Who's car runs good here?

[boost_boy]

Does anyone have a car that runs good enough to take to a track? I am really starting to feel bad for some of you CA owners because this has turned into yet another problem forum and some of you obviously aren't enjoying their investments. First of all, $HiTt happens and the only thing we can do is correct it when it does. There have been countless posts by your moderators and other members who have gained a really good understanding of the CA and it's semi-complexity and they have since shared their experiences with the forum.

But I have to ask, does anybody read the information that's stored in the archives of this forum? I see more for sale or testing junk in this forum than I see members who have gone to a track or have went to a dyno for tuning or went drifting or something other than problems and issues. The CA18DET is not as problematic of an engine as some of you guys are making it out to be.

Either the engine is bad or its good.

Either you hooked it up right or wrong.

In either case, if you hooked it up right it should function properly. Or if you hooked it up right and you still have an issue, the problem should be easily corrected. If you hooked it up wrong, then the car shouldn't start "Point blank". Or if you hooked it up wrong, but manage to get it to start, then you obviously hooked it up right, but possibly failed to respect the fact that a lot of the japanese go-fast homies like to add magic boxes and piggy backs in which they need to cut or augment wires by the ecu. When they junk their cars, they remove these devices and leave the wires undone. These wires are usually the ones that are extremely close to the ecu's plug, thus you all should be paying close attention to your harnesses before you install them.

In my honest opinion, I think that most technical threads should not be locked nor deleted, but moved to the technical forum where it would be up for discussion from more than just CA members such as myself who have seen more than enough of the elementary issues not get referenced from our archives, but instead get addressed to the main body of the forum over and over and over and over and over and over again.

The moderation team and a slew of others have tried to help get everyone's issues addressed, but I really do think a lot of these questions need to be moved to the technical section because we have answers to most of them in our FAQ/HOW-TO or whatever you guys/girls want to call it section. So bring on your comments as I'm interested to see what who has to say about what. I'll personally discuss this with my moderator team before I take it to an administrator, so keep your cool and make sure your responses remain clean, professional, and to the point.

Dee

[damesta]

My car runs badass, just gives wierd timing readings (I think). I'm not gonna bother dynoing until I atleast get a wideband,some bigger injectors and a different turbo. Right now its pretty much stock with a few mods. I do use the archives alot but the questions Ive had lately don't really have any answers in the archives. I kinda like being able to ask tech questions in the CA forum though. It seems like alot of CA guys don't really venture into other parts of nico much, I know I don't. I really don't get hardly any replies if I ask CA questions anywhere else.

[apexca]

My CA runs great. Any problems i have had our from stupid little things that i have caused. I plan on tracking and autocrossing my ca all summer along with a fellow member. I never post really because i find all my answers by searching.

[NeedCAforS13]

my car is still kicking butt new exhaust put on today and maxima maf/460cc injectors/safc is running strong! 12psi really makes that gt28 come alive. drag racing's just not my cup of tea Dee!

and I got a complete motor/transmission with rod knock for $50 today. Can't beat that for a spare motor.

[c-rad]

my car is still kicking butt new exhaust put on today and maxima maf/460cc injectors/safc is running strong! 12psi really makes that gt28 come alive. drag racing's just not my cup of tea Dee!

and I got a complete motor/transmission with rod knock for $50 today. Can't beat that for a spare motor.

Those were 450cc injectors you got

[NeedCAforS13]

gah. still runs well! haha I also picked up some 550cc injectors (I think) that were on that motor I got for $50...

[kapower06]

Dee! my motor runs great, as long as it stays warmed up, these 15-25* days with no a/c condenser or p/s really keeps the engine cool. Other then that it runs awsome, tried to race a lt1 camaro z28 but the guy kept looking over at me and laughing, then he'd goose the throttle a lil and let off but would never go. I need to get rid of the speed limiter, it comes faster then ever. Also Dee, was the motor you sold me rebuilt or something? there are absolutly no leaks or smoke or anything. thougt I had a boost leak so i pressurized it and used a smoke machine, and got nothing. And a buddy rode with me that has a 5.0 mustang that runs 14.5 and he said my car is faster then his mustang? One wheel peel kills me until about 50mph in 2nd gear. I also rode in a stock sr swap that had the same mods except he had a fmic and p/s but my car is way faster? im wondering if this is just a damn good motor or has been gone through, it was done right as far as i can tell by how well it runs. Have 1000 mi. on her so far.

