SR or KA

[SR_power19]

Because it is an ALUMINUM(light) engine that can hold upwards of 500(i have heard of even 600) on stock internals.That says alot, it was made for turboes(can hold up to 25-30 psi) while the ka's internals were not designed for turboes.

[Nightwalker]

you have heard, you have not seen or done

each engine merits its own advantages. You can sit here and argue these points forever.

(it's been done a thousand times on boards much more informed and educated than this one, so let's not)

a 400hp+ at the wheel SR is running on the ragged edge. What you have been "hearing" are dyno queens. Until I see a 400hp sr with stock internals that is daily driven and ocassionally driven hard, I still won't be believing much.

I'm not saying the KA is capable of more.

For myself, and others who live in California, I suggest you stay with a KA. ...unless you have the smog hookup, and if you ever get pulled over, you best be a fine female willing to give the cop a BJ, because your as$ will be grass. (check the more informed boards about californians who have been pulled over and had their hood popped)

in conclusion, if you like more torque go KA.
if you don't go SR

[Sideways_In_SD]

Walker's right!!!

I can drift the hell out of my KA I have stock internals, greddy header, injen intake w/CAE ( removed for big brother reasons ), ACT Clutch, Fidenza 8 lb. F/W, and a custom exhaust w/a 5Zigen muffer. You can drift the f u c k out of a 240 w/ a KA!!!

I RECOMMEND A FLYWEEL AND CLUTCH BY ALL MEANS, IT REALLY INLEASHES THE CAR!!

[GRiDRaceTech]

If you're in California, stick with the KA. (And I hope you have a KA24DE)
Worthwhile upgrades are as follows:
-JWT cams $560 (not lumpy, so smog guys can't tell it's there)
-JWT ECU $595 (not visible, so smog guys can't tell it's there)
-UR aluminum pulleys $400 (doesn't matter)
-l/w flywheel $430 (doesn't matter)
-HotShot header $270 (I have no idea, but if you paint it black and put some random grime on it, it'll look stock)
-your choice of exhaust $250-1300 (some pass, but you can always just bolt it on after smog if it's not legal)
-HKS Super Mega flow intake $138 (CARB-exempt)
More extreme: Cobra MAF and matching ECU from JWT, bigger injectors, Nismo fuel pressure regulator, turbo.
In other words, be prepared to put down $3000 on your drivetrain NA, but it'll be rock solid reliable and smog-legal provided you run a cat. ($99) I'm not a huge fan of turbos, so I'll let others comment on that.

[hachiroku-fc3s]

Wow, I kinda thought I was the only KA supporter on the board.

"(it's been done a thousand times on boards much more informed and educated than this one, so let's not)" Oh so good a suggestion except I kinda wanted to give some insight to the ones who "have not seen or done".

SR, you really shouldnt have posted that. "Because it is an ALUMINUM(light) engine that can hold upwards of 500(i have heard of even 600) on stock internals.That says alot, it was made for turboes(can hold up to 25-30 psi) while the ka's internals were not designed for turboes." One, no it cant hold or sustain such numbers on a bottom end. It can make em, not sustain em. Those are records. The current is 601 corrected hp. And that is with different components from differenct SRs. You do realize that the KA is a nissan engine, built the same time as the CA, RB, SR, and VG. Nissan knows how to build turboed engines and is famous for its parts sharing amont cars. The KA was built for boost. It came stock with a 9.5 compression ratio but that is easily fixed with a set of pistons (compare that to the price of a new engine) and that is the only reason to keep boost at a minimal. This concludes your introduction, if you would like to further your education, I would be happy to go into further detail, I just figured Id post an opening argument during my lunch break.

[SR_power19]

First, the KA has a 9.6:1 compression so

Second, yes i understand the KA is a formidable engine.For about 3,000 you have a KA-T with anywhere from 220-250rwhp and with 3,000 you may have a sr with 190-215rwhp(prices on sr's vary a great deal so it really depends if you have money for mods left.)


Third, i believe a signal auto s15 is running or was running over 600rwhp, so 601 is not the record, however im not sure if they were on a stock bottom end so thats a mute point The KA is a solid engine for -320 hp, the SR has more potential and much better aftermarket support, not to mention the SR is more rev happy

Oh as for "hearing" people put down big numbers on SR's.Enjuku racing pulled 544rwhp w/stock internals on the red top SR.

http://www.enjukuracing.com/ken/racecar/544.jpg

And Scott from secret services runs(dunno if he still does) 539rwhp daily.

[hachiroku-fc3s]

The current record for a "stock bottom end" SR, is 601.83 I think. Not sure about those decimal places and that is corrected hp. Also I guess you were trying to disprove me by quoting a compression figure that was .1 away from what was reported from Nissan and what I typed above. Maybe you have had your KA personally compression tested. If so, an aftermarket head gasket would account for the difference. Either way, I dont really car about the .1 diff. Its not much of a factor. As far as those prices go, you quoted a price equivalent of a greddy turbo kit and a SR clip. I could turbo a KA to 250hp for a grand. Even if I bought the exhaust manifold, that would only be $300. I dont know how much experience you have with building engines, but there is a point in which an aftermarket doesnt do anything. Most top end mods are services(tuning) not products. And the SR doesnt have an aftermarket superior to the KA in the US anyway. The Sr does rev faster than the KA but if you want to go into head design of the two, I would love to go that direction. Glad this isnt much of an argument and I like your use of smilies. But you will never win. HAHAHAHAha.

