Gonna sound really old but is anyone here that grew up as a young adult during the Golden Era of Japanese sports cars and got to enjoy them? Where actual AE86 were going for $2500, $1500 S13's, $5,000 S14's, FD's were $13K and so on. Did you buy a twin for a modern take of nostalgia? Would like to hear some of your stories. For me it was between this or a clapped out S13 for $20K that needs to be restored. Opted for a new car with warranty that I can mod that actually drives good.
Anyone here from the JDM Golden Era
blownmotor
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I'm a '91 as well and since Canada has a 15 year import rule, high school was when all the good stuff started to show up... and relative to now, it was all dirt-cheap. An entire row of my high school parking lot was RHD JDM. Summer evenings were spent in the industrial park, where all the new tuning shops popped up, watching Supras, RX7s, 300ZXs, and GTS-T/GTRs racing or S-chassis' drifting.
My first car was going to be a '93 RX7 in Montego Blue, but honestly, it was just so scary at the time to drop $8K CAD on a car I had no technical ability to work on, nor the space at home, nor the parents who would let me drive something like that in the Alberta winter.
I've been very fortunate professionally and my 30s have been spent making up for lost time car-wise. With that being said, now that I have my 90s JDM car (BRZ) and my childhood dream car (911), I have no desire to own one of those 90s JDM legends anymore as the cost of a good one today isn't worth the nostalgia they may bring me. That's not to say I don't still love those cars, I do, I just don't need the ownership experience of them.
My first car was going to be a '93 RX7 in Montego Blue, but honestly, it was just so scary at the time to drop $8K CAD on a car I had no technical ability to work on, nor the space at home, nor the parents who would let me drive something like that in the Alberta winter.
I've been very fortunate professionally and my 30s have been spent making up for lost time car-wise. With that being said, now that I have my 90s JDM car (BRZ) and my childhood dream car (911), I have no desire to own one of those 90s JDM legends anymore as the cost of a good one today isn't worth the nostalgia they may bring me. That's not to say I don't still love those cars, I do, I just don't need the ownership experience of them.
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Totally hear what your saying, For project cars though atleast me as a wrencher its much more fun working with older OBD1/OBD2 analogue cars..
As a daily, not so much but totally possible. I also love older Euros, have had many old BMW & VW's and still have an E36 BMW I tinker with.
These 80s/90s cars are the 69 camaros of my generation.
I was late to the era. A teenager as dual clutch systems and German cars become more and more popular.
Passed on so many amazing condition s2ks, NDs, FDs….all because ~~~$9k (rough average price for good condition cars) was too much.
Kick myself till today. The 86 fills that void of all the missed out s2ks.
Passed on so many amazing condition s2ks, NDs, FDs….all because ~~~$9k (rough average price for good condition cars) was too much.
Kick myself till today. The 86 fills that void of all the missed out s2ks.
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You did miss out but can alawys find a 90s car down the road
, All BS aside your right.. The 86 feels like a modern day 90s car and thats a great thing.My last few cars have been German ( VR6 Jetta / 328i / 335i ) and now being in a much more basic 86 I feel like im back in my
90s roots.. Cheaper materials, cheaper maint, much more basic yet just as fun as ever and with unlimited modding ability.
2023 BRZ Limited, Sapphire Blue 2000 Miata SE, Mahogany Mica
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I love all the fun JDM cars from this era.
I also love the 90's mini-trucks. My first car was a hand-me-down '91 Mitsubishi Mighty Max, regular cab, 5 speed, roll up windows, manual locks, etc. Full peasant spec.
That led me to have a '99 Tacoma for a long time; regular cab, 5 speed, 4x4, manual locking hubs, roll up windows, manual locks, etc. Also full peasant spec, loved that about it though.
As far as cars go, I had a '94 Eclipse GSX, '90 Eagle Talon TSi, '92 Plymouth Laser RS (N/A 4G63 motor!) '91 Civic (sedan), '89 Civic (sedan), '96 200SX SE-R (N/A SR20 motor!), and a '99 Camry as a 'not fun, boring, but solid' car. Everything but the Camry was manual.
