pros/cons of going turbo KA or SR20?

[Doomed2Walk]

I hate living in the Midwest :[ Getting the SR costs so much, kind of tempted to go KA-T, but my *throw up* Honda *throw up* friends will just keep busting my bawls about I have a truck motor :P instead of going the JDM way. Dumb Hondas.

[jdmfreak]

**** your friends. Do the KA-T if ya wanna.

[Silviapower]

jdmfreak03 wat car do u have? Just the maxima u listed or u have a 240sx sitting at homw that u dont want us to know.

[jdmfreak]

Nah just the Max. I did my research though. I was gonna get an S14 when I saved enough, then go S14 SR. Plans changed so I researched the KA-T. Although it'll cost more, I wanted to do a full rebuild(even though it might not be necessary) then turbo(N Sport or Greddy kit). I then realized that as much as Id love a RWD coupe, I'd just stick with the Max. I should be getting a new one(96 or 97) late this year or early next year. The S14 idea is still lingering around though.

Oh and mad props on the Hellsing quote in your sig. That show is the ****.

[Silviapower]

hehehe yup im a Japanese freak i like japanese car , anime and girls hahah i just cant get enough.

[nab911]

Yall are also arguing over 2 totaly different set up motors (internally). If you put 14lbs of boost on a motor built for high/normal compression it will have crazy power but wont be able to boost high without blowing something. The sr has low compressions pistons because it is made for a turbo...

[Darkness and Light]

Well if both are tuned right then the KA shouldnt blow. In a race of 300 hp vs. 300 hp, The sr will have the straights since it has a higher redline than the KA. If the speed limter on both engines were left on then it'll be a closer race, but if the limiter is off Im quite sure both engines can reach 140 mph easily given a long enough straight. What if the KA-T had ECU and cams done to it to give it a lil more top end? Theres a lotta factors dealing with the two engines and in the end its down to which one has the best tuning. Low-end torque vs. high reving, Id prefer the low-end torque. Its all in the eye of the beholder.

I was under the impression that 300 hp is 300 hp, no matter what RPM you make it at. If two cars were making 300 hp, one at 6900 and one at 7500, and they maintained their speed, they would both be going the same speed right? My statistics are probably off, but the point I'm trying to make is that horsepower is a function of torque, revolutions and a constant number of 5252. If two cars have 300 hp and one has higher revs, then that must mean that the other has higher torque to balance the equation.

I suppose we could also add time into the equation and add in that the SR driver will be able to hold each gear longer, then start messing around with gearing ratios and what this means for acceleration accross the entire power band. Then we would have to realize that if you held horsepower at 300 and factored in the SR's higher rev limit, then you have to also factor in the KA's higher torque figures.

All in all there are too many factors to care about. How long is the hypothetical straightaway? What are the speeds entering the straightaway? What about the differences in engine weight? I suppose that there is some set of conditions that gives the higher reving engine a substantial advantage, but I think there are other sets of conditions that favor the torque. I guess that means that the absolute theoretical advantage of one engine over the other depends on what theoretical venue it is being used for.

[Darkness and Light]

I would love to turbo my KA, just to build my 'what-if' version of a lightly modified, 240SX Turbo. However, like 90% of all people who talk about turboed 240s in any form, I don't have the money or inclination to spend that much money. That is why you see Civics without turbos or B engines and instead a lot of windshield wiper LEDS, chopped spring and big mufflers. Real engine and suspension work cost alot and so do entire cat-back systems.

Even if you had the money to drop, again 9 times out of 10, a lightly modified or even a stock 240's potential will outpace the driver. How many people could really take advantage of the superiority of an SR20DET over a KA24DET or vice versa? Or could you disrupt this 'superiority' just by dropping a few hundred dollars and pick up strut bars, or anti-roll bars, or a catback, or a cold air intake, or some other misc. part.

Untill you've replaced everything there is to upgrade and reached the absolute limit of your skills, the SR vs. KA debate is fun, but untimately meaningless.

[oldsoul]

well said. i aactually left a turbo in the "u pull it" today because i decided i need to have the strut redone before i start to "throw money at the motor".