[originalsin]

my motor runs great,kinda rich becuase i dont have the o2 sensor wired but still good, when its cold outside ti has some idling issues but other than that i have never had any problems

[1via]

I have had little problems here and there but nothing major. Thank god. Last problem I had was the mafs went bad. Brought a used ca one and problem solved. Not ready to upgrade yet. I have read some threads and I can say that it has helped. I have this xs power front mount that I am going to put on. Cant wait.

[teddy]

My car ran fantastic for the 5 days that I had it running. Then the turbo let loose on me, and I decided to change the whole setup to something else. This was all 2 weeks before I left for college. So being at school + lack of job and funds + winter time = Haven't had a chance to get it running since. I'm gettin there though. Hopefully over spring break I'll be able to get her fired up for a little bit. But once I get it going and get it tuned, that thing should be movin.

[dvd]

after all those noobish questions and what not. I finally got my car running alright. It's been 2 weeks i think and all i can think of is oil leaking from the turbo inlet again. I'm going to put some thread sealer this time(no more teflon tape grrr). Other than that, My car runs just fine. It just sucks because i'm still breakin in the clutch, but i've tried flooring the car on 3rd and it pulled much better than my sohc ka.

SO FAR SO GOOD. *crosses fingers*

[oneruffryder42]

im motor was runnin really great, killin s14 sr20 runnin 10psi. untill i went driftin and now i got a rod knock, so lookin for long block.( ANY HELP) but befor that i have had my car for a year and ran GREAT.

[ragenasian]

Well I will own up and be the first to admit I was one person who put stuff up for sale in this section. I only did it, not because my car didn't run, but because I had so much extra stuff laying around for the CA I figured somebody might need some of it. So sorry if I pissed anyone off by doing that because that was definately not my intention.

As for my CA running, it runs great, idles smooth, runs a little rich but other than that it will come on when I give it gas. Little rough on a cold day, but other than that they have been good strong motors for me.

[Dattebayo]

Dee, its just because alot of people just buy their motors and drop them in, no maintenance beyond normal upkeep.

A 15 year-old motor needs some freshening up, for sure. In some cases, the motor hasn't been used in 10 years+, and the rotating assembly and certain head parts need to be manually re-oiled before startup after any long peroid of non-use. This prevention alone would stop alot of these issues as far as I can see...

[LasVegas240sx]

Not to do a thread jacking or anything but I have a couple questions question for you guys (mainly to what 2BN said)

I'm buying a front clip and doing the swap. I don't want to go through and rebuild the whole motor (not in the budget) but I do want to make sure I don't put it to have it fail in the 1st week. What stuff should I change on it, or maybe check before I put it in?

I'm sending the harness' away to Wiring Specialties to have them so I'm good on that part.

Also, are there any other extras I need?

Sorry to highjack the thread, I just don't want to go make a new thread.

Thanks in advance!Bryan

[dvd]

Not to do a thread jacking or anything but I have a couple questions question for you guys (mainly to what 2BN said)

I'm buying a front clip and doing the swap. I don't want to go through and rebuild the whole motor (not in the budget) but I do want to make sure I don't put it to have it fail in the 1st week. What stuff should I change on it, or maybe check before I put it in?Bryan

sorry man, only way to ensure it to run well is to change the maintance stuff. oilpump/oilpan gasket/clutch/ front and rear seals. Seriously, you dont want to skip on those, if its not in the budget, MAKE IT IN THE BUDGET.

[Darius2250]

Well I wish I could say my CA was running good, but I can say my first one ran like a champ till I blew a heater hose and dumped all my water at a drift session, but because I liked the CA so much I bought another one.

[CA19DET]

my car runs bad ***, wish any of you were local, i would knock your socks off.. 18psi everyday, stock block & t3/t4E..

about to add some more go fast goodies.. got some 26x8x15 MT slicks, a water/alcho injection kit, some 720's and was looking to complete my quad throttle intake. also have my forged engine sitting there too, a new intercooler and was going to go with 2.5" as opposed to the 3" pipes i am running now, also want to get some kinda ignition module to help out that weak spark i got at high rpm/boost. kinda deciding where to go with it, i am on the verge of going with 85mm pistons w/ 9.0 compression and a T3/T04R hybrid or something crazy... and trying a 272 exhasut cam (if ican get a TOMEI 272 PRO cam with the same lift)

i find this forum to be very basic and even though its a kinda meeitng place for CA tuners, its still lacking something.

i may be soon buying a C33 Medalist with a RB25DET 5 speed swap as i wasn't getting the money i wanted for my car to buy an Evo 6/7 or R32 GTR. so if my S13 becomes my fun car, i'll go for the HP awards and drag times,

[91rs13]

Does anyone have a car that runs good enough to take to a track?

