Is it worth turboing a 91 KA?

[FreytheViking]

Title... wondering if it's worth the trouble.

[Florida240sx]

What are your goals? You can make 350rwhp safely on a stock engine.Upgrade it you can have up to 638rwhp and 599tq so far that's the max but with more to come from Ivan.

[FreytheViking]

im not that ambitious... just want my car to do 250hps and i'll be satisfied (that should be able to do 0-60 in less than 6.5 sec right?). I'm just debating if there will be serious reliability issues that will come from turboing. Thanks

[Florida240sx]

well you can boostdesigns kit mine as well get their stage 2 in case you ever want to bu p it up a little but your call.I beleive it was their satge one kit that produced 232rwhp and they had that setup running for over a year no problems.I"m buying stage 2 which has larger injectors and fuel pump.Your goign to need some kind of electronic systems SAFC e-manage etc. with it don't forget your boost controller boost gauge.

[fiznat]

This is kind of a silly question. I think its safe to say that just about everyone on this forum will agree that turboing the 240sx is "worth it." Of course it depends on how much work you are willing to do, how much money you want to spend and what your particular goals are.

Turboing the 240 can be a very fun and rewarding experience, and lots of people on this board (including myself) are glad that they did it. These engines are capable of some impressive power, and when combined with the lightweight (ish), RWD design of the 240sx-- youll have a pretty fun/fast car on your hands.

If you have a specific question related to your goals and what is possible, that might get some better responses.

[Nismo_Freak]

I think its safe to say that just about everyone on this forum will agree that turboing the 240sx is "worth it."

Werd.

Go SR or your friends will all laugh at you.

[wild_maxx]

dont listen to him. he has changed to the dark side you can make fun of your friends when you smoke them.

[Nismo_Freak]

dont listen to him. he has changed to the dark side you can make fun of your friends when you smoke them.

Don't hate, without the SR the KA-T community would actually be considered fast

[AZhitman]

Even Alan knows a stock KA is faster than a non-running SR.

Back on topic (go away Alan): Not much sense in putting a ton of $ into a car that's pretty tired, and if you're only looking for 220-250 rwhp (which is, regardless of what many may say, a hell of a lot in a 240), the KA-t may be the way to go.

From a purely financial standpoint, even if you're doing the work yourself, $2K will buy you 2 things:

A stock SR (nowhere near 200 whp)A turbo KA (easily 200 whp at mild boost)

Blow up the KA and you can replace it for $50. Blow up the SR and you're out $2K.

I drove a hatch with a mildly-modded SR that had just dynoed at 194 whp. Plenty of power for my purposes, and I'll be looking at 225-240 in a slightly heavier car (the vert).

[Nismo_Freak]

Even Alan knows a stock KA is faster than a non-running SR.

Back on topic (go away Alan): Not much sense in putting a ton of $ into a car that's pretty tired, and if you're only looking for 220-250 rwhp (which is, regardless of what many may say, a hell of a lot in a 240), the KA-t may be the way to go.

From a purely financial standpoint, even if you're doing the work yourself, $2K will buy you 2 things:

A stock SR (nowhere near 200 whp)A turbo KA (easily 200 whp at mild boost)

Blow up the KA and you can replace it for $50. Blow up the SR and you're out $2K.

I drove a hatch with a mildly-modded SR that had just dynoed at 194 whp. Plenty of power for my purposes, and I'll be looking at 225-240 in a slightly heavier car (the vert).

Eh, you have a little bias in your posting.

If the KA engine in the car is tired, don't automatically assume the KA is the only way to go on a budget. For the power you are talking about a simple RWD SR20DE can be turbo'd for the same money if not less.

I'm not saying that is the right or best way to go but it is still an option to be considered.

[AZhitman]

No bias, I have a stock KA.

I'm just saying that working with the same $, you can produce more power by adding FI to the engine you have rather than spending it all on a stock SR.

[WDRacing]

Aight Alan, it was funny for a little while...now quite being a d!ck. The guy is asking about the KA in the KAT forum...not the SR. Thanks for your completely biased opinions though. Now go back to the damn SR forum and quite taking my threads off topic with your I have no life and I'm bored posts....

[Import_Ant]

Blow up the KA and you can replace it for $50.

I can attest to this personally. I picked up a Ka24E longblock w/ blown headgasket for 50$ just the past weekend

[Florida240sx]

Think AZ said it best.Blow up the KA-T spend couple hundred and your boosting again.Blow up the SR you're out your whole setup. Not to mention it'll cost you a whole lot more to put in the sr20det. Unless your going for higher #'s the price of them won't cancel out.

