TheRealStig

Supra's are reliable and have a brilliant engine- 2 of the most important parts of buying/owning a performance car. I've owned the 4 door JZS161 Aristo that was the first car to use a 2JZ and later VVTi, which the 161's had ( both were probably the best all round cars I've owned). I think aesthetically that the 300zx is the better car. I also think that the VG is MASSIVELY underrated and is a great engine that with the right tuning and engine management CAN be reliable with power- many have been put together and pushed for power with no thought and then people wonder why they end up knocking their tits off. However for simplicity and power potential the 2jz edges it, also with it being a straight 6- for me personally- BPU gets you 400bhp... Toyota got it right in the 90's with their performance cars, build quality is good, engineering was fantastic which ensured reliability and above all they kept it simple- it meant that FandF picked them up and tuning part availability is unrivalled (By zed standards at least), the Zeds on the other hand have questionable reliability, sometimes over-complicated engineering and limited options when it comes to tuning (compared to cars like the Supra). Having said that considering the prices- I'd take a zed every time, they're a choice car, you're not buying it because everyone else has one or they're popular in tuning scenes, you're buying one because it was the pinnacle of Nissan engineering at that time and it produced one of the best looking Japanese cars of all time- Supra's are cool but if you knew nothing about either and was told to pick one side-by-side I'd bet my house anyone with half an ounce of sight would choose a Fairlady.

Fwiw I ran mine as a daily for getting on for 2 years. I work on cars so always kept on top of it maintenance wise but it's pretty much the same as any older sports car- buy a solid one- ignore the shit covered with sugar i.e aftermarket parts and fancy bells and whistles because they can hide lack of servicing and blind you to its true state. Mine was a good solid car that I really enjoyed owning and I've owned everything from brand new cars to late 80's. Auto's ideal for daily driving but if it's the original box factor in a possible replacement/rebuild at some point- it might never happen but mine did after 2 weeks of using it and it never let me down again, and it even got me home on that occasion! They're good cars and real head turners but they are getting on now and a lot that I've seen in the flesh have been bodged or spoiled by daft kits or poor aftermarket add-ons- look for an honest one that's got good history-whether that's dealer or an enthusiast owner that might not necessarily be perfect aesthetically and you won't go far wrong, obviously a fresh import is a good idea if you're willing to pay the premium. Good luck with it.

Vg's are underrated, but one of the main reasons for this is because they're fitted to zeds... In comparison with Supra/JZ engine cars less people have owned them so know about them as well as some of their counterparts, they've just heard all the horror stories, hence why they're nowhere near as supported as their 6 cylinder counter parts. They're also v6, which is great for sound but not for working on or maintenance, if you look at the straight JZ it's simplicity and mod support is unrivalled by most. Tbf I never had a problem working on any of my cars- yeah it's a ballache when you drop a socket but it's just more nuts, bolts and hoses, as long as you think the long way round to the bit your working on is the quickest way then there's no time constraint issues. I've owned 3 2jzgte cars, 6g72, and VG and honestly performance wise there's very little between them, any engine can have good performance with enough money spent but they've all been reliable for me. JZ's are easiest to get more power and parts for, if a 6G72 wasn't transverse mounted it would have been much more popular (they're not that bad to work on either) and if the VG wasn't such a bitch to work on (in peoples opinion/granted engine bay is tight), their size/weight and people considered them more instead of the usual their stock would rise with their price. I actually prefer twin turbo's for daily use but my 2nd jz was single turbo and the reason why it's so popular for most? Because it's more cost effective and much more simpler to work on! It get's rid of a load of crap out of the engine bay and will cost less than a good pair of twins (unless you go for precision, HKS etc) for big power. And as long as you don't go too big there's no reason why it needs to be really laggy- you've selected the wrong size turbo/set-up if it's too bad tbh. I've had this debate before- in my opinion Nissan's are the best at styling/mechanical form, Toyota's are the best functioning/put together/simplicity and Mitsubishi were the best at technology/quirkiness. The ZX is a better car than the GTO whilst I'm on the subject and I owned 2 reliable GTO's unlike most so it's coming from an unbiased perspective. Also whilst we're on the subject of good engines for tuning- The B204/B234 is one of the best 4 pot production engines ever made in my opinion- stock bottom end good for 600+ t5 mapping system was one of the most comprehensive out there (I had an SE 150bhp and had it mapped to aero spec for £50 to 230bhp!) they'll run all day long and the only thing that really goes wrong is the ignition pack (D.I Cassette). They produce stupid torque which is where it gets let down- the gearbox can't take it... after 70mph they fly but on pull off they're not that quick, just powerful. The thing is, a car or engine gets jumped and and scene rep/tax is added, you should be grateful that they're not more popular, less z's are broken for their engines and they're more of an unknown quantity, I'd have a VG over an RB any day and apart from the above the ONLY reason why RB's are more popular is because they're fitted to Skylines.

