modding a sohc ka... questions/thoughts

[Nismo240SX]

well. here it is... the fact that i can get another ka24e with a 5spd tranny for a great price, rocks. if i bought another sohc, here are my plans... get a new cam, new pulley set, new pistons, header, no dog (humor) and add in the CAI thats coming, and my N1 dual. what would you say i'd run a 1/4 with all those mods on drag radials and with a stage 2 clutch from clutchmasters? the stress that'd be added to what stress i already have if i owned an sr, would make me not give it hell(being worried about all that turbo b/s). the ka is a truck motor, you're supposed to give a truck motor hell ;). oh yeah... the pricing for all this stuff is way below the price of an sr. what are you comments???

[Nismo240SX]

what? nobody's answered yet???

[Zemus]

You would run Maybe a High 14, which is alright, thats my est.

[logo20]

I would say you be in the mid or low 15s, but that's just a guess let us know when your ready to run it. and what makes the ka24e a truck engine exactly?

[transient]

Well, the fact that it's most common use was in the nissan hardbody doesn't help :D.

I could see you breaking into 14's with that, but really think about it before you go ahead and do all that work to a ka24e. I'm not saying it doesn't have potential, but the amount of money to unlock that potential can be somewhat prohibitive. If you're really up for it though, I can't wait to see the final project. Imagine, a destroked KA22E pulling a 11K redline at 14:1 compression on race gas. :D :D :D

Ok, yeah, I'm dreaming, but it would be cool.

[deviousKA]

the ka24e was introduced in the 240 and came in d21 pickups the year after, and ever since

[91CRXsiR]

i dunno man, that extra D would sure help..

i heard that some SOHC KAs had HI COMP IIRC..

if you are going to swap engines anyways why not look for a good deal on a KA24DE?

[transient]

Well, it sounds like he wants to go for an N/A tune and from what i've read, the ka24e actually tends to do better than the de when tuning N/A. You can put a more aggressive cam in for one thing, plus, if you want to go really nuts, I'm pretty sure there's an ITB kit available for the ka24e as well.

[Nismo240SX]

Well, it sounds like he wants to go for an N/A tune and from what i've read, the ka24e actually tends to do better than the de when tuning N/A. You can put a more aggressive cam in for one thing, plus, if you want to go really nuts, I'm pretty sure there's an ITB kit available for the ka24e as well.

transient, you hit it right on the nose. an ITB kit?? what in the hoo-mala-guo-lattaga is that? :p yeah, what i'm going to do is get the motor this spring, put it on some crates in a friends garage a build it myself, and save the money. but the only problem, converting my car from an auto to a straight... is a pretty hard task for someone who is impateint. holla back.

[misnomer]

There are a lot of beefy N/A SOHCs out there. As far as times go, with those modifications (if you did them right, particularly the cam and pistons), you should be able to hold against a base sr with ease. This is mainly an assumption with little fact to back it up. Figure the SR makes ~210 at the crank stock. . . shouldn't be tough to beat that with N/A mods. Turbo her and you'll be as potent as any DOHC KA, though there is something strangely appealing as a beefy n/a l4 :-)

[transient]

ITB = Independent Throttle Bodies. Basically an air horn for each intake port. Talk about low restriction :D. Btw, do yourself a favor and buy an engine stand. You can get a good one for about 60 dollars, and believe me, you'll be very happy that you got it if you're planning on doing that much work.

[Nismo240SX]

yeah, i will buy an engine stand. are these mods very hard for someone 17? like installing a cam... how difficult is it? i think i'm going to pay someone to install my motor and do the 5spd conversion... save me some sweat and tears...

[mrdirty]

I've always heard that ITBs idle rough, you'd loose low end torque too.

How do u keep filth from entering the engine? I mean there's no filter?!?!

[transient]

I'm pretty sure you could rig up some type of air cleaner. How would you lose bottom end with ITB's? If anything I would think a gain would be more likely because you've got so much less restriction.

Also, correct me if i'm wrong on this, but I'm thinking that if you're able to build the engine yourself, you should be able to install it yourself. As for the 5-speed swap, I'm not entirely sure, but there is much less to connect when swapping / installing an engine as compared to rebuilding one.

You may have some trouble with all of the small things that go along with rebuilding an engine. My advice would be to make friends with a mechanic so you have someone to ask questions, and invest whatever you need to invest to get a copy of the 240sx FSM. Don't go cheap and get a chiltons, you'll regret it.

[mrdirty]

Originally posted by transient
...How would you lose bottom end with ITB's? ....

i've always been told: "Long intake runners=more low end torque", I don't really understand why; must have something to do w/ the momentum of the air charge...maybe I'm wrong.

[transient]

Well, now that you mention it i've heard that as well. It still seems strange to me though, maybe someone with more knowledge could shed some light on that question.

[CoasTek240]

ok it is true that long intake runners=more toque, however the decreased amount of restictivness and faster throttle response make up for the lack of added torque, and you lose little is af any torque with itb's, prolly wont gain though

sohc n/a modding is better than dohc n/a modding it's more responsive, but will never have the potential of an already turboed sr of DOHC.
i love the idea of SOHC modding, it's sweet someone i knew from 240sx forums, had some of the goodies you speak of (i.e. header, gutted cat, apex n-1 dual, custom intake, nismo Cam[4got lift, and duration], clutch, shifter, pulleys, bored out throttlebodie, upped timing, ignition) and he;s running high 13's with a sem-stripped interior
well good luck
-dave

[allmotorKA]

Originally posted by mrdirty
...How do u keep filth from entering the engine? I mean there's no filter?!?!

There are several filters that can be used on ITB's. Here is an example of an ITG filter. Also, the I in ITB stands for Individual...not Independant...just so you know.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid22/p4c98837dd5776f8aacf3c4d1e52acf0f/fda6777e.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid22/pf25736314fc9797a273d20e87e42e517/fda67777.jpg

[transient]

hehe, whoops. Brain fart on my part. I didn't think independant sounded right, but for the life of me I couldn't think of another word that started with an I :P :D

[Nismo240SX]

yeah, that'd be nice, but it'll cost way more $$$. if i'd hit 14,s i'd be happy. nitrous might be in the picture afterwards. so really at this point, i'm not soo sure on everything.

[MyFirst240SX]

I have always thought that a junk yard turbo setup with just a small T3 would be so much more cost effeinct than a N/A build up. But each to his own

Z18ET manifold, Ford SVO turbo(or tbird), Starion or Volvo intercooler,1st gen DSM BOV, lots of junk yard stuff thats pretty cheap
(i know thats not a complete setup)