Nice daily driver

[zedevan]

Pretty pointless post, but I'm curious as to peoples thoughts on having a 'sporty' daily driver - as i know there are a few people on here who have exactly that as well as their zeds.

 

Does this badly eat into your 'zed's pockets? is it hard to not want to just go crazy on modding the daily driver?

 

I figure that being realistic it will be a couple of years before my zed is on the road, (factoring in wasting money and time on other things) and i dont see any real reason to rush it instead of enjoy the process while having a life outside of it, and build it up to be what i've always wanted - besides the fact i'm missing driving something entertaining.

 

At the same time paying for rego, insurance, petrol etc etc, in a car which has been nice to own as 'something differnt', and is very practical (subaru outback), its getting depressing. I had a few things in mind for it, but after driving my mates wrx, no matter what i do to the suspension i dont see it ever having that kind of feel due to its larger size (maybe i should test drive a GTB to c if thats actully the case)

 

The sad thing is i'm not driving that much right now, as am catching public transport on weekdays - maybe i should just get a go kart...or a lotus 7. However an S15 is what i have in mind, as I've always liked them, and now seems like the most sensible time to own one, if there ever was such a thing, as its still possible to find one in good nick, I could have it for a few years until the zed can replace it, and then go back to a turbo shaggin waggon daily (or hopefully public transport will be good enough to not need a daily - which i doubt).

[RaceBorn]

I had a sport daily, but to be honest, it was chewing too much out of my wallet, so I decided to swap it for something that was just mechanically okay, didn't drink too much petrol, and that's about it.

 

My opinion is that if you have a "sporty" daily, and you are an enthusiast (which I am guessing you are), the temptation to modify will be too great. Which means more money into the daily, and less money into the Z (so the Z will take forever to get on the road).

 

I'd recommend you get something comfortable but something you know that you are very unlikely to modify, and concentrate on your Z. Well, that's what I am doing anyway, so that's my 2 cents

[vinny]

I drive a old ford xd it's reliable,gets me to work and back it's on gas so doesn't cost much to run. I can leave it anywhere and not worry about anyone stealing it,as race born said you don't want to spend any money on your daily driver. Keep all your spare cash for your z.

[Mr240z]

I brought a 2006 Honda CBR1000RR with the intension of riding it a work everyday and save the Zed for the weekend....

 

Was I wrong, now the Zed is the daily and the bike is the weekend fun machine.

 

Each morning I go to work about 5.30 am and there's nobody on the back streets to work,

So I kinda have my own race track to work and I don't hold back either...

 

So with the weekend bike "opposite I know" but its to much fun, I got up to 280kph on one wheel, can't do that in a zed, not mine anyway...

 

So buying a "Daily" turned my planes inside out......Go figure........

 

                            Pauly mr240z , Mr1000rr in my bike club B&S

 

http://www.viczcar.com/gallery/index.php?cat=10828

[620Z]

My advise is to limit the sport in your daily driver. Most cars after mods start costing you money. Like you say money that could be used on the Zed. My plan has always to concentrate all my money and efforts on one car. This keeps you focussed and all energy in the one place. I see plenty of people with an assortment of cars and more often than not the Zed gets put on the back burner. And 2 years later a half finished project is up for sale.

[RBZ 260]

ill throw in the spanner on this and go different.

 

my other car was my daily S14 200sx. than took it of the road when z was finished. though i did modify my s14 and spent bit of cash on it previous to the Z.

 

These days moding S13/S14/S15 is lot cheaper than what it used to be 5 years ago. and theres mountains of aftermarket stuff that doesnt cost an arm or leg.

 

Never planing to sell the S14. great car and im the second owner and picked the car when it had 25k km on it. still in very good condition.

 

though i managed to convince my other half to sell her car (which she was very fond off) but luckily changed when she took the s14 for drive

 

so now my z is my daily and s14 is hers. (both my cars  ) though she takes good care of it so i dont mind.

 

recently went to Melbourne to purchase a S14 or s15 200sx for my cousin.

 

after lot of disapointing cars we did manage to find a clean blue s15 spec S stock (thats what we wanted, modded cars 99% are thrashed) it was auto but the price of 16.4k was briliant.

1k for man conversion still ahead compared to 20k+ manual version.

 

drove the car back to Adelaide. Absolute gem. lot nicer than the S14 even though its same car and suspesnion but it feels so much better.

 

I say go for it. even if u mod it it wont cost you arm and a leg. if u buy modded make sure u get from a poser (ie there some owners that have all the goodies but never go past the 3000rpm but the price reflects as well)

 

performance upgrade that s15 needs is bigger intercooler price from 259 to 699 for trust Kit. exhaust from 450 to 1k for big brand kit. other than that maybe king springs to bring it close to ground and nice set of rims for approx 1.5k. other than that it doesnt need anything else for daily. even if u just lower it, its good enough.

 

im in process of getting one myself. well for the missus  it will be her daily but my weekend warrior #2 lol only way to get her to agree to get one without selling my 260z.

 

i dont think i ever drive anything other than 2 door sports coupes. when family happens well i need a tow car sometime soon so that will take care of that for family runs.

 

so enjoy the S15 before they get too old and thrashed. Z well its more an investment it will never loose $$$ the older it gets 

 

 

 

 

[blue fairlady]

I live in Hong Kong which has a great public transport system.  I take the tram or bus to work everyday. I have three cars, and these are all toys, and it's very expensive toys.

I have counted and one can use all the fingers in both hands as fees for everycar per year.., for example car parking alone is A$500 per car per month!!

 

My thinking is cars are made to be driven, so I wake up very early every morning and drive one of my toys before I get home for work, and I have doing that for the past ten yrs. Not to say weekends , and one can se my cars in every corner of Hong Kong.

 

So having cars as hobbies are very expensive business.

 

Classic cars no matter how well restored and maintained will need fixing if one USE IT, esp in the cut throat traffic these days.  If one do not use it like those in discovery series, nothing will happen.  To me it's no point, I believe the more you use it , the more it's worth your money back!

 

My cars will live forever, but I don't so I am enjoying every minute and every mile in my cars!  Cheers everyone  happy motoring!!!

[sexual_sushi]

my 260z 2+2 daily driver takes money and parts from project car at the moment its stealing $800 for breaks and rear drums from my project just to keep it on the road

[Surly_Z]

Well, the original plan was to keep the 240Z as a weekend car - but I can't seem to stop driving her! But come winter I've got a few plans and she'll be tucked away in the warm shed being tinkered on - rust and interior first on the list.

 

Currently my daily is a Z31, which so far has cost me more in maintenance than my 240Z, working on those things is a b!tch... but it's a Z and I love her dearly, and tend to not too look at the receipt folder's thickness!!!

 

My other option is my housemate's Kombi - we work together and commute everyday, so we have a selection of cars to choose from every morning!

 

Then if all else fails, there's my girlfriends Celica.

[mrp69]

Buy what you want

If your driving it more why not have 2 nice cars

 

My daily was a 2004 wrx

Sold it because company now that's my bash around

 

But I know of a s15 for 24k with 300kw at the wheels

Just built from croydon autosport with 2 years warranty

Pm me if interested

 

Peter

[RaceBorn]

Pete I just visualised you in a hawaiian shirt and a big gold chain ... Not a good look 

[tbscobraZ]

Im sure if sure if fuel is a prob then ITB's are a good way to go, maybe an efficient L24 with fuel injection.

[C.A.R.]

Evan mate, just keep driving the Superpoo & concerntrate on the Zed.

Heck, bring it down to me & I'll fix the Zed for you!

 

FWIW I bought a R30 Skyline - stock as a rock - for this very reason.

It's fairly boring to drive & I've resisted the temptation to mod it, & for that reason I haven't had any issues with it

[Toecutter]

I*'m a big fan of keeping these cars drivable and on the road verses long dawn out projects, (some are lucky and have a couple of Z's so they still get their fun whilst working on a slow resto, not the case most of the time though). I reckon fix the 260, I know your L26 is cactus so just pick up a cheap local L28. Keep the car going as a daily and buy all the bits you want so you can isntall them whenever your ready, ideally in one go in a short period of time. So you can snap up some coileover and put em away, an RB25DET and tuck it away etc. This way your money is going to your Z, you get to enjoy the car now whilst it serves a purposes on a practical level and in the back of your mind you know you have all those good bits ready to go at a time of your choosing.

 

The other point is you've just started your job so who knows you might end up with a company vehicle at some point in the future which is the perfect scenario!? Just keep in mind alot can happen in 2 years, a time may come when you would like to get into the Z but may not be able to...happens to people all the time. Result, as Craig said a project for sale!

 

Sulio

[PZG302]

I'm lucky in that the Z is my circuit toy, so doesn't get used a lot. Hopefully will have it home sometime in April.

