240sx or Supra?

H

hey...it runs

New Member
Aug 15, 2011
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chicago
Well, I think the time has come to let my mkiii go. With a $2500 budget, I don't have many options, so I came to the trusty forums for advice.

Here's the background, I bought an 89 NA 5 speed stock at age 15 for my first car and you could say she was rough. After 3 years and plenty of time, effort and repairs, it didn't even look like the same car anymore. The car remained mostly stock mechanically while I did lots of personal touches aesthetically and let's just say I honestly don't think there's many mkiii's out there with a better stereo. Well, before I start shedding tears over my soon to be sold baby, the point remains that I need another daily. I had a close friend of mine (Honda guy) recommend a 240sx to me the other day and I'm seriously considering getting one as I read more about them. My driving style is moderately aggressive and while i try to maintain and take good care of my car, i have put it through the paces. It's also worth noting that being a DD, i drive through everything from downpours to blizzards. I'd really like to hear from somebody who has owned both.

Here's what I don't like about my supra.
-gas milage
-slow
-some parts are on the costly side
-some parts are hard to find
-on the heavy side

Here's what I love
-I love driving this thing
-handles great
-faster than your average commuter/family sedan with a launch (blows them away in everything else!)
-unique car, classy
-all of the luxury features
-it's a supra

Now for the 240, with my limited knowledge, here's what I don't like,
-It's not a supra I.e. it's an economic sports car; not a luxury one
-SLOW. With school being priority over mods, it will most likely remain "as is" for quite some time
-hard to find even a remotely clean one (at least on my budget)
-not as rare as mkiii's. I love being the only person my friends know who drives a supra

Here's why the 240sx appeals to me (once again, limited knowledge here),
-cheaper...all around (from the sound of it)
-easy to mod (my 89 N/A not so much)
-better handling
-easy to slide (only suspension mod I have is KYB's)
-light
-gas milage
-plenty of parts

All in all I'm really not sure what I want, but right now I'm keeping an eye out for 240s and Turbo mkiiis. I really like the idea of a Turbo supra, but that will be hard to find DD worthy for 2500. Sorry for the long post. I tried to keep it organized. Hope you guys can lead me in the right direction. Thanks again SM!
 
O

OwenHernandez

New Member
Jun 24, 2013
1
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0
Seattle
hey...it runs;1948191 said:
Well, I think the time has come to let my mkiii go. With a $2500 budget, I don't have many options, so I came to the trusty forums for advice.

Here's the background, I bought an 89 NA 5 speed stock at age 15 for my first car and you could say she was rough. After 3 years and plenty of time, effort and repairs, it didn't even look like the same car anymore. The car remained mostly stock mechanically while I did lots of personal touches aesthetically and let's just say I honestly don't think there's many mkiii's out there with a better stereo. Well, before I start shedding tears over my soon to be sold baby, the point remains that I need another daily. I had a close friend of mine (Honda guy) recommend a 240sx to me the other day and I'm seriously considering getting one as I read more about them. My driving style is moderately aggressive and while i try to maintain and take good care of my car, i have put it through the paces. It's also worth noting that being a DD, i drive through everything from downpours to blizzards. I'd really like to hear from somebody who has owned both.

Here's what I don't like about my supra.
-gas milage
-slow
-some parts are on the costly side
-some parts are hard to find
-on the heavy side

Here's what I love
-I love driving this thing
-handles great
-faster than your average commuter/family sedan with a launch (blows them away in everything else!)
-unique car, classy
-all of the luxury features
-it's a supra

Now for the 240, with my limited knowledge, here's what I don't like,
-It's not a supra I.e. it's an economic sports car; not a luxury one
-SLOW. With school being priority over mods, it will most likely remain "as is" for quite some time
-hard to find even a remotely clean one (at least on my budget)
-not as rare as mkiii's. I love being the only person my friends know who drives a supra

Here's why the 240sx appeals to me (once again, limited knowledge here),
-cheaper...all around (from the sound of it)
-easy to mod (my 89 N/A not so much)
-better handling
-easy to slide (only suspension mod I have is KYB's)
-cheap hid headlight kits
-gas milage
-plenty of parts

All in all I'm really not sure what I want, but right now I'm keeping an eye out for 240s and Turbo mkiiis. I really like the idea of a Turbo supra, but that will be hard to find DD worthy for 2500. Sorry for the long post. I tried to keep it organized. Hope you guys can lead me in the right direction. Thanks again SM!
Click to expand...
You have not shared any pics? It will help in making good deal...
 
Last edited:
Chambers

Chambers

Now you know
Sep 9, 2007
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Baltimore County, Maryland
My suggestion, neither. Find your self a cheap Celica or Civic for a DD. Keep it BONE stock, and dont think about thinkering with it. Save what money you can through school, and keep your eye out so when your done with school and get your self a good job you have a nice chunk of change to buy a nice turbo Supra or a nice 240. Looking back, If I had done that, I would have had a much nicer car much sooner.

If your hell bent on one of the two, I would allways choose a Supra over anything else. Mainly because of the community, I havent seen or found any other car community like the Supra owners in any other vehicle. If I need somthing for my car, I jump on here or I make a few phone calls and I have it.
 
kingrichard

kingrichard

New Member
Aug 5, 2008
63
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philly
i have had both cars at and both at the same time.. 240 is a good daily driver and not as slow as you think in stock form.. with a cheap set of coilovers you can have yourself a very reliable and fun car.. I just got rid of my 240 because i wound up neglecting my supra in favor of it. It was awesome on gas ...( mid summer with a/c on high drove an hour to a drift event, drifted off and on a couple of hours and drove home .. never turned the car off once.. and still had 1/2 tank when i got home) you wont get that in a supra.. but i still love my supra more.. the only problem is you got the drift tax on the 240 so you wont find one very cheap..
 
