Newbie
Newbie
Hey all, first time here, just recently acquired a 300ZX and figured I should sign up, get acquainted, and say hi. First off I got a lot of crap from my friends for actually getting this car, I ask them what's the matter? And seems like the only response I get is, "I just don't like that car" or "Why did you get that?". I've been a long time Toyota guy and have owned pretty much nothing but Toyota's and this 300ZX would be the third Nissan I have ever owned, (first two being 240 coupe and fast back). I have always liked the 300ZX and thought of them more or so the black sheep of the super cars because it never really got much spotlight but yet is very comparable to the Supra according to numbers. I know what I'm saying here is probably nothing new to everyone here but it was a shock to me as to how many people either did not know what the car is or how many people did not really see it being comparable to the super cars. So it got me curious, what is it about these cars that keep them so hidden in the dark? Am I missing something? I figured who better to ask than the people that know this car inside and out. Just from driving it, I'd have to say it's probably the best handling stock car I've owned and the power isn't bad for a n/a.
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DCaff300ZX
- Posts: 4202
- Joined: Sun Jun 14, 2009 8:18 am
- Car: .
1993 CRP TT- Modified - Location: Tacoma, Washington
Re: Newbie
Welcome!
You hit on something that has also made me wonder, since as a car guy and old 240Z lover (first real car I ever drove, at 14) I knew of Nissan and the Z cars and especially the legendary GTR and like you, always wanted a 300ZX but figured no way because of how expensive they were new.
This may be why the Z32 at least has been under the cloud so to speak in the '90's Japanese car scene- older people more often bought it due to price and features and it often was a second/third car stored away for special days, and never in the rain, etc...not used and abused as most other '90's tuner cars were, and still are. ANYTHING goes with a Honda and Subies it seems these days, with most of the others not far behind but thankfully, not so many people "rice out" their Z and which also keeps it in a different bracket of Japanese tuner car, IMO.
It also was a more luxurious car than the other cars it competed against, which in my experience also affects how people view cars- those cars are often seen as more luxury than performance and probably a dig based more on the price and not being able to afford it/get experience with it than that it wasn't as good of a car, or better which it was (see Motor Trend Car of the Year all years Z32 was made), and still is.
So, enjoy your Z32 and post her up!
You hit on something that has also made me wonder, since as a car guy and old 240Z lover (first real car I ever drove, at 14) I knew of Nissan and the Z cars and especially the legendary GTR and like you, always wanted a 300ZX but figured no way because of how expensive they were new.
This may be why the Z32 at least has been under the cloud so to speak in the '90's Japanese car scene- older people more often bought it due to price and features and it often was a second/third car stored away for special days, and never in the rain, etc...not used and abused as most other '90's tuner cars were, and still are. ANYTHING goes with a Honda and Subies it seems these days, with most of the others not far behind but thankfully, not so many people "rice out" their Z and which also keeps it in a different bracket of Japanese tuner car, IMO.
It also was a more luxurious car than the other cars it competed against, which in my experience also affects how people view cars- those cars are often seen as more luxury than performance and probably a dig based more on the price and not being able to afford it/get experience with it than that it wasn't as good of a car, or better which it was (see Motor Trend Car of the Year all years Z32 was made), and still is.
So, enjoy your Z32 and post her up!
Re: Newbie
Thanks for the reply DCaff300ZX, what you said really does put it into perspective and makes sense. I know Nissan had kind of always been ahead of their time with technology while most others were playing catch up. Unfortunately the one I got has been kind of "riced" out and I'm kind of embarrassed to post pictures but hey why not (when I can figure out how, this is the first forum I actually signed up for). It also has a slight misfire and kind of sounds like a boxer engine, and correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I've researched, with these Z32's, it's the injectors that could be the cause of the misfire (along with other possibilities), and also making that boxer engine sound.
Re: Newbie
Not sure what kind of stereotypes there are down South, but up here in the Midwest some common stereotypes for the 300zx are that it is heavy. Heavy and Slow. Those are the main 2 points. People say "300zx's weigh 3800 lbs and only have 200 horsepower". I tell them That some models weight about 3100 lbs stock and make over 300hp from the factory, and they all call b/s and proceed to talk s*** for the next hour, even after seeing their favorite car compared to the 300zx online with specs and finding out their car doesn't stack up at all! They still deny it and talk s***. Super-thick-headed. I am definitely stubborn as hell, but if you can show me some proof, I have no problem admitting I am wrong.
