Ok you guys, I've seen this post tons of times, and I've seen guys get really heated on this topic. Now, I'm not a n00b, and I don't want to offend no one, so please keep the tempers down.
Ok, I get the basis that in stock form the SR is superior to the KA, that is a given, but my question is, is it really the better choice????????????????
First the CONS:-
KA
-truck engine,
-non turbo,
-160-190HP, (not sure correct me if I'm wrong),
-low Revving,
-not very pretty
SR20DET
-have to buy,
-have to spend to install,
-parts are not as easily attainable,
-not street legal,
-low Tq,
PROS:-
KA
-USDM,
-if busted you can get a replacement easily,
-already in the car so you can spend the money saved on other shit,
-good Tq,
-bigger displacement,
SR20DET
-very pretty,
-high reving,
-already turbo,
-street cred,

Now, if you ask me, the KA always stands out to me cuz it is already offered in the US, secondly, instead of spending the 1.5-3K to buy the SR and then the extra to install, you could use that cash to rebuild the KA, have the engine purpose built for high revs, reinforced for high boost, and get you a good turbo system. Another thing I like is that imagine if you craked or damaged your engine like I did with my SHO, you will be forced to go buy another engine for around another 1000 or so, without the tranny and other shit of course. Now say you can't come up with the cash, you are litterally F***** cuz you already switched the harness to the SR and now stuck without a car till funds are available.
Also, the KA has a bigger displacement, you could do like this kid I met, his dad had a hotrod shop, so he had a 89 T-ram, but in his back yard in the shed he had 6 motors for the car, he was very efficient at blowing them up, but with the abandance of the Chevy small block, he needed not to worry. You could have like 3-4 KAs in your garage, and every time you tare one up, you install the other one. invite your friends and do it at home. try diff set ups, have like a full race motor setup, and other mild versions, which ever you choose. I like the idea as it takes me around 4-6hrs to replace a motor.
I mean, I am sure with the right parts you could get 300-450 hp out of the KA, am I wrong or right????????????
I would like to hear everyones input, I just don't get it, it has been explained to me, but it doesn't sink, maybe I'm slow, or just an old timer who likes gas gazlers, and big displacement.

I found sr20 engines with no tranny for 700 from respectable companies. For the install I will do it myself. I like high reving engines, plus sr can handle lots of power stock and gives you better weight distribution with is good for road racing

What do you mean better weight distribution, they are both 4cyl engines, and still, don't forget you can get a KA for around $200, that is a whole lot lower than $700. Hey you live in ATL, go to Pull-a-part, they sale 4cyl engines for $70, 6cyl 80, 8cyl $120. can you get an SR (engine only) for under $300????????????????
Secondly, the 700 is for the engine only, don't forget you just paid alot more to get the clip at first.
The SR is like a stock GT-stang $25,000, opposed to the Cobra $32,000.
$7000, will get me atleast 450hp out of a GT stang, and will smoke that freaking Cobra, so if the total cost of the SR swap is 4K, I know with 4K I can get atleast 300hp, and since I can do things myself, which means no labour cost, 400hp isn't impossible.

Since you guys got experience with KAs', how much power can you get with $4000, out of a KA???????????????????????? I'm thinking around 350-500hp give or take whos' ass you kiss.

hmm, need to think about that before doing anything, how can you lower displacement in ka to say 2.2? then it ll rev better

Since you guys got experience with KAs', how much power can you get with $4000, out of a KA???????????????????????? I'm thinking around 350-500hp give or take whos' ass you kiss.

Whoa, 350-500 horses is a pretty wide margin. With $4000 you'd probably be turning about 400 horses with a turbo and some other boltons and reinforcing the engine. But don't forget you'd better upgrade the brakes and what not as well.

What do you mean better weight distribution, they are both 4cyl engines...

The SR is aluminum block while the KA is iron. The SR and tranny weigh about as much as the KA alone, according to Sport Compact Car. With the weight saving in the front, you will have better weight distribution.