91Supra313

91Supra313

New Member
Jul 30, 2009
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Clarksville TN
Like a few on here are saying. If you want a good DD, then go ahead and grab a 240. I owned a 92 240, and loved it. Only reason I got rid of it was because I started working as a contractor. If you only do maint on it and not go balls to the wall with mods, then it will last a very long time. Mine had close to 300k on the clock. Still ran like a champ. I will say this though, if you are going to use it as a DD, then leave it alone. Don't put coilovers on it, don't put cams in it, don't upgrade the exhaust. Leave it as a DD. You start messing with it then you will lose everything that made it a DD. Gas mileage....your choice in the end.
 
A. Jay

A. Jay

Search.
Jun 3, 2009
671
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Bay Area, CA
I used to have a turbo Supra and loved it, but being hell bent on owning it delayed bigger dreams. I wish I never participated in the hobby for that reason.

Chambers;1948209 said:
My suggestion, neither. Find your self a cheap Celica or Civic for a DD. Keep it BONE stock, and dont think about thinkering with it. Save what money you can through school, and keep your eye out so when your done with school and get your self a good job you have a nice chunk of change to buy a nice turbo Supra or a nice 240. Looking back, If I had done that, I would have had a much nicer car much sooner.

If your hell bent on one of the two, I would allways choose a Supra over anything else. Mainly because of the community, I havent seen or found any other car community like the Supra owners in any other vehicle. If I need somthing for my car, I jump on here or I make a few phone calls and I have it.
Click to expand...

That's advice I did receive and regrettably ignored. Your DD doesn't have to be depressing though, here's what I recommend to get you by: stock 90's 4-cylinder Accord with Michelin (or better) tires. Aluminium block, 3000 lbs overall, and the tires give you amazing cornering while not having to sacrifice not even a bit of comfort because you didn't mod your suspension.

Coming from a sub-100k-mile Supra with a full exhaust and EBC, that car^ was forced onto me and surprisingly grew on me. Some things are more important Dude.
 
H

hey...it runs

New Member
Aug 15, 2011
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chicago
Thanks for the quick feedback guys. You're right. The Supra community is incredible. Honestly though, the reason I don't want a Honda is because I love RWD. I've literally grown up with it. I also passionately despise FWD in anything but a snow storm, actually....nevermind. I love driving for the sport of driving which is why I loved my mkiii so much. While yes, I understand that dreams should wait until after college when finances allow for them, but after college I don't think I'll be driving a mkiii...or a 240. I have much bigger dreams than that. Heh heh. So in the mean time I still need a daily and I would really like something fun. I hear that Turbo supras actually can make better gas milage than I am making now if driven economically. Let me make this clear, I don't plan on building either one of these cars right now. I just want something I love to drive everyday and maybe a couple tweaks here and there so it's slightly faster than stock and I know it's my own. I really appreciate you guys helping me with this decision. I love working on my car, I just don't always have time for it. However, if this car goes anything like my last one, it will be my new hobby. I had days of labor invested in doing anything I could to improve and personalize it, and that's not to mention my stereo. That stays with me.
 
staehlin180

staehlin180

New Member
Mar 5, 2007
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Sacramento, CA
^^^ So true. One of the most difficult things I did was letting my supra sit in the garage for 2 years while I finished College. I had a Tacoma 4x4 as a DD but now that I have the disposable income to spend on a car, its a lot more enjoyable. NEVER finance your fun
 
H

hey...it runs

New Member
Aug 15, 2011
138
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chicago
Supracentral;1948300 said:
Something I wrote back in 2009, it is no less true today:

http://www.supramania.com/forums/sh...read.-((NWS-potential))&p=1265349#post1265349
Click to expand...
Thank you. That saved me a whole lot of thinking and planning. I'm not really looking to build the car I buy though. Honestly it's just a fun daily. I think what everybody has been trying to tell me is that I need to drive a Honda and keep a supra to build in the garage which is what I'd love to do. As of now, however, I've decided that I just want a relatively if not completely stock mkiii that will replace the one I have right now. Is this a bad plan?
 
Poodles

Poodles

I play with fire
Jul 22, 2006
16,757
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42
Fort Worth, TX
240SX = pay the drifter tax for a crappier car.

I'm kind of in this situation myself right now and the 240SX hasn't come to mind at all simply because of their crazy buy in price and the ones on the market for cheap are abused to within an inch of their life.
 
#04

#04

New Member
Sep 7, 2009
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Cambridge
to be honest, a 240 can be an expensive toy, or can be a reliable DD, and easy to work on..

much like anything.... finding a good one is tricky..
 
1986.5supra_kid

1986.5supra_kid

Rice? No its Corn (E85)
May 7, 2010
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Anderson, South Carolina, United States
Chambers;1948209 said:
If your hell bent on one of the two, I would allways choose a Supra over anything else. Mainly because of the community, I havent seen or found any other car community like the Supra owners in any other vehicle. If I need somthing for my car, I jump on here or I make a few phone calls and I have it.
Click to expand...

I agree with this 100%

also when my supra was a 7mge it was so reliable! and still fun to drive and would average 25 mpg on my trips to work. If i knew what i do know i would have stayed stock.
 
Insidious Surmiser

Insidious Surmiser

Formerly 89jdm7m
May 12, 2006
2,172
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just gonna make a note here that 240sx's generally get poor gas mileage.... from what I've seen, my supra get better mileage... not by a small margin either...

my turbo gets about 29, it'd probably do 30 if I tossed the PS (done it before) the N/A supra on the other hand.... gets about 23mpg? it's been a long time, and I've only had one... it was turbo within a few weeks of having it -_-
 
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