lots of questions

[ilikenissan]

Hi my dad just bought me my first car... its a '91 240sx fastback with the 2.4 DOHC. its an automatic and the engine is bone stock except a 3a muffler. im wondering approximentaly what will it run on the 1/4 mile? i live like 10 seconds from a drag strip i plan on racing there alot... and im wondering what upgrades i could do or get to make my car quicker on the strip. and i got a stock turbo out of an izuzu impulse at my dads work and i was gonna put it in my car cuz im on a tight budget then a buddy of mine told me it would even be worth it.. what should i do??any other ideas are welcome. and as of now will my car be able to beat like civic si's and integras preludes etc..

[lessthanjakejohn]

16.4-8

do you know the specs of the turbo? Its probaly to small (and worn out?) It probaly wouldn't be worth it because you will have to get a manifold fabricated.

All bolton upgrades will get you 10 horsepower at most. IMO, it isn't worth it.

Fix up everything first. You probaly have a lot of worn out belts and rusted stuff on your car, fix it. The first upgrade I would get would be a manual transmission, but its your choice.

Then you have to decide what you want the car to be and how much you want to spend. A little under 10,000 and you can have decent suspension upgrades, some minor brake stuff (stainless lines, pads, rotors), Some nice wheels and tires, and a lot of engine work (250whp).

For under 2000, there are a lot of boltons to choose from, but you won't be going very fast.

[AZhitman]

Great advice from LTJJ.

Maintenance is key. Before you do anything with your new possession (congrats!) change EVERY fluid, every hose and belt, and clean every electrical connection. Clean the intake and TB, do a de-carb, install new plugs, flush the radiator, new t-stat, bushings.... Then move on to shocks and tires, and buy the best you can afford. Even if they don't "look" bad, do it anyway.

Dollar for dollar this will improve performance better than ANY aftermarket modifications EVER will.

There's tons of good info here, so don't be afraid to ask - And Welcome to NICO!

[ilikenissan]

would suspension really help me that much on the quarter mile??cuz i already planned on getting lowering springs.. and all this car if gonna be for is to get from point a to point b and the drag strip... and the occasional street race. and i dont have 10grand to put into my car. and it would really only run 16.8?? if it runs 16.8 then how do all these 1.6 liter civics run 14's?? .. and i already got a manual transmission for my car my dad works at a junkyard. what else can i get for my car thats relatively cheap besides an intake?? and what if i made my car lighter?? ilke taking out back seats and all those unnecesary parts. would that do anything?

[AZhitman]

Hmmmm... Where to start?

The Civics run 14's because their owners say they do. 90% of the time, they're full of s***.

Your best modifications for the money are the things you can do yourself - MAINTENANCE. Replace all fluids & rubber parts, clean the intake and TB, install new plugs/wires, flush radiator, new t-stat, etc... These will pay off much faster than dropping $200 on a stupid intake pipe - AND they'll be more effective.

[Tino]

V8 swap.

[ilikenissan]

ive seen civics run 14's.. and if i replace all the plugs and flush the radiator and all that other stuff.. how fast will it run then? cuz 240s seem rellativelly slow for how big of a motor it has in it..

[Cyberkreig]

if i were you i'd listen to the hitman. If you want you can go drop a grand in IHE and maybe see part of a second faster on the quarter. All motor 4-cyl power is a pipe dream.

[lessthanjakejohn]

The KA24DE engine (the one in your car) isn't too great stock, turbo another story .

Those civics are probaly pretty new. They also have a better fuel system, better rod to stroke ratio, etc. Then your car. Don't worry about them yet, you have work to do.

Quote »Maintenance is key. Before you do anything with your new possession (congrats!) change EVERY fluid, every hose and belt, and clean every electrical connection. Clean the intake and TB, do a de-carb, install new plugs, flush the radiator, new t-stat, bushings.... Then move on to shocks and tires, and buy the best you can afford. [/quote]What Greg said will get you the greatest improvement in response and power. Replacing bushing with something a little stiffer will improve steering response. Your old ones are problay leaking fluid. Look through the 'technical section for 'seafoam' and clean your maf, and again, everything that Greg said. After you spend a few days thumbing threw old threads of everything that has broken down and caused hesitation from being dirty/worn, Make a list and show it to us along with everything else in that area.. Don't forget to get your rotors turned/new rotors and new pads. OEM will do fine. Look around the web, the BST forum, and http://www.jpec.com for some nice used 15-16 inch rims to come up. Buy some nice rubber (Look in the suspension forum stickies". You will see a nice improvement in your 60' from those. We can help you better from there.