The 300zx is about the best platform for putting power to the ground you can get out of a Japanese car from the 90's. They are wide and low to the ground, making them perfect build cars for speed. Many people around here call them "The Poor Man's Corvette", which is why I keep a screenshot of the '93 Corvette and '93 300zx TT specs on my phone at all times(1993 being my model year). In that screen shot, you can see that the 300zx has a faster 0-60 time, a faster quarter-mile time, weighs less and gets better mpg that the Corvette, and that's not even considering the fact that Corvettes were double or more in original cost vs the 300zx. Sounds more like the intelligent man's Corvette than the poor man's Corvette. The 300zx also handles better, can seat 4 people (if you have a 2+2 that you've turbo'd), and has more luxury options and standard features than the Corvette, while not making you look like you are having a midlife crisis. The 300zx blows every '90's Corvette out of the water.
People around here also underestimate the durability of the VG30 engine. Since no-one around here knows that a 300zx is, as soon as they get their hands on one they treat it like your average ricer/Honda. They put tons of miles on them, don't give them proper maintenance, over-rev the clutch, and race every old lady in a Buick they can find. All of this together causes even the durable VG platform engine to have major issues around 140k miles. This leads people to believe that they are not reliable and claim that their engines are junk. The engines are not junk. The owners are.
Whatever you do, don't believe anything you hear about a 300zx from anyone who hasn't owned one. People will tell you HICAS is junk, and the engines aren't reliable, and that they are heavy and slow, and the engines aren't any good for building, and that the manual transmissions are junk (Yet the love they think that skylines are perfect, explain that!? It's the same trans!!!!!!).
Just make sure to do your research, and don't let anyone's un-researched opinion effect how you feel about your car. Just drive it. That's all you need to do to know you made the right choice. And if you happen to have HICAS, don't let it scare you! Throw yourself into it! Everyone is afraid of the HICAS! Let it consume you! Then you will consume the competition! :P
The 300zx is about the best platform for putting power to the ground you can get out of a Japanese car from the 90's. They are wide and low to the ground, making them perfect build cars for speed. Many people around here call them "The Poor Man's Corvette", which is why I keep a screenshot of the '93 Corvette and '93 300zx TT specs on my phone at all times(1993 being my model year). In that screen shot, you can see that the 300zx has a faster 0-60 time, a faster quarter-mile time, weighs less and gets better mpg that the Corvette, and that's not even considering the fact that Corvettes were double or more in original cost vs the 300zx. Sounds more like the intelligent man's Corvette than the poor man's Corvette. The 300zx also handles better, can seat 4 people (if you have a 2+2 that you've turbo'd), and has more luxury options and standard features than the Corvette, while not making you look like you are having a midlife crisis. The 300zx blows every '90's Corvette out of the water.
People around here also underestimate the durability of the VG30 engine. Since no-one around here knows that a 300zx is, as soon as they get their hands on one they treat it like your average ricer/Honda. They put tons of miles on them, don't give them proper maintenance, over-rev the clutch, and race every old lady in a Buick they can find. All of this together causes even the durable VG platform engine to have major issues around 140k miles. This leads people to believe that they are not reliable and claim that their engines are junk. The engines are not junk. The owners are.
Whatever you do, don't believe anything you hear about a 300zx from anyone who hasn't owned one. People will tell you HICAS is junk, and the engines aren't reliable, and that they are heavy and slow, and the engines aren't any good for building, and that the manual transmissions are junk (Yet the love they think that skylines are perfect, explain that!? It's the same trans!!!!!!).
Just make sure to do your research, and don't let anyone's un-researched opinion effect how you feel about your car. Just drive it. That's all you need to do to know you made the right choice. And if you happen to have HICAS, don't let it scare you! Throw yourself into it! Everyone is afraid of the HICAS! Let it consume you! Then you will consume the competition! :P
Re: Newbie
THANK YOU!!!!! MrFeesLaw, my friends are exactly those super thick headed people, even after showing them numbers and proof they will still not admit it. I like to argue my opinion too but if there's proof, I can't deny it. Like I said, I've been a long time Toyota guy and have no problem admitting that the Z32 platform is very well built, better than most toyota sports cars. Like you said, it's wide and low and I think it handles better than all the Toyota's I've owned, stock. I just can't wait until I get the funds to actually build this monster up and just see the shock in my friends faces.
