I was wondering if I could pull off the following project and make it reliable with the money I have.
I have aroun $14k to spend and I've been looking at used 240sx. At first I planned to swap an SR20det into it but I live in Cali and I wouldn't pass smog with it in. I then looked into the possibilty of turbocharging the stock ka24de. My question is wether it is possible with the funds that I have. I was thinking that a used 240sx would be around $7k. I looked into some turbo kits because I don't think I could piece one together and I noticed that people like the Greddy and the Fmax. Any particular advantages to either one? I found the Fmax for 3600 and the Greddy for 3200, any places that sell them cheaper? Also what would I need to replace internally on the engine to be able to make it run reliably assuming it would have close to 100k? From what I've read these engines are pretty reliable at low boost but on an engine with 100k I'd imagine it would be pretty risky to boost it and expect it to last. Would forged pistons and rods be neccesary or would I just need to rebuild the head? Also is there tuning required on these prebuilt kits and if so where is there a good Nissan tuner in SoCal. I'm coming from a turbo A4 with a broken head, I don't want this happening again. Is it realistic to think that the KA24 with that many miles when rebuilt will take well to boost? What about the rest of the car?
Sorry for all the questions but I am really interested in a 240 as I am definately going the turbocharged route, but I don't want to deal with fwd hondas.
Realistic Goals?
Are you set on a 97/98 240? Because those would be the only one that would cost 7k. You can pick up a nice condition S13 for less than half that price. Rebuild the engine if you like, and seeing as you have the cash, I'd splurge on some forged pistons (ya don't need rods) and some nice headbolts along with the rebuild. I believe the GReddy kit can be had cheaper from some of our sponsors at the left, unintercooled of course--the FMIC is sold separately.
With the rebuilt KA and forged pistons, you can run boost all day long and not worry about squat as long as you can tune.
With the rebuilt KA and forged pistons, you can run boost all day long and not worry about squat as long as you can tune.
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Structure240sx
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hannibal
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Tuning is the key!Both the Greddy and Fmax (now owned by Turbonetics) kits run at 7psi. This shouldnt be too strenuous for even an original 100k mile motor. For $7-8K, you can find a newer, under 100k mile S14.Ive seen teh Greddy kit for $2600-2800 w/o IC. The IC kit sells for under $1K, I believe.
S14 - $8000Greddy with IC - $4000Rebuild
S14 - $8000Greddy with IC - $4000Rebuild
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C-Kwik
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FYI, Currently a Turbo KA will not pass smog either. There is still the possibility that Greddy may get a CARB EO # for their kit, but I wouldn't rely on that until it actually happens.
As far as putting a turbo on an older KA, there is little risk so long as the motor is still sealing well. An issue you might run into though is that if the motor was given a steady diet of conventional motor oil, the seals may not take too well to switching to synthetic(highly recommended with a turbo motor). The internals of a KA are plenty strong enough to handle 7 psi. In fact many have been running 350HP on stock internals and recently, IvanatSPRacing pulled off 400+ HP on stock internals. While one KA at that power is hardly enough proof to set a reasonable limit on power with, it's certainly higher than many give the KA credit for. The strength of the internals at 7 psi wil be fine. But you'll want to check and make sure cylinder sealing is still good.
As it happens, my 98 240 will be going up for sale soon. It is turbo'd already. Email me if you are interested and I can give you some details. [email protected]
As far as putting a turbo on an older KA, there is little risk so long as the motor is still sealing well. An issue you might run into though is that if the motor was given a steady diet of conventional motor oil, the seals may not take too well to switching to synthetic(highly recommended with a turbo motor). The internals of a KA are plenty strong enough to handle 7 psi. In fact many have been running 350HP on stock internals and recently, IvanatSPRacing pulled off 400+ HP on stock internals. While one KA at that power is hardly enough proof to set a reasonable limit on power with, it's certainly higher than many give the KA credit for. The strength of the internals at 7 psi wil be fine. But you'll want to check and make sure cylinder sealing is still good.
As it happens, my 98 240 will be going up for sale soon. It is turbo'd already. Email me if you are interested and I can give you some details. [email protected]
Or you could just take that 14k and a little bit more and buy my fully built s14 with KA-T
If youre interested, or anyone for that matter, mine is and has always been for sale.
http://www.ka-t.org/rick
Not trying to jack a thread either...carry on
Rick
If youre interested, or anyone for that matter, mine is and has always been for sale.
http://www.ka-t.org/rick
Not trying to jack a thread either...carry on
Rick