sc300, 240sx, rx7 tii......which one?

i want to know about these cars and how they would be for drifting, the list used to be just the rx7 and the 240, but i saw the sc300 in d1gp and that kinda got me a little hooked on it, so i want to know these things.

how do the parts availability come in, are they easy or hard to find for the certain cars?
speed, power, how fast do they compare to eachother?
drifting, if you have drifted these, wich one did you tihnk was best?
drivability, it will be a daily driver so which would suit that best?
mantenece, i know rotories can be work, but any of the others bad, or good in mantenence?
comfort, are they roomy, or tight, or just average?
price, out of these cars which one is cheapest, or best price for wut the car has?

i guess anything else that would help me with the cars and their performance.

Well, I can start by saying that as far as I know, the Lexus SC300 and SC400 were not offered in the United States with manual transmissions. However, the engine options were either the 3.0-litre 2JZ-GE straight six or the 4.0-liter 1UZ-FE V8. There's plenty of power in those engines, and the chassis is decent for long sweepers. It's certainly not nimble, but it can be worked.

As for the RX-7, well, there are 3 entirely different generations of RX-7, each with some great strong points. The SA22C (1st Generation) is inexpensive to buy and is actually the most reliable of all RX-7's. The old 12A rotary may not be as potent as the 13B, but is a stout lump all on its own and as light as the SA22C is you don't need much to toss it around. However, SA22C's are also by now 20+ years old. The first ones came out in 1978, and the last ones were produced in 1984. Rust can become an issue, and of course watch for oil smoke in the exhaust. It's the sign of apex seals going south. Finally, as they are older cars and were often driven to hell and back since they were inexpensive sports cars, there's often interior and suspension wear and tear. It's never a bad idea to invest in new ball joints, bushings, bearings, and tie rod ends when purchasing an older car. You'll be surprised how much tighter the car feels just by freshening up the stock components.

FC's are a bit newer, and there's the chance of turbo versions. The single turbo 13B in the FC also lives longer than the FD's twin turbo 13B. Plus you can always retreat back to the deadbolt reliability of an N/A 13B with the FC's.

However, FC's also are heavier than the SA22C by some lbs. That's a substantial gain, especially since the 13B didn't gain a lot of torque over the 12A. You do get an independent rear suspension with the FC, but the FC's center diff is not nearly as sturdy as the solid axle SA22C. Start running more power through it and you start taking apart that diff, plus the halfshafts and bearings, more often then you'd like. Also, the FC engine bay is much more cramped than the SA22C, and with all the vacuum lines, electronics, luxo accessories (FC's moved the RX-7 upmarket, so instead of the stripped out and minimalist SA22C, you had AC compressors and cruise controls and all sorts of other stuff hanging off the front and sides of the engine) and other miscellaneous etcetera, you can have a headache pretty quick in the engine bay. Plus since FC's are approaching the doble decade for the oldest examples next year, our old friend iron oxide - AKA Rust - rears his head again.

FD's, finally, are the biggest mixed bag. Gobs of power and beautiful handling. Pretty styling and comfy interiors. Slick shifting transmissions and lightweight chassis.....

And a hand grenade of an engine thanks to that twin turbo setup. Mazda ended up pulling the RX-7 from the American market because of significant losses on rebuilding warrantied FD engines. FD's also have engine bays that make the FC look spacious and very high price tags. They can be a lot of fun. But it's fun that you pay for.

Finally you've got the common as crabgrass 240SX. They handle reasonably well, nothing to write home about (natural understeer and a bit of body roll). The KA24DE is a strong engine, and of course you've got the Japanese turbo engine swaps, but then you're also looking at parts that you'll have to wait an eternity (and pay a fortune) to get if anything breaks.

Still, aftermarket support for the 240SX is good, and growing. It's one of the more sensible choices out there, if plainly boring.

Personally, I'd get an SA22C RX-7. I like to work on cars, it'd be inexpensive, and I don't like fussing with ten tons of vacuum lines and wires when all I need to do is change four spark plugs.

if your in Australia grab a holden vl commodore turbo or v8 torana. Pretty decent cars for drifting. Espically the turbo vl's have rb30's and rb20's in them, which are pretty popular drifting style motors.