After your car runs like new the exhaust manifold and a little bit of head work will show you the greatest gains. For the exhaust manifold try to find a used 'Hot-Shot' one in good condition. Look around in the All Motor section for simple head work, its not coming to me right now. The head is low key, really.

The next is the intake and the catback. Try to look for a used "Injen" ram intake and a used "HKS Hiper." But you shouldn't focues on that at all right now.

So youve spent a few months fixing up your car. A few more looking for nice used parts. And now you want to go race again. I think you could nail a high to low 15 depending on 60'.

[fabiandawg]

hey im gonna give you a great piece of advice. and this is from "experience". do not attempt to race your car with the automatic transmission. you will destroy it faster than you can pay $1000 to rebuild it( and thats just benchwork, does not include labor) . i made this poor attempt when i first got my 93 hatch, and i paid for it. also, like everyone else is saying, make the car run perfect first before attempting to race it or mod at. as far as the 240 being slow, IT IS SLOW!!!!!!!! this is not an out of the box drag car. treat it good otherwise it will bite you in the ***.

[AZhitman]

ive seen civics run 14's.. and if i replace all the plugs and flush the radiator and all that other stuff.. how fast will it run then? cuz 240s seem rellativelly slow for how big of a motor it has in it..

Stock Civics don't run 14's. Period. Never have, probably never will.

My point is, if you're on a budget, putting aftermarket mods on a car is a waste of time for the most part. HP costs money.

The 240 is a great platform, but it's a heavy car, and despite 2.4 litres of displacement, it's not a high-hp screamer. It's a basic 4cyl without variable valve timing or many of the other hi-tech twists that make big power.

The efforts I described will add to the longevity of the car, and will result in improved performance. If your car was a 16.5 second car when brand new, don't be surprised if it runs a 17.5 after 100K miles of less-than-perfect maintenance.

Nowhere else can you pick up a second in the quarter mile with $200 and a weekend's worth of work. Mainteanance, baby.

[ilikenissan]

i already have rims. there 17" though and my grandpa works for goodyear now so i can get a good deal on some pirelli tires.. and an exhaust manifold how much do these things run price wise remember guys im only 16 and i just got a job... and i have a few back up transmissions just incase this one goes out im kinda hoping it does cuz i want a manual but my dad told me i got to get used to driving before i switch over cuz im still a new driver.and can you guys kinda give me directions on some of this stuff? like how do i flush my radiator? do i just take out the old fluid and put new stuff back in? and where would i find stiffer bushings??at like autozone or somehthin? how do i de-carb and t-stat?? and an exaust manifold thats what the turbo bolts to am i correct? give me a break guys im still learing this stuff...

[lessthanjakejohn]

Don't be too disapointed. You don't sound like you have a ton of mony to splurge. It was very nice of your father to furbish you with a great car. There are other types of competition out there where you will have fun. Try Autocross AKA Solo II. Again Same maintenence and mods suggested but perhaps no intake and catback but some Eibach Pros and some KYB AGX/Similar or if your running out of money, some GR2s.

If I knew where you are I could find you some 240 guys to go auto xing with, perhaps?

[lessthanjakejohn]

i already have rims. there 17" though and my grandpa works for goodyear now so i can get a good deal on some pirelli tires.. and an exhaust manifold how much do these things run price wise remember guys im only 16 and i just got a job... and i have a few back up transmissions just incase this one goes out im kinda hoping it does cuz i want a manual but my dad told me i got to get used to driving before i switch over cuz im still a new driver.and can you guys kinda give me directions on some of this stuff? like how do i flush my radiator? do i just take out the old fluid and put new stuff back in? and where would i find stiffer bushings??at like autozone or somehthin? how do i de-carb and t-stat?? and an exaust manifold thats what the turbo bolts to am i correct? give me a break guys im still learing this stuff...

I didn't know how an engine worked a half year back. The web is a great resource. There is http://www.google.com and the search function of these boards to help you. I remember the radiator flush being described two weeks back. I don't know the exact procedure. bushings...Check out the suspension FAQ, and search the forum. T stat is short for thermostat, it measures the temperature of the radiator water/fluid. Decarb is ridding the engine of carbon build up that occurs naturally. Search 'seafoam'

[fabiandawg]

as far as bushings go, pdm racing i believe has a good assortment of them- http://www.pdm-racing.com

[lessthanjakejohn]

asumming how you know how most systems on your car work, and why they break down.

NICO's Infiniti owners tend to take good care of their cars. Some of the same advice I and others are giving you now is what i s recommended by Inifniti guys (AZhitman included).

