The Ultimate Daily Driver engine choice

[RustspecS13]

Any VG trans will work, but newer the better to keep the miles low.

VG30DEs will be pretty heavy, but you'd be better off then an RB because its roughly the same weight but only 3 cyl long instead of 6.

They are difficult but cheap.

You'd be far better off with a VQ30DE swap. With mods they can do 200-230whp with very large/wide power bands. A stock bolt on with no tune could do 180-190 super easy with more torque then that. They are also very efficent motors and get 27-30 mpg in the 3200-3300lb maxima. They come with 10:1 compression heads and flow nicely.

And the VQ30DE ecu doesn't have any nats or immobilizer like the 350z swaps, so they are far easier. Id do a megasquirt or haltech standalone, or actually I think nistune is available for them. That way you can tune for more HP and better fuel mileage.

I have a VQ30 and VQ35 sitting in my garage right now. Eventually I will have 2 S13's each VQ powered. One for daily and one for track use.

Thats best case scenario. Honestly if you don't make too much money, start over with another KA. Do a proper rebuild with stock parts, get the block and head hot tanked and cleaned, get a new oil pump and build a good KA-T. Put in a J30 diff, or ring and pinion, and rock nistune for a nice reliable setup. A VG30ET t3 turbo would work very well. If you can stay in vaccume and tune it properly I dont see why it cant get better gasmileage cruising then stock.

If you really are concerned with mpg you can get a CA18DET. Different then an SR, and its an amazing motor as well. They sound great, and get great gas mileage. But you will loose some torque, but its a trade off.

~Alex

[Seanzyyy]

v8's are a great option,
but i believe i read somewhere in OutToWinPAHC's build that he said his ls heats up like a mother...
prolly due to the tight bay for the big v8.

honestly,
if you want that kind of power for a daily driver,
although it doesn't answer your question,
go buy a newer car with that kind of power.

hell, buy a q45 and get luxury with v8 power and lots of potential.

but to answer your question,
the ka would be the cheapest route.

even if you wanted to just replace the ka,
you'd spend about 600 bucks getting one off of CL.
turbo kits can be had for 1200-1500.
cxracing advertises 230hp and has a dyno video to prove it.
simple bolt-ons and tuning can get you to 270 i assume.

sr's can get there just as easy.

rb25's with a few bolt ons can get you 275 easy.

vq's and most v8's have that power stock.

each option you go with will be reliable.

pick your poison.

[nifares240]

once again thanks for all the input!, i've been seriously thinking about the boost and pray strategy, lol, and i really like the vq30 idea, which brought me about to another idea, what about VG30DE? those make 220-ish,and they are naturally aspirated, with a couple bolt ons it should get me a good number, but what about the handling? weight?? are those on the heavy side? and then i run into power steering and a/c issues right??, it sounds pretty tempting, am gonna look around for prices, i know it's been done before, and it's a little rare.

what do you guys think about that one?

there's a guy here in NICO who did a VQ35DE swap. it's an aluminum motor, I read somewhere its weight is close to a dual ka. use the search bar. newer technology, amazingly smooth powerband, and availability.

[badbob2121]

v8's are a great option,
but i believe i read somewhere in OutToWinPAHC's build that he said his ls heats up like a mother...
prolly due to the tight bay for the big v8.

honestly,
if you want that kind of power for a daily driver,
although it doesn't answer your question,
go buy a newer car with that kind of power.

hell, buy a q45 and get luxury with v8 power and lots of potential.

but to answer your question,
the ka would be the cheapest route.

even if you wanted to just replace the ka,
you'd spend about 600 bucks getting one off of CL.
turbo kits can be had for 1200-1500.
cxracing advertises 230hp and has a dyno video to prove it.
simple bolt-ons and tuning can get you to 270 i assume.

sr's can get there just as easy.

rb25's with a few bolt ons can get you 275 easy.

vq's and most v8's have that power stock.

each option you go with will be reliable.

pick your poison.

i think he broke it down simple...

[kouki munster]

A stock SR will last for f**king ever. Once you start upgrading turbos, MAFS, injectors, etc, that all starts going out the window.

I will stand by my V8 comment. It might not be the cheapest, nor the easiest, but it's definitely the most reliable to make that much power.

I beg to differ, my car gets driven every day in 90*+ temps and it gives me no trouble, and it makes 319hp and 299tq at 15 psi, and that is a stock sr with a set of cams, larger injectors and much larger than stock turbo.

[zeause]

Do an sr with simple bolt ons, maybe a s14 turbo and run around 10 lbs you should be around 230 whp. Its a hellofa jump from what you have now, relatively cheap, easy swap and you will be happy with 230 for awhile. 270 isnt outrageous its very doable and can be dependable if not halfassed.

[kouki munster]

Do an sr with simple bolt ons, maybe a s14 turbo and run around 10 lbs you should be around 230 whp. Its a hellofa jump from what you have now, relatively cheap, easy swap and you will be happy with 230 for awhile. 270 isnt outrageous its very doable and can be dependable if not halfassed.

Stock sr turbos are good for 14 psi all day everyday and that should put you at around ~250ish hp. I know a good number of guys that that have been running there completely stock sr's(other than fmic and exhaust) at 14 psi for a few years and the only thing they have to do to their cars is change the oil and put gas in them.

[ka-t4u]

so sr with the boost cranked up would do pretty good... sounds nice...

anyone got any other inputs on the vG30 swap? i got really hyped up about it, and it didn't sound so hard... and could probably go dig one up out of the local u-pull.... probably for less than the sr...

[breadbox]

eh, you lose alot of work space with a VG.

[Seanzyyy]

althought it might be more costly,
i'd rather go with a vq over a vg.
displacement, weight, power, lower miles.

but opinions vary

[s14tan]

Go SR.
Cheap, fun, reliable.
The market has grown so much that parts are easy as hell to find.

[94nispu]

so I scored a deal on a 91 300zx and want to swap the drive train into my 94 pickup. Where do I start? I bought the whole car and it's hit in the rear and tapped in the right front. I have everything needed other than custom parts I'm sure I'll need.

[morbid]

ca18

[morbid]

so I scored a deal on a 91 300zx and want to swap the drive train into my 94 pickup. Where do I start? I bought the whole car and it's hit in the rear and tapped in the right front. I have everything needed other than custom parts I'm sure I'll need.

start by selling the 300zx and buying an rb