 

My daily driver is the bus generally but I also have an XR8 ute for long distance driving and towing. I also have an MX5 for reunning around in, a great fun car that is easy on the fuel, but I do have to be consience not to spend dollars modifying it as that takes away money from my Charger that is currently under restoration.

 

Being single I am lucky that I don't need more than 2 seats, so I can get away with the toys

[zedevan]

Thanks for the reply's guys!

 

Coz i work at a smallish company, i dont think a company car would be on the table for quite some time, atleast 5 years judging by who has them etc.

 

If i did put an l28 into my car, or even cheaply got the l26 fixed cheaply it doesn't help my desire for the car to be what i want it to be - sure i could drive it and enjoy it for what it is, and try to keep up with whoever i'm going on a cruise with, but i've already done that for a couple of years (having a ball doing so) - but either way i'd just love to have a turbo car, and a turbo z would just b the ultimate (or an sr20 lotus 7, but...they r ugly lol)

 

fuel consumption of the zed is no longer an issue - it will probably never b my daily again, as i think the zed deserves better, i've had 1 car written off due to idiots on the road, and another few light crashes where idiots have managed to go into the back of me (or my gf) in peak hour as they were not paying attention! I think an l31 with ITB's would be awesome, however if i went down that path i'd want to do it to a 240z

 

RBZ260, you have to many cars and its not fair. There are some nice cheap auto s15s out there huh! i think the LSD in them is viscous instead of helical, but still for the cheaper price its good - i'd like to get a spec r gt, or put some nicer fabric/suede seats into a normal spec r, just coz i've gotten a love for sunroofs (and a dislike for plain fabric interiors, not being to fussy or anything ) - i'd never put one in the zed, so i figure it'd b a good compromise

 

This is quite a long train of through, but writing the post the other day got me thinking how nice it would b to b able to go to a go kart track (or kite surfing on hot days) a couple of nights after work (and they have the major advantage of no insurance, fines, or bodywork to worry about). The only track i could really get to within a reasonable time is the one under the westgate, but then i'd have to drive into work which is a nightmare thanks to eastlink. I am hating the time wasted commuting to work and back, which is an hour minimum. The solution to these problems would be moving out, (which is something i basically promised myself i'd do after catching public transport to the same office for a year in 2007)

 

The only reasons not to move out are the economic issues - those world wide and how that might effect my employment status, and it taking money away from the zed, which i'd prob leave the zed at my parent's house and only work on it on the weekends. ATM i find it impossible to b motivated to work on it by the time i get home anyway (although i'd have to cook for myself instead of getting it supplied - therefore possibly equaling out to the same thing - but with many other 'personal growth' possitives).

 

Anyway, this brings up the solution of not really needing a daily driver (except for getting a go kart to the track, lol) as i could nearly ride a pushbike everywhere, scab a lift, or tolerate public transport as it'd only be a couple of trips a week max...not 10!

 

And therefore making this thread nearly completely pointless...

[Toecutter]

except for a few points,

 

-you have established you don't really need a daily,

-the fact still remains that your 260 only need minor dollars spent to keep it on the road,

-even though you don;t need a dialy it is always nice to have transport,

-from my current reading the log book system for CH plates might not be too far away and from the letter I have read about a month ago that was sent to the RTA from various clubs they are heading to a 90 day log book system with possible option of 45 days, so cheap to run your historric if it's only for the occasional drive, fingers crossed it does'nt get delayed for too much longer!

 

Another note, if you plan to move out don;t spend any cash at the moment on a new car. Move out and work out what your disposable income really is vs doing a budget on what you think it might be.

 

Sulio

[Scando]

FWIW I bought a R30 Skyline - stock as a rock - for this very reason.

It's fairly boring to drive & I've resisted the temptation to mod it, & for that reason I haven't had any issues with it

 

Go the R30!  I've had two of them as dailys (only cause the first one met an unfortunate end) they are incredibly reliable and pretty good on fuel.  I now have a bluebird wagon just cause I wanted a wagon (plenty of room for carting Z parts around).  It's nowhere near as indestructible as the R30s were.  I still have my second one but it's been demoted to a paddock basher.  It's now done 580,000K's of which 540,000 were done on the original engine!

 

Back to the topic though Zedevan, I bought an early GSR turbo Lancer with a few mods a while back for a daily and got bored of it very quickly because you can't drive them on the roads the way they're supposed to be driven and it just wasn't as fun to drive as the Z.  So I sold it a few months later and got the Bluebird which costs me bugger all to run and fix which gives me more spare cash to spend on racing the Z.  I've also had a Datsun Sunny which was a perfect daily cause I could drive it like a race car everywhere without breaking the speed limit 

[RBZ 260]

spec r gt is on my shoping list too. but ill take any one of them for the right price.

