I am thinking about buying a 93 s13 se fastback. I've read that the engine responds well to mods, but I have also heard that the engine sucks. I don't have the money for an sr swap, so I was just going to throw on an exhaust, intake, header and some light wheels. What kind of performance should I expect from these mods? What cars will I be able to compete with?

I have an S13 fastback with Pacesetter ceramic coated headers, Apex N1 exhaust, K&N filtercharger, and Hi flow cat. It competes and wins over a 2001 Grand Am. The mods help quite a bit. I hope it will run high fifteens or very low sixteens.

save up for junkyard turbo

KA turbo..... u will kick ass for sure but i don't know i fu have $ 3000 in savings, a turbo KA will kick ass dough!!

I'm thinking of going SR. I would love a KAT but i'm not rich enough and would have to buy a new engine. My KA has 126,000 miles and burns a little oil. Turbo is probably not safe on the engine.

yeah, I am not going to have enough money left to put together a turbo setup after I buy the car. An sr or ka-t would be great though.

If you want BIG acceleration gains for not too much money, work on your drivetrain first. Clutch and flywheel combo alone could drop you by a full second in the 1/4.

I'm thinking of going SR. I would love a KAT but i'm not rich enough and would have to buy a new engine. My KA has 126,000 miles and burns a little oil. Turbo is probably not safe on the engine.


arnt u buying a new engine either way...i got a good ka engine out of junkyard for $600 and low miles. gave it tune up and it runs like a champ. plus if u buy a another ka u have spare ka parts lying around the house...you could send the head off for some extensive work. and still have the car drivable. thats what im doing. all though i couldnt keep my block since i blew a hole in it the size of a baseball.

If you want BIG acceleration gains for not too much money, work on your drivetrain first. Clutch and flywheel combo alone could drop you by a full second in the 1/4.


I figured that a performance clutch was to aid in handling heavy power. A lighter flywheel will help that much?

so will a good clutch that gives u better launching abilities and does not slip.

Lighter flywheel will allow your engine to rev more freely but before I go with that I would do the basic bolt-on’s first, intake headers exhaust.

Better tiers will give you better lunch and can take a sec off the 1/4 mile, tiers are cheaper then aftermarket flywheel and clutch...

arnt u buying a new engine either way...i got a good ka engine out of junkyard for $600 and low miles. gave it tune up and it runs like a champ. plus if u buy a another ka u have spare ka parts lying around the house...you could send the head off for some extensive work. and still have the car drivable. thats what im doing. all though i couldnt keep my block since i blew a hole in it the size of a baseball.

Yea i'm not really sure yet. I want the KA because i'm into the bigger displacement. I need to find a good junkyard for the motor pull. We have a u pull it junkyard but i am only 17 and you have to be 18 to get in. Oh and how many miles did the engine you bought have on it? How did the baseball sized hole happen?