Ok, so i've make the mistake of straying from my Nissan roots and bought a WRX Impreza a few months ago. I hate it and want to move back to Nissan and get myself a 300ZX. I've heard some horror stories about running costs for the 300 as well as expensive engine rebuilds required at 80k miles.

 

Anyone got some good advice on what to look for in a 300ZX TT? Anyone owned a WRX and a 300zx TT and can give me a comparison or running costs etc? I'm looking to spend about 6K on the car, what can i expect for that?

 

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Engine rebuilds at 80k ?.

 

Can anyone shed some light on this cause I'm on about 76k and starting to crapp myself :D

I paid 5K for mine and got a 60K car with full service history (both UK and in Japan).

 

Since I bought the car in April, I have spent about 2K on it all told, with about 1K being needed work (60K service and new cat back exhausts).

 

The car has now done about 67K and has never, ever let me down (apart from when I left the rear fogs on all night;) )

 

I truly believe that the Zed is utterly reliable and would say tish pish to anyone preaching otherwise. Okay, so I`m not a foot to the floor driver but if you want to thrash a car you gotta expect to pay the bills for engine abuse!

 

I looked long and hard for my Zed and took a teccie with me whenever I looked at one. There are (more than) plenty of nails out there and the trick is to be more reflective than enthusiastic when testing. The all over package is of vital importance and if any "reputable" dealer tells you that the car is A1, do not trust them. Chances are they don`t know the internals of a zed from a Kia Pride.

 

Sorry, can`t be more help than that but other guys on the forum are much more up on specific issues than me......they`ve helped me out enough!

and the only reason a Zed engine (or more likely the turbos) would have to be rebuilt at 80K is if the car had been hammered for a good part of its life. Mine are at 67K and still performing perfectly:)

Regular oil changes and look after the turbos(let them cool down etc.)and everything should be fine.

Cheers,

F.T.

What about Cambelt changes? When are they due? It's more than likely that i'll be getting a car with about 60-80k on the clock so hopefully it'll already have been done but i just wanna be a bit more informed before i go car shopping.

 

What sort of mpg do you guys get? My scoob is around 18-22mpg on average and my 200sx mas about the same. Are the 300 TTs much worse?

 

I assume insurance wise they'll be the same as the Imprezas, imports cost more than UK cars?

 

What about performance between the imports and the UKs? One of them better than the other?

 

Any expensive common faults that i should look for?

 

Any Good links for 300zx FAQ's that i should be reading?

Z you will get about 18 town and 25 to 28 on the motor way. The 28 is driving round the 60mph mark all the time.

 

They dont need rebulds after 80,000 miles. I have done 157,000+miles and not had a rebuild.

 

There is no performance difference between the UK and Jap Z's.

 

Imports are more expensive to insure than UK, ones but get one over 10 years old and you can get it on classic insurance. Some insurance companies dont insure Imports on classic policies but some do.

 

6K should get you a good condition Z, common faults are rust on the rear sills, leaking t-tops (90% of them leak but only a drop every now and then, if its pouring in theres a problem)

 

Just listen to engine noises and see if it starts up first time. Ask them not to start the car before you goto see it.

 

There are a number of diags you can do on the car without any hand held consultant. These range from normal ECU which will check sensors mostly, HICAS will check the mechnics and sensors of the rear steering and the ABS checks out the ABS strangly enough :D, and any problems will be given by the check light on the dash.

 

Stuart

If you ask Jeff at Zedworld, he or his bro will accompany you to inspect your chosen car before you buy. Not much that guy don`t know I can tell ya!

zedworld.co.uk (has some good car buying tips)

 

Or speak to Luke at the Zcentre. This man is the reason that I still own my Zed (long story) absolute stunner of a guy. He will tell you what`s what.

zcentre.co.uk

 

Those are my two choices, there are many others....I must say that in general the Zed community is a great bunch of people who will go out of their way for you......certainly what I`ve found in my (relatively short) time as a Zed owner

I recon I should be on some sort of commission here but I've said this before(with the risk of repeating myself,time and time again!)

Go and buy the November edition of Japanese Performance Magazine.It has a 300ZX buyers guide which will answer most,if not all of your questions.Look at below site and go to back issues,they normally deliver the next day!

 

http://www.chpltd.com

 

Cheers,

F.T.

Thanks for the advice guys,

 

Just a few more quick questions,

 

I plan on modding the car a little. Probably jap exhausts, bit more boost, better induction. What kind of gains are there to be had from the few basic mods mentioned?

 

Any idea of prices for tuning parts compared to other cars(HKS, Blitz, Trust etc)? I guess the exhaust will be a bit more pricey as there's more of it ;)

 

Can the boost be turned up with a manual boost controller or bleed valve safely?

 

What sort of boost levels are safe with a standard block/pistons/fueling.

 

Are there any other mods that need seeing to? I guess the brakes are ok as the calipers were pretty sought after for the 200sx.

One thing I will add, is that when you buy your Zed, check to see whether it's had a recent oil change / cambelt service. If not, get it done! It costs far less to do this than to replace an engine...