Im sort of a noob. So this is my opinion and q's.
i like n/a because they can last longer and u dont have to put premium unleaded all the time. Turbos waste the engine faster. Is that true? also u have to reinforce the KA because supposively they cant handle lots of power or if u wanna install turbo, right or wrong? So u have to port polish and get high compression pistons and reinforce itnernals? how much is that?
i live in cali and i can also get an sr block only for $700 but u also need other stuff, which are ????? and cost ??? And then if u turbo your ka, its also illegal. So it would be a good idea to maintain it legal and besides its cool when n/a's beat turbos. I wanna convert my car to RHD, so since im young and a cop sees me then i have more probability of being pulled over and the cop popping my hood, and not all cops are dumb so if they see a turbo in my ka or an sr they will prob impound my car. I wanna make my car faster little by little cuz i dont got a lot of $$$ and i have part time job. and i was also planning on wither buying another ka engine or another 240, one for reg. driving, and other for racing purposes. So i (me) would get a good lsd to begin, sway and strut bars, rims and tires, intake and air filter, replace some parts with 300zx parts, reploace fan with electric fans. and work on engine, then ad some body kits for style. Am i missing anything, is this reasonable?

also sr are more for racing, like in tracks right?, and ka's are for drags, so since there are not much tracks in san diego i guess i'll go for the ka, since i dont like racing on streets or freeways that much, but ive raced down mountains, that's really freaky.

First off, Ka-T are illegal only in CA, in GA as long as the block came with the car, you can do whatever you want as long as you pass the emission standard, if you replace the engine with that of another car, the state requires it to be of the same year or newer, emission system intact and to pass the emissions of that engine.
They warn that the federal govt outlawed engine swaps from one car to a diff car cuz the car that was legalized, was legalized with that engine. Since the state is left to enforce the law, we get a break, but if we were to commit a federal offense with a fed illegal car, we will be penalized for this.
Secondly Pavlo, if you want to increase the rev capabilities, you don't have to reduce diplacement, just balance the reciprocating mass, and some other fancy shit that increases your engines tolerance, this will enable you to rev higher. I got them in my notes, too much info to list, but by doing this, you will be able to even rev higher than the SR. Also, we aren't talking about brakes. they don't come with the swap.
I listed 350hp-500hp cuz some idiots will get ripped off, or go spend cash on anything that is labled Fast and Furious, including green neon, then wonder why they only got 300hp after spending 4K. I on the other hand ain't no genious, but I now $4000 will get me atleast 450hp.
Add the weight saving of around 100lbs on the SR, that constitutes to around .4sec (give or take some) quicker on the 1/4. with the money saved on the KA-T, get you some tight coil overs.
My point is that, with the KA-T setup, you are already ahead of the other guy by atleast $3000 on the low side, not including availability issues and advantages of going USDM opposed to JDM. Money don't grow on trees you know. I went with the SHO cuz with me doing most of the work, and having most of the parts, It was cheaper than an SR or RB, or even a KA, cuz at the time, I didn't know about Pull-a-part, and my car had no engine or tranny, and I had two SHO engines already, which by the way can get me 295hp n/a $3000, or go forced induction for cheaper, but my boost will be limited to 6psi as the SHO is already high compression. On the tranny issue, I could go with the cheaper M4LD (aerostar), $150-250 which breaks at 300hp, T-5 (stang), $200-400 which breaks at 450hp (have taken upto 600, but break shortly after), or the T-56 (Firebird, corvette etc), $500-1200, which can handle upto 850hp reliably, and weighs 120lbs (+ or - 20lbs).

i was also wondering what u can do to your engine and tranny so you can rev up whenever u watn and not affect the block that much, in other words withstand high reving

lol after hanging out on ka-t.org there is no doubt in my mind of the potential of a KA24. people are getting 4-5-600 +hp and a shitload more torque. And this is only the beginning of when people are starting to tune the KA, the SR20 has been tuned since it came out in japan so of course there are alot more higher powered SR's out. People are just starting to realize the true potential of a KA.

- and also to remind you, the KA is not a truck engine. It is used in "A" truck, and was first used in cars. It was also used in race cars.

- the greddy turbo kit is leagal in cali

yay!!! there's still hope for me!!

I thought a turbo or any other foreign part added into the engine bay will cause you to fail Visual inspection, or it ain't so????????????????

i think its carb approve or whatever, look it up

but doesnt turbo wear out the engine quicker?

yes, but probaly not that much, ka can take it. nissans are good with turbo. 400miles+ twin turbo z's

i like the ka better myself, but that doesnt mean i wouldnt take an sr. With ka you need a lot more custom shit to make a turbo fit...sr is just find then click "add to cart" lol and will fit right in no adjustments. But if i was going to do a swap why waste time on the sr if ka has same potential, id just go rb25 if im going to swap. If your going to do a swap DO A FRICKEN SWAP!!!!! make it count.

i hear the SR is better track/drift square motor

KA better drag cause higher torque

turbo does cause some extra qear but its not going to destroy the motor much quicker than normal if you do regular maintaince
the greddy turbo kit is still under testing by CARB if i'm not mistaken it should become legal sooner or later hopefully

SR's get a pretty nice tq curve too. its not as bad as some of you guys think. i have nothing to say in this debate casue everything that needed to be said has already been said.

edit: also the KA is still being used in the base model frontier and base model xterra.

