are you happy with your CA?

[Tyler]

i have been wondering how many of you are happy with your ca18det swap, and how many maybe wish for something else. i ask because i have seen alot of threads, not on nico but other forums that sorta bash the ca and say for the power it makes stock its a pointless swap. i just wanna know some first hand experiance, cause i dont wanna get scared away before i even get the motor in my car! im not looking for a huge horsepower monster either, just a reliable, fun street car.

[XTCshri2222]

love hate with mine, if i had to do it all over again, i think i would have done a KAT, but at the time KATs were not to good and ems choices for them were lacking.

[Tyler]

why is it a love hate?

[XTCshri2222]

took forever to find a p/s pump bracket, and had a cam get broken by the machine shop, took a month to find cams, this b4 all the ones on ebay. Parts cost more then pretty much any 4cycl motor you can fit in a sbody. pretty much only hate i have is hunting down parts, or wanting something thats way over priced.

[Blackened]

My CA is at 202.000 km on the clock. Once cracked the cylinder head and welded, once blown the oil pump and screwed the pistons, 2 times overheated because of wrong head work.And now it's very very hard to start on cold mornings, and I have bad afr problems, I'm saving for SR for the new year

[RM12577]

love mine, had it for over a year put 10k miles on it so far, did all the swap wiring and stuff myself when i put it in, I went from a ka24e, wouldnt be as big of power difference from a de, but it would be a lot more fun either way, turbo cars are just fun to drive because they boost no matter what they are, with that said i kinda wish i had saved up for an RB but my CA is reliable and I love the hell out of it, Ill prolly get another 240 for an RB project one day.... when i have money that is.... just dont expect it to be like a twin turbo vg30 or anything its not a powerhouse, its a screamer....

[articzap]

I love my CA. Parts are much easier to find now a days. The only problems I have are trying to use parts that aren't for CA's on my car. But its ok I can deal with it.

If I had to do it all over again I would do an LSX swap. CA is the best 4 cylinder you can put in the car IMHO.

[sjbsuperman1425]

i do love my CA. i mostly got it because i was on a tight budget and this was the only motor i could find, and im not diasspointed with it. starts and runs good, did the swap and wiring myself. and IMHO, i think this is 10x better than my friends S14 NA KA24DE motor with 12:1 compression. I wanted, and still want an SR20, but that'll be for later on. i do like the RB series, but just not for me. These CA's are badass IMO. parts aren't THAT expensive and you can still make power out of them. treat your car/motor right, and it'll treat you right..thats what i always say.

+1 for the CA18DET!!!

[ca18detgabby]

Other than people assuming it is my bf's car.......

I love my CA, I have a realitively stock build and daily beat the hell out of it. my step dad was agianst it at first because.... Its an import..... I did my research, did the swap, and now it is impossible for him to let go of the dam keys when he gets them. He relates it to his GNX Drag carS he has had in the past, but with a manual trans.

Its been almost 2 years of my swap, about 15k, and honestly other than AC..... I would not have done anything different...... then agian Im still rolling around on mostly 20 year old gaskets. I might have done something about that next time......

PS if you could find an FJ20 then I might say different..... that would be the only exception.

[themadscientist]

im not looking for a huge horsepower monster either, just a reliable, fun street car.

Keep the KA, slap a low boost turbo kit on it and done. I am always surprised at the amount of people who want entry level power IMO 300 or less and immediately replace a perfectly good KA24 with a motor as old, just as beat on and illegal for inspection too, dumb. The money you would spend on any JDM swap motor, CA, SR or RB, that would need an overhaul too is money you could use to overhaul the KA and bolt a turbo on it.

[sjbsuperman1425]

i agree totally..but im some situations, like mine, ppl buy shells and can choose ANY engine they want, then they have a REALLY REALLY good excuse lol

[themadscientist]

I love my CA18 but my car came with it. I can't see putting up with all the BS the stateside swappers put up for very little gain over a well built KA24.If I wasn't deep in CAs and FJs I thought it would be funny to pull an SR20, sell it and throw a KA in it. I figure the screams of anguish from the stateside fanbois would be worth the title modifications. The KA gets more unjustified hate heaped on it than the CA does by the same people, people whose opinions are based others opinions, those opinions themselves based on no hard data just net rumor. Nissan doesn't build a single motor that would be considered "bad". I keep hearing about something called a QR that seems to have issues.The CA is an old motor that never had a strong aftermarket and what there was is quickly dwindling. It will normally be completely illegal depending on your state too. If you are willing to accept these caveats go ahead. If all you want is some streetable power your raw material is already under the hood.

[r34 gtr]

Love it, had it since 2002, will not replace it. If I go with a different engine, it will be in a different car, because the 240sx is keeping the CA. I have no emissions here, no inspections, nothing. Ive ridden in KA-Ts, SRs, and RBs, and I like my CA the best. You can't argue with my cars weight either, 2800lbs even with me, some gear, and a bit more than a quarter tank in it, with a full interior and spare tire and jack and wheel chocks and everything.

[mazikowski]

Well, my situation is a little different from most of you guys on here as I have my CA in an 87 Pulsar. I got it when the CA16 went in August of '07 and did all the work myself (swapping FWD bits, custom FMIC piping, wiring, etc.). The car was off the road for about a year, so I had almost forgotten what it was like to drive the car but the CA18 is incredibly fun to drive! After getting used to a turbo motor, it throws me off when I drive an NA car because I keep waiting for it to hit boost.

