It's Offical: I'm Tired of Four-Cylinders

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Canadaland :)
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1995 Nissan 240SX
It's. Not. Fast. Enough. Period.

I'm tired of waiting for useful power at the last 1500 RPM (and not a whole lot of it, at that)

It's a ways off until I can afford a different car, but it's a goal I'm making for myself. I'm looking for some suggestions on what my options would be. My requirements are pretty basic, though quite limiting: at least six cylinders under hood propelling the rear wheels though a manual gearbox. That's it, really.

Here is the list of cars I've come up with so far:
- Ford Mustang 5.0L
- Pontiac Firebird (V8)
- Chevrolet Camaro (V8)
- Nissan 300ZX
- Toyota Supra

I think I favour the latter two more than the others because, even though, they have less "insta-torque", they'll have better handling characteristics.
 
What's your budget?
 
GTOs were sold in Canada - and like here, everyone always overlooks them. They're cheap, too.
 
epp_b said:
It's. Not. Fast. Enough. Period.

I'm tired of waiting for useful power at the last 1500 RPM (and not a whole lot of it, at that)

It's a ways off until I can afford a different car, but it's a goal I'm making for myself. I'm looking for some suggestions on what my options would be. My requirements are pretty basic, though quite limiting: at least six cylinders under hood propelling the rear wheels though a manual gearbox. That's it, really.

Here is the list of cars I've come up with so far:
- Ford Mustang 5.0L
- Pontiac Firebird (V8)
- Chevrolet Camaro (V8)
- Nissan 300ZX
- Toyota Supra

I think I favour the latter two more than the others because, even though, they have less "insta-torque", they'll have better handling characteristics.
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just swap a rb or vq engine, you'll have your 6 cylinders :p

in your list, id take the mustang. I don't feel the camaro/firebird, dunno why. the 300zx is a fast car, but the maintenance cost are a killer. and the supra mkiv is not cheap neither... but a supra mkiii could be a good choice...

Spectre said:
GTOs were sold in Canada - and like here, everyone always overlooks them. They're cheap, too.
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if you are talking about the newer model Pontiac GTO, it wasn't sold in Canada and isn't legal for import either...
 
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V8's forever!
 
man i was totally going to suggest the GTO but since that isn't an option have you looked into any of the I6 BMWs (e34 M5 springs to mind) also the IS300 which has the NA version of the 2JZ found in the supra.

also a budget would really help us here

and finally... why not just do a SR swap or KA/T on the 240 cheaper than a whole new car.
 
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What about any mid 80's GM G-body? Plenty of them laying around with the 3800 V6 and V8's.
 
epp_b said:
- Toyota Supra
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A MKIII (86.5-92) Supra is a great car, and usually are cheap. The only downside is the engine has a knack for blowing head gaskets, but thats an easy fix (ARP studs and a few extra lbs-ft of torque). You got your choice of NA or turbo and 280hp is not hard or expensive to achieve from a turbo.

Oh and if you blow a motor, they are about $300 if you have to actually buy one. So many people are doing 1jz swaps that the market is over flowing with perfectly good motors.

The chassis is excellent, 4 wheel double A-arm suspension, excellent brakes, strong driveline... it's honestly a very underrated car because of the "ZOMG MKIV F&F twin turbo 2jz no shit 1000whp with just exhaust!"
 
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thedguy said:
A MKIII (86.5-92) Supra is a great car, and usually are cheap. The only downside is the engine has a knack for blowing head gaskets, but thats an easy fix (ARP studs and a few extra lbs-ft of torque). You got your choice of NA or turbo and 280hp is not hard or expensive to achieve from a turbo.

Oh and if you blow a motor, they are about $300 if you have to actually buy one. So many people are doing 1jz swaps that the market is over flowing with perfectly good motors.

The chassis is excellent, 4 wheel double A-arm suspension, excellent brakes, strong driveline... it's honestly a very underrated car because of the "ZOMG MKIV F&F twin turbo 2jz no shit 1000whp with just exhaust!"
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I agree, the Mk III is better value than a Mk IV, the Mk IV is just overpriced today. The 1JZ-GTE can be just as powerful as the Mk IV's 2JZ-GTE.

