I drove it as a DD while I was living in Indiana, which was only a couple months. As soon as I brought it back to NY, I swapped in the DOHC engine and 5-speed from my rusty shell. I swapped over all the suspension goodies from that car as well. I decided not to run the turbo setup since I needed the car as my DD still and I wanted as little down time as possible. I ran the car in a couple of auto-x events before I put it away for the winter. It is severely under-prepped because the SPL arms (spherical bearings) put it in Street Modified class. It would be nice to be properly classed, but it’s just nice to get some seat time. For a ballpark reference, I usually compare my times with STX or DSP, which is where it would be without the spherical bearings.
There was no way I was driving this thing through the salt around here, so I picked up a ’95 legacy wagon for cheap. I’ve done a few mods over the winter and so far this spring, including S14 seat belts, DIN gauge setup, and Energy poly bushings pretty much everywhere. I still want to do a few things to make the car a little better. The front bumper/lip were scuffed when I bought it and I did a quick spray in the fall, but I really need to take them off and do a thorough job painting. I also want to get my A/C and cruise control hooked up, and maybe replace my blown speakers so I can use this as a DD if I want to. I also need an alignment soon, I’ll probably go for 2* front camber, 1.5* rear with zero toe front and rear.
I am building the car for track days and auto-x. My next upgrades will probably be a set of Z32 brakes and an aluminum radiator. Once I finally find an actual engineering job, I’ll probably throw a turbo on the KA along with a full rebuild or, if funds allow, go LSx. Here is the mod list and some pictures…
When I bought it:
KA-T hatch and stock automatic hatch:
Comparing tension rod bolt from shell:
Koni/GC setup w/ stock wheels:
Auto-x:
Engine/Drivetrain:
1991 KA24DE w/ 5MT
Nistune ECU
SPEC Stage 3 clutch
Fidanza aluminum flywheel
B&M short shifter
S15 helical LSD
SPL polyurethane transmission mount
Blitz Realize TT exhaust
Front Suspension:
Koni 8610 race inserts w/ Veilside180sx V3 housings
GC sleeves w/ Eibach springs (375 lb/in)
Tein pillowball mounts
Vorshlag spring perches
SPL tension rods
Energy front control arm bushings
Whiteline sway bar w/ PDM spherical end links
Rear Suspension:
Koni sport shocks
GC sleeves w/ Eibach springs (300 lb/in)
Tein pillowball mounts
SPL RUCAs
SPL toe arms
Stock 16mm sway bar w/ Energy bushings and end links
Energy polyurethane S14 subframe bushings
Energy poly bushings for knuckles, lower control arms, traction arms
Wheels/Tires:
MB Competition 17x9 +17
Bridgestone RE01R 255/40R17
Brakes:
Brembo blank rotors
Hawk HPS pads
SPL stainless braided lines
Electronics/Interior:
S14 seats
S14 seatbelts
Alpine CD receiver
Autometer water temp, oil temp, oil pressure gauges
Odyssey PC680 dry cell battery
