Guest cameronqp Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I've been looking at the 240z for almost a year now and I'm pretty sure I'm going to start my build next year. Before I do I was wondering how well does the car perform? What's the driving experience like? When driving in the miata I feel really low haha will I feel that way in the 240z? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnusx1 Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 Z's vary so much from build to build and are so condition dependant, it's hard to pin down. Sitting right in front of the rear wheels is a cool feeling that you often don't experience in many cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xnke Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 My Z is LOW. I drive pickups at work everyday, and the Z was my first sports coupe; so I was not used to the ride height. I could put a soda can under the frame rail, get in the car and crush the can. It's an interesting feeling, your butt moving 70MPH only 8-10" off the pavement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 Owning both a Z and a Miata, I can say that the Z doesn't feel as low as the Miata on the road. My 240 was pretty darn low before I pulled it apart. I think it has to do with the Z having higher doors and the protection of the roof. I suspect that my Z and Miata had very similar seatbottom heights though. I don't mind being low at all, the one annoying thing about a car so low is that I feel like oncoming or following cars' headlights are in my eyes a bit more than when I'm in other cars. Basically sitting on the rear axle is a cool feeling. I feel like I have a much better sense of what the rear end is doing than in longer wheelbase cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neotech84 Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 Well the miata and an S30 are very close in most of the measurements, and in my opinion handle very much the same. Both have independant rears, and sit low to the ground, but this is not the full experience. I don't know many miata owners that get thumbs up every time they go for a drive. You can't take an S30 any where without hearing someone's life story at the gas station. Little kids drool in their windows staring at the Z (in almost any condition). It's a very different experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clutchdust Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I'm a little conflicted on this one. I think you need to break "performance" down into different catagories. First, engine performance: in stock form, by comparison to modern cars, they're kind of sluggish, especially the non-turbo cars. Don't forget that the advertised horsepower for the 240/260 cars was only in the 150hp range. Not too bad for a car that weighs just over a ton. But give up any thoughts of a stock-ish 240 whuppin' up on one of those little hotrodded Civics. Suspension: I can't prove this yet because mine is still in stock form all the way down to the original 14" wheel/tire combo, but I think upgrading to modern rubber in a modern size will work wonders. This is pretty much a universal truth for any sports car over 30 years old. When I stepped up to 17 wheel/tires on my '81 Vette from the original 15" combo, it completely changed the car. After that, maybe some newer coils and struts would make it feel like something that could be sold today. Brakes: in factory form, they're adequate, but no more. It should out brake the minivan you're following, mainly because of the lightness of the car. But brakes are a place that you could spend good money. In my case, it's likely to be one of the last places just because the originals are "good enough". As for the overall driving impression, I increasingly get a kick out of this little car. It seems like every time I drive it I like it a little more. Unlike a couple other posters though, the car feels kind of high to me. The ride height is probably 3-4" higher than I would like and I find the doors a little high for my preference. But then again, I'm on the short side, and I'm used to shorter cars. My other car is a hotrodded, and lowered, Vette and by comparison the Z positively towers over it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beermanpete Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 The 240Z feels big compared to a Miata. Mostly due to the long hood I would say. The Z feels a little slower but may actually be about the same in acceleration. This is due to the Z having a broader torgue band. The Miata is peaky by comparison and peaky engines can feel fast but not actually be fast. As for handling, the Z is under-steer biased in stock form. The Miata is closer to neutral and mine seems to be over-steer biased. For me, the seating position in the Z is better. In the Miata I am always bumping my knees with the steering wheel or my hands while turning. I think the Z has the steering wheel a little further away from the pedals than the Miata. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComicArtist Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 Compared to my Miata, the S30 feels really big, long, heavy, and high. That's mostly because my Miata is slammed, stiff as balls, and gutted. I think with some suspension mods the Z could get up to handling standards though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iBang Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 I've actually only ever driven a 280Z to compare to my miata. Honestly I was very impressed with the old Z. The car I drove was a pretty much un-molested stock 280Z. At that time I was dailying a 240SX and I was struck how similar they felt. The torque from the big 6 was nice and the power came on smooth, it went like I wanted it to, stopped like I wanted it to and turned like I wanted it to. The only real "old" feeling about it was the heavy non-power steering in the parking lot, and even that wasn't bad and went completely away once the car was in motion. Now bear in mind, I wasn't doing any hard driving. I was granny shifting, not cornering hard, nothing like that. I was just happy that a random guy I met at a drift event 10 minutes ago was nice enough to let me take his Z for a spin. I suspect that the car would have felt a lot heavier and more awkward had I pressed hard. A miata is so small and nimble that it is bound to feel different at the limit than an old Z car. The power band on the Z will also take a nose dive had