Heres a video if your not convinced the Mk III and even the Mk II(with a 7M-GTE) can be very quick cars
http://youtube.com/watch?v=C9yjPh84l04&mode=related&search=
 
epp_b said:
It's. Not. Fast. Enough. Period.
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v45spec.jpg


I don't know, I seem to do just fine with 4 cyl. :whistle:

In California traffic your 8 cylinders will just be stuck in traffic anyway. Two wheels FTW!
 
Blind_Io said:
I don't know, I seem to do just fine with 4 cyl. :whistle:

In California traffic your 8 cylinders will just be stuck in traffic anyway. Two wheels FTW!
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I don't see that being to comfortable to use during the Canadian winters...

GM_IV said:
I agree, the Mk III is better value than a Mk IV, the Mk IV is just overpriced today. The 1JZ-GTE can be just as powerful as the Mk IV's 2JZ-GTE.

Heres a video if your not convinced the Mk III and even the Mk II(with a 7M-GTE) can be very quick cars
http://youtube.com/watch?v=C9yjPh84l04&mode=related&search=
Click to expand...

The 1jz is an impressive engine, it was designed purely to out perform the RB26. I've always liked it a bit more than the 2jz just because it's capable of some disturbingly high revs when modified.

The 7m-GTE just needs small work to be a great engine. IIRC it just needs the head properly torque (factory spec is to low), and the oil pump shimmed for a bit more oil pressure. Those 2 things alone will do a lot for reliability.
 
How many Auto-X events have you ran? What about road racing? Or just free-run track time?

If you are going for straight-line speed, then yes you do need to up the power to increase your chance of beating the guy in the next lane on the 1320 strip. Of course, a bucket-load of different skills come into play on the drag strip.
 
a 240sx isn't what you could call slow and compared to the cars you mentionned it's much lighter too so it got some advantages, besides last time I checked Canada had still speed limits.
It's cool to know you've got a V8 or V6 but only if you can use it.
 
What's your budget?
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Oh, yeah, budget. Probably $5,000 and $10,000. But, like I said, this goal is probably a ways off yet, so that could change. I'm looking in the late-80's-early-90's period.

just swap a rb or vq engine, you'll have your 6 cylinders
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Eh...yeah, as much as I'd love to do that, I don't think that I have the time, money or patience for an engine swap.

v45spec.jpg
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No thanks, I'm not a power ranger :lol:

In California traffic your 8 cylinders will just be stuck in traffic anyway. Two wheels FTW!
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In Southern Manitoba traffic...well, there is no traffic. Just long, straight highways with a car every few miles, which is why I'm even considering American muscle cars. That and they're cheap to buy and repair.

in your list, id take the mustang. I don't feel the camaro/firebird, dunno why. the 300zx is a fast car, but the maintenance cost are a killer. and the supra mkiv is not cheap neither... but a supra mkiii could be a good choice...
Click to expand...

I like the 300ZX, but I know what you mean, especially if it's a turbo with a lot of miles (low mileage turbo 300ZX's are hard to come by)

Heres a video if your not convinced the Mk III and even the Mk II(with a 7M-GTE) can be very quick cars
Click to expand...
Believe me, I'm convinced. I've driven an N/A MKIII, and I LOVED it...but, the way it presented to me, I had a strong feeling that it was hot (stolen).
 
^ Having driven one for almost exactly a year now, I will have to agree with CatSplat ;)
 
Get a Skyline yo!!!!!!!!!!!11111eleventy

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Yeah, I'd go for the camaro
 
thedguy said:
The 7m-GTE just needs small work to be a great engine. IIRC it just needs the head properly torque (factory spec is to low), and the oil pump shimmed for a bit more oil pressure. Those 2 things alone will do a lot for reliability.
Click to expand...
The most common answer I find about improving the 7M's reliability in general is increasing bolt torque and a metal head gasket. Not having a 7M, I would probably have to ask to guy who helped get my 5M back into healthy shape about how they fix the 7Ms they frequently fix.
 
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