 

Also, when getting the cambelt service done, replace the water bottle. It's in such an inaccessible area that to replace it when required needs the front end off anyway... :)

 

Regular servicing, good maintenance and some TLC and these cars will last for many more years to come. :)

 

Anita

Originally posted by marty_t3

What about Cambelt changes? When are they due? It's more than likely that i'll be getting a car with about 60-80k on the clock so hopefully it'll already have been done but i just wanna be a bit more informed before i go car shopping.

 

Cambelt changes are due at the 60k mark. But it's a good idea to change the other three belts , water pump, thermostat and plugs at the same time. Just to get it all out of the way.

 

Nissan will charge you about 1k for the 60k service or you can get it done for half the price from Zedworld (where I had mine done, very pleased with the service).

:rolleyes: - posted a pile of donkey doo's but can;t delete this so I had to edit it. Sorry

Stuart....you ok there? ;) :D

Originally posted by Ajay

Stuart....you ok there? ;) :D

Depends what you mean by ok :p

 

I was watching TV and I posted the message, got sidetracked and posted the same thing again. :eek:

I was just browsing around some of the links i've found on here and i came accross one that says the engine has to be removed to replace the turbos?? Is this true? :eek:

 

I came accross some other info comparing the UK+JDM specs. I noticed that the stock suspension on the Jap version is supposed to be softer. Is this noticable?

 

Also, the JDM cars have a 1.5" resrictor before the cat? Does this hamper performance and can it be easily removed?

 

HICAS is only available on the "high speed" versions of the UK cars? I ssume this is the TT version?

HICAS is on all Twin Turbos and hence all UK cars cos all UK Z's are Twin Turbo, 2+2.

 

The cats can be removed, mine where done today:D, which done make very nice difference, but you run the risk of causing the oil seals to leak due to the increased back pressure.

 

Some change the turbos with the engine in the car from underneath and some take the engine out. It takes about the same amount of time to do either way. Some dont like taking the engine out of an old car because of the wiring loam is frail after 10 years under a hot bonnet.

 

Any more questions?

 

Stuart

It is easier to replace the turbos with the engine out, yes but the passenger side can be done with the engine in, if really necessary.

 

However, if you're doing one turbo, you should do the other one so yes, engine out.

Just one more question.

 

Anyone wanna swap their Z for an Impreza ?? :D

Nope. :D

 

Now, if you wanted to give me the Impreza, I wouldn't say no, but no way would I swap. :D :D :D

 

;)

 

 

Have you tried selling it on ScoobyNet?

 

 

Anita.

Ajay, I will advertise it there once i get it running properly. I'm hoping to trade it in though.

 

There's too many things not right about the car just now so i'd feel guilty selling it to another scoobynetter. Same goes for folk on here. My impreza is a heap and i won't try to fob it off on another car enthusiast. I'll just fob it off on a dealer instead :D

Hi Marty, just been reading your post about wanting to change your Scooby for a 300ZX. Thought it was interesting as I have just done exactly that, I sold my 1993 WRX last month and I have replaced it with a 1990 300ZX twin turbo Jap import. I paid £5,500 for it with 73000 KM on the clock (about 45,000 miles) and the car is absolutly mint!! I can honestly say that I have no regrets in doing so as I love the ZX too bits. I am not knocking the scooby as I still think they are a great car but the looks I get in the ZX says it all. The cost of repairs etc on the ZX worried me at first but from what I can gather from various people, as long as you use good oil and change it every 3-4000 miles and look after the turbo's ie fit a turbo timer for example, the car will run for ever. The only scare I had was the oil pressure suddenly dropping but that turned out to be the sender unit which is cheap and easy too replace. I say go for it. :cool:

Glenn

Originally posted by Glenn

The only scare I had was the oil pressure suddenly dropping but that turned out to be the sender unit which is cheap and easy too replace. I say go for it. :cool:

Glenn

 

Easy. yes

Cheap NO

 

The sender unit from Nissan is £80. Most people go for an aftermarket oil pressure gauge when the stock on plays up. I have one the gauge and senderunit cost £36, and if the senderunit packs in its £7 for a new one. Better than £80.

 

Glad you are enjoying your car though.

 

Stuart

Yep, I stand corrected, I think I did pay about £80 for the sender come to think about it. I have noticed that my oil pressure guage still drops right down too almost 0 when the engine is hot and usually goes up about half way at 3000 rpm ( just under 4Kg2) or something like that. Does this sound normal? I have been told that it's OK but thought I would ask anyway.

Thanks

Glenn:confused:

Glenn,

 

Cheers, that's exactly the kind of story i was hoping to hear :) My mind is made up about getting a 300 now, just glad to hear good stories about going from a scoob to a Z.

 

Out of curiosity though, how do they compare insurance wise? I'd guess the import TTs are in roughly the same group as the WRXs.

 

SRRAE,

 

An 80 quid repair bill sounds ok to me. :D

 

In 3 months in the scoob i've replaced the turbo, the power steering gasket and the radiator header tank and i still get some smoke from under the bonnet when the car has been driven hard. There is a vibration above 90, the gear select is notchy and the clutch pedal doesn't return to where is should when it's pressed. The drivers door lock is mangled (cuz someone tried to steal it last week), and i think the boost control solenoid is gubbed cuz i'm only getting 7psi of boost.

 

Like i said, 80 quid sounds quite reasonable :D

Yes - I think both cars are in Grp 20. The Zed certainly is in that group.