Pistons and Rods

[nismo_chk]

Ok.. first off.. does anyone know a cheap but decent company that makes forged pistons for a CA?? the cheapest i have found is $450.. and since this is something i dont know a lot about.. does the brand really matter or not??

Also.. Ive heard you can somehow use the stock rods with forged pistons.. Is that safe, reliable, and strong?? Also.. if so.. what needs to be done to make that happen?

Thanks alot-Britt

[r34 gtr]

CP makes forged pistons, as does arias and weisco i believe. any one will hold more power than youll probably want to be making.

the rods are strong as hell so you really shouldnt need to replace them. i think they are good to something like 550hp as long as you get them shot peened.

- tim

[teddy]

I'm assuming the pistons you found for $450 were the race engineering pistons made by CP which is what I would recommend. I think raceeng stocks them too. And like r34 said, just get your stock rods shotpeened. Those 2 things will hold more than enough power for you.

[nismo_chk]

I'm assuming the pistons you found for $450 were the race engineering pistons made by CP which is what I would recommend. I think raceeng stocks them too. And like r34 said, just get your stock rods shotpeened. Those 2 things will hold more than enough power for you.

ill never have enough power.. but besides that.. yea those pistons were made by CP.. umm.. someone else told me my rods wouldnt hold more than 300 hp.. would someone be able to look more into that for me? i dont know anything about internals really.. thanks alot!-Britt

[themadscientist]

CA rods are beefy sumbitches, I have never seen a rod failure on a CA, a set of stock rods will do fine.

[float_6969]

I've never heard of anybody having problems with the stock Rods on the CA. Not at any of our power levels in the US anyway. Sean even used high compression pistons on an untuned ECU and they were fine. He cracked the hell outta his pistons, but the rods we're fine. Use the stockers, have them shot peened, and use the money that you would have spent on them to get head studs and a nice head gasket.

[nismo_chk]

am i going to have my **** retuned? if so.. how will that work with my chip?

[themadscientist]

only if the pistons give you a different compression ratio than before.

[sideways danny]

CA rods are beefy sumbitches, I have never seen a rod failure on a CA, a set of stock rods will do fine.

your joking surely??????? they're pretty good but I'd not go over 350

I've seen MANY MANY rod failures on CA's, mostly exiting through the side of the block. In sweden some nutters have tuned standard engines to over 450bhp and the rods were the first thing to fail

Standard headbolts are proven to be good for over 600 bhp (Norris Designs in the UK)

[float_6969]

I was under the impression she wasn't planning for over 350hp.

And I'm hard-pressed to believe that the cast pistons didn't let go before the rods did. I'm not saying your wrong, but here in the States, I haven't seen/heard of broken/bent rods. I've heard about plenty of crapped out pistons.

[themadscientist]

your joking surely??????? they're pretty good but I'd not go over 350

I've seen MANY MANY rod failures on CA's, mostly exiting through the side of the block. In sweden some nutters have tuned standard engines to over 450bhp and the rods were the first thing to fail

Standard headbolts are proven to be good for over 600 bhp (Norris Designs in the UK)

When I got here back in the nineties there were tons of 400hp CAs running around with stock rods, one killed my Skyline. Drag racing, drifting like madmen never saw or heard of a single CA rod failure, not even one. I didn't have that kind of power in my CA but I shifted consistently at 8000+ with no trouble. Perhaps the broken rods you have seen were the result of mistakes made rather than poor construction. I would never argue against overengineering though, if I was shooting for 300hp I would build to handle 400, never hurts to go a little overboard on quality.

[r34 gtr]

maybe the 4 port engine had slightly different rods than the 8 port one? just a thought.

and didnt that garage paddy s13 make 650hp on stock rods?

- tim

[CA19DET]

cant wait to put the CA19DET engine back in

[nismo_chk]

y wouldnt i want to make over 300 hp? if that was the case i wouldnt bother to upgrade all this **** when i could put stock stuff in MUCH cheaper.. im already close to 300 hp as it is.. i want to make as much hp as possible..

[sdtouge]

for 1750 i think you can get a ca crate motor from barnett oor whatevver, it comes wit cp pistons, crower rods, arp mains and heads, and a metla head gasket, 3 angle vavle job no exhuast mani or turbo tho

[nismo_chk]

eh.. id rather build it up myself.. im sure i can do it cheaper that way too

[float_6969]

Well what kind of horsepower are you looking for? If you're looking for over 300hp, I would plan for some sort of T3 series manifold and a T3/T4 turbo. You could do it with a GT series, T2 frame turbo, but you're looking at mucho dinero. If money is no option, then get new rods by all means.