Notice ka was used in raing before sr, so that means that sr is better because it is still used unlike ka. sr gives a 45/50 % weight distribution due to it being lightweight and mounted closer to the center. And with rocker arm stoppers you can revv the balls out of sr. and thats good cause you don't need to shift as much as you need with ka.

KA
-160-190HP, (not sure correct me if I'm wrong),


Well sorry, but you're wrong (can't believe I'm only one who didn't miss it) it's 155hp from a KA. (140(?) in the KA24E)

in a KA24DET crank can handle up to 600HP stock!!! tell me of any other 4 cyl car that can handle that stock on the crank? The rods cant take 600 obviously, but i saw a guy who pushed his stock KA24DE to 400+ hp with stock internals, 14 psi or so. now if that DE engine can take that much stock, then KA it is for me. I will still do internals because 400hp isnt safe, but its one strong engine if you ask me, i dont know why they only gave it 155hp in the first place.

And i agree if i was gonna do a swap IM GONNA DO A SWAP!! i would do RB26 instead tho. WOuld go the biggest!! the baddest!! make my 240sx into 300sx haha...

With an RB26, it would be a 260SX, not a 300SX. And I read in a magazine that B series engines' cranks can handle over 600hp.

hey you guys are forgeting 1 major pro that the ka has over the sr. the iron block. yes it might wiegh more but remember that an iron block is far more forgiving than an aluminum one. you over heat or over rev or anything goes wrong with your internals guess what new block. but the ka can take abuse remember truck motor . you can abuse the hell out of it and it will just keep on tickin. if your internals dont hold up weather you got a sr or ka i bet you the ka is 10 times more likely to just need a rebuild instead of a new block.

It has sleeves, just as strong as iron block (maybe a little less, but still very strong).

Like I said, the power diffrences and all that you have listed haven't really shown me any big advantage of thye SR over the KA, all these are minor advantages, and also which the KA has it's own. If you had said that the SR could handle over 700hp on stock internals over the 350hp of the KA, then yes I would vote for the SR, but they handle almopst the same power, and this one is readily available, like I said, There are tons of KA here in GA for only $70, you can not beat that ever. You can buy a block for $70, start boosting the one current in the car, buying upgraded stuff like turbos, IC, bigger injectors, while you send the second one to the shop for extreme reinforcement, when you blow the current motor, you just pull it out, swap in the killer block, and with all those killer parts, you got you a KILLER RIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i wish i can buy a KA for 70 bucks. i would've started building that engine like a mad man. the cheapest i can get it here is 300 bucks.

With an RB26, it would be a 260SX, not a 300SX. And I read in a magazine that B series engines' cranks can handle over 600hp.

240sx into a 300sx stroker!! :biggrin: no but i actually made a mistake and i ment to say 2JZ GTE engine from a supra... would make 240sx into a 300sx... i think i just woke up when i said RB26 300sx :banghead:

Man, come to GA, pull-a-part, there is one in the North (buford Hwy) and one in the South (moreland ave), hell, I would've pulled it out for you for $150 when I was working on cars $150+70=220 still cheaper, but then shipping, unless you did it your self, then it would be $70 and add shipping. Things are cheap their, dirt cheap.

their usually some bums their who might do it for you for like 50 bucks.

This thread is gay.I like my direct cam on bucket valvetrain better than the SR's rocker arm set up.

i doubt the SR can handle 700hp stock

Rocker arms on an SR? I don't get you, rockers are used on OHV if I'm not wrong, the SOHC and DOHC have Cams, and no rockers. The KA is SOHC and DOHC so they don't have rockers either, unless I am completely out of tune with foreign engineering. Hmmmm.
And the 700hp was just a figure of speech, I said if that was what it was capable of, then I would consider it, but it's not, that is why I've been having problems seeing the point of the SR swap.

