300zx or 240sx?

[nissanracer29]

Hello guys I am kinda at a cross roads right now and would like to have some opinions. I currently own a 95 240sx with coilovers, intake and a few other small mods to the ka. Well I recently came across a 92 300zx thats for sale. Its completly stock and has all its service records. My question is which one would you guys go with. If I keep my 240 then I can do an engine swap. But if i go with the Z I will no longer have my 240 but will have a stock 300zx. Can an sr20 powered 240 compete with a stock Z? Thanks for reading this guys. I just need some opinions to help me decide what I want to do. Thanks again.

[BoostedCoupe]

the z's are heavey cars from my understanding thats why not to many people buy them. They also coast more money to mod and harder to work on but a factory tt 300zx is quick.IF i was you id stay with your 240 you already have a nice start going. why get a z and start all over again?

[Cloud9]

I have a SR with exhaust and intake and can beat stock TT Z's, but they are nice cars but to heavy, and more of a pain to work on.

[s14xman]

300zx is too hard to work on, my brother in law used to have one. Just swap your KA if really want more power

[JRas]

Originally Posted by s14xman

Just swap your KA if really want more power

message length

[articdragon192]

^ Hard to believe. Stock TT Zs are quick to begin with. I doubt and intake and exhaust on an SR will beat one. Anyways, back to the OP. I've had/have both.

I went from owning an S13 to owning a Z. Both were NA, so power is relatively the same. Although I have my suspensions that my S13 was slightly faster than my Z. However, that's about the only spot where I can say my S13 was "better" than my Z.

For one, the Z is a lot more comfortable of a car than the 240 ever will. The design of the interior is all driver oriented, the way a sports car should be. It doesn't feel cheap at all and is very comfortable to drive it, either aggressively or for long distances, even in stock form.

It is very stable compared to the S13. At high speeds, the Z is not twitchy at all. My old S13 wasn't unstable at high speeds either, but I feel more comfortable in the Z32 than in the S13. That extra weight does help at times. Cornering wise, you can feel the weight of the Z32. But that's not always a bad thing. It doesn't feel like a small bump in the road will send the car off course. Like I said, you get a sense of stability from the weight of the car.

Power-wise, I've ridden in one TT Z32, and holy fuck, at stock boost it felt damn good. And at 15 lbs, it was just astounding how fast it is. An NA Z is slow as piss, but meh, nothing a TT swap can't fix.

Maintenance wise, the S-chassis is a lot easier to work on, and parts are slightly cheaper, depending on what you need. I've just spent 2,000 in maintenance on my Z32: Timing belt job (120k service), brakes, and alternator change. So be prepared in case anything goes wrong.

IMO, and again I say, IMO, the Z32 is a better car. I can't see myself dailying an S-chassis again after owning my Z32. It looks better IMO. It attracts more attention. And it isn't JDM fan boy attention, hahaha. Interior is a lot more comfy, and digital climate control is a nice plus. Not only that, but the Z is a true sports car, while the S13/ S14 is just a sports coupe.

I hope that helps.
If not, here are some pics to help, lol.

[Jung918]

^ how many sports cars have beige interiors?

I prefer the s14. Enough said.

[bigOdom1]

s14 in my opinion

[berz]

i have a z, and a s13 and i love both but the z is an allround better car period, i own datsun, and nissan cars, so no disrespect to either or the drivers behind them but a z is a sportscar and insurance is high so if u cant ball stay in the 4 banger and boost. but deff get that z tt or keep the datsun z boosted with the triple weber or makuniis

[Bubba]

Keep the 240sx. The displacement of the Z isn't worth the extra weight or super cramped engine bay that it comes with in my opinion. I have tried to work on a few and could not help but think, "although they are my friends, I wish I would have billed them", which is something I never think when helping a friend.
The engine swap possibilities are endless with the two, but the 240sx responds better to them all if you ask me.

[articdragon192]

Originally Posted by Jung918

^ how many sports cars have beige interiors?

I prefer the s14. Enough said.

Need more?

