How good are zeds honestly? I am fairly comitted to my zed, I plan to keep it as the high performance car I need. But, I do get wandering eyes, find myself looking at supras on PistonHeads, or bonkers miester gtrs. Capris... elises...

 

So, for those with better car histories than myself, how good are they? Ive heard supras are a bit pants, I do love my zed it feels really good to me but how do they honestly stack up? Would a tvr be better? More rewarding, more capable?

 

I thought this would bring up an interesting discussion.

Supras are not pants. I am not the biggest fan of them, I like them, but they don't really capture my imagination - you probably have the F&F films to thank for that and the dashboards are awful. Elises are good fun and reliable, but the only Lotus I'd have over the Z would be the Esprit V8. Capris are a classic and a good investment, but they are no sports car IMO.

 

Not a fan of the look of the Meister GTR. My opinion of Skylines is as the Supra. But I do like the Skyline, but have never had a burning desire to own one. They are a bit 'obvious'. I like the Z is it's so much more of an unknown. They're rare and few know much about them and this always seems to be a conversation starter.

 

'A TVR'? Be a bit more specific. lol I toyed with the idea of a Cerbera. Bonkers performance and looks for not much money. Reliability on early models is questionable.

Edited February 15, 201411 yr by Funkysi

if you want the best handling car around get a lotus elise nothing will come close to how it goes round corners I have had a long list of performance cars and the lotus was the best and the 300zx for handling was one of the worsed but does have stock suspention so I cant say just yet till I change it how good it will be

The supra thing there is a thread somewhere where people have said the driving position is awkward and they are less confidence inspiring than a zed.

 

It is sooo subjective though isn't it, my capri in hindsight was more playful and less serious, you could get to the limit at far slower speeds. But it wasnt a better machine by quite a way.

 

I imagine a tvr would feel similar, but when you hear road tester saying things like

 

The gear shift is like a bolt action rifle

 

And

 

The steering is telepathic

 

I wonder if there would be more of that in elises and tvrs.

 

But the elise wouldnt let me bounce the back about would it.

the lotus would yes its not made to but can go side ways its a very extreme car I used to drive if for a 2 hour blast of fun on a sunday afternoon but had to be dry out. the Porsche boxster was good but the 2.8 z3 I had used to love going side ways was a fun car that

Supras are not pants. I am not the biggest fan of them, I like them, but they don't really capture my imagination - you probably have the F&F films to thank for that and the dashboards are awful. Elises are good fun and reliable, but the only Lotus I'd have over the Z would be the Esprit V8. Capris are a classic and a good investment, but they are no sports car IMO.

 

Not a fan of the look of the Meister GTR. My opinion of Skylines is as the Supra. But I do like the Skyline, but have never had a burning desire to own one. They are a bit 'obvious'. I like the Z is it's so much more of an unknown. They're rare and few know much about them and this always seems to be a conversation starter.

 

'A TVR'? Be a bit more specific. lol I toyed with the idea of a Cerbera. Bonkers performance and looks for not much money. Reliability on early models is questionable.

 

:yes: What he said....:wink:

Why not put more money into your zed? There is a lot that can be done to increase all aspects and you still keep the 'unknown' of a zed

the zed it good due to the endless mods that can be done

I'm not a fan of Turbo cars. Never have been, and after a few drives about in Supra's and R33's, I realised no matter how good it looks it'd never be something I wish to own.

Same goes with a 300zx. Luckily the NA is a good car too ;)

 

But, for me, I prefer big V8's in NA form. Monaro or VXR8 with full pedders handling pack is a joy to drive.

TVR T350's are another good shout, nice to look at and good performance (with enough bonkers-ness to keep you on your toes).

 

Z32's are good, but they are 20 years old. And there are much better cars out there. BUT cost wise, the 300 is probably one of the best for price for fun.

I was n/a all the way for years but turbos have changed me turbo is the way to role now

££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££

 

That is all.

To be honest I bought a 300zx just for the looks :drool: anything else is a bonus. Also may I add that between the years 1989 and 1999 and inside its price range nothing comes close to it. The Motoring press put it up against the Porsche 944 which is a great German car but for me the icon that is the z32 300zx is a clear winner and I will have one in my garage till long after my driving days are over so I can just look at it as a piece of motoring art.:)

I like that Gary, and there is no doubt that our cars are great value, a little known gem. I would love to be able to try out these other cars to prove that I am on to a winner, but all my mates drive focuses!

By the way I'm not going to get rid of my zed don't worry, I just feel like I haven't driven enough interesting cars sometimes.

 

And the only things I could fault on my zed is the slightly light steering that I will try to sort with japspeed arms and stuff and the brakes that can't keep up with the performance. My gearbox is average, I would love a bolt action rifle style gear change, the shift on my mx5 is nicer.

 

But all in all without spending a lot you cant really do better can you.

I had a TVR Cerbera for 2 years and regret selling it (didn't get the zed at this time though). The Cerbera is a fantastic piece of automotive design and a world apart from the chimera and griffs, in terms of performance and looks. I aim to have another one one day, as I think they are one of the best British GT tourers ever made. Don't buy any TVR though if you think the running costs etc are for a zed though, they will clear your bank account in double quick time if buy a lemon, or start any sort of rebuild, costs are mad especially for the Cerbera 4.5. There are a few more reliable specialist around for TVRs than Zeds though.

