Is there something wrong with my KA?

[sunnys14]

i just got home from driving around with my buddy tonite. we were bored as hell so we wanted to see whos car was faster. he just bought a 05 Scion tC and i have a 95 s14 SE with abs and LSD. i ran his car about 7 times tonight and for some reason he keeps pulling on me at about 90 mph+.

his car is bone stock and i have mods! these are my mods that i have done to my car: injen cold air intake, pacesetter 4-1 header, test pipe, electric fan conversion, UR crank pulley, fidanza flywheel and 91 dual exhaust cams (248 248). we go from a COMPLETE stop everytime, and everytime id rip him offline the line by 1.5 cars lengths (thank goodness to RWD and my 255s in the rear =P)

it stays that way until we reach about 85 mph then he starts creeping. then at 90mph hes at my rear quarter panel and at 95 hes at my door, at 100 hes right next to me... 105 hes ahead! my top end SUCKS for some reason even tho i have all these mods...

for some reason, i feel like my car is slow even though i have all these mods. ive seen stock s14s run 15.6-15.9 the track. can anyone tell me whats going on? my engine has about 30k miles on it and i feel like its sluggish as a mofo... does anyone know what tC's run in the quarter and can anyone tell me approx what i would run in the quarter? he beats me from a roll everytime... someone help me!!!

[Veriest1]

You need NAWS!

Just kidding. It doesn't sound like your launch is to bad so do you have a 5sp or an auto? That could be your problem right there. Yet KA's are notorious for having weak top ends so it's somewhat understandable but embarassing nonetheless.

More cheap horsepower would be a set of KA24E pistons in your DE. But you'd have to run premium. Another option would be a port and polish on your head and sloppy bushings in your suspension coulb be robbing you of power as well.

I couldn't find it's 1/4 time but according to Scionzone.com the TC's have 160 horsepower and wiegh 1905 pounds. I'm guesstimating that to put it at a mid to high 15 in the quarter mile if not a low 16.

[c-rad]

I would guess its a 5spd since he said he has a fidanza flywheel and not a flexplate. But even still, the KA has ZERO topend. Once you hit around 4200 rpms, the motor is useless.

[PantherRacer]

simple solution, stop when you reach 90mph

[masticatingcow]

Like Veriest1 said, the engine is a torquey little beast down low, but KAs tend to lack top end. Quick question, though... are you running the stock exhaust? Intake, a header and a test pipe won't do you much good if your exhaust gas is still being restricted by the stock piping. Get a higher-flowing exhaust and you'll see some pretty impressive gains up top. For the longest time, I power mods were an Injen intake and Hotshot header. I guess if you want to count it, I deleted my AC system completely, so that's one less pulley. It had good power down low, but once I got above 5500 RPMs, that engine was teh weakness. Now that I've dropped my catback in, it feels like ALL the power is up top. In fact, at about 5000 RPM, the power comes on like a VVT system... you know, out of nowhere. Of course, I got small gains all the way through the powerband, but really, the exhaust (A'pex N1 Dual) opened the top end up considerably.

Also, remember that while you and the Scion have comprable crank power, the tC, because of its FF drivetrain, suffers less from power robbing drivetrain loss than your FR 240sx. Also, it's lighter, so each horse has to pull significantly less. Plus, let's face it... that motor is brand new. Yours is about 10 years old.

[frsh13]

Thats just the way the ka24 is, doesnt have good top end. Thats why when im on the highway/ parkway and i might race i usually try and slow down and get the race to start from atleast a 60 roll

[sunnys14]

i have a blitz nur spec R catback but im selling it. i never got a chance to run him with the exhaust on. even with all my mods, i thot id atleast be able to beat him... BTW the scion tC is heavier than an s14. i read that tCs run 15.6 quarter mile. if i had the lead all the way to 95, i think i would have ran a faster 1/4 mile than him

[sunnys14]

btw, all the mods i have should help my top end... am i correct? lightened flywheel, crank pulley, header, electric fan, 248 248 cams!!! geez, KAs are slow...

[Axel Grungy]

just take him to a track with some twisties, then youll own him. thats where the 240 shines, not that straight line crap

[masticatingcow]

btw, all the mods i have should help my top end... am i correct? lightened flywheel, crank pulley, header, electric fan, 248 248 cams!!! geez, KAs are slow...

Except for the header and cams, those mods don't do anything to increase your engine's breathability, and without a catback to keep the airflow unrestricted, the cams and the header aren't as good as they could be. What a lightened flywheel, crank pulley and electric fan DO accomplish, however, is take some of the load off the crank, which "frees up" more power to go to the rear wheels. And it's not that KAs are slow, it's just that they lack top end. If, in stock trim, the engine could BREATHE as high as it revs, it would be more competitive.

But I agree with Axel... take him through some twisties and show him what superior suspension geometry and bottom-end torque is good for.

[Veriest1]

Oops... the flywheel should have been a dead give away. Silly me.