[drift freaq]

Originally Posted by articdragon192

Not only that, but the Z is a true sports car, while the S13/ S14 is just a sports coupe.

Edgar to be honest The Z32 is a Sports GT. S13 coupes and S14's are sports coupes.
The S13 fastback is in every sense of the word a Sports car and the carries the mark and heritage of what the Original 240z was about much more than the Z32 could ever hope to.
In weight and HP a S13 fastback is more what a 240z was than the heavier weight and to many luxury items that the Z32 represents.
Lets get this straight. The Z32 is a nice car but if you want something along the lines of a nimble sports car, that performs quite well at an affordable price than the S13 fits the bill much better than a Z32, end of story.
Now don't take this personally Edgar. I am dissing not it just putting it in its place.

[Bubba]

Sir, that is clearly some high quality Peanut Butter.

[ilovecoupes]

its a pretty hard call. a good condition problem free 300zx is just sex. luxury, quick, great handling, bitches LOVE em. t tops rule. its got much more of an exotic feel to it than a 240sx. but yea the engine bay is rediculous and i hate workin on em.

240sx is much more simple, and cheaper. im pretty sure you can get the same performance out of a 240sx as a 300zx, its just that the 300zx doesnt sacrifice comfort.

so yea just get both thats what i did

[UfoZ8myCow]

Originally Posted by Jung918

^ how many sports cars have beige interiors?

I prefer the s14. Enough said.

This one does...

[!Zar!]

A z32 is just a bigger, gayer s-chassis.

[berz]

hopefully some one u know can let u test drive a tt and then a sr20det make up ur mind the easy way. do u ball or crawl. but when on a lifetime budget take that s13 or s14

[!Zar!]

No smog in the `see. Just go with the sr.

Fuck land yachts.

[articdragon192]

Originally Posted by !Zar!

A z32 is just a bigger, gayer s-chassis.

Didn't realize double wish bone was gay.

[Bubba]

Leadsled FTMF lose!

Unless you're baller, want to hate working on your car, and gimongous (ji-mun-guss) wheels are your thing.

[drift freaq]

Originally Posted by articdragon192

Didn't realize double wish bone was gay.

Double wishbone is dope the problem is Nissan got to fancy with the rest of the car and made it weigh to much vs the handling performance. In Japan 180sx's mopped the floor with Z32's. The only advantage the Z32 ever had was the TT. Even though it had double wishbone the car was to big and heavy design wise to take true advantage of it in the nimbleness department which is what a Sports car is supposed to be, NIMBLE handling!

An example of a chassis that though is a little heavy but has double wishbone and handles great is the 350z truer to what the 240z is again than the 300zx could ever be.
I would buy a 350z, I have owned 240z's and S13 fastbacks. I said this before Edgar the 300zx is not a bad car but its more of a Sports GT than a the kind of of Sports car a Z is supposed to be.

[articdragon192]

Z32s weigh in around 3200. That's weight of an Evo/ STi, and many newer sports compacts/ sports cars. Lose a lot of the luxury stuff and you can bring the weight down. Hell, the seats by themselves weight a crapload.

I love working on my car and learning on how to work on it. And wtf does "gimongous" wheels have to do with anything Z?

If you're gonna disagree with it, at least put it in an educated way like drift freaq is. At least he has info to back up his claims. And Dave, you're points are respected. I just feel a lot better driving the Z than I do the S13 nowadays.

[drift freaq]

Originally Posted by articdragon192

Z32s weigh in around 3200. That's weight of an Evo/ STi, and many newer sports compacts/ sports cars. Lose a lot of the luxury stuff and you can bring the weight down. Hell, the seats by themselves weight a crapload.

I love working on my car and learning on how to work on it. And wtf does "gimongous" wheels have to do with anything Z?

If you're gonna disagree with it, at least put it in an educated way like drift freaq is. At least he has info to back up his claims. And Dave, you're points are respected. I just feel a lot better driving the Z than I do the S13 nowadays.

I can respect that Edgar.

