i've heard wagons handle better due to better weight distribution. at least with the 2nd gens. if you do the exact same suspension mods to both cars i would think the wagon would handle better, but just be a little heavier and therefore slower in a straight line. idk how much heavier they are though. i wouldn't think more than 100 or 200lbs though.

i was thinking about making a fast wagon too. a 2nd gen wagon would be the ultimate sleeper. people see a million of them on the road every day and they're all sllllloooooooooww and boring.

look into sarge's car. he has a fast wagon that actually looks pretty damn good with black paint.

 

A third-gen wagon is only like 70 pounds heavier than a third-gen wagon. But you should get a second-gen the 3G wagons are awkward lookin.

 

Wagon's are heavier than the sedan. They will also will tend to flex a little bit more because they don't have the rear deck to stop the rear strut towers from flexing, but that's nothing a rear strut bar won't fix. The sedan and wagon have the same wheel base but the wagon has stiffer rear springs to handle a cargo load.

I have never driven a sedan but I can say that my dads ZX2 feels lighter and nimbler than my wagon but that could be the 15" wheels and extra HP.

 

3 gen. wagons have the bigger brakes up front same ones as the ZX2
The ZX2 motor will go into the wagon
Zx2 exhaust is the same as the wagon
Wagons can carry more stuff Bigger springs and they come with swaybars

SO GO FOR THE WAGON

Ok there are 2 wagons in my drive way a 97 and a 99 with a 98zx2 auto in it

Both cars have cheep tires (bought that way) and I would rather ware them out than just replace them, last summer I would go for a spin or come home from work and I would have to put air in 1 tire (breaking the bead) never the same tire unless it was the same corner that I powered through

Wife would drive car for 2 weeks no problem (me 1 trip to hardware store)

Now that the wife’s car has the DOHC there is no comparison the ZX2 is faster and more fun to drive --- SLEEPER--

Ps I do not recommend trying to put the ZX2 in to the 97 too much different

 

Go with the wagon. If it's cheaper that means more money to spend on
bracing up the suspension, HP parts, a nice set of wheels and a totally useless item just because you want it. :lol:

 

3 gen. wagons have the bigger brakes up front same ones as the ZX2
The ZX2 motor will go into the wagon
Zx2 exhaust is the same as the wagon
Wagons can carry more stuff Bigger springs and they come with swaybars

SO GO FOR THE WAGON

Ok there are 2 wagons in my drive way a 97 and a 99 with a 98zx2 auto in it

Both cars have cheep tires (bought that way) and I would rather ware them out than just replace them, last summer I would go for a spin or come home from work and I would have to put air in 1 tire (breaking the bead) never the same tire unless it was the same corner that I powered through

Wife would drive car for 2 weeks no problem (me 1 trip to hardware store)

Now that the wife's car has the DOHC there is no comparison the ZX2 is faster and more fun to drive --- SLEEPER--

Ps I do not recommend trying to put the ZX2 in to the 97 too much different

all 3rd gens have the same brakes, unless you get one with rear disks.

the wagon exhaust comes out to the side behind the rear tire, not straight back like the zx2. the exhaust manifold to cat flange is different.

since the sedan uses the same motor as the wagon, it would be just as simple (or difficult) to put a zetec into a wagon as a sedan.

 

My old 2nd gen wagon handled pretty well... although it had a nice thick rear sway bar, instead of the weak rear bar they put on the 3rd gens. It's easy enough to get one from the junk yard and swap it in though.

 

It's easy enough to get one from the junk yard and swap it in though.

...unless the previous owner breaks one of the bolts off...

 

Thanks for the input guys.. i will be going to look at a wagon tomorrow afternoon and maybe get some pics up.

 

A third-gen wagon is only like 70 pounds heavier than a third-gen wagon.

So which 3rd gen wagon should I get, the lighter one or the heavier one?
How much more than a 2nd gen wagon weigh than a 2nd gen wagon?

 

So which 3rd gen wagon should I get, the lighter one or the heavier one?
How much more than a 2nd gen wagon weigh than a 2nd gen wagon?

Just a wild guess, but I would say 0 :wink:

My 2nd gen wagon handles great and all I've done is go with the Energy Suspension bushings everywhere I could.

 

A third-gen wagon is only like 70 pounds heavier than a third-gen wagon. But you should get a second-gen the 3G wagons are awkward lookin.

I remember when crankOr got his wagon weighed at a scale, came up at like 3200lbs lolz.

 

So which 3rd gen wagon should I get, the lighter one or the heavier one?
How much more than a 2nd gen wagon weigh than a 2nd gen wagon?

Just a wild guess, but I would say 0 :wink:

You're so clever, did I make a boo boo?. Did you not see what I quoted when I made that post? You went and quoted my post but took out the thing I was quoting. Understand before posting. It's like, the first rule.

 

You're so clever, did I make a boo boo?. Did you not see what I quoted when I made that post? You went and quoted my post but took out the thing I was quoting. Understand before posting. It's like, the first rule.

Oops. You are so right. That's what I get for reading these at work. You caught the faux pas first!

 

yeah now go die.

 

I have a '97 wagon and an '02 sedan and in my opinion the wagon drives, handles, and rides better than the sedan. I would recommend you drive a couple of each and form your own opinion.

 

I only had my 99 wagon for a short time, but it was nice to drive. I can't compare it to my current sedan, since the current car is lowered.

 

Well the last few days werent so good for me but i finally got a chance to check out one of the wagons i was hoping for and it ended up having quite a bit of rust which i couldnt see in the pictures. It seems almost impossible to find a good used car in vermont that isnt a rusted out pos :roll:

 

Try looking here in upstate NY. Around here unless its a car from a dealer it will probably have significant rust damage. When I was shopping for my first car I looked at 3 2nd gen wagons, all had rusted out rocker panels or worse. I ended up buying my 3rd gen wagon from a dealer in CT, I'm glad I did. Most people there are to rich and snotty to drive a 5+ year old economy car so they usually go for a cheap price, even if the car in question has 32K miles on it. :wink:

 

You caught the faux pas first!

you guys are lucky. everytime i've tried to get one of those sneeky little red bastards they runs away. and why wood ye just git ther pas? why not stoff teh whole thang?

- 8O :lol:

 

You caught the faux pas first!

you guys are lucky. everytime i've tried to get one of those sneeky little red bastards they runs away. and why wood ye just git ther pas? why not stoff teh whole thang?

- 8O :lol:

yer usin' the wrong bait!

 

You caught the faux pas first!

you guys are lucky. everytime i've tried to get one of those sneeky little red bastards they runs away. and why wood ye just git ther pas? why not stoff teh whole thang?

- 8O :lol:

yer usin' the wrong bait!

i tried using fishsticks cus i herd the ghey fauxes have a cleaner coat. :lol:

 

Oops. You are so right. That's what I get for reading these at work. You caught the faux pas first!

I like the faux mas better. Especially when the faux pas are away on long trips.

 

To each his own I guess.

 

I found a wagon today its a 1999 Automatic with 108k on the clock. as far as i could tell there was no rust on the body at all, the only thing wrong was the rear bumper was cracked(no big deal).It also had power windows and i think power locks. The place was closed so i didnt get to ask any question about it. Do you think $2195 seems like a fair price? or maybe cash could talk them down some.