 

yeah got many cars but they need many hours to make them good. 

 

i used R31 TI as daily while was working on the z and 200sx was sleeping at home. was dual fuel low kms great car. boring as hell but the power windows buttons kept me amused so did the trip computer LOL.....

 

at least u sorted out what u want.

[zedevan]

if the CH plate system goes to 90 days a year that would be perfect, and maybe some motivation to get the zed back on the road with a cheap L series - or buy another classic car to use as a "daily" on weekends, as it would b hard to live without a car

 

Does the car have to be of a certain age? Or just deemed a classic by a club you are part of? As my parents have an st165 sitting here, its now around 24y/o and is definately on the rarer side of things so just wondering if that could get CH plates, as it was a bit of fun to drive

 

I bought an early GSR turbo Lancer with a few mods a while back for a daily and got bored of it very quickly because you can't drive them on the roads the way they're supposed to be driven

 

yeah i get what you mean, and the way the laws r now its not good at all if you get caught, but there's still something about having a daily which can actully go around corners etc - i was hoping getting shocks out of a GTB would make me enjoy the outback more, but i dont think it will b enough

 

i think another problem is that i've always liked s15's and as i said, now is probably when it makes the most sense to get one, but it would be wise to move out and see how $$$ goes for a bit first, while working on the zed's body as i can

[Zedman240®]

For a car to be eligible for the CH plates, it has to be 25+ years; so for the Toyota you would have to wait another year. I wouldn't use another classic for a daily, I'd be paranoid whenever I'd leave it parked anywhere!

I used to have a Bluebird as a daily runabout. Cheap to repair and maintain, wouldn't care who hit me (strange thing is no one ever did! they saved it for the 260Z I had at the time) and no stress when I left it. I did want to modify it a bit; found a single DCOE manifold for it but never put it on. I just left it as is and enjoyed driving the zed more.

[Dingo Dave]

i had a sII bluebird as a daily for a while. good reliable car. was my parents from new my sisters learnt to drive in it and drove it then i learnt and gave it some. it was straight as when i got it. engine had done 500000 by the time it died. I did stupid things in my youth. pushing trolleys out of the way with the front bar. drove for like 14 hours straight one day. got to Canberra fell asleep comming down this road. woke up to thump thump thump. looked up to see a line of empty garbage bins on the side of the road and I'm hitting them. through a few like 5m off the road. hardly any damage to the car. some bins though. engine Finely died and bad things happened to the shell. still got all the doors and stuff out in the parts shed. was thinking of scrapping them in a couple of weeks when i do a run.

 

Old cars had good and bad points as dailys. easy to fix (most of the time). new cars it stops on the side of the road. So you open the hood and look at the masses of wires running through the barsted. cheap and less things to go wrong with them. fuel, air, spark alot easyer to chase

[zedevan]

i am enjoying all the comforts of the outback as a daily, but for the amount i am currently driving it i have been considering going to something i can just have 3rd party insurance on - my brother has an st162 that cost him $1500 a few years ago which i drove for about half a year, but i got to sick of fixing bits and peices on it (water pump, and a drive shaft snapped, lol). it also felt strange nearly spending as much on a car each year as its worth - and the outback's insurance is only $300ish more than 3rd party on the celica is, so besides the fact its depreshiating at about 1g a year it aint to bad. at one stage i really wanted to get a c210 as a cheap daily, but they r a bit hard to find

 

I don't really drive somewhere that i have a problem leaving a car, specially now i only use it for leasurely activities - i used the zed as a daily to get to work at northland, but i am surprised it wasnt' stolen, lol. and the toyota looks that close to a normal one its really a bit of a sleeper....hmmmm

 

 

 

 

 

[stevo_gj]

So you would like a cheap, reliable, sporty, efficient but worry free daily driver?

 

Me too 

[zedevan]

i'd like a house for 1g within 10km of my work also i think i've lined up a place to move into with a mate later in the year thats inbetween my work and the cbd - so i'll see how that goes

 

The zed ticks all those box's quite well - just not the crash and comfort aspects. i might go test drive a gtb sometime and see how it handles as i dont need the clearance of the outback, and it should make it atleast enjoyable to drive around a corner - my manages H6 spec B with STI 6 speed is a beast, and this doesn't look to bad for an outback http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x143/gradg1/Outback/OBK0908/OBK09089.jpg (i've got the rear spoiler sitting here, lol)