Changed my mind. Need advice on KA-R and other parts.

[Dirtbag]

Alright. I was originally going to go KA-T but I've been doing a lot of research on other options and stled on KA-R. i know there isn't much support and it will probably be more difficult but I feel dirty swapping out the stock engine and I feel like "soing something different" even though everything has already been done. Besides, the strongest argument is that supercharger whine is awesome.

To inform you of what it is exactly I am trying to do, I am trying to make the car better in almost every way. I am undecided if this will be a daily (although it probably will be), or what track events I would participate in (probably auto x if anything), I just know I am not interested too much in drifting. I am only looking for around 300 WHP give or take. This will be on a 1996 Nissan 240SX Base Model.

So, I am basically just going to throw a list of parts out there and see if anyone has any opinions and/or better options. Whether it be a cheaper alternative that is equal quality, a better part all together, or something that I can just buy used and be as well off. Also, if anyone has any OTHER suggestions and they are seeing something that I am not thinking of let me know. Obviously not all of these parts are a necessity and some may do the same job (not sure) but it is what I am looking at for the moment. Also as you will be able to tell I would like to keep as many things as possibe in the "Nissan Family" but if there are better options let me know.

Air Intake
Xcessive KA24DE Cast Intake Manifold - Not sure if this will work with the KA24DER.com kit or if I have to go custom but I would like a better intake manifold.
Custom Intake piping through battery tray.

Brake System
Q45 Brake upgrade or Z32 Brake Upgrade all four wheels with E-Brake cable and all Stainless Steel Lines.

Cooling System
Nissan Nismo 1.3 Bar Radiator Cap
Flex-A-Lite Dual 11in. Electric Fans - From what I can tell they don't require a fan controller.
Koyo 53mm Aluminum Racing Radiator -Mainly because of price
Nismo Thermostat

Drivetrain
Exedy High Performance Stage 2 Clutch Kit
Tomei Technical Trax 2-Way LSD - I'm sure there are better and more affordable options.
NISMO Solid Short Shifter
Nismo 3 Piece Engine and Transmission Mounts - May be too high? Any better options would be appreciated.

Engine
Nismo Solid Billet Engine Oil Filler Cap Type 2 -Looks only.
Eagle KA24 Engine Steel Forged Rods
Clevite Rod Bearing Set
KA24DER.com Kit
Eaton M62 Supercharger
Not sure if anything else should be done to the bottom end or if anything at all needs to be done to the top end. I would prefer not to bore it out either. Also, being in Tampa I will see if Enthalpy will tune the car, if not I will probably go Nistune.

Exhaust
Megan Racing Type-2 Dual Tip Exhaust Black -Custom may be a better option but I like the dual tip look.
Megan Racing SS Header - Or DC Sports 4-2-1 Header
A High flow cat will be installed and I will also be deleting the EGR System.

Fuel Delivery
Nismo Fuel Pressure Regulator Adapter Fitting
Nissan OEM Z32 Fuel Filter
Nismo 555cc Fuel Injectors
Nismo Fuel Pressure Regulator Type-B
Walbro High Flow Fuel Pump
Not sure if I should go for top feed conversion fuel rail or not.

Gauges
AEM 52mm Gauge Type Wideband UEGO Controller
AEM 52mm Digital Boost Gauge 35 PSI
AEM 52mm Digital Oil Pressure Gauge 0-150 PSI
AEM 52mm Digital Volt Meter Gauge
ATI EZ Pod Dual 52mm Dash Gauge Holder
An A-Pillar Pod also and not sure on gauge selection. I like to know that my alternator is working properly though. lol.

Suspension & Steering
Nissan Nismo Rear Upper Link Set Traction Rods
Nissan Nismo Tension Rod Set
Nismo Power Brace
Nismo Transverse Link Set Front Lower Control Arms
Nismo Rear Lower A-Arm Set Rear Lower Control Arms
Nismo Rear Lower Link Set Rear Toe Control Arms
Nismo Rear Link Set Rear Upper Control Arms
GReddy GREX Triple Tube Front Strut Tower Bar
Greddy GREX Triple Tube Rear Strut Tower Bar Tanabe Front and Rear Sustec Stabilizer Sway Bars Also looking at the Nismo S-Tune Coilovers but I am certain there are better options. I just have no idea what to look for.

Wheels & Tires 5-Lug Conversion I have no idea what wheels to look at. I don't know how far I am dropping the car but I want something that looks good and preforms well. I do really like the look of the 350Z Aniversary Wheels. As far as tires are concerned I do like Goodyear Eagle GT's.

