hey im new here, but i love this site, and more the car! i have ALWAYS wanted a 90-96 300zx, but i was wondering, i heard turbos r costly and need to be repaired every so often... now i can do the work myself (im 16, but im already studying for my ASE mechanic's license), anyway, i was wondering if i got a TT, if rebuilding the turbos myself is easy/costly, and whether i should go wit a N/A, and souped it up from there, or get a TT and soup it up... i want reliablity, as well as performance! o, and what r ur opinions on which year of the 90-96 and model would suit me best?! any opinons will help a lot, i really want this car, i only need help gettin the right one!thanx

n3i0s0sZaXn

 

The TT Z definately has a higher cost to maintain. The very nature of turbo mechanics makes things break in there, even though the engine is built tough. Rebuilding the turbos yourself....I don't think so, I think thats kinda like transmissions, you don't wanna mess with them unless you know exactly what your doing. You shouldn't have to rebuild turbos till about 90k miles if you treat them fairly well. Some turbos have gone hundreds of thousands of miles and been fine. Considering your 16 though I have a hunch you'll be somewhere near that 90k mark (with that lead foot and all .

The debate on whether to buy NA or TT. I'd go with TT if you can afford it. No matter how souped up your NA is, it doesn't have near the potential that the TT has. Your stock TT is going to have 300 horses, and to get a NA up to that your gonna have to dump a few grand into it.

As far as models go, shoot for any of them. People have there beefs with each year, but in the long run it doesn't matter. 90-95 have the best upgradability, whereas the 96 (my year unfortunately) doesn't quite have the upradability due to the lack of a performance ECU. You can find out specifics between the different Z32 years in the FAQ section of TwinTurbo.net.

Bottom line. Buy a TT, any TT 90-96, respect the cars power and take care of it. It will treat you well, but be prepared to shell out bucks to fix her everyonce in a while. (Just dump your girlfriend, the lack of a money sucking woman on your side will more than cover your repair bills, plus who wants a girl when they can have a Z!)

Geez, hope that helped.
Adam
1996 300Z TT
"Only the hands of God could craft such a fine machine!"

 

thanx, that helped a lot actually! well i dunno, if i got a TT, how could i test it or see if the turbos r still good, like when im taking the test drive before i purchase it?! and seeing how im 16, i dont have AWESOME funds, but i do what i can, and i know its kinda an expensive car, but its all worth it to me! now what r common problems wit TT's i should be aware of before purchasing 1, or to be ready for? thanx for any input...

David
n3i0s0sZaXn

 

Well, here is some advice when going to look at one.

1) Don't let the seller intimidate you into not looking over the car good. I found the best thing to do is get pre-approved from your bank so the seller knows your not just jerkin him around (Especially at your age, i had the same problem and im 21)

2) Look the car over good. Its a low car so don't be afraid to get on your hands and knees and inspect it closely for signs of accidents. run carfax, it helps a lot.

3) start up the engine and listen closely. When turbos are starting to go bad they will make wierd noises according to what I have heard and read.

4) Test drive the car for at least 20min. Most problems (ie. overheating) don't occur till after you've had the car running for a good amount of time. Drive with the windows down so you can hear things like brakes, engine and suspension noises.

5) Test all the electronics on BOTH sides of the car, people forget the passenger side has electronics too.

6) when you get the car back after the test drive try and get the seller to leave you alone with the car so you can give it a second inspection without his distraction.

7) most important. Take a logically thinking person with you to look at the car (ie. your father). Your going to get the "new car fever" looking at these things and that makes it likely that you will miss things and/or ignore problems that are obvious to another person. You basically just need someone that doesn't object to you buying the car, but will kick you in the head when you are looking at piece of crap and wanting to buy it.

Thats all I got, hope it helps,
Adam
1996 300Z TT
"Only the hands of God could craft such a fine machine!"

 

heh. I just bought mine last week after about a year of looking and research, so I got pretty good at it.

Adam
1996 300Z TT

 

lol thanx a lot, again that was lots of help! well, lets say i find one in really good condition about 100k miles on it, and no weird noises coming from the turbos or overheating... should i go ahead and drive it, or get them rebuilt/replaced?! what's cheaper, rebuilding the turbos, or replacing them?! and how much (ball park figure) am i looking at spending to rebuild them, and to replace them, either/or? um... see i have no questions really, just the turbos, i want a TT more than anything, but i heard a lot of good and bad stuff bout the TT's, and i want to know all i can bout the TT and its turbos, before i go an buy 1... um..., well, what kind of maintnance do turbos require (like after i buy the car, and if it needs to be rebuilt or when's its rebuilt, what kind of maintnance do i do to the turbo's after them being rebuilt?!) thanx a lot for any info., and sorry for being such a pest!

