I am in the market to get a used 96-98 240SX SE, because I was planning on doing the usual engine swap. Well while doing my research I noticed that the SR20DET that the majority of people use isn't even the best engine out that can fit into the 240. For instance the VG30-DETT which was in the 1989 and beyond 300 ZX's engine is putting out 280hp and 285ft-lbs of torque, plus it has two turbos in it. Obviously a few dollars would be thrown out to upgrade the turbo's but I mean you are already spending money to do the swap why not do it better. I don't know how hard it is to find a 300ZX with that engine, but I managed to find one online for a decent price.

Another engine out there with a pretty decent power output is the VH41-DE which I believe was a rare japanese car that was only out between 96 - 97, but yet it is putting out 270hp and 277ft-lbs of torque. Again this might be a really hard to find car because of the time frame it was made, but it just seems like someone in Japan would think about looking for this engine and trying to do something with it. I will state again I am new to this engine swap in a way, I wanted to do it a few years back but didn't have the time or money to do it, so I am researching the whole thing all over again. I am surprisingly finding that the swap has gone down a lot in price and that a lot more places are familiar with them, which also drives the price down. I won't even get started with the V8 the Q45 from 96-97 was running with, can one of the more knowledgeable explain what all the buzz is for. Maybe I am thinking to logically or I am missing some major components in my logic but either way please explain. It just seems like everyone is going with the SR20DET and I am wondering, why?

 

Cost and simplicity...Problem solved. Screw engine swaps all together. If you could boost the KA, you could get 500-600 WHP if done right. Search.

 

But the engine will have a lot less miles on it compared to the KA engine. When you say search I assume you mean search on here for people that have done it.

 

So what? You could rebuild it and have a brand new engine. Youll find KA's pushing more power than SR's. Im not saying that the KA is better than the sr, but there is no replacement for displacment. Go to phatka-t.com and youll see what I mean

 

Thanks for the info, definitely don't mind saving the cost for the swap so that I can have an even faster car. I just wonder what the cost differences will be.

 

What lind of power are you looking for? If your looking for 500 or below KA is the best bang for the buck. Plus it has more torque than the sr becuase of displacement. Why spend 2000 or more on an engine ( that does not include labor to put it in) If you already have a superior powerplant in the car right now? Just something to think about.

 

So your saying that anything over 500 go with the SR, well I doubt i will want anything that powerful, but depending on the quarter mile times I might. I guess i will just weight both possibilities and what I am going to be using either for.

 

It seems like it would be easier to go with the SR20, since for one it is a newer motor, and two it has already been looked over and is in pretty good shape. If i did go with the KA then I would have to look it over or have someone else look it over to make sure there aren't any cracks or anything else that will cause me problems down the line. I don't know about you but I have no experience looking at engines, plus how much would someone charge me to look over my entire engine to make sure it doesn't break under medium amount of boost. I see on the site that someone mentioned (phatka-T) that they will look over your engine and do some stuff to it for like $4000. Unless I read wrong that doesn't even include the cost of a turbo for your KA as well as labor for your turbo. Seems like the SR would be cheaper since I found a shop that would cost about $6500 total, including install.

 

You can also drive your car everyday. Buy another KA for like 200 - 300 bucks and slowly build it up in your garage or whatever. Questions you need to answer are, What r u gonna do with the car? And what r my drivin style. SR's are rev happy, they rev to like 7500 rpm, which once you upgrade t'bo you can use all of those revs. KA's r torquey(more brute force) and can get hp cheaper. VG's get alot of hp but initial swap is $$$ and labor intensive and front heavier than the 4bangers. IF u want a 6cyl why not RB. you get torque, revs, cheap hp, and great sound. Swap is a lil harder than SR but I think easier than VG. Just to throw some ideas at you. Look it looks like you have a lot of searching to do. Take ur time. GoodLuck!!!

 

VG might be easier according to BigV's info. z31 engine and tranny mounts can be used for the z32 engine. By the way TT will not fit. Youll have to convert it to single turbo. Why not Ls-1? So much potential, that engine has a huge market. It has 300 stock. 6500 for a stock sr right? That will only yield like 170 whp. with that money you could be making 500 with ka.

 

Fast one, but if I keep the KA I don't know what all could be wrong with it, how much would it cost for someone to look it over. If I knew the engine was in great shape then I would go with your idea and turbo the KA, but I won't know what problems the previous owner had with there KA. Also in regards to the person who said buy another KA engine, from where? I have thought about the Rb, but it is quite a few extra dollars, plus I figure it would be expensive as heck if something is wrong with it. Also I haven't seen many cheap mods for the RB, at least not as cheap as for the SR.

 

Ur right about the Rb costing more $$$ than SR. And as for where to find a KA. It's a USDM engine. U can sneeze and 1 will fall out ur nose. I belong to importfanatix and there r at least 3 ppl selling them NOW for like 300 or less. I'm pretty sure there are more avail on Club240(it's a bigger forum). Junkyrd's, they're all over the place. Check for ppl raving that they just swapped an SR. They had a KA.

 

What are the forums or sites that you belong to that are selling the engines? For the person that was asking me what I am going to do with the engine, basically show car as well as an every day driver, while my Z is in the garage. I guess it would be easier to drop the engine off at a shop and have them fix it up but I don't know of many shops in the area that build up the KA engine in the area.

 

http://www.club240.com/forums/showth...threadid=23039

http://www.club240.com/forums/showth...threadid=22074

http://www.club240.com/forums/showth...threadid=23308

http://www.importfanatix.com/Forums/...ad.php?t=14412

I pulled these up in like 2min. Just use the search button. U can buy a motor and take ur sweet time and build it while driven the car.

 

Rebuilding will solve most problems the engine has. Unless your block has a fat hole in it, you can rebiuld and have an engine just like it came from the factory. Search A LOT before buying your parts. It will pay off in the end