motor options?

[drift4ever]

i have a 1990 240sx w/ a locked up/ blown motor... i dont really know whats wrong with it b/c i bought it like that w/ the plan to do a motor swap.... My question is, since I wanna drift and have a lot of power just to have fun w/, should i get the sr20det and stay w/in the family and have around 200 HP, or go ahead and get the rb25det and have around 250 HP? Since its an rb motor the power band is basically limitless. Any help/suggestions and other performance additions to either motor would also be appreciated!

Thanx

[TokyoDrifterxo7]

SR all the way. do the research, im sure you will be pleased with the end results.

[drift4ever]

thanx..i just want sumthing that wont be to complicated to install, run and upgrade.. and cheap of course. ive researched both and like them both i just want whats best for my car and my beginning experience....

thanx again and any other help would be appreciated!

[UNITEDMASTER]

IMO put the SR,but if you got the cash to do it correctly go for the RB

[driftex]

SR or KA-T. i dont think the RB is worth it.

[Tuner]

Drop a stock used motor in it. Learn to drift first.

[Stannyboy]

i second what tuner has to say.. rule #1 learn to drive first. then learn to drift in a low hp car.. it will make u a better driver

[bk3896]

sell everything buy a hachi

[JunpoweR]

I would swap a 13bt rotary into it..
That's one of my projects possibly in the near future..

[UNITEDMASTER]

Put the RB ,if you got the cash to do it correctly,and you will have yourself a streetable monster,just my .02 dont flame,THANKS

[NHDrifter]

I say SR20DET. It is the stock motor. If you want to get technical. In Japan would they drop in a KA24? haha just kidding. If you want to drift. I wouldnt put an RB25 in becuase of front end wieght. It would totally unbalance the cars wieght distrubution. You have other options of course. SR20,CA18, or maybe even the RB20. The SR20 is probably the best swap that you could possibly do for a drift car. Let me tell you. My friend has an SR20 black top motor in his 1991 S13. He couldnt be more pleased with the results. But its not just the motor. A 1.5 way or even 2 way LSD needs to be factored in as well as a lot of other parts. Going cheap on parts. The swap would probly cost about $4k-$5k. If you know how to do the swap yourself it would save about $1,700+ My other friend wanted to do an RB20 swap, but after he got in a ride in the S13 with the SR20 black top he change his mind within a matter of minutes. Go with what you think would be best for you and your car. I hope this helps you on your decision!

[mranlet]

Originally Posted by drift4ever

thanx..i just want sumthing that wont be to complicated to install, run and upgrade.. and cheap of course.

You just described a KA. S14 KAs can be had for under a grand in good running condition and spares are plentiful. The swap into an S13 is easy and only requires a few of your existing 13 parts to make everything happy.

If you've got so much money to be thinking about doing SR and RB then you can surely afford the $1500 for a good set of coilovers, a few hundred toward a good 2-way differential and around $300 for a good bucket seat.

My car has 115rwhp and weighs 3000lbs and I can drift just as well, if not better, than lots of people with SR S chassis.

[HasNoTiresLeft]

Get a used ka. Get a 1.5 or 2 way. Learn how to drive/drift. Then turbo the ka. Just me 2cents.

[drift4ever]

ive got the cash for the sr... and i want it to be a street monster, but in the future i want it to b pure drift. so i want something powerfull and at the same time comfortable.. i want good power b/c i have 275 HP in my current car and want to b at the same range. i will get the 1.5 LSD prolly, but may go to a 2. im not afraid to spend $ on my baby, but i want it to b worth while and to move forward in the upgrade process... i cant afford a KA turbo, then a SR.. but i can afford the SR, and a few other drifting mods. do u guys understand? not flaming ne one, just letting u kno the situation... but thanx for the opinions, and as always more are welcome!

[HoosierDrifter]

i went with the sr and im extremely happy with it. aluminum > iron anyday for me.

[freakishpower]

i would do the rb swap myself...more power...
and you can do things to even the weight

[chris2669]

Well I can tell ya I would put just basic stock engine back in. At the same time you can learn to drift/drive and buy your SR on the side. Now adays these engines are really getting old. you need to build them before dropping them in. Basics I would say would be sleeves(stock sleeves break down after years of running), rods, pistons, cams, valves and springs, and then put a thicker headgasket back on.

After finish the build put the stock turbo back on and start going up on your power from there!!

Now if you really have some MONEY you can always order a Tomei SR20det for a small amount of 16K or go crazy mad and buy their RB26 and drop in there for 20K....but obcourse noone that is not rich could afford those!!!!

you can pick up a blown engine for little of nothing everywhere in the US. I would start with one of those and then work up from there!!

And don't fall for some of the swap shops!!

[DriftKE70]

I'd rather go the KA-T option. It'll be a lot cheaper to replace a blown up KA over a blown up SR. Gearboxes for the KA are also more plentiful.

[chris2669]

Originally Posted by DriftKE70

I'd rather go the KA-T option. It'll be a lot cheaper to replace a blown up KA over a blown up SR. Gearboxes for the KA are also more plentiful.

gearboxes are not a prob. all know that with SR's if you go over 350PS you need a new tranny. (Guro preferably) but if you don't have money like that then you get a CA mission.....they can take some power. I know of a few People here in Okinawa that run Rb25 trannies also. those are extremely stuff!!!

[mranlet]

I'm not sure what some of you guys are saying due to poor grammar, but I think I am getting the main ideas.

KA vs SR for cost:
This depends on the power that you want to make.

If you're looking at getting 200-250 at the wheels, a KA in good condition with low miles on 6 or 8 lbs of boost will make that peak power with added low end torque because of the higher displacement for less than the cost of an SR swap.

Here is a dyno of a KA-T using XAT Racing's Stage 1:

This sort of power is $4500 installed and tuned. If you were to try to do it yourself you could save a good amount of money, but you would still need proper dyno tuning.

I don't have a dyno graph, but the same amount of power from the same shop (Stage I SR) is between $6100 and $6300 installed and tuned.


If you're looking to make 400-500 at the wheels, you would probably be better off financially with an SR. Although KA's still are a few Gs less (from a shop) to reach a high horsepower mark, they don't like to be boosted more than about 8 lbs without pistons, rods, etc. With proper internals, KA's can make upwards of 400hp with a much flatter torque curve than SR, but although both motors need substantial work to make this much power the SR has been engineered to sustain more boosted power than the KA and is often much more reliable than the boosted KA.


Bottom line - KA Turbo will make a torquier curve for less initial cost, but reliability will be somewhat less than that of an SR.

Turbo iron block will always hold more power than a comparably engineered aluminum blockIn additoin, weight difference between iron block and aluminum block is almost nominal when you're talking about motors of decent size (2l+), especially if they are turbo. The block and head are only 2 conponents of many in a motor, and although iron and aluminum have very different weights, you still have to consider the weight of the turbo(s), internals, transmission, coolant displacement, pulleys, accessories, etc.

As for SR vs KA transmissions - you can use an SR bell housing on a KA transmission, so don't even worry about it.

[chris2669]

that is it you have it.

but I have to comment though that you can get a great curve from a SR but you need that Stroker kit.............AND MAN IS THAT EXPENSIVE!!!!!!!!!

[NZ Drifter]

go the rb25 man, they are alot more powerfull than a sr20det and have a huge tuning capacity, the weight diffrence is not an issue with good coilovers the extra 500cc makes all the diffrence