Just thought I would post to say hello really. I have sold my MR2 rev 3 a few months back due to an addition to the family (lack of seats) and since then I have been driving to and from work in a polo.

I have always liked the style of the 300's and have now decided to set about buying one. However my knowledge on these cars is limited at its best. Obviously there is the LWB and SWB non turbo and turbo. Ideally I would of liked the turbo, but since my daily commute is 40 miles to and then 40 miles from work I think this rules out the TT. Granted 39 miles of the journey to work is motorway so maybe the TT performs reasonably well at a constant motorway speed? I have been told the n'a can prodeuce 25-30mpg if driven sensibly?

At the moment it looks as if my quest is for a n/a LWB 300, that will for the meantime remain in pretty much teh same condition as I buy it, with future plans to uprate the BHP and Torque curves :D

I know my old MR2 turbo was extremely reliable, what about the 300s?

Any advice would go down a treat about now as I am looking to make my first purchase in the next few months.

Regards

Reece

Hello mate my TT is excellent on motorway but shite around town

it all comes down to how you drive it i think.

Good luck anyway :)

Cheers Tony, would really prefer a TT, Norwich union are being good to me and only charging an extra £160 to convert from my polo to the NA so going TT shouldnt be that much more. As for driving it I sit on M62, then M56 inot Manchester then stockport in rush hour traffic most the time, so it will kept below 60mph most of the time.

Mpg isn't all that different between Na's and TT from what I can gather. I get 25 plus to the gallon on motorway journeys and mine is running 340bhp at the wheels (for sale by the way!). The main benefit with NAs is less to pay out if it goes wrong and also the NA drive if you like non-turbo cars. My TT has been completely reliable, but there are a lot of cheaper sheds around now as with all jap performance cars. A zed that is going wrong is very expensive so you're best paying out more to begin with. How much are you looking at spending? theres a few for sale at the moment.

don't bother buying an NA with the intention of tuning it, you would be better off finding the nearest storm drain and emptying your wallet into it.

Test drive both and you will make the right choice.

I drove from Suffolk (near Ipswich) to Dunstable Beds 220miles round trip a few weeks ago Using cruise control most of the time with A/C running all the time £40 still had a little left when i got home !! Not bad as i did have a little fun with a Mercedes on the A14

So its not all doom and gloom !

 

Oh yes mines also for sale at the moment ! :dance:

Yeah from what Ican gather by looking from private ads to ebay to improt agencies prices seem to roam from £2,800 up to £6,000. I understand a car is only worth as much as the owner thinks it is, especially with imported cars with no price guides available on imports. It was the same with my MR2, I actually sold it for more than I paid for it and all I did was drive it for 4 months!!!

Ive been looking a lot at autoadvan the people there have been really helpful, reliability for me is the key thing at the moment as if I have no car tehn I cant get to work, which is kind of why I was looking at the NA's even though my heart wants the TT, you cant beat the initial pull can you. As I say at the moment Im just looking at buying, need to save more £££ first. Made a mistake when I bought the first of my Mr2 turbos and paid well over the odds by not doing my homework lol.

I was also looking at supra TT's mainly because my freind has just bought something called the "blue bullet" (supra car forum thingy) and he ahd it rolling roaded the other week producing 576bhp!!! he only uses it at weekends, plus I think the 300's are prettier, they just dont make cars like this anymore!

Welcome,

 

I have a TT and an NA. Both great cars in different ways. Test drive both, its all down to personal preference.

 

IMO..the TT is a monster, buckets loads of power and torque...sometimes too much to use it to its full potential if you dont have your wits about you, but you always have the knowledge that you will very, very rarely (if ever) come up against anything that can match it !

 

The NA is obvoiusly a lot slower, almost underpowered, lacking the "push and hold you back into your seat feeling of the TT".... but it can be more fun! :eek:, chucking it around and giving it a good thrashing....but there is always the niggle in your mind that many more mundane machines could potentially leave you in there wake on the straights.

 

Reliablity differences...well the NA engine bay wont get quite as hot so less punishment on the cooling system and electrical connections, and no Turbo's to worry about......but you do have to give the NA a LOT more stick to go fast and Turbo's do tend to last 80-120k miles on average....so there is'nt going to be a great difference, dispite what others may say!

 

If most of your driving is Motorway, then you will find the TT more economical than the NA (Gear ratio difference being the biggest reason). Town/Rural with a heavy foot is a completely different story however !

 

Buy a Good example, and treat it right (correct servicing and Maintenance) and it will be a very reliable High performance car - NA or TT. Buy a bad example and it will cost you dearly.

i just changed from a auto n/a to a swb slicktop tt manual and i would never look back ,fuel is better unless you boot it all the time and more fun to drive .

tt all the way

Cheers guys, wow this is a fast and freindly forum :D oh and good point made by clarky, and to boot, Ive just had an online quote from mt insurance company, the auto Tt is only £70 more to insure, if I get a manual TT its only £50 more expensive!!!! so first decision is made, teh car is going to be a LWB TT (auto or manual, yet to decide) going back to the whole power thingy, my old MR2 turbo ran a 13.5 at santa pod, and my other MR2 turbo which was standard ran a 13.9. Now obviously your not going to race from every set of lights, thats just disrispctful to the car, and obviously these big cars are more about rolling starts but does anyone have any idea how they compare to the turbo MR2's (just trying to get an idea I dont race on roads!)