I've got a turbo back exhaust that will be for sale shortly, can't pm you though. Nearly new s/s elbows, greg Dupree flexi decats welded to a custom twin exit s/s catback.

ASH is an alternative to SAMCO hoses Pete. Hardpipe/couplers for intake system.

Pretty sure they should be there, the looms should be the same between both cars.

Yeah go on then mate, how much were they?

As mentioned definitely use a gear/harmonic balancer puller. It will save loads of time, you don't want to damage the crank nose mate.

I've had a set of Veilside Andrews. The only reason why I kept mne was because of fitment issues, every car I've owned in the last 10 years have had 4 pots and with the flat backs and quite high offsets, meant that fitment was a mile off, I prefer not to do spacers. Look mint polished though mate

Caliper relocation brackets with discs. Give's you a 345mm disc.

I've got some bought off mondo here, I removed them though. One of the brackets needs re-doing and need new bolts. Come with Brembo discs that have plenty of life too if you're interested drop me a message mate.

Yeah good point, I always try and get round to refurbishing/upgrading the brake system on every car I own. Good fluid, lines, caliper seals/possibly new pistons and good discs/pads should see a good improvement over 25yr old badly maintained systems. Much better investment than just sticking new 4/6/8 pots with a failing BMC and old fluid but that should be common sense tbf. The Sumitomo's on these is pretty much the same as GTO's and Supra's however Supra's are circa 320mm rather than sub 300mm found on the GTO's(mk1s) and Z's.

They're not that bad. Definitely allow yourself more stopping distance in spirited/wet driving though.

I think every z going has or will have a pas leak because it seems Nissan decided to make the hoses from several different other vehicles out of their parts bin tbh. If you've got a Hydroscand near you they'll make you one up as long as you have one for reference and it will last as long as your car.

I'm assuming it's the picture format so that they can use it on their program. See if you can save it as pnp.

Thanks mate

Can you link his profile?

Mogsy where was the 1st pic taken? Do you know the guy who's breaking that black zed? I want a few bits if you've got some contact details mate. Cheers - - - Updated - - - Mogsy where was the 1st pic taken? Do you know the guy who's breaking that black zed? I want a few bits if you've got some contact details mate. Cheers

So it's more directed at his lack of forum advice/activity rather than his skillset?

:lol: Ah like that then. Any reason why?

Are Automodz not rated on here then? Just curious, like I say, I do my own work but always like to know who knows what they're doing if you ever get stuck/need a second opinion. Be good to know what people really think

Either way he knows his way around a Z and is reasonably priced. I do my own work but I've bought parts from him in the past, always been fair tbh.

Don't forget there's Mark at Turbomods Nottingham. Next door to him there's Loz the mapper - - - Updated - - - Noz not Loz lol

I've gone with 4" rears with a 6x4 adapter plate. 6x4 hardly had any choice and aren't a very good size for base from what I've read recently due to looking for some.

If the targa panels are leak free then I'd be interested mate