supra v skyline v 300zx
Discussion
The skyline 4WD sounds like the 993 / 996 set up.
I didn't really consider the mitsu 3000 as it's a bit of a minger IMHO.
All things considered I think the RX7 looks like a good bet. But do I buy a standard one or mod it up to a safe 470ish? UK sourced or import? I guess it may be a case of what turns up thats of high enough quality for 15k or so budget inclusive.
I didn't really consider the mitsu 3000 as it's a bit of a minger IMHO.
All things considered I think the RX7 looks like a good bet. But do I buy a standard one or mod it up to a safe 470ish? UK sourced or import? I guess it may be a case of what turns up thats of high enough quality for 15k or so budget inclusive.
Gazboy said:
I don't like that smiley, to me it says "dickhead" or similar putdown- so I don't use it.
It's interesting how we percieve info/smileys differently.I tend to use the
if I think I'm waffling on, or talking cr*p-so for me its a badge of self depreciation .-see! I did it again. 
I think those green eye raising ones are pretty objectionable IMO. I save them for arguments.
I was surfung for RX7's last night. Came across a few different cars. It seems for 15k I could get either...
1. Standard uk car for 8k plus 7k tuning, repainting etc.
2. Buy a much newer import which is standard. I've seen an immaculate 30km 1999 car for 14k. Not much left for tuning but it is so tidy.
3. Buy a car which has already been totally custom built by a top tuner. Many look very well done and offer 500bhp for up to 14k. The only thing is - have they been caned too much? Are you buying a lot of shiny 'bits' but a pretty tired car mechanically?
What do you guys suggest?
I was surfung for RX7's last night. Came across a few different cars. It seems for 15k I could get either...
1. Standard uk car for 8k plus 7k tuning, repainting etc.
2. Buy a much newer import which is standard. I've seen an immaculate 30km 1999 car for 14k. Not much left for tuning but it is so tidy.
3. Buy a car which has already been totally custom built by a top tuner. Many look very well done and offer 500bhp for up to 14k. The only thing is - have they been caned too much? Are you buying a lot of shiny 'bits' but a pretty tired car mechanically?
What do you guys suggest?
benjc said:
This:
www.stertegarage.com/Suprat78.htm
I know Ant Fleming who runs the Jap side of things at Sterte pretty well - he's a stand up guy (i.e. he's a decent bloke, not a comedian). The cars he sells seem to be well priced and good examples - had a really low FD for sale recently that looked the business.
Knowing what I now know about RX-7's I'd be buying a fully tuned import with a recent rebuild from one of the main importers... I'd go in with my requirements and see what they can come up with. I know Miguel @ newera will hunt until he finds you the perfect car and he's a complete FD nut (his own car is awesome).
4wd said:
Trouble is I don't really know anything about them. I just want a very clean example with solid reliability. I will have to take a certain amount on trust via the dealer / tuner, which is always a slight worry. Is there any particular spec to avoid / look for?
You'll get a better/wider set of answers to your questions on MRC or FDUK but there's nothing to really avoid (apart from the autos). If you wanted something really special and had ~20k to spend you could get a Spirit-R (special edition to mark the end of production) but if you want to mod it then there's no point!
The models with storage bins rather than rear seats are always popular (the back seats are a joke) and some of the special editions have nice features - the RB-S is a good example.
Avoid the models with only a single oil cooler. Mid '96 and onwards have a 16-bit ECU but that's not really relevant as you'd be replacing the ECU with something programmable when you start modding...
Get yourself down to [url]Rotorstock|www.rotorstock.com[/url] and there'll be laods of examples and people happy to talk your ear off. Or get down to coombe the weekend before - the club has a stand there too.
Gazboy said:
They're all bombproof, but a Skyline owner said the Supra was stronger and better, why, I don't know.
Lots of crap on this thread, I can only assume a fair few people on here are just quoting what they've read rather than first hand experience.
None of them are bombproof if tuned by a muppet or in a poor state to start with (apologies if this sounds obvious).