David Zieba
n3i0s0sZaXn

 

The only real maintnance of turbos is using a quality synthetic oil (because they are oil cooled.) You also need to ensure proper cool down is achieved, let the car idle for a min or so if you ran the engine hard. About replace/rebuild, ummm, your usually looking at replace, and Im looking at the invoice for the factory turbos that were put on my TT last month being $4464.72 installed under waranty. My car had 90K miles on it. I didn't own it then, I just got it a couple days ago, the previous owner had it done. Infact thats one thing you should look for. Look for a car that just had new turbos installed/rebuilt. That way you shouldnt have to worry about it for another 90k past the time when they were done. Go with the TT, if you treat it right it will treat you right. One thing though, have money saved up incase of a break down. The last thing you want is to strap yourself financially buying the car, and then have a major mechanical failure and never be able to come up with the money to fix it.

Its late, that was all kinda jumbled together into one paragraph, but I hope it helps,

Adam
1996 300Z TT
"Only the hands of God could craft such a fine machine!"

 

He is right, make sure you have money saved up. I spent all my cash on mine, and when I did have problems it was basically trying to hold out till next paycheck. I bought my car, then next week had a new exhaust system installed. 2 weeks later alternator, then 2 weeks later power steering pump. A month later replaced my running lights and light stalk. Last major repair was master cylinder, rear discs and front and rear pads. Morningstar is right, you take care of your car it will take care of you. I have an extra two grand stashed in case I need to replace anything major. I would also recommend maybe a second car also, just so you don't have to run your ZX everywhere.
Robert

 

damn, being 16, im looking for a 300zx around the $5000 range (that's all the bank would loan to me), and i cant spend another $4,500 on NEW turbos RIGHT AFTER purchasing the car, now i was also wondering about how much it would cost to REBUILD the turbos if they had to be, AND... is it possible to take the turbos off and still drive it (like an NA model) or is that impossible? cause if i could do that, then if the turbos need replacing, i can take them off, drive it without them, until i save up enough for new ones, otherwise, i would have to rebuild them, does any1 know about how much it would be to rebuild the turbos on an early 90's TT model?!? thanx for any1's help! im sorry im bugging yall, but im OBSSESSED with the 300zx, and every1 says to get a TT, the only problem is that i cant afford it if it has faulty (or soon will be faulty) turbos, and most of the early 90's Z's for about $5000, have over 100k miles, which is about when turbos need replacing, and i cant afford replacing them, thanx again for any help!

David

 

David,
whast going on. to start of my name is mike i am 20 and i just purchased my new car its a 90 300zx 2+2 n/a the body was in great condition and it had a little over 100k miles on it it had a new rack and pinion and an intake and new springs. i paid 6000 for this car and have already spent 934 dollars on repairs and another 912 on exhaust so as you can see no matter what you get turbo or non for 5000 something is going to be needing replaced wether or not its major its going to cost so besure you have some money set aside for repairs and what not if you find a turbo or non besure you have funds for back up well take it easy and good luck man hate to bring the bad news but everyone that i have known that has bought a zx has had to do some repairs on it within a few months good luck and i hope you find a nice one that fits you.

good luck
agi
p.s. stay away from lemons and dont forget to look up the vin# before you buy it

90 3zx2 n/a 2+2
shes a work in progress!

 

Rebuilding or replacing your turbos is going to be up to the mechanic. Its USUALLY going to be a replacement by the time you can tell somthing is wrong with them.

Answer to your question, can you drive without the turbos. Simply put...no, the VG30DE (NA) and the VG30DETT (Twin Turbo) are different. They have different compression ratios. Im almost sure that its not possible to do.

Just take your time in searching for a good deal.

Adam
1996 300Z TT

 

Hey Im 18 and I got my TT when I was 17. I LOVE my Z, and wouldnt trade it for anything, but one thing you should realize is that modifying a Z is seriously expensive. Most of my friends are Honda boys, and I learned about cars from them. Honda performance parts are cheap, and ours are very very expensive. Think about that. Oh, and about turbos, mine got replaced at 110000, and i plan to install a turbo timer to cut down on wear. So yeah its all about the TT.

jon

White 91 TT