Any input will be appreciated and helpful as long as it isn't negative. Thank you.

[krash]

Seems like a pretty solid plan you have. I would go ahead and get forged pistons in addition to forged rods. I don't really know how KA's react with superchargers, but I've read on turbo set-ups that ring lands are the weak point. Then again, 300hp should be something that the KA can handle pretty well.

You're going to want the engine running perfectly before you supercharge it. Some people disagree, but I think that putting the engine together and running it N/A to confirm its reliability is a good idea. After you know that the engine is solid, then you can put the supercharger on and see how it acts.

I don't think this setup will be good for auto-x though. Do you have any auto-x experience? These mods will bump you up into a class that is really competitive with guys that have separate budgets specifically for racing. Not to say that auto crossing it won't be fun, it will be fun, but you're going to have a hard time competing with drivers at that level. I think you'll have fun with it as a street car that you can just romp around on the track or auto-x test day every once in a while.

Any input will be appreciated and helpful as long as it isn't negative. Thank you.

Also, don't block out negative comments. They can be as useful as positive comments, so keep an open mind.

Good luck man!

[Dirtbag]

Yeah, I'm aware of the perfect running condition. I was refering more to the practice/track days. Not in a position right now to specifically fund a race car. Also I wasn't really meaning general negatice coments I was only meaning the general trolling/flaming. You know. I also intend to replace damn near all of gaskets and seals with cometic. I also intend to have the engine entirely cleaned. Ugh. Big project.

[blkvrtswp]

Ah planning a new build - nice! I remember my brother had an Integra with a Jackson Racing Supercharger kit - that was a lot of fun to install and play with. Especially when we would trade cars and compare the boost response FWD SC vs RWD TC. We BOTH got pulled over by 2 cop cars once during a dual test session but talked our way out of tickets somehow. Good times!

Good luck and take pictures!

[SX APPEAL]

You've got a nice shiny list of parts there but remember to leave lots (as in tons more than you expect) of money for all the nitty gritty stuff too. Nuts and bolts, fittings, hoses, clamps, raw materials, fluids, heat shielding, machine shop fees, tools you'll have to pick up along the way, cleaning supplies, beer But seriously, none of this stuff looks sexy on a shopping list or really occurs to you at first, but it's going to be a LARGE portion of your budget to get it running properly.

[The_caveman]

You've got a nice shiny list of parts there but remember to leave lots (as in tons more than you expect) of money for all the nitty gritty stuff too. Nuts and bolts, fittings, hoses, clamps, raw materials, fluids, heat shielding, machine shop fees, tools you'll have to pick up along the way, cleaning supplies, beer But seriously, none of this stuff looks sexy on a shopping list or really occurs to you at first, but it's going to be a LARGE portion of your budget to get it running properly.

Like what? s*** gets expensive lol

[SX APPEAL]

Not sure what you mean by "like what?" But just as an example, today I stopped by Oreilly's on the way home from class and picked up 3ft of fuel line, a couple of toggle switches, a relay and a few various bits of wiring and connectors. Random stuff you never factor into your budget right? Total cost... $57!!! I'm telling you the single biggest one time expenditure in my project so far has been my turbo, paid $900 shipped for it. Now that I'm getting to the point where the car is almost ready to roll, I wouldn't be surprised if I've spent at least half that again ($450+) on just the little random type stuff. Telling you guys its the inexpensive stuff that gets you.

[alms24sebring]

^ this is true.

Hey atleast you have a nice and thought out plan though so I will support you on that. Im not sure if you'll see 300 unless you bump the boost and get a nice tune, but you will have a sweet powerband. If you want rods then you might as well get pistons too for a few extra hundred, its worth it in the long run. If it were me I would focus on getting the motor running right and ensure the reliability first before adding extras like suspension, brakes, rear end, etc. Like SX said, itll cost alot more than you intend so spend the money wisely on motor first. Good luck and I hope you can find all the extra parts.

[Dirtbag]

Thank you for the encouraging and supportive comments. I'm planning on there being other costs. I expect about two years of work for everything. I am setting aside about $8000 to start it up. Going to pull everything and essentially gut it to send the chassis for proper paint and to have the minor dings repaired. When the engine is pulled I'll send the block and head off to get machined and afterward start replacing everything.

What are better options for vlsd, what kind of suspension should I look for if I do not go with the Nismo S-Tune, and is there anything I can do with the crank? I also forgot to a** that I will be using the common S-13 cam swap.

