engine swap

[michaelb]

New to the forum, was kinda wondering what everyone would think. I was talking with a buddy of mine about a sr-20 swap and a brake swap off of the 350-z (gold brembros would look amazing). The engine swap would a bit of a pain beacuse to my knowledge no-one has ever attempted it before, but if you can put a k20a2 in the fit why not a sr-20 in the versa? You could use the sr20 det out of the pulsar gtir, but was wondering if it would work the engine would sit the right way so to my knowledge the transmission shouldn't pose to many issues. So my question to everyone who reads this is what do you think?

[jquick]

do it.. then you would be my hero

i wondered about this also but im prob gonna wait a while b4 i seriously consider doing it

[damnedkero]

yeah do it...and take pics of the engine change..

[Ever Victorious]

Doing so, if you could even do it (think massive reengineering) would make the car no longer street legal.

There are no current KA or SR series engines in use in the US, so you'd be putting an older model engine into a newer body, which is illegal EVERYWHERE in the US.

And even a transverse SR wouldn't work. If you look, the intake manifold on the V is on the front and the exhaust manifold is on the rear. The opposite of every other inline 4 out there. They did this to save space..... so an MR18 takes up way less space front to rear than a transverse SR. There's no room.

But hey, if you CAN swap something in, by all means take pictures and do a writeup. It would be very interesting.

The only engine we know is at all feasible for a swap is an MR20 from an 07 Sentra (not the SE-R).

And to answer specifically "what do we think"... this isn't the first time this has come up, there have been at least 2 other threads on the matter. General consensus is: It's too expensive to reengineer the car to do anything like this. If you can do it, great. But it's not really realistic like it would be on, say, a 240SX.

[Bubs daddy]

Why?

[nfntruth]

Good question, why? Why would you buy a brand new car, especially a car that is not powerful in the least, and spend 10K swapping the engine and transmission? If you wanted the power, you could save several thousand , buy a new Sentra SER, or a WRX, or an STI (the STI isnt really in the same league). I can understand a few K on rims, intake, suspension, you know, small bolt on mods, but a major swap out like that?! Maybe in 6 or 7 years when the car isn't really worth as much. But there are far better cars with more potential than the Versa, don't get me wrong, I love my little versa but I am realistic about what it is, and it certainly isn't a race car.

[Kolk1]

Doing so, if you could even do it (think massive reengineering) would make the car no longer street legal.

There are no current KA or SR series engines in use in the US, so you'd be putting an older model engine into a newer body, which is illegal EVERYWHERE in the US.

And even a transverse SR wouldn't work. If you look, the intake manifold on the V is on the front and the exhaust manifold is on the rear. The opposite of every other inline 4 out there.

Did you just say, EVERY inline 4 out there has the intake manifold on the back of the motor? Yea, thats wrong. I can think of several off the top of my head that have the intake on the front.

2nd) How is swapping an older engine in, illegal EVERYwhere?? Where I live, we dont do smog, we dont have emmisions, and we dont do saftey checks. So what law would I be breaking?

[Ever Victorious]

Did you just say, EVERY inline 4 out there has the intake manifold on the back of the motor? Yea, thats wrong. I can think of several off the top of my head that have the intake on the front.

Let me rephrase that. Is there one in Nissan's repertoire, other than the MR-series?

Quote »2nd) How is swapping an older engine in, illegal EVERYwhere?? Where I live, we dont do smog, we dont have emmisions, and we dont do saftey checks. So what law would I be breaking? [/quote]OK... perhaps I can't speak for your state laws, but we ALSO have many areas of our state where emissions and safety inspections are not required. However, it is written plainly into our laws that an engine installed in a vehicle must be the same year or newer, regardless of where you live in the state.

And your next question is "how will they know?" Well, if you happen to get pulled over, the officer can search your vehicle if he suspects DUI or contraband, or illegal modifications. He can make you pop your hood, and if he sees the wrong thing under the hood, well... sucks to be you.

I also happen to know the same law is written in Oregon and California motor codes, so I assume it's written that way everywhere.

However, getting back to the original poster's question... he's asking about a KA and an SR (not, specifically, the transverse SR)... so these are longitudal engines. Which there is absolutely no space for without SERIOUS reengineering of the vehicle.

[jquick]

how about in canadai know lots of people that have swapped older engines into cars

[redversasblue]

Anyone think of going with a Renault motor? The Megane is built on the B platform and the versa motor was designed by Renault. They even use a 6 speed transmission. The F4R 774 motor in the Renaultsport Megane Hatch has 225 HP. Feel free to flame away.

[shreqboi909]

well first of all, i would love someone to do this....it woould be the best thing, even if it isnt worth it.....its just like buyin a fit and droppin a k20 or a coupe and throwing a swap, or buyin a sentra and throwin a sr....and out here in socal, if u would get pulled over and they popped ur hood, u would get away with it since our cops dont know anything about nissan's....they mostly go after hondas......and i personally want to swap the engine from the new ser into my V and doin the five lug conversion along with the brembos

[motoguy128]

And even a transverse SR wouldn't work. If you look, the intake manifold on the V is on the front and the exhaust manifold is on the rear. The opposite of every other inline 4 out there. They did this to save space..... so an MR18 takes up way less space front to rear than a transverse SR. There's no room.

.

FYI - I don't know whi did it first, but Toyota started reversing the motor in the Corolla starting in either '01 or '03. The reason was for emissions (shorter midpipe allows the cats to heat quicker and run hotter), saves space and it has a tendency of the drivetrain to be pushed into the cabin in a front collision.

My '04 Accord alos had the motor in this direction.

[biggie]

Buy an older car. B13 SE-R and do the GTi-R swap for example. Makes much more sense.

[BBISHOPPCM]

Volkswagen also (used to) install the exhaust manifold on the firewall-side, and it made replacing the manifold gaskets virtually impossible for the backyard mechanic. Seriously though, the Versa just requires too much work to make a performance car out of it, aside from casual mods (strut braces, wheels, suspension). The Versa is also much taller than the competition, so will always be more prone to flipping in a tight corner at high speeds... So, here is what must be done to turn a Versa into a Honda-Wannabe;

1) chop/channel the roof as much as humanly possible. 2) Buy 2007 350Z3) Remove all stock suspension components and drivetrain from Versa4) Install suspension and drivetrain from 350Z into Versa, including wiring harness and all computers and sub-components. will require some cutting and welding of the floorboards and suspension mounts

5) Max-out life insurance6) Ready... Set... GOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

OR, leave both cars as-is and just use the Versa as a family sedan or grocery getter.