Decisions, decisions, decisions...

[Trizoy]

Hey, sorry if you get a lot of posts like this, but i just want some insight form actual S13 owners themselves

Anywho, I currently drive a 1990 Acura Integra GS, and I am going to have to lay down about $1,000 - $1,400 to fix the transmission on the car. The transmission is in good shape, but the synchros are going since i have been driving it fairly hard for the last little while. Its still a great car for a daily driver, and nothing is going wrong with it, but im looking at quite a shiny dime to rebuild my transmission so I can drive it hard again. (I don't normally drive hard, but once and a while I like to have at it on quiet back roads). Anyway, nothing is set in stone yet, but im thinking of doing either one of two things. 1) Saving up to rebuild my transmission, or 2) selling the car, and buying a Nissan 240SX S-13 model, or 1990-91 Eagle Talon TSi AWD. Im wondering what you guys have to say about this.. If I do decide to sell the teg, would you guys suggest for me to buy the Nissan S-13, or the DSM Talon. Or would you buy a totally different car all together? I really like the look of the S-13's a lot more then the Talon's, but the turbo talon has quite a bit more horse under the hood.. However; the Talon is AWD, and the S-13 is rear wheel. I hear rear wheel is really fun, and you can do a lot more with a rear wheel than an AWD.. I guess im looking for more of a fun car than a car with a lot of horsepower, and I think the rear wheel dirve would be more fun to have, plus 140 Horsepower is enough for a little car like an S-13. I have always wanted to own a RWD. Also, I hear the Talon has some issues with reliability (the timing belt wearing quickly, ECU chip breaking, etc), and that the S-13 is more reliable.

As you can see, im leaning towards an S-13 more than a Talon. I have always had a sweet spot for Nissans, and kinda always wanted to own a 240.. But the reason im asking you these questions, is I want to make sure i get all the iniformation I can get before making any drastic moves, or purchases

Please let me know your thoughts, and if you think i should rebuild the teg, buy a 240, or buy a talon. Or do something completely different! Once again, thanks for all the insight, i just want to get all the information i can before i do something this big, im sure you all understand

Oh, and Im new to these boards, and glad to be hear!

PS: sorry for the long post!

[SilviaLuvr]

well keep lean buddy. i had an s13 auto and i still had fun wit it(don't ask why). if you do get an s13, i suggest, if you don't already know, get the sr20det motor. thats when the party really starts to heat up. yeah man go wit the s13 motor and don't waste your brain cells on such a worthless dilema j/k. oh yeah welcome to the family

[Trizoy]

Whatever I get, it will be manual, thats a given...

If I get an S-13 I think it would be an '89 - '91, so it would be the 140 hp engine. If I can find a 92-93 for a good price, I would get that for sure. But it seems that the price of the 92-93 goes up dramatically form the price of the 89-91.. Either way, if I end up getting an '89-91 it will still have more horsepower, and a lot more torque then my integra, so im happy

[twelve]

Just a small correction:

89-90 - SOHC - 140 hp.91-93 - DOHC - 155 hp.

But I've heard that the small hp difference doesn't feel like much when driving. I've only driven an 89, so I wouldn't be able to say anything from my own experience.

[Repo Man]

Actually, the '91-'98 are all rated at 155 hp at the crank. I have driven both and in those two particular cars there was a noticable difference. Of course, the age and condition are big factors in power. For instance, a DOHC that is in poor shape will be weaker than a SOHC that is in good shape.

The KA is a hell of an engine. Not so much for it's raw power, because it isn't powerful, but the fact that it is low maintenance (especially compared to a 4g63!), makes good torque and gets good gas mileage. It has potential with some mods to put you in the mid-15's naturally aspirated and you can always juice it if you feel the need.

I looked at the same cars you are looking at when I got my 240. I considered all possiblities and decided the 240 was the way to go. I really like Integras, but found they were way overpriced in most cases. I like 240's better though, partly because they ARE rear-wheel drive. The reliability is excellent as well. Zero degrees this morning and mine fired right up. It gets impeccable maintenance though. :-)

Good luck and welcome to NICO!

[daniel240]

i wouldnt get the talon. i have a buddy who has one that is AWD and the entire AWD system went out on it after only like 60K! and it costs something like $3k to fix. besides, come on, its an eagle Talon. you should deffinately get rid of the integra and get the s13. The AWD talon would be much harder to find anyway.

[Former_240_s14]

like you said above trizony, the DSM's are def. unreliable so you need to think about your financial situation.

the s13 is a great car, and almost idenical to the s14 when it comes to motor/transmission parts, that way parts are cheaper. Also the ka like repo said is one hell of a transmission and think of another thing.....a turbo kit for the ka "nsport" can produce over 240 "around there, not remember exact numbers right now" horsepower at the rear wheels, and just think about the torque. They have been known to run mid to high 13's just with the turbo kit and not other mods. Also the kit runs at only 7psi which is awsome news for your stock internals.

There are a few things to think about, welcome to the boards!