[onosqv]

Title... wondering if it's worth the trouble.

I'm turboing an 89 sohc automatic coupe... and I think it's worth it. Just be prepared to be in it for the long haul.

From what it seems, there are 2 kinds of ppl (relatively) who go through ka-t or even sr:

1st Kind) starts buying some stuff (or hasn't even bought yet) - realizes it can't be down in 2 weeks total, costs more than they thought, in over their head, etc, etc -> give up, sell anything they've bought, and stuck w/ the same car and less money and wasted their time

2nd Kind) starts buying some stuff (or hasn't even bought yet) - realizes it can't be down in 2 weeks total, costs more than they thought, in over their head, etc, etc -> keeps going at it, saves more money, does more research, takes their time -> eventually gets a bomb *** 240.

Your case is a tiny bit easier (if you go premade kit & not custom) since you have a de, which is more supported than an e... .

I'm almost at 1 year now w/ my ka-t project - 2-3k lying around your room and various garages is no fun and very depressing. I'm still missing fab of downpipe (can't take the downtime), bov flange setup, more sophisticated engine management (possibly saving up for ems to replace safc that I have), cleaning injectors, need to relocate batteries, etc, etc.

I'm slowly installing things, doing more research, as well as in the middle of several other car projects (not a smart financial idea, but that's why there's introductory 0% APR CC's ).

Anyway, enough rambling. Yes it's worth it. Whether it is worth it to you, depends on how badly you want it. You get out what you put in, that simple.

[rn240sx]

Don't hate, without the SR the KA-T community would actually be considered fast

[onosqv]

HHAAHAHAHA

Actually, he may ban you!

It is funny, come on.

Wait til you all see my civic motor in a 240..... HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

[nissanfanatic]

Glad I turboed my KA. Even at a tired old 135k and there are people who turboed at much much more than that. Its worth it if you use your brain. No walk in the park, but tell me a fast car that is.....

[Nismo_Freak]

Aight Alan, it was funny for a little while...now quite being a d!ck. The guy is asking about the KA in the KAT forum...not the SR. Thanks for your completely biased opinions though. Now go back to the damn SR forum and quite taking my threads off topic with your I have no life and I'm bored posts....

I am not biased towards any engine honestly.

I have my own personal tastes but I know everyone does not share them.

I simply stated there are other alternatives if he is seeking a budget setup as it was brought up by another person who posted half correct information.

Just because it's a KA forum, does not mean it is the sole topic of conversation. If it is then this forum is purely ignorant just the same as the SR community it regards as subferior. At least two people have contributed totally incorrect information regarding the SR engine. I personally care more about the incorrect info than I car about either engine.

Perhaps you can choose to jump on someone else that doesn't equally provide information that not only helps you, but the KA-T community as a whole.

[FreytheViking]

Okay i have a 100k mile KA engine... It runs pretty well but the thing is that it might not with a turbo charger. If i do end up turboing it to about 250 hp, will my reliability decrease dramatically?

[Craving4Boost]

a turbo is not a miracle worker...it's job is to make your engine work harder with a bigger load creating more hp...more hp usually means less reliability...however if your good with your car..not boosting every 10 seconds..corkey bell says you can have 90% of your engine's normal life span...it's a risk you take..the more money you spend, the more reliable it will be..people have been boosting for years..of course you hit a few speed bumps at times, but thats life for ya

[jrsink]

word

[FreytheViking]

word

okay good that's what I thought... as long as the reliability doesn't go completely... I think I'm gonna start saving cash to turbo my KA. W00t!

Okay... any additional advise would be awesome (ala what turbo kit, boost control and etc.)

[Nismo_Freak]

okay good that's what I thought... as long as the reliability doesn't go completely... I think I'm gonna start saving cash to turbo my KA. W00t!

Okay... any additional advise would be awesome (ala what turbo kit, boost control and etc.)

If you want reliability then the first step is to not run a ghetto'd setup

[FreytheViking]

If you want reliability then the first step is to not run a ghetto'd setup

ghettoed set up meaning...?

[jrsink]

forged internals.use that spare change you saved from using a $200 ka and bulletproof your bottom end. awesome/consistent cooling always a must too. metal head gasket. Hey, if not, you can always get another one when you throw a rod. what's a couple hundred dollars. you decide.