Are you happy with your 240?

[Gopherhog]

This is my first post here, that i can remember..

I used to drive a 1995 Eagle Talon Tsi Awd. It was totaled awhile ago in an accident, and i've been without a car for about 3-4 months now. So, needless to say, i'm market for an automobile.

I really like the looks of the 95-98 240sx's. Most of the 5spd's are within my price range, so i've been looking very closely at getting one. Does anyone have any suggestions for me, or things i should know before i go buy one?

I'm not looking for an insanely fast car. I probably don't need a car faster than my old Talon (which was very close to stock). I do enjoy manual transmissions though.. That's kinda one of my requirements. I have also been looking at the lower milage ones moreso, mostly because i don't plan on doing 'the swap' anytime soon.

The only modifications i was thinking immediately was just an I/E and a drop and some wheels. I just want it to look good, and be fun to drive. So am i looking at the right car? Would this fit me well?

Thanks for any input

[KiDyNomiTe]

Well talons are pretty fast. A stock 240 will be slower than a tsi. It will be a lot funner to drive on the account to the RWD thing.

I like my car, ya its got its problems, but its 14 years old. Its not insanely fast, but its decently fast, and fun to toss around corners.

95-96s are the best looking IMO.

So I say go for it, you'll have fun with it.

Just watch out for your regular things, 240s don't really have any problems, especially s14s.

[BeatJunky]

I like mine... yet, Im not happy with it.... YET!:D


...needs work...:cry:

[Ranger_Man]

stock 240s make for great cars to take to open track days. with some suspension and minor mods you can have a ton of fun out on the course. that is what i would suggest as our cars are not impressive at all in straight lines when stock.

since i started doing open track days, i am very happy with my car.

[240Stilo]

What other cars were you thinking about getting, besides the 240?

[s13rookie]

it didnt say in your post, i think, what you wanted the car for, daily driver, track car, or drag racer. 240s make a great daily driver, as long as you keep up with the maintenance( as with any car)

why not purchase another dsm? it all depends what you want the car to do. i wouldnt buy a civic to go drifting with, and i wouldnt buy a 240 as my daily driver if i had to drive through treacherous mountains in the snow, (yes, i know, put on good snows, weight in the back, but for the sake of argument) . you said a nice 240 is in your price range, so im estimating 4-7g, probably

i was just about to type up some of the options you have with at least 4g, but then thought, you said your car was almost basically stock.


MY question to you is why are you even thinking about a 240sx?
not trying to be a jerk, but what attributes attracted you to the 240 in the first place to even consider buying one?

[Gopherhog]

Thanks for the quick replies...

What other cars were you thinking about getting, besides the 240?
Well, i was thinking of another Tsi Awd, or GSX.. Maybe an MR2 Turbo, Mk3 Supra (it'd have to be really nice.. don't really dig the stock lines of the mk3) or the 240.

it didnt say in your post, i think, what you wanted the car for, daily driver, track car, or drag racer
Basically, i just want a DD. Something fun to drive, and not extremely slow. I've only been to the track about say 5 times or so. None in the talon, and only racing on one of those trips. Don't get me wrong. Fast is good, but as i found out w/ the DSM.. if you want to go fast, things break. And i'm not a big fan of shelling out money on repairs. (i take great care of my cars, and fix everything that needs to be fixed/goes wrong) I've never road raced before, but i think it would be alot of fun to try out.

why not purchase another dsm?
I would honestly if one came around. I'm kinda scared though of the price of repairs on those cars though. Things ALWAYS break. DSM's are notorious for breaking down. Oh, and the cool thing with 2g DSM's is something called CrankWalk. I don't know if you have heard of it or not, but around like 10% (seems like more than that) of the 5 spd Turbo DSM's (95+) suffer from this plague. Basically excess pressure caused by the clutch onto the thrust bearing eats away at the crank sensor.. eventually this gets so bad to where you need to replace the motor. It sucks, 2g's get it. 1g's don't. Frankly i couldn't afford mods for my talon when i had it, not even thinking about a new motor. Yeesh. Talon was a blast though. I TORE people up on the street. AWD launches from 5.5k on an ACT2600 clutch.. Whew.. It's like Instant 0-30.

your price range, so im estimating 4-7g, probably
I think the upper end of my pricerange should be around 9500 or so. I did collect a check from the insurance from the Talon, and have been waiting for the right car.

MY question to you is why are you even thinking about a 240sx?
Well... I guess i've always really liked the looks of them. The RWD aspect sounds fun (not in the winter neccessarily). I've also heard that the KA is a pretty strong and dependable motor, as it is also a truck motor(?) And i know that if i get crazy down the road here in a couple years, or magically stumble upon a pile of money, there is always a nice selection of motors that fit nicely into the engine bay.