True, the US supras can hold 900bhp on stock internals for a few dyno runs but these are very carefully prepared engines.
The ONLY way to get guaranteed reliability is to strip and rebuild the stock engine before you tune it, then all these cars will hold 600bhp on stock internals.
My skyline was stripped and built by GtArt near Brighton, there was nothing wrong with it but I had it inspected anyway. I then added all the bits and now have 600bhp and its been fine for over a year now.
It wasn't cheap but you do get what you pay for.
So, good money spent up front will probably save a lot of heartache in the long run. For 500bhp the supra will be slightly cheaper than the skyline (in fact it is cheaper in general).
Happy shopping.
Not directed explicitly at you.
Yuor quote just served to illustrate the mis-information that is out there (not saying it isn't necessarily true either, just you can't take a statement like that at face value).
But there is far too much of this 'you can have 800bhp for £5k' type crap bandied about for my liking and also 'RX7s are unreliable coz my mates' mate had one and it blew up'.
Sadly people perpetuate this type of comment rather than offer informed opinion, which is no good for newbies.
It's this kind of chinese whispers that makes people think that Skylines are the be all and end all of the Jap car scene and it is simply not the case.
Rant over, sorry Gaz
Yuor quote just served to illustrate the mis-information that is out there (not saying it isn't necessarily true either, just you can't take a statement like that at face value).
But there is far too much of this 'you can have 800bhp for £5k' type crap bandied about for my liking and also 'RX7s are unreliable coz my mates' mate had one and it blew up'.
Sadly people perpetuate this type of comment rather than offer informed opinion, which is no good for newbies.
It's this kind of chinese whispers that makes people think that Skylines are the be all and end all of the Jap car scene and it is simply not the case.
Rant over, sorry Gaz
Ok, I've spent half the day researching RX7's. I have a long list of things to check etc. I have been advised to have a rebuild immediately by another forum too. It seems it's best to have it rebuilt between 45 - 60k miles to be safe, at around £2-2.5k. Ouch. Seems a slow death via a leaky coolant o-ring is the culprit.
Maybe a supra would be a chunk cheaper to run! I'll spend some time looking into the supra too. Trouble is most seem to have been messed about with too much, or have vast mileages.
Maybe a supra would be a chunk cheaper to run! I'll spend some time looking into the supra too. Trouble is most seem to have been messed about with too much, or have vast mileages.
4wd said:
Ok, I've spent half the day researching RX7's. I have a long list of things to check etc. I have been advised to have a rebuild immediately by another forum too.
Absolute overkill - have it rebuilt if it's got low compression and fails to start from hot or if it's burning off coolant or throws a tip.
You can refresh an engine for around £2k but a rebuild (where you will need rotor tips, side seals and possibly housings plus eals and gaskety things) will be closer to £3k (rotor housings are ~ £6-800 each!).
I noticed earlier that rotary imports have a rather nice liiking single turbo car in stock that's in the process of being rebuilt now and is £7.5k... www.rotaryimports.com/html/uk/uk23.html
Turbo's a bit small for really big power figures though but would be a good starting place maybe!
Gazboy said:
No probs.
I was simply repeating what a Skyline owner on Supra.net had said, and was willing to post a link to the thread (couldn't find it at the time of writing). I know zip out Supra's, so rarely comment now about things over a bpu level.
While I agree with you on one hand, that experiance trumps anything you could read, surely the point of a forum is to tell others who/what/where/how, and for those others to read and listen? Having said that, there was a kid on here shagging the arse off his mums Punto who claimed that turbochargers are a crap idea for cars over 1800cc- cos he read it.
Absolutely, but the trick is figuring out who to believe and who to ignore (and also who has an axe to grind, tuners are a good example).
I can think of a couple of examples of people worth listening to in the supra world (who aren't tuners or traders).
If you like I can mail you their usernames and what forum they reside on.
Rob.
Gassing Station | Japanese Chat | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff