Looking into a 3000GT purchase

[marin_2k2]

Like the title says, i'm looking into this purchase and would like some input from you guys. Right now I have a 2g talon, lightly modded. For sale is a 91' 3000GT VR-4, and I really want it. Their asking 7,000 obo and the exterior and interior are damn near immaculate. I haven't got the chance to look at the engine bay or talk to the driver. What should I look for in these cars as far as known fallacies, deffects, etc..? I'm in the process of finding out everything i can about this car. As far as power and handling, what can you tell me about the performance in those aspects. And ultimately, would I be better off keeping my talon and keep on the my path to stage 2, or drop that and start with the 3000GT?

 

[Ronnie01]

Their good cars, pretty quick. Really heavy though and not alot of aftermarket support. Nothign like there is for DSM's . I'd say keep your car.

 

[joeracer321]

keep the 2g!!! if you took half that money and put it in your current car it would be twice as badass as the 3000gt.

 

[btracer]

im not gonna tell you one way or the other.. i had to choose between vr4 and 2g as well. i chose the 2g because of 1) insurance 2) parts availability 3) parts prices 4) and the difference in difficulty of workin on the car. those 3kgt's have NO room in the engine bay. i will admit that having a 3kgt would be much more 'pimp' in my opinion. good luck with which ever you pick

 

[trbotaln]

My friend had a 3000gt vr4 with lots of mods and it was quick but not as fast as I thought it should be. The car handles like junk compared to my talon . The car feels really heavy and gets udersteer. I would stick with the 2g

 

[joeracer321]

yeah i have seen a 10 sec 3000gt, it looked like a nightmare to work on, plus now instead of one turbo, you now need two. Twice as heavy, sure it looks good, but still not as good as a 2g... you could buy an old 1g for dirt cheap, and dump 4 grand into it and have a 10 sec dsm! But it depends what you are going for.

 

[blcknspo0ln]

i dont think you guys are giving the vr4 enough credit. the 2g vr4 will run mid 13's stock. just bpu mods will bring it into high 12's [ < 2.5k ]. and yes they are heavy.. 3800 lbs.. but that's because of AWD/AWS.. etc etc

if i had a choice between a 99 gsx and a 99 vr4 [assuming i could afford one ] i'd pick the vr4 anyday. a BPU+ 99 vr4 would be so bad ass.. it's comfy, and looks good as hell

 

[Eclipse6g72]

There's a pretty good aftermarket base for them. Check out a place called Dynamic Racing. Or 3sx performance. My bro-in law has a 1991 Stealth TT. We just built a shortblock with stage 2 (Dynamic Racing) heads, DR650 turbos (Dynamic again), fuel system. It's a mid 11 second car right now. Low 600 horsepower range, maybe high 500. It's not a real pain to work on if the motor is completely out of the car.....
However the engine bay is cramped with all those i/c pipes going everywhere.

That build up cost 13 grand. I think for the same price you can get a gsx into the 11's also. The difference is the 3000GT is a Japanese supercar! It's like having an Integra and comparing it to an NSX. The 'teg can be built to be faster than the NSX, but at the end it's still not the same class as an NSX. See what i mean?

 

[blcknspo0ln]

exactly what i'm sayin.

to the original poster - check on 3si.org for more info. guys over there are cool as hell [ even when i had an NA ]

 

[deth2u]

I almost bought VR-4 as well, but honestly dude, you're gonna die over the maintenance and mod costs. It's a really sexy car, yeah, but buy it only if you got deep pockets

 

[joeracer321]

If you ask here what to get, more individuals are going to say keep the 2g, go to 3000gt site and I am sure they will tell you there is more potential and then tell you about crankwalk with these cars. So take it how you want it....

 

[TurboGeoff]

DONT BUY IT!!!!

I sold my 92 vr4 for my 1g 6/4.

Reasons:
---------
Heavy
Handle Shitty
High Insurance
Eat Gas
Very Expensive to Mod
More Unreliable than a DSM
Higher Maintenance
Motors LOVE to spin bearings in the 91-93s
VERY HARD to pass smog in a modded one.
Bigger money pit than DSM.

Yes, they look good and are Japanese supercars, however, they are the biggest pieces of crap when you start to mod them. If you are gunna get one, stay away from the 91, 92 and 93 model years. 94-99 is the only way to go.

 

[btracer]

if i had a choice between a 99 gsx and a 99 vr4 [assuming i could afford one ] i'd pick the vr4 anyday. a BPU+ 99 vr4 would be so bad ass.. it's comfy, and looks good as hell

i totally agree with you. i would take a vr4 anyday, especially a 99. but being a poor kid like i am, i would end up having to sell it

 

[marin_2k2]

I'll check out the sites. Keeping my 2g is sounding better and better. I still want to do some more searching on the 3kGT. Thanks for all the feedback.

 

[ben90tsi]

Go for it, VR4s are highway MONTERS, the top end speed on those stock is amazing, i couldnt imagine a highly modded one.Oh yeah and about the weight issue, i think id want more of a hefty stable car when going that fast in a 3kgt. Definatley my next car after im out of school.

 

[joeracer321]

hybrid turbo, exhuast, fuel computer, injectors.... enough said.... keep the 2g

 

[Dsmshopping]

91 TT stealth owner chiming in...

People seem to think we have no aftermarket support.... They are wrong. Is it more expensive than a DSM part? Well, yes. Our cars aren't a dime a dozen. You can't go pick up a 91 AWD turbo for 1K. However, full exhaust, boost gauge, EBC, underdrive pully, clutch, and your looking at mid 12's. Sure you can do that in a DSM, no problem with same mods, but I like how my car looks and sounds compared to any DSM. My brother has a 91 GSX, love the car to death, but I like mine better. Handles like shit? Well... if you say so. Obviously you haven't driven you DSM enough . Compared to the other TT cars of the time, the 3S's arent TOO heavy, Supras weigh in at what? 3500? 3600? Same with the TT 300ZX's. Add in an AWD system, and some very comfy seats (My drivers side seat weighs in at 80 lbs!) and your going to be a bit heavy. Also, real quick thing... with some fuel mods, some DSM SMIC (got two of them in very good conditionf or $40 hehe), and the above listed mods, throw on some 15'gs and an S-AFC, some dyno time, and mid 11's are not out of the question. But, research into it, this board happens to be (GASP!) DSM biased. Ask around on 3si.org too, they are very good people.
-Dan

 

[v8killerr1]

i used to own a 94 vr4. It was probably the best car i have ever owned. It wasn't hard to work on. It had a built engine,fmic,20g turbos,no2,etc(bought it that way). The car pulled constent 10.8 and was very reliable(daily driver) Insurance wise it was the same as i pay for my 97 gst. I believe the best years to buy is 92-95. 93 were geared better for drag racing. Yes parts are more expensive, but there is nothing like betting the crap out of modded z06 and vipers.

 

[Dsmshopping]

So you owned the AAM car? Amazing. So you had a record setting car...? Damn... whats your name again? Because I dont see any 1994 VR4's on the 3squicklist.com... and I certainly have never heard of any othe car outside of the AAM car using twin 20g's...
-Dan

 

[TurboGeoff]

HAHA

VR4s suck on the highway, just like AWD DSMs.

Ya man, i dont know of any 3/S with twin 20gs, let alone any in the 10s.

fastest 3/S i know of is mid 10s @ 137 set by matt Monett of Dynamic Racing.

Keep in mind, VR4s are not great Drag cars, they are stable high speed cruisers. Its very difficult and expensive to get a vr4 any faster than high-mid 11s, but they can cruise all day at 160. On the other hand, its easy to get DSMs faster than 11s, but they are scary at speeds over 100.