Thanks for the replies, if you have any more questions for me, lemme know

[zenkiDori]

i love my car.

[Vatche]

i love my car very much so aswell

[old_s13]

i love my old_s13 so much. i remember the time it cut off my schlong after it came back from the paint booth, and the glorious sound of its over-priced remus exhaust. the smell of its lack of emissions and gutted catalyst.. hahahaha ah man, i am still dying over that stupidity.

anyway, there's no crank issues with the 240's.. i feel sorry for DSM dudes, they never recalled that.. incredible. I have several friends and customers with DSMs.. they ALWAYS have issues. NISSAN and Toyota are known for reliability, so you are buying a good car.

You will ENJOY flogging either nissan or toyota, and when you repair them.. you will enjoy upgrading them.

- Mike

[s13rookie]

240's are good cars. i still have my BEAT s13, but i sold my s14 a few months ago,(let it go for a steal, 3050, and the dude refused to send me back my plate...) sorry, im still bitter.

you cant go wrong with a 240, unless your looking at running 9 sec 1/4s.

i greatly enjoyed my 240, still miss it, but my first love is the dsm. yeah, crank walk is an issue( not as major as say ford pintos exploding on impact) but i hear ya. why not 1g? if you dont like the looks, find a blown motor 2g and swap.


i tried to low ball my estimates at 4-7g, but if you have like 9g, a LOT of cars are attainable that MAY(in opinion) look better, be faster, and out handle the 240sx

MY advice: DO NOT RUSH
test drive everything you see, find EXACTLY what you want

matt

[twitchy]

i love mine

keep them in great shape and they hold their value very nicely.

Mines bone stock, albeit some slightly larger exhaust plumbing. Its got 180 kms on it and Ive had it the past year and a half. Ive changed the starter and water pump. No other problems at all. Easy to work on yourself, even for a novice like me.

Good lucj.

I think this pic is beautiful so I post it to people who arent sure what the nicest looking car is out of the ones theyre considering....

[Gopherhog]

Thanks again for the replies..

What other cars do you suggest in my price range? I would prefer a 'sporty' car if you hadn't guessed already.

And so far, what i've gathered is that the 240's aren't meant to go fast in a straight line. How slow are we talking here? Like, say you had full I/H/E and all other pertinant bolt-ons short of forced induction or nitrous... High 15's? Low 16's? I guess i'm looking for a car that responds well-enough to modding too.. But i know i won't get the same results as from a turbo'd engine.

p.s. For those who are interested, i attached a pic of my old talon pre-accident.

Hell.. just looking back at these pictures makes me want another talon.. damnit.

[Sundi240]

240's are VERY slow, HIGH 16's-low 17's stock. Don't bother unless you are planning on major engine swap/mods.

If you like imports, go with a Supra, RX7, or MR2 as you stated.

If you like domestics :D go with a Stang, Camaro, Trans Am, etc.

[Enan]

IMO with 9 grand you could always pick up a mid 90's 300z or use that as a hefty down on a 350z....

[Rennen]

Every once and a while I get pissed off at my 240, but then I take a step back and look at the big picture. At almost every autocross I have been to, I have been one of the ones with the lowest initial investment, but out there having the most fun.

The 240SX is exactly what I bought it for: It is a great learners car. Its the classic FR sportscar setup, it handles well(but not perfect) stock, and it is easy to repair. Even with my 14 year old car with many miles and a smoking engine, I can still hang with new much more expensive, purpose built cars.


If you are looking for a fast car on those long straights of Kansas, 240s may not be for you. Although 9 grand would go along way in mods on an cheap S13.

Oh, and the best advice for buying a car, whatever it may be is to be patient and wait for a car that is good, don't compromise.

-Matt

[Carisma•FR]

I'm on my second S13 now.
I've driven a lot of different cars in my life, my favorite among them was my 86 MR2 & my first 90 240SX- bone stock too! Best handaling cars I've ever driven!!!

[Startours7]

Dude, just buy the nicest s13 you can find, drop abit of it on some fun stuff and spend the rest on hookers:)

Anyway... I love my car. I have sence I first saw it.
It's been a great car.
Like 4 years
175,000 miles
110,000 that I put on
1)Clutch and Clutch master cylender
2)Water pump
3)Driver side window motor
4)Valve cover gasket
5)REsolder engine ground
Then normal matianence
That aint much to go wrong in that amount of time. No it's not a corvette but it will go around corners better.