Then I made a jump from 90's cars to the 2015 BRZ I had. Sold the '99 Tacoma and bought a '00 NB MIata. Now I have my '23 BRZ alongside my Miata.
The Twins are very nostalgic. I fell in love with them for trying to be a modern day '90's car. I don't want all the tech bullshit, give me 3 pedals, lightweight chassis, fun engine, and leave all the tech garbage out. The Twins did the absolute best they could within the regulations they were confined to. I still wish they never added Eyesight, but at least I got a '23 and dodged that bullet.
I also love the 90's mini-trucks. My first car was a hand-me-down '91 Mitsubishi Mighty Max, regular cab, 5 speed, roll up windows, manual locks, etc. Full peasant spec.
That led me to have a '99 Tacoma for a long time; regular cab, 5 speed, 4x4, manual locking hubs, roll up windows, manual locks, etc. Also full peasant spec, loved that about it though.
As far as cars go, I had a '94 Eclipse GSX, '90 Eagle Talon TSi, '92 Plymouth Laser RS (N/A 4G63 motor!) '91 Civic (sedan), '89 Civic (sedan), '96 200SX SE-R (N/A SR20 motor!), and a '99 Camry as a 'not fun, boring, but solid' car. Everything but the Camry was manual.
Then I made a jump from 90's cars to the 2015 BRZ I had. Sold the '99 Tacoma and bought a '00 NB MIata. Now I have my '23 BRZ alongside my Miata.
The Twins are very nostalgic. I fell in love with them for trying to be a modern day '90's car. I don't want all the tech bullshit, give me 3 pedals, lightweight chassis, fun engine, and leave all the tech garbage out. The Twins did the absolute best they could within the regulations they were confined to. I still wish they never added Eyesight, but at least I got a '23 and dodged that bullet.
eh i'm certainly old enough. i remember the cars and had a few friends into them. at the turn of the century i had a 94 m6 camaro with a blower on it. i sold that car and then bought my first ls1 car.
i was in a destructive phase at that point of my life and any cheap japanese cars i ran across got gutted and derbied in my buddy's field. or trailered to laurel or badlands. or we'd throw a brick on the pedal in neutral and time how long it took to blow up.
we actually caught a sentra on fire with a brick on the pedal during a burnout. tire popped, wheel sparked long enough to catch the brake lines on fire. it was a sight to see lol oh the good ole days
i was in a destructive phase at that point of my life and any cheap japanese cars i ran across got gutted and derbied in my buddy's field. or trailered to laurel or badlands. or we'd throw a brick on the pedal in neutral and time how long it took to blow up.
we actually caught a sentra on fire with a brick on the pedal during a burnout. tire popped, wheel sparked long enough to catch the brake lines on fire. it was a sight to see lol oh the good ole days
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Awesome!!! I had a mighty max and grew up with NA SR20s ( B13/B14 SE-R's ), also grew up with tons of DSM's
Working in tech I dont mind some of it but I agree the 86 has a 90s vibe too it and I appreciate the light basic fun car in todays day and age... I definitely agree that this feels like driving a 90s car wrapped in a beautiful exterior.
Ah yes. I was messing with Honda's back when there were no swap parts. Back when imported JDM parts were cheap. Back in the late 90's early 00's, I had:
2 EF Civic Hatches
DA Integra
DC Integra
EK Civic Hatch
S2000
Last year I picked up a EP3 to mess with.
2 EF Civic Hatches
DA Integra
DC Integra
EK Civic Hatch
S2000
Last year I picked up a EP3 to mess with.
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154 Posts
Awesome!!! Ive owned quite a few Hondas and Nissans, Use to frequent the hybrid forums when swap kits and all the stuff was just starting out..
Last Honda I had was about 15 years ago and wish I never sold it, CRX Si w/ GSR swap and a ton of ITR goodies.
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Bought a poorly maintained '87 Integra RS in 1990 - worst car i've bought and only lasted two or three years. Replaced with a new '93 Civic DX econobox after the Integra was towed 140 miles to the nearest Honda dealership (no Acura dealers in the state at the time). Buddy is still driving the '93 with ~250,000+ miles on it (odo works when it feels like it). Read about the bugeye WRXs when i was working overseas. Looked like a great AWD performance value so i bought a new sport wagon when i returned to CONUS and i still have it. Bought a used '97 del Sol Si which we still have - an oil burner. Not old cars but bought a 300 mile '17 Civic Si which i traded in on a new '18 Type R which i sold to Carvana before buying the BRZ.
