ca18 vs. sr20 vs. rb20 vs. ka24-t
 

i've heard there are advantages of each. here's what i've come up with so far.

ca18
stronger block- able to take more boost
more potential
cheap
easy install
rev happy
weight advantage over ka and rb
but...
small displacement
old
weaker than rb and sr

sr20
bigger displacement than ca18
easy install
a lot of potential (less than ca18 tho)
weight advantage over ka and rb
but...
expensive due to popularity

rb20
straight 6 (kick ass)
cheaper than sr20
but...
heavier than all others-might throw off balence of the car
hard install

ka24-t
no swap needed
parts available easily in the US
but...
limited to 6-7psi w/o rebuilding
expensive
reliability is an issue



i'm leaning toward either a ca18 or sr20. any opinions? i'd also like to see what the supercharger kit for the ka24 (by unstable hybrids) is going to be like before making any final decisions.

Heres some reasons the SR is better than the CA or RB:

SR has a higher hp potential than a CA. Highest hp I've seen outta a CA is around 400+ whp, SR can go around 600.

The CA weighs more than the SR.

The CA has very little low end.

Can't find parts easily.

Really old.

And well the RB would just be a pain in the ass.

Ok the KA-T vs. SR is really tough there very different, but potential is equal.

rb=bulletproof bottom end
rb isnt that much heavire then sr

ca=cheap;)

i've heard that the CA has a stronger block and therefore can take more boost. is this wrong?

the CA has a more aggressive cam profile then the SR. and the cams are a direct swap in.
the sr and ca have good strong internals. i couldnt tell you exactly how much better is between the two. my main concern is the RB series.

i personally like the CA better then the SR but there arent a ton of parts for it in the US like the SR.

what concern?

:music:

both CA and SR make gobs of power, but thats full on race. ive seen CA18s with 6-700hp, and SRs with 900hp.

yeah both engines can make retarded amounts of power.
but look what you have to spend/ do to make it.
once your there it'll always come down to serious maintnance to keep it reliable.
i dont know about yall but with 600 under my "happy foot" something is bound to break


whoops

right...:p

huh????:confused:

The CA is a good choice as an engine. It has a cast iron block, and yes with stock internals the CA can handle more boost. Up to 20psi. I believe the differences in the head that you were talking about rude have to do with the cams. The CA has 8 lobes per cylinder vs. the 4 lobes per cylinder of the SR. Contrary to most beliefs, the CA can take parts from various other Nissan engines. So parts aren't that difficult to find. From what I've heard the RB isn't that bad in terms of throwing off the weight dist. But if your gonna go RB, your better off with the RB25 or RB26. The RB20 makes what 220hp. And SR will get you that much without a sweat, and your weight diff. wouldn't be affected. The KA is always a nice alternative as well. But like you said spitz, it would need extensive re-building to make it worthwhile.

the ca18 can hold 550 hp on stock internanls and you can use all parts from the usdm ca18de form a old pulsar but sr can only hold i think like up 400 or something arond there than you have to change stock internals also reline n ca is 9k and thats jus soo evil !!!!:devil:

I don't think the CA redlines at 9K stock, but with modification it can hit those revs. Take that S2000. :p

Thanks for pointing out the parts list there too. I think the flywheel off the KA works with the CA as well. There are other parts of course like I said from other Nissan engines, but I can't remember them all. :)

wow, i never knew that the CA was such a bad ass engine... what cars did they come in?