Personally I'd go the rx7 because its an all around great sports car, just need to be careful with the engine[eg servicing, etc].

im in utah so the australian thing is off, but if i were there i think i would have like a cefiro on the list (you get those in aus. right?)

layla's keeper i could swear like half the sc300-400's on ebaymotors are manual, just a note......

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6300&item=2481726738&rd=1



like that one

laylaskeeper is wrong...i drove a SC300 w/ stick..sweet car...it rides REALLY smooth...handles like a boat though but you could get it sideways if you want.....it comes w/ a 2JZ non turbo pretty sad power for a inline 6..... w/ a bold on turbo kit you can boost up to 300hp on stock internals (so i've heard from clublexus.com)...i really wanted a lexus to dori w/ but the maintenece is far too much and the parts availability while good is no where near that of say a 240sx... the SC is also very cramped in terms of leg room..i say stick to a 240sx it will be much cheaper and if you crash it drifting you won't feel as bad as crashing a lexus which will be ALOT to fix

The sc300 only came with a straight 6???I could have sworn my buddies mom has one with a v-8 in it.Damn thing hauls ass.It had to be a v-8 cuz we took it to our local track and the damn thing was running high 14's all day long.

oy vey...did you bother to read Layla's post at all?

SC300's come with inline 6's. 3.0 inline 6's to be exact, hence the SC300 designation.

SC400's came with a 4 litre V8.

the only SC's that came in stick were the 300's, and 300's were only available in the states. as incredible as Takahiro Ueno's D1 car is, it took ALOT of work to get to that point. the car is a luxury cruiser, after all. it will need alot of weight loss, suspension work and engine bits to make it fast and track-worthy.

and just a note to Layla. only the very early first-generation RX-7's were called SA22C. after a certain point (1980 or 81 i believe), they started called them FB's. i'm not sure if it had any more to that (FC and FD had "3S" after their first 2 letters. i'm pretty sure the 3 signifies the 13B, but i don't know about the S), but i do know that they did change it after a certain point.

i like first-gens alot too. in fact, this summer i will be working at an RX-7 shop that works with alot of first-gen's. the 2 owners of the shop each have one, one is a 450hp 13B-RE monster, and the other is a 350hp carbed 13B as far as i know.

i'm very close to purchasing an engine-less '87 GXL off of my friend and also purchasing a J-Spec S5 TII engine to shove into it. i'll report back with whether i go through with it or not.

Man, more and more people are moving to rx7ism...

oy vey...did you bother to read Layla's post at all?

SC300's come with inline 6's. 3.0 inline 6's to be exact, hence the SC300 designation.

SC400's came with a 4 litre V8.

the only SC's that came in stick were the 300's, and 300's were only available in the states. as incredible as Takahiro Ueno's D1 car is, it took ALOT of work to get to that point. the car is a luxury cruiser, after all. it will need alot of weight loss, suspension work and engine bits to make it fast and track-worthy.

and just a note to Layla. only the very early first-generation RX-7's were called SA22C. after a certain point (1980 or 81 i believe), they started called them FB's. i'm not sure if it had any more to that (FC and FD had "3S" after their first 2 letters. i'm pretty sure the 3 signifies the 13B, but i don't know about the S), but i do know that they did change it after a certain point.

i like first-gens alot too. in fact, this summer i will be working at an RX-7 shop that works with alot of first-gen's. the 2 owners of the shop each have one, one is a 450hp 13B-RE monster, and the other is a 350hp carbed 13B as far as i know.

i'm very close to purchasing an engine-less '87 GXL off of my friend and also purchasing a J-Spec S5 TII engine to shove into it. i'll report back with whether i go through with it or not.


Opps! my bad.

