1ST POST EVER what motor for my 240??

[evil]

this is my first ever post. i bet everyone is excited. anyway, as of last night i am building a nissan. i picked up a 89 240sx hb and my journey away from hondas has begun. now originally i thought the main and best swap to do in this car was a red top sr20det... now i read a little bit about a rb20det....

will someone please help me by comparing the two for me... the things i need compared are...

1. power comparison2. price comparison3. most importantly: compare the difficulty of each swap4. if the rb is that much more is it worth the money 5. if the rb swap is much harder is it worth it6. modability of each... (can i get a lot out of a sr)

basically if you can please help me by comparing the things and tell me the smarter choice, im used to 12 second cars, mid 12's more specifically and that's what i want this to be, also, what are the best sites to buy motors from?

i appreciate any input i get, and be prepared for my random stupid posts from here on out.

thanks again

eric

[PalmerWMD]

Eric:

Welcome!!.

I am not a great expert, but since our Gurus have heard similiar questions a lot and may not jump over each over, to answer rite away, here is a short summary:

1)RB20 has a bit stronger internals, but a well-sorted SR will give .you all the power you could need.2) RB20 cheaper to buy3)RB20 more diffcult to install,also lilkely need special motormounts from McKinney (am not sure about $$, I think it was like 500-600). MOst who have done it say RB is clearly harder to install than SR.4)+5) RB20 probably comes out to a wash for most PPL in $$6) Yes you can get tons of power out of each, most say even a bit more out of RB, but with well-sorted SR's running at 360 safe/reliable whp do u need more?The SR is lighter too.

One thing in favor of the RB is its a bit rarer, I also like that its an inline6

I have an SR in my car (didnt do the swap myself), I like it a lot, but an RB would be "cooler" (purists on this site, probaly are gathering torches right now, for me considering a factor like that....)

Fred..

[evil]

it's sounds like the sr20 is for me.... what sites do you recommend i buy from?

[masticatingcow]

Ha ha ha... SR20DET is the automatic answer... ALWAYS. It's a good thing, too, because that way you don't have to worry about the countless OTHER options that are available to you. [/sarcasm] Seriously though, you have TONS of options, and not one of them is better than all the rest... it just depends on what you want to do.

SHORT LIST:CA18DETSR20DETRB20DETKA24DETRB25DETRB26DET (single turbo w/ RB25 RWD transmission)VG30EVG30DEVG30DETVG33DETVH45DE

Before you get all up in arms about these swaps being impractial or unrealistic, unlikely or even impossible, I would like to say that EVERY ONE OF THEM has been done AT LEAST once, and you can find info on each on these and other Nissan boards. In fact, you'd be hard-pressed to find any respectable JDM engine that has NEVER sat in an S13.

If you end up "going SR" then many of the merchants listed to the left are recommendable. Several specialize in SR swaps specifically.

So welcome to the boards and congrats on your decision to join the Nissan community. Good luck with your project!

[PalmerWMD]

Good vendors for engines that will fit your car:

http://www.store.yahoo.com/phase2motors ... rswap.com/ ( Heavy throttle)http://www.mvpmotorsports.com/merchant/ ... acing.com/

The above are all sponsors here and have had excellent feedback on their engines from members here.

FRed..

[PalmerWMD]

Of course AMsticating has a poiutn many otehr good chocies do exist.

Especially CA18DETand turboing your KA24 ( single kit is cheaper but u can only run lower psi, or build internals while getting lots of power and keeing stock engione ( with CA VET testing,this may be a good idea, you can easier take off the turbo of the KA24 than an SR/RB/CA user can exchange his engine for a stock one_)

Fred..

[soflajdm]

if you want 12's, reliability, and ease of mods, then the SR is for you... simple bolt ons will get you there on the stock turbo. IMO heavythrottle is the best place to buy a motor from. and since you got an 89 240, you need some extra parts such as power steering lines, no big deal though.

[SloS13]

I bet this thread would go for 10 pages, and NO ONE would say KA24DET. ya damn JDM fanboys!

[justmerging]

I'll say KA24DET

Even though I'm getting an SR in a week.

j/k

It really depends on what you want. With proper tuning they can all be very potent motors to include the KA's. Budget also has a lot to do with it.

[Ajax]

Actually it was in masticatingcow's post. I double checked to make sure when I read the list...

[justmerging]

What about KA24ET?

SOHC :ylsuper

[Silviapower]

SR i think would be a good choice since more OEM and aftermarket are available in the United States than the RB motors.

I know somebody with an RB he has to buy part from Japan, well i think some shop carry RB parts now but not alot, still RB parts are source from Japan.

Well the decission is yours...good luck they are good engines:D just dont go buy a toyota engine for ur 240sx hehehe:D

[marshun]

is money an issue? i found the guy that i want tuning my kadet setup. so we'll see what happens from there

[collk88]

ka-t all the way- they are cheap, parts are easy to buy/get/find, and you can make just as much power if not more from the same amount of boost than an sr20. if your going to upgrade, get the rb, but your going to be spending a lot of money before you even get to tune/upgrade the engine.

[Altiman94]

ka24e-t is the shizzle.

[Florida240sx]

Thinking about turbocharging my kae but wondering if i should do my dohc instead. Which you prefer?both got high miles but whichever i chose will be sent to the machine shop before turbocharging.

[S13Sil-line]

There is a guy on the RB forums with a 2JZ out of a supra. It's pretty nice. I went for the Rb 25DET

[erollinc]

s13sil-line..... is that 180sx lsd still for sale and if so would you take 250 for it and hit me up on aim at ecrollin240 or [email protected]

[Doomed2Walk]

If you want to build a no nonsense drag car, I'd go with a RB25DET, or a KA24DET (will need extensive tuning and rebuilding for high boost). If you want a daily driver that will double as a drag car, I'd go with a RB20DET, KA24DET, KA24ET (by FAR the cheapest for you), or get a SR20DET. If you want a daily driver to auto-x or drift, I'd go with the SR20DET or CA18DET. So it's basically what you want to do with your car, how much money you have and how much power you want make. Just think it over, do the research and good luck to you.

[evil]

it's gonna mainly be a drag car that shouldnt be driven on the street but will now and again. i share a garage with buth drolema who is an up and coming nascar driver, lol, and he has a pipe bender and all of that good stuff, so it's going to be gutted with a cage, no crazy 800 pt. cage or anything, lol, something mild so i could still drive it around. my most recent car i built was a jdm front end, turbo integra gsr, i posted pics on the bottome, my old car is on the right, lots of money spent, and i cranked out a whopping 13.9..... let's just say im looking forward to the nissan. it's looking like the sr20 is for me, i've just gotta research turbo upgrades and what not but that seems to be the most simple and common swap. i'd like to do something different, but from what i've read around boards, the sr20 is the most common for a reason.

[S13Sil-line]

I can tell you one thing if you RB25DET its not going to be hard at all to get it in the 12's.

erollinc email me @ [email protected]