I ran it out. Torque is great but I suspect it would have choked out much over the 3-4k I was shifting at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clutchdust Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Just had to post again. Took the Z out this morning and had the muffler shop weld in an O2 bung. On the way back I got a little playful. Thing handles like a pig and is the slowest car I have, but the thing made me giggle like an idiot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iBang Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Just had to post again. Took the Z out this morning and had the muffler shop weld in an O2 bung. On the way back I got a little playful. Thing handles like a pig and is the slowest car I have, but the thing made me giggle like an idiot. There's something cool about sitting on the rear tires with that awesome shaped hood stretching out in front of you isn't there. Kind of reminds me of my GF's father's mint '90 corvette. Its not fast, its heavy, but its just an awesome car to cruise in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazeum Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 During a WE with the Datsun club in France we had the opportunity to all exchange our cars to drive every Z we could. Since they're so many parts you can swap, it was hard to feel 2 cars behaving the same. Roll bar is also one more big contributor of handling. Mz feels quite ligh but super stiff to drive. Power is important but noise that goes with is also important. My dad was having a z3 3.0l @ 230hp, car was powerful (as much as my Z) but it was feeling not a good as the Z. One is smooth and quiet, the s30 is raw & brutal in comparison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLOZ UP Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 My mostly stock 280Z, with compression in the 120 (psi) range across the board, felt incredibly slow. I bet it was lower than 100hp. Let's see, roughly estimating from the lower compression, assuming stock was 150hp, I get 105hp. Anyway, it's one of the slowest cars I've ever driven. I have Tokico springs and new shocks, but I haven't driven it hard enough in corners to really tell you anything. I'd say it was only slightly faster than the 3 cylinder VW Polo I drove over the summer in Europe. However, like the posters above, the long sloping hood and seating position definitely put a smile on my face every time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clutchdust Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 (edited) There's something cool about sitting on the rear tires with that awesome shaped hood stretching out in front of you isn't there. Kind of reminds me of my GF's father's mint '90 corvette. Its not fast, its heavy, but its just an awesome car to cruise in. I like it. Don't get me wrong, but this is the hood to look over. Edited October 20, 2011 by clutchdust Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iBang Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 I bet! I've never had the chance to drive a C3 but the C4 has an awesome sea of hood. The C3 with all the same area and those wheel arches would be pretty awesome to be behind the wheel of. Besides, its old enough to wear a leather jacket and aviators and be cool instead looking like a reject from the 70's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnusx1 Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 (edited) I have driven a street C3 with around 1000hp...looking over the hood was not possible, the engine was too big. lol. Here, maybe this can give you a feel for the S30...oh and the sound of the straight six....not in a Miata. Edited October 20, 2011 by cygnusx1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamH Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 I love driving my 240Z. It's a real head turner! Any time I stop, I have people asking me questions and giving me compliments in the parking lot. The nice thing is, they can perform however you want them to! The Z is a great palate to build the car you want. Stock, they are loose and slow, but they can definitely be tuned up. My DD is an older BMW M3, and it doesn't hold a candle to my Datsun performance wise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleadingbark Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 I do enjoy how pronounced everything I do in my Z is, I floor it, it snaps the nose up and brings the bottom down, same with going through corners, body roll from hell. But honestly to me thats part of the fun of the old car. By no means am I trying to tackle turns at any kind of speed, just out having a bit of spirited driving fun with it from time to time. I will agree with the life story every where you go with it, and it also seems everyone either owned one, worked on one or a family member had one at some point in time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clutchdust Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 BTW Cam, your car is sick! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itzgoten Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 (edited) I've been looking at the 240z for almost a year now and I'm pretty sure I'm going to start my build next year. Before I do I was wondering how well does the car perform? What's the driving experience like? When driving in the miata I feel really low haha will I feel that way in the 240z? I own a miata too and I'll tell you that the Z will be a money pit. I've gotten my Z to drive and handle real well but I had to spend a lot more and spend much more time with the Z. My pic will be my Z over the miata but at the same time I've only spent 8kish on the miata when I've spend 4 or 5 times that on the Z. One thing that'll never get taken away from the Z though. If it's clean you'll always turn heads and it's just a great vehicle to be in. The miata feel great but it's just another car. Track wise the Miata weighed 2240 and the Z weighed 2260. Handling feels close but the miata's turn in is better. But at the track the my Z will destroy the miata. Even a Z with a fairly stock motor and decent brakes and suspension will be faster than a miata. I guess it just depends on you. My miata is my daily and the Z is my weekend/track car. Here's a video of the Z at the track in the wet. This was with my old 250hp SR setup. Edited October 22, 2011 by itzgoten Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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