Mr2 forums will say one thing and without a dioubt 300 forums will say another but since my loyalties have now swung im here and listening with open ears!! (not that I can close them lol)

Cheers guys, wow this is a fast and freindly forum :D oh and good point made by clarky, and to boot, Ive just had an online quote from mt insurance company, the auto Tt is only £70 more to insure, if I get a manual TT its only £50 more expensive!!!! so first decision is made, teh car is going to be a LWB TT (auto or manual, yet to decide) going back to the whole power thingy, my old MR2 turbo ran a 13.5 at santa pod, and my other MR2 turbo which was standard ran a 13.9. Now obviously your not going to race from every set of lights, thats just disrispctful to the car, and obviously these big cars are more about rolling starts but does anyone have any idea how they compare to the turbo MR2's (just trying to get an idea I dont race on roads!)

Mr2 forums will say one thing and without a dioubt 300 forums will say another but since my loyalties have now swung im here and listening with open ears!! (not that I can close them lol)

 

Stock TT 1/4 mile is in the High 13's - low 14's.

 

Mildly modded (1 bar boost, exhaust, filter, but mostly stock) will put low 13's easily.....and a 0-60 under 5 secs, and a 0-100 under 12 secs.

 

Standing start the little Mr2 is easier to get its power down, but it would be close. Rolling starts, mid range and motorway..etc and the Zed TT would absolutely kill the Mr2 Turbo.

So are they in pretty much the same boat as the supra tt? same size engine and all?

Juding by your posts dude you have been around on here for a while, so I shall call on your experience for this question.....If I was looking for a 300 LWB TT with good relaibility in resonalbe condition and same with milage what would I be looking at and where would be the best place, as I say Ive been looking at importing one myself where I can get a 1994ish model for £3500 including shipping, obviously cant look before I buy though. Ta.

So are they in pretty much the same boat as the supra tt? same size engine and all?

Juding by your posts dude you have been around on here for a while, so I shall call on your experience for this question.....If I was looking for a 300 LWB TT with good relaibility in resonalbe condition and same with milage what would I be looking at and where would be the best place, as I say Ive been looking at importing one myself where I can get a 1994ish model for £3500 including shipping, obviously cant look before I buy though. Ta.

 

Yep, the MkIV supra and the 300zx are nearest rivals.

 

We have our own Importer on the Forum, Import-ance. See Traders section. Might be worth having a chat with them, and see what he can do.

 

Alternertively, the best place to look is in the Cars for sale forum here, buying from an enthusiast where you can check on its history by searching old posts is a real advantage.

 

Also see the Buyers giude here : http://www.300zx.co.uk/tech/BuyingZ.htm

 

and handy info site on model differences : http://www.300zx.org.uk/z32_info.htm

 

Good luck :)

cheers bud :)

don't bother buying an NA with the intention of tuning it, you would be better off finding the nearest storm drain and emptying your wallet into it.Test drive both and you will make the right choice.

I am sorry mate but WTF are you on about?? Are you saying you cannot tune a 3 litre v6 24 valve twin cam N/A because it does not have turbo's?? Stop talking out of your a55 and look at some of the tuned NA's on the forum like SuffolkZX, Slick pete and Choppers old N/A and tell me you cannot tune an NA.

Mr2_2_300 : Sorry about that but some TT worshipping members on here some times do not see out of there little "TT" boxes, I on the other hand as you have probably guessed drive and am selling a very nicely "TUNED" NA and as has been said on here they might not have the hold you back in your seat feeling but are still fast sports cars which well exceeds the speed limit and if you search the forum on reliability and cost of repair for both yyou will see the NA is far cheper to maintain with a lot less problems, also as Legrtah said you get great pleasure in chucking them around. But honestly mate before you make up your mind search this forum on the average costs of up keep on NA's and TT's then make up your mind.

could you be any more defensive there?

Take the same money you would spend on taking an NA up to 280bhp and you could have a TT over 400 probably.

they're both great cars!

 

you could argue till the sun goes down but i think it's up to the individual!

 

me personally....it's gotta be the twin turbo as i don't drive that fast but the power's there when you need it. so by not thrashing it around, it's not gonna cause so much wear and tear.

I have had e few of both and they are both fun and great to drive. TT puts a smile on your face every time u drive it. N/a puts a smile on your bank accounts face LOL.

 

In all honestly if you dont drive fast and just want a reliable amazing looking car go for an N/a.

 

If you want to scare the crap out of your passengers and descimate most other cars go for a TT. But go for a manual and one that has been serviced regular and most of all one where the tubs have been replaced if you can.

My first Z was an imported jap auto, which came to an unfortunate end in the hands of the thieving b*****ds that stole it. Now am a proud owner of a UK manual TT, IMO the auto isnt a patch on the manual, wished i'd held out for a manual in the first place.

