rebuild tips - BOOST BOY PLEASE READ URGENT YO

[zenyo]

Hey guys new to the forum, I'm rebuilding my ca18det to handle 280/300bhp. Mainly using stock parts, but this is my list, let me know what you guys think.
Fully balanced crank and stock rods (arp rod bolts).
Acl race bearings,
supertech pistons (not sure if I need these in two minds of buying them)
Fresh hone on block
Stock head bolts with Nissan head gasket
Ported and polished head 4 port (otherwise standard valve train)
Stock inlet manifold port matched to a rb20det throttle body (heard this bolts straight on, a ka24de tb is hard to source from UK)
Stock exhaust manifold ported out to increase flow
Unsure of what turbo, what's the best one to suit my power goals?
Il have a bov fmic etc and thinking of getting it mapped on nistune.
All of this is going in my e30 BMW, used for daily driving and weekend track action.
Yes I'm a noob to nissans, I'm a Honda guy but I'm trying something new and rwd.
Does anyone know where I can get instructions for a rebuild? Like torque settings etc ?
Peace Zen

[TheMAN]

if you read the sticky thread here, you would've seen the manual posted which has all the information you need

[blownhemi]

Acl race bearings,

I'd avoid these. No definite evidence yet, but some OZ guys on here reported weird issues with them, someone from the US (boost_boy, maybe) also almost spun one of these 5 mins after startup on an otherwise perfectly assembled engine. My builder's meticulously built, mic'd Honda B20 also developed rod knock after 200 miles with these (linebored block, accurate to the 0.01mm on all main bores, 0.00mm spread. with the new ACL Race bearings in, theres a 0.03mm spread ). Something's up with these bearings, so I'd not risk it. Go Clevite, or anything else that is easily available where you are.

Stock head bolts with Nissan head gasket

Use new ones. Stock headbolts are one-time use stretch bolts. Also, we've only disassembled two CA18's up to now, but the main bolts in both of those were also stretched. Maybe they weren't stretch bolts, maybe someone just torque'd them down too much (stock main cap tq values are really low compared to other engines), but I'd look into a new set of bolts for the mains, too, just to be sure.

[zenyo]

yeah im going to use new oem head bolts so if the acl series seem to be s*** how good do the stock nissan bearings hold upto? has anyone ran a ca18det arond 300bhp on stoc bearings or will theysoon die.
thanks for the help, i may ask loads of annoying simple questions but im new to ca's and im tryna take it all in so i dont mess it up!

[boost_boy]

Stock bearings are more than sufficient. I didn't spend nearly as much on the ACLs as what they're going for on today's market, but I paid for repeat labor because the otherwise standard ACL race bearings provided too tight of a clearance which subsequently killed the rod bearings on start-up and had the engine dragging to the point whereas the starter couldn't rotate the motor. So I put in some goony-goo-goo mains and rods bearings and 9000miles later and 25psi of 8600rpm clutch dumps, the engine is still going strong.

[dans91s13]

Sorry to hijack for a second but could some one point me to a place that sells new OEM head bolts I have been unable to locate them from the vendors unless I am over looking them some where.
Thanks in advance,
Dan

[zenyo]

ebay mate thats where my mate bought a set, cost him £80 or phone up a nissan dealer and enquire.
boost boy i need your help, i would pm you but i cant but this is kinda urgent so if you can reply asap i will be forever gratefull.
iv been offered a turbo kit, its a custom jobby, using a td05hra off the mitsubishi evo 6 rs, the turbo with the titanium internals. the guys made a custom adapter plate so hes also running a evo manifold on the ca18det. il get you a link. my setup will be for drag racing so im not to bothered about abit of lag its costing me £450 uk sterling posted to my workshop so its not over the top expensive and when you look at what these sell for its pretty cheap including the conversion kit etc.
my question is simple, will this turbo suit my ca18det for drag racing? im aiming for 350 with this turbo, im also looking into forging the internals aswell to be safe and spending the money and buying a good ecu management.
let me know your thoughts heres a link
Cheers, Zen

http://www.driftireland.com/forum/showt ... hp?t=20557

[boost_boy]

ebay mate thats where my mate bought a set, cost him £80 or phone up a nissan dealer and enquire.
boost boy i need your help, i would pm you but i cant but this is kinda urgent so if you can reply asap i will be forever gratefull.
iv been offered a turbo kit, its a custom jobby, using a td05hra off the mitsubishi evo 6 rs, the turbo with the titanium internals. the guys made a custom adapter plate so hes also running a evo manifold on the ca18det. il get you a link. my setup will be for drag racing so im not to bothered about abit of lag its costing me £450 uk sterling posted to my workshop so its not over the top expensive and when you look at what these sell for its pretty cheap including the conversion kit etc.
my question is simple, will this turbo suit my ca18det for drag racing? im aiming for 350 with this turbo, im also looking into forging the internals aswell to be safe and spending the money and buying a good ecu management.
let me know your thoughts heres a link
Cheers, Zen

http://www.driftireland.com/forum/showt ... hp?t=20557

Hey Zen,

To be honest, that turbo will put the CA18DET in that ballpark with a good engine management system and sufficient supporting mods. The only issue I have is the fact that you are going to be drag racing, so you are going to run out air at or around 300ish whp @ or around 24psi which is going to be pretty rough on that blower. If you are going to be drag racing and you really want the power to be there when the CA hits its sweet spot and hold all the way out the remaining useable power window, I would be thinking bigger turbo for the future. Whenyou'r ready for that, let me know and I'll give you a few suggestions as I've gone through a bunch blowers in search of what is a balanced turbo for the CA in any trim. So for now, that set-up will get you going while you work on your launch and how the car acts with the CA18 in a drag racing environment. Hope this helps somewhat, but if you need more insight, just fire away.

