Advice...Daily Driver...Turbo Drag KA24DET

[Valett85]

I have a 95 S14 ka24de. It is my daily driver. I go to college and work. So i cant do any crazy mods yet. My overall goal is to use it as a fun drag car for the weekends but also drive it on the street. Ive been doing some research but dont know exactly where to start. Well, i read the turbo tech post so im going to check the basics. But as far as upgrades. I would like some experienced ka24det guys to guide me along as to what i could upgrade for now to give me fun power but also prepare the motor for a turbo in the future. I am going to do basic car mods alos, as in:suspension, wheels, Strut bar, intake, exaughst. Any help on motor upgrades would be appreciated. phil

[S13FX]

Maybe for now you can do a mild boost set up.

But using parts that will benefit you down the line.

Like a nice exhaust manifold, good engine management to get familiar with now, good exhaust, cams, maybe even do an engine rebuild for now too.

You don't need a big turbo right now, but when getting manifold, keep in mind your future project.

A good LSD would be in order, any body or frame work.

This is just a small list that can go on and on.

[neverlift]

well not too many parts jump over from n/a to boost, you could do an oil sandwich and go ahead and run turbo feed/return setup, just loop it till boosted, if you get a four port adapter you could also do an oil cooler(turbo will love you long time). If you plan to tune this yourself, go ahead and get the parts to do your ecu and get familiar. maybe an intake from eghey for a charge pipe and intake for now.

3" exhaust would be best for a turbo, BUT its gonna be real loud till you get the turbo on which will tone it down some.. a test pipe is a great idea that will free up some power. maybe get a wideband and learn what your reading as well as some other engine monitoring devices like vac/boost gauge,water temp,oil psi and temp. this really coul dgo on for days, if your looking for a drag build dont waste money on parts that are not going to get used for a big turbo.

[Valett85]

I would like to do the cams but dont you need to reset the timing? Thats why i have held off on that.

[lrb_2000]

It's really easy, just make sure the chain doesn't move when you install them. Or else you just have to set it to TDC and go from there.. you can't really mess anything up as long as the marks line up.

[WDRacing]

Buy a turbo that supports 450WHP from the get go or you'll regret it later.

[Valett85]

thanks for the advice guys... i really appreciate it. i also talked to a guy a met at the drag strip in st louis. He recomended doing bbu. And pieceing together the turbo kit until i have it all and then putting a new manifold and all on it. he recomended a 3 inch cat back for now and adjustable suspension so i can harden the back end for track purposes but soften it on the street.

[Florida240sx]

Buy my t3/t4 setup. Get a nice hybrid t3/t4 setup run 8-10psi. Then when your ready turn it up and get retuned.

[Zippy69]

Welcome aboard!!!I am putting a t-25 turbo set up on my s-13 next week( still waiting on a few parts) and as I have never boosted a car before, I'll post back here to let you know the results (power before and after, driveability, fun factor etc)Good luck!

[Valett85]

Thanx zip. Yeah, i would like to know all you have. I am trying to gather as much info as i can on what parts do what. My first upgrade is going to be suspension. Just because mine is shot. I'm not going to go with a lowering kit either. I think the car looks good the way it sits as is. So for now im just going to get the shocks, not springs. Ok another question. what do the numbers in a turbo's name mean. I know that the numbers in a motor generally mean their liters. so what are the numbers in a turbo.

[Valett85]

also, i just checked my compression. does 180 to 182 sound good for all four cylinders?

[Valett85]

nevermind, answered my own question on that one. But now im a little nervous. after putting everything back together. I now hear a tick that wasnt their before. I cant tell where its comming from. sounds like lower part of engine. and only comes on when car is in gear. Please tell me its not possible a rod.

[Zippy69]

nevermind, answered my own question on that one. But now im a little nervous. after putting everything back together. I now hear a tick that wasnt their before. I cant tell where its comming from. sounds like lower part of engine. and only comes on when car is in gear. Please tell me its not possible a rod.

What all did you take loose?If it was a rod, it would most likely make noise all the time. Give more info and somebody here will help.

[Valett85]

ok...I think it may just be a noisy fuel injecter. not sure. It dosnt do it too bad all of the time. i can only hear it at idle when its in gear. when i rev up a little. by a little i mean only a few hundred rpm's. it gets faster when rpms go up. obviously. but when i go up past about 1500 rpms. i cant hear it anymore. the engine makes more noise than the tick. and it dosnt nock on further up when i am going through the rpms. so for that reason i dont think its a rod. plus. i can hear it better when im in the car. if i stand over the engine, the engine makes more noise than the click. as far as fans, fuel injectors, and what not. its not effecting the performance of car at all either. and also, its getting better the more i drive it. right after i tested my compression it was loud. but the more i drive, the more i cant hear it.

[Florida240sx]

Ever remove the timing chain guide?

[Valett85]

...i have that noise too. that is a very sloppy nasty sound. this is a very crisp tick.

[ccptravis]

sounds like a valve tap