 

Imported cars seem to come with better interier extras than the UK models but dont have the breaking ability or the under body sealent the UK models have and i think the head lights are worse on the japs (neather models that good though) also many parts are different and more expensive on the japs and a lot of insurence companies wack premiums up on them too but thats my opinion forgive me if im wrong.

 

UK manual TT for me anyday

 

All great cars in their own right pro's n cons with em all. I think if you went N/A route you will wish you went TT if you went Auto you will wish you went manual, at the end of the day the choice is yours go for what you think you will want in the long run its all about future planning

Hey guys I didnt mean to start a fight :( . I used to own a N/a MR2 then bought the turbo model. I used to love the 1/4 mile you see, there is a local group of mates who organise days out to the rolling road but mainly 1/4 mile at santa pod etc. No doubt that the 300 in general is a great looking car and Im sure with money both can be tuned will over the speed limit lol

I would like to think at some point I will be getting back into 1/4 miling which is why I was leaning towards the TT. It was just a few things putting me off...

1) Insurance, but it lokos like its only another £90 more than the N/a with my insurance company

2) MPG as I drive 80 mile a day on motorway, but I have now been told that the TT can actually be better on the motorway because of the gearing?

 

Loads of reading to do on this forum yet!

 

I have also been in touch with ace imports at the advice of a nice chap on here :cool: and they seem to have some nice 1994+ cars coming in for around the £5k mark, time to start saving my pennies me thinks

Hey guys I didnt mean to start a fight :( . I used to own a N/a MR2 then bought the turbo model. I used to love the 1/4 mile you see, there is a local group of mates who organise days out to the rolling road but mainly 1/4 mile at santa pod etc. No doubt that the 300 in general is a great looking car and Im sure with money both can be tuned will over the speed limit lol

I would like to think at some point I will be getting back into 1/4 miling which is why I was leaning towards the TT. It was just a few things putting me off...

1) Insurance, but it lokos like its only another £90 more than the N/a with my insurance company

2) MPG as I drive 80 mile a day on motorway, but I have now been told that the TT can actually be better on the motorway because of the gearing?

 

Loads of reading to do on this forum yet!

 

I have also been in touch with ace imports at the advice of a nice chap on here :cool: and they seem to have some nice 1994+ cars coming in for around the £5k mark, time to start saving my pennies me thinks

iff you ever get over the wirral to my back yard i could take ya for a spin in mine and try convince you the tt road is the way to go mate :)

My first Z was an imported jap auto, which came to an unfortunate end in the hands of the thieving b*****ds that stole it. Now am a proud owner of a UK manual TT, IMO the auto isnt a patch on the manual, wished i'd held out for a manual in the first place.

 

Imported cars seem to come with better interier extras than the UK models but dont have the breaking ability or the under body sealent the UK models have and i think the head lights are worse on the japs (neather models that good though) also many parts are different and more expensive on the japs and a lot of insurence companies wack premiums up on them too but thats my opinion forgive me if im wrong.

 

UK manual TT for me anyday

 

UK and Jap interior differences are folding mirrors, Speedo in KPH/MPH and Boost gauge measurement only.

 

Brakes are the same, as is the under body sealant. Headlights are also the same brightness (the difference is down to how clean the insides are), and only differ in the connector (UK spec has UK standard H3 connector instead of H3c).

 

All parts are pretty much the same except for some minor differences, or additions to the UK model. The Jap does'nt have any more expensive parts than the UK model.

 

Some Insurance companies do charge more for Imports, becuase of misconceptions in the past, and with other models.

iff you ever get over the wirral to my back yard i could take ya for a spin in mine and try convince you the tt road is the way to go mate

Nice one mate, I was over that way a few weeks ago, looking at a puppy staff lol.

I have only moved up here to live with the girlfreind about 8 months ago, used to live in midlands before that.

There is a big jap auction every wednesday aint there in Liverpool from what I remember to?

You ever over this side?

Nice one mate, I was over that way a few weeks ago, looking at a puppy staff lol.

I have only moved up here to live with the girlfreind about 8 months ago, used to live in midlands before that.

There is a big jap auction every wednesday aint there in Liverpool from what I remember to?

You ever over this side?

thinks it only trade mate(auction) at the freeport init,ime over liverpool about twice each fortnight mate so could meet up :) you need to subscribe and obtain plenty of benefits including the pm facility to swap phone numbers or addresses or even to call someone a twat in private :D

hi bud, i bought a tt simply because i wanted a tt, but ive no doubt in my mind that a na is still a fast car

 

the reason i biought a tt is

1: they only do a tt in uk version (cheaper insurance than an import for me)

2: they are easier to tune (not that standard is slow anyway)

3: because i didnt mind the running costs (i dont do a lot of miles)

 

both cars in my honest opinion are absolutely great, but one is slightly better than the other in my eyes

 

choose wisely, as you may regret it later

 

BTW, speed demons car is a very nice example of an na zed, check out the link below

 

http://www.300zx.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=75304

Yeah I am going to subscribe once I get my pay pal up and running again.....

I think once you have had a turbo car it is hard to go back, some people jsut get bitten by the bug, namely moi lol still some damn nice na's out there!