Have you guys checked out the Sc's at www.turboimports.com

They swapped in the 2jze turbo motor along with the supra 6-speed tranny.They are running fukin quick ass times.

yea FB is what it changed to, and it is FC3S and FD3S like brian said, but FC and FD are the short hand language we all use so its cool. the FB's are cool, and the 12A is better than a non-turbo 13B because the non-turbo 13B has 6 ports which is kind of wack(to put it in my own words) but the 13B-TII in the FC TII went back to the 4-port design like the 12A making the better of the 3 choices, the 3rd gen/FD to me is a money waster, it has almost the same engine as the TII does, they just upgraded a few things and made it a 13B-REW which has a sequential turbo, but they suck and everyone switches them to single turbo anyways, and the aren't any more reliable than the 13B-TII... hopefully that helps... oh and if you decide to get an rx-7 do a lot of research first and learn how the engine works and decide what you want from there

yeah, but when i said rx-7 in the beginning i was going for the 2nd generations, but this has actually opened up a couple more options, just the fd3s is way out of my league and to expensive

FC's are better anyways, way cheaper, same basic engine, same amount of potential, better stock turbo setup... plus FC's make great sleepers, everyone expects FD's to be fast

oh by the way, love the picture in your sig Brian, when'd you get that?

FC's are better anyways, way cheaper, same basic engine, same amount of potential, better stock turbo setup... plus FC's make great sleepers, everyone expects FD's to be fast

oh by the way, love the picture in your sig Brian, when'd you get that?

Team Orange (Kumakubo, Asamoto, and Tanaka), and Signal Auto (Bai and Kuroi) did a drifting exhibition an hour north of Toronto last weekend. i was "staff" for the event, so i got a pit pass and got to talk with the drivers and sit in their cars. Signal brought the 1000hp R34 too.

lots more to talk about, but i won't hijack this thread.

i got tons of pics. i've been meaning to make a thread all week, but i've been too busy, so once i get some time to downsize all the pics, i'll post a thread. :)

I dont know if these are available to you in America.
But they're sweet...

http://image-cache.boostcruising.com/database/readersrides/files/rotormaster200311101733ridefile3.jpg

:iceslolan:

p.s: its a Mazda rx3 coupe.

this particular one, has series 4 motor and box, 700hp to4 turbo. dynoed at 385hp @ wheels on 15psi !!

i dont even know wut that is.,......maybe its just to modified to tell or im an idiot

The Mazda RX-3 was a small sports coupe that went head to head with the older Celica 1600GT and the Mitsubishi Galant GTO in Japan in the mid-70's. They were also sold here in the states and landed quite a bit of road racing success in SCCA club racing.

Also, they're drag racing darlings thanks to their light weight, relatively cavernous engine bays (for a small Japanese sports coupe) and dead bolt strong solid rear axle. The RX-3 laid the foundation for the RX-7's success.

http://www.fcscc.com/rx3.gif
http://www.motorsportsguyana.com/IM001139.JPG
http://www.daggettracing.com/graphics/ftrlphoto/cc40.jpg
http://www.gunnautotech.com/events/deanza01/images/mrsc.jpg
http://www.datsun.org/fairlady/Glasener3.jpg
http://www.clubcars.org.au/nationals/images1998/nm_rx3.jpg

those track-special RX-3's are LOUD AS HELL!

one of them showed up and entered the amateur drift competition when Signal came to Toronto last september. he couldn't drift very well, but it was probably the loudest car i've ever heard in person. i think it was a street-port or peripheral port 12A, with a straight-back super-trapp exhaust.

imagine this. we were standing by the fence watching the event. ten feet in front of us, my friend is drifting in his SR20 powered S13 hatch. it has an Apex'i N1 exhaust and is certainly no quiet car. keep in mind he was ten feet in front of us, yet the RX-3, which had just been turned on and was about 200 feet away from us, at the starting line of the course, instantly drowned out my friend's car. that's how loud it was.

Yeah rx-3's dont get the props they deserve. They're such a good body for a drag/drift car its not funny, chuck a 13b in the sucka and some work and your 1/4 times are better then 80% of whats on the road.

