I would be very very grateful if someone could help me with the following:

 

I am considering buying a car and was told it was once a 300zx members. It is a UK twin turbo in blue, auto (1994), registration : L26 VOY

 

Its a nice car, however when i took it for a drive i was quite disappointed, it didnt feel as fast as i think it should be. A friend of mine had a non-turbo ZX auto, this car i went to see was probably only a little faster than my mates or even about the same, or so it seemed (but it was a couple of years ago that my mate had his car, so not sure if my memory is serving me correctly).

 

The car is low mileage (70,000 genuine), in good condition, no smoke, and has a quiet engine. When flooring the throttle there wasnt much of a kick from the turbos, the standard dash boost gauge was going to about 13psi, without giving it any gas it returns to -14psi, is this correct, i read a ZX buying guide that someone recommended on this site, and in that it states that a stock TT should go from -14 to +14psi. Im no expert but i think 14psi is a very high setting???

 

If the gauge is going to 14psi but still not going very fast is there something seriously wrong with the car as it doesnt seem to be the turbos as there is not really any smoke, maybe a tiny bit as normal i guess, defo not smokey; is it true that if it has CATS on then you wouldnt be able to see the smoke?

 

If the previous owner is reading this, or you know him, please can you email me, it would be a big help.

 

Very sorry for the long post, but ive been waiting to buy a Zed for years, and now im finally ready (insurance an cash sorted) i wanna get a descent one! (preferably blue and maybe black or silver, UK TT, manual, and oh yeah leather! The car i am considering is an auto but I would get the manual conversion done at some point)

 

 

kindest regards

Certainly doesn't sound right but the stock boost gauge is not very accurate.

Saying that it should give you a decent shove if it's showing 13 to 14psi which is not standard!

Sounds like something else is wrong to me.

My first question is did you look at the speedo?

 

I ask this because the smooth power delivery of the auto cars can give the impression that you are not going fast, when in reality you are and only notice when glancing at the speedo!

 

Whilst the boost guage is not necessarily accurate, you should see it reach around 10psi (stock boost is 9psi); if it had only reached 7 the car is in safety boost because something is wrong (eg. det sensor).

 

Another reason for not feeling the turbo "kick" is a problem with the auto box - it could have a fault preventing it from changing down on kick-down. If you floor the throttle at (say) 30mph, the 'box should drop down to 1st/2nd instantly; the revs rise instantly and the car heads for the horizon rather quickly. The auto boxes will go bad at some point.

 

Richard

My first question is did you look at the speedo?

 

I ask this because the smooth power delivery of the auto cars can give the impression that you are not going fast, when in reality you are and only notice when glancing at the speedo!

 

Whilst the boost guage is not necessarily accurate, you should see it reach around 10psi (stock boost is 9psi); if it had only reached 7 the car is in safety boost because something is wrong (eg. det sensor).

 

Another reason for not feeling the turbo "kick" is a problem with the auto box - it could have a fault preventing it from changing down on kick-down. If you floor the throttle at (say) 30mph, the 'box should drop down to 1st/2nd instantly; the revs rise instantly and the car heads for the horizon rather quickly. The auto boxes will go bad at some point.

 

Richard

 

 

 

thanks for the info, i just checked the ZX buying guide and you guys are right, stock is about 9psi and thats what it said in the guide, i must have got confused. I also think its possible that i may have misread the gauge readings during the test drive as ive just looked at a pic of the stock gauges. Taking into account that i was looking at the gauge needle side on, from the passenger side as i didnt want to look at it while i was driving! this would make the psi reading higher than it actually was) .......basically i think the actual reading may have been around 10.5psi??!!

 

well this brief discussion has made me re-evaluate whether or not i should buy this car, i might just do now!

 

but still didnt seem fast! but it was very smooth and a big open country roads.....hmm

Hi, Well I can't comment on the car you're looking at but if you're in for a very fast cruiser or even and something just take for spin these cars are the best... I started with an NA and then move to a TT auto; the difference was quite marked imo...anyhow I digress... The TT was the best car I have ever owned, I only got rid of as the missus said it was a money pit and so I got a Subaru... Biggest mistake I have ever made... get a good ZX and you will 'probably' never look back!!!!! Anyhow hope this helps you make up your mind.... good luck!

sorry for the bad english but you get the drift!

got to remember that the uk spec auto by 1994 was down to 268bhp, if your mates NA was jap spec then i believe it will have been 230bhp, if he had done some work, exhaust filter chip etc it could be a little more! Although i admit the TT should develop alot more torque, in all out acceleration you wont have been using the torque the same as you would in normal driving.

 

Was your mates SWB or LWB like the UK one, remember it would have been heavier than the NA as well.... Some food for thought!

got to remember that the uk spec auto by 1994 was down to 268bhp, if your mates NA was jap spec then i believe it will have been 230bhp, if he had done some work, exhaust filter chip etc it could be a little more! Although i admit the TT should develop alot more torque, in all out acceleration you wont have been using the torque the same as you would in normal driving.

 

Was your mates SWB or LWB like the UK one, remember it would have been heavier than the NA as well.... Some food for thought!