Personally i love drag racing, and VR4s are not good drag cars. Fastest one being mid 10s vs fastest DSM being mid 8s. Youc an see why id choose the DSM,

-Geoff

 

[Dsmshopping]

3rd Mike Mahaffey Altered Atmosphere USA 1994 Stealth R/T Twin Turbo 6-Speed AWD 1.717 10.787 133.90 mph TD-05 20G (x2)

TT stealth running twin 20gs.

-Dan

 

[blcknspo0ln]

yep, this thread went exactly where i thought it was. here you guys argueing over PRO level drag racing.

we, for the most part, are STREET modders.. whereas we'll never see below 12's. that's a fact.

now, for a first time car.. i'd say stay with the 2g. it's easier to work on, cheaper on insurance/gas, and easier to maintain. once you get more mechanically inclined.. a vr4 is perfect. not that hard to work on, maintenance is more costly, and insurance is more. BUT, you'd have a beautiful comfy 12 second vr4 DD. what more do you want?

i'd stay with the 2g if I were you. and remember, 1g vr4's come with 300hp/5-spd and the 2g vr4's came with 320hp/6spd getrag

 

[Shadowfax]

And now for someone else to step in.

Before you start pushing one way or another on 3/S's - just realize you are talking about a car that is at least 5 years old even if it was the last off the production line.
You will want to replace certain parts if the car is stock regardless of what 'supposedly' is done-

clutch
bov

More people have 3/S's that won't break 13's because their BOV leaks and the clutch is slipping on the top end of the gears.

if you have a 1st gen, with a new BOV and clutch and can't get 13.8@100+ then you have a problem driving or mechanically.

2nd thing- if you want 12's or high 11's- you can run a piggy-back and do okay. The MAFT is cheap and decent, I'd stay away from the VPC on the 3/S, and the ARCII is an over-priced MAFT for all intents.
There are exceptions- but if you are going to be happy with low12's on pump and street tires then the 3/S is a fine car.

You'll find the 3/S is heavy, but you learn to like it. You find that space is at a premium in the engine bay, you can make due... you find that the owners are largely idiots and no one knows what the hell is going on- which is irratating.

If you want a great daily driver-
buy a 1st gen 3/S Turbo
replace clutch with RPSII
replace motor mounts with poly
replace BOV by welding DSM flanges on the pipes after the turbos, before the IC- install 1st gen BOVs from DSM
Buy a MAFT Z06 in drawthru
rip the endtanks off a pair of DSM IC's- reroute using stock DSM sized piping
Rip the comps off a pair of 1st gen Auto DSM turbo (13g) put them on the stock turbines
reuse your stock 450's from your dsm
install a walbro 255lph pump
install a stillen DP with a 3" catback

run 17ish psi and low 12's and be a happy guy- you might find you can tweak to the high 11's.


And blcknspo0ln- it's hard to say they are PRO anything when it comes to 3/S - let's just leave it that 10's on a 3/S is retarded- most guys even at the "PRO" level of spending are still in the 12's.

 

[Eclipse6g72]

Matt Monnett (sp?) consistently runs 10's now. He is not "pro". The vr4s have wicked top end modded. I beleive they have a 200 mph potential.

They are maintenance hogs, but it's all part of owning one. The owners of the cars know that. The reason they put up with it is because they're a blast to drive!

 

[chicagoboostin]

my father has an 11 second vr-4 and a n/a 3kgt.. i woulndt say there high maintence if you keep it stock.. (like any car) the more you mod the more shits going to go wrong unless you buy a honda (not ripping on hondas) my fathers car has hit 200mph and being a heavy as hell car its awesome.. the car itself being heavy is more of a safety feature then a flaw. ive only seen 1 3si flipped over and that was due to htting a barrier at 125.
handling is not shitty in a vr-4 in a n/a its not as nice as a gst.. but eh... the vr4 can take corners at high speeds like an evo. awesome cars but they are more expensive to maintain because everything will take longer to fix because theres more parts and not much room. id say if you in your teens to 20's get a dsm if you a bit older then that get a vr-4