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Originally Posted by Canaduh
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Originally Posted by Jinx
I think your wallet will be much happier if you just turbo the KA.
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Err, friend has a 240, and is thinking of turboing the KA, but is trying to get talked out of it, as it is the other way around. The SR apparently is cheaper, so hes told by people at www.zeroyon.com/forums But, a mojority of them live in Japan, but say it should still be cheaper. But wht do i know :\ |
OMG this discussion has gone on for SO LONG on Nissan forums.
People everywhere seem to think that an SR20DET will crank out insane RWHP numbers right off the crate. Not true. Any self-respecting tuner will AT LEAST replace the rings, gaskets, etc. etc. Before long, all that is left of the "SR swap" is the block. The turbo gets swapped most of the time, as does the SMIC, stock piping, lines, etc. etc. So rather than pay a few thousand dollars for "everything you need," you've paid a few thousand dollars for "everything you've replaced" and paid, you guessed it, a few thousand more for all those new parts.
Now, a complete KA24DE (with tranny, harness, ECU) shouldn't cost more than $500. You can get the long block for as little as $150 sometimes. If you want to rebuild the motor (as you should) you only need to replace the OEM pistons with lower CR ones. If you REALLY want to rebuild the bottom end, you shouldn't have to use anything more than OEM replacements. Figure that the rebuild and prep for turbo will set you back a little over $1000. Now you build a turbo kit to your specifications, which, depending on what you want, could cost as little as $1400 or as much as $4000. At that point, it's really up to you.
Let's take an extreme example: say you want to fully build whichever engine you go with for maximum HP. This will mean rebuilding from the oilpan up in both cases. The upshot with the KA is that you save over a grand in buying the engine which you can put into performance parts. Remember that a young KA shouldn't cost more than $500, whereas an SR NEVER costs less than $1200.