General Chat
Q:
Hey everyone,
I am thinking about buying either a 240, 280, 260, or 300 for my next car. I was wondering if they are all considered "sportscars" by insurance companies or does it differ from car to car, insurance company to insurance company. Also, how do the 240s straight four run? Powerful or gutless. If you want to let me know any info about anything about these cars feel free to drop it in there.
Thanks all,
Paul
A:
straight six, not straight four, and they can be powerful, especially in such a light car... (unless you're thinking of a 240sx...in which case...wrong forum)
...head to classiczcar.com and read all the basic stuff first...then search the archives for more information...that should pretty much answer all your questions....
A:
straight four?
All Zs are 6 cylinder cars...
84 300zx AE
A:
Yea I meant a 240 sx and ill go check on that but back to the original question
the whole sportscar thing
thanks
A:
a 240sx is faster then any stock non turbo Z! Other then a Z32 NA or Z33.
84 300zx AE
A:
Well... Allstate evidently doesn't consider them "sports cars" as the insurance for my '76 280z was only $40 a month (for liability only)... Not any more expensive than my '80 Pontiac Sunbird or my '84 Chevy 3/4 ton van.
'81 280ZX-N/A 2+2 - stolen on 11-9-2006 :-( - recovered 11-13-2006 :-D
'77 280 - now back to being my project car.
'76 280 2+2 - parts car - slowly being stripped
A:
"a 240sx is faster then any stock non turbo Z! Other then a Z32 NA or Z33."
then its not faster than 'any' then, is it? doesnt the sx have a speed limiter at 112mph like most everything else sold in the usa, that would make just about any of the first gen zs faster as well. matter of fact it would make them all faster than a 240sx.
A:
I'm 25 with one fender bender that was my fault on my record. I've got comprehensive and collision on my '73 and pay something like $65 or $70 a month. Not too bad.
1973 240Z 4 screw SU's, Tokico HP's, Toyota Calipers
1946 Willys-Overland CJ-2A (restoration in progress)
2006 Ural Gear-Up
A:
txz082, that's incorrect, well, at least depending on the model, since they sure made some wussy SX's with automatics and stuff too. 240sx's and early Z's are pretty darn close. albeedigital.com has a huge compiled list of magazine published 0-60 and 1/4 mile times and lists:
89 240sx 0-60 8.8 sec, 1/4 16.5 sec
91 SE 240sx 0-60 7.9 and 1/4 16.1
93 240sx (automatic) 9.6 sec, 17.3 sec
and Z cars
85 N/A 8.2 and 16.4
87 N/A 2+2 8.8 and 16.5
72 9.0 and 16.3
74 9.9 and 16.7
none are hardly what I'd call barn burners, but the times don't reflect your statement, although it doesn't list any top speeds, in which case I'd believe that an SX would maybe out run an S30, either way, stock = slow
early turbo Z's are a little better:
83ZXT 7.3 and 15.7
85 ZXT 7.4 and 15.7
pity they'd all get whooped by a '95 Maxima manual:
6.6 and 15.2 :^)
73 240z, turbo'd, haltech E6K, 550's, spearco. new and improved, now with 60-1 T4, 372 whp and 365wtq
A:
"a 240sx is faster then any stock non turbo Z! Other then a Z32 NA or Z33."
i call b.s... my car beat my buddies s14 se model... not by much, but i got him. we are about the same at driving, and i get him all the time.
my car has a k&n filter in the stock airbox, and 1/2 of an exhaust (header, 2.5in with a stock muffler...damn cops).
and i have a bad clutch...
77Z- (mfg. 7/77)
"Arm-chair Autox'er"
A:
240sx is not a sports car.sports vars have two seats. but with all this drifting crap insurance could be higher.either way it's a pretty quick and fun car to drive.
Z's are like woman maintenance,maintenance,maintenance!
1971 240Z gunmetal metalic 5sp 4:11 gears in the rear
illuminas and purchased from the original owner w/136k original miles
A:
I pay $155/year for my 240z. They call it a classic car. :D
_____________________________________________
'05 350Z Chrome Silver Touring
'73 240Z
A:
twin turbo supras have 4 seats...number of seats doesn't necessarily determine sports car or not. i say performance over looks but i want mine looking purty too. 240sx was commonly refered to as a sport coupe.
82 NA 5 spd
77 4 spd
A:
I heard the same thing with sports coupe when checking out a 240sx for a new car a while ago. My 280zx was listed as sports coupe, my 200sx is listed as that, as is my 300zx. Apparently my insurance company sucks, I pay $140/month for my 300zx and 200sx(combined) with only PLPD in michigan.
