300ZX message board? vs. NSX?

NetViper

NetViper

Illustrious Member
Joined
23 October 2000
Messages
13,885
Location
Saint Augustine, FL
I got the chance to drive 1991 300ZX TT with some modifications. (360HP, 19 inch wheels etc) It was really wild.

Are there any good 300ZX forums around?

I know a few NSX owners here have 300's. How do they compare in reliability to the NSX?



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NetViper -= 100% Stock EBP 2000 Civic Si =- Still looking to get an NSX, but at least I can live life at 8,000 RPM!
 
I got a '93. Never a problem.
300zx1.jpg



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'00 Candy Apple Blue / Black, #264

[This message has been edited by tabasco (edited 11 February 2002).]
 
Originally posted by Jim:

You've never had a problem with your Z? You're lucky Tabasco.
Click to expand...

Just reading up a bit on them, It sounds like they have a lot of problems with them. How long before you have to replace the turbos on them? Most of the used ones I have found so far all have like 70-90k miles on them.

It is a great car, but I am thinking I should just keep saving for the ACURA.



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NetViper -= 100% Stock EBP 2000 Civic Si =- Still looking to get an NSX, but at least I can live life at 8,000 RPM!
 
Maybe it's more "babying" the car than luck. Aside from general maintenance, tires and such, not one dollar in repairs. Car has 45K miles. Runs super strong and the 4 wheel steering (HICCA I thinks its called) is fantastic. I wrote in another post that it would be hard for me to pick which performs better the Z or the NSX. I give the Z great marks because it is 7 years older than my NSX. But of course, the quality of the NSX puts it way above anything else I have ever owned.

I recommend a "good" pre-owned Z to anyone, but like any performance car, you have to be very careful. If I could find someone like me to buy from, I would probably buy used instead of new.

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'00 Candy Apple Blue / Black, #264
 
I started to some problems around the 60-65k mark and I babied my car. Nothing broke on it until that point. I have kept every receipt on everything I have spent for it. Of course, not the same problems will happen on every car.

BTW, I have the normally aspirated Z.
 
I owned two twin turbo Zs in the past, a black '91 and a red '95.

I had several problems with the '91: faulty synchros (1 full week at the shop), faulty O2 sensor (caused the engine to shut off at 80mph (!) ), and also had issues with the turbo boost (wasn't producing full boost). The car had less than 18k miles on them. I had HKS exhaust and a Stillen intake on that car.

Still, I liked the Z so much that I traded the '91 for a '95 with 2k miles. Not a single problem with the '95 at all. I had it up to Stillen stage III and a personal best of 12.98@110mph at the 1/4. It was the car I loved the most until the NSX
wink.gif


During my ownership, I noted the following shortcomings about the Z car:

- spongy brakes not on par with hp and its sportscar mission
- nasty axle hop problems during hard off-the-line acceleration
- Although competent in the street, the Z car has an understeer tendency that snaps into oversteer w/out much warning. This does not inspire confidence in the driver when pushing above 7/10th. As such, the Z car is more suited for the street than for all-out track use

Hope the above helps.

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'95 NSX-T: comptech exhaust, eibachs, bilsteins, WW front spoiler, 17/18 Work Wheels
'95 M3
'99 A4
 
I heard they were expensive to work on due to their complexity? Most complaints I have heard had to do with electrical, part availability and expense of repairs. Is that correct?
 
C&D (I think...) did a "Used Car Classic" feature on the 300zx. They noted the turbos as something that was potentially problematic and expensive to fix. Was a good article (w/in the last 3 yrs) and worth getting a reprint if you're really considering one. Or try your local library.
 
Yes - you have to watch out for the turbos if you are considering an older sample. If the owner did not properly care for the turbos (i.e. proper cool downs before shutting of the engine), the turbo bearings may be damaged.
 
Thinking about getting a 300zx '94 since I love the styling of that car. Mileage is under 40K and it's an automatic. Anybody who owns it, please chime in and tell me for things I should look for.

EDIT: It's NA.

Thanks in advance.
 