[Destructo]

IM completely happy with my 240sx, it is a all around descent car condsidering some of the cars in its class, and the potienial if you have the money.

[adey]

Originally posted by Gopherhog
Hell.. just looking back at these pictures makes me want another talon.. damnit. Heh heh... looking at that pic makes me NEVER WANT TO OWN A DSM IN MY LIFE!! :eek: :D :p Don't worry, I'm half kidding.
On a more serious note, it's my understanding that you are looking, at -very- best, with a stripped S13, somewhere in the high14/low 15 (??? someone correct me) with I/H/E... nothing spectacular at all.

If you're looking for a car that will pull better 1/4 times, the JZA70 supra turbo (7MGTE) will suit you better, as would an RX7 TII (13BT) or MR2 turbo (SW20 3SGTE or AW11 4AGZE)... or, you could get an S13 shell and drop an SR in it. :) $9k is MORE than enough to play with.

[uuninja]

This is my second 240 I still love it.

Stock 240's are not great drag racers. But with all the other capibility built in to the car why not explore some of the other nondrag-racing car activities?

[Yoshi]

I'm surprised no one has thown out the option of buying an already SR'd/CA'd/RB'd 240... They're not that hard to find now days. I'm on my 2nd s13, they're awesome cars. With your upper range being close to 10k, you could get a fairly well modded s13 with a SR pretty easily... if you've got $12k I'll sell you mine! :P

I'm trying to buy a house, and have to part with my baby :(

[Gopherhog]

Originally posted by Yoshi
I'm surprised no one has thown out the option of buying an already SR'd/CA'd/RB'd 240... They're not that hard to find now days. I'm on my 2nd s13, they're awesome cars. With your upper range being close to 10k, you could get a fairly well modded s13 with a SR pretty easily... if you've got $12k I'll sell you mine! :P

I'm trying to buy a house, and have to part with my baby :(

I guess this is a newbie question, but what is the CA motor you refer to? I am familiar w/ the SR's and the RB's already..

[exitspeed]

O live the hell out of my 240, and its stock. I also have a 2000 eclipse Gt that runs 14's. Its alot faster then my 240 obviosly. But I would take my 240 over my new eclipse anyday. I've had my eclipse since they first came out in 2000.

Eclipse < 240sx IMO.

[adey]

"CA" refers to the CA18DET (as well as the CA18ET and I think also CA18DE)... the turbocharged 1.8l engine that came on Japanese 180sx/Silvia's between '89 and '90.
In europe, the S13 Chassis never got an SR20 (i.e. only came with CA18DET), even past '91 (although they did change the cosmetics) as far as I can remember.

The CA18ET is found on USDM 200sxs.

[wingsnthangs]

I'm happy with my 240. When I first got it, I was so damn happy. A few months later, and over the next year, my satisfaction with it fluctuated because of my reluctance to decorate it in aftermarket parts as the mainstream of car tuning at my age is.

But recently, I've learn to appreciate its immaculate condition. Ultimate goal is to keep the engine strong and smooth, and the appearance like a brand new car; stock for the most part, upgrading with OEM parts only. Pure Nissan.

Yep I'm definitely happy with my 240 now.

[RoNiN240sx]

i got a 96 240 and am extremely happy with it. wouldn't trade this car for anything (except maybe a G35) very fun cars to drive, i've never really raced in a straight line, but twisties are fun fun. s13's are great too, but i like the styling of the s14's much more.

[mbmbmb23]

Restoring the car back as close to OEM is challenging yet rewarding. I'm very happy with my car, and everytime you upgrade it (open diff to VLSD, etc..) you fall in love all over with it.




-m

[nokeone]

i am elated with my car...:D

this should sum up the attachment some of the members here feel about their cars :rolleyes: :

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid83/p7faa64365d8df10ecbb33130e2586187/fae407ad.jpg

[Vatche]

LOL you had to bring that up again HAHAHAHHA.....thats hilarious....

[hondaguy]

yep all 240's are good cars even if your not into drift/grip they still whoop honda a** and its something different but people always underestamate nissans they'll all get theres :axe:

[adey]

I don't know... I don't see our cars, stock for stock, whipping any AP1s, EP3s, DC5s or even DC2s. :o However, modded, I think our cars (RWD platform in general) are far more fun to drive.

[KiDyNomiTe]

Thats why people should stop thinking like that. I used to think that way. Always comparing what I could beat and bla bla bla. There will always be something faster, or something better looking. So just enjoy your car, if you truly like it, you won't care if you can beat so and so's car at that point in time.

Either accept defeat or make your car faster.

I love my car, its slow compared to cars I've been in, or cars that I see on the road, but its mine and I paid for it.