I have been researching this and found that an imported 300ZX TT firstly will have Kmph speedo, not undersealed, restricted to 112mph, restricted to 275bhp (UK 300BHP) require a new radio as Jap radio's frequencies are above what our stations are broardcast on, Number of owners is very hard to prove, service history again hard to prove - however equivalent MOT in Japan is very very strict so if the car has recently passed it should be a good one (Or the owner is getting rid of an MOT failure), all UK cars have leather nearly all Jap are cloth, much Higher Insurance.

 

From the above there is a clear advantage in going for a UK car over an import (Expect Imports are cheaper compared to an equivalen UK car) - does anyone know a dealer (car) for UK 300ZX's in the UK?

I own a UK car

 

UK cars:

 

suffer from rust around sills and rear wings

bumpers often have cracked paintwork

spoilers are made of foam and often need replacing as the absorb water causing the paint to crack.

 

There isnt a dealer as such, the for sale forum is a good place to start.

Do you use Super Unleaded or Optimax or just normal Unleaded?

 

Also does the leather start to crack on the slightly older cars?

I user optimax I don't really notice a performace difference but its meant to be better for the car and i get 20% more MPG on it.

 

My leather is slightly cracked. I tend to polish it everytwo weeks which gets rid of most of it.

What about parts? Do you use genuine Nissan parts or aftermarket jobbies + do you know a good specialist mechanic in East Essex

It depends really, parts are quite easy to get ahold of, it it brakes then uprate :)

 

And I don't know why you are asking about east Essex when you live in reading? Silvia engineering are in east Essex in maldon.

The case for UK Vs JDM is not as straight forward as you have made it look.

 

I own a '90 import, it had 55K on the clock when I bought it 2 and a bit years ago, it now has 86K. The car has given me very little grief, there isn't a speck of rust on it anywhere (not bad for a 13 yr old car) it has a full leather interior, and was rustproofed in the first week of my ownership thanks to a w/e with a can of waxoil and a cavity injector and a pot or two of Dinitrol.

 

Yes, the insurance is higher than a UK car, but I bought an import because all the UK cars I saw were absolute dogs. I'm quite happy to pay a premium because the Import was a better option as far as I was concerned as I'm not looking at reaching for a MIG in the near future or paying for expensive Nissan panelwork.

 

You decide...

 

Tim

Have to agree with you there Tim.

I have a 91 TT import. Not a speck of rust to be found. The only trouble I`ve had was the PTU going (which is no big deal) and the insurance wasn`t much more that it made a difference.

All in all I`m pleased I bought an import ,as the Uk ones that I looked at weren`t a patch on what I eventually got.

Maybe I just got lucky though!!

This is by no means saying that there aren`t plenty of excellent uk cars around, but I`ll stick with the import thank you.:)

Hi Welsh. I have a UK TT and the body work is perfect! I had some welding to the sill which cost me 45 notes but thats all. I have leathers and a manual box which is much better than the Jap auto. My insurance cost me £760 (10 month bonus exceleraror) from Elephant.co.uk I have zero no claims bonus and 27 years old. My opinion is to go for the UK spec if you can find a good one.

Oh, and i'm fully comp.

You really could go round and round in circles here.

 

Homebrew has even opened up the Auto/manual debate, and everyone knows that a Red Auto is the quickest Zed around. ;)

 

I think the bottom line is that both UK and JDM cars have their merits.

 

Don't just dismiss an import on 'what you've heard' they can be a very good buy indeed.

 

Oh, btw, my insurance is ITRO £750 for an import with all mods declared, 35yrs old and unlimited mileage with 6yrs NCB and 3pts.

 

Tim

Just been checking out Insurance quotes from elephant.co.uk

 

10 month Full comp £1280

10 month TPFT £916

I'm 24 (25 in a little over a month) zero no claims and no points and one claim 20 months ago. Does this sound competitive?

 

Not been able toget a quote for imported though

:rolleyes:

 

On a different topic have you heard of the rally driver who lapped the Isle of Man TT road closed and on slicks in the wet with a std Rover 827 vitesse at 101mph average speed..... Just imagine what speed he could do it with a more modern and far faster car.( Fastest bike average speed 128mph )

Get the best condition Zed you can find, if it's an import then the extra money it costs you will be far more than payed back.

 

And Tim, RED AUTO!!!!!!

 

What are you smoking?????

 

Black Manwell surely :D:D:D

 

Mike

yep, importing jap 300s only means you'll end up with a rusty, slow, cloth laden, dodgy history'ed shite bucket....the 300 i've just imported must have been made in the uk and then shipped to japan cos it has NO rust, fsh (in japanese), full leather in good cond., bloody quick as f..., and so on...

 

so I wouldnt bother...;)

 

just leave these pieces of poo alone to the likes of me :D

I thought both jap and UK were 280 bhp and only the US versions were 300bhp???

 

I could be wrong though.:confused:

Its all swings and roundabouts really.

 

The imports are better underneath and have very little rust, if any. But the auto boxes on imports are a disaster zone. They all blow up at some stage (unless you make oil cooler mods). The insurance is normally higher and the Nissan dealers will be very unhelpful. They are however normally lower milage and have a few extra toys.

 

The UK cars are more likely to have leather, more likely to be manual and will normally be cheaper to insure. A safer bet overall as long as you make sure you find a good one. Funnily enough, I have a UK manual for sale at the moment :D :D :D The auto boxes in the UK cars are much more reliable.

