Auto KA Convert to Manual And Build Or Swap to Sr

[Toomuchboost12]

Before i get Flammed Let just say I did my Research on Both Motors . Currently i have about 3500 to Spend . The car is a 97 Kouki . its has about 122k on it . Would be building the car for Weekend driver And Drag racing . Now that i opened that door "Drag racing " i know im going to need more than 3500 but thats what i Want to do with the car . So if you were in my Shoes what would you do ? Most of my Friends are saying just swap to a sr because my car isnt 5 speed . and it would cost more money .My pops who is a automotive genius he has done swaps and build race cars before is saying that if i choose the KA route the engine would need to be rebuild even if it was an automatic thats why he is for the Sr and that it came Turbo . in terms of swaping motors the labor will be done by myself and friends and family . In terms of buying the motor or even a clip my pops has links to a near by jdm engine depot i can get one for about 5 or 400 bucks off the the motor and trannny ecu harness with or not the clip . And About how much exactly would you need to spend with the money used to rebuilt a ka24 then making it turbo spec . and yea just want to say thanks for anyone is willing enough to put there input .

[genericforumname]

the only car that fits the bill for

-cheap weekend driver
-cheap and not slow drag racing
-moddable to almost anything you want

the only car I can think of that fits this is a fox body mustang. Talk all the trash you want there is a reason those things got so popular so fast with budget based drag racers. Easy mods for the stock 5.0 and even easier mods if you wanted to throw in a windsor. there is no specific advantage I can see trying to build a drag KA on a budget. it's going to be slower than the amount of money would probably warrant in another car. Also your dad is right, people who slap turbo's on 100k+ mile engines are just waiting for them to die, sooner or later it will happen and then you'll be out more money in the end.

also if you think you're going to be able to buy a drag-capable SR for almost any dollar amount you are failing to realize that these engines are, at the newest, still 11 years old and many have been sitting unused in some kind of junk yard for years. Either way you are going to be rebuilding that engine to make sure it's capable of not exploding.

I'm no expert at drag racing so I'd say decide weather you want a shorter torquey powerband or a more linear one. that's the only real decision you need to make on this one. I'm also no expert on automatics but why choose a manual for drag? unless some kind of class requires it it makes more sense to keep the auto. plus SR transmissions are well known for not liking power.

[Toomuchboost12]

the only car that fits the bill for

-cheap weekend driver
-cheap and not slow drag racing
-moddable to almost anything you want

the only car I can think of that fits this is a fox body mustang. Talk all the trash you want there is a reason those things got so popular so fast with budget based drag racers. Easy mods for the stock 5.0 and even easier mods if you wanted to throw in a windsor. there is no specific advantage I can see trying to build a drag KA on a budget. it's going to be slower than the amount of money would probably warrant in another car. Also your dad is right, people who slap turbo's on 100k+ mile engines are just waiting for them to die, sooner or later it will happen and then you'll be out more money in the end.

also if you think you're going to be able to buy a drag-capable SR for almost any dollar amount you are failing to realize that these engines are, at the newest, still 11 years old and many have been sitting unused in some kind of junk yard for years. Either way you are going to be rebuilding that engine to make sure it's capable of not exploding.

I'm no expert at drag racing so I'd say decide weather you want a shorter torquey powerband or a more linear one. that's the only real decision you need to make on this one. I'm also no expert on automatics but why choose a manual for drag? unless some kind of class requires it it makes more sense to keep the auto. plus SR transmissions are well known for not liking power. I love fox body stangs man and your right as in terms of rebuilding both engines but what he was saying was your at a win or lose situation on both sides these Srs are low mileaged but you have no idea what the drivers who owned them beat em up or not and as for the auto part i prefer manual over auto im not trying to make the car in to fully race car . but a streetable weekend driver . 500 550 would be the dream . but if you were in my shoes what would you do . if i were to go sr it would either an s15 sr mounted to a 5 speed because i heard the 6 speeds arent just bolth ons for fact i know i will get the motor tranny ecu harness for 2500 or a S14 for about 1700 .

[mechanicalmoron]

You want 500 to 550 horsepower, you say?

Don't waste thousands of dollars making a motor do a shitty job at what you want. Don't get a 4 cylinder engine to make 500 horsepower. I know people do, and I know they're cooler than me, and I know their cars are nicer than mine, but that's still just fucking stupid.

You have to replace every part on the thing, from pistons to transmission, to turbo, engine management.... that's all the advantages of the SR, gone. That's all the advantages of a KA gone, too. High horsepower four bangers suck at everything, including idling. They suck at making power at a reasonable or usable RPM. You spend many thousands of dollars, to get a motor that makes a lot of power in one place that you never get it to, and drives like shit for the rest of the RPM-range. IMO (I'm sure I'll get shit for this) if you're going to have an i4, it should be slow. They're balanced differently, all the force is distributed between just 4 pistons (read: 4 explosions), and they just shouldn't be used like that, for most situations.