You may find it boring, but it you want the fastest car for your budget. Read the forums Specifically

Infiniti General - http://www.nissaninfiniticlub....id=26

Nissan 'My car it broke' section - http://www.nissaninfiniticlub....id=23

Infiniti car it broke section - http://www.nissaninfiniticlub....id=24

240sx Tech Section - http://www.nissaninfiniticlub....id=17

Worn out suspension is an assortment of those four and http://www.nissaninfiniticlub....id=87 The 240 Susp section.

Make sure to read the FAQs in each section.

[ilikenissan]

whats autocross aka solo II? is that some sort of round track racing?? and lessthenjake i live in cincinnati, Ohio.. and ive only seen one other 240sx that is in the racing scene.. and my dad told me he would show me how to do all that stuff ilke replace the plug wires etc.. and he told me he just put a new radiator in my car.. any other ideas?

[Bubba1]

I think you have a great dad for giving you such a fine 1st car. But if you're on a limited budget I think you need to get all the mundane maintenance stuff done first. Then see what kind of money you have leftover for "mods". The maintenance costs more than you think. I know the maintenance sounds boring but drag racing is very hard on a car, and if you want to do it more than once, that car better be in top mechanical shape.

Regards.

[nissanrcer240]

Quote »ive seen civics run 14's[/quote]

mm mm mm, thats kindof an ignorant way to go about it:( , i've seen 240's runnin 14's, 15's, and people who have seen aries race saw a 240 running in like the 10's(not exactly sure what he runs)....that means nothin, you dont realy see alot of people going to the track racing a stock car, if you saw a civic runnin in 14's then its deff not stock, and you have no idea how much money or what kind of motor was put in it....

consider your self lucky btw that your dad got you a 240 and not a civic;) ....back to your original quetions, what they said /\ is probly the best advice you could use now, good luck with your car though

[lessthanjakejohn]

I forgot to stress. Get an Factory Service Manual, commonly referred to as a FSM. You can pick one of these up electronically online. You can also purchase one on Ebay, or the NICO Buy/Sell/Trade forum. They are also available at some dealers ranging from 40-160 US dollars

Another mod that will immensely help in the 1/4 and any racing. An LSD

Again, read the forums. If you have any questions try searching for 10 minutes or so, then come ask in this thread.

[Tino]

V8 swap.

[Kaioshin1982]

wtf? Tino pulled a Fiznat by quoting his own post...

[ilikenissan]

okay as of now my car has the stock alloy rims on it the "tear drop" ones... well so ive been told.it has fairly new tires on it.. soon it will have 17" OZ aluminum 10 spoked rims with brand new pirelli tires... im waiting on the tires now. with in the next couple of days i will be cleaning the intake replacing all the fluids i can.. the radiator has just been replaced. im getting a new thermostat next time i go to autozone. and im replacing the plugs and plug wires as soon as i get a chance. it has a 3a muffler on it. and im still trying to figure out what eibach pros are.. im guessing there suspension related and gr2's?? and whats in LSD? thanks to all of those who have helped me so far..

[Rockenreno]

LSD = Limited Slip Differentialwill run you around $200-250 + installationsearch and you will find a lot of info on what kind works on 240sx

An LSD will help you with traction basically. It makes sure both tires are gripping and putting power to the ground. Sounds like you're off to a good start so far. Good luck!

[cow]

Stock Civics don't run 14's. Period. Never have, probably never will.

Guh. The old Civic Type R (not the new Focus one) runs mid 14's. The CRX SiR could squeak out a high 14 too if I'm not mistaken.

Anyway, back on topic.

If all you're doing is drag racing, and you had wads of cash (which, as I gather from the thread, you don't.. but I digress), you could email Level 10 and see if they could/do make a kit for the 240. That plus a high stall torque converter would go a long way to helping your times. Then put a 75 shot on it, LSD and nice tires and see what happens.

Of course, this is a pretty ridiculous idea. Forget what I said and do a 5 spd swap.

:|

[AZhitman]

Guh. The old Civic Type R (not the new Focus one) runs mid 14's. The CRX SiR could squeak out a high 14 too if I'm not mistaken.

...and when you see one in the USDM, let me know. :rolleyes

[Blues13]

Those 17" OZ rims that you're gonna put on your car isn't gonna help your times either if it's for drag racing. Most OZ rims are damn heavy and rolling around in larger rims isn't good for drag.. all that extra weight equates to a slower 1/4 mile. I'd put some nice stickies on the factory rims or wait til you get more power before you put on the 17s..

[f8sjester]

btw. . . Eibach Sportlines or Pro's are lowering springs that'll run you somewhere between $150 - 250 (really depends on where you're shopping)

and if you get springs, please be good to yourself and your car and put in new shocks at the same time (check out the "suspension forum")