ca18det s13 hatch

[Pornmuffin]

so with this up and coming tax season im planing on getting an ca18det to put in my hatch. i know its harder to find parts for but its cheaper for me to buy it then the sr20 or to upgrade my ka-d

but i guess right now im trying to find a decent priced running engine and trans to do the swap.

also if any one can throw some input on some good but not over the top upgrades for some one on a budget please let me know.
thanks

[sleepyeyeds14]

im looking to buy one also, and I plan on putting a T28 on it.... i am also thinking of running like 14-15 lbs, from the little research ive done they seem to handle that on stock internals just fine... but ive only done a very small amount of research so i could be wrong...

[Croustibat]

these engines are cheap for a reason: most of them need a rebuild.

Depending on your power goal, an SR20 may be cheaper.

If you go the CA route, try sourcing one from Europe, not Japan. We have the 4 port heads which flow better, and the engine has an oil / water heat exchanger. There is currently a guy selling a fully rebuilt forged one with a gearbox and complete anciliaries, including a gt2871r, mapped. I think he wanted around 3000£ (add shipping to that, from UK). It has everything you would want to make a rock solid 400HP.

Mandatory mods on stock engine:
-intercooler (oem one is useless, cant even cool air from T25)
-clean / change every hose, especially crank case breather
-T28 - 1bar requires an SR20 maf and 550cc injectors minimum. and of course a remap. It also needs a stronger actuator if you dont want boost to oscillate.
-if it is old, prepare to rebuild it ... most of the time they die from lack of oil system service. First thing to go is the main / big end bearings.

cool but not necessary mods:
-freeflow air filter and exhaust
-monitoring gauges and sensors (oil temp, oil press, water temp, EGT, AFR), although these are not very far from "mandatory". They are of nearly no use when everything is right... but they make the difference between a nearly failed engine and a busted one.
-electronic boost controler. Yes, a bleed valve can do. But it will also spike and change boost based on temperatures.


completely useless mods:
-exhaust manifold if staying under 300-350HP mark. It will just spool later, make more noise and lose low down / middle torque, which is a lot compared to the more 5 hp it gives.


note that S13 comes with a CA18DET as standard in Europe, so you can find a lot of infos on these if you try some european BBS. The car is named 200sx, not 240sx though.

[alain]

well if u decided to buy the ca18det im fully parting one out so anything u need im pretty sure ill have it :)

http://zilvia.net/f/sale-items/434174-ca18det-full-part-out.html

[sleepyeyeds14]

these engines are cheap for a reason: most of them need a rebuild.


Mandatory mods on stock engine:
-intercooler (oem one is useless, cant even cool air from T25)
-clean / change every hose, especially crank case breather
-T28 - 1bar requires an SR20 maf and 550cc injectors minimum. and of course a remap. It also needs a stronger actuator if you dont want boost to oscillate.
-if it is old, prepare to rebuild it ... most of the time they die from lack of oil system service. First thing to go is the main / big end bearings.



so a CA can handle 1bar on stock internals? assuming the stock internals are in good shape?

[Croustibat]

Boost does not really kill engines. Bad service, det, heat and poor fuelling does. As long as it is mapped correctly and has the appropriate mods these engines can take a beating.

I think Noz, from sxoc, ran his CA at 1.4bar for a year before selling his engine. He did beat the crap out of it every time he used it too.
I planned to run mine at 1.2bar from a gt2560r, but i am fuel limited so had to go back to 1bar. Will do 1.2 again as soon as i get new injectors (my 510cc are too small for that boost and e85). So yes it handles 1bar with no problem at all. If mapped and if it is in good condition, And i mean it; no loose bearings, no dying fuel pump, no jumping CAS, no sticking injectors, no oil coated MAF.

I would not risk going higher though, any det with these pressures will surely kill piston ringlands. For peace of mind i am also using a 1.4mm headgasket, instead of the 1.2mm oem one. Still, a paper 40$ one :D

Remember that 1bar off a T25 is not 1bar off a T28. The T25 has gone far beyond efficiency and is on the verge of overspin at that boost on a CA. It does not produce much power, mostly hot air...

[nissanic89]

Ive had a CA for a about 7 years now. I really love the thing. Its one of the few engines around that still gets the wow factor. Not too many guys are willing to put up with all the hassle it takes to get them to finally run right. I personally went through 3 exhaust camshafts and like 4 Crank angle sensors in the first year of owning it. The key way on the camshaft wore off and then in turn wouldnt run the engine. The best advice I have is just build the motor completely right out of the gate. Its a CA. It will need piston rings so save yourself some time and hassle. Older motors need slightly more attention. I threw forged internals in mine and all new bearings and seals. On the turbo side of things I put on a big 16G Mitsubishi turbo (custom manifold) and I run about a bar of boost. That turbo woke the car up so much over the stocker and then an SR20DET T25 I had previously ran. It runs a 13.0 @ 106 1.8 60fts and makes for a fun street car. I still have entirely stock fuel management minus a walbro intake pump. I really love this motor. Its just getting harder and harder to find parts for. That is really the biggest problem with these motors. Essentially its a really fun motor to have if you have the patience. Everything costs more for it, but youll be happy with the end result. Head on over to NICO and check out their CA18 forum. Lots of help in there.

props to Croustibat hes leading you in the right direction,

[Pornmuffin]

totaled my hatch yesterday frame front end is shot good radiator and drive train only cosmetic damage is the driver fender
but the shock tower got obliterated along with the frame under it