I do plan on keeping the car as i have a few years of payments left....and my car is pretty bare bones and cost only 13k so it is a huge difference in price to the speed3. thanks for all of the thoughts though!

i've been reading a lot about SRI's & CAI's and how likely is hydrolock?...it seems like some people say that it will never happen and some say that it's happened to them on a normal rainy day, and is there really a big difference in performance gains/engine sound/ asthetics for a SRI vs. a CAI?

 

Yea 13K and 23K is definitely a big difference there .. the MS3 would cost you double of what you currently pay. Not just the car payment, probably everything .. including insurance, gas, etc.

As far as hydrolock is concerned, you should be safe as long as you don't drive through a bigass puddle. There's no way it can happen just driving through normal rain, cuz your air filter literally has to be SUBMERGED in water for it to happen. Even with a CAI, the filter is still a good 6-7 inches off the ground so the chances of you going through that much water are very very slim.

SRI vs. CAI is really no different unless you plan on doing some heavy modifying. They both give you a slight HP increase of maybe 2-4HP, where the CAI might add an extra 1 or so HP if even. However, the CAI will make a nice swooshing sound and look pretty nice under the hood.

 

The thing I like about my 2.0 is that its base. the car doesn't come with all of this electronic safety crap to numb down the driving experience. No ABS, no electronic bakeforce distribution, no traction control. That's the one thing I like about having the 2.0 vs. the 2.3. If I want to lock my wheels up then let me, lol.

 

my '07 2.0 base model has ABS.......

but thats pretty much it.
i love the fact that it doesnt have traction control. makes peeling out, or spinning the tires in the wet/snow way more easier/fun