need advice... turbo vs sr20
 

i have 1992 240 SX SE, and around 3 grand or so to spend towards it...im the only one in my town with a 240 and a little money to throw into it, and would be able to have any labor costs covered by some friends who are willing to do it for free... just because of how much they love 240's and want to be be able to say theyve actually "done" the work on it. ANYWAY, i want some advice on what would be my best bet, to turbo the ka or swap for a sr20? i have about 125,000 on the motor now...
what do you guys think?
:dunno:

thanks alot

SR20det!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!

Save up about 1k more, and turbo the KA. turbo kit and etc. costs about 3k-4k and you will be pushing out even better numbers then the SR.

But what is your goal to do with the car? What kind of numbers do you want to see? Why do you want to do a swap or turbo?

this is an age old debate. you will never get a solid answer. with that said i will give you my "opinion." The reason i bought a 240 was so that i could have a reliable car with a turbo motor rwd. i wanted something that came with a turbo from the factory (for reliability purposes) but the sr is just as good. with an endless budget the ka could probably beat an sr in pure dyno numbers, but with an endless budget you would be buying an rb 26. if you have a limited budget and want a great reliable turbo motor with low mileage and incredible potential for relatively cheap money then the sr is a great idea. i know that even with the basics you are still only around 250 hp, but that kinda power in a light rwd car is a $h!tload of fun. like i said before you will never get a straight answer, but this is why i have done what i did.

wow! i can't believe nobody else has put in their 2 cents worth!!! this is usually a heated debate.

people have probably had it up to their eyeballs w/this long pointless argument.:D

Get an SR. From a value perspective. it's definetly the way to go. In order to do a KA right, you'll have to have it rebuilt, then buy turbo and intercooler kits, and you'll probbably need better injectors. With an SR, all u need to get is an intercooler from ebay or a junkyard, and some piping from a plumbing supply store. Get a fuel pump for 100 bucks and youre done. Get 3 inch exhaust and a boost controller and you'll be plenty fast.

cheapystyle, same thing can be said to the RB20 but even cheaper...wo0 wo0!

i know there are so many conflicting views about which path to take...im just tryin to look for some wise input from all of you who know a hell of a lot more than myself...bascally i got really lucky and picked the car up off my neighbor for dirt cheap, bc he came by it and knew i needed a ride. i have a great job and will be making mad cash this summer so instead of takin out a loan for a car, now the loan money is all going Into the car. im just look in to see whats realistic with around 3500 or so. is havin almost 130000 miles on it too much to turbo it?

that is another advantage to buying a jdm motor. most have less than 40k miles.

Most "supposedly"have 40k miles or less...you never really know. And you really never know how well the last guy that had the engine treated it....or abused the sht out of it. And also JDM engines will always be illegal...a big downside

oh well son the sr is way better in the end!!!!!!!

not many ka fans jynx. you should recruit some post whores to vote for ka. im still all for sr

i'm starting to respect the KA's potential. but i also like the CA, the SR, the RB series...


well, i guess i'm just a Nissan motor whore, too.:)

Not many KA fans at all :confused: im a iron block fan :D (KA, CA and RB :D)But i love nissan overall

so how much do rb's and the ca's usually run? (i know they vary, but approximately and not including installation) and would it be bad to consider turboing my ka bc it has almost 130,000 miles on it?

thanks...

RB20s usually cost...from 1300-2100, matters who you get it from. And CAs usually about 1500-2000. But remember RB20s all ready come more powerful than the CA, and can handle more HP and boost.

hmm...
 

So basically rb20's are the best "bang for the buck"?

IMO, yep! Only downside(other then it being illegal)is the aftermarket. the AM isnt as big as the SR or RB25

i got my sr20 for $1300 shipped. wiring harness was another 300

so about how much is the price difference between the rb20 and rb25?

I love the Ka but I mean you will have to rebuild it to turbo charge it, Also I believe the pistons fromt he factory are weak and you will have to change them. But 4 grand vs 1,500 I dont know man... Check Ebay.

rb20: 1400-2100 +shipping
RB25:3500-3700+shipping

You can turbo a stock KA, but you cant run more then 7-8 boost with out upgrading some internals.

i have been hearing some good things about the KA24DE's. they are becoming more respectful. i found a web site were these guys turbo'd there KA engine's and there pushing 400+ hp... here is the web site.
http://www.import-autoperformance.com/
some pretty cool stuff on this web site.

HyJynX, is there anything you dont like about the rb20's?
Or maybe anything negative that you've heard people say after theyve gone that route...
Because so far i think thats the direction im gonna take...
thanks

Only real negative thing is the aftermarket for it isnt as huge as the SR20...even the RB25 has a lil more aftermarket then RB20s. Other then that, every person that i know that has gotten a RB20 has been extremely happy with it.

Hrmmmm......i think im just gonna hope that a smaller aftermarket wont make me regret goin for an rb20 down the road. but we'll see.
thanks

Me too. It is a wonder why people cook on stoves with IRON skillets instead of aluminum ones. Probally because Aluminum has a lower melting point then IRON!

If you have the money, which i guess u dont, build the KA. The motor has a lot of potential, but not stock :( . The reason most people get an sr20 is because of the stock turbo. It makes it an easier application to upgrade...or something like that -_-