turbo it or swap it

[drumminnothummin]

ok so should I invest the money for an rb25det swap and be garunteed 255 hp or should I use that money and turbo the KA? Mind you I want a powerful reliable daily driver with cost in mind so which one would be cheaper, reliable, and could get the most horsepower out of? thanks.

[eazye2000]

.... reliable daily driver .....cheap..... reliable

KA. Cheap to fix, and the parts are readily available at the local parts store.

That's all I got.

[krazydriver]

+1 for KA-T.Parts are readily available, cheaper. and if your only looking for 255hp, just keep in mind that KA-t People have gotten 250 to the wheels on 7psi, with a good tune some people have done up to 30psi(500+hp) on a stock block(FYI, this requires MAJOR tuning knowledge).

Me i'm only doing 7 for now, it's fast enough till i get a better clutch.

[S13FX]

First off you posted that question in a KA-T forums, and buddy let me tell you. No matter how many KA's many of us have blown up, countless problems with them. The answer is almost always going to be biased towards the KA here.

On the realistic note, RB25 is a great engine but like mentioned it is a lil more expensive to swap in, although it is pretty much a straight forward swap.

But when it comes to maintenance and parts your going to have fun with that one.

As for the KA, from personal experience, I have/had a rom tune, with a Precision GT32 on SOHC KA. And once I worked out all the KINKS its like the KA was meant to be boosted.

The most important thing with the KA is you do not want to cheap out on the tuning portions, thats pretty much whats going to make or break your experience with the KA-T world.

The list also goes on and on, but what I would recommend is reading all the stickys on top over here, head over to the RB section and read their info, and make your decision upon that.

Just so you know the KA turboed properly could almost cost you close to what a RB swap would cost, and you would probably yield more TQ/HP with the KA by that point.

Im going to let this post keep on going cause so far everyone has been pretty cool about this.

Just a caution as soon as the flame wars starts cause of this topic its getting Locked .

Take care hope this helps.

Mike(S13FX)

[DevilMB3017]

Once upon a time I was having similar thoughts.

For the same price I would have spent on just a motorset, a mild engine refresh, and installing the RB25, I rebuilt a KA24DE, turbo'd it, added new wheels and tires, and got basic coilovers.

Hopefully that helps your question.

Like everyone has said, good fuel and good tuning will make or break a KA-T experience. I should have blown my motor 2x by now, but good tunes and a wideband O2 saved me

[480sx]

Really depends on your skill set. IMO either one can become a nightmare quick, and become a hugeee money pit. If you do everything right the first time, the Ka-T will be cheaper by a long shot. However, if you dont have the knowledge, skill set, or the patience and care to do it right your going to end up in over your head. This is true for any serious modification to any car really.

IMO a swap is easier and typically more successful than a N/A ---> turbo conversion. However the RB is a difficult swap that has a tendency to go bad quite often so, take that for what its worth. Also, a stock SR will put down 250 hp with no problems at all with the proper trimmings. I ran a 13.2 in the 1/4th with my bone stock SR in the quarter mile in a gutted s13 hatch. Thats plenty damned fast for a DD.

Your best bet is to delay your project by at least 4-6 months and spend time learning and reading. Theres soo much information on these boards and other places on the internet. So many people who have made every mistake you could possibly make already and have payed because of it. Its much better to learn from the mistakes of others than to make them yourself.

[240sxvaj]

Honestly if i was a rich kid i would go with both....but i know it says cheaper and reliable at the same time. obviously the ka-t takes that one, the ka have a lot of potiential you just have to research and find out how many very fast ka-t's are out there. i believe majority of ka-t are in the 13's for 1/4mile, i'm talking about the slowest time. anyone that have a fast ka-t usually put a lot of time and sweat into their car, just remember dont give up. the reason why i say this is because a lot of kids out there do their first ka-t and cheap out and find out something goes wrong and then go crying about ka-t being bad and later going sr20.(i almost did that)

also i made 247whp 241wtq stock t25 w/7-8psi and smoked my buddys 13.5 sec 1/4mile car. s13 chassis are light so with 250whp you will be in the 13's if you have suspension and tire to put it to the ground.

Ka-t something different and fast

[krazydriver]

Your best bet is to delay your project by at least 4-6 months and spend time learning and reading. Theres soo much information on these boards and other places on the internet. So many people who have made every mistake you could possibly make already and have payed because of it. Its much better to learn from the mistakes of others than to make them yourself.

Research is your friend. you can NEVER know too much. Figure out your power goals, then like S13FX said, read through the KA-t stuff, read through the RB forums. Then make a decision. Even then you'll still want to keep researching.

[neverlift]

ka's have weak ring lands, well no so much weak as they will not take detonation. ONE time is all it takes.

boost isnt cheap, be it swap or on the ka. IDK if an rb will net you 255 whp out the box(not into them so I could be wrong). A mild kat would deff get you there. A t28 could probably do that, a t3/4 will get it faster. If you dont have fuel or timing under total control you motor will blow PERIOD. buy a tune and get decent sized injectors. then you shouldnt have any worries unless they are install glitches or pre existing....

btw 3rd set of pistons and I'm still kickin so katftmfw

[DevilMB3017]

I just saw a quote floating in a thread I was looking at before that I thought should go here...

"If it ain't broke, boost it till it is."

[TomeiS13Redtop]

yeah i just did a sr20 swap because i was trying to save money over the rb25 only to find that the motor has a blown turbo and has no oil pressure so now ive lost two grand on the motor+turbo and the month of swaping and wiring that i did when i had a perfect ka that i could have boosted without pulling the motor or cutting and wiring the harness. but if u do go with a swap make sure everythings right before u put it in, i learned from my mistake. i have a 95 ka24 with two trannys and a 91 240sx with sr20 sitting in my shop now that i have to pull in and out every night before i leave.

[abc123omg]

if you want a semi low goal of 250, and your ka24de is already in good condition, itll be cheaper to turbo it and use an emance tune. cheap and reliable, and will hit your goal of low mid 200hp.

that way you can avoid doing all the engine pulling, harness, wiring, etc.

i turboed my ka with a sr t25 turbo, sr injectors, and IC for like 700$ for parts, 300$ labor, and a 170$ emance ecu tune.

also keep in mind the RB engines are older engines and will need a good amount of of refreshing done...

but ultimately its up to your goal and budget. search too. theres alot of threads here on boosting the ka-t

[donkayroo]

What type of driving are you gonna do? Keep in mind the RB will change the handling characteristics of your S-chassis.

KA-T all the way!

[DevilMB3017]

What type of driving are you gonna do? Keep in mind the RB will change the handling characteristics of your S-chassis.

KA-T all the way!

The turbo and supporting modifications for it will add a lot of weight and change the handling as well. Between the turbo, which requires a heavier duty manifold, the intercooler and piping, wastegate and a bov, thats a lot of extra weight...

[drumminnothummin]

What type of driving are you gonna do? Keep in mind the RB will change the handling characteristics of your S-chassis.

KA-T all the way!

I thought about getting into drifting but there are no tracks around where I live so it would be illegal drifting but its gonna be a daily driver.