The M30 Education

[gniknave]

The M30 subject was brought up by Jesda in a NICO chat today.
After discussing them a little bit, I realized that some of us don't know much about them.

I love how the M30's look. Though the interior is well beyond ancient, I can live with that as long as there's potential for the suspension, and engine tuning options.

* I'm curious to know what type of suspension they come with.

* Is the suspension interchangeable with any other Nissan/Infiniti?

I didn't search before posting this because I'm sure I'm not the only one that has questions about this car. I'm actually considering purchasing one and maybe doing a 5 speed swap. I believe if the M30 came with a 5 speed in the first place, the 240sx wouldn't be as popular as it is today.

Hopefully people that own M30's can chime in. Also people that find out some info, find pics, etc. please post it. Hopefully this can shed some life on the nearly forgotten Infiniti.

[gniknave]

Here's a few M30 reviews I came across:

------

"Pros
power, safety, reliability.

Cons
conservative styling

I have a 1992 Infiniti M30 convertible. It's the best car I've ever owned. I bought it in late 92 after they announced that they were going to discontinue the car. The car dealers were making great deals to get rid of their stock. Sticker price 36k (with options) and I drove it off the lot for 25K. I've owned it now for nearly eight years and it's still showroom condition and it just turned 40,000 miles. The car is still as tight and smooth as the day I bought it. Virtually no problems except for a leaky rear adjustable shock. Out in Los Angeles, you see quite a few M30 coupes and convertibles and they all seem to be really well taken care of. It's like there's a loyal fan club out here. The engine displacement is a perfect fit for this car. Nice power and handling. (Same engine as in the 300z - late eighties. It has a natural throaty sound when accelerating, kinda like an American V-8) It's funny, when I first bought the car, friends joked that the styling was too bland and conservative. It seems to have aged well, like a fine wine, because now when I pull up somewhere, (still looking new) people always approach and say, "What a great looking car -- when did Infiniti start making a convertible?" I would suggest this car to anyone who can find a clean one. It's a nice size, not bad on gas, very safe. In 1992 it was one of the top ten safest cars in head on crash tests. It also is chalk full of parts from the Nissan bins, especially the engine, so it will be easy to find parts, even though it was only built for three years. I think the M30 is a well kept secret.

Recommended
Yes

Condition: New
Model Year: 1992
Model and Options: convertible
-------------------
"Pros
Everything about the car

Cons
Cannot think of any


Full Review
I own a '92 M30 Convertible. It is honestly the best car I have ever owned. My faithful car just turned over 100,000 miles and is still running like new. I bought the car used two years ago...Normally, I would have been apprehensive about buying a used car, but this car seemed to be in immaculate condition. Since I have had the car, I have done the following repairs:
4 new tires
front brake pads (once since I bought it)

That is IT. I have not had to do ANYTHING else with it. This car is AMAZING. Although it's almost 9 years old and has over 100,000 miles on it, it still has a lot of power. It's a luxury car and a sports car at the same time. The drive is very smooth, yet it has no problem accelerating to high speeds when necessary. I LOVE this car! I get compliments on it all the time. Infiniti used the best of materials to make this car - the leather is still like new and the engine hasn't leaked on my driveway yet. It is a very solid car, it's very quiet - sometimes I can't tell whether the engine is on or not. I would highly recommend the M30 to anyone who has the opportunity to purchase one.

Recommended
Yes

Condition: Used
Model Year: 1992
Model and Options: Convertable "
-----------

"Pros
Automatic Roof, Responsive Engine, Comfortable Seats

Cons
Hard to get in and out of back seats with top up (like I care), paltry 18 mpg on average


Full Review
There were only 8,000 cars (approximately) of this model produced by Infiniti in 1991 & 1992, which begs the question, "why did they stop making them?" These are great little cars. I test drove the car my husband bought and liked it so much, I had to find one of my own. I ended up having mine shipped from Long Island all the way to Arizona and it was worth it.

