Handling, Driving differences between Z's?

[Guest Smooth Operator]

I've never had the chance to drive any other Z other than my own 85 300ZX with worn out springs and bushings. I was wondering how much of a handling and drivability improvment there is between the Z32, Z31, 280ZX, and the S30s. I want a car that is a faster than I'll ever need (LT1) but handles great too but without having to dump tons of money into the suspension. This is one of the deciding factors in my LT1 conversion. Latley I've been leaning alot towards the 300ZX. I figure a nice, great condition 300ZX with motor problems or high miles would make a good canidate. Plus the nice interior and exterior. I would probably do quiet a bit of weight reduction also.

 

And for those of you that own/have owned the Z32 and earlier Z's, whats your own opinion on the handling characteristics?

 

Gracias!

[Guest ON3GO]

well i had a Z32 with some suspension parts and it handled awesome.... really awesome.. when stock it still was a blast to drive and handled very well.

theres very little body roll in a Z32, and a smooth ride at that.. and the steering feels very light for just a heavy car.

the Z31's i drove didnt handle as well as my Z32 when stock.. but it wasnt bad at all... i lied the ride much more on my Z32, and the feel of it way better then any Z31 i drove even with heavy suspension mods..

i only drove on old Z (240Z) with some suspension mods and it was so much fun... more fun then the Z32 but the Z32 still felt faster around the same track (auto-x) and the Z32 just had a better steering feel..

now when my 280Z was stock it handled like shit.... it was pretty beat up.. i now have a pretty nice suspension but i havent driven it yet... i cant wait...

 

mike

[DavyZ]

The S30 can be a great handling car, especially when all the bushings have been replaced and the springs & shocks are made for a 'dual purpose' car (like coilovers with a reasonable spring rate).

 

Auxilary has this kind of setup and his car's suspension feels tight,does not squeek, and performs flawlessly. He likes the adjustable Tokikos, but wants to go to a stiffer spring--they feel fine to me however.

 

Davy

[john kosmatka]

What is a good spring rate with coilovers for a dual purpose setup.

John

[awd92gsx]

When I bought my car it had an Arizona Z coilover setup (w camber plates) on it and polyurethane bushings all the way around coupled to 16x8. I've replaced the tires with 245/45r16® and 225/45r16(f) (falken's). The springs are about 300# all the way around.

 

Although the car handles like a race car (that's actually what it was in it's previous life) I'd have to say that unless your roads are perfectly smooth you may want to consider keeping more stock components than mine has.

 

Yes...it is a very stiff (rough) ride, but, I do drive it almost every day (or at least I did until it started spitting raw fuel out of that fuel pressure regulator looking unit beside the fuel pump) so, I guess it's liveable...not something you'd want to impress your girlfriend with, though...

 

On the other hand, as hard as I try, I can't make it fishtail. I've tried to get it to...but, all it does is let the inside tire spin a little and continues to turn normally, throwing you almost out of your seat.

 

I have a GTech and one of these days I plan on measuring my lateral Gforce just to see what I can get out of it.

 

Few cars can outhandle a built suspension'd 1G Z (imho), especially if some weight is removed here and there.

[Phantom]

Take a road trip over to the DFW, TX area and I'll let you take my LS1 powered '77 280Z for a spin. You can decide from there.

[240hoke]

whoops

[Dead Roman]

Take a road trip over to the DFW, TX area and I'll let you take my LS1 powered '77 280Z for a spin. You can decide from there.

 

 

*raises hand* yo im like to hrs away*nudge nudge*

[Guest Smooth Operator]

Damn im starting to get torn between the Z family and now the 3rd gen RX7's. And what's funny is I'm broke. I like the style of the Z more but the light weight of the RX7 is crazy plus theres already kits out for it. I read some old posts on here from KraZeZX(?) and it seems like I might have to beat the firewall in to get the T56 shifter in the stock spot. I dont really want to do that cause then id be scared the flywheel would saw my legs off at 5000K rpm. Ahh its like im going to have a nervous breakdown. Haha goto the psych doc and tell them my prob "I CANT DECIDE ON A CAR TO PUT AN LT1 IN!!! OR MAYBE AN LS1!??? AHHHHH!!!" <pulls hair out and runs through wall>

 

Thanks for the opinons guys, your saving my sanity.

