Why the lack of love?

[RTz]

I fail to see where a highly modified S30 fits into this discussion. Be it truth or not, it's off topic. Let's get back to the original posters query.

Edited July 7, 2009 by RTz

[RTz]

Posts deleted. I'm serious guy's. Stop means STOP.

[woldson]

Thanks RTz.

[woldson]

I will say one thing about my car, I really don't like the red interior.

 

 

I swapped alot of my 82 black interior into my 83.

 

I think my ride will be very different when I can put a much better bucket seat into it.

 

 

 

I always call my car a Z, though I know it is a Zx. Nissan noticed this to, I think, cause the newer cars are Zs' again.

 

It dose say Datsun!! In the future I will have to mod that emblem and cut off the nissan .

 

It's just the ride is soooooooo................nice.

Crusing down the rode, t-tops off, music up, stong hum of that 2.8liter..............nice, very nice.

[HowlerMonkey]

The S130 slicktops have an amazing amount of headroom but the one thing that worried me as a 6'5" guy was my shin (4 inches below knee) being against the stereo console while driving.

 

I was always worried I would hit something hard enough for my shin to break the plastic and run into the knifelike metal behind it.

 

Really my only real complaint with the S130 was that they gave you a taste of how awesome speakers reflecting off of the windshield sound but then compromised it by putting the "left" speaker to the right of the driver. (passengers got the good sound)

 

Anybody who's driven a GM car with a nice set of front speakers knows the awesome stereo separation and "in your face" sound this setup gives you.

[Daeron]

The S130 slicktops have an amazing amount of headroom but the one thing that worried me as a 6'5" guy was my shin (4 inches below knee) being against the stereo console while driving.

 

I was always worried I would hit something hard enough for my shin to break the plastic and run into the knifelike metal behind it.

 

Really my only real complaint with the S130 was that they gave you a taste of how awesome speakers reflecting off of the windshield sound but then compromised it by putting the "left" speaker to the right of the driver. (passengers got the good sound)

 

Anybody who's driven a GM car with a nice set of front speakers knows the awesome stereo separation and "in your face" sound this setup gives you.

 

If you take a pair of 6x9s and set them up in boxes (or one box) and then lay them down at the extreme rear of the hatch so that they point along the roofline of the car, you can get a similar effect. I had some $300 Infiniti Kappa 3-ways rolling around in individual boxes for a long time, and when I put stuff underneath the boxes to raise and angle them right, the sound quality just shifted minutely in the car, and I could not tell where the speakers were at all. This was with no front speakers whatsoever, and no amplifier, just a pair of 6x9s in small unvented boxes.

[HowlerMonkey]

I made the mistake of taking out the plastic boxes and paving the top with wood that and fitted 6x9s.

 

Even stuffed, that area had a horrible mid bass hype that sounded just plain bad.

[Captainnapalm]

Being an S130 owner, and being really into the history and concepts of the Z-cars, I have my own ideas why the S130 doesn't seem to get as much love as the S30.

 

The S30 was a sports car, in the same vein as the MGB-GT, Opel GT, Austin Healey, and other small European sports cars. It was fast, cornered well, and was naturally a good car to go racing with, simply because of its setup.

 

But tastes changed, and while you could argue for days whether the Z-car was developed for the North American market, there is no denying that the North American market is huge when it comes to cars, and to be successful there also means you're probably going to make a profit. And so the S130 was developed to cater more to the North American tastes.

 

In evolving the Z to fit in the same market as the Camaro, Mustang, and Firebird, some changes were made. A different suspension setup, more electronic gizmos, more luxury, plush interior. It retained the same formula, but gave up some of its sports car abilities to become a little more luxurious.

 

To be short, the S130 isn't a sports car. Yes, its very close to being a sports car, but it really falls into the Touriing car classification; It's a comfortable car which can take its occupants over long distances at high speeds. That is almost the very definition of a touring car.

 

That's not to say the S130 isn't a good track car. Far from it: one must simply look at the success Paul newman had in it. And to the detractors of its rear suspension, well, BMW never seemed to have a problem racing on semi trailing arm suspension.

 

In closing, there is a lot of love for the S130. A whole lot of it. It just doesn't seem that way from the S30 crowd, because the S30 crowd is into sports cars. And the S130 simply isn't a sports car. Instead, it is in the same vein as the BMW 2002, BMW 3.0 and the Corvette.

[Guest Rolling Parts]

Since original sales were MORE for the S130, I don't call that a lack of love for the S130!

 

For used cars, Since prices on both the S30 and S130 are always the lowest of any classic car then I'd say that BOTH suffer from a lack of appreciation. You can still buy a running 240Z in decent shape in CA for $1,200. Just TRY to find a first gen Mustang, Camaro, Challenger, what ever, at those ridiculously low prices.

 

Both cars lack any "love" in the market. It's provable.

[260DET]

On track performance, speaking with someone who was around when both the S30 and S130 were fairly new and doing laps in stock form, he said there was no doubt the S130 did better times. This was the 2+2 too, not the lighter two seater which was never a Nissan import into AU.

 

Just because the S130 was more luxurious does not mean it was slower around a circuit or that the luxury converted it to a slower 'touring car', thats a myth. Just look how quick some comparably equipped modern cars are when doing laps, I compete against them every time I go to the circuit.