My swap was a logical one (blown CA16DE --> CA18DET) and I did plenty of research over the time it took me to get the swap done, so mine wasn't just a case of jumping on the bandwagon

If I had to do it again, I wouldn't do anything other than a CA... I would probably do a full rebuild next time around, but I would keep the CA for sure! It's great to pull up in a rather 'unpopular' car and get all the strange looks because not only is it something most people haven't seen before but also because my exhaust currently ends just after the dump pipe that gives it a very intimidating exhaust note creeping up at idle

[Tyler]

Keep the KA, slap a low boost turbo kit on it and done. I am always surprised at the amount of people who want entry level power IMO 300 or less and immediately replace a perfectly good KA24 with a motor as old, just as beat on and illegal for inspection too, dumb. The money you would spend on any JDM swap motor, CA, SR or RB, that would need an overhaul too is money you could use to overhaul the KA and bolt a turbo on it.

my ka is on its way out, plus i got my complete, wired ca motor set for 300

[turbo-sil40]

hey man check this out just yesterday I let my friend drive my 240 he loved it, he said when he was just cruisin around at about 1/4 throttle the car was beggin him to rip on it, he has a very nicely built sr, with a gt2871r turbo, 740cc inj. and some more stuff and he said his sr does not respond or feel the way my ca does it just wants to be ripped on. I love my ca I wouldnt change it even after two spun rod bearing, which were caused by the crank not being trued correctly, machinists fault, but its up to you, it is kind of hard to source parts but besides that its great.

[sjbsuperman1425]

idk i guess i must be the only one to be able to find alot of parts for the CA or something..i really dont think its that hard. Frsport has a ton of parts for the CA.

[ca18detgabby]

idk i guess i must be the only one to be able to find alot of parts for the CA or something..i really dont think its that hard. Frsport has a ton of parts for the CA.

Things like a quality exhaust mani and intake mani's are a bit of trick. Ebay is not my favorite place to shop for such things.

replacement parts(OEM and such) are easy, but upgraded Cams, intenals, and such are a bit more work to find. specially finding them IN STOCK

[240sxbobbis]

i love my ca18det i did the swap all for my self turned to nico when times were tough , and i did it twice price and parts are the down at times im saving for an rb26dett or 25 but im still going to keep my ca and rebuild it and the rb and swap it into another s13 chassis

[sjbsuperman1425]

agreed Gabby.. but the stock intake manifolds are pretty good until the really high horsepowers. and if one is needed, you can always give Rhombus-Tuning an IM, call, or e-mail and they can make one.

once again i LOVE this engine lol. its so sexy

and BTW, i just spoke with the sales rep for Frsport, and he confirm the Tomei Procams are NOT in stock at their warehouse, and would take up to 6 weeks to get them

[Ca_Silvia]

For cams check out yahoo auctions Japan...its a gold mine

[Tyler]

im glad im getting more positive ca reviews! i was getting worried that i bought a motor that wasnt much better then the dying KA in my car now

[domicubarican]

i agree totally..but im some situations, like mine, ppl buy shells and can choose ANY engine they want, then they have a REALLY REALLY good excuse lol

Exactly! I bought a shell that had a blown kae in it and I ripped it out for my CA

[r34 gtr]

For cams check out yahoo auctions Japan...its a gold mine

You don't lie, HKS 256's for $50!!

http://page11.auctions.yahoo.c...86562

[rico05]

4.5 years, 2 headgaskets, 2 different shells (1 coupe and now a hatch) and I still love my CA.

I just need to fix the damn collapsed lifters.

[dash]

if planning on building a killer S13, KA24DE proven as is best choice imo.Soo much info, combos, parts, low cost - to build from mild to wild.Drives nothing like the on/off CA18, since it has torque everwhere.

In 2000 I jumped on a europe CA18 'deal'. Automatic, cold AC, everything works.Drive it ez. Its been the most reliable car I've ever owned.

My CA18 interest was primarily for a corolla powerplant swap. Thats where the 'go fast' goodies are headed. S13 gets sold thenThese old motors will need to be freshened; Rod bearings, gaskets, seals, lifters

[Buddyworm]

I love my little motor. When I got it it had definitely been ridden hard and put away wet. Leaky headgasket, coolant was brown and oh you shoulda seen the sludge that oozed its way outta the block when I replaced a failed waterpump but after a properly resurfaced head and not much else she's taken all the drift beatings I can dish out.

It doesn't take much for these engines to perk up either. Pop a bigger turbo on there at around 1bar with a proper tune and you'll be laughing.

[float_6969]

I've had my CA for about 5 years.

I hate it because it just sits on the floor next to the S14 and refuses to install itself.

I love it because of it's power characteristics, exhaust tone, weight, size, reliabilty, and somewhat rarity.

I've driven SR's and KA's. Something about the powerband of the CA simply appeals to me more. It's just more fun to drive. I recently built a KA-T using all tried and true parts and I was un-impressed with it. Don't get me wrong, it's fast, but it's not nearly as FUN. To me, the whole purpose of owning a vehicle like this isn't simply for transportation. It's for entertainment, and for me, the CA was the best motor.

I wouldn't give it up for anything.

[bentvalves]

HKS 256's for 50!!!!!!

o man maybe we should start a yahoo japan watch thread for CA parts, seriously!!!

could we do that guys, could we!!!???

Greg

[Tyler]

im so excited now to get my motor in after reading all these reviews! i think its going to go in next weekend, me and my dad will be doing the swap ourselves. is there anything we should watchout for?