CA18Det build \Reliablity \ Power

[Torpor]

Good Morning Guys...

I thought I would share my Ca18DET build with you guys and maybe you can give me some tips and tricks to get a little more power out, to get those annoying SR's

The Motor ran bearings on day off the Highway 2 weeks after the head was done.

Here are pic's of the head job







Because most really nice parts are damn expensive here , I couldn't really afford the best but here is my parts list for the build..

Commetic HG ---------------------------------------------------------



ARP bolts ---------------------------------------------------------



Aries Pistons - Honda B18 pistons ...I know very hillbilly but they honestly work, had them pocketed for the oils squirter's

---------------------------------------------------------





And thats about it I'm having the following done to the bottom end:

Knife-end crankTear dropped oil holesFull dynamic balance Flywheel clean-up

If there is any advise, I am welcome to input

Here are some pic's of the pull after cleaning ---------------------------------------------------------





The parts Bin ----------------------------



Poli - bushings ----------------------------



Stripping the motor ----------------------------









Thanks again guys

[r34 gtr]

Looks awesome! I had no idea b18 pistons worked, thats really cool. So far everything youve got looks like it should make for one hell of a motor.

[float_6969]

Welcome to NICO! Build up looks good! Keep us updated with pics.

[celica-punto8]

hey, could u please provided some more info on the honda pistons in the ca? thanks

[ca18detgabby]

Looks awesome! I had no idea b18 pistons worked, thats really cool. So far everything youve got looks like it should make for one hell of a motor.

where on earth did he find this info? is there a write up somewhere........ sounds like a great choice for us short of spending a **** load of money.

let us know how it works out. video clip would be awesome

[bentvalves]

lets get some pictures of that crankshaft after its done!

Greg

[240 Trainee]

+1 for more info on Honda Pistons

[r34 gtr]

Well, being 84mm bore counts for most of it. Arias makes pistons for the CA though, so if you are stateside it would just make more sense to get the correct ones.

[Torpor]

Well, being 84mm bore counts for most of it. Arias makes pistons for the CA though, so if you are stateside it would just make more sense to get the correct ones.

Agreed, People here just want silly money for Ca18det pistons both CP, Wiseco, Aries what ever.

But more info the deck to pin high is exactly the same as a Stock CA18DET , The ring grooves match up the Fly cuts or valve reliefs are allot more deeper the the ca18det the pistons sit flush with the deck no machining required all that needs to be done is small pockets need to be made for oil squirter's and the forged pistons have a bigger gudgeon pin. so my engineer had to resleeve my small ends.

I personally think Nissan had been sleeping in honda's bed

[celica-punto8]

could u please post the part # piston u used? thanks

[float_6969]

I personally think Nissan had been sleeping in honda's bed

LOL! Prob the other way around. The CA was around long before the B18 was.

[Torpor]

LOL! Prob the other way around. The CA was around long before the B18 was.

True !! You give us the ca18det design and we will borrow you Vtec for the SR20VET LOL!!

Sorry Dont remember the part numbers will check when the motors back, You can maybe go down to a Performance shop with a Stock Ca18det piston and compare to a Aries B18

[float_6969]

LOL, deal.

[r34 gtr]

Damn your signature!!

[Bwana]

Damn your signature!!

[r34 gtr]

I'm angry because its true. Sigh...

[bentvalves]

careful machining the groove for the oil squirters.....read on.

"From what i can gather someone found that VENOLIA had a piston in there range that had the right bore/piston pin height etc to suit the rb's but were lacking a notch for the oil squirter, so they had the notch machined into them and distibuted them across Australia when there was very little available in the way of forged pistons to suit these motors.Unfortunately a lot of these pistons ended up in rb's and all suffer the same fate. I have pulled down about 6 of them with these pistons and all have had cracks and i've heard of others that have broken completely.Another piston that was used widely around that era was the ross pistons which seem to suffer from delaminated top rings where the chrome seems to come away from the rest of the ring causing low compression and a scored bore. I believe they used perfect circle rings but not 100% on this. Some say this is caused by detonation but ive pulled motors down with this problem and seen no visible signs of detonation. Ive heard of some of the early arias pistons suffering from the same ring problem but believe they changed to a different ring manufacture but ive never seen this problem with anything running arias pistons and ive rebuilt quite a few engines that have arias pistons. "

[kapower06]

how much are were the honda pistons? cause you can get wiseco and je pistons for 450 shipped for the CA18det.

