The Ultimate Daily Driver engine choice

[ka-t4u]

hey everyone, am sure this has probably been discussed/answered before, but my car is my daily driver, and obviously like most people out there am looking for more power, you can deduce by my s/n that i like ka-t's but mine is not boosted yet.

so here is the deal, i need your help to make up my mind on what engine to choose, as of now am obviously stuck between sr and ka. my power goals are somewhere around 270hp/tq.

so this being a daily driver i need the best compromise between reliability, low end torque, market support, gas mileage, and cost.

i am pretty sure my engine is going to need some kind of rebuild before it can see any boost because i hear some ping-ing here and there, all i did to it was rings/bearings/ head gasket about 10,000 miles ago.

i also have some things in my parts bin that i am planning to use if i boost the ka, for example: turbo/smic with piping/ blow off valve. i was planning to boost 7psi with just an fmu and 2* off the dizzy and calling it a day, i figured that would get me around 220-ish hp.

so am missing the exhaust manifold, waste gate, oil lines, fmu, fabricate some sort of down pipe. to complete the kit. and after doing all this i don't know where my reliability factor would land.

here are the things that have me thinking about an sr:
-lighter/smaller than the ka
-could support my power goals in stock form(correct me if am wrong)
-market support is pretty good now days.
-should be able to get the swap done in a weekend and drive it the next week.

things i don't like about sr:
-everyone and their mom has one
-used engine with unknown history.
-no replacement for displacement?
-idk what else to add here(but some of you could probably help add more/take away)

sorry for the lengthy post but i just really need help making up my mind.

thanks in advance for your help.

[ka-t4u]

and please don't turn this into a ka vs sr thread. they are both good engines in their own field. please just help me choose, don't go on about which one is better than the other, because i like them both!

[OutToWinPAHC]

220whp is obtainable on both, is your KA healthy if so keep it.

[ka-t4u]

well i hear ping-ing every now and then and i can't remember off the top of my head but i think have low compression on cylinder 3, but am not 100% sure on that, i'll have to re-do my compression test to be solid about it.

[biggie]

Truely if it is a DD, then I'd want reliable and no hassle (which to me means no turbo), therefore if I had the money/time it'd be a VQ swap.

Between KA/SR it would depend on how much money you want to put into either for it to be reliable.

[ka-t4u]

vq is the engine i've always wanted, but seems to expensive/and would take too much time. i was thinking rb25 but it is also costly.

[ILoveMyRHS13]

You want power and reliability? Good luck getting that with a boosted 4 banger...

V8

'Nuff said.

You know what they always say:

Fast
Reliable
Cheap

Pick two.

[hatedinthemind]

You want power and reliability? Good luck getting that with a boosted 4 banger...

V8

'Nuff said.

You know what they always say:

Fast
Reliable
Cheap

Pick two.

X2 V8 is probably your best choice
LS1 or VH45

[Dittoz7]

Rebuilt stock KA

ADD:
After-market Intake
After-market header
After-market exhaust
Something other then a open diff.
After-market short shifter
After-market clutch
Light weight flywheel
Aluminum Drive-shaft
248/232 cam swap
Any other easy bolt-on

Should make a decent fun reliable DD.

[S14Kouki10]

You want power and reliability? Good luck getting that with a boosted 4 banger...

you can have a reliable ka-t or sr

[ka-t4u]

i already have all the easy bolt-ons.... in fact i have had them for a long time, that's why i want a little more power, am not looking for much, i think 270 is a pretty fair compromise between reliability and power. whats an average number sr's make by just turning up the boost??

you guys have no idea how many times i have contemplated the vh swap, q45's are dime a dozen at the local u-pull... but the swap is so labor intensive....

and as far as i have learned your reliability stops where your ability to tune does....

once again thanks to all of you for your input.

[Dittoz7]

Bolt on list?