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DCaff300ZX
- Posts: 4202
- Joined: Sun Jun 14, 2009 8:18 am
- Car: .
1993 CRP TT- Modified - Location: Tacoma, Washington
Re: Newbie
VERY well-written and correct to my experience with the Z32, NA and TT- the car's true weaknesses are being hard to work on, bad early ('90-94) electrical connectors and injectors- everything else as mentioned is or was ahead of it's time.MrFeesLaw wrote:Not sure what kind of stereotypes there are down South, but up here in the Midwest some common stereotypes for the 300zx are that it is heavy. Heavy and Slow. Those are the main 2 points. People say "300zx's weigh 3800 lbs and only have 200 horsepower". I tell them That some models weight about 3100 lbs stock and make over 300hp from the factory, and they all call b/s and proceed to talk s*** for the next hour, even after seeing their favorite car compared to the 300zx online with specs and finding out their car doesn't stack up at all! They still deny it and talk s***. Super-thick-headed. I am definitely stubborn as hell, but if you can show me some proof, I have no problem admitting I am wrong.
The 300zx is about the best platform for putting power to the ground you can get out of a Japanese car from the 90's. They are wide and low to the ground, making them perfect build cars for speed. Many people around here call them "The Poor Man's Corvette", which is why I keep a screenshot of the '93 Corvette and '93 300zx TT specs on my phone at all times(1993 being my model year). In that screen shot, you can see that the 300zx has a faster 0-60 time, a faster quarter-mile time, weighs less and gets better mpg that the Corvette, and that's not even considering the fact that Corvettes were double or more in original cost vs the 300zx. Sounds more like the intelligent man's Corvette than the poor man's Corvette. The 300zx also handles better, can seat 4 people (if you have a 2+2 that you've turbo'd), and has more luxury options and standard features than the Corvette, while not making you look like you are having a midlife crisis. The 300zx blows every '90's Corvette out of the water.
People around here also underestimate the durability of the VG30 engine. Since no-one around here knows that a 300zx is, as soon as they get their hands on one they treat it like your average ricer/Honda. They put tons of miles on them, don't give them proper maintenance, over-rev the clutch, and race every old lady in a Buick they can find. All of this together causes even the durable VG platform engine to have major issues around 140k miles. This leads people to believe that they are not reliable and claim that their engines are junk. The engines are not junk. The owners are.
Whatever you do, don't believe anything you hear about a 300zx from anyone who hasn't owned one. People will tell you HICAS is junk, and the engines aren't reliable, and that they are heavy and slow, and the engines aren't any good for building, and that the manual transmissions are junk (Yet the love they think that skylines are perfect, explain that!? It's the same trans!!!!!!).
Just make sure to do your research, and don't let anyone's un-researched opinion effect how you feel about your car. Just drive it. That's all you need to do to know you made the right choice. And if you happen to have HICAS, don't let it scare you! Throw yourself into it! Everyone is afraid of the HICAS! Let it consume you! Then you will consume the competition! :P
The Z32 also was the first vehicle built from CAD and other computer modeling and manufacturing processes to produce a car that had as many small improvements as possible, while also using HICAS and the front suspension and geometry from the GT-R. The Z32 was viewed at the time as using upgraded GT-R technology and adding luxury items and conveniences not found in the performance-oriented GT-R.
LOTS of other "firsts" and "best's" in it's history if you study up!
Re: Newbie
Thanks Dcaff!VERY well-written and correct to my experience with the Z32
No problem. I've been getting bullied about my love for the 300zx for years. Long before I ever bought one. Glad to see I wasn't alone, although I wish people would wake up and listen to reason, rather than stereotypes.THANK YOU!!!!! MrFeesLaw
Not that it has anything to do with the quality of the car, but I also think that Z32's are about the sexiest thing in world!!! It's like a JDM Lamborghini, and the style is so ahead of its time you could tell your friends that its a 2016 and they'd never ask (If you had a clean one, and they'd never seen one before).