Everyone please remember that he still has to machine oil squirter pockets into the pistons, and has to resize the small end on the rods. So tack on what ever that cost to do to the price of the honda pistons.

[Torpor]

how much are were the honda pistons? cause you can get wiseco and je pistons for 450 shipped for the CA18det.

Everyone please remember that he still has to machine oil squirter pockets into the pistons, and has to resize the small end on the rods. So tack on what ever that cost to do to the price of the honda pistons.

I paid around $500 for the pistons the problem is you pay allot of import duty here even when buying off ebay around 50 %

Example: Cp = $ 700 Wiseco = $ 700 Je = $ 730

You also need to resize the rods with Wiseco Pistons and maybe CP aswell will confirm with the guys here but Im not sticking up for this option it just allot cheaper.

[davidricardo86]

If the dimensions are true and the way they are suppose to be, it should work just fine. Maybe it is cheaper for him to take this route and it'll be good to see longterm results! Keep us updated. For a lot of us here in the states its cheaper and much easier to go to cp, arias, wiseco, etc. and buy a set of pistons off-the-shelf.

If the engine tuning is off, something will go wrong though.

PS- The motor looks great! Awesome!

[Torpor]

If the engine tuning is off, something will go wrong though.

Agreed, but I think that would apply to even the Real forged units. Im going to keep the boost low at around 8 psi , I was pushing around 200rwhp at this boost level on my last dyno.

That was before the flow job, Cams, Ect... I just hope she holds for a couple of years

[ca18datsun510]

b18a/b or b18c?

the pistons/rods are different depending if its a vtec b18 or non vtec b18.

but b16(vtec) and b18a/b (non vtec) pistons work with each others rods, but different compressions.

oh, and the difference is the thickness of the rod.

[celica-punto8]

hey guys for pistons i always use paeco industries, great service, good quality! superb price. (please im talking about my own experience with them, make ur own decision, please do not blame me is something wrong happens)

[Torpor]

Hi guys sorry about the slow updates....But Im still waiting on the engineers but here are some updated pic's

New gauges (Cheap but should cut it)



And a new skyline CA20 water pump , I mean CA18 water pump allot cheaper then nissan

[Torpor]

Good Morning Guys....

Finally got my motor back on Friday, Here are the requested Pic"s

More Information on the Pistons-------------------------------------------------



The Pistons in the bores------------------------------------------------



here is why the motor need a rebuild, All the bearings were in Spec but the ring landing failed on piston number 1 , Why I don't know there are no sings of detting no hot spots , 0.8 psi boost and 16 degrees of timing



Skimmed an lightened flywheel ------------------------------------------------



Knife Cut crank...------------------------------------------------



Rebuild Pic"s------------------------------------------------

[NUT-CSE]

Just noticed in the piston info pic that they have a compression ratio of 10.8:1!!! Shouldnt they have a compression ratio of 8.5:1 for a turbo motor? Or is it just a mistake on the package?

[ca18datsun510]

Just noticed in the piston info pic that they have a compression ratio of 10.8:1!!! Shouldnt they have a compression ratio of 8.5:1 for a turbo motor? Or is it just a mistake on the package?

did you also notice it says acura 1.8l?

the difference in combustion chamber design means that the cr stamped on the box basically means nothing.

[Torpor]

Hi Guys Sorry for pulling up such a Old thread but I just thought I would give you guys a Update on the CA18DET.

I am Running a Nistne ECU for the management system.440cc InjecotorsZ32 N61 MAF Zeitronix Wideband A/F

Here are some pic's Of the new set-up







This fourm is still one of the best place's for Info on the CA18DET but you guys are welcome to come have a look at our forum is you interested most S13 in south Africa came with a CA18DET so there allot of info here http://200sx.za.net

Thank guys comments are welcome.

[GotdaDrift]

I see you have the nice intake mani how do you like that? i have been looking into gettingone my self

[themadscientist]

I fixed your link. Like the baby blue.