KA VS SR20?

[zenki1986]

Hi im new here and im about to be the proud owner of a 97 240sx se. My dilemma is im torn between the KA motor and the SR20 motor, I live in brooklyn NY so there really isnt much open roads or traffic-less streets to do much racing in. Which brings me to my dilemma, I want to do an SR20 swap because its gives you more horsepower than the KA but im not looking to really race the car, I just want a reliable daily driver but at times when im feeling the need to speed I want my car with a little more kick. So I figure the SR20 is the perfect choice, strong motor, can be daily driven and has that extra umph! When you're feeling the urge to go faster. Plus its not an expensive motor to maintain, or is it? Now keep in mind im not too enthusiastic bout having a car that eats up 99.9 percent of my check from my partime job because the engine is a money pit and if an SR20 fits that description then i'll stick with my KA. So what are your opinions? Thank you

[ZootedS13]

keep the ka for a little while and see if its what you are looking for. if not, either save for the sr swap or you could always turbo the ka(some people actually prefer it because its more "torquey").

You have a lot of research to do before you make that decision. you should definately look at ka-t build threads and sr builds.

[Justinians_2:40]

If money is a problem, stick with the KA. Don't go SR, KA-T or any other engine swap/power adder unless you've got some expendable income. Take it from someone who thought it could be done on a budget, anything you think is simple won't be, and anything you think is a cheap upgrade will cost you at least double, and that's even if you do your own labor. Same goes for SR swaps, at first they seem cheap and easy, and if your lucky, they are, but in most cases it turns out to be a huge PITA/money pit.

I say, at least for now, run the KA into the ground, then when you have some money, either do a swap, or rebuild the KA for some boost. Just don't make the same mistake a lot of us do (including myself), which is dump a lot of money into a project then sell the car for 1/4 what you have in it because you're broke.

If you've just got an itch to work on something, there's tons of little things you can do, sure they won't add much to the car individually, but over time it adds up.

[impact240sx]

Talk about beating a dead horse


Just go SR... JK Try them both, I've had several Ka's, but now I just run sr's, but its personal preferance.

[MR.chris]

Justinians is correct.

[liquid_cool]

Talk about beating a dead horse


Just go SR... JK Try them both, I've had several Ka's, but now I just run sr's, but its personal preferance.

you can go SR..shure..but if ya break down and need a part..guesswhat...call japan man..and talk about hard to get...i myself love my NA ka...ive tossed valves throu the pistons...bent rods...impailed the oilpan..you name it..ive broke it...went down to the junkyard and patched it up for nothing...its a real b**** to totaly destroy a ka...the only time ive done it "and i ment to" was spraying a 200 shot for kiks...sent a rod throu the block and broke the crank in two!....i have a fully balanced and built ka..head..bottom end..with topfeed convertion...i can rev this pile of crap to 9k..and it still stay's together...and if i blow this one...i can allways find another ka for $100ish somewhere..now an SR...forget it..if the engine blows..id have to drop another 2k for a longblock...i would keep the ka.

[Hijacker]

Liquid, I order all of my replacement parts for my SR stateside. There has been very few instances I had issues in ordering parts, but that was because I was looking for VERY specific JDM only parts (center valve cover stud comes to mind).

[badbob2121]

i go to local nissan dealership, they happen to carry tons of oem s13/s14 sr20det parts (thank you west covina nissan)

[[email protected]]

sr's are nice i love too see them in action but the ka's are deffinately more "torquey", cheaper parts to my knowledge,
If the KA blows up you can get a stock one for 150 from a pick and pull and swap all the stuff in a matter of a day, the SR not so cheap. And you said your on a pt budget, you can boost the ka safely and have all the fun, not to mention harness work with the sr, but as you said budget, and the jdm engines you dont know the condition and what kinda pressure its taken imo.

[poshatch]

if your not going to drive it, dont upgrade the engine, and if your going to do it on the streets, seriously dont upgrade that engine

but to answer your question, if you want that little umph, just make sure your ka is reliable, and turbo that thing, keep it low and tuned correctly so that you wont blow anyting up, maintain it and the parts for the thing you can get locally so id go with that

[liquid_cool]

Liquid, I order all of my replacement parts for my SR stateside. There has been very few instances I had issues in ordering parts, but that was because I was looking for VERY specific JDM only parts (center valve cover stud comes to mind).

lucky bastages!...you cant find $#itzs here in vegas for anything!..its all special order..so lucky..and forget our local nissan dealer...there clueless unless you have a 05-2010 model....lucky bastages!

[PyR0NiAk]

I'm so tired of seeing these SR vs KA threads.. Does noone search anymore?

They all say the same thing.

I don't know if I want an SR or a KA?

What's your budget? What are your goals for the car?

"I think you should do this..."

"Well, I think you should do this instead, because of this."

People just need to research and decide what they want to do on their own, honestly. Your car should be YOUR project.

(If I'm coming off as an ***hole, I'm not trying to. It just seems this topic comes up at least every other day.)

[ReX2SX]

^^^ A mod should delete these..

[WDRacing]

If money is a problem, stick with the KA. Don't go SR, KA-T or any other engine swap/power adder unless you've got some expendable income. Take it from someone who thought it could be done on a budget, anything you think is simple won't be, and anything you think is a cheap upgrade will cost you at least double, and that's even if you do your own labor. Same goes for SR swaps, at first they seem cheap and easy, and if your lucky, they are, but in most cases it turns out to be a huge PITA/money pit.

I say, at least for now, run the KA into the ground, then when you have some money, either do a swap, or rebuild the KA for some boost. Just don't make the same mistake a lot of us do (including myself), which is dump a lot of money into a project then sell the car for 1/4 what you have in it because you're broke.

If you've just got an itch to work on something, there's tons of little things you can do, sure they won't add much to the car individually, but over time it adds up.

Best post in one of these threads I've seen in a long time.

I'm an ***hole

[PyR0NiAk]

I'm an ***hole

You know I'm right, though.

[PyR0NiAk]

^^^ A mod should delete these..

No need to delete them. They will turn up when people search. It just amazes me how many people don't actually search for the pros and cons of each engine. I have absolutely NOTHING against people asking questions. I'm typically one of the first to try and just answer someone's simple question before flaming them. It's very rare that I'll say "USE THE SEARCH BUTTON." If, I know the answer, it's 10 times easier for me just to type the answer.

[liquid_cool]

^^^ A mod should delete these..

No need to delete them. They will turn up when people search. It just amazes me how many people don't actually search for the pros and cons of each engine. I have absolutely NOTHING against people asking questions. I'm typically one of the first to try and just answer someone's simple question before flaming them. It's very rare that I'll say "USE THE SEARCH BUTTON." If, I know the answer, it's 10 times easier for me just to type the answer.

i just try to help people ...it dosent matter to me if they use the search button or not..this is just a past time for me afterwork...ill try to help no matter what.