What's up guys. My little bro just bought a 1993 240sx. We're obviously considering getting a turbo in there relatively soon, but we can't make a decision...

My question is: should we go KA-turbo or swap an SR20 in?

I know the SR swap will cost a bit more, though I'm not sure exactly how much more (maybe 1k or so more?)

Also, I have never swapped an engine before so I'm not entirely confident I would be able to do it up in NOVA. If I was able to bring it down here, I could always pay some people to help me out

Oh yeah, we'll probably shoot for mid to upper 200 horsepower range, just in case that affects your choice.

Thanks in advance guys

 

turbo'd ka's are very capable of mid to upper 200 horses. i'd say go with the ka24det... but that's my opinion.

btw... is it a coupe or hatch?

 

Coupe. We wanted a fastback but just couldn't find a manual one in time. So many automatics

 

im no 240 expert...but an iron block and .4 more liters cant be wrong! going turbo on the ka is a more economical idea because ka's can be had for like 600. depending on the condition of ur stock motor...id say go ka24de-t. mid to upper 200's at the crank is a very realistic goal you're setting..and youll probably hit that with relativly low boost. ie 7-8psi. but that to the wheels wont be had too easily.

 

The age old question, KA or SR. I would go to the various nissan boards and do a search. You will come up with tons of info.

-Mike

 

check out zilvia.net or freshalloy.com
however just search and youll find, nobody on there is going to go into detail again, some posts range up to 10-20 pages

in my .02 i chose the sr bc of having a high milage ka 100+ and didnt feel i wanted to take the chance
my sr for just the front clip was 3500 and had 32k (kilometers) so in reality its not even broke in
ive heard ka can hold up to 20psi stock internals, where as sr normaly shouldnt be ran past 1 bar with stock int, but can be driven daily

the complexity of doing either i feel is about the same, cost should be about as equal if you buy a turbo kit.
purchasing each piece separate would prolly save you some cash

 

honestly, both are very good motors. you wont be disappointed with either choice. things to think about... does he want to be "JDM" or does he just want a turbo? are you confident on making the swap, or would a bolt-on kit that you can upgrade later be better? theres about a hundred other things to look at. dont rush it, see what he wants, and go with it.

 

i just feel more comfortable and confident in my sr than i would have boosting my ka. i just feel beter knowing it came off the line from nissan ready for boost=)

 

kat

 

like s14vaxlr8 mentioned, this is a topic that has been debated over and over on both zilvia and freshalloy. there is no "right" way to go. it all depends on what you want and what you'll do with your car (or in this case, your brother).

ka-t can be less expensive IF you plan on piecing together your own turbo kit. if you're going to buy a turbo kit, it'll be just as expensive as getting an sr. fmax, nsport and xs engineering offer a kit for around $4,000 but i've seen places sell some for $3,500. these kits all dynoed at around 240 rwhp @ 7 psi, i believe. greddy has a turbo kit that should come out relatively soon (then again, we've been waiting for it to come out for years...). it is a non-intercooled 20g kit that will run for $3,000 and supposedly put down 210 rwhp @ 6 psi. personally, i don't think i would boost the ka-t at more than 10 psi, but that's just to be safe. i also believe that the stock internals can handle up to around 300 rwhp safely.

the sr is a great engine though. you might be able to find the engine cheap, but if you do, make sure they're a reputable place. if you just find it cheap from a shady place, you'll probably end up with parts missing, which you'll have to then buy, and therefore not save money. a front clip is the best way to do that. an sr on the stock t25 can easily be a fast car, as eric has proven with his s13, dynoing 275 rwhp @ 15 psi. i believe most sr's will cost around $2,500+, not including shipping. if you're interested, pj (s1lv1a) can probably get you one, hehe (free plug for thespeedfactor.com ). keep in mind that you might not be as lucky as s14vaxlr8 and get a higher mileage sr than he did. redtop sr's (the cheapest ones) are pretty old.

in the end, it depends on what you really want. torquy high displacement? high revving engine? as long as you don't start bashing one or the other, it's all good, hehe (most ppl choose sides...)

s14vaxlr8, the ka is kinda ready to be boosted as well. it's a closed deck iron block and came with oil squirters. it's just begging to be boosted, hehe. granted, ka's usually have higher mileage, but the advantage is that if you blow it up, you can always get a new one for $500 or so not that i wouldn't mind an sr....