Comments for Good Cars, Bad Cars

Comment on 1994 BMW 540i by gt

gt — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 20:57:57 +0000

it is a good car but has problems, the motor plating on that year nikasil effected by the high sulfur found in american and south american gas. also leaks oil and radiator. but if you had car looked at it checks out. it is a powerful car. like he said 282 horse and 300 torque. also very solid but it does kill you on gas

Comment on 2009 Kia Rio5 by Tom

Tom — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 07:25:28 +0000

Hello there I drive kia rio 5, its great little car , gas mileage is better then anything out there trust me , its not made for drag racing but you will zip tru city with rio, also on highway drives good other day I was speeding around 160 km/h without any issues. I hope this help and good luck

Comment on 1984 Nissan 300ZX Turbo by Gus

Gus — Sat, 16 May 2009 05:29:04 +0000

I had 2 1984 of these, 1 from 1985, and 1 from 1987. These cars were real fun. Love the feel. Easy to make it fast with just a few bucks ans small tweaks. First thing to do that is change the turbo to a slightly larger one, depending on how many modifications you make in the engine, so that it won’t have a lag if there is not enough exhaust to make a large turbo respond fast.

But I loved the whistling of the turbo, the digital display panel is awesome for a car of this year, but breaks too easily. you had be lucky to find one that still has it working nowadays.

One thing is for sure, the suspension really sucks, specially for the rear, but mine felt like the suspension of a Porsche after putting some racing struts, rigid short springs, and a thick stabilizer bar – and make sure you put new bushings.

Comment on 1983 Datsun 280ZX Turbo by Gus

Gus — Sat, 16 May 2009 05:14:24 +0000

I only had mine for a few months, then went for a 300zx 1984, but good to know that. Thanks for the tip!

Comment on 1996 Honda CRX Targa by Marc Burdorf

Marc Burdorf — Wed, 13 May 2009 17:54:01 +0000

A very nice car! I bought it in 2001 as CRX del sol and modify the complete car Design!

Cheers

Marc

Comment on 1983 Datsun 280ZX Turbo by Jesse

Jesse — Tue, 12 May 2009 23:49:58 +0000

Great car with terrible electrical problems. The suspension is pretty sloppy from the factory, but they’re reasonably stable cars.

If you don’t mind putting some work into your car and spending some time at some junkyards, do a bit of reading about the S130 (chassis code for all 280zx’s) over at Hybridz:
http://forums.hybridz.org/forumdisplay.php?f=119

I would not spend more than $2k on one in great condition, but I’m in California. Your location and availability of older cars will determine the max price they’re worth.

Comment on 1994 BMW 540i by Gus

Gus — Tue, 12 May 2009 13:01:29 +0000

Best car I have ever had. Very fast for a 4 liter large and solid car! The 540i comes with a high-performance fully-aluminum block and heads, with a compression of about 10.8:1 on a V8 = 285 horsepower and 295 pounds of torque. The handling is awesome, it once saved me from having an accident of a car that was going to hit me on the side. The response it had when I pull the wheel hard, was amazing! One thing is for sure, is that if you let the radiator go low on water, the engine will not stand any overheating. An all-aluminum block like that will warp easily on an overheat. That is how I lost mine. It happened pretty fast after the temperature went up. The engine got stuck completely and was total loss. But I will still buy another BMW some day. They are great. My favorite of all I have driven.

Comment on 1983 Datsun 280ZX Turbo by Gus

Gus — Tue, 12 May 2009 12:49:35 +0000

The Z-cars are awesome, from the original Datsun to the last 300’s series they have mad in the 2000’s. The 1983 280ZX Turbo I had was a “50′th Anniversary Special Edition” in Black + Gold” the last year for Datsun and 280Z’s. It was nice and had an after market turbine, making the car run in the 13’s in the quarter mile. Felt bad when I let it go, but traded into a 1984 300ZX to try something new.

Comment on 1987 Nissan 300ZX Turbo by Gus

Gus — Tue, 12 May 2009 12:44:12 +0000

I love the 300ZX cars! I had lots of fun with the various one I had. This one (the 1987) was lightly modified into making 13 seconds in the quarter mile and gave it lots of abuse but it held fine. I love the feel of these cars pull from the turbo. I had 3 different ones and one 280ZX ‘93. Fun, fun fun!

The suspension really sucks, specially for the rear, but you can make it feel like a race car with a nice suspension kit and a thick stabilizer bar.

Comment on 1989 Ford Mustang GT 5.0 by Gus

Gus — Tue, 12 May 2009 12:40:30 +0000

The toughest car I have ever had. I once ran this car for 8 miles with no water at all in the radiator. The car eventually smoked through from inside the engine through the heads, and the engine got stuck after I had parked the car. I thought I had lost the engine, but 3 days later, i tried to turn it on and is started perfect from the first try. no damage was done, and the car gave me lots more miles.

I also made this car Turbo, and put over 22 PSI of compressed air from a huge turbine, and no other modifications in the engine to take that abuse for a long time, but it never broke a piston or any part in the engine!