^^ no offense, but have you ever stopped and thought maybe you’re doing something wrong. I’ve dd and tracked my car for a couple of years and never have issues!!
I have owned my one and only 240 for 5+ years it was a 2k ride when bought… should have been free. my mistake.
but that said I never did kill the old engine. yes i have a new one but the old one was fine too lower compression but ran fine didn’t burn too much oil. but when i got rid of it it was well over 300K closer to 350+
my new engine even tough its turboed is the same MPG as it was NA (so long as i don’t hammer it) and yeah on a full tank i can go from Ajax all the way 30 mins past buffalo then to Markham and back to Ajax and still had a quarter tank left. Did that last week. in the end i spent like 55 bucks in premium gas for that trip. You do the math.
If you want safety and reliability, buy a 2012 Camry.
Cars break, learn to wrench. No 20 year old car is going to be completely “hands-off”.
Also 10K into a 190K car, ball joints, tie rods, water pump and thermostat.
My dad used to have an old D21 with the single cam ka24. Couldn’t kill that thing, mind you its a different engine. But my 240 has 130,000 so it’s still running fine. If it’s anything like the truck I could get almost 420,000 out of it.
I’ve got a 255,000km S13 KA24DE n I get a lil under 500km to a tank in winter, 550km+ in summer, MIXED city n highway driving.
I drive it every day: snow, rain or shine, it’s never left me stranded in the two years I’ve owned it… Its a tough ride when maintained correctly. I’ve replaced parts and performed regular maintenance myself (coils, suspension, fuel pump, oil changes, etc.) That being said, I wasn’t very mechanically inclined until I got my S13, I learned a lot from my cousins helping me out here n there as well as reading forums and tutorials. It wasn’t too long after that I could diagnose an issue with my car and fix it myself given I have the tools for it. BTW, I did buy a lot of tools after I bought my S13 which is a great investment if you don’t already have tools.
All the modifications, repairs and maintenance I’ve done myself, it would have cost a great deal more to get a mechanic to do all the work, $1000s more. If you believe you can learn how to replace parts and diagnose issues and have the TIME for it, I say get a decent 240 with minimal rust. But if not, look for a much newer car.
240sx is an extremely reliable car. Especially an sr20det.
However, it is only reliable if properly maintained, which can be said for just about any car.
Now… you say your interested in drifting, lapping. Well you have 2 options.
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Learn how work on cars
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Forget about tracking
Track time by its very nature incurs maintenance cost if not repairs.
So if you don’t have any mechanical knowledge, nor plan to invest in gaining some, then stay away from drifting, tracking, everything to do with 240’s in general. We would appreciate it.
Anyone that expects to be able to run any 20+ year old car without either some mechanical repairs paid for, via a budget or do the work themselves is in essence … a retard.
My ka24de has 265000km I drive it four times a month to Montreal (gf lives in Montreal) 650 to the tank In 91
how doyou guys get such good mpgs? i’ getting 270kms for a full tank at 75$ that’s worse then a v12 diablo motor is sr
Jdm i think you should look at your driving or have a very hard look at your engine. any KA or SR getting that low KM has a very big problem. sounds like your spitting raw fuel straight out the pipe.
How have you never had an issue? I feel like everyone has to be lying that says these cars are rock solid. Now saying that I was confident enough to drive my car to florida and back and have only had to get my car home once by trailer and that was due to an alternator failure.
My first track day ever and I blew by original t25, over heated my calipers, ruined the pads and rotors and one front wheel bearing. First time drifting I snapped the exhaust studs out of the back of the turbo.
But christ, in 5 years I’ve replaced almost every part on my car. I’ve been through 3 turbo’s , 2 diffs, 2 blown ps steering lines, replaced one bad ps pump, alternator as previously stated, clutch, wheel bearings. And then obviously lots of fun mods.
Either way Op has it right, learn to wrench, if not I’m sure these bucks will cost you a ton getting everything done at a shop.
The only issue I’ve ever had at the track drifting, is one broken front sway bar link, a blown turbo can happen anytime! Your brakes overheating, that is because you didn’t have a proper track setup, exhaust studs breaking on the turbo are from an improperly mounted exhaust!
Your SR isn’t running right or you’ve got a heavy foot? Best mileage I got from my SR was 526KM & that’s from hard driving and BoOsting so definitely should get at least 600 to the tank in comparison to that under normal driving.
My thoughts on the 240SX after owning one for over 5yrs… VERY RELIABLE! Due to Maintenance & Care, which didn’t cost me much anyways in the long haul 
Thats a really heavy foot, or your running so rich that fuel is probably not even igniting. What is performance like? do you have a wideband?
I’m running my rb25 a little rich right now just because i need a professional tune and I’m to poor but i still get at least 450km to a tank. and thats at 15lbs boost
As far as reliability the chassis is a great platform. Parts are cheap and pretty easy to find and easy to replace. Not to metion in the 90’s nissan made most parts standard and easily interchangeable between models and years with very little modification. And there is basically a how to topic on every nissan 240sx related maintenance/modification in the book. Google is my friend
since this has turned into a mpg thread.
I had a ka24de give me 400-500 a tank, depending on whether it was city or hwy
ka24e gave me 450-500 a tank city/hwy.
SR gives me 450-500 city, 600 hwy. With a slightly rich tune.
None of these figures are with me driving like a pansy. I have a tendency to accelerate quickly. Especially on the highway.
the SR is super reliable, powerful and economical if you want it to be .I drove to Wyoming which three quarters of the way across the U. S . in my SR powered SX. over 1700 miles to get there and then back again . I think KA or SR your fine .