[SX APPEAL]

Suspension can be as expensive as you want it to be. If you just want to get low, buy some megan or godspeed coils for $700 and call it a day. If you wanna get low and have your stuff last for more than 10K miles, then you're talking about Stance, Fortune Auto, or PBM coilovers, or something in that price bracket ($1000-$1500) If you're looking for serious handling improvement, then you're talking about some of the same brands, but their higher level stuff $2K+, plus makes like KW (personal fav) or Moton. But at that point you're spending half your budget on suspension and that's probably not what you want. And that's just for coilovers. If you're planning to lower that thing any more than and inch or two (which you will) you're also going to need adjustable arms in the rear and possibly front, which depending on brand and quality could set you back anywhere from $400-$1000.

Me for example, I took a sort of middle road. I got Fortune Auto coilovers which are good quality, but still entry level ($1K) and added Swift race springs to them with custom valving which helps a bit on the handling front (at least I hope, still have yet to turn a wheel in anger with my car... ) Total cost on those was about $1400 out the door. Then I've got a mix of Megan Racing (meh) and Cusco (good shyte!) adjustable arms. Figure total investment in my setup is a little over $2K, maybe $2200.

But always keep in mind, the most effective thing you can do to enhance the handling of ANY car, is upgrade the tires. $5K worth of suspension wont do you a damn bit of good if you're rolling around on cheap, skinny rubber.

On the topic of differentials, your choices are a lot more clear cut, and so are the performance improvements. If you're not a fan of the VLSD route, there are a couple of companies that make clutch type LSD's. Nismo and KAAZ off the top of my head. Those will run you from $700-$900 depending on what kind of deal you get. Or the other option is the helical LSD out of the S15 Silvia, which will drop into an S14/S14 pumpkin, provided you can swap the ring gears (It's a LOT easier said than done...) and output shafts. That route can be anything from $500-$700, again depending on the deal you find.

Hopefully that'll get you started on your 4 year $16,000 project As for me, I've been up all night and I only have 4 hours left to finish my research paper so I should probably stop fooling around on NICO LOL

[Fastazz240]

I am actually about to buy the ka24der supercharger kit myself. Do you actually know how it works?? the supercharger is bolted to the factor upper intake so yea your excessive intake will not work. You wont need to route any intake piping they do that for you. As far as your rods are concerned the factory ones are plenty strong enuf. pistons are a peace of mind thing not necessarily needed. Tell you what you want some good info hunt down Adamky on Ka-t.org he ran the setup you want for pro about a year and a half. His sn might be tryingtoturbo now though. If you want to get more into detail about what i have learned from everything i researched hit me up. [email protected] or 9three1 449 9seven57

[Dirtbag]

Well I don't know why but I just can't grasp suspension. I can understand pretty much anything about the engine (sans electrical) but suspension I just can't understand. All the talk of pillow ball mounts, spring rates, camber plates, custom valves, I swear it's more complicated than the engine itself. Anyway, the Nismo arms say they are adjustable so hopefully that'll be ok. Mainly I just want to improve the handling as much as possible without sacrificing TOO much ride quality. I want to be able to drive it on a regular basis if I want. Comfort is not that much of an issue but I don't want to visit a chiropractor every time I take a ride.

So, the subject of handling. Tires, how big should I go? This is another thing that gets me confused for whatever reason. I like the look of both 17" and 18". I have 17's from a Sentra SE-R right now and I like them plenty. What about width?

For the LSD it looks like the way I am going to go is with a KAAZ mainly because I cant find the Nismo one anywhere. What about all these J30 rear end swaps?

I wasn't sure if that intake mani would work or not, any ideas to improve the intake runners without getting into TOO much fabrication work? I just don't like the idea of putting those puny rods under boost. For me the rods are more peace of mind than the pistons. I heard about Adamky and his 30 MPG supercharged KA. I hate him for it. lol. I might take you up on that offer there. I need to figure out what I should attack first.

Also, should I just go ahead and swap the flywheel too?

Thanks again guys for the advice. It'll probably help a great deal and you should see your suggestions put to use.

Say....what about dual-charging? Haha, I kid...

[Dirtbag]

Any other suggestions?

[SX APPEAL]

Keep researching... but I kid.. too.. sort of.. Never stop researching, cause eventually amid your tireless reading, beside the knowledge you will gain about this part and that part, you will be able to spot the difference between those who speak from hard earned experience and those who blabber from second, third and fifteenth hand internet folklore... and that ability is possibly more valuable than a fast, tight handling 240sx I myself am a mix, as are most of us. When I talk to you about basic modifications (intake, header, exhaust, diff, suspension, and the amount of money you WILL spend compared to the amount you PLAN to spend) you know I'm speaking from experience, but as far as making 300 to the wheels and driving that kind of animal, you know I'm speaking second hand since I haven't yet gotten that far. Don't worry there are plenty on here who have. Listen to them.

