Starting my KADET

[anthony_S14]

Finally going for it... Been wanting to do the SR swap but decided to try this route first. Already have the following related turbo parts installed:

Walbro Fuel pumpKoyo RadiatorNew timing chain kitDid compression test and Cylinders 1, 2, 4 are at 210 PSI and #3 at 215 PSI

Have the following parts sitting in my garage:

GT28RS Turbo (ebay special)Godspeed FMIC with piping for a KADE (ebay special)

Plan to buy the following:Enthalpy tune370 cc or more injectorsN62 MAFsome ebay brand bottom mount exhaust manifold like Megan or SSAutochrome

Am I off to a good start? I've read the KA-DET forum from the oldest post so I've done some research. Thanks for the help guys

[WDRacing]

Finally going for it... Been wanting to do the SR swap but decided to try this route first. Already have the following related turbo parts installed:

Walbro Fuel pumpKoyo RadiatorNew timing chain kitDid compression test and Cylinders 1, 2, 4 are at 210 PSI and #3 at 215 PSI

Have the following parts sitting in my garage:

GT28RS Turbo (ebay special)Godspeed FMIC with piping for a KADE (ebay special)

Plan to buy the following:Enthalpy tune370 cc or more injectorsN62 MAFsome ebay brand bottom mount exhaust manifold like Megan or SSAutochrome

Am I off to a good start? I've read the KA-DET forum from the oldest post so I've done some research. Thanks for the help guys

If you're going for ultra cheap then you're well on your way.

[lrb_2000]

I think you should go with bigger injectors.. those 370's are only going to be good for about 10psi from that turbo.

[anthony_S14]

Thanks for the input. I'm now looking at some 555cc injectors. My main goal is a reliable daily driven car at the cheapest price while not cutting corners where it counts like the fuel delivery and ECU tunning. Maybe this can be a new challenge for some people where we can find out how cheap we can be without sacrificing overall reliability. I plan to make a write up for this if one has not been done.

[WDRacing]

That turbo is so small, the 370's will be fine. If you used a bigger turbo you'd be able to run more boost which would require more fuel.

WD

[anthony_S14]

I didn't mention that this is just a temporary setup for now. Eventually looking to upgrade things later on (like a few years later). I'd like to start with injectors that will still work with a bigger turbo down the line. Will having higher flowing injectors create a negative effect on the "Disco Potato" ?

[WDRacing]

The disco potatoe is for a SR20. NOT a KA...it's to small. If you're going to be upgrading, then every item in your list is crap. I don't say that to be mean or anything, I say that because it's all the wrong stuff.

The T2 flanged exhaust manifold means you're not upgrading the turbo to anything decent. So that means you'll need a WHOLE new kit if you're going to upgrade.

Or stay at 10 psi and be happy. The 240 is still very fun to drive at 10 psi. And you'll have zero lag.

WD

[anthony_S14]

thanks for the input. Back to the drawing board... I'll let you guys know what happens

[anthony_S14]

do you guys think the engine is in good shape despite the 5 PSI difference for cyl #3?

[WDRacing]

I think you should recheck those numbers, 210 is far to high. They should be in 170-180 range.

[wild_maxx]

Could be some bad carbon build-up on the pistons that are causing the high comp. numbers.

WD is correct about the setup... do it correctly the first time. Once you get some boost.... you will want more.

[anthony_S14]

bad carbon build up necessarily bad? Is there some sort of product I can use to clean that stuff up or is it strictly something that a machine shop would do? I used the craftsman compression tester that came with all sorts of hoses. I used the write up in the tech pages on "performing a compression test" it told me to let the engine complete over 7 turns but the instructions that came with the compression tester told me to keep cranking the engine until the pressure stops rising. Did I do something wrong?

[Florida240sx]

Get a revhard mani. Tial 38mm. A real turbo. Get injectors used or from deastchwerks. Enthalpy tune veyr good get your injectors size and mafs now so no need to retune in a few months.

[anthony_S14]

is there a bad thing in using big injectors? like 740cc with a small turbo?

[Florida240sx]

Get 550's or 440's. Your not going to need 740's unless

[Florida240sx]

550's will last to 400hp and 440's to over 300hp varies on setup

[eazye2000]

The disco potatoe is for a SR20. NOT a KA...it's to small.....

Or stay at 10 psi and be happy. The 240 is still very fun to drive at 10 psi. And you'll have zero lag.

WD

Yeah, be like me and run a GT28RS with an .86 hotside.. I love 12 psi at 2200 RPM! It's awesome for daily driving. But if you want something a bit faster for the track, or drifting, get something bigger..

[anthony_S14]

yeah I think I'll be fine with the gt28rs for now... I don't think mine has an .86 hot side though mine has .60 exhaust and a .63 compressor can it be changed?