Last edited:
ilya said:
I heard they were expensive to work on due to their complexity? Most complaints I have heard had to do with electrical, part availability and expense of repairs. Is that correct?
Click to expand...

I've worked on a few Zs, but all were NA. The longitudinal layout is nice for doing the timing belt, but otherwise the job is comparable to the NSX. The intake and PCV system are somewhat complex, so getting to knock sensors and injectors can be a pain. A common technique for replacing some injectors is to dremel a channel in the wall of the cast plenum to provide tool access (I've done it). Leaking rocker covers require more labor than average. Parts are readily available to my knowledge. I imagine that getting to the turbos would require supporting the engine and removing the suspension crossmember. I love the Z but overall the NA versions felt heavy to me even before I drove an NSX.
 
nsxtasy said:
How do they compare in reliability to the NSX?

Not well at all.
Click to expand...

I've had 5 total. 2 non turbo (90 & 93). 3 turbo (90, 90, 95). Never had a problem with any.
 
transdzn said:
Thinking about getting a 300zx '94 since I love the styling of that car. Mileage is under 40K and it's an automatic. Anybody who owns it, please chime in and tell me for things I should look for.

EDIT: It's NA.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Take a look at where the defrost vent is on the dash. If the dash is coming apart from the vent, its likely the car was left out in the sun excessively, or it was involved in a wreck. Make sure that all body panels line up especially in the front. Stay away from the tan leather, I think it looks dirty even when its clean and you will be cleaning it all the time. Make sure the tranny doesn't whine.

P.S.

An auto N/A will feel sloooow.
 
I don't think you want an auto NA, or even an auto TT for that matter, but if you're not looking for massive power and torque, you might be ok with it, but the NA is a completely different animal from the TT. No 4 wheel steering or adjustable suspension either in the NA.

As far as reliability, I posted this in another thread a while back:

I blew the engine at new england dragway (no I didn't do anything stupid). Main bearing was gone, had to rebuild the whole engine to the tune of (IIRC) $5K+ and that was just a stock rebuild. The heater core went which required removal of the entire dash, the rear main seal, and I can't recall the other smaller issues but just the ones I listed happened within the first 120K miles. It was also stolen twice, it didn't come back the 2nd time.
 
i had a 300zx. it was junk.
probably the most impracticable car i have ever had.
the NSX is way more practicable than the 300zx
tried to sell mine and couldn't. tried to give it away at the end and no one would take it. i ended up parting out the whole car because it seemed like a lot of kids had what they called "roaches" that needed replacement parts.

they are nice once done up.
here's one i was eyeballing.
http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/car/354396465.html
$1600. blown motor and trans
but you can get a JDM TT complete motor for about 1200 and call it a day.
horrible gas mileage. lots of headache. weighs in about 4500 some lbs?
but it looks cool.
 
Last edited:
evof575gtc said:
i had a 300zx. it was junk.
probably the most impracticable car i have ever had.
the NSX is way more practicable than the 300zx
tried to sell mine and couldn't. tried to give it away at the end and no one would take it. i ended up parting out the whole car because it seemed like a lot of kids had what they called "roaches" that needed replacement parts.

they are nice once done up.
here's one i was eyeballing.
http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/car/354396465.html
$1600. blown motor and trans
but you can get a JDM TT complete motor for about 1200 and call it a day.
horrible gas mileage. lots of headache. weighs in about 4500 some lbs?
but it looks cool.
Click to expand...


impracticable (what's that mean???) 4500lbs?? (the 300ZXTT is 3200 lbs)... horrible gas mileage?? (it's about the same as the NSX)... you couldn't give it away? These comments make me have a hard time believing you've ever owned one (you are talking about a Z32, right?). Having owned both a 300ZXTT (JWT Stage 3+) and an NSX at the same time for several years, I can't see how the NSX is any more PRACTICAL than the 300zx. In fact the 300ZX had plenty of storage space in the hatch, making it more PRACTICAL than the NSX.

