Okay, so I'm a complete noob to the Nissan scene, I recently bought a 240sx for $800. It's not pretty and the clutch is almost gone but hey, its a runner and rear wheel drive. I hope to do a sr20det swap as soon as I sell my VW, 83 GTi with 1.8 16v DOHC, 6 point roll cage....its my baby, I hate to get rid of it but hey, rear wheel drive has got me itchin. So anyways, back to the 240, I plan to do the swap as soon as the dub is gone and then work slowly from there, being a 17 year old high school student bagging groceries for under $6 an hour I mean very slowly....I kinda want to know what it would take to get about 250 hp out of a red top and also what kind of suspension set up would be the shit. I have done some autocrossing and I hope to do some more of it in the 240 so I want to do the suspension right....not just drop it to the ground. Well anyways, any help is appreciated and I'd like to get to know you guys, I've read a lot of stuff on this forum and you guys seem to be pretty helpful. Thanks in advance.

hey stupid n00b, lol jk

i dont really know about SR's, but hey, i would get a boost controller, intake exhaust regrind the cams get some headers and i dunno what else

on suspension part?? I would get some Tein Flexes if i had the money, otherwise KYB AGX shocks with EIbach sportline or RS*R springs and some strut/sway bars and a whole bunch of other metal suspension bars....
sorry if i wasnt much help im kinna lazy lol

250 HP SR20 might be a problem on your wage, expecialy if a mechanic will be doing most of the work for you. Some VERY rough estimates on the costs:

SR20DET: $1200-$1700 parts
SR20DET: $1000-$2000 Labor (always be generous)
Clutch : $800-$1500 Parts labor (probably needs a flywheel too)
SR20 Rebuild: $200-$1000 depending on how far you wanna take that, you would be wise to do some work on the SR before you install it.
Exaust/intake: 400-1500 parts-labor Depending on how far you go heads and everything.

That's kind of a start, Stock HP on the SR is around 205hp, this might get you 225-230hp. You'll have to push the turbo to get that 250HP which can get expensive quickly.

It's quite an investment considering you got the car for 800 (and it probably has lots of other small problems that need to be adressed) and your low wage. Of course if you can dodge all those labor costs, you can save a LOT of money. Always try to do as much of the work as possible and good luck with your car.

personally i would fix all the problems and make sure everything functions first (besides the engine cause you are swapping anyways) then start on the performance. I say when u need a new part, now is a good time to get a performance part.

Keep your KA....

finally another auto-x-er. what year is your car? at first keep the KA and just do suspension and IHE. if you do an sr you'll end up in street mod and you'll get spanked. but before anything address the small problems with the car. then after suspension (cheap: agx's and tanabe gf210 springs, firmer bushings) and alot of saving, turbo a ka24de.

Thats another good point, if this is your only car and you swap in the SR20, you will not pass visual inspection when you register.

are you gonna be running scca solo II, what region?

Well first off, i have friends with knowlege who will help me and im not completely ignorant with cars....just nissans so i plan on doing all of the work myself. Secondly, i really dont trust the ka because it says it has 135,000 miles on it but the odometer doesnt work so it probly has more, and also the kid i bought it from is really really hard on cars....as in he was going through a set of rear tires a week, so im pretty much stuck with getting a different engine, so might as well go for the sr20, and i dont care what class im in, i just want to have fun, if i cared about scca classing i'd just keep running the 98 neon acr in g-stock where i consistantly win my class. and finaly im in the big sky region 38 here in Missoula, MT but i race here, Kalispell, Great Falls and Helena. Thanks for all the help.

I forgot to mention, the car is a 1990 and with living here in Montana i dont have to worry about emissions or any of that crap so basically i can do whatever i want to the car.

also, should i go with the eibach sportline springs (2.2f, 2.1r lower) or the eibach pro kit (1.8f, 1.6r lower) i plan to use the KYB AGX shocks

I get to agree and disagree all at the same time. :grinno: :iceslolan

Do the suspension first, because it's going to be there after the motor swap is done.

I would say do the bushings first and foremost, energy or whatever you prefer.

As far as componets it's really up to what you can spend.

AGX's are a good start, I haven't run Sportlines so I couldn't recommend them. I know Pro Kits are too soft for drifting.

KGMM's I've heard are nice and stiff.

Also RSR Race-springs

If someone's going to recommend Tein's I'll counter and recommend JIC's instead. I've driven on them and at full-stiff THEY'RE FUCKING RACECAR STIFF!!
I've heard from a several of my customers that have purchased Tein's, and later on they wish they would've saved an bought JIC instead. And also that there's not much difference between the Tein's at full-stiff and full-soft.

As far as the motor's concerned, this is my advice. The KA is a pretty damn good motor. I would make sure ALL the maintenence is taken care of (all filters, front an rear mains, plugs, wires, cap, rotor, and maybe a valve adjustment). That should buy you enough time to get the savings up for the SR swap.

250 HP from an SR
Easily done, especially if you spring for an s-14 SR which starts at 220HP. Then 250 is just a boost, and fuel computer, and intercooler upgrade away (with proper tuning). S-13 SR can be done with a little more, turbo manifold, fuel pump, injectors, etc.

Anything above 250-280 might be getting past the efficiency range of the stock turbo.

IMHO, nothing unleashes a KA like a lightened flywheel. But save your money for the swap instead. :nono:

i got my car a while back for 800, the kid beat the fuck out of it, and im stuck with a bunch of repairs. i also bag groceries but at a little more than 6$ an hour, not much better off than you are. right now im workin on getting all my problems fixed. I.E. exhaust, suspension, cosmetics, latches, locks, etc. i have a hole in my exhaust, which btw i found out is held on by coat hangers, and my suspension is going to shit. body damage on drivers side, hatch doesnt latch, doors dont lock. if i were you id get the whole car checked out, it helps alot on finding out what the main problems are. and as you drive the car a little you can feel and sense some othe problems...good luck on everything

start off with exhaust and suspension i think if you're on a budget. unless you think the engine is gonna go on you really soon. it shouldn't, but who knows. the engine i believe is gonna need a lotta other parts with the swap, so it's gonna be pretty expensive. hopefully you can get a full clip for a relatively low price so u don't have to go out and buy an intercooler, BOV, intake, etc. you may also wanna get new brakes with the engine.

I wouldn't completly rule out putting in a rebuilt KA24DE if you are gonna be pressed for cash, those tend to be considerably cheaper than an SR. But hey, you say smog isn't a problem so do what you want. I on the other hand would have to swap the KA back in every time I go to smog the car, and I live in an apartment with out a garage so that can get expensive fast.

Definatly fix the rest of the car before you get an engine though, if you don't end up with enough money to fix the small problems before they drive you nuts owning a 240 is just going to be a bummer.

yeah, that makes sense, but currently it needs a clutch and once i do the swap i'll need yet another new clutch, so i dont really want to sink money into stuff that im going to have to do again. but i dont know, i'll see how things work out with selling my other car...hopefully i'll get some good money out of it. thanks a lot for your help guys