Hmmm, I wonder if anyone has every tried hard anodizing an aluminum engine. Aluminum oxide is one of the strongest materials out there, just short of diamond. To get a picture of just how strong they are, imagine a 747. Its got mostly aluminum structure. Now imagine that its being held together by a few mm of material that coats the surface. That material is aluminum oxide. Aluminum is extremely weak by itself but since aluminum rusts and become aluminum oxide rather quickly, it is used in a lot of applications. Now what I was thinking of an inch thick of aluminum oxide coating in the sr engine. Now that would be a crazy engine. =)

Yes the SR has rocker arms.every pair of valves has a rocker arm.So it has eight rocker arms total.the camshafts have only 4 lobes each.Each rocker arm is like a "Y".One lobe per rocker arm but one rocker arm operates two valves.That's why the SR's cylinder head is wider compared to the KA's.The KA has direct cam on bucket design.Just like the CA and RB series motors.

ever heard of ROCKER ARM STOPPERS for the beloved SR?

not to mention the 2jz-ge Supra tt motor uses the same valvetrain design as the KA.....

CA, RB, 2jz-ge are some good motors in my book and some of them can rev really high.....


also take note of the design around camshafts on Honda B series motors.... they look like they can take some serious abuse

rockers on a OHC. doesn't make sense to me, more chances of failur if you ask me. Shit like that should be left to domestics.

alright, though a bit now I think ka is better, for all the money you pay for sr you can build ka and smoke the damn sr, but how can you make ka rev high and is there a way to lower the dislpacement?

why in gods name would you want a KA to rev higher.

1. its more fun
2. better to drift
3. I just like reving the shit out of engines lol (maybe dumb thing but ohh well)
How can you make it rev to like 9000 without problems? How can you make more power on high rpms? (bigger turbo maybe) I think I should start a thread on this...

if you want revs get a CA18.I wouldnt trust an SR at high revs for long periods of time and the KA wasnt designed to rev because of its long stroke but it has the valve train for it.It also doesnt need to rev high to make power.

And reducing an engine's displacement is retarded in my bo0k.

ok then lets refrase "how can you make ka stroke shorter?" I read that you can make sr rev to 10000. All you need is head work, If ka could rev high I d be all over that engine.

By the way damn you guys are fast.

reducing an engines "stroke" is easier said then done...If you really have your heart set on it,try to get a crank from a KA20DE.YES these motors do exist they have a bore 0f 86mm and stroke of 86mm.It's a square motor just like the SR.


and to get any motor to rev to 10,000rpm its gonna take alot more than valvetrain work.especially if you want it to live.

DAMN RIGHT IM FAST!!!My compaq is POWERED BY KA24DE (KA@DE)!

Yeah i read that just now, you need light internals, flywheel, head work and lots of it, light driveshaft (optional, gain of 5whp). That would be so nice to have f1 motor, hell that thing revs 20,000rpm and over, damn that would be awsome!!!

well going sr or sticking to the ka also depends on the condition of the KA i would have stuck w/ the ka except i was having problems w/ it my tranny was all messed up and it was a auto so the sr swap for me was more reasonable then having to get a new tranny for the ka fix the ka and then turbo it so the sr was more effective in my case

I would never decrease displacement of any engine, I can increase or leave it, even if it's the Viper, I think 8.0 is too big, but, I can't bring my self to do that. It is like asking Denesse Richards or Hale Berry to put their clothes back on, YOU JUST DON"T DO THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now if you are tuning and you change stroke, and this takes away some cc's, then I'll slightly accept that.

many drifters use the sr engines to drift, i personally think they're better.:thumbsup:

many drifters use the SR engine because many drifters are in japan, and in japan the car comes with an SR.

You can drift the KA even on stock power. My cousin as an 89 SOHC with coilovers, lsd, intake and exhaust and he can get sideways just as good as someone with an SR. Its all about how you control your car.

Most ppl think that you need 10,000 rpm to drift, the GTO which is doing well has the LS6, and that damn motor is only capable of like 7500rpm, redline started at 5500rpm.
SKILL is the main ingredient, and suspension setup I think is alot more important than fussing over 1000rpm.
I think for anyone around GA, KA-T is the way to go, mann, $70 bucks, I'm gonna keep running my mouth about this till y'all bann me from the forums. for $70, I would open the motor, send the heads and crank to top of the line shops, buy me some forged aluminum pistons and rods, and all the goodies, reinforce the valve train, and have my budy re assemble it for me, and this would save me ton of cash. Slap on a Turbo, some fuel and ECU upgrades, then some. By the time I'm done, I've got this BAD ASS, 4banger that will take on anything, and I didn't have to wait for shipping, and F*** 30-60Km on my motor, mine would be newly rebuilt, and best of all, since the engine costed so little, I have no down time, waiting for shit to be fitted or re-made, all while I am waiting for the heads and crank, and saving for the other serious mods, I still got my original motor, still riding, and also installing the easy parts, the only down time I'll have is when they are replacing the motor, which I would do my self, 4-7hrs. give or take two hrs depending on the level of my intoxication.

jmrev thats a sick picture.. i don't know what you call it,, avtar or something.. the brake lights.. looks sweet

lucky for u, u live in GA, i live in CA where the block costs around $300. I was wondering, what about some info on the tranny, isnt that an important factor also, or can u just run it stock? After all trannys are not Nissan's strongest point, that's what they tell me anyways (i.e 350Z, 280 hp, 250 at the wheel?)

also, i was wondering how much $$$ would it take to do everything that u just mentioned SHO411?