__________________
1991 300zx N/A - Project
1995 200sx SE-R - Daily Driver
1982 280zx 2+2 - Sold
A:
I am 18, and I pay a little over $150 a month w/ one fault fender bender for my 260z. It is rediculous.
A:
i'm 24 and I pay 300 a year for everything but collision on my vette. My Z was only like 200 a year with min coverage possible. The civic on the other hand is another story.
Ask stupid questions get stupid answers...
'73 240z... New Project
'74 Corvette Stingray... Old Project
'99 Honda Civic Si... Daily Driver
A:
Well you have to look at the history of the automobile industry. True original sports cars were 2 seater performance vehicles with manual transmissions. They offered performance somewhere between normal passenger car and all out race car. Historically the big 3 American MFG. have made 4 sports cars. 1) The Corvette, 2) Early T Bird, 3) Viper and recently 4) The Solistice (although that is debatable, only auto trans). Don't count Carol Shelby because he is a hack who never designed his own car from the ground up. His sports cars were European made. The mid seventies gas crunch, environmental laws, the continuing rise of insurance from the early seventies onward, & the higher cost of sport car vehicles put a growing decline for their demand into the eighties. As a marketing tool the auto & advertising industry came up with "campaigns" to pull the wool over morons eyes. Such slogans as "Sports Coupe" & "Performance Sedan" were meant to appeal to buyers who didn't know the difference or were priced out of the real sports car market. And the lot of you ******* bought it.
This whole world smells bad, I'd buy another if I had
back what I paid for another mother@#$%@# in a motorcade
A:
I would like them to all it a GT, grand torree(however the french spell it). That is a better description.
82 zxt 5-spd, oil cooler!
96 240sxes
78/81 jeep j-20
A:
I think the only reason that Nissan even put a back seat in the 240sx was for insurance reasons. I mean seriously, what normal sized person can fit comfortably in the back seat of that car?
Speaking of which, a Porshce 911 also has a back seat, if you want to call it that.
God must love stupid people, he made SOOOOO many of them!
A:
I’d say that insurance companies use multiple criteria to classify cars as being sports cars or not. The criteria is probably flexible on certain features such as 2 seater or 4 seater or 2+2 seater form. Ask your insurance company which ones are classified as sports cars.
A:
$680 a year, im 16 though
Naturally aspirated 300zx made in 1984 2+2
A:
and if your paying a lot for insurance... go somewhere else.
I use to have State Farm... then one month I get a bill for about triple of what it normally was.... I go and ask them what is up, and they tell me "oh, rates just went up"... so that was the last of State Farm for me.
Believe it or not, Allstate has the best rates that I could find. Even cheaper than those places that are "insurance brokers" - the people who sell insurance from a ton of different places... they couldn't even beat Allstate's rates.
'81 280ZX-N/A 2+2 - stolen on 11-9-2006 :-( - recovered 11-13-2006 :-D
'77 280 - now back to being my project car.
'76 280 2+2 - parts car - slowly being stripped
A:
According to Wikipedia:
"A sports car is a type of automobile designed primarily for performance driving.
While opinions differ as to the exact definition, most sports cars are rear-wheel drive, have two seats and two doors and are designed to provide excellent handling, acceleration, and good looks. A sports car can be described as a car whose dominant design consideration is driving performance. A sports car's main emphasis is on performance by superior road holding, braking, maneuverability, low weight and power rather than comfort, passenger space, and economy."
They note specifically that the Nissan Z cars are sports cars (along with about 30-40 other brands). I don't know if insurance companies go by Wiki's definitions (or anybody else does either), but there it is.
And Carroll Shelby is a hack because he never designed a car from the ground up? Ha ha ha. That's a good one. Guess he'll join those other hacks of the auto world like Lingenfelter, Edelbrock, Ed Pink and all the other wankers who just bolted a few geegaws on to make cars work better.
'76 280Z driver, '75 parts car
A:
sprtcrazy17
"$680 a year, im 16 though"
Who do you have for insurance??
Post Edited (Nov 17, 12:38pm)
A:
Please do not go by Wikipedia as the be end all source of information as their information is provided by non certified experts in their fields' writers from all over the world. Also the information can be changed by anyone who has access to the data base.
I stand by my "Carol Shelby is a hack" statement.
This whole world smells bad, I'd buy another if I had
back what I paid for another mother@#$%@# in a motorcade
A:
yes darsun z cars are sportscars. anyone who thinks otherwise has not driven one.
____________________________________
1980 280ZX coupe
2001 maxima
1994 F150 4x4 van works custom truck
170000 and never needed mech repairs
1996 ford explorer -they cant all be good
A:
I consider mine a "Supercar"!