 

Problem is over the years the S130's got tired and people would not spend money on them. But with the S30 people are, particularly with pinching the L28. Quite simply the S130 is a better engineered car than the fragile S30.

[plexus]

On track performance, speaking with someone who was around when both the S30 and S130 were fairly new and doing laps in stock form, he said there was no doubt the S130 did better times. This was the 2+2 too, not the lighter two seater which was never a Nissan import into AU.

 

Just because the S130 was more luxurious does not mean it was slower around a circuit or that the luxury converted it to a slower 'touring car', thats a myth. Just look how quick some comparably equipped modern cars are when doing laps, I compete against them every time I go to the circuit.

 

Problem is over the years the S130's got tired and people would not spend money on them. But with the S30 people are, particularly with pinching the L28. Quite simply the S130 is a better engineered car than the fragile S30.

 

i have to second that ^^ i think a proper set up s130 is pretty quick.

[JhnRX7]

Woz approves...

 

[jevmaster5]

Really my only real complaint with the S130 was that they gave you a taste of how awesome speakers reflecting off of the windshield sound but then compromised it by putting the "left" speaker to the right of the driver. (passengers got the good sound)

 

Anybody who's driven a GM car with a nice set of front speakers knows the awesome stereo separation and "in your face" sound this setup gives you.

 

first off, i love both the s30 and the 130. i own only a 83 n/a..... i love it, and though i do want to get it faster, and more crisp, I love how i can STILL hang with 4yr "sports cars" in my 26 yr old car. i do slightly preffer the looks of the s30, and can appreciate the lightness, but i think that as the design changed, it was a good trade off. i drive my 280 EVERY day, and rather enjoy not feeling like i just had a bar fight in my car

 

as far as sound goes, ive got mine with about the very best i could find... and for the placement issue, i put Alpine type-r component speakers in the back, and placed the tweeters on the dash, aimed at the seats. they do a GREAT job of making a REALLY large sound stage, and help keep the system balanced w/the 2 JL's in the back

[plexus]

The S130 slicktops have an amazing amount of headroom but the one thing that worried me as a 6'5" guy was my shin (4 inches below knee) being against the stereo console while driving.

 

I was always worried I would hit something hard enough for my shin to break the plastic and run into the knifelike metal behind it.

same boat over here as well. i plan on pulling the stereo housing out and adapting a more square unit in its place. but then again i dont have a stereo now... lol....go figure .

[frank280zx]

If you get hit in a z (s30 or s130) the lil plastic dash cover is the last thing to worry about ..

 

Any half decent car that t bones you will drive onto your lap !!!

[woldson]

I would like to point out that the reinforcements on the zx are extensive comparatively to the the s30 doors.

 

I remember a tread years ago on this subject.

[frank280zx]

I would like to point out that the reinforcements on the zx are extensive comparatively to the the s30 doors.

 

I remember a tread years ago on this subject.

 

true but to modern standards their still flimsy to say the least !! next to that euro models do not have those to start with (this goes for teh s30's and s130's) much like the fairladys.

To become legal in the us they had to have the door bars welded in if im correct.

[Guest Rolling Parts]

true but to modern standards their still flimsy to say the least !! .

 

The US Spec S130 doors are at least TWICE as heavy as the US Spec 240z doors. That's just another reason that I recommend the S130 as a daily driver; more of a felling of chassis integrity. I HAVE BEEN HIT broadside on the drivers door in a US Spec S130 and all I can say is that the door held up remarkably well!

 

That's probably the most salient differences between the two cars. The S30 was made in the 1960's sports car motif and the S130 was actually DESIGNED for aerodynamics, chassis integrity, and ergonomics. Some say the soul was designed out of the car; I say that did not happen until after the S130....

[frank280zx]

The US Spec S130 doors are at least TWICE as heavy as the US Spec 240z doors. That's just another reason that I recommend the S130 as a daily driver; more of a felling of chassis integrity. I HAVE BEEN HIT broadside on the drivers door in a US Spec S130 and all I can say is that the door held up remarkably well!

 

That's probably the most salient differences between the two cars. The S30 was made in the 1960's sports car motif and the S130 was actually DESIGNED for aerodynamics, chassis integrity, and ergonomics. Some say the soul was designed out of the car; I say that did not happen until after the S130....

 

 

doenst look that strong but given the s130 is stronger than an s30 in case of a collision.

[Daeron]

 

doenst look that strong but given the s130 is stronger than an s30 in case of a collision.

 

That door sure looks (relatively) fine

 

Some say the soul was designed out of the car; I say that did not happen until after the S130....

 

I'm 29, and I was born into riding in my dad's 240Z, and grew up hating on the ZXs... but I can't maintain that conviction.

 

In my head, there are now simply, five different Z-cars. The S30 is the only one thats "a REAL Z-car" in my head, but I roll my eyes at myself every time I make the distinction. To be brutally honest, an NA Z31 in the fully dressed trim (ie, picture an 86 2-seater) in SOME ways looks more like a modernized 1970 240Z than even a 78 280Z.

 

The fact is, we were never given a clear cut on what our car even IS. "Do you prefer Firebirds or Camaros?" We don't even get such clear-cut duplicity as THAT. To say "One is Good and the other is so dissimilar It is Bad" is to compare an Alfa-Romeo to an RX-7.

 

(side note: my dad had an alfa like this before i was born, and then a mazda like this about eight years ago. cool huh?)