Well it is not running now -because it is winter and I fried the Turbo at Lime Rock Park in October --but prior to that the car ran at Lime Rock and at Watkins Glen a couple of times --always ran rich, but I am upgrading a few things and will spend some time tuning it before the track season hits this year ( April 21st at Pocono)

I use the forum alot to research out issues and problems--The search button is my friend.

[Akihisa]

My car runs good up to 10 psi, then the head gasket lets go and pressurizes the cooling system and blows apart new hoses.

[Kouks]

Boost Boy, My ca is on a cherry picker right now, awaiting install. Can neither complain nor cheer for how it runs. it will get a new oil pump/gasket and water pump soon. Ive been setting stuff up since october for the day it goes in, hopefully 3rd week of march.

Hey Ca19det, you should check out http://www.drag240sx.com sometime. There is a ca specific tech part and is alot of technical, drag related go fast stuff. Check it out, all of ya. It wont let you down. good site.

[boost_boy]

my car is still kicking butt new exhaust put on today and maxima maf/460cc injectors/safc is running strong! 12psi really makes that gt28 come alive. drag racing's just not my cup of tea Dee!

and I got a complete motor/transmission with rod knock for $50 today. Can't beat that for a spare motor.

Lucky bastard !

Dee

[boost_boy]

My car runs good up to 10 psi, then the head gasket lets go and pressurizes the cooling system and blows apart new hoses.

Your rod bolts are doen as well. Take your time and rebuild your engine with new stuff and I'm sure you'll have better control over your motor and it's performance.

Dee

[nnkfws333]

Hey Dee, the motor you sold me a while ago runs great. I never did anything major, headgasket, bearings, nope!

Thanks to Sean (NEEDCA...) for helping me oodles put the whole car together.

I daily drive the car and no problems, have EPROM and boost controller coming and hopefully once I get paint, better suspension, and power steering I will be hitting up autox and drag strip.

[Akihisa]

That is my trash engine. I just put it in my car because I was having withdrawls from not driving it. I am in the process of building a bulletproof one.

[burnout 180]

My Ca definately has issues we have our good and bad days but overall i can't complain the ca is a great motor.

Their are the other issues that discourage me like gas ($4 going to go up to $7 next week), bad roads, abcence of tuning support like a dino or any machine shops, bad traffic, and the fact that you can get more girls in a riced up soch super non vtech civic that in a R32 Gtr skyline ...... and the list goes on.

Just had to get that off my chest. I love my country come here tourism is our only industry.

[mikesim]

the track here is an hour away. kind of deters alot of people from going because if something goes, it's a $260 tow back.

auto-x is much closer. i didn't have the time or motivation to go in 2005, but 2004 was pretty nice.

my car runs reliable enough for it to be my daily.

[nismoplsr]

Yea since its winter up here and i got 27" of snow last weekend i havent been doing to much racing or wrenching.

My car hasnt not run well in a 2 years now. I am currently boosting ~21 psi on the potato with stock internals. It usually the other systems that fail me such as the drivetrain and electrical problems.

As far as racing... I have some plans for this coming summer. My main goal is to break into the 12s. I know i have the power to do it i just need traction and practice. I also have the goal to finally get out of the amature class for autocrossing.

[float_6969]

Mines fine. I'm pretty sure I've got a bad wastegate actuator on my brand new turbo, but other than that, it's a beast!

[OmarM]

Well when I bought it, it ran like ****, but now after working out almost all the kinks it runs great. I have s15 t28 at about 10pounds on stock maf and injectors. I have z32 maf but waiting for 550cc injectors from new evo8. Last friday put 110octane at track and was running 14psi spike to 12psi, i pulled on a car that was trapping 104mph, i can wait till bigger injectors, z32 maf, and tune. 16-18 psi daily. run low 12s at 110-116 hopefully.