NA VS TT Pros and Cons

[rruss]

I have a NA 300zx was thinking of getting a TT, but not quite sure. Are there any pros to having a NA over a TT or what are the pros other the obvious HP/ torque increase to having a TT? I heard TT are unreliable and very overlycomplex vs a NA is that true? I don't want to race or anything I want to keep this car for the rest of my life and have it running reliably and optimally as my ol school jewel in the age of flying cars in 2040 lol.

[NolimitZ32]

Pros:
TT - obvious
NA - slightly cheaper to maintain, slightly less complicated

Cons:
TT - You WILL end up upgrading as things break due to wear/age/hoonage
NA - You WILL end up upgrading as things break due to wear/age/hoonage only to realize that you just spent a load of money and still want a TT

The truth is, if your NA is minty than it could fetch a pretty penny, a TT in a minty condition with normal mileage can be had for a few grand more than a minty NA, it's really up to you but having owned a NA and having swapped and experienced a TT from stock to holyohmygodthatsscaryfast I could never own a NA again unless there was a TT parked next to it in the garage.

[rruss]

Pros:
TT - obvious
NA - slightly cheaper to maintain, slightly less complicated

Cons:
TT - You WILL end up upgrading as things break due to wear/age/hoonage
NA - You WILL end up upgrading as things break due to wear/age/hoonage only to realize that you just spent a load of money and still want a TT

The truth is, if your NA is minty than it could fetch a pretty penny, a TT in a minty condition with normal mileage can be had for a few grand more than a minty NA, it's really up to you but having owned a NA and having swapped and experienced a TT from stock to holyohmygodthatsscaryfast I could never own a NA again unless there was a TT parked next to it in the garage.

Lol thanks for the input. I noticed you said you did a TT swap, that was something I also looked at doing but a lot of things I read and people I talk to say it would be easier, cheaper, and less stressful to just buy a TT than do the swap. What made you do the swap rather than buying a tt and was it dumb expensive as people make it out to be? Is there a advantage to having a swapped tt vs a original tt?

[NolimitZ32]

My clutch on the NA went out and I figured "while I'm in here, I might as well. . . and then it took off from there. Its not super expensive, to do it properly you would need to spend 5-6k if you do the work yourself, it really inst worth the hassle I just kind of jumped at the idea because I wanted to tinker and because at the time with a busted clutch I couldn't have gotten nearly enough for my NA to throw at a decent TT. The only major difference between the two is that the TT comes with HICAS (which most people do away with) and 3.69 gears IIRC, the NA gets 4.09s which is way more fun but also a bit more unforgiving from a dig or on wet roads. So in conclusion my advice would be, if you want to know your car inside and out, get angry with it, hate it, love it, want to kill it. . . Then do the swap yourself. Otherwise just buy a decent TT.

[DCaff300ZX]

Good call Anton...and here's another thought.
I myself am a tinkerer and love to do modifications, but start drawing the line when major items need removal and/or special knowledge or experience is needed or recommended. I have done a ton of things to my Z's, but when it comes to motor removal and re-installation along with the setup issues with EFI/etc versus "old school/analog" controls, such as I am facing currently with my engine/turbo/trans work, well, I'm out. Included in TT swap is swapping over all the TT devices and such and hooking it all up correctly and possibly some setup issues so I myself would not attempt it, and having others do the job would be costly and full of potential for failure and further costs/headaches which are all avoided starting off with a functional TT.
So if you are a tinkerer and have motor swap experience and especially with Nissan and TT's, go for it as you will possibly enjoy it and benefit from some of the platform differences such as the gearing difference and HICAS (BTW I haven't removed mine)...but if not, then really the best and most-offered suggestion is to get a TT and go from there.