By comparison, a i6 or v8 would come with everything you need to make the power you want to make. If your dad's got all these connections, you could probably get most of the parts for a v8 swap while you drive it as it is. It will cost more that 3500, but in the long run I think you'll spend less if you start out with the motor you want, instead of spending thousands to build an unreliable time bomb of a motor that sucks to drive, and that is, in practicality, working on the edge of what it's even capable of.

If you want to be at the upper end of what a ka or sr can do, where it sucks at doing it and costs an assload, why not just step up to the lower end of what a v8 can do, and maybe even do cheaper (after all the disasters that could happen with that build, when the v8 might only need the most minimal work, and the deeper internals won't need touching - since you won't even be straining the motor's limits, unlike the sr/ka)

[genericforumname]

If you aren't going to be keeping the transmission I see no reason to spend the extra on an S15 engine. Also to get those number you'll probably have to disable NVCS on both the S14 and S15 engines which negates a big reason to buying one in the first place. Probably makes more sense, at least if I were looking for that power to either suck it up and go LS or get an S13 redtop and rebuild it.

only manual transmission I know of that will handle that power for sure is the Z32's, but they have a tendency to throw 4th gear syncro's.

truthfully I can't be in your shoes since I have never cared for drag racing much, but I would think that an LS would be far better for drag than anything turbo, not having to deal with potential boost surges or dealing with making sure you're at the right boost level and all that.

[LuckyRPS13]

If it were me and I had a $3500 budget and a 97 kouki S14 to turn into a project;
Find a manual clutch and brake pedal from an S14 to start.
Find a LS1 motor set buy it if you can get a "Hook up"
save more, buy parts as you go and if your dad is handy with a welder save money by making your own mounts, and as much other items that you can fab yourself. may take a year or longer depending on your expendable income and fabrication ability that you have at our disposal.

My project car is just a fun streetable car with a target of 350whp with my S14 SR. If down the road an LS1 motor set falls into my lap for stupid cheap there may be a LS1 swap in my future as well. But I already bought my SR set up so I am locked in. unless you want to talk me out of it.

[Toomuchboost12]

You want 500 to 550 horsepower, you say?

Don't waste thousands of dollars making a motor do a shitty job at what you want. Don't get a 4 cylinder engine to make 500 horsepower. I know people do, and I know they're cooler than me, and I know their cars are nicer than mine, but that's still just fucking stupid.

You have to replace every part on the thing, from pistons to transmission, to turbo, engine management.... that's all the advantages of the SR, gone. That's all the advantages of a KA gone, too. High horsepower four bangers suck at everything, including idling. They suck at making power at a reasonable or usable RPM. You spend many thousands of dollars, to get a motor that makes a lot of power in one place that you never get it to, and drives like shit for the rest of the RPM-range. IMO (I'm sure I'll get shit for this) if you're going to have an i4, it should be slow. They're balanced differently, all the force is distributed between just 4 pistons (read: 4 explosions), and they just shouldn't be used like that, for most situations.

By comparison, a i6 or v8 would come with everything you need to make the power you want to make. If your dad's got all these connections, you could probably get most of the parts for a v8 swap while you drive it as it is. It will cost more that 3500, but in the long run I think you'll spend less if you start out with the motor you want, instead of spending thousands to build an unreliable time bomb of a motor that sucks to drive, and that is, in practicality, working on the edge of what it's even capable of.

If you want to be at the upper end of what a ka or sr can do, where it sucks at doing it and costs an assload, why not just step up to the lower end of what a v8 can do, and maybe even do cheaper (after all the disasters that could happen with that build, when the v8 might only need the most minimal work, and the deeper internals won't need touching - since you won't even be straining the motor's limits, unlike the sr/ka) Yea Four bangers ... to be honest i never really liked four bangers i love the sound of I6s alot more . im not much of V8 loving guy . But I personally dont like the idea of different companies in a Nissan whether it be Chevy or Toyota . 1jz / 2jz swaps i would give a try but not chevy or any American v8 i like to keep it Japanese . and i have a friend who has a ls s14 that shit moves but i just cant see my self in a ls . i Gave the Rb25 a thought for a long time but with how parts go for and i hear rbs have a oil problems . VH45 are also . i want to have a decent amount of power and a nice weekend driver but from every direction i want it seems impossible

[Toomuchboost12]

If it were me and I had a $3500 budget and a 97 kouki S14 to turn into a project;
Find a manual clutch and brake pedal from an S14 to start.
Find a LS1 motor set buy it if you can get a "Hook up"
save more, buy parts as you go and if your dad is handy with a welder save money by making your own mounts, and as much other items that you can fab yourself. may take a year or longer depending on your expendable income and fabrication ability that you have at our disposal.

My project car is just a fun streetable car with a target of 350whp with my S14 SR. If down the road an LS1 motor set falls into my lap for stupid cheap there may be a LS1 swap in my future as well. But I already bought my SR set up so I am locked in. unless you want to talk me out of it. LS why is everybody after those there taking over every japanese car Rx7s s13 s14s miata , i even seen a supra .

[NAIRB]

1uzfe + z32 tranny + turbo = very fast for not much money.