[81na ZX]

For Rods, I'd suggest Pauter. http://www.pauter.com/nissan.htm

They make CA rods, and will make them to your specs. Also they'll make them out of titanium for a butt load of money.

[themadscientist]

As much horsepower as possible within what budget? If money is no object we are talking 600-700hp and thoousands of dollars in forged unobtainium parts and a T88. Come down out of the clouds and heft the wallet, how heavy is it? That will give us a better idea of what you can afford and thus how much power you can buy and what you need to make it.

[nismo_chk]

haha no ****.. umm my pockets arent deep thats for sure.. but im willing to take some time to save up for something i NEED... i dont have the money to upgrade my turbo setup right now but i plan to down the road.. hopefully by NEXT summer or fall i hope to at least have enough money or have already bought the turbo stuff i want and put down about 400whp.. so... if that means i cant run my stock rods for more than 300 hp, then i might as wel save up right now and get the good stuff now instead of having to pull off the head again and whatnot.. SO0o0o.. most likely ill have to get new rods..The ones that guy gave me a link to seem pretty expensive or am i just unaware of the price of them?? so besides the one person that gave me a recommendation, does anyone else have more options for me??affordable ones.. remember im only 19 with a crappy job.. lol

[81na ZX]

Crower will make them for $668 for the set ($167 each), $400-somthing each for Titanium.

If you can get Eagle to make some, they might be cheaper - my 4G63 rods would be only $380 from Eagle vs. $699 for Crowers.

[themadscientist]

I always over-engineer. Basically I determine my goal, factor the build to handle something higher and do that. Your locic about not wanting to go back in there is the same reason I do that. If you know you will eventually want 400hp build for 500hp. If that is the case I would go with aftermarket rods and forged pistons on a prepped crank with a dynamic balance of the entire rotating assembly.

[nismo_chk]

i saw some eagle rods i believe on ebay but they were for an SR20 and they were alot more affordable.. i didnt know if they were a good brand or if brand mattered really.. umm.. anyone know some good sites i can get this **** from? im having a hard time finding them really.. everything i find is for an sR20

[themadscientist]

SRs need more help

[float_6969]

I seriously doubt you're going to find any pre-made rods for the CA. You're going to have to call a Rod company and just get a quote/estimate from them.

[CA19DET]

for 1750 i think you can get a ca crate motor from barnett oor whatevver, it comes wit cp pistons, crower rods, arp mains and heads, and a metla head gasket, 3 angle vavle job no exhuast mani or turbo tho

hmm, sounds p[retty good,, for the price..

[nismo_chk]

yea.. its starting to sound cheaper than i thought.. do you have a website or way for me to contact them? b/c i typed in barnett and a few things came up and i didnt see anyting on their sites about what u told me.. can u give me more info please!??

[boost_boy]

For 300whp on the CA you will need:

1. A stock good condition long block CA18DET2. AT least some 50lb/hr or some 500cc injectors3. A decent sized turbocharger will be needed. Try and avoid SR T25s and T25Gs and even the T28 unless it's the S15 Bb unit or the GTiR's T28.4. Most importantly is a good burnt chip, some cheezy little black boxes (ie SAFC, GCC, VPC, etc) or even a standalone and some very good tuning.

For 400whp on the CA, you will need:

1. All of the above minus any of the SR series turbos and add some 720cc injectors for insurance. Keep in mind the SAFC will not be able to control the 720cc injectors.

For 500whp on a CA18DET, you will need:

1. A good stock CA18DET, but those pistons will get really sick and tired of all that force and eventually crack a ringland. I recommend upgrading the pistons and rods for the bottom end.

2. Head must be milled true and use of a metal headgasket lowering compression a bit is highly recommended. Head also must be ported, valves machined, upgraded valve springs, and very nice set of camshafts as well as cam gears.

3. The 720cc injectors will support this event, but the turbocharger and manifold will need to be upgraded to parts that are more competent. Of course you will need an external wastegate as well.

4. Unless the tuner is the best with the little black boxes or good at burning chips, you may want to invest in a standalone because a VPC is not cheap.

5. A bunch of other little things must be taken into consideration, but all things considering, this info will assist you in your quests.

Dee

[Coldspawn]

...some cheezy little black boxes (ie SAFC, GCC, VPC, etc) ...

There is no reason to run those things. They is enough options to choose from that cost LESS then those boxes. You are asking for trouble when you run one.

[themadscientist]

piggybacks have their place. I have built nice power with them with no ill effects. I remamber the good old days when I was tweaking flowmeter springs and fuel pressure because there was no cheap alternative. For something mild like about 25% over stock, a piggyback works fantastic. With the advent of affordable standalones piggybacks get clowned on but I have smoked so called superior cars with nothing but a one-knob AFC. You still have to know what you are doing rich boys!