Hey every one,

I have recently been looking into buying a 1990-93 300zx as my first car but i have a few questions. First of all is this a reliable car . I will be driving this car almost every day to school and work so i dont want to have a car that will be costing me lots of money to fix. Hopefully that money will be going to moding it . What im looking for is a car that i can drive every day and also have fun driving it. Im not sure what model i will be getting pretty much whatever comes around but my second question is what is the differant with the 2+2 version?Man i wonder what it will feel like when i drop that clutch considering ive been driveing a very very slow 1989 4 banger s10?


THX

 

Oh man..I drove my Z EVERY day and it never gave me problems. Only minor ones such as I had to replace the alternator when I first got it (worst place to put an alternator btw). But overall I would say very, very, very, very good car. The difference between the 2+2 and the 2 seater, well for one it has 2 extra seats in the back even though you couldnt fit anyone over the age of 12 back there. The second is it is 7" longer (am i correct Rizz?) and the gas door is behind the rear wheel instead of in front of it. I'm also not sure but did 2+2's only come in T-Tops? But one thing i know for sure is they are heavier, I would go for a 2 seater myself.

 

Check out the link in Rizz's signature. Tells you all about what you need to look for when buying a Z.

 

8.5" actually.

 

dam, so close yet so far...haha

 

Extremely reliable car, I would just stay away from the 90-91 Z's. Not cause they're bad cars but they more commonly need repairs. And If it's your first real car than your going to have yourself a really really really reliable car. Just don't even let the idea of driving any bit fast in winter cross your mind. Cause I recall coming onto an on-ramp going 35, with tons of snow. I had no choice but to speed up, and I put the pedal down more than a quarter, and she was fish tailing. Needless to say, I went across 2 lanes before i was able to correct it. So if possible, keep your little s-10, cause your probably gonna wanna drive that in winter. Just a word of advice, cause I've hated every winter I've gone through with my car. That's why I'm not doing it again and buying a beater for winter.

 

as far as repairs though such as body repairs ive had horrible luck someone backed into me while my car was parked at my friends house and i was using my expedition they backed into it with a trailer hitch broke the front headlight, the baffle, the varence,, 1 foglight and front bumper and in total it cost over 2900 to repair it thanks god the person had the dignity to go to the house and tell someone so that i didnt get the shaft and had to pay for it so yeah ever since then im much more careful cause im gonan dread the day if i ever am the one at fault and end up doing some damage; but i also always get the z serviced at nissan since it only has 60,000 so id imagine itd be alot cheaper if you used a smaller not dealership shop

 

Any myths about the 91 Z are indeed not true...haha i personally owned a 91 Z and it ran like a champ hahaha i heard to stay away from the 90's because those had the most problems...FYI

 

yup... the early 90's were the ones w/ the most probles... the ones manufacture in late 89 i belive, they were having problems w/ the valves interfering w/ the pistons, or something like that..... i have a 90, and its treating me good so far.... except for the fact the person before me put a crappy exhaust on that kills my power..... other than that, i love my car

 

Its good to know that its a reliable little car. But dont worry on the winter driving here where i live it only snows about once or twice a year if it even does.

 

you newer guys need to fill our your profiles a bit better.

 

No choice how? You're lucky you didn't wind up in the snow bank. No wonder I see fewer and fewer of these cars each year.

These cars do fine in the winter as long as you don't do what boy wonder here did. Obviously it's not the best car in snow. Duh! A 2 wheel drive s10 won't do much better. The tires are wide on these cars, and just like any car with wide tires, it does have a tendency to hydroplane when there's lots of water on the road. The solution to this.....drive a little slower. My dad always says to me, "Why do you want to speed in a car like that? If you do, it gives people less time to look at it as you drive by." As much as I hate to admit it, he does have a point.

Paul-these cars aren't toys; eventhough we'd like to treat them that way. If you take care of them and treat them right, then you shouldn't run into many problems. They're extremely reliable cars. If you buy one, you will be pleased with it.

My Fairlady is right.....there's nothing wrong with the '91's. I should know. I've had one for almost 6 years now. Biggest problem I've had (knock on wood) is 1 bad fuel injector.

To add to what Rizz said, it would also be a good idea for you guys to review the link in his signature. Most of the answers to the recent questions we have can be found there. Just an FYI.

 

Yah, well besides my alternator the worst thing that I had to do was change a fuel line hose that was cracked and fuel was just puddling under my cover in the plenums hehehe at first i thought it was just the normal smell of gas the Z makes, but then I took off the valve cover to check out the lines and sure enough one had a huge cut in it..quick and easy fix because I had some extra fuel line around

 

When ya got semi's going 60 past ya it is a good reason to speed up. I'd like to not be run down by semis. Duh!

 

OOOOO doggy, that musta been a real doozy. Couple questions.....
1) How much snow was there really?
2) How tight was the turn on this onramp if semi's were goin' by you at 60?
3) Don't know about the onramps where you're from, but out here, most onramps are only 1 lane. Not a lot of room for anyone to pass you, let alone semi's.
4) Were these semi's really going by you?
5) Were they really doing 60?
6) If so, how were they staying on the road if they were doing 60 coming onto an onramp with lots of snow?

If you say you had semi's going by you at 60MPH on a freeway on-ramp with lots of snow, then I have to lay down the BS card. Sorry.

Is the story maybe more like this...Once upon a time on a dark and snowy night...I was getting on a freeway onramp with a semi on my tail. I tried to gun it, but lost the rearend and almost got runover by the semi?

 

Pretty much it's a road that merges into the highway, its like a highway transfer over. I merged over and had semis flying past me. I was just messing with ya, don't get angry. I had semi's changing lanes real fast inches from my bumper. That scared me real good, watching the semi's come up in mirror real fast. Tried speeding up and started fishtailing. I understand what your saying if I was in a clover leaf, and going 35 around a clover in harsh snow thats just dumb. Sorry I didn't explain it more indepth.

 

91zx............... you born and raised in Cali? It's a big world out there.

 

Yep, born and raised. San Fran Bay Area and San Jose for most of my life. Lived in San Luis Obispo for a few years. Now I'm up North of Sac by 2 hours.

 

So you might have driven in a little rain heh. It's a different world back where it snows. the 18-wheelers actually stick to the roads better than the cars, up to a point that is.