[ka-t4u]

bolt on's are:

-short ram intake
-headers
-magnaflow high flow catalytic converter with dual 2 inch exit and the rest was done at the muffler shop i used to work at, sounds pretty good.
-248/248 exhaust cam swap
-msd 6al ignition box with blaster 2 coil
-walbro 255 lph fuel pump
-short shifter
-act 6 puck sprung ceramic clutch with heavy duty pressure plate
-q45 front brakes
-clutch fan removed/replaced with e-fans.
thats pretty much it.... might be missing other little stuff.

[asoomal]

LS1.


87 Octane
Lots of low end
Good mpg's.

[badbob2121]

whoever said that a "turbo 4 banger isnt reliable" is dumb. my sr20det, with basic bolt ons, running 10psi... is as reliable as can be, if i dont drive like a jack a** i get great gas mileage and i also have plenty of power keep me highly entertained... if the swap is done right (as with any swap) it will be just as reliable... a ls motor is sick, im not knocking on them, just saying that you are giving him info based on false statements

[nifares240]

go for VQ35DE.

[nifares240]

-248/248 exhaust cam swap

I have a pair of s13 DOHC cams that I can sell it to you if you want the 248/248 combo. I can't sell the exhaust cams alone. they'll go together for a price. 248/248, you'll lose somelow end but will get top end power for highway driving.

[badbob2121]

i think everyone here lost the thought that he has "cost" in his decision list of priorities...

[simmode1]

I'm not really suggesting that you should do this, because I know most ppl wouldn't even consider it since they've never heard of it, but I would put my money in a VQ30DET with a Z33 6spd transmission.

[amolao]

KA is the way to go no questions asked when it comes to daily driving. Cheaper support and reliability are the key factors.

[nifares240]

when you want power the term "cost" somehow starts to sound arbitrary. money=power and that is an absolute equation.

[badbob2121]

exactly, but he wants a dd, that if he does a swap,that he can do in a timely manner... a vq35de isnt the best recomendation... be honest

[Dittoz7]

Fck just turbo the KA and pray.

[nifares240]

exactly, but he wants a dd, that if he does a swap,that he can do in a timely manner... a vq35de isnt the best recomendation... be honest

but then the vq is a nice motor. when time permits...this is what I am aiming for. the vq swap is a bit outlandish for someone who is looking in a timely manner.

to the OP, keep the KA. it's still a fun motor even without a turbo. let me know if you're interested on the cam set. they're just boxed and taking up storage space.

[ILoveMyRHS13]

You want power and reliability? Good luck getting that with a boosted 4 banger...

you can have a reliable ka-t or sr

But not make 270whp while staying cheap like he's shooting for.

A stock SR will last for f*** 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.

[Metal Angel]

270 is going to be hard to get cheap and reliable... that's on the low side of a lot of horsepower. If I were you I would just grab an sr and keep it mostly stock other than the cooling goodies. That will be enough power to put a smile on your face and if you upgrade the cooling parts it should be pretty reliable.

[breadbox]

Carb'd 302. would possibly be the cheapest easiest v8 swap. Get a nice one piece DS. My friend who's into domestics keeps trying me to do it.

[ka-t4u]

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?

[ka-t4u]

first thing that came up on google was a guys selling the whole vg30de package for only $800! are they usually that cheap?? i gotta go research on the dificulty of the swap...

[ka-t4u]

researching the vg30 swap is pretty hard, it's obviously been done but it appears that the information is really scattered. as far as i have gathered i would need to use a j30 cross member and oil pan and oil pick-up tube, and mate it to a mid 80's z31 transmission..., it could probably be swapped in and get going and then figure out the power steering and a/c issues later, the a/c compressor seems to be sitting on the correct side, but the power steering pump is on the opposite side :/....., i've read that some people made brackets and stuff but i won't have time for that.... also xcessive manufacturing makes a kit to swap it in with the z32 transmission for under $500 dollars....

it's sounding pretty tempting....