They are fairly zippy with a V6 engine and they handle the road quite nicely. They don't feel as tight or heavy as a BMW or Mercedes, but they don't carry the price tags of those cars either. What they do offer that goes head to head with the best of them is the simplicity of taking the top up and down. Everything is automatic. With one button, the front panel unscrews, all the windows retract and the roof lowers into place. The same is true for raising it back up, no levers to snap and no need to reach over into the passenger seat if you're alone.

I also love my M30 because in a world filled with "bubble" cars, the sharp lines of the Infiniti stand out. I know that I'm not alone in this belief because there are at least a half dozen M30 convertibles in my Bay Area town, all of them in great condition (on the outside at least). The gas mileage could be a little better, but I suppose Japanese cars are no longer synonymous with energy efficient.

Recommended
Yes

Condition: Used
Model Year: 1992"
--------------

[Jesda]

WOW!!! I had no idea the top was fully automatic! Props to Nissan and ASC.

[gniknave]

Came across this thread regarding suspension:
http://forums.nicoclub.com/zerothread?id=105165

The 240sx has more in common with the Z32 300ZX, the M30 shares most of its driveline and suspention with the Z31 300ZX. Looks incredibly similar, but is a totally different platform. Part of the reason nissan almost went out of buisness in the 90's was having too many different non-related chassies and engines in production at once.

Some very informative threads found archived:
http://forums.nicoclub.com/zerothread?id=82239
http://forums.nicoclub.com/zerothread?id=14531

[gniknave]

From a member of another site that did the Manual Swap:

"yeah i did i 5speed conversion and it was actually pretty simple if you know what youre doing. it took me like 3 days but thats because i took a week off from work so i was just going really slow cleaning everything including my tranny and polishing my shifter and alot of other nonsense stuff=) if youve ever done a 240 5speed swap then u can 99% do it in a day or less depending if u have everthing ready. 4 the driveshaft question i had 2 options. 1 which i did but dont really recomend is grind down about a 1/4 inch off of your auto m30 d/s and tranny or 2 you can use the 3z front half and weld it to the front of the m30 d/s. it has to be cut about 1/2-3/4 inch shorter than stock. the easiest way would be to cut the front of an auto d/s off measure the piece that you cut and cut the 3z one a little shorter. but mines worke perfectly fine at drift session the mountain the freeway and the dirt so i guess grinding it down is good enough and i drive my car everywhere. other info for the 5speed.
1)youre going to need the plate that the tranny starter and engine bolt up to. onthe z 2 bolts go to the engine and 2 go between the tranny and the starter. youre going to have to cut off from where it bends and not use the bolts for the motor. youre going to need to use that plate as a spacer or else your flywheel will grind your starter.
2) use the 3z tranny mount and bolt it to the m30 crossmember.
3)my clutch pedal i bent straight so that there is clearence for the brake pedal and i cut the brake in half. if anyone knows what brake pedal is hould use that would be really helpful. but for now the stock one works just fine its just spaced a little more than normal so it messes me up sometime on the heel toe so when initiating the drift ihave to be really careful or use the e-brake.
4) NOW THIS IS THE HARDEST PART of MAKING YOUR LEOPARD 5SPEED
i had to wait 2 weeks to BREAK IN THE CLUTCH.
I hope this info will be helpful to u guys cuz i know if this info was up sooner i would have bought a m30 ealrier and it would be 5 speed in like the first week.
i just wanna see sum sik m31s on the road and hopfully at the track sideways."

[gniknave]

Here's another good one. Wow to the fact that he used the S13 suspension!!!




I used to have an S13, then I got really bored with the car and started visiting this forum. I took a lot of info posted here and transeferred most of the parts from the S13 to the M30.