BTW, the 300zxtt is also very prone to warping the front OEM rotors. I replaced my calipers and rotors with a set from a Skyline and didn't have a problem after that.

dc0022m.jpg

300zxdyno.jpg
 
Last edited:
My friend who owned a z32tt told me the syncros seem to go out at pretty early mileage and the turbos seemed to hold heat for a long time after shutting the car off.
 
My buddy has one. It's pretty awesome. I love that car...sure we work on it here and there, but anything with FI is going to take a little more TLC. For the most part it's really dependable...and fast. Puts down 350hp to the wheels on a conservative tune...he turns up the boost when he needs to play with bigger fish. Oh, and the OBD1 cars are a lot easier to deal with if you're going to tune it.
(now, that being said, I still would never trade my NSX for one...but different flavors for different people.)
garage.jpg

nissanmeet3.jpg


Oh..and when we had different rims lol
13146300ZNXS.jpg
 
Best value on the Japanese sportscar used market. I had a 91 and loved it. They are built very well and are reliable, but require maint. and are quickly prone to problems if not maintained correctly.

I worked on it myself and it gave me no issue that didn't cost more than a hundred or two in parts to fix. That z was pushing 400whp for 8 years before I even got it, everything was still holding up well.

It has issues just like every other car, NSX included. The 94-95 cars are the best and I'd recommend those first, although I chose a 91 because I am very* well educated on z32's.

zcar.com [sn zlover57, 7,000+ technical posts there I believe]
twinturbo.net [sn sahtt]
 
I had one before my NSX, and I absolutely LOVED that car. I had a '92 TT 5-speed with about 400hp. Never had any problems with it for the 2 years that I owned it. I now love my NSX as well, but they are 2 very different animals. My impression:
-300ZXTT is more comfortable, civilized, quiet - a great touring car that is crazy fast. More practical as well due to the large hatchback
-NSX is more visceral, more of a race car, and one that you would feel much better about taking to the limit. Not as quick off the line as the 400HP TT, but much quicker and nimbler on a track. Sounds better, too...

I wouldn't trade my NSX for one now, but I think that they are different enough that they complement each other well. I'd have both if I could.

I think that the 300ZXTT is great value for the money at this point, if you find a nice, well-cared-for example. I'd stick with '92+ due to a few changes that were made. You can find out much more info on www.twinturbo.net.
 
sahtt said:
zcar.com [sn zlover57, 7,000+ technical posts there I believe]
twinturbo.net [sn sahtt]
Click to expand...

TT.net and zcar are still running awful forum software, eh?
My user ID for zcar is long gone apparently. Amazing accomplishment to live with the zcar forum software long enough to have 7000 posts :) (though it's not nearly as bad as the tt.net software).
 
evof575gtc said:
i had a 300zx. it was junk.
probably the most impracticable car i have ever had.
the NSX is way more practicable than the 300zx
tried to sell mine and couldn't. tried to give it away at the end and no one would take it. i ended up parting out the whole car because it seemed like a lot of kids had what they called "roaches" that needed replacement parts.

they are nice once done up.
here's one i was eyeballing.
http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/car/354396465.html
$1600. blown motor and trans
but you can get a JDM TT complete motor for about 1200 and call it a day.
horrible gas mileage. lots of headache. weighs in about 4500 some lbs?
but it looks cool.
Click to expand...


Junk? The Z32 was in Car and Drivers 10 best list for 6 consecutive years. :biggrin:

The weight of the car is about 32-3300 pounds. The gas mileage on ALL of them I had was equivalent to the NSX's gas mileage. As for not being able to give it away, I had bidding wars going on when I sold my last couple. I had to put my foot down and say the first person to give me a check gets the car.

If anything the Z32 is more practical than the NSX. Lots more storage space and parts are cheaper. I will concede that recently OEM parts are starting to rise in price a little. Yes you have to time your turbos after a hard run, but thats the deal with any turbo car. A properly maintained Z is not a headache at all.

In fact, Z32's are having the same Blue Book problems that NSX's are having. They sell for much more than their quoted prices.

Only complaints I had with the Z32 was the spongy brakes and the cramped engine bay. (shudder)
 

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