Daily drivers: MKIII N/A Supra Vs. Nissan 240SX
 

I was wondering if anyone here has had experience with the Nissan 240SX for commuting. I was thinking about selling my N/A and getting a turbo, and getting a more economic car for daily driving. So I guess selecting the daily driver is the issue....

I could keep my N/A for daily driving, but I get about 19 mpg, which isnt too bad since my commute isnt long, but when I do drive a lot (say 60 miles a day) then it comes back to bite me in the ass. But, it is nice to speed on long drives, and I've fallen in love with RWD. I don't think I could ever go back to FWD. I was looking at Integras, Civics, Golfs, Sentras and Celicas for a daily driver. While 35-40 mpg sounds nice for commuting, FWD turns me off. And I'm not really a big fan of 2 seaters (so no MR2's etc), so thats what lead me to looking at the 240SX.

I saw that statistically, the 240 gets 5-6 more mpg than the Supra. Thats 20% cheaper, which in the long run makes a difference. A 1000 mile trip would cost about $150 for the Supra and $120 for the 240, which is about a $400 difference after a year. The 240 has about 60 hp less but is also about 800lbs lighter. I'm not expecting it to be up there with the Supra performance-wise, but if it is indeed a very reliable car and easier to work on, I may look into getting one as a daily driver and starting a Supra turbo project.

Then again, it would be hard letting go of my N/A. So much time and money put into it. I might just have to eat more ramen noodles :D

they make a turbo celica, its clled an all-trac turbo i believe. faster than the n/a supra and better mpg.

true, but...
 

... as I said I don't want a FWD. I also doubt the All-Trac would require less maintenance than the N/A Supra.

19 miles to the gallon? shouldnt you be getting more then this? i get around 12 with shot spark plug wires distributer cap and distributer

My mpg ranges from 16-22, making 19 the average. ill get 16 when having leadfoot and 22 (sometimes even 23 or 24) when driving at the speed limit on the highway (which is hardly ever :naughty:). I guess I could get a little better gas mileage after rebuilding my engine and upgrading my restricting air filter and stock exhaust, but the Supra is not known for good gas mileage. My mom's 3.8L Mercury Sable and 4.0L Jeep Cherokee actually get better gas mileage.

Lol anything is better then my freakin 12mpg lol

I believe the all-trac is AWD

Yeah I just looked it up, it is AWD, which I don't like as much as RWD. I guess efficient, low maintenance RWD non-two seater is what I'm looking for (a little too demanding, huh?). I was even looking at second generation Celicas (RWD), but I haven't found any in good condition. So it seems like its between the 240 and N/A Supra.

my little brothers first car is a 240 and i have driven it so i all i can say is it is ok. it tops out at 115mph and has a rev limiter of 5.5 rpm the gas mileage is decent though. i haven't worked on it so i'm not sure about that i am just used to supras (all i owned) my first was 86.5 n/a now 89 turbo. i guess as long as you don't expect too much performance from the 240 n/a it'll be fine.

3rd Gen Celica's are amazing. RWD, EFI, and the 22re will last forever. I would know. I have an '85 Celica GTS and have put over 15000 miles on it in less than 6 months, with only routine maintainence. Find one in good condition, and you won't be disappointed. Also, 25mpg around town, and 30 on the highway.

what 240sx yrs are we lookin at??

i get around 18mpg.

^thats with accelerating fast

if i drove normal i would get better mpg.lol

the one i drove was a 1990 not sure what he is looking at/for.

I was looking at '89-'93 240s. Theres two different N/A engines (on is slightly more powerful). The '94-'98 240s cost way too much.

And yeah, I've heard nothing but great things about the older RWD (2nd and 3rd generation) Celicas, but I have yet to find one in good condition, and I don't want a daily driver as a project car.

I don't know, I might just end up spending $400 more at the pump every year :dunno:

or... how do you guys like MR2? I've only driven an '85 automatic. I see lots of MR2's around, makes me think theyre reliable like the Celica.

I owned a 90 ,240 single cam ...they are very easy to fix and the comon problem is timming chain rattle, wich can be easyly repaired by replacing the tentioner. other than that they are very fun to drive and ckick around the bends and corners. throtle is very responsive and are torquey considering the horsepower....gotta love the smooth manual transmission.....head gaskets if needed require more work than our supras....

I used to own a 1989 Nissan 240SX DOHC (hatchback) with the Super Hica system (makes the back wheels turn as well as the front) and I have to say that with the exception of my Supras I loved that car the most out of any cars I have ever owned, I am 6'4" tall and the supra and 240 have been the only cars I can fit into, as far as gas mileage the KA-24DE engine (stock for the 89-92 engines) actually did pretty well, I got about 25 MPG when I drove economically (which wasn't often) nice pick up and go and like I said, comfortable to drive.
Good investement

On another not so you gusy arent confused:
Nissan when it has more than 2 turbos indicates it as TT, whereas Toyota refers it to 2T i.e. Nissan KA-24DETT, Toyota 2JZ-GTE.

I don't know if you thought about it but the second gen RX-7's aren't all that bad. I had a 91 convetible with like 130k on it and it was a manual and i got like 25-30 mpg on average i mean yeah its a small car but that little 1.3 rotorary isn't all that bad. They of course have different trim's like the turbo II and n/a and if you find one stock they aren't all that expensive and also there are low to mid 90's bmw's that get considerablely better mpg and you can find them for relative cheap. I had a 94 325 is 5 speed with a 2.5 inline 6 that got almost 30 mph in light city traffic and mid 30's on the highway and i didn't exactly do the speed limit so there are 2 more options but then again I'm also looking at a 93 240 but my friend has been doing nothing since he got his 94 so idk nemore.

Wow ravenmaster..thanks for bringing this thread back from the dead, just in time to show off what i recently found and bought for cheap,and basically untouched by any punk racing kid who destroy cars and hacks them to pieces.
so far I installed AEM intake kit, headers and this weekend the cat will be removed and will install a muffler, not a canister type,but a muffler that resembles the stock...

here is the muffler that is on the supra will go on the 2fizzle...wada ya think?

I once got 26mpg on the highway. this was while travling 90mph though

LOL wow sry guys i didnt even pay attentionn to the date but congrats, I prefer the hatchback version but that coupe still looks very clean

i used to own a 240 there great i had a 90 go check out s-chassis.com (club240) that will deff set you in the rite direction

Yeah there are just as many 240 forums as there are Supra forums. Its kinda cool actualy