Depending on where you go, who you know, and what you can do for them, it can cost anywhere from $1500-3000. See, I can do most of the work except for re-assembling the block, and I also got some friends who are willing to help out. I don't know for sure how much it will cost for a KA, but I do know a complete rebuild and upgrade for my SHO was around $3000, don't forget the SHO is not a common motor and there are only a handful of companies that mess around with that engine. And I also wanted 290hp from the block N/A, but the list of mods was also extensive, from engine balancing, head porting, race cams, over sized butterflies etc.
Best thing to do is shop around, make sure you explore places far from your home also, this could make the diff of you paying + or - $400.

in the SHO dont you just remove the secondary butterflys? maybe that was a dif car

- Rebuilding with forged internals are expensive as hell, 800+ for just forged pistons, rings and con rods.

Im not going to do any of that, just rebuild engine with stock parts, maybe apr head studs and a metal head gasket

Dont forget FEUL upgrades are expensive

the KA head flows A SHITLOAD of air, way more effecient then SR head, one of the best 4 cylinder DOHC heads ever, period.

you will really see no gain from any port work.

areas to improve on the KA are the cams, the intake manifold, header, and the valvesprings/retainers.........

these are the areas where you will notice the greatest gains and overall driveability of the car........

I SHOULD be getting a s13 hatch DOHC soon on a trade and I will be the test dummy for some good N/A mods.... I expect atleast high 13's when all is said and done(drivetrain mods too) as well as superior throttle respone and feedback from the car. I think I have the idea on how to make some power with a KA24de, it should blow some minds when finished, it will never have as much horsepower as a ka running 20lbs of boost, but it will be impressive for NA.

lets just say engine mods start with some welding.....
http://www.mpdonline.com/images/Velocity_Stack_4.JPG

Yeah you can do that, but I kind of like that it gives you that extra air when you need it opposed to all the time when stuck in lets say traffic. With them being closed at low Rpm, it helps w/ fuel economy.
And I would strongly advise you to modify internall components, it may cost more, remember "a stitch in time saves nine", if you want increased power, and drive your car hard, a single failure could have catastrophic consequences. A broken rod usually means a new engine. Just spend the extra g and set you mind at ease. Remember, cheapness is usually the main ingridient in automotive failure.
You cheap out -you loose out,
-you wash out,
-you burn out,
- or worst, crash in.
I work with finances in my moms buisness, and we have a saying, "in life there is always a price and interest to be paid or received on that price, it is your choice whether to receive or pay it at the beginning or the end.
You may pay low dollar to rebuild your ride, but that could cost a fortune when it breaks down.

In the KA. all that really needs to be replaced is the pistons. The rods and crank are forged. Whats wrong with a 7k redline? Nobody complains about the vipers redline. And nobody complains that the viper engine originally came from a truck. "The KA is a truck engine," LAMEST saying ever. SRs are just a little too cliche if you ask me. They are still cool though. But then again, anything fast is cool.

sr's are WAY to cliche.....

people saw all this drifting phenom and they saw everyone had SR20's and thought, hey those must be the best engines... its just what they have there... so they automatically disregard the KA... in reality when comparing the two the KA has some staggering positive differences...

just remeber, with the same mods the KA will make more power, and in the end the KA will make MORE power then a SR with full potential unleashed. I can't find ANY LOGICAL evidence what so ever that can prove that wrong.

on top of that the KA is way cheaper and easier to run, you can almost say if you looked at all the facts logically everyone with a SR is just a bangwagon jumping poser trying to be jdm tyte....... which could be cool for a show car... I mean why else would you buy an expensive ass engine that is not as strong, doesn't make as much power, is not a US spec legal engine, no local parts, no local blocks(as much as KA).... I just can't find one single reason why people think the SR is better


now don't get me wrong, I love the SR20 and it has made many badass s chassis cars shine, I just can't find a logical reason to put one in a 240sx if your wanting to race or go fast.