[articdragon192]

Plus, t-tops > sunroof, lol. That's something I know nearly everyone can agree to.

[Eyemfaster]

Originally Posted by ilovecoupes

its a pretty hard call. a good condition problem free 300zx is just sex. luxury, quick, great handling, bitches LOVE em. t tops rule. its got much more of an exotic feel to it than a 240sx. but yea the engine bay is rediculous and i hate workin on em.

240sx is much more simple, and cheaper. im pretty sure you can get the same performance out of a 240sx as a 300zx, its just that the 300zx doesnt sacrifice comfort.

so yea just get both thats what i did

well put. i have an s13 w/ sr, and i'm trying to find a TT Z32 to compliment it with as well. is the 300zx you're looking at twin turbo or na? i'd say turbo your 240 if it's na, and go for the Z32 if it's TT.

[Mr.S14]

Originally Posted by !Zar!

No smog in the `see. Just go with the sr.

Fuck land yachts.

First of all weight transfer is balanced, you have to upgrade the cambers and all this bullshit for the s14 i owned a s14 i had a s13, but nothing compares
to my lady thats fair, shes a beauty, and yes hes right chics dig em, I say if your into projects and want to be different, go with the Z trust me on that, if you want to be like everyone and jump on the wagon, stay with the silvia, but i will tell you this, once you drive a Z it grabs you.....by the way if you want a Z theres 2 models regular and 2+2, 2+2 has passenger seats(which is what i have)
and regular is a 2 seater.

[articdragon192]

Not only that, but even though it weighs more, the overall weight of the car is lower than the S chassis. I'll bring up a post from another thread:

Originally Posted by vvtisupra

You forgot it shares the same block.. And that heavy chassis makes up for its weight. If you look at real sports cars the center of gravity of the engine and drive train and the driver actually sits lower than your typical sport compact. Have you ever compared a shifter from a mustang or 240 to say an NSX or Supra. You'll notice the tranny tunnel actually sits higher into the cabin. Thats because the chassis sits lower overall around the engine and drivetrain, effectively lowering the center of gravity more than just lowering the car with coilovers. To get the same center of gravity height you'd have to lower a 240 to drifter status. But by doing so you actually make the 240's stance narrower because the arc of the control arm are past parallel to the ground. This is where you make up for width with offset. However that doesn't correct the way your suspension travels. When the suspension travels on a car who's control arms are more parallel, most of the force is centered up and down verus in say a 240 where the control arms are moving inwards, this effects the steering because the tie rods are no longer moving left and right, but up at an angle. Blah blah blah correct it with shanks and spacers on tie rod sand it goes on about geometry but all in all its not the ideal set up.

Also people think of weight wrong. yah true the weight can slow a cars acceleration and make it hard for a car to slow down , but its where the weight is located that can also effect a vehicles handling performance. I think the automotive world calls it the Static Stability factor, which is pretty much a measurement of a tip-over stability ratio. If you have weight thats is above the center of gravity of the vehicle you increase the overal center of gravity which decreases stability. For example, a Ford Escape weighs less than a fully loaded NA supra, but what is going to handle better. same idea. Thus by saying the Supra can't handle because of its weight seems facetious.

It regards a Supra, but the Z32 is in the same class, so it fits.

[Tops*]

Originally Posted by articdragon192

SHITTTTTT, why do I have an S14...

Cause I hate how the rear ends look on Z32's lol. Probably the best looking Z32 I've ever seen though <right click..."Set as Desktop Background" "Center" white border>.

I <3 my kouki...and my SR...

It's always possible to make the interior look like an airplane cockpit with a lil' bit of that fiberglass jazz, since it seems to be one of the deciding factors. I personally didn't care for the interior or comfort when I picked up my kouki. Otherwise, I'd probably be driving around a van. Exterior and performance were the two I cared about...

KA-T DO IT!

[Maxstyle]

I really don't see how you could go wrong with either. Best condition wins.

[breakindrifts]

heavy pile of shit with difficult to service engine vs. a 240sx.

hmm.

haha really depends on what you want to do with the car though