Rebuild, or just boost?

[Two Fowty]

I have my ka24e, with around 131k miles. No real mods, except a cold air, and an upgraded clutch.

I really wanna boost it, with just a simple setup to get me up around like 220hp, nothing too serious, but still fun.

I have yet to check my compression, but I'm sure its fine. Assuming it is, am I good to just get after the turbo, or are my miles a bit high?

Or just to be safe, would a simple OEM top rebuild help me out at all.

I've looked into rebuilding the ka24e but I'm not getting what I want. Based on my hp goals, miles on engine, what would YOU recommend. I know its not really alot to go by, but any help is appreciated.

And if you say rebuild, what should I go with for everything, just stock? Or are there certain things I might wanna upgrade for turbo sake. I know to get better fuel injectors, and a walbro, but what about internal stuff?

Thanks!

[neverlift]

man you really need to read the stickies, this is the stuff that will get you flamed.

I personally just boost if the vac is good, a solid vac reading will tell you that you have a decent engine or trash. look for 18~22 at idle. Then so long as everything else is good go for it. If you want only 220whp you can do a very mild t3 setup... But seing you have the E you have cheap options for injectors so you could do much more for much less once the turbo setup is installed.

get a wideband in that budget, period

[Chris28]

Just boost it. When something breaks, that's when you rebuild it. Assuming your engine is in good running condition just do a simple t3 setup and a safe tune or even an fmu and you'll be good to go.

EFI specialist tunes for the E, i did not know that until recently. I thought no one really offered tunes for the E. Maybe someone else can chime in with that?

[neverlift]

anyone who can tune a dohc ecu can tune a sohc ecu. its just a lot easier and cheaper so its less advertised...emulator and laptop is the s*** for 8 bit

[Chris28]

Hmm that's awesome. I always thought you had to switch to like a stanza ecu or something. Shows how much I know about sohc's lol

[neverlift]

No it is done to get consult going for sohc guys. eccs was the s***, I even ran one on a dual cam for a long time with my t25 setup, and a bit of the t3 saga. but warm up timing was erratic, and other little things I didnt like for the de...

[Two Fowty]

man you really need to read the stickies, this is the stuff that will get you flamed.

I personally just boost if the vac is good, a solid vac reading will tell you that you have a decent engine or trash. look for 18~22 at idle. Then so long as everything else is good go for it. If you want only 220whp you can do a very mild t3 setup... But seing you have the E you have cheap options for injectors so you could do much more for much less once the turbo setup is installed.

get a wideband in that budget, period

how do i get the vac reading then?

and i figured i'd just go with a t25.. its cheaper and im not shooting for high hp, so i think it'd suit me well. do you disagree? os should i use the t3 and then run at a lower psi.

side note: i only have one noticable problem with my car, and its at idle. it fluctuates from around 500-800 when im idling. and whenever it drops down to 500, i can see my lights and guages dim. idk, any ideas?

[Chris28]

Get a vacuum gauge lol.

There isn't a t2 manifold for the KA24E, you are going to have to go with the t3. Your best bet is the JGS log manifold.

[Two Fowty]

alright, any legit places you know of to get them? or should i just get a used one

[neverlift]

lol the biggest set back to owning a ka24e is the manifold selection. You could in theory make a t2 flanged manifold. However I have had a t2 and t3 setup, I'd take this 40 dollar airsearch t3(.42/.48) over a t2 framed turbo. The t2 was always making boost so it was responsive and fun to drive but highway at 65~75 was 3psi. I get full boost at only slightly higher rpm than the t2 but it makes more power cause it can physically move more air at a given rpm/psi.