Nissan 300 Sx or Supra Turbo?

[SB - Nigel]

Nissan 300 ZX or Supra Turbo

A friend who has a couple of (cheaper) Supra (non-turbos) thinks the Supra Turbo is too hard to find at the price he wants to pay so is considering a 300ZX

He's not after knacked modified stuff in either model but wants to pay reasonable but not big money even for standard cars

Any comments or information please (these can be humorous but it would be useful to have some that are helpful)

EFA - yeap the lads below were rigth it's a 300ZX

Edited by SB - Nigel on Tuesday 18th March 22:38

[Wadeski]

I could be being silly, but afaik there is no such thing as a 300SX?

the SX series are the 180SX (jdm), 200SX (uk), 240SX (USDM)...

the "Z" series goes 240Z, 280Z, 300Z, 300ZX, 350Z...

if its Z vs Supra im guessing he means a 300ZX vs Mk4 Supra.

300ZX TTs (uk spec) are getting a bit long in the tooth, and good TT Supras whether UK or import are getting hard to find thanks to the croozers. Especially manuals, just ask Gazboy.

in non-turbo format, both are a bit slow and you will probably end up wishing you bought a turbo...

Worth considering a Mitsubishi GTO / 3000GT as well?

Basically when he says budget is limited, what does he mean? 3k? 6k? 10k? That really will decide whether you can afford a minter, or only a snotter which should be avoided...

[Wadeski]

or hang on does he mean a 200SX (Sylvia) or a Mk3 Supra Turbo?

in which case, chocolate headgaskets on the Supra mean buy very carefully...Sylvias are a bargain though.

[sparkyhx]

SB - Nigel said:

Nissan 300 SX (not zx) or Supra Turbo

like the others have said whats a 300sx? never heard of them

[SB - Nigel]

Thanks for comments

Yeah I got confused, thought it might be a 300ZX for a very short while

I think it might be part of the Skylines run(?) see here http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/index.htm?md=...

He doesn't normally go as high as £5,000 for his cars but I think he'll be pushing the boat out for this one

As he should be following this he can email replies to me

ETA - got an eamail it's a ZX

SB - Nigel said:

He doesn't normally go as high as £5,000 for his cars but I think he'll be pushing the boat out for this one

I now think the boat is remaining firmly in

Edited by SB - Nigel on Tuesday 18th March 22:52

[GravelBen]

The photo on that link is a 300ZX, as its just a review site most likely someone got confused and posted a review for the car under the wrong name.

ETA: AFAIK the 300ZX is pretty reliable but good luck if you have to do any DIY engine work, engine bay is apparently very complicated and full so even some simple things can become engine-out jobs. Never driven one myself but I'm told they're much more agile than you'd expect for the weight and more fun to drive than the likes of a Mitsi GTO.

Edited by GravelBen on Tuesday 18th March 01:45

[Wadeski]

i think quite a lot of little stuff is engine-out / major hassle though...they have a reputation for being quite pricey.

For 5k, he might want to consider an Mr2 Turbo or a tuned Sylvia / 200sx...cheaper to buy a good MR2 than a bad 300ZX....

[SB - Nigel]

GravelBen said:

The photo on that link is a 300ZX, as its just a review site most likely someone got confused and posted a review for the car under the wrong name.

I’ll take your word for that, the photo’s too poor to make out much

Wadeski said:

For 5k, he might want to consider an Mr2 Turbo or a tuned Sylvia / 200sx...cheaper to buy a good MR2 than a bad 300ZX....

MR2 mk2, good suggestion, it’s one I usually make, I’ll have to check I did this time

Gazboy said:

You get what you pay for, and seeing as straight, mint, standard non chavved/barried Supra Turbos don't grow on trees your mate will have to pay more than £5k for a car that's worth more than a wank.

yeah I think as wrote before he’s prepared to pay more for the Supra Turbo

Thanks for your comments, I’ll have check things out with him

[RobCrezz]

For the same money, I would get a newer 200SX S14a. Lots of tuning potential.

Stage 1 chip, air filter, free flow exhaust, 255lph fuel pump and boost controller will see you 270bhp, in a lighter car than the 300zx

[SB - Nigel]

Yes it was a 300ZX against a Suprs Turbo, whoops

Thanks for your comments above

Any more ideas or comments please now we know we're on the right track

[V8covin]

I'd go for the zx every time although I only kept mine for 6 months...in that time I did the clutch,gearbox,2 back tyres and a lambda sensor lol.They can be a bit fragile in the wrong hands,good fun though,pretty quick ...oh and the ladies loved it !!!
Just don't think about track days without some serious mods to the suspension.

[SB - Nigel]

V8covin said:

I'd go for the zx every time although I only kept mine for 6 months...in that time I did the clutch,gearbox,2 back tyres and a lambda sensor lol.They can be a bit fragile in the wrong hands,good fun though,pretty quick ...oh and the ladies loved it !!!
Just don't think about track days without some serious mods to the suspension.

Thanks - I think you're saying yours were the wrong hands and avoid track days

[V8covin]

SB - Nigel said:

V8covin said:

I'd go for the zx every time although I only kept mine for 6 months...in that time I did the clutch,gearbox,2 back tyres and a lambda sensor lol.They can be a bit fragile in the wrong hands,good fun though,pretty quick ...oh and the ladies loved it !!!
Just don't think about track days without some serious mods to the suspension.

Thanks - I think you're saying yours were the wrong hands and avoid track days

That about sums it up lol

[SB - Nigel]

At least you recognise this in yourself most people don't

[jimpson]

Not seen a clean Mk4 TT Supra going for 5k yet?

[SB - Nigel]

jimpson said:

Not seen a clean Mk4 TT Supra going for 5k yet?

Thanks, not my budget - he's got away with good cars at low prices so far but when you start going more specialist and powerful I've always found you get what you pay for

[Forthright MC]

found a few examples for you to pass on Nigel (O/T beer bus trip good the other night?)

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/389709.htm

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/397303.htm

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/427430.htm

not sure what the current standing on these are at the moment, but this looks like a hell of a lot of car for the money

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/428948.htm

oh didn't mean to post that, nevermind...

[SB - Nigel]

Thanks James I've passed them on, I think he's looking on PH Classifieds but just in case

I wont bother with the last one as it will be over budget and he's not a suitable TVR owner

Er, I thought I'd emailed you about beer trip, short answer - no

[Fire99]

Well im a fan of the 300zx and nearly bought one on various occasions but here is my 5p worth.

The 300zx is a V6 twin-turbo and the Supra is an inline 6 twin-turbo. Both iron block.. alloy head.

The 300 does have alot crammed into its engine bay so the cooling system needs to be kept on top form.

It does depend where you want to go with the mods. The Supra is ultimately better and easier to get ultimate HP from and from research tends to be more reliable when you start upping the HP.

If you are looking at no more than about 400hp i'd go for a nice manual 300zx.

Oh and decent Manual Twin-Turbo Supra's still fetch serious money.. (I'd budget greater than 10k)

Hope my 5p is helpful.

rgds,

Nick

[GravelBen]

Fire99 said:

The 300zx is a V6 twin-turbo and the Supra is an inline 6 twin-turbo. Both iron block.. alloy head.

I was under the impression all the Nissan V6s were alloy block?


ETA: According to wikipedia I'm wrong, the VG series were iron block/alloy head, the VQ series motors were the all-alloy V6s.

Edited by GravelBen on Tuesday 25th March 21:18