Hello everyone,

I’m planning on buying a Nissan 300zx with one or two turbos and would really appreciate some help. Where should I start looking for the errors in the motor and the electronics in average? I assume the turbos are one of the biggest risk factors in old cars like these, are there any way to see in what condition they are? And if you have any other tips for me as a new 300zx buyer, please tell me :)

Welcome Ken

 

Buyers guide her : http://www.300zx.co.uk/tech/BuyingZ.htm

 

There are two engine variations :

 

3.0 V6 Non-Turbo

3.0 V6 Twin Turbo

Best way to see if a turbo is shagged (irrelevant of boost leaks) is to run the car to warm, take out for a quick run about. Spool up the turbos quite a bit, then pull up, get out of the car (with engine running of course) and see if any blue smoke starts coming out of the back end. You may have to wait a few seconds.

 

Good turbos will be smoke free.

The 300ZX with one turbo is a Z31 which is now very old.

The 300ZX with 2 turbos is the Z32 300ZX, which is a lot lot faster than the Z31.

Thank you very much for your fast reply, this is going to be really helpful for me when I go for a test drive.

Okay, so ill go for the non turbo, or the Z32. What do you think about the non turbo, is it worth its price? Atleast here where I live the price difference isnt very big, but buing a pair of new turbos from the impoter here is going to be really expensive.

It is difficult to add turbos to a non turbo 300ZX Z32. Thre are many other parts that need changing.

Try to test drive both defore deciding. It's quite a difference speed /acceleration wise between the Naturally Asparated (NA/non turbo) and the Twin Turbo. However the NA engine is under a lot less stress and therefore less likely to have problems. If possible try to get one thats already had the work done on it. ie New or reconditioned turbos, gearbox (auto's are prone to dying around 80k but many last a lot longer if they havn't been abused. Manuals are generally considered a better 'drivers car' as with any car and cheaper to sort a clutch than an auto box). An aftermarket exhaust is always a good thing as its one of the first mods you might want to do, and combined with uprated induction will give you some more power.

Make the effort to drive as many as you can before deciding as then you will know what a good one is like and what a bad one is like. Don't get seduced by the first one you see unless it really is very good.

Good luck, you won't be dissapointed when you get a good one!

Dave :dance: :dance:

Okay, so ill go for the non turbo, or the Z32. What do you think about the non turbo, is it worth its price? Atleast here where I live the price difference isnt very big, but buing a pair of new turbos from the impoter here is going to be really expensive.

Ken, i think you misunderstood...

 

Z31- single turbo

 

Z32- non-turbo or twin turbo

You can get a non-turbo Z31 too!

 

Z31: single turbo or no turbo

 

Z32: twin turbo or no turbos

Than you very much for your help guys, I really apprechiate it. The Z Buyers Guide is going to be very handy. Ill be back next Saturday when I've tried a couple and tell you what I think. :) Monaghanroyal, that bodykit on your picture looks amazing, do you know a dealer who ships those rear bumpers? I'm not really into modding because I like the original design, but if I could get my hands on one of those, i could think about it :)

Than you very much for your help guys, I really apprechiate it. The Z Buyers Guide is going to be very handy. Ill be back next Saturday when I've tried a couple and tell you what I think. :) Monaghanroyal, that bodykit on your picture looks amazing, do you know a dealer who ships those rear bumpers? I'm not really into modding because I like the original design, but if I could get my hands on one of those, i could think about it :)

 

Thats the standard rear bumper. Its the Rear light panel thats different, available from http://www.zcentre.co.uk

yep, as above! Not sure what has been done though, cause there are no joins on the back, it's all one piece. Done when I bought the car a couple of months ago.

Thank you for the link. Yep, if thats the same rear light panel as on the zcentre.co.uk they've really done a nice job fitting that togheter! They maybe filled the joins with something like silicone or glassfiber and then repainted the whole car.. Anyway, it looks really nice :)