The car is pretty much stock with the exception of the suspension. I used a 4 to 5 lug adaptors to accomodate the 5 lug wheels in the rears and I am working on installing the rear sub-frame from an s13. Soon after, I hope to get the manual swap done and freshen up the engine a bit. The reason I am doing the manual swap last is to make sure I know what length drive shaft to run.

My goal is to modify the car with parts that are sold here in the states. With the exception of emblems and other Leopard parts I think we can really create something cool.

Here is what is in the car right now.

Front

S13 Lower control arm
S14 5 lug hub and spindle
Battle version tension rods
Tein Inner/outer tie rod ends
S13 coilover
Enkei 17x8 wheels (+35 offset)

Rear

S13 rear coilovers
Tomei 2-way LSD in the R200 diff.
Enkei 17x9 wheels (+35 offset)

[gniknave]

More from this guy ^^


"I will get some better pictures of the tires soon.

I thought I would share something I found out today. The momo steering wheel hub for the S13 fits our car. I just installed this today."



"It is the Momo hub adaptor with the last 4 numbers ending in 3508.

If you go to upgrademotoring.com where I bought the hub, it shows that the hub for the 89+ 300zx and 240sx (without Hicas) share the same part number. "

----------

And more...

"I decided to put an SR20 into my car. So far, with the help of my friend Alex, we have figured out the motor placement and other issue regarding the swap. I owe a lot to the article that was posted in the forum.....

Here is a pic of my car with the motor..... "



--------------

"The 5 speed lines up pretty well... Here is the shot of the interior with the 5 speed"

-------------------

"I am plan to do a write up after I am done with project. I would hate to give information without fully testing the car at a few of my events...

But to answer some of your questions....

Motor mounts had to be custom made. I even bought a sheet of polyurethane to make my own bushing.

The long rubber hose is for the heater core. It still needs to be cut to size and attached to the lines properly...

The reasons why I chose to stick with the stock radiator are to minimize custom mounts and it is also bigger than the stock SR20 radiator. But I did use the SR20 fan shroud. You can make the SR20 radiator fit, but we preferred to minimize extra work.

One thing I thought was cool was the pre drilled holes that were already there for the power steering reservoir.

Surprisingly, the down pipe did line up with the stock exhaust... "

[MinisterofDOOM]

I guess that's pretty cool stuff...
But why on earth would you downgrade to an SR20?
And that steering wheel is the ugliest thing I've ever seen.
Don't much like his choice in wheels, either.

That is all absolutely BACKWARD of the direction I would take an M30.
The guy talks about how bored he was with the S13, and then he goes and turns his M30 into one...

Seems like a ton of work for very little--if any--gain.

Those are some of the first interior shots I've seen of an M30. They're really "old" looking inside--at least compared to contemporary Nissan models. Not a bad thing, just an observation.

I'd love an M30. Great looking car with an excellent powerplant. Of course, I swore I'd never buy another auto trans car again (and I meant it!) so I'd have to swap it post haste.

[Jesda]

Wow, thats a lot of stuff done to such a rare car. I also can't understand the VG30E to SR20 swap.

Sans steering wheel, thats one of the best looking Leopard coupes I've seen. I'd probably just go with BBS wheels and toss in some wood trim in the center stack, then call it good. I might also see if I could add automatic climate control to a topless M30.

[gniknave]

I might also see if I could add automatic climate control to a topless M30.

I was looking for the answer to your question in the thread you created on this but I can't seem to find anything that explains why drop tops didn't have automatic climate control. Especially considering that they were ALL brought over here as coupes and the only thing that was changed (supposedly) was the drop top, and as it's been mentioned this was done by ASC, not Nissan.

I doubt I'd take it as far as this guy did and do the whole sr and s13 suspension swap. Yeah there's really no point. It would make a lot more sense to just turbo the VG30E or drop in a jdm VG30DET (not tt).

I don't like the steering wheel that guy had either but I don't think he intends on keeping the interior the stock color either. So eventually it might match up.