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I didnt have a first gen Integra but I had a similar first gen CRX as well with a ZC swap which was like a JDM 1G integra motor.. You couldnt kill those little D series that came in EF/EG civics... How did you like the Type R? I wasnt a fan of the looks of that generation but the new one looks nice.. After my older JDM cars I moved to RWD cars and never looked back.. I still have a soft spot for FWD but RWD dynamics are what I prefer these days.. All fun in their own way though. Those bug eyes were cool, buddy had a pastel yellow one whatever that color was called.
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Here's my contribution since everyone is sharing pics
![Image]()
I had an 87 Mr2 in 1992. T -tops. Dark blue. Man that 4 A-GE loved to rev. Such a solid engine. One of my favorite cars. I also had an SW20 MR2, black, with T -tops.it was 91-93. I actually dont remember what year that one was. Had it less than a year
2023 BRZ Limited, Sapphire Blue 2000 Miata SE, Mahogany Mica
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I still miss my Mighty Max 😋
I never got to try out a turbo SR20, but the motor itself is fantastic, I loved revving that thing out. I seriously think my experience with the N/A SR20 and N/A 4G63 are what led me to love high-revving little engines.
Getting to experience the 4G63 in both forms was great. Without boost, you could really tell the motor was well engineered and not meant to be a basic 'economy' engine. Boost just amplified an already great motor.
Same with the N/A SR20 and even the BP4W in my old Miata; you can really tell the engineers squeezed as much performance as possible out of them.
The FA20/FA24 are great engines too, I personally love them. It's not a popular opinion but I just have a love affair with a well sorted high-revving N/A engine. Preferably smaller engines too, I don't need to die or go to jail with any insane power levels. I'm too irresponsible to have a ton of HP under my right foot 😇
I can ramble on, but I'll try to contain myself haha
Very cool that you had a lot of the same experiences I did. All great vehicles. I've said it before, just as we all lust after these old JDM cars, enthusiasts will lust after these Twins in 20-30 years. Never really understand how special some cars can be until they are long gone and have no modern comparison. We are very lucky to have the Twins
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Couldnt of said it better myself!!! Your spot on, Most of my SR20 journey was NA, Back when I started only a few people I knew had DET's
and the SR20VE was some mythical engine nobody had. Now you can go VE / DET or do a VE head on a DE or DET like an LS Vtec Swap.
I also experienced the 4G63 NA, My buddy had a Galant GSX which was a rare Galant that had everything the VR4 had except the turbo, even the cool green paint.
Right before we got rid of our Mighty Max I found out you can 4G63 swap em.. That would of been cool.
In this pic you can see my Red SE-R ( this is probably 2000/2001, still had great paint ), Mighty Max on the left.
The GR86 re-ignites the vibe I had when these pics were taken and I love that!
Yeap, I’m in that group. I bought my S14 at 19 for round $4000. Hung out with people with S13s, S14s, Skylines, AE86s, Chasers, Soarers, Hondas. I have really fond memories of those times.
I’m drawn to Japanese cars, I suppose my GR86 (and GT86) are just a modern iteration of that golden era, it’s the oldest new car you can buy. It’s worn off on my wife, her last 2 cars have been Japanese, and she loves the scene.
![Image]()
I’m drawn to Japanese cars, I suppose my GR86 (and GT86) are just a modern iteration of that golden era, it’s the oldest new car you can buy. It’s worn off on my wife, her last 2 cars have been Japanese, and she loves the scene.
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Love the 240!Yeap, I’m in that group. I bought my S14 at 19 for round $4000. Hung out with people with S13s, S14s, Skylines, AE86s, Chasers, Soarers, Hondas. I have really fond memories of those times.
I’m drawn to Japanese cars, I suppose my GR86 (and GT86) are just a modern iteration of that golden era, it’s the oldest new car you can buy. It’s worn off on my wife, her last 2 cars have been Japanese, and she loves the scene.
![Image]()
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