new guy! switched from rb to ka-t

[s13rb25det]

hey guys, Im new here and have just sold my 92 rb25det powered 240sx and bought a VERY nice bone stock 91 s13 coupe. I love the rb motors but they a a MAJOR pain to find parts (even now!!) and are to heavy for track use! I do like the sr20det but dont like the lack of torque that comes with it. I think I am going to just turbo the ka motor I am looking at getting the stage 3 turbo kit from BD has any one here ever used this kit? and how does it perform? also what options do I have with fuel and engine programing for a 91 s13? all the pcm systems I have seen are only for obd2 cars! also I here of the rods breaking in the ka after around 250 hp is this correct? sorry for the stupid questions and yes I did a search on this BEFORE I pposted this! thanks! Roger

[NateDogg]

Stock KA24DE Engine Component Limits (as tested by Ivan@Phat-kat)

Pistons: ~400whpRods: ~550whp

Interesting to hear your side of the story as an ex-RB owner. Feel free to tell us more about what you disliked to fuel the fire!!

Welcome!

[s13rb25det]

there really is nothing I dont like about the rb25dets!!! there great motors and very reliable and easy to tune! I WILL do this swap again when the price goes down on these things! this is the draw back about this swap the price and all the other stuff that goes into the swap (mounts, driveline wiring, etc) and also the weight of the motor it is very heavy! so I want to do something different like a ka-t I am impressed with this motor in N/A form, and have been told that it likes to be modded and turboed all other nissan swaps have been considered and then shotdown! rb20det is to weak and old! rb26dett would be cool but it costs about 15k to do it right! ca18det is a good motor but likes to rev to get its power and that would make it suck for street use! and of course the "awsome" sr20det that has a weak aluminum block and also likes to rev and sound like a honda! and all these swaps require extra stuff that I could put into a ka-t it just makes sense right now to go with the ka-t. what has it cost you guys to do one of these and how much power did you make? with my rb25det swap it was just over 10k and I made about 320hp and a little more torque but I got a good deal on my motor also! it came with a load of aftermarket goodies! my goal is to make a good 300hp and have it a 100% street able I am really considering the stage 3 turbo kit from boost design are these good kits for the money? or is it a whole lot cheaper to piece one together? I would like your ideas and stuff! thanks

[Florida240sx]

So far I have only heard good things, but waiting for some more reviews before I purchase myself.Longer I wait the more $$ I get. Wonder if I can get a deal if I buy 3 engines and 2 turbokits.

[sil80drifter]

Mind linking me to that stock piston rwhp limit? I was under the impresion that Ivan did NOT use stock pistons when he hit 400rwhp.

sil80

[NateDogg]

I guess you're under the wrong impression. He blew it up a little while later, then built the twin's engine IIRC...Maybe PM him?

http://forums.freshalloy.com/u...&vc=1

[deezlins]

yeah he made 404whp 409tq on a mustang dyno and used completely stock internals and even stock intake manifold, if i remember correctly he eventually cracked the ring lands.

The Boost Designs kits seem to be pretty decent, ive never actually seen or had any experience with them, just going on what ive heard. If you get that kit you will still have to get some kind of tuning. The most popular things to use are the AEM EMS, SAFC, Greddy e-Manage, Enthalpy tuned ECU, or a JWT tuned ECU. (remember, with some of these options you will need a new MAF, like a z32 MAF)You might could piece together your own kit cheaper, it just depends on what you use and how good a deal you can get on parts.It all depends on how far you wanna go with it, and how much money and time and effort you wanna put into it as for which route to take. Either way, 300hp should be no problem

[DammitBobby]

Stage III would be a good deal and you would be on the road to 400hp not 300hp. For 300Hp you only need a decent stock KA, Z32 MAF and Stage II kit. Thats if you use Enthalpy tune. If you go any other route you will spend more in tunning.

[WDRacing]

The rods bent for Ivan at just over 500 and the pistons just over 400. So 350 and 450 are safe numbers to run on the stock internals assuming your running a decent tune. Fuel managment is easy. Any piggyback, SAFCII Emanage, HKS AFR or hacked MAF will work. It's the timing thats a problem. I use the MSD BTM and I haven't had any problems yet. The S13 also has a better ignition system since you can actually modify it without cutting and splicing into the distributor like I had to do.

There aren't any stupid questions Roger. So post away, we do out best to answer them. This is one of the best forums on NICO.

Welcome

WD

[zEy]

I as well am a newbie to ka-t. I'm glad I found this thread. I have a few question of my own. I currently have a s13 93. I'm pretty sure the dohc in mine is pretty different compared to the 95 and up. Would like to know what is the difference. I also wanted to know what would it take to get my current engine to about 350-400 hp. It's pretty hard to fine turbo kits for my year. I have 162k miles on the engine should I swap it out or rebuild or just use it as is until it gives out? Which turbo should I use is another question I have. In other words I'm looking for someone to put together an example setup.

If you had my car and wanted 350-400hp what would you do?

[gabossie]

Your engine is almost identical to the 95+ engines, only a few bolts on the head are different, nothing substantial. With 162k on the clock you're almost definatly going to need a rebuild to hit 350-400 hp reliably, but the only way to really know is to check the compression.

[Fulcrum]

You can also use a PLMS/BikiRom daughterboard, Willem burner, and LiveEdit/ROM Editor to reprogram the OBD1 ECU.

Edit:

IMO Build your own turbo kit.

Dig you a turbo out of a junkyard. A Toyota CT26(Supra, Celica, MR2), T3 60/63(Ford Supercoupe), or maybe a KKK K26(Porsche 944) should be sized about right for a KA24DE. I'm sure there are more/better choices out there but I can't think of them at the moment.

JGS Precision Tool and Stealthmode.com both sell DIY manifold kits.

NAPA sells everything for oil line kits.

JohnnyRaceCar and Custom Coach

You can get mild steel piping and bends from JC Whitney for piping

Buy/Beg/Borrow/Steal a WB o2 sensor and tune it.

JMHO. I'd rather do my own labor and learn something than pay someone else
Modified by Fulcrum at 7:18 AM 4/26/2005

[DRIFTEADOR]

I agree w/ everything except

Steal a WB o2 sensor

[Fulcrum]

I agree w/ everything except

Figure of speech lol. Don't take things so literally.

To the OP. I dont think theres a factory turbo that will flow enough air to make 400 horses. Even if you buy an aftermarket turbocharger piecing together your own kit will still run you less and teach you a lot more than buying a prefab kit.

Just so no one gets the wrong idea I haven't heard anything bad about the Boost Designs kit. I try to learn something new on every project I do. So, to me installing a kit is just bolting parts on past a certain point.

Again JMHO

[DRIFTEADOR]

ah ok, sorry im still a little sensitive. my last car was stolen. and even though it's stupid since they only cost like $40, i have heard of people stealing them off vdubs