[r34 gtr]

Hey Zenyo, would you mind telling me what kind of engine mounts you are using to put that ca18 in your e30? I have seen some on Ebay for the SR, but I have no idea what kind of quality they are. I would assume you are making custom mounts, but I thought it would be worth asking. Thanks!

[cbh148]

Stock bearings are more than sufficient. I didn't spend nearly as much on the ACLs as what they're going for on today's market, but I paid for repeat labor because the otherwise standard ACL race bearings provided too tight of a clearance which subsequently killed the rod bearings on start-up and had the engine dragging to the point whereas the starter couldn't rotate the motor. So I put in some goony-goo-goo mains and rods bearings and 9000miles later and 25psi of 8600rpm clutch dumps, the engine is still going strong.

I have ACL Race rod bearings and ACL Duraglide mains.

I just put the engine together, and I polished the insides of the rod bearings with newspaper just a bit. When I had it together before, it was just about too tight to spin (with no head on, so no compression to fight). Hitting the bearings with newspaper is an old drag racer secret!

[zenyo]

Hey Zenyo, would you mind telling me what kind of engine mounts you are using to put that ca18 in your e30? I have seen some on Ebay for the SR, but I have no idea what kind of quality they are. I would assume you are making custom mounts, but I thought it would be worth asking. Thanks!

Yeah il be making my own mate, my best mate drag races and hes built countless mounts out of plate steel, solid mounted to the chassis no bushings and they work a treat so i plan on doing the same thing. il use the stock nissan mounts and then just weld off those onto the chassis. il be reinforcing the chassis so it can cope with the engine twisting under heavy accelaration. should work out fine and keep costs down. seeing as this started off as a budget build i can see it turning into a full blown drag car project. Im aiming for 13s to start with, it will be my 1st time launching and dragging a rwd car, my 1st time driving a boosted car aswell! it will be fun

Stock bearings are more than sufficient. I didn't spend nearly as much on the ACLs as what they're going for on today's market, but I paid for repeat labor because the otherwise standard ACL race bearings provided too tight of a clearance which subsequently killed the rod bearings on start-up and had the engine dragging to the point whereas the starter couldn't rotate the motor. So I put in some goony-goo-goo mains and rods bearings and 9000miles later and 25psi of 8600rpm clutch dumps, the engine is still going strong.

I have ACL Race rod bearings and ACL Duraglide mains.

I just put the engine together, and I polished the insides of the rod bearings with newspaper just a bit. When I had it together before, it was just about too tight to spin (with no head on, so no compression to fight). Hitting the bearings with newspaper is an old drag racer secret!

i might try this out mate! thanks for the tip will look into it


Zen

[zenyo]

ebay mate thats where my mate bought a set, cost him £80 or phone up a nissan dealer and enquire.
boost boy i need your help, i would pm you but i cant but this is kinda urgent so if you can reply asap i will be forever gratefull.
iv been offered a turbo kit, its a custom jobby, using a td05hra off the mitsubishi evo 6 rs, the turbo with the titanium internals. the guys made a custom adapter plate so hes also running a evo manifold on the ca18det. il get you a link. my setup will be for drag racing so im not to bothered about abit of lag its costing me £450 uk sterling posted to my workshop so its not over the top expensive and when you look at what these sell for its pretty cheap including the conversion kit etc.
my question is simple, will this turbo suit my ca18det for drag racing? im aiming for 350 with this turbo, im also looking into forging the internals aswell to be safe and spending the money and buying a good ecu management.
let me know your thoughts heres a link
Cheers, Zen

http://www.driftireland.com/forum/showt ... hp?t=20557

Hey Zen,

To be honest, that turbo will put the CA18DET in that ballpark with a good engine management system and sufficient supporting mods. The only issue I have is the fact that you are going to be drag racing, so you are going to run out air at or around 300ish whp @ or around 24psi which is going to be pretty rough on that blower. If you are going to be drag racing and you really want the power to be there when the CA hits its sweet spot and hold all the way out the remaining useable power window, I would be thinking bigger turbo for the future. Whenyou'r ready for that, let me know and I'll give you a few suggestions as I've gone through a bunch blowers in search of what is a balanced turbo for the CA in any trim. So for now, that set-up will get you going while you work on your launch and how the car acts with the CA18 in a drag racing environment. Hope this helps somewhat, but if you need more insight, just fire away.

thanks boost boy youve been a great help iv ordered the turbo so should be with me in a couple of weeks. il start a build thread on here, its got tons of info on the ca18det! way better then the forum i was using before Driftworks.com who all just seem to hate the ca and love the sr
iv got more questions about building the bottom end up but il ask you later, really should get back to work before they sack me for just sitting infront of the computer researching CA's