I have a few mods
A:
Progressive listed my Z as a farm vehicle for some reason.
1972 240z w/L28, tokico shocks and springs, and a 5 speed waiting. Also running high performance ultra mega blinker fluid, that's at least an extra 50hp to the wheels.
1987 Toyota Supra Turbo 5-speed. Belongs to me until my friend get's back from Iraq.
A:
My 78 280 would trounce my 90 s13 hatch anyday of the week, I don't care what numbers you wanna throw at me. And my s13 governs at 115 mph, not 112.
'78 280z - RIP
'90 S13 hatch - current work in progress
'7x 240z - future work in progress
A:
"I pay $155/year for my 240z. They call it a classic car."
GD! Who do you have? What is it just liability and as a "Parade" vehicle only?
1973 240Z 4 screw SU's, Tokico HP's, Toyota Calipers
1946 Willys-Overland CJ-2A (restoration in progress)
2006 Ural Gear-Up
A:
it's classic car insurance. you have to tell them you only drive it about 1500 miles a year and keep it garaged.
http://www.hagerty.com/index.aspx
_____________________________________________
'05 350Z Chrome Silver Touring
'73 240Z
A:
I liked Comrad Grrr's post that his Z is listed as a farm vehicle. Man, I've had a few of those in my life.
JohnH's comment about Carroll will be passed on to a guy who drove our Z club race car when we had it up at The Glen, Bob Bondurant. Bob drove the GT-40s for him in the 60s. In fact we were having a discussion about car designers and the cars they made a few months back and were trying to list the cars that were true street/track cars right out of the box. The GT-350/500s were of course right at the top of the list.
As to what is a sportscar, or to be more accurate, "is the z a sportcar?" I will only express what the British and then what Mr. K had to say on the matter.
To be a true sportscar it has to be topless, a 2-seater, with seats that put your butt inches from the ground (BMW 2002s therefor do not make the list plus they're sports sedans anyway). In addition to all the handling issues mentioned above. The car mags of the day classified the 240Z as a GT coupe. Had it come out in a convertible version then the fur would have flown.
One night at a ZCCA convention Mr. K and I were discussing the meaning of the word sports car and this is his list (not mine):
1) 2-seater
2) great handling
3) good power to weight ratio
4) light weight (under 2500 lbs)
5) not expensive
Not having dozens of other similar "sports cars" in current production it can be hard for those of you not around in the 60-70s to be confused by the meaning of this word. When you had MGs, Bugeyes, and Spitfires, TR2-6s, Fiat Spyders, Minis' (real ones), and Austen Healy Mark IV 3000s, etc, out on the road as the same time as the 240 then you could have a real discussion of what a sportscar is or isn't. And while times have changed, my definition of one has not. The 240Z was a sports GT car.
That said, I bought a 260 in 1974 at Bob Sharps because I was tired of not being able to drive my MG, bugeye, spitfire, TR2-6.......etc. when it rained or that I had to have at least one parts car to keep the other one on the road. Nor would I drive one more than a few hundred miles from home. I drove over 25,000 miles in the 260 before it needed a small fix. That and the fact it was fast was a major reason all those other "sportscars" are no longer being made today (yes, MG will be back as a car made by the Chinese -in the US of all things).
A:
"carol shelby is a hack" LOL, probably just jealous cause you cant afford an AC cobra! thanks for the laugh, it made my day!
'83 280zx: new injectors, new rear calipers, k&n filter. work in progress.....
A:
Just see what your insurance company says about the actual car/s you are considering.
Will it be an everyday driver?
Will it be old enough to get classic or antique insurance (cost per year can be what most people pay per month)?
Shop around.
Ed and Jeanne's
ZXelda 1981 280 ZXT: ZXena 1990 300 ZX
1941 Buick Special Sedanette (Betty)
1956 Dodge Royal (Dorothy)
1971 Buick Riviera (Rita)
1975 Ford F-150 Stepside (Fiona)
1992 Firebird (Frieda)
A:
I've alway read and considered the 1st gens a true sports car, the ZX's were called GT cars offering more luxery touring type features. I've also read about a sports car needs to be topless. I'd disagree with that.
In a sports car I want rigidity and a strong roof over my head cause I'm going to be flying around corners like a sports car should. So basically I'd agree with this list;
"One night at a ZCCA convention Mr. K and I were discussing the meaning of the word sports car and this is his list (not mine):
1) 2-seater
2) great handling
3) good power to weight ratio
4) light weight (under 2500 lbs)
5) not expensive"