New guy building KA-T. Help me out.

[mannie111]

Hey guys i've been watching/reading/ learning from these forums for a while now but never really made any posts until now. I'm in the process of building a ~300ish HP KA-T but confused as hell on what to do. i'm fairly new to motors and turbos but i've grown to love cars/engines. I learn fast though. I have a KA at the machine shop right now getting a .20 over bore, 3 angle valve job, port and polish, and a complete head job. I was told that once the motor gets put back together and dropped into the car i have to go through a 1000 mile break in period. They told me that for the first 500 miles i have to shift before 3k and before 4k for the next 500 or else i would blow a rod or just completely fcuk up the motor. My question is, what is the exact proper break in once i drop the motor in my s13. My goal is to make this thing bulletproof as i'm a beginner drifter and plan to basically drift/rev the hell out of it. I've ordered arias low compression pistons, turbo240 pro rods, a cometic mls head gasket, arp head studs and a full engine fellpro gasket set. I don't have the money to do the turbo kit right now either so i'm gonna be driving on the N/A motor for a month or two. By then it should be broken in and ready for the turbo right? I just don't wanna blow the motor so i'm looking for advice from people that have similar setups to what i'm trying to achive or just from anyone that knows about this kinda stuff. I'm open to all suggestions/advice. Thanks for the help.

[GTR PrYdE]

sounds sweet! IMO the advice they gave you sounds about right, as far as safety goes, and it will definitely be able to handle more than 300 with a built motor.

what are you plans for the car? drag,drift,track?

and what power are you looking to make?

[Florida240sx]

Should be able to handle 500rwhp

[240sxvaj]

i'm planning to do the same thing, just gathering all my parts now, i heard a lot of bad things about the Cometic HG, and heard that felpro well be able to handle 500+whp. anybody know why because i am doing a build too and dont want to F**ck anything.

what valve/valve springs and cam shafts are you running for you head?

[480sx]

Its a common misconception that you need to be able to rev to drift. All you need to be able to drift is a motor that will break the rear wheels loose.

The reason i bring this up, you can save yourself a crap load of money if you build your car smart. You dont need headwork done, and a 7000 rev limiter is fine. This is actually a bonus for you, RPMs have a tendency to ruin peoples motors... If you can make the needed power down low instead of up high, you have less risk of engine failure. The KA doesnt like to be reved, its engine geometry was not designed for high rpm operation. No amount of headwork is going to change this.

Go for the felpro headgasket under 500 hp, nuf said.

Also, whoever was telling you how to break in motors needs to get the update. Your actually supposed to beat the piss out of your motor, methodically (lol), to break it in. Check out this link, then be prepared to have a bunch of machinist who dont really know sht laugh at you when you tell them how to break in a motor. http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

[240sxvaj]

Go for the felpro headgasket under 500 hp, nuf said.

Is that the regular felpro headgasket set that is sold at autozone for like $100?

[480sx]

Felpro perma torque is its official name. I guess its the same, dk for sure though.

You can get the gasket for about 30-40 dollars shipped online. Got mine from rockauto, fast shipping.

[morbid]

So are you getting the machine shop to put in the pistons rods and headgasket or are you doing that yourself? How much is the machine shop charging you for the work they are doing if you don't mind me asking? Always wondered how much labor that all that would cost.

[mannie111]

finally i can reply to you guys. damn ihop's got me serving pancakes up the *** these days. anyways,

1. I already ordered/have the cometic mls head gasket and 10mm arp studs. So i guess i'll just stick w/ it and hope it seals perfect. I'm not doing any of the engine work myself as i'm completely new to motors. I would but don't have the tools, garage space, or time necessary right now. I do plan on getting to know these motors like the back of my hand though in the future. A buddy of mine who works at a shop is doing it for me. I also bought the copper adhesive sealer for the gasket as i heard that any other non copper sealer is pure ****.

2. the machine shop isn't putting in the rods/pistons. They're just going to assemble the rods and pistons with the rod wristpins and balance it to the motor. Keep in mind i'm getting it bored .20 over (KA25DET) . The total charge for all the machine shop work is going to be around 600. This includes the .20 over bore, 3 angle valve job, port and polish and a bunch of other things that i dont remember right now.

3. And now i'm really confused as to how to break it in...I have some people telling me that if i beat it up i'll throw a rod, and others telling me the complete opposite. wtf. Not only that but i just realized that i HAVE to get the turbo kit done at the same time i drop my motor in or else i won't be able to drive it since i'm gonna be using low compression pistons (8.8:1). So now i have to wait even longer before i can at least drive my 240. I'm a working 17 year old w/ no other DD so this is bad news for me. But i'm willing to wait a little longer i guess.

4. I haven't really looked into any valve/valve springs cams yet but what do you guys recomend? All i know is that once i put cams in i'll be able to rev higher.

Thanks for all the help guys.

[240sxvaj]

I say for the break-In period do it the same way that 480sx posted. you can also look into AMS site and they will give a proper break-in method.

Dont floor it right off the drive way, but dont baby it.

i also read somewhere earlier that for a good seal with the cometic HG you need to torque it higher than stock with the ARP studs.

good luck with your build! keep us updated.

[480sx]

The people who are telling you that you will 'throw a rod' have no idea what they are talking about.

It doesnt really look like you understood(or read?) the point of my post at all. You really should just reread my first post, it has information that you need to know.

REVS + KA = FAIL

Our engine was designed for low - mid range torque. Its crankshaft is not designed for high rpm operation. When the KA's crankshaft spins at high rpms, it creates crank vibrations that rob an exponential amount of power from the engine after 5500 rpm. It also eats bearings alive. There is no amount of valve springs, no amount of cams thats going to change the ka's ability to benefit from high rpm operation.

Ill say it again, You dont need RPMS to drift.

Cams has nothing to do with your engines RPM limit.

EDIT - I got sidetracked yesterday and forgot to mention.. Using 8.8, or most any lower comp pistons will not stop you from driving it on the road. You can still break your engine in and drive it as much as you want with the lower comp pistons, it doesnt make much of a difference.
Modified by 480sx at 1:09 PM 4/22/2008

[morbid]

Damn, $600? I thought that kind of work costs a lot more.

[mannie111]

yea well a buddy of mine works at the machine shop so he got me a discount. I'm sure it's ~800 dollars w/o connections. .

Now i need help on which cams get. I'm looking for around 400-450hp (daily drivable) once i boost it. I heard brian crower stage 2 cams are the best choice for street. But i wanna hear it from the pro's (you guys).

Also for valves i've seen that there are 31.80mm and 37.10mm exhaust valves. Do i have to get the larger ones since i'm going .20 overbore (2.5L) or am i speaking nonsense?

[Ekinchheng]

Also for valves i've seen that there are 31.80mm and 37.10mm exhaust valves. Do i have to get the larger ones since i'm going .20 overbore (2.5L) or am i speaking nonsense?

Getting your block .20 over doesn't mean you block is 2.5 Liters. If you want 2.5 litters you have the get a stroker kit for the ka which seems useless since our cylinder walls are thin aready. Goodluck with the build, i'm also going the ka-t route but finances problems and I need to get a daily driver before I do anything to it.