For me, I'd like to just do the 5 speed tranny swap, add some stiffer shocks and lowering springs, and call it a day. I'm just trying to confirm which shocks and springs are a direct fit onto the M30 since there's absolutely no aftermarket world for the M30 whatsoever (in the US that is). I noticed SCO Parts sells Stanza lowering springs, but I'm trying to confirm if they're the same for the M30 or not.

[DAEDALUS]

Evan, you need to stop. You're making me want one.

[sensibleS13driver]

good god I need one NOW

[HashiriyaS14]

I doubt I'd take it as far as this guy did and do the whole sr and s13 suspension swap. Yeah there's really no point. It would make a lot more sense to just turbo the VG30E or drop in a jdm VG30DET (not tt).

Before someone says it, I KNOW this is an ancient thread.

But how about a plain 'ol garden-variety VG30ET, like out of a Z31 Turbo? Why go JDM when the simplest engine to swap in was sold here in the first place? It has to be a simple-as-cake swap.

Granted, the DET might be capable of a *bit* more power, but being able to just find VG30ET's lying around for super-cheap here in the states would more than make up for that, IMO.

I only ask because I've always thought it a 5spd VG30ET-powered M30 coupe would make a beastly ride. Wondering how feasible it is.

[Rex]

My obligatory M30 post

http://forums.nicoclub.com/zerothread?id=93075

How 'bout a Nissan Leopard F31 : yesnod ... Was brought over as an Infiniti M30.

[driftkaztik]

most of these are from f31club.com... m30 site.

yeah its a car that people dont really pay attention too.

anyways, naoki (sr20 powered) and J (5spd conversion) are US pioneers with the cars. Not to mention a few other peeps on there have done some trick stuff.

M30s from what I understand are rare cars. 5000 made.

As for suspension, there is a thread, but z31, s13/14, s30, and r31 parts work. Infact, R31 skyline front end bolts right up (quoted by Fergy from velocityisfaster).

There is no aftermarket at all for the ride here in the US, but in Japan, another story.

I believe the reason why Naoki did the SR20det conversion... well, there is endless potential with the Sr20 motor. As for the VG30E..i'm guessin there is too, just not as much.

It might seem backwards, but it has been done to many cars. Alot of guys in Japan swap sr20dets in to A31 cefiros and even skylines.

why is turbo vg30det an issue, well even wit the sohc vg30et motor, the turbo hits the steering column. I also believe the guy that did the M30 swap was a admin on this site.

f31club.com is probaby the only m30 site (besides this site) that has content.

driftkaztik aka Nissanrules on f31club.com


Modified by driftkaztik at 11:24 AM 1/18/2006

[driftkaztik]

chek the m30 page on wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infiniti_M30

Nyeark made one since there wasnt one. I looked at the J page and its very minimal. I think someone needs to drop some knowledge on there.

[slideways]

you can fidn all you need to know at http://www.f31club.com. group of verry knawlegable people who post their write ups well.

the s13 suspension thing is true just to clarify that for those who wonder. s13/s14 lower control arms and tie rods needed. rear is straight swap if u can get a hold of JIC m30 top hats. if not then u need to redrill the s13 2 bolt. easy sweezy.

thats my 2 zents.
brandon

[fitchtom]

I have a 1992 M30 Convertible. and it could be yours for $2000 flat. I like it a lot, but the struts are blown and they want like $1750 to replace them. I've took the back ones off and went to 4 or 5 parts stores trying to match them up with something cheaper to no avail.

I ended up putting them back in again. I just don't have the dough nor the priority level to make this car be what it could. I bought it used with 119K miles on it and put about 10K on it since then with Zero issues.

I have several vehicles. Ok I have too many vehicles! Fine I said it! and one of them needs to go. This car runs great and the tops goes up and down and doesn't leak. It needs a paint job, the passenger door sticks and it has a small almost un-noticeable hole in the exhaust pipe. The leather is a little old too. But it runs like a dream. If you're interested email me at admin@honestsql.net I'm in zip code 11950 in Long Island NY. yes I have pics I can email.