[Nismo280zEd]

Personally after having driven a very broad selection of cars... I would have to say if you are looking for the best handling car... go with the car with less weight. Sure a Z32 handles well, but the brakes are gonna work harder, and it's gonna bogg coming outta corners. you can always make a lighter car handle even better, but makn' a heavy car handle as well as a light car... thas not an easy chore. just my thoughts

-Ed

[Guest Smooth Operator]

Yeah I don't want to overlook other possibiltys just because I love the Z's. I want to have this entire car built out on paper way before I start. I want awesome handling and awesome power & torque. A car that can take a tight turn and accelerate out of it like a slingshot. I was never too attracted to the RX7s however I've only seen like 3 3rd Gens in person around here. But I can see it growing on me. I want to keep this conversion as cheap as possible with the biggest expenses coming from the engine, tranny and the car itself.

 

With the RX7 there is a shop in Huntsville I believe called <a href="www.hinsonsupercars.com">Hinson Supercars</a> that sells some mounting parts for the LT1 and LS1. Although I am clueless about the general chassis of the RX7, I need to do alot of research still.

 

With the Z's there is a degree of custom fabbing to be done, although that shouldn't be much a problem, I know some people that know some people.

 

I want to keep this car very lightweight, but probably won't be able to stomach the costs of alot of aluminum under the hood. The RX7 meets this goal as it is, even with alot of or all of the interior intact. The 300ZX, I could see alot of weight saving coming from replacing a few ZX things like the seats. But then again I want to keep the car looking stock to the casual eye.

 

I know its a huge project, and I'm only 18, broke, and refuse to cut my hair to get a job, but I have a vision for this car.

[awd92gsx]

If you're looking for outright handling...why would you get either...??

 

You should be getting a Miata, or maybe building up a Datsun 510.

[Guest Smooth Operator]

Well I'm not exactly looking for outright handling (like an auto-x car). I want more of a twisty road, track kind of car. My Z I have now has pretty good handling and has surprised me quiet a few times (deer ran out in front of me at 50 mph). Miatas and 510's though, Id kinda like a 510 to play with but i dont like miatas, plus id be scared to do over 130 in the lil things. The Z32 probably has all the handling i want, but its just the light-weight of the RX7 that is nice.

[Guest Perry]

I've had 2 86 300zx's (one 2+2), 2 77 280z's, and an 82 zxT.

mostly aggressive street driving, no track time in any of these cars (although one is getting close)

all were higher mileage cars.

the 300zx's handled just as good as any other lower cost sports car. Nothing spectacular, not particularly fun at most things, but functional. I put new struts on one which made a huge difference. These cars tended to push too much for my preference and with trailing rear suspension had a tendancy to snap around in oversteer with power. lots of fun in the rain doing 2nd gear power slides, but not so good at really trying to be fast. These cars were very comfortable.

The 280zxt was a donor for one of the 77's. The little bit of driving I did in it was mostly rally style on a logging road with some asphalt use. the shell was headed to the yard after the engine came apart so I did some pretty spectacular back woods rally driving in it including some jumps.

It had about 90K miles and my overall impression was it was softer than the 300 but showed similar handling qualities. it felt heavier than the 300 to me.

The 280z's are wonderful. I put Tokico's on the one I still have and am currently doing the usual extensive mods for a v8 swap, bushings, springs etc..

When I got it it was stock. They have a lighter feel to me than the other Z's I have owned and were pretty nuetral handling. I eventually put 215-60-14's and the tokico's on the car which made it lots of fun. It's like a gokart, light and nimble. The early cars don't have the trailing link in the rear so they are more predictable. Can't wait to get it on the road with stiffer springs and bushings.

Perry