 

Another very important point is to try and buy a later car. Most of the problems are with the G and H reg cars. Get a K reg onwards car and you'll improve your chances.

 

In my opinion the best car to drive is the 2 seater twin turbo manual import targa version. Very rare, but nice. There was one on sale here a couple of months ago.

 

Cheerz

 

AndyZ

Originally posted by AndyZ

In my opinion the best car to drive is the 2 seater twin turbo manual import targa version. Very rare, but nice.

 

I have this very car along with a few elite others ;) all I can say is it has been a dream to own and the most reliable car I have ever owned. It is a 89 F plate and still even has the series 1 ptu.

 

Couldn't recommend it enough, I still am not convienced about people who say to avoid the early ones. Maybe I have been lucky.

 

Running to touch some wood

Martin

"But the auto boxes on imports are a disaster zone. They all blow up at some stage (unless you make oil cooler mods). "

 

AndyZ,

 

what oil cooler is the best for 300zx? as everyone told me import auto is not reliable, what will gonna be if this problem happens? I am going to buy the ALC for my z because someone told me it is good for auto 300zx, I don't even know what the benefit it has.

 

My Z: 90 G Reg Auto TT, 18" alloys, upgraded ECU, HKS air filter, HKS turbo timer, HKS EVC V, HKS boost and water gauges.

 

Thanks

Ive just gone through the long an laborious task of researching the very same topic. I have now just bought myself a 93L UK TT (quickshift) Manual. with 75K. It had full Nissan Service history and had also been around on this forum for a while.

 

I test drove about 5 cars in total

 

1) Import TT Auto 89G

 

Very nice, but no History - couldn't be sure

 

2) Import TT Man

 

No leather, no extras, low mileage, but no history (looked too worn on the steering wheel, pedals etc)

 

3) , 4) Imports same deal - no leather etc

 

5) The one I bought... the difference was VERY obvious on the handling - no one has mentioned here that the UK car has MUCH better suspension set up - the Imports were very 'soft'. And it had a quick shifter installed (cheap I think) It feels really responsive. The interior was immaculate - no wear on the steering wheel etc - could have been replaced I suppose but it didn't look like it - This brings me to the point that why are imports such low mileage when they are so old? How rare is that in this country? They have been clocked and are offered with no history because 'it's in japanese' - rubbish - get it translated!!!

 

It also 'felt' quicker - I can't be sure but mabe the 300bhp is true?

 

Anyway... I prattled on for too long - but just wanted to share my observasions and experience buying a zed recently

 

BTW Ive had no trouble yet and it's a fantastic drivers car (with the harder suspension)

 

Scoobs

Originally posted by Welsh Beef

On a different topic have you heard of the rally driver who lapped the Isle of Man TT road closed and on slicks in the wet with a std Rover 827 vitesse at 101mph average speed..... Just imagine what speed he could do it with a more modern and far faster car.( Fastest bike average speed 128mph )

 

That'll be Tony Pond then. Seen the video, it was pretty damn impressive, especially when he touched a wet patch and it stepped out quite alarmingly at over 90mph.

 

Oh and Welsh beef dont be worrying too much about spares for your import. There's plenty of guys oin here breaking em and Mike Feeney at MJP (01277 374201) can get genuine Nissan parts for imports and UK cars for much less money than the main dealer.

 

Nick

:cool:

LOL!! this cracks me up!!

 

there are good & bad examples of UK & Jap zeds to be found

 

Just find a nice one - doesnt really matter where it was 1st regestered as long as you like it :cool:

 

i held out for a UK manual for insurance reasons, but almost bought a import. ;)

Originally posted by Dickens

what oil cooler is the best for 300zx? as everyone told me import auto is not reliable, what will gonna be if this problem happens? I am going to buy the ALC for my z because someone told me it is good for auto 300zx, I don't even know what the benefit it has.

 

:eek: You're going to buy an ALC and don't even know what it does??

 

As for the oil cooler, the Z Center do an excellent kit http://www.zcentre.co.uk/performance/perf2/oil_cool.htm

Originally posted by scoobydoo

brings me to the point that why are imports such low mileage when they are so old? How rare is that in this country? They have been clocked and are offered with no history because 'it's in japanese' - rubbish - get it translated!!!Scoobs

 

 

 

There is not very much space to drive anywhere in Japan, most people take public transport to work as

a) It is a fantastic public transport system they have (You get your money back on tube and train fares if its 1 minute late)

b) Most places or work dont have parking spaces so there is no option for driving there.

 

 

Stuart

to james300,

 

yes, I don't even know what does ALC do with my z, but I think it is not that expensive (it's only 140 quid I think) and it is good for a auto 300zx so that I will go for it in a month. by the way, do you know what does it do then?

 

thanks for your reply.

An ALC (automatic line controller) holds the line pressure (of the oil) to make the gear-changes quicker and give a more 'positive' feel to them. It does sound like a good mod to do! ........and is on my list!! I know TonyC and Mac has it and loves it.

This is the blurb for the HKS ALC.....

 

"ALC (Automatic Line Controller) is a plug-in interface for OEM computer controlled automatic transmissions in the ‘90-’96 Nissan 300ZX that maintains constant line pressure, ensuring consistent and precise high performance shifting. Should the pressure begin to drop within the transmission, the ALC will signal the factory A/T Control Unit to increase line pressure and maintain it at the correct level."