[driftkaztik]

[continental_drift]

great thread right here, seriously.

I know that cat brian with the rewinds, real cool guy.

are you f31roger from cardomain?

[driftkaztik]

yeah dats me.

chek my myspace page.

http://www.myspace.com/roger211

it has more pix from the M30 meet we had. Brian is a really kool kat.
I had to drive from seattle to the bay area to meet up wid them m30 guys and i also got a vip exhaust put on.. like brians... but a lil more uppage.

[driftkaztik]

also to add to this thread.

the Sr20det'd M30 that is showed in this thread was on MTV's Fast INC. Naoki didnt drive it, but one of his staff members did.

he is also in the drifting mag with a profile and he runs driftday.com

[continental_drift]

right on, well this is arbitrary from cardomain, with the s110.



we exchanged a few pleasantries, I checked out your myspace previously
when you linked me on cardomain, lot of cool pics from your japan trip.

good to know you're on here man! if you're ever headed back down here LMK.

- Micah

p.s. you should post pics of your boso exhaust in this thread!

[driftkaztik]

oh ****.. whats up man!!!

haha, funny. yeah, maybe in Nov i'll roll down there again. i gotta lower my car first.. then the bozo exhuast will look okay. hahah.

[continental_drift]

ey, I just added you as a friend on myspace, you should get an invite in a minute.

my page is hella boring, I haven't worked on it much. I pretty much just made it
cause my girlfriend and some of my friends have pages.

I think your car already looks tight, will be sick when its dumped... you getting
some megans like fro has?

hahaha, small world bro.

[slideways]

ooo my car made the page. yupppieieee

[driftkaztik]

[driftkaztik]

every so often I like to keep this thread going. sorry all.

here are some pix of our m30 meet this past weekend (nov 18th)
http://www.f31club.com/meets/111806/index.html

[fitchtom]

I have a 1992 M30 Convertible for sale and I'm in Long Island if anyone is interested.

I'd let it go for $800 even. Its got 127K miles and runs fine. Top is good goes up and down a little slow sometimes but seals well. I've put 10K miles on it in the last year, just replaced the front brake calipers and pads. Shocks are kaput. No dents but it could use a paint job. The previous owner let it sit for 2 years then changed the timing chain fluids and drove to NY. It was a Florida car.

The exhaust has a small hole somewhere I can't find it but I can hear it.

The stereo/cd works but I would rip it all out and replace it, they are all cheap components.

I love the car but I need to gather $ for a new truck and I have two many vehicles already.

Oh yeah the passenger door is stuck closed and I think the previous owner changed the starter with a used one that skips once in awhile -especially when its cold.

Wish I had to $ and time to really make it a show peice. I get questions everytime I drive it, they're becoming more and more unique everyday.

I have more pics, they are about a year old I don't think the car ever looked as good in person as these pics but with some elbow grease and paint it would.

[KoukiS14]

Always loved 'em. . want one, bad.
Check this out. . decided to check Autotrader just now.


http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/...t=501


In case the link doesn't work anymore:

UGLY! UGLY! UGLY! I KNOW WHEN SELLING CARS YOU GOT TO TALK POSITIVE. WELL, IT HAS LOW MILES, SUPER LOW MILES FOR THE YEAR, BUT THIS LITTLE CAR IS UGLY. I MEAN UGLY. YA EITHER LOVE IT, OR YA HATE IT. I DON'T HATE IT, BUT I DON'T LOVE IT EITHER. YA GOTTA SEE IT.

Driver Air Bag; Anti-Lock Brakes; Air Conditioning; Alloy Wheels; Cruise Control; Passenger Air Bag; Power Seats; Leather Seats; Power Door Locks; Power Mirrors; Power Windows; Power Steering; Tilt Wheel;