What do you think is the cheapest way to 200WHP?

[thomasjamal]

I've read a lot about all the options that are out there for the 240, and I've seen many of the fail threads asking about all of these options. I'm not asking what is the best or awesomest or any of that crap. I'm just curious what would be the cheapest way to a reliable 200 whp car.

My initial impression is that turboing the KA is the cheapest way to accomplish this, but I know my engine will need a full rebuild before it could go this route and I'm wondering if going CA or maybe even a redtop might accomplish this cheaper...

[StricNyne]

nitrous

[confused9]

CA. stock 173 hp with the same head design as the RB and they're like 1G

[some_white_guy]

i think turboing you're KA with a bolt-on kit will give you like 220+ hp. but w/o experience having a shop do a sr-t swap would give you 200 with a stock motor. it wont be cheaper by any means tho. (this is just from what i have researched in my own quest for 200+ hp so just search around, look at ka-t.org and other sites to see prices/results)

hope that helped some and veterans please critique this seeing as i'm still pretty much a noob in the 240 scene and searching for options myself

[chaosli]

sr20 is the cheapest way i my self had gone thought the ka-t the money i spend i could of gotten a rb26 in my car with the twin turbo and my car is still not running

[Caveit77777]

I wouldn't even bother with building internals on the ka if you're goal is only 200hp. aIf you do I would only do the pistons otherwise it's not really worth it. Just inspect it real good and make sure everything is in good shape.

[bersh240]

nitrous

sad thing is.
its probably true

[xX RB Xx]

nitrous

sad thing is.
its probably true

It is true. You can get a 75 shot for around 500 bucks.

[S14Kouki10]

why would you only want 200hp?

[simmode1]

why would you only want 200hp?

Word.

sr20 is the cheapest way i my self had gone thought the ka-t the money i spend i could of gotten a rb26 in my car with the twin turbo and my car is still not running

Are you sure you know what you're doing?

I'd say nitrous would be the cheapest and a mild KA-T w/T25 project would be 2nd cheapest.

[E7-S14]

FYI,
you dont have to Forge internal a KA to make 200 safely.

Put together a SR20 Turbo kit with a KA t-2 manifold and but something to tune FUEL AND TIMING, and your good.

[themadscientist]

Boost the KA and don't get silly. The CA will need a complete rebuild as it is older than many 240 owners are. The SR, if it wasn't owned by a dufus D-1 goof who beat the crap out of it; yeah right, would get you to 200 with a tuneup.

[ZX88]

eebay turbo kit....

[numbnuts240]

FYI,
you dont have to Forge internal a KA to make 200 safely.

Put together a SR20 Turbo kit with a KA t-2 manifold and but something to tune FUEL AND TIMING, and your good.

this.

[thomasjamal]

I wouldn't even bother with building internals on the ka if you're goal is only 200hp. aIf you do I would only do the pistons otherwise it's not really worth it. Just inspect it real good and make sure everything is in good shape.

The reason my engine would need to be rebuilt is because it burns oil like crazy. So even if I didn't worry about upgrading for big power I'd still need to rebuild my motor or find a KA in decent shape (which seems hard these days).

nitrous

sad thing is.
its probably true

eebay turbo kit....

Except for the part where I asked about cheap AND RELIABLE.

why would you only want 200hp?

And I'm only looking for 200whp because this car is never going to be more than a daily driver. I'd just like it to be a fun daily driver and I don't need more than 200 at the wheels to get that done. Sure, if i had an unlimited car budget I'd build a 600hp drag car and a 400hp drift car but unfortunately I'm stuck here in reality.

[CJH]

SR t25
SR SMIC
SR 370cc injectors
Walbro 255 fuel pump
ebay mani/ or custom
ebay exhaust/or custom
Some sort of coolant and oil line kit from a good place you can trust (I got 2 bad kits online before I paid double and got them local.)
Used BOV from a forum

I think thats everything but some sort of EMS. Im really not sure what the cheapest EMS would be. I guess you could go with a FMU. That would be the cheapest, but not the most reliable. But some people have no problems with them.

