Ok last comparison: which sports car?

Well I keep changing my mind in regards to which cars I'm interested in, so I'll do one last, more general thread. I want a sporty, good looking car, that is affordable and has, or has potential for, very good performance and handling. Some of the things I'm now considering are toyota mr2 mkII, 86-92 mazda RX7, nissan 300zx, etc. As can be seen from my other recent post, I was interersted in Porsche 944 or 928, but its seems they're costly and difficult to own. I don't have a ton of money for high maintenance, so that's a consideration. So, what do you think's the best candidate?

TT 300zx. the rx7's are nice,, but i've heard those rotaries are a bitch to maintain.

Given the amount of space the small rotary leaves in the engine bay, maintence isn't really the problem, durability is. Apex seal fall down go boom.

As you might suspect, I vote for the Z.

yea my choice would be the z then the mr2.

Well in case the rotary in the RX-7 does go boom, which it shouldn't if properly maintained which includes changing oil every 10k miles you can always swap in a LS1 and Corvette tranny.

Does the RX7 have the trans in the rear like the vette? I thought for that swap you needed a Fbody engine and trans combo.

In any case I would recommend something less drastic if you don't have the money for maintenence. If you are only into Japanese cars maybe look at the 240sx, you don't have to be on these forums long to realize that they have a following and they don't seem to be quite as much of a maintenence nightmare that some of the flagship sports cars can be.

first obvious question from me:

what is your total budget including first years costs?

300ZX's can be VERY expensive to run and maintian.
Especualy if you have gear box problems, and they all seem to like eating thier own gear boxes (at least the Japanese market ones do).
They are NOT easy to work on if you are in-experianced, infact they have rather a lot in common with the 928 Porcshe.
Really good enthusiasts second car.
Unless you find a well maintianed low millage car, and never modify it, it will cost you lots of money.
Its simply the biggest and most complex car out of your current selection.
Of course they are also very, very nice to drive, and in Twin Turbo form VERY fast.


Nothing wrong with an RX7, just as long as your repared to have to rebuild the motor if it hasn't been looked after, and be prepared to do it properly, or you will be doing it again.

MR2, early MKII's can be problematic as it took a generation or two for Toyota to full sort them. Common around the world were issues with snap oversteer thanks to a badly designed rear suspension.
In different parts of the world, depending on model, some have issues with short engine life from oil starvation thanks to a badly designed sump.

However, get a slighter later model one and they are very reliable, well sorted, and potential VERY fast.
Sort of like a Toyota Corona only backwards.

300ZX's can be VERY expensive to run and maintian.

Very true.

Especualy if you have gear box problems, and they all seem to like eating thier own gear boxes (at least the Japanese market ones do).

Must be a JDM thing then because I've never heard of that one, though I don't know why that would happen, it's the same transmission. You get to upgrading the engine and then make a habit of shifting with power on and you'll start to eat synchros but other than that I'm not aware of any persistent transmission problems.

They are NOT easy to work on if you are in-experianced, infact they have rather a lot in common with the 928 Porcshe.

The engine bay is not a happy place. Once you get familar with everything it becomes easier but walking into a problem the first few times is not fun. But other than that, I don't see that they have that much in common with a 928.

Really good enthusiasts second car.

2nd.

Unless you find a well maintianed low millage car, and never modify it, it will cost you lots of money.

It's obviously preferable to find the lowest mileage best condition car you can but even decent maintence under heavy sporting use will not destroy a Z. Outright abuse and a stick-in-the-brain approach to altering the vehicle will do that, same as about any car.

Its simply the biggest and most complex car out of your current selection. Of course they are also very, very nice to drive, and in Twin Turbo form VERY fast.

I agree.

Must be a JDM thing then because I've never heard of that one, though I don't know why that would happen, it's the same transmission. You get to upgrading the engine and then make a habit of shifting with power on and you'll start to eat synchros but other than that I'm not aware of any persistent transmission problems.


I believe its a problem with the Automatics, apprently they don't age well.