 

 

very interesting info, but not what i wanted to hear!! i.e the car I want to buy is 32bhp less than other UK TT's, but it does go towards explaining the performance. By the way my mates NA ZX was a Jap spec, im not sure if it had anything done to it, and i dont think he knew either, he got it as a cheap import, there was no visible mods, back then i didnt know a SWB existed so i have no idea if it was a SWB or a LWB.

 

I think if you could answer the following question, it may sway me towards or away from buying the car:

 

Is it possible to get the bhp up to 300bhp (which i think is the highest standard power for a UK TT) by replacing certain parts from those TT's with greater power as standard? ; i dont mean doing engine mods such as air filter, exhaust, chip etc or is the lower bhp on the 1994 cars due to internal changes or things that cant be done? I would like to do a few basic things such as exhaust etc but that would be for getting some extra power over the standard; it just seems a shame to have to get modifications done just to get the power up to what other TT's have as standard.

 

I hope you can answer this question, the replies from everyone on the forum are very helpful, thanks.

very interesting info, but not what i wanted to hear!! i.e the car I want to buy is 32bhp less than other UK TT's, .........................

 

Is it possible to get the bhp up to 300bhp (which i think is the highest standard power for a UK TT) ......................

 

I hope you can answer this question, the replies from everyone on the forum are very helpful, thanks.

 

The power question - that has divided the forum somewhat, on many an occasion!!!!

 

UK spec TTs are quoted as only 280bhp, as I believe are J-spec cars. It was only the US market version that "officially" quoted 300bhp; however I really suspect they were all the same - somewhere between 280 and 300:cool:

 

Auto versions have smaller turbos to spool up quicker when used with the auto box - Nissan did this so that performance would be similar to the manual car. Consequently the auto is sometimes quoted as having 268bhp.

It is said (although I cannot say if it is true) that whilst the manual is slightly quicker 0-60, the auto is slightly quicker 0-100mph. Although we are only talking a few 10ths so it all comes down to the driver;).

 

On the road though, there is not much between each version, although they deliver their performance differently - you get more sensation of speed in the manual, but they are both just as fast.

 

Richard:smw:

The later spec UK Autos are quoted as 268bhp, and the manuals as 280.

 

US Manuals were quoted as 300bhp

US Autos @ 280bhp

 

UK/Euro Manual @ 280bhp (278ps in a nissan brochure i have)

UK/Euro Auto @ 268bhp

 

Japs were quoted as 280 for both manual and auto. BUT that might be somthing to do with the gentlemans agreement about limiting cars to 280. So there is an argument for the Manuals being nearer 300.

 

(Classic example of that is the MK4 supra, overthere was an inferior car with about 276bhp, poorer brakes etc where as in this country it was 326bhp because the agreement was not pushing them to limit the power)

 

Remember as well that its 14 years old, and could probably do with a service, with a choked up air filter and twisted/corroded baffles in a cat (i've seen cars really struggle with this, basically makes for a very restricitive exhaust) it might not be producing what it did when it left the factory.

 

With regards to getting more out of it, if the engine is in fine fettle just needs from TLC its generally regarded that a chip, exhaust, filter and a boost controller (could go boost jets but thats a hole different kettle of fish) and set the boost at 14psi (about 1 bar) you would be looking at between 320bhp and 340bhp at the fly. That wouldnt be too expensive, looking around the £600 mark id have through to do that work (plus as well thats new filters and new exhausts, always help!)

The later spec UK Autos are quoted as 268bhp, and the manuals as 280.

 

US Manuals were quoted as 300bhp

US Autos @ 280bhp

 

UK/Euro Manual @ 280bhp (278ps in a nissan brochure i have)

UK/Euro Auto @ 268bhp

 

Japs were quoted as 280 for both manual and auto. BUT that might be somthing to do with the gentlemans agreement about limiting cars to 280. So there is an argument for the Manuals being nearer 300.

 

(Classic example of that is the MK4 supra, overthere was an inferior car with about 276bhp, poorer brakes etc where as in this country it was 326bhp because the agreement was not pushing them to limit the power)

 

Remember as well that its 14 years old, and could probably do with a service, with a choked up air filter and swisted/corroded baffles in a cat (i've seen cars really struggle with this, basically makes for a very restricitive exhaust) it might not be producing what it did when it left the factory.

 

With regards to getting more out of it, if the engine is in fine fettle just needs from TLC its generally regarded that a chip, exhaust, filter and a boost controller (could go boost gets but thats a hole different kettle of fish) and set the boost at 14psi (about 1 bar) you would be looking at between 320bhp and 340bhp at the fly. That wouldnt be too expensive, looking around the £600 mark id have through to do that work (plus as well thats new filters and new exhausts, always help!)

 

nice piece of text there buddy:bow:

nice piece of text there buddy:bow:

Bwahaha, not bad since ive just got up. Brain isnt functioning yet!

Bwahaha, not bad since ive just got up. Brain isnt functioning yet!

 

yea i know...ime still trying to think where my boost "gets" are:tongue:

yea i know...ime still trying to think where my boost "gets" are:tongue:

 

:nelson::rofl:

Boost gets, never herd of those? They GET you more boost ;) hehe