Reliability SR vs KA-T

[Jimmy Up]

i recently bought a 92 hatch that has 192,000 miles on it and hopefully:x: the guy coming down from arizona saturday will buy my chevelle and put a good chunk of money in my pocket. anyways i need to daily drive this car, as well as bring to drift days and whatnot so i wanted some opinions on which would be my best route rebuilding the KA or even getting a s14 KA and slappin a turbo on it or going SR. RELIABILITY is key for me. thanks

[blackcoupe]

stock is reliable.

[Taniguchi_Is_#1]

^^^ if you're worried about reliability, tuning isn't your game.

[Nikeboy355]

Agreed stock is the most reliable...

The more power, the less reliable it gets...
The more money, the more reliable it can be...

[mr_240sx]

well seeing that your from cali.... your gonna have emission issues either way iirc.

as for reliability wise, id have to say sr20det if you keep stock as it is a factory turbo'd engine. now if you plan on turbo'ing the Ka then youll spend lots for proper tuning and such and remember your turbo'ing an engine that wasnt meant to be turbo'd so youll get some problems im sure.

but im sure more guys will chime in with more experience then me.

[BLITZZZ]

i recently bought a 92 hatch that has 192,000 miles on it and hopefully:x: the guy coming down from arizona saturday will buy my chevelle and put a good chunk of money in my pocket. anyways i need to daily drive this car, as well as bring to drift days and whatnot so i wanted some opinions on which would be my best route rebuilding the KA or even getting a s14 KA and slappin a turbo on it or going SR. RELIABILITY is key for me. thanks


if u think you just gotta slap a turbo and fmic on you have another thing coming, you should probably just keep it stock


then when the engine goes out decide

[projectRDM]

^^^ if you're worried about reliability, tuning isn't your game.

+1.



message length

[Jimmy Up]

remember your turbo'ing an engine that wasnt meant to be turbo'd

didnt look at it like that, makes perfect sense though

thanks for the hating but i need to take this car back and forth to school i am not looking for a brand new car i know that all of these cars need to be constantly checked on i just want a little bit of balls with some reliabilty. i know there are plenty of daily driven sr's as well as ka-t's, just lookin for some insight

[S13FREEAAK]

Alot of it is also the luck of the draw. You can get a junk sr every once in awhile, along with getting a junk ka every once in awhile.

What I'll stress is that whatever option you go with, make sure it is tuned well. That should be your main priority. I lost a built KA because of Tuning and Supertech pistons, so make sure you have a good tune.

Either mildly done should be pretty reliable as long as its kept up and tuned well.

[ThatGuy]

Once again...

Cheap, Fast, Reliable:
Pick only two.

[hello]

i think you should get an SR if you want some turbo. rather than turbo'ing a ka.

[TiNMAN]

cheap t25 ka-t setup ftw.

ka24de - $300
sr20det- $1200

[Kuzumi]

Cheap, Fast, Reliable:
Pick only two.
very true :( mine has lots of money; decently reliable and low power :(

[cxlo8331]

Once again...

Cheap, Fast, Reliable:
Pick only two.
I Agree
messagelenghth

[s13dave]

i've had my sr for a little over 2 and a half years. haven't had any problems.

[NemeGuero]

Ok, for your question:

SR's and KA's both have their problems. Both require more money than you think to run "reliably."

Do enough research, spend enough money on it, and either can be "reliable."

[SeattleSR20]

I have an S14 SR, so it is a bit newer than a redtop, but it took a bit of money after the initial install to iron out the wiring and runability bugs. Nothing major, just basic tuning. I've been daily driving with a stock SR setup, wastegate boost, SMIC for six months and it's been rock solid. I would prefer a factory boost setup over turboing the KA.

[AN89HATCH]

I have experience with two turbo ka's, and I would never do it again haha. It was very fast, but also very expensive if you do it right; and to me it still felt unreliable. So I had to sell it off. If you want a turbo motor, def go with something that was designed and turboed from the factory.

[JaeTea]

I've seen people with SR's spin rod bearings, severe valve tap, constant overheating, etc.

I've also seen people with KA-T's blow ringlands, lift the head, etc.

IMO, neither is really reliable.

If you're going for an SR go for the new S14 blacktops.

The most reliable set up is stock.

[s13gold]

u need some hookups on smog first...cuz the 240's its like every 2 years.

[big_schaf]

its all in the tuning....