I'll stop boring you now...

On the whole diff thing, The J30 diff is a Nissan R200V Viscous Limited Slip Differential, (google viscous limited slip if you don't know how it works) They came stock in a few different Nissan models in the early to mid 90's. If you can find one in decent condition, it'll work alright. the more miles they have, the more the fluid inside them degrades, the less effective they are. There are differences between models, most notably the difference between 5 or 6 bolt output shafts. Stock 240's are 6 bolt so if you can find a low miles VLSD out of a 96+ J30 or a spec'd up 240sx, you're golden, as they were they only models to carry the 6 bolt R200V. I've had two of them, one out of an N/A 300zx and one out of a pre 96 J30. I had to get the 5 bolt output shafts to match. (and a file, and a 23mm die to re-thread the ends the previous owner ruined by banging them out with a sledge and mushrooming them... remember what I said about unexpected expenses )They are the same unit, but the J30 has a taller gear ratio, 3:90 vs 4:09, so your speedo will be off a bit with the J30 diff, as the stock 240sx rear end is 4:09. If you are seriously considering this route you can PM me and I can bore you to death with all the in's and out's of what is required for making (X) VLSD from (X) car work in your chassis and where you kind find everything you need and all that.

If you decide you have enough money to avoid research and headaches, buy the KAAZ. I've never run one before but I know they drop in with no modifications and I've never read a bad word about them. My personal favorite option though is the S15 Helical LSD (google it) Mostly because I'm a fan of headaches, spitting, cursing, throwing things, drinking heavily and doing things the hard way. Like I mentioned above, one of these will do very nicely, and for a couple of hundred dollars cheaper than the KAAZ, but with a lot more work involved. And if some s***-talking, know it all, internet baddass comes in here saying changing the ring and pinion gear on a NIssan R200 diff is not a lot of work (especially in your own garage) then he or she is lying, hasn't done it, and needs to go up to his room cause its past his bed time.

Suspension is easy, just don't be a fish... LOL don't loured in by shiny stuff. First thing you need to do is learn about alignment and what effect different angles (camber, castor, toe) have on a vehicle. If you master all that, trust me, you'll be more knowledgeable than 2/3's of NICO. Next learn the difference between parts that increase you car's performance, and parts that sell because they're shiny but actually don't do jack s***. Example: Unless you're braking into the corkscrew at Laguna Seca at 160mph, do you really need that C-pillar brace? I think you know the answer. Bear in mind though (and this is a broad, all-encompassing statement that refers to motor vehicles as a whole) Any enhancement you make to the roadholding ability of a car (speed through corners) is going to come at the cost of ride quality. Period. Don't want the car to roll as much? It wont absorb bumps as well. Want the car to respond to steering inputs more quickly? It'll respond to pot holes that much more quickly as well. You get to decide where the compromise is made.

Also beware, the culture these days, especially in the S chassis word, is based on cosmetics rather than performance. I'm not necessarily talking about big wings and shiny body kits, we got over those after Fast and the Furious 27 came out. Its more along the lines of making you car "look" like a "drift car." "Drift missile" is the term I believe. What can I say, its what's in right now. Stretched tires on extreme offset wheels with mismatching colored body panels and zip tie stitching on the bumpers is the hot s*** right now, God help us all. So when you go asking for tire advice, as you have, beware of the fact that *most* of the suggestions you will get come from people with this mindset who think that stretching a 195 tire onto a 9 inch wide rim is just average fitment. A good source to refer to on tires is tirerack.com, they give complete specs on on every tire they sell, including recommended rim widths for specific tires, and you'd laugh your a** off if you compared those specs to what kids these days are running on the street. So if you really need tire advice, decide if you're more interested in the hellaflush drifing look, or something that'll actually get you around a corner. (alive)

Thats bout all I've got for now, will it linger?

[Dirtbag]

Reallybwant something super grippy. I have no interest in drifting or burning out at all for that matter. Seems like a silly waste of time and money to me. I'd like to be able to make a hard turn and rip the passenger's face off with it. I'm not a huge fan of the hellaflush crap. I think that looks silly and it makes me think that at every pothole and speedbump I'll have to worry about ripping my fender off. Simple and effective is what I am after. I think I've decided on stance pro comp. They look like something I will enjoy and have a lot of seemingly great features. I took a look at pbm and they are nice looking but they don't offer soo many specifications from what I can tell. Oh well. It's just money right?