Looks good bro happy modding in the future

 

UPDATE
So for the last two months or so I have been trying to figure out where to put my money. My options are buy a 240sx to drive in college or Motordyne ART Pipes + Uprev Tune. If I get the tune and test pipes now I have about $1200 left to save for a 240sx. I am leaning towards the ART Pipes and tune as of right now. Any thoughts?

 

You like driving to places? Don't buy a 240.

 

Sorry, let me correct myself...drift in college

 

Oh well then thats nbd, just make sure you have the resources to fix it when it falls apart

 

Considering you live in FL i'd say just drive the Z. At the end of the day, the money could have been better spent on the Z instead of a 240. The way I see it you're looking at 2 options:

1) buy a cheap 240, drift it around school as you said, have it fall apart, be mad that your money is gone.
or
2) buy parts to make the Z even nicer than it already is.

 

I'm not from FL, I live in Missouri. The reason I want the 240 is so I can keep the Z in the garage so I can keep it away from door dings, weather, and people haha. And I'm not actually planning on drifting it was a joke. All I want to do is get a reliable KA and drive it for my four years of undergrad and maybe dental school too. I honestly just think it is a fun, unique car that I will want to keep it even after I get out of school and make it a nice track car almost like the ITS Racing S13 (Not the looks, the quality). I would definitely like to spend it on my Z, but I feel like it will be better in the long run to keep it home. Appreciate the opinions, keep 'em comin

 

I think a 91-94 DOHC S13 coupe/hatch is a great college car. If you can find clean one for a good price I say go for it. The biggest downside to them would be maintenance costs, although 240's KA24DE's are reliable, suspension components including bushings, balljoints, etc. are quick to go with the high mileage and age of ~20 year-old vehicles. If you and your father can do this work yourselves it's a great way to get some wrench time on a car at a young age. Aftermarket parts are also MUCH cheaper than Z's, but that can be dangerous because the mod bug may bite you hard (I've owned 2 240's myself), but at the end of the day it's your own self-discipline that will save you.

I don't know how the market for 240's is in Mizzou, out here in SoCal they're a dime a dozen and abused more than Rihanna. As I said, if you can find a good one, I say go for it. Just my .02

 

Thanks for the advice. I've found quite a few good ones over the last month or so. They don't seem to be too hard to find stock and in good condition around me. I didn't know about the suspension reliability, good to know.

 

That's good to hear. As long as you keep it simple, you'll be fine.

And the suspension component issue is pretty much universal; all vehicles' stock rubber bushings and balljoints deteriorate over time, just normal wear&tear that needs to be check on any used car. Reputable companies like Energy Suspension (polyurethane bushings) and Moog (high quality ball joints) are the perfect solution to replace these worn parts. And as I said, if you sign up for Zilvia.net and read through DIY's and wrench it out yourself, you'll get experience that you'll nothing but benefit from.

 

Woops, I was looking at boozy's location haha. I was actually in the same position as you a few months ago, except I had a 2004 grand prix that was slowly falling apart and my Z was in a storage unit. Neither of them were paid off either

Anyway, I didn't want to see the Z driven through winter, get door dings, etc. But in the interest of my finances I decided to sell the grand prix and just daily the Z. Slapped some snow tires on her and so far I'm doing well. I guess what I'm saying is if you can afford it and it'll reduce the stress of worrying about the Z, then more power to you. If I was able to do that then I would have.

 

Take that Z to college. Im a student currently at LSU and I brought my Z to school and have absolutely no regrets. Find a detailer in your area (that can put on a good coat of sealant) and drive it at school. After putting as much time, research, and money into your car you will miss not being able to go drive it whenever you want. Secondly, Zs are great cars, don't get me wrong but its not a brand new car, its at the point that the the resale value is plummeting, so why let it sit in a garage and depreciate in value with out getting anything out of it?
And lastly, ART pipes, combined with the TDx2 and a pop charger is arguable the absolute best sound combination for our cars. Get the ARTs, Get the tune, and put some miles on her.
Another thought would be to put in a JWT lightweight flywheel and clutch, its one of my favorite things about my car.

