two types of CA18DET engines, need help.

[mrzabala]

Hey, Im researching as much as I can about CA18DETs. I have a 91 240sx se hatch and for my goals (fun daily driver and twice a month drifting) with the car, CA18DET would best accomplish it. I been on nicoclub for more than a month now reading about 2-4 hours almost every night about 240sx, engines, and other helpful threads. I went to wikipedia to find the basic information about the engine and came across this which totally gave me concerns on what type of CA18DET someone is really selling that was used in the following vehicles: (Note: the ones in "Bold" are what concerns me)

* 1987-1988 Nissan Silvia S12 GT-X(International market) * 1989-1990 Nissan Silvia/180SX S13 (International market) * 1989 Nissan Bluebird SSS Atessa (International market) * 1989-1993 Nissan 200SX S13-U Europe.

There were 2 versions of the CA18DET available, yet only one was produced for Japan. The Australian and Asian CA18DETs received 8 port (low port) heads, with butterfly actuated auxiliary ports in the lower intake manifold which corresponded with 8 ports in the head. Below ~3800 rpms, only one set (4 ports open, 1 per cylinder) of long, narrow ports would be open, accelerating the intake charge to the cylinder. This allowed for quick spool and good low end tractability. At the 3800 rpm change over, not only would the ECCS shift into batch fire (as opposed to sequential) fuel injection, but it also opened the second set of short, wide ports (8 ports open, 2 per cylinder) which assisted in high RPM flow. This motor is knows for stronger torque characteristics, as well as faster spool at lower RPMs. However, due to displacement-based taxation and cost of emissions testing in Europe, the CA18DET was sold as the only available engine in the S13 chassis 200SX (Euro model) until replaced by the S14 in 1994. The Euro motors received the 4 port (high port) head and intake manifold, as well as revised ECCS ("Electronic Concentrated Control System") parameters. Power was not increased, but high RPM flow was indeed improved, making the 4 port CA18DET the most desirable of the late generation Nissan turbo 4s. Due to superior head design (cam on bucket, as opposed to the flawed complex and heavy rocker arm actuation of later motors like the SR and QR series), many enthusiasts consider the CA18DET to be the best engine platform since the FJ20ET that powered the legendary DR30 Skyline DOHC-RS.

I highlighted the ones that really concerns me. I went to different sites to see CA18DETs for sale like Japanstarmotor.com, Japanmotorimport.com, and barnettpandd.com to look for the engines information. Im not sure which one is which. Im interested in the 4 port CA18DET because of its cam on bucket head design and how people find it one of the best engine platforms. Can you give me information on the 2 type of engines. and which one would be best for me in terms of price, reliability, and complexity of maintenance/modifications/tuning. This will help me make my decision. Thank everyone. And another question, I see many people have CA18DETS and know DriftReady has one in his 240sx and has done some in peoples cars. Are they the 4 port Euro engines or from Japan/Aust and how can you tell?

[capwred]

most people run the 8 port heads.as far as i know thats what most of the importers get.the only diff i believe is that one has 4 ports and the other one has 8ports witht he butterflies that open when needed.there both got cam on buckets.the ports is whats not the same,i believe if im work some please speak up.

[mbmbmb23]

The 4 port CA's were only sold in Europe, therefore any shop importing JDM motors will not have one. Best option would be to buy a JDM CA and then goto http://www.sxoc.com and look for a 4 port head in the classified or "breaker" (junkyard) section of the forum and have it shipped from Europe (UK in most cases on that board).

FYI; Also....do not buy from barnettpandd, the owner had jerked myself and a number of other folks from Carolinanissans.com around previously.

[mbmbmb23]

most people run the 8 port heads.as far as i know thats what most of the importers get.the only diff i believe is that one has 4 ports and the other one has 8ports witht he butterflies that open when needed.there both got cam on buckets.the ports is whats not the same,i believe if im work some please speak up.

I've heard the Euro ECU has a lower redline BTW.