My friends brother has a 13b rx3 running 11s and that thing with no cat made my ears want to bleed. Took us v8 hunting in that baby..

i should have known wut they were, but it happens, my father used to have one for his second car, but sold it, probably be hard to find another and the car will most likly be a daily driver.

oh I'd love to have an rx-3 as a second car, for like a track specific car, or even just for a little cruiser... not so sure I'd find one very cheap though :) not sure I'd even find one at all haha

yea not just a rx-3 is loud, any 12A with a supertrap exhaust is loud... dayna just sold a FB with a supertrap exhaust not too long ago, craziest looking exhaust I've ever seen

oh and brian, can all those guys speak pretty good english? I know most other countries learn english but theres so many videos with them never speaking in english so just thought I'd ask :)

EDIT: I looked on autotrader, ebaymotors, kelly bluebook, and consumer guide and not a single one of them has anything on the rx-3, how pathetic... anyways just thought I'd mention it cuz I'm bored haha

EDIT #2: MWAHAHA http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6316&item=2481696925&rd=1

after several years of searching. my boyfriend has found a good specimen of RX-3.

He is now the second owner of a 1975 RX-3 with 53K miles. and is in the process of building it to his specs.
current status is a resounding "waiting on parts" He has intake parts coming from Rotary shack, ring/pinion from Racing beat, wheels from diamond (he wants kodiaks.. but maybe later) clutch and flywheel and other misc parts from Mazdatrix.

it will be a daily drivable street car capable of killing nearly any V8 out there.

some planned specifications:
S5 ported Turbo II short block with lightweight 9.0:1 rotors, NO turbo fed through a massive mikuni side-draft (for now.. the next engine will have the 51 IDA) and 2 NO2 wet sprays. lightweight flywheel, centerforce clutch, orignal 4mt with hardened assembly. 4.375 rear ratio with LSD.

I'd be happy to post more details on the car, or how it is being built/assembled..

bumpers are off of the car, and will remain that way, the goal is to get the car to 2000 pounds with a good f/r l/r weight ratio.

here's a pic of the car the day we picked it up.
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/503/64009HPIM0305.JPG

IF interested i can post more pics as the project unfolds. it should be done and on the road in about 4 weeks.

BTW, RX-3's would not make good drift cars.. drifting is really more suited for longer wheel-base cars, like Silvia's FC&FD RX-7's. comparing the RX-3 side by side with our AE-86.. the AE has a huge wheel base.

you should measure the wheel base of your AE86 and the rx-3... then I can mesure my 7's wheel base so we can see the differences.

oh and just curious, how much are you selling the hachi for?

yes........i was wondering that too......price for you 86 would be greatly appreciated.Not for me of course, but for a friend of mine.

I'm not sure how much to ask for it. Someone in a corolla forum told me it was worth 11-14K. I know I wouldnt get that much for it and I'd be happy with anything over 6K.

o that is one other possible car is the corolla, but i left it off the list because i dont wanna spend 3000 for a car that is just that much because its rare.

still would like to know how much yurs is going for

she said she'd be happy with anything over 6k

and I would sell it way cheaper if it didn't have only 14K miles on it..

you just try to find another AE-86 set up like mine with only 14K miles for under 10K.. I am settling for 6K because i reall want a miata.

Who we kidding, this thread has turned into an all out RX3 thread!

As some people have already mentioned, there a really good platform for drag/autocross. Look like the Japanese equivalent of muscle imo!..

because the rx3's are bOootiful/\


i really wish i could have a car like the rx3 but they're hard to get and i need a daily driver.

miata's are so underrated. are you planning on just getting the miata as a daily driver or modding it or what? you always seem to have a project so I'm curious as to what you want it for

^Miata's are very good as well, especially for autocross track use. My only real dilemma with them is that they look like a chicks car! lol
Aside from that there a very well rounded car that corner like bat outta hell.

miata's are so underrated. are you planning on just getting the miata as a daily driver or modding it or what? you always seem to have a project so I'm curious as to what you want it for
Very true about miata's.Hell, even the Drift King praised it for being a very fun and controllable drift car stock.

the new ones look more agressive and less girly, plus they have a turbo, I think I could drive it. if I could fit in it since I'm '6"3 haha

i would get a miata, but its going to be my first car and in high school and everything, well its a chicks car, or loks like one atleast, but i still luv em

If it's your first car you really shouldn't be making your decision around what will be a good drift car.