[ALMOSTJDM]

SR20DET can be reliable also they save more gas then the KA as long as you dont push it and just keep it stock but then again who wants to have only a stock SR right plus you do need a smog guy but theres plenty of those every where so its up to you really either way will be nice

[NemeGuero]

^^lol what a dumbass.

[projectRDM]

SR20DET can be reliable also they save more gas then the KA as long as you dont push it and just keep it stock but then again who wants to have only a stock SR right plus you do need a smog guy but theres plenty of those every where so its up to you really either way will be nice

.

It's called a period. It's used to define the end of the sentence.

[SimpleS14]

Once again...

Cheap, Fast, Reliable:
Pick only two.


Best post EVAR!!!1

[ALMOSTJDM]

.

It's called a period. It's used to define the end of the sentence.

you remind me of a fucken teacher do you want to put my periods in go right on head while your at it check my grammer

[Wei240]

if you don't got the dough,

keep it stock, it's fine for drift days,

you'll learn more, cheap to fix

once you actually have the funds, then think which route you'd rather go,

if you are asking opinions, i'd rebuild a ka with stronger internals and boost it, but that's just me, don't want this thread to turn into another sr vs kat thread, search on that topic and you can see why people prefer one over the other

[Taniguchi_Is_#1]

.

It's called a period. It's used to define the end of the sentence.

:werd: that post made about as much sense as Beowolf having sex with Robert Fulton at the first Battle of Antietam.

[ALMOSTJDM]

^^lol what a dumbass.
people always got to talk shit on forums lol look at this idiot

[CKAMC]

stock ka isnt enough to drift....BS!

my buddy back in az has been doing great at the events on hiis stock ka (bolt ons but no T). in fact the key things are handliing and drive train...

you know coilovers...clutch type diff... ring and pinion... maybe some rods or adj arms.

so yeah a good driver can do well with an NA car... hell look at the 86 drivers out there.

if you want turbo get an sr...but ur in cali so thats not a good idea for daily...unless you ninja your driving and car sounds and looks stock.

[clutch kick drifter]

ive got 2 buddies, totally stock Ka's and coilovers and they rawk it every event! Ive got a 350hp SR and its been good for the past 5 months and 2 drift events, and its my daily. Stock is def. the most reliable but the least fun! you pick since youve got tons of info here already.

[HKsilvia]

y not invest those money on suspensions and brakes

[Jason240sx]

clutch_kick_drifter: are the stock KA on coilovers only and open diff?

[Wei240]

you only need a car to drift,

it helps if you have bucket seat, lsd, suspension

but you can still learn on a totally bone stock car

[Jimmy Up]

im going to have like 6500 so i am definitely getting some pretty good coilovers, LSD, and not that it will help the drive factor but i want the silvia front end so just whcich motor is what im trying to decide. thanks for all the input everybody

[annie4rb20]

y not invest those money on suspensions and brakes

+1. Suspension FTW.

And my 2 cents? Why not go high comp? Drop in high compression pistsons, and get some kind of fuel management and call it a day. Aftermarket cams with longer duration = more pollution (for the smog test), so I would stick with stock, then upgrade shortly after you get tested (:keke: Like it's some kind of HIV test). That's something that they can't exactly spot when you get pulled over ;) You'll have to run higher octane gas, but you've got a better chance at passing emissions, and your gas mileage wont suffer horribly (for the daily driving). I don't know how much more power you'll get, but that's probably what I would do.

[pignose4life]

maybe if you wanna build up a ca18det, bit cheaper than the sr and hopefully cops wont notice =]

[Phlip]

people always got to talk shit on forums lol look at this idiot
Nothing you have said in this thread has done anything to maintain productivity... Please stop responding or address the original discussion at hand.
Remember, however, that spelling and punctuation makes it easier for people to take whatever you're saying seriously, even if you're basically just pissing on their legs and telling them it's raining.

[ECR33S14]

whatever you decide to do, do it right the first time. ive spent almsost a year and close to 3 grand fixing someone elses mistakes. FUCK AUGUSTA CUSTOMS. your gonna have to pay to play. you want power get ready to cough up some cash. just my .02

[SC_S13]

get a sr and do mild tuning. just make sure you dont shortcut the oil n fuel setup if you decide to do anything with higher hp.
GL. i can sympathize with your situation. theres a lotta people who forget that students have a lotta shit to do.

[HKsilvia]

If u have 6500 to spend
$1600 for a decent coilover
$ 350 for a set of tie rod
$ 220 for tension rod
$ 400 for a F & R strut
$ 800 on a nice set of tires (and remember if u go drifting, u are burning tires which means u need some money for future tires)
$ 1300 for a set of 17"/18" (can be even higher for certain brand)
$ 1000 for a intake/exhaust set (CB + DP )

thas $5670 here, including CA tax pretty much can bump u to $6100, you have around 400 left in your pocket, have an major engine tune up pretty much thas it.

conclusion: If you're going to hard drive it and u dun have a billion in your pocket...Go KA

[Yuri]

I'd go with a stock SR over a KA-T.
They've been reliable, and I've been daily driving an SR for four years, including many cross country trips, two between Wisconsin and SoCal.
I had to replace my first (excellant) SR when I damaged the oilpan on a rock and blew the motor. The replacement SR has noisy valves and slowly burns coolant. :down: So getting a good SR would be a priority.
It's kinda a piece of crap, but gets the job done without breaking down (yet).

Still keep in mind that an SR is designed to be turbocharged, and everything is already in place for reliable driving.

[steve shadows]

stock ka isnt enough to drift....BS!



true but its boring.

which is why i keep fantasizing about a fully built ka26e...

i have problems, big problems :barf:

[steve shadows]

yeah I agree with yuri.

Stock SR + Greddy oil pan and late model oil pickup and dont overev it past 7600 rpms and maybe upgrade the radiator, its pretty much indestructable.

I have been noticing a lot of peoples improperly done or low budget ka setups decimating themselves and them trying to keep it underwrap (committed to the lie)...:mepoke:

[revd34]

sr comes turbo stock which means the motor is built to take turbo.
the ka does not come with turbo which means that the motor is not built to take the turbo.

also, there is a larger aftermarket options for the sr.

i'm not a big fan of the sr but it is more reliable

[steve shadows]

sr comes turbo stock which means the motor is built to take turbo.
the ka does not come with turbo which means that the motor is not built to take the turbo.

also, there is a larger aftermarket options for the sr.

i'm not a big fan of the sr but it is more reliable
:cj: --------------im a dickhead-------

[az_240]

I will be going with KA-T for my daily driver... Eventually I'll get a RB25. Just too poor at the moment.
I have a 97 so Id like to pass emissions and keep the CEL off with little work.
AZ is a bitch without AC in the summer... more money spent to keep AC in SR
I already have a good running KA with 180 across the board
Cheap an easily accessible parts
Its risky buying an SR most of the time... You could end up with one that needs a bunch of stuff replaced.
I like torque

For the amount of money you put into dropping a STOCK SR into your car you can have a KA-T with some nice bolt ons an be running a good amount of HP... with SR youll still be stuck with stock until you drop more dough for upgrades. stock sr will most likely be more reliable after replacing what needs to be replaced.

It all realllllllly depends on the tuning though and how well you take care of your car.

Cant go wrong with either engine... Just a matter of personal preference

[steve shadows]

I will be going with KA-T for my daily driver... Eventually I'll get a RB25. Just too poor at the moment.
I have a 97 so Id like to pass emissions and keep the CEL off with little work.
AZ is a bitch without AC in the summer... more money spent to keep AC in SR
I already have a good running KA with 180 across the board
Cheap an easily accessible parts
Its risky buying an SR most of the time... You could end up with one that needs a bunch of stuff replaced.
I like torque

For the amount of money you put into dropping a STOCK SR into your car you can have a KA-T with some nice bolt ons an be running a good amount of HP... with SR youll still be stuck with stock until you drop more dough for upgrades. stock sr will most likely be more reliable after replacing what needs to be replaced.

It all realllllllly depends on the tuning though and how well you take care of your car.

yeah but you can't see micro fissures forming from wear on the ring lands and high milage on a naturally aspirated engine like the KA.

how much hp you talkin bout?

Robin Williams HP or Johnny Carson HP?

[az_240]

my ka has 100k and is currently auto (5spd swap going in soon)... I dont plan on keeping it for too long. If it does end up breaking you can get another one for ~200 bones an theyre pretty easy to find. Good luck finding an SR block for that when it goes.
I guess it goes KA-T= no money lots of time... SR= some money not so much time... RB=lots of money and time to get it started

I plan on just starting out slow and working my way up to about 300whp to see how that feels... then ill prolly back off... well see though.

[Yuri]

Stock SR with downpipe, racing cat, and catback can spin 18x11's.
It's been enough for track use for me, but I generally like driving lower-powered cars than what alot of my trackmates have.

[lucky7]

theory of relativity pwns this thread.