-m

[ragenasian]

As capwred said you will probably only be able to get the 8 port designs as most of them come from Japan. I can get 4 port heads if that is what you really want but they aren't cheap as here in Germany the CA is an expensive motor to repair and most people will try and just buy a used motor or head to fix whatever problem they have. I can also ship cheap. Again I think the only choice you might have is the 8 port. Sometimes 4 port heads are up on ebay from the UK or AUS but shipping will probably suck. You can't go wrong with either one

[mrzabala]

As capwred said you will probably only be able to get the 8 port designs as most of them come from Japan. I can get 4 port heads if that is what you really want but they aren't cheap as here in Germany the CA is an expensive motor to repair and most people will try and just buy a used motor or head to fix whatever problem they have. I can also ship cheap. Again I think the only choice you might have is the 8 port. Sometimes 4 port heads are up on ebay from the UK or AUS but shipping will probably suck. You can't go wrong with either one

Thanks for the info. What are the cons and pros of having 4 port or 8 port? Im leaning towards the JDM CA because if parts are hard to come by and prices are too high it wouldn't benefit me in any way unless the Euro CA is better?(also in the form of a question).

The 4 port CA's were only sold in Europe, therefore any shop importing JDM motors will not have one. Best option would be to buy a JDM CA and then goto http://www.sxoc.com and look for a 4 port head in the classified or "breaker" (junkyard) section of the forum and have it shipped from Europe (UK in most cases on that board).

FYI; Also....do not buy from barnettpandd, the owner had jerked myself and a number of other folks from Carolinanissans.com around previously.

Thank you for the info. I was just in barnettpandd because it came up in one of the searches for CA18DET. Prices are high with the engine they sell compared to japanmotorimport or japanstarimport. Again thank you people, much appreciated.

[ragenasian]

Don't let me scare you off because I said parts over "HERE" were expensive. I can still get original parts for the CA from my Nissan dealer and they aren't cheap at all. I still buy all my stuff from the States because I get local domestic US shipping rates through the military. All the parts can be bought relatively cheap in the States you just have to know what you are looking for and what to buy. Everybody in this forum is pretty knowledgeable when it comes to the CA's just search first or get your balls busted later.

The CA has served me well but unfortunately I can't tell you the difference between the 4 port or the 8 port in relevance to how the power feels when put to the ground. I know I sold two heads to some tuners in the States who had high HP goals but don't know what came of them.

[mrzabala]

Ive searched for the differences on the 4 port EURO and 8 port JDM: zerothread?id=114950 is what came up.Ill have to dig harder and just have 2 sheets with the Euro engine and the Japan engine on google. I have somewhat limit on my budget so Im leaning towards JDMs CA. But If I get my 3000GT sold I will consider the Euros engine. But still have to consider the differences in terms of power, relability, replacement costs, etc before any of that. Thanks. Ill let you know If I do go the Euro engine route and youll be the first one Ill be contatcting for parts.

[Torpor]

Here in SA we only got the 4 port.Spool come on at 3400 Rpm and tappers off at 6400Redline is at 7300RPMCan rev past 7800RPM stock

[float_6969]

With the 8port the availability is relativly great because they were sold everywhere but europe. The 8 port head has 8 intake ports, one for each intake valve. There are 4 butteryfly valves in the 2 peice intake manifold. The manifold is comprised of a primary plenum and 4 runners. At the sub manifold, it splits into 8 runners, and there is one butteryfly valve for one intake valve on each cylnder. At low RPM's (somewhere below aprox 4K) the valves are closed. This increases port velocities, which in turns increases torque and fuel economy. Regardless of what others may tell you, if they are hooked up properly, they do work, and they do increase torque, noticably, down low. Although I've never measured this myself, supposedly the overall intake port area of the Jap head vs. the EU head is smaller. So in theory, the EU head should be able to flow more air due to it's larger area on the port. That is the ONLY difference between the two motors. The valvetrain, pistons, rods, crank, ect is all identical.

Here is a decent article off sxoc that I found...http://www.sxoc.com/vbb/showth...d+jap

[tyrannix]

that was me that bought one of the 4 port heads, and i am still deciding if its waht i want (for a CA20DET build project) for the same reason, while it can flow more overall, smaller ports = higher intake velocity (look at the smallport toyota 4AGE head, just gets more power than the bigport one) but having the increased displacement, the higher capacity for flow might outweigh the 'lost' low end intake velocity (resulting in lost <4k torque and a little slower on turbo spool) im going for max usable powerband, not peak numbers, with a decent turbo spoolup

its all alot of math, and im trying to find stock for stock dyno comparisons of the 4 vs 8 port head

but for your question, dont worry about it, youll be getting an 8 port one from japan. all major importers come from japan, not europe (for japanese engines)

CJ
Modified by tyrannix at 3:59 PM 7/25/2006