[Craving4Boost]

bad carbon build up necessarily bad? Is there some sort of product I can use to clean that stuff up or is it strictly something that a machine shop would do? I used the craftsman compression tester that came with all sorts of hoses. I used the write up in the tech pages on "performing a compression test" it told me to let the engine complete over 7 turns but the instructions that came with the compression tester told me to keep cranking the engine until the pressure stops rising. Did I do something wrong?

try some seafoam

[anthony_S14]

Yeah I searched the forums on how to get rid of carbon deposits and I found Seafoam as well. Bought some of the stuff yesterday and used it today. Seems to have helped out my engine since it feels like it is idling better and overall power delivery is smoother. I think I'll let it suck up another 1/3 pint in the vacuum line and also do the 1/3 in the gas tank and 1/3 in the oil right before I change oil. Does anyone think I'll do more harm than good by using seafoam in the vacuum lines again?

[S13FX]

Sea Foam is awesome stuff.

Get some to get sucked in through you brak master cylinder vac line, then pour some in through you oil hole and then add some to your gas tank.

Then let it sit for about 15 minutes, then turn your car over and let it idle for bit.

After wards take it out on a spirited drive going through various RPM ranges.

For the first 5 miles or so you will be leaving more black smoke behind you then then 20 diesel trucks combined.

But after wards the car will feel much better ..

[gr8bryt]

I'm particularly interested in this thread. My buddy is giving me his dohc to replace my sohc and I wanna go ka-t for the time being while I work on my rb swap. I don't want to buy a lot of expensive bits now since I won't really be able to use much between projects other than the bov. I read the article in SCC about a budget build for the ka and that seemed to be the range that I wanna stay in ($1200+/-) I believe the new motor will have around 120K and I don't wanna replace internals, would 10psi be a reasonable expectation? I know I'll need some type of fuel trim (safc) and probably a reflash/chipped ecu. This will be my DD so I need reliable as well, would it be safe to follow anthony_s14?

[anthony_S14]

alright I have a follower! Nice of you to join.

[gr8bryt]

I figured since I'm getting a FREE motor, why not experiment a little. I was window shopping on ebay last night to start getting some ideas of components that I could start collecting. I'm gonna be doing this ultra frugal,lol I'm not even gonna clean the engine bay after I take out the sohc.

[anthony_S14]

that's what I'm talking about! My theory is why pay more if it's going to give you basically the same performance. I am not looking to make over 350 horses right now so why not get the cheap stuff? At least the parts are not made of PVC tubing. However, I am not going to cut corners in the critical areas like the engine management which will be handled by Enthalpy and the fuel injectors. here is a quote from Chris of Enthalpy "That looks like a great setup all around. I must say that I'm impressed by your parts selection and how balanced everything is. The GT28R should definitely give you quick response with 2.4L behind it. I don't see anything missing from this list. I've included the ordering info below..."

This was in reference to the following parts:GT28RS with .60 A/R Exhaust, .63 Compressor, Internal Wastegate: 12 - 16 psiSSAutochrome KA24DE T25/T28 conversion manifoldSSAutochrome Dual chamber dump tubeMegan Racing 3" stainless steel downpipe with flex sectionCatco 3" high flow catalytic converterApexi N1 single tip catback exhaustN62 MAFIntercooler with these specs. core length : 24" core height : 12" core thickness : 3" inlet/outlet size : 3" end to end length: 30.5" Deatsh Werks 550cc injectorsWalbro 255 lph fuel pump

[Florida240sx]

Enthalpy is great. That's your main thing right there. Fuel and timing control. Everything else will usually just be a part failure and you need to replace. Bad tuning will make a nice boom noise and not really a chance to fix it

[gr8bryt]

I was trolling through some archived content and ran across the statement about ka-t and boost vs max whp. I'm leaning toward a t3/t4 setup and running 10psi. Slightly larger turbo and less boost instead of smaller turbo w/ higher boost.

Excellent article!

Another question they typically ask is how much boost the KA can handle. I think this is a valid question for the following reason.

We all know that there is a difference between boost and horse power. This is normally attributed to larger turbos flowing more air. If we consider this dynamic, we will find that it is in the upper RPM range that the larger turbo's increased flow comes into play. More to the point, when the motor exceeds 5250RPMs and HP exceeds torque the bigger turbo is able to provide quality boost while the smaller one makes heat. I believe this is where the HP discrepancy comes from. In the lower RPM rages, where both turbos are efficiant, there should be no difference between the two.

Because the larger turbo will ultimatly make more HP at a lower boost, many with smaller turbos plan to run more boost to compensate. What this does, if my thinking is correct, is produce more low end strain on the engine parts and loses efficiancy (make heat rather than O2 mass) in the high RPM range. Obviously this is bad.............So, I propose that the bigger turbo can make a given HP more safely than a smaller one, and more HP with equal safety than a smaller turbo at the same level of boost.So, the answer to how much HP can my motor handle might sound something like " 325 - 350 with a T4 or 250 - 275 with a T3."

I cut a lot out for the sake of saving space.

[lrb_2000]

I was trolling through some archived content and ran across the statement about ka-t and boost vs max whp. I'm leaning toward a t3/t4 setup and running 10psi. Slightly larger turbo and less boost instead of smaller turbo w/ higher boost.

I cut a lot out for the sake of saving space.

Good call. I made the same power at 8psi with my GT35 as my T3 Super 60 at 12-13psi.

[gr8bryt]

Yeah, I thought about it and it seems that you can get a t3 hybrid for about the same price as slightly used t28 depending on where you shop.

[ZiG]

some ebay brand bottom mount exhaust manifold like Megan