"Dollar for dollar, it's the best damn sports car in the world." Motor Trend's accolade for the 300ZX in 1990. Someone posted it here recently, IIR. Hang on. Oh yep, daZvert http://www.300zx.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?174998-bought-this-old-mag-off-ebay-%29&highlight=motor+trend

 

Plus, at the time, the 300ZX was the most expensive and the fastest Japanese car offered in the UK. £34,500. Which in today's money is (depending on which inflation figures you believe) £54,000.

 

And a quick search brings up this page http://www.carpages.co.uk/car-prices/car-prices-coupe-50000-plus-1.asp so that is today's level of where the Zed was in the market back then.

 

Plus the Z line has unparalleled sporting and competition heritage. Not sure many other sports coupes can claim the same. Porsche? For sure. Lotus? well probably but never shifted the numbers that Z/ZX have (also Loads Of Trouble Usually Serious).

Edited February 15, 201411 yr by Gio

if you want the best handling car around get a lotus elise nothing will come close to how it goes round corners I have had a long list of performance cars and the lotus was the best and the 300zx for handling was one of the worsed but does have stock suspention so I cant say just yet till I change it how good it will be

 

In all fairness and to the zeds defence Dan ive had a good few zeds and after driving yours that was the softest unstable ive ever drove mate as i told you..far too spongey on each corner and those new springs you have now will transform your views when fitted:yes:

yes I do agree the stock set up is super soft I am sure the springs and damper will make it feel like yours pluss all the uprated rear sub bushes

I test drove an immaculate BPU Supra and was bored senseless, so I bought a 520bhp Skyline shed.

 

My current favourite car is my little Clio RS172 Ph1. I like it so much that I'm selling the XJR. Which I really really like. I'm just amazed at how good some French cars are when they get them right. Goes like the clappers too. Relatively speaking.

 

The Zed is just a great car. It handles really well, goes incredibly well once all the factory-spec restrictions are dealt with, and are amazing to look at with good road presence. I just wish there had been a more focused bare-bones version sans air-con, ABS, HICAS etc from the outset. Well, maybe not minus the ABS...

Edited February 18, 201411 yr by Noz

Well, maybe not minus the ABS...

 

hahahaha was gonna say you freaking crazy ....... butttttttttt you righted yourself good man lol

i have owned a few decent performance cars one of my worst actually being my R33 skyline i felt like it was cheap and rattly feeling nice looking but thats where it ended for my my 2 favs ive owned had to have been my 2 gen 4 2.2 vtec preludes both non 4ws went very well and handled like a dream !!

my zed i couldnt comment on yet as ive got a blown shock since i had it another job on the lit of to do's lol

i had a 3rd gen 2.2 prelude great car

I'm with noz on the clio. I have a 182 cup as my daily commuter, and I give it nothing but sh!t, it handles like a go Kart and goes well, with a 40mpg return!

 

I would like to strip it and track it though. Although I want to dip my toes in the drifting pond if I'm honest!

In all fairness and to the zeds defence Dan ive had a good few zeds and after driving yours that was the softest unstable ive ever drove mate as i told you..far too spongey on each corner and those new springs you have now will transform your views when fitted:yes:

 

My first zeds suspension was too soft (UK car). When I bought brand new stock suspension it felt bloody lovely. One of the smoothest cars ID had. Loved it

My first zeds suspension was too soft (UK car). When I bought brand new stock suspension it felt bloody lovely. One of the smoothest cars ID had. Loved it

 

And there in lies the key. These cars are at best 15/16 years old but generally 20+ years old. With 100k miles on the clock. Now even a 3 year old car with those kinda miles feels not 100% so it's a miracle that they feel as good as they do. Once you start pulling your car apart you will quickly discover your the first normally. Sloppy tired bushes leaky dampers rusty saggy springs. When I got mine at first I found it boring it had to pushed so much further to be on the edge and fun compared to my Capri, which was sorted for a Capri it handled very well. Some time passed and I switched the wheels and the the saggy old shocks and then had an alignment done. Holy hell that transformed the car! I'm now working my way through every bush and component to get it refreshed and I expect the result to be quite profound again.

 

Taking the handling of these old cars for what the one you have is, is a bad measure some are honestly shot under there and will handle like it. The best people to ask or watch in terms of how well can they should they handle is Jaffa and bob. Neither of those cars are stupidly modded suspension wise just refreshed and uprated, no cutting the floor off and welding in this bar or that support.

 

If you think it handles poorly I urge you to inspect it before you end up up a tree via they shouldn't feel loose wobbly or unpredictable at all. Aside from that bloody hicas system trying to catch you out.

Well this is what I expected, I dont think we are a narrow minded bunch either, completely able to give a fair assesment and not just defend zeds blindly. They are one of the most unappreciated and capable cars around.

 

I am going to continue to smooth off any eough edges I find and be zedding for a long time yet, happy knowing that the grass isnt particularly gereener elsewhere.