benefits, Chrysler, Toledo OH Jeep Assembly plant)

The US still has the best R/D departments tho.

IMO the Customer service is also better for the US car dealerships rather than an all Toyota/Honda Dealership.

 

[ThurzNite]

miken: The mid 90's tbird I rode in feels like a boat. Any comment on that?
Also, I don't remember if it came in 5sp. I consider 5sp essential cuz that's what I learned to drive. I have a hate for autos. I don't care if a Lexus gs400 kicks arsh...it's an auto that I'll have to struggle to figure out. I get into an auto car and I nearly hit cars in front of me when I'm stopping cuz I'm searching for the clutch!
Stereo system isn't much of a concern. If it makes noise, it's fine. I'll eventually (maybe in the next year) slowly upgrade it to the quality I want. Besides, 93-94 Bose system in Maxima's is just Ok in quality to my ears. Last time I checked, they weren't even 2way speakers and were made outta paper.
Jay

 

[lsd]

I`ve never driven a Sho, so i can`t say which is quicker, but the numbers for the sho and 92 max 5spd are similiar. The extra torque in the yamaha engine is probably what made the sho feel faster.
Imho however, i think its would easier to find after market peformance parts for the sho. There is not many for the 3rd gen max.