I don't see that they have that much in common with a 928.


Thier both flashship models, both Very fast, very heavy, and VERY complex RWD GT coupes. :)
They are both also extremely well put together. Thanks to Nissans financial situation during the 90s every single model Iv ever seen or worked on has shown signs of often heavy cost cutting, except the 300ZX. While the engineering itsn't on the same level as a Porsche, its several steps up on even the oh so popular Skyline, and a whole world away from a Pulsar or Primera.

It looks to me like you quite simply can not afford a good sports car.

Most FC RX7's and 300ZX's are simply too old now, they were fantastic in thier day, but a Rotary is not something you'd want to own on a low budget and the 300ZX is a complex car, not something I would want to own if I didn't have much money.

Owning a performance car is never cheap, so unless you are prepared to put in as much as twice to three times as much money into it as you would the equivalently priced econobox, then you should probably wait until you have more money.

I believe its a problem with the Automatics, apprently they don't age well.

Never heard that but then my Z is a stick.

Thier both flashship models, both Very fast, very heavy, and VERY complex RWD GT coupes. :) They are both also extremely well put together. Thanks to Nissans financial situation during the 90s every single model Iv ever seen or worked on has shown signs of often heavy cost cutting, except the 300ZX. While the engineering itsn't on the same level as a Porsche, its several steps up on even the oh so popular Skyline, and a whole world away from a Pulsar or Primera.

My mind is staggered that "extremely well put together" and "Porsche 928" appeared in the same sentence. I can't say that I've worked on one but have you ever talked to someone that owns one? They break down like...well shit, I'm having a hard time thinking of anything as unreliable as a 928. Fiat maybe?

Thanks for the posts, that's some good info. I think I'm prepared to handle the cost of a 300zx, however I still can't decide between that and an MR2 (2nd gen). Specifically, how do the two compare performance wise? - handling, acceleration, all of that. I could probably find a turbo MR2 in my price range, whereas I would have to settle for an N/A 300zx. I'd be inclined to get the 2+2 as well because of the additional space. Oh, and just to be clear, I'm talking about Z32's ( >1990 300zx's).

My mind is staggered that "extremely well put together" and "Porsche 928" appeared in the same sentence. I can't say that I've worked on one but have you ever talked to someone that owns one?


Iv stripped a 928 GTS down to a bare shell so the parts could be sold, and Iv worked on several more, and talked with thier owners, certianly enough to get a good idea of how well they are put together.
Iv also worked on a few Z'eds.
They are both very well put together cars, and IMO offer a similar level of reliablity. Most of the 928s Iv known with reliablity issues have been purly down to age, and owner neglect, most of them are over 20 years old by now, thats not bad for a car that even today is very complex.
The 300zx isn't far off on the complexity scale, but if your talking about Z32s (and we appear to be) then they are all at least 10 years younger than a 928 :)




Max_AZ I think you would have to get in and drive an MR2 and a 300ZX to really apreciate how different they are.
Infact if your at all serious about buying either, then while this forum might give you some good feedback, and help narrow down your list, when your down to choosing between 2 cars, both of which are quite different in design and execution, then its up to you to get in them and deciede which is right for your needs.

thanks. yeah I actually have one of each that I'm going to check out soon

an mr2 turbo will be faster than a 300zx n/a but a n/a mr2 will be slower than the n/a z. as far as handling id say theyre about the same. the mr2 should be a little more reliable, especially an n/a version. the turbo version has a couple common problems as i think someone stated previously in this thread. i saw the best looking mr2 yesterday. if you didnt know better you would sware it was a ferrari or something from a distance. but like moppie said theyre very diffrent so drive em and see what u think.

why don't u consider a 2000 integra?

to the guy who said change the oil every 10k miles on the rx-7, what are you smoking? that is the reason why they mess up, cause you dont change the oil earlier than that. Rotaries are oil thirsty and you need to change the oil constantly at 2.5k or 3k miles if you want to keep it alive. and in between of changes you would need to add a quart to keep it topped off.