[Caveit77777]

SR t25
SR SMIC
SR 370cc injectors
Walbro 255 fuel pump
ebay mani/ or custom
ebay exhaust/or custom
Some sort of coolant and oil line kit from a good place you can trust (I got 2 bad kits online before I paid double and got them local.)
Used BOV from a forum

I think thats everything but some sort of EMS. Im really not sure what the cheapest EMS would be. I guess you could go with a FMU. That would be the cheapest, but not the most reliable. But some people have no problems with them.

Oil Line
http://www.jgsturbo.com/ka24et.html
Now you're set. Get to it.

[AZ89two4Tsx]

Take notes.

project-el-cheapo-ka-t-freshly-updated- ... 37970.html

[TheRealNap0le0n]

nitrous is reliable if you respect it... although its not the cheapest in the long run.

[E7-S14]

Lol Cheap AND Reliable don't really belong in the same sentence.

like an oxymoron.

your best bet is OEM SR turbo kit, or Nitrous.
There your question has been answered.

[Chris28]

I made 293 whp and 310 ft/lb on a KA with totally stock internals. Stock MAFS too, for that matter. Only thing besides the obvious turbo stuff was 370cc injectors and a tune. I promptly blew up my ringlands. The ONLY reason I blew the ringlands was because my injectors and MAFS were far beyond maxed out. Had I had larger injectors and a z32 MAFS the stock block would have gone well over 300 hp.

That was on 12 psi, I daily it at 6. You don't need to build the KA to boost it.


But to answer the OP's question, nitrous is the easiest and cheapest way to get 200 hp.

[CRyan]

LOL, your attempting all 3 when you can only pick 2.

Cheap. Reliable, and fast? Pick 2, then go from there.

[breadbox]

The reason my engine would need to be rebuilt is because it burns oil like crazy. So even if I didn't worry about upgrading for big power I'd still need to rebuild my motor or find a KA in decent shape (which seems hard these days).

I'd just worry about get your KA running good and then worry about 200whp. after a rebuild its gonna feel like a new car anyway. I hit 6k today in my Auto s13, twas fun. Once you start running turbo on a good tune IT IS another car.

[simmode1]

I'd just worry about get your KA running good and then worry about 200whp.

Fo realz. Why are we even talking about making more power when you've got maintance to handle up on? Fix problems first before you start upgrading stuff or you're just asking for trouble...

[thomasjamal]

LOL, your attempting all 3 when you can only pick 2.

Cheap. Reliable, and fast? Pick 2, then go from there.

Does 200whp really count as fast? Also, I said cheapEST way that is reliable. Reliable is most important, cheap is #2 and as fast as I can get it while accomplishing the first 2 is the goal.

I'd just worry about get your KA running good and then worry about 200whp. after a rebuild its gonna feel like a new car anyway. I hit 6k today in my Auto s13, twas fun. Once you start running turbo on a good tune IT IS another car.

Fo realz. Why are we even talking about making more power when you've got maintance to handle up on? Fix problems first before you start upgrading stuff or you're just asking for trouble...

That's most likely going to be my plan. Get the KA in good shape and running like it should then work on a budget bolt on turbo kit to get around 200.

I'm not a total newb about to bolt a turbo on a broken motor. What I'm trying to figure out is if it's worth the cost of fixing my KA and then turboing it or if I could swap in a CA or maybe even SR for about the same amount of cash. I'd do all the work myself (with the help of nzmoman) unless my ka block needs major work. That would be beyond my skill set.

[simmode1]

IMO, KA-T is almost always worth it, considering the strength of the OEM internals and the low price for spare motors. An OEM overhaul with a metal headgasket and ARP headstuds should be good for anywhere between 350 to 400hp depending on your tuning and the turbo you pick. Your 200hp goal is a walk in the park for a properly maintained KA...

[Seanzyyy]

cxracing sells a ka turbo kit for 1200-1400 (i dont remember exact price)
a ka on 7lbs of boost is reliable and they advertise 230ish hp on 7lbs,
which is true because there's a dyno vid of a ka24e-t making that number.

just make sure your ka is running well,
replace anything that needs replacing (including internals)
save,
then go ka-t.
my .02

[breadbox]

There's always the chance you swap out a crappy running motor for one that has more issues and need a rebuild anyway. Happened to me with my Nissan 720.

But budget build also take longer to find cheap good parts.

[Dittoz7]

K20

[confused9]

Cheap. Reliable, and fast? Pick 2, then go from there.

couldn't of said it any better CRyan.