 

@GreyZ
Thanks for the advice. I think I might just hold off on the 240sx until next year for right now, if I do it at all

 

If you really want something to purchase then look into a set of real wheels. Or a couple sets.

You're riding in a clean DE-Z on some bunk ***, Fugly, heavy wheels.

That's like taking your beautiful girl out to a nice, classy restaurant only to eat off the kids menu to save money. It's cheap. It's not right. It's just wrong. You/We have very nice cars. Treat it that way.

A car can easily stand out from the crowd with a nice set of wheels, built right.

They can also look like cheap toys.
Especially when the owner cuts corners on the wheels or EBAY exhaust.

I see you didn't do that with your exhaust. Great/Best choice with your Motordyne exhaust.... now to change up those wheels. It's not just cosmetic.. good wheels give drastic changes, for the better.

btw, the best mod is the driver mod. Learn your car. There's farrrrrrr more to it than a damn straight line.

good luck to you and be safe.

 

Car looks great. I had a 300ZX at your age.. and just last week got into a 2008 350Z.. (Happy again..)

Just wanted to chime in.. I actually had a beater 1990 240SX I bought for $1750.. I put $667 into it on some things that had to be done when I got it.. and that thing kept running for 5 years until I sold it to some kid who wanted to turn it into a drift car for $1500 (yeah.. I lost $250 after 5 years of driving.. no mods lol).. Bought it with 110k miles and sold it with I have no clue miles.. Over 200k..

Only major "Cosmetic" thing that failed on me was the pop up lights.. one had a gear that got stripped and it didn't like to pop up all the time.. otherwise it kept going. Though it's worth noting I didn't drift, race, or do anything but go from point A to B with that old 240SX Hatch..

You could do worse for a beater for school. Though like others have said.. bring your Z to school if you feel comfortable. I'd probably bring it initially.. see how parking is.. how everything works out for the first few months.. if it wasn't satisfactory I'd have that money put back to bring the Z home and garage her and buy the beater for college.

Your not exactly going to rack up miles at college (just obviously don't drive it if you party.. ).

Btw, watched the vid.. Exhaust sounds great.

 

I have been looking into it. I am between TE37's and Advan RZ's both in either gunmetal or silver. I don't want them to look black though. I think I am going to wait until after my tune because as of right now I may be able to pay for the wheels soon, but I don't want 19" wheels so I will need tires too. I might just save over the summer and get a set with high performance tires and use the current wheels in the winter.
Opinions/suggestions on wheels?

 

I think I might do that, thanks for the input. And thanks I can't wait to hear it with the ART Pipes!

 

No problem.

I'd also recommend (if you haven't already) -- washing the car (hand wash).. dry.. then buy a clay kit ($10-$20) -- and clay the whole car. Then Use a rotary on it to get out swirl marks.. If you don't have one, or don't need to do it.. or just don't want to then you can go straight to wax. (But you probably know all this stuff already, from your dad.)

I'd do the clay bar, then put something like NXT 2.0 Tech Wax as a synthetic polymer seal and then a non cleaner Carnuba wax on top of the NXT.

OR, get your body and paint where it's clean and as blemish free as you plan on making it -- and get one of the semi-permanent clear coat solutions like Opti-Coat, CQ, etc.

I say the latter because with these semi-perm. (like CQ lasts a year-two or so) -- parked outside at college won't be so damaging..and with these coats you can wash and it shines ...

I'm probably going to put a semi-perm Clear coat product on my car after I do some minor touch up work on some rock marks on the front bumper area. To me these essentially put a few micron layer of protection to lock in your paint condition that you just prepped to perfection with a clay bar.. etc.

Car covers help.. but they are a hassle.. and they honestly, scratch your car. It being the color it is.. I wouldn't do a car cover, though I'm sure they make one that is "scratch free".

Be so nice if the Z's just folded up into our pockets when we weren't driving them

 

About 3 months ago my dad and I used an orbital polisher and four or five different grades of Griot's Garage Polish and did the entire thing. Then, we clayed it and waxed it again with the orbital using the Best of Show wax. I definitely have the cleaning part covered and I will look into the clear coat also!

 

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