[SR_power19]

Please explain how you would get 250rwhp out of a turbo KA for only 1k.Heres how i see it:

(taken from another forum)

Ross Forged Pistons and total seal rings set at 9:1--- $590.00


Rebuild gasket kit from nissan to to do the rebuild --- $132.00

Custom Build turbo manifold for a T28 ball bearing from a S15 Silvia SR20DET $250 - $350

Silvia 370cc injectors from Ebay $100.00


High pressure fuel pump from ebay $100.00

T28 turbo from an S15 Silvia-$300.00-500

Stock Sidemount intercooler from an S13 180sx/Silvia will all piping intact including recirculator valve $100 - $250

Electronic Boost Controller and Boost Gauge $250 - $500

Misc. Parts and expenses $250.00+retuned ECU

That comes out to about $2772,Including small turbo and crappy intercooler.What would you do different?

P.S. You seem to be pretty knowledgeable, thats cool, not many on this board are lol, i hope to learn things from you in the future.

Oh and smilies own

[180sx2nr8u]

yeah someone told me that the KA is a truck motor, so its low end torque is very high, but its very heavy (coming back to an earlier stated point), and the SR is alot lighter.

Now for a new question (just to break up you to from fighting):

how do i get around emissions if i put in an SR motor??

[Frostbyte]

Originally posted by Scott
Nothin wrong with the ka. unless you wanna be all JDM and turbo your ride, or can actually benefit from putting in a sr20 or any other motor for that matter. True the SR is a "better" motor. Nothin wrong with the KA though.

Hell I got the sr only because I have the KA24e and it has some bad rings and I had money to spare so I bought the swap.

[foilman]

Okay, I'm finally going to jump in on this thread... crap. :|

You can do a 250hp KAT for CHEAP. My setup puts ~260-270 to the ground and can be reproduced for 1200-1500 + labor. There is no need to open the engine up... no rebuild, or lower compression or forged pistons until much higher power.

And stock compression ratio is 9.5:1.

[SR_power19]

No rebuild? OK if you have a new KA otherwise turboing a ka with 110k miles is not a good idea unless u like wasting money.

[marshun]

actually putting turbo on a motor with a 110k miles isnt as bad as you think. if the motor was serviced nicely and regularly then its fine. and if you werent beating it to *Censored**Censored**Censored**Censored* all those miles then its fine.

and i read someones post about it being an aluminum motor. LOTS OF CARS HAVE ALUMINUM BLOCKS AND HEADS. its just the piston sleeves that are cast metals.

if youre not sure about the information you've read about then please state the parts you dont know about. cause it doesnt help anyone who doesnt know anything at all.

[foilman]

Bah, I know lots of people running high mileage KA turbos. I bought my car with about 38k easy miles on it. I ran it efing hard (track days, autox, drag, you name it) until 115kmiles. Then I tested the compression and it was good so I threw a turbo on and continued to run the ever living ish out of it until about 142k miles when it popped (largely thanks to a crappy MBC). $250 bucks later I swapped in another KA, which should be good for another 70k miles or so.

I certainly don't feel like I wasted any money. It was much better than dropping a grand or two, plus the down time, on a built motor. And if a built motor popped (which is only slightly less likely), I would really cry, then spend another 1-2k to do it again.

-Tony

[hachiroku-fc3s]

Id just like to say that I love you guys. Open minded, relatively well versed in the automotive arts, and not hardheaded noobs. Yes, foilman foiled my response by beating me to the fact that there is no need to get into the bottom end until 250+hp. Ebay parts to keep it cheap and Id do the welding and have friends to remap and flash ECU. Really, just dealing with the price of the turbo and intercooler(though not necessary and could be left out for price) then valvetrain work. This varies, but with the right cams and a relatively good shape head, the 250 shouldnt pose a problem. Marshun jumped in with some useful info as well. Yes adding a turbo is not that bad for a high mileage engine. Actually you dont shorten the life of an engine much if at all by adding a turbo, but by running at incredible pressures at high loads and temps. Those are the things that shorten life. You can get away with 250 easily. Oh and this is where the KA shines. It has piston cooling oil squirters that help with temps and reliability. The SR is lighter but not by as much as I believe you are thinking. It has an aluminum block but it also has a turbo and the plumbing necessary. Now, with a KA-T you get that weight too, but their is always the option of building an NA KA which I have thought a lot about. Id love to build a high compression, high revving engine(granted, the engine wasnt built for revs, but that is why I would want to build it )

Oh and Im not hating on anyone who got the SR if they had a good reason, I just hate that the KA gets no love when it is actually quite a capable engine. Better for many of the applications that it gets yanked from. I have a tiny place in my heart for SRs (tiny, think really small) but it isnt what it is made out to be.

180sx.....yada yada yada, yeah, it was originally a truck motor but even the rotary appeared in trucks. Doesnt make it a bad motor. About the legality of the SR, its not legal. The only way to get around that is...well without shelling out a lot of money, well, just putting it in and breaking the law. Odds are even if you legalized it, you would mod it so it wouldnt be legal anymore anyway. I hate to be anti-gov, because Im not, but breaking the law is pretty much your only option if you want the SR. Though, you could have your car crushed for this, it is your call. Is it worth the risk?


Oh, and guys, torque is a good thing. Some ppl get confused by that, but you want torque. Oh and sometime when I have time, Ill delve into the greatness of the KA, but for now, my posts are long enough. Man I gotta get back to work.