reliability

[nismofly]

check this out, opinions needed...

http://www.nicoclub.com/zerothread?id=100844

[1991S13]

I would think the NA KA would be more reliable. Without a turbo you wouldn't have to worry as much about the air/fuel, etc...

You don't rely on the turbo to get the majority of your power.

I guess what Im getting at is without a turbo there are less things to go wrong.

But if I chose, of course I would take the turbo'd KA just because boost is awesome.

[ddgsxr504]

NA is the cheapest and easiest way to go, you will have more power through RPMS because you wont have to wait for your turbo to spool up. I have seen a lot of catastropies when people boost KA's, if you don't have the time and $$ its not worth it because if you happen to get boost creep, BOOM, the bottom end of a KA is really weak under boost. IF you are going to boost your KA you will need new rod bearings and all the other stuff, fuel management/upgrades, intercooler, turbo manifold, BOV, too much to list. IF you go NA all you need is cams, tuned ROM, header, exhaust, slightly upgraded ignition and a good suspension set up. 200HP may not be much like some people said but with a light car and Suspension you will have no trouble whipping that S-13 around a track. If you have time and money+patience, port and polish the head too you won't be sorry.

[nismofly]

im not talking just a few bolt ons to an n/a engine, im talking a full build n/a, itb's, high comp ratio, proper tuning, the things needed to hit 200 whp...which has been discussed in full. this vs. a properly tuned turbo engine, producing approx. the same power...

also im not saying which would be better for that situation, but which would last longer

[Dattebayo]

Speaking as someone who has built one in the past, N/A is definately not cheaper. You will spend all your money on your piston upgrade and the rest on your head grind job, port matching & exhaust system just to get CLOSE to 200HP.

You also get less power, but you maintain a high level of low end torque and reliability isnt really an issue.

The only thing that really sucks about going N/A is the high octane gas you will need to run to really get the good numbers. It costs about $5 a gallon.

[SMoKeM240]

i bet i will beat a stock sr in a 1/4 with my car and i spent less money than just the sr clip

[nismofly]

first of all 1/4 mile time means nothing to me, second whats your rwhp? id bet you could beat a stock sr, probably around 175rwhp, but im not talking sr, im talking n/a vs. turbo ka.

also a low boost ka-t costs much less than an sr swap, probably well less than what you spent on your build, and gives you more power

but im not looking for straight line speed either, a strip and a road course are two totally different things, and what im looking into is the reliability of each

[SMoKeM240]

i still think NA is a better build, but u wont get as much power

[midnightsliding]

i still think NA is a better build, but u wont get as much power

its an enthusitest (cant spell) thing, i would rather have the N/A feel, but i also like turbo cars aswell, you cant beat the power of a turbo car .

[Dattebayo]

So the conversation is now about limits.

You could build your car any way you want to, but if you are speaking about "reliability" and then tack on "power", you'd have to go with the N/A. Turbo powered ka's are not labeled (at least in this forum) as a open & shut, closed case reliable setup unless you pour some money into the build. You can do moderate boost on stock pistons and stock everything, but you really cant open it up too much and you need better cooling than you stock radiator. I have also heard that you really should de-stroke the KA when you want to make more reliable power on a turbo. I have this conversation every time i hang out with IwannaS15.

[nismofly]

wudda ya mean its about limits?

the criteria was that for equal power, which was more reliable...that was the point

im saying turbo because a full build n/a is say 200whp, that number can easily achieved with a small turbo and wouldnt put nearly as much stress on the parts imo

[Dattebayo]

Yes it would, with those high compression stock pistons. You couldnt race it all the time like an N/A could either. You would also not have the proper fuel curve in which to run a turbo. You couldnt keep the same motor without replacing stuff soon down the line.

The n/a build is just reliable by design, which it was intened for. When you increase compression, you decrease exhaust temp as more kinetic energy is forced into the piston. There is a limit to this too, but for this motor, its not very likely you would get to it as quickly as a turbo setup would, given similar power ratings.Im assuming you mean the DOHC? These are the limits i speak of.

By the way, nice wheels you got there...

[Arrow]

I could be wrong with my interpretation, but what I'm gathering from your posts is this: The ka is not reliable in stock form when the compression is increased.Now, in order to have a full NA build, the ka is going to have to have a higher compression ratio. That's just plain and simple. Whereas a kat would indirectly increase the compression on the cylinders (via the added boost).What nismofly is talking about is a proper turbo setup or a full na build...IMO, I see a turbo setup as being more reliable. The basis for my opinion is that to run a fully built na ka you would have to run high octane (possibly race grade) and I would doubt that you would get gas mileage any higher than 18 (city) and probably only about 25 (hwy). With a simple turbo setup I would agree that you should run premium gas but given the situation, I would bet that you could easily have the same fuel economy that the ka has stock (and I've seen it possible where a turbo ka had better gas mileage than a stock one).Sure a turbo setup wouldn't give you much if any low end power. But depending on your purpose for the car (whether or not you want it to be streetable or not) I would say that a turbo would be the best setting for streetability and daily driving potenial.

But once again, this is only my OPINION. So don't take it as fact or that you should or shouldn't do anything that I have said.

[Dattebayo]

Actually, you got it all wrong. I included high octane in my posts which i was referring to. It is a real kick in the pants to buy, but it has nothing to do with reliability. You can always run pump gas and add a booter...Maybe you should re-read the post again.

The n/a build is just reliable by design, which it was intened for.

I hate fighting over posts. He said for the same money, which is more reliable and i should have known better then to bite on this one.