Help Please! Need 240SX Specs!

Hi, I just got a 1991 white 5spd manual Nissan 240SX with a (KA24 right?). Now i know Hondas, I have a 99 Civic Si B16A, a 91 CRX Si with a B18C swap and an 02 RSX Type S K20A2 that i want to up to a 2.4L. But i just got a GREAT deal on this 240SX, and my friend Dave who is stationed in Hawaii has a 350Z and he swears by Nissans as much as i do by Hondas (actually i swear by ANY japanese vehicle) so i decided what the hell, so now i own a 240SX. Problem is, i dont know any specs at all (I havent picked up the car yet, and im not even sure if its FR or FF!) I do know that it has a 2.4 KA24(DE?) engine and im relatively sure its rear wheel drive (thats half the reason i bought it.) basically all i want to do is have a cheap turbo rear wheel drive drift car for screwing around in, so i dont need 300HP, but about 240 or so. So my qtn is are the specs ive spouted off right and what is a cheap turbo and other performance upgrades. You automotive forums guys never steered me wrong yet and have always been there with my stupid tech qtns before, so thanks a lot.
K. Takimoto

FAQ thread will answer all of your questions and more. i'll answer the basic ones. 240sx's have BHP of 155 hp and 160 lbs of torque. They get 133 hp to the wheels. If you want to get 240 hp, don't know if you're talking about rwhp or BHP, but to get around 240 rwhp you would have to turbo your car, intake+exhaust, and fastchip. Hey does anyone know how much hp headers would increase??? I know they're expensive as hell and wondering if its worth it.

arent headers for non-turbo cars?

Yeah thanks a lot for the RWD clarification PublicEnemy137. I plan on going turbo+intake+exhaust+ECU. Oh yeah, by the way, car is in decent shape with 156,000 mi and i got it for only $350 so i have a few $K to blow on that stuff. Would a T3 turbo setup be sufficient for 240RWHP with I/E/ECU? or would a T3/4 hybrid be better? (assuming 7psi boost no I/C) How about a T28 at 6psi? i know the T28 will spool up faster but cant give me the same gains as a larger T3 or T3/4 hybrid. thanks again, and i WILL read the 240SX FAQ!

P.S. I have decided to name my car the 24 Hour SeX Machine. 24 Hour from 240, the SeX comes from SX, and machine because it IS a machine. (My other cars have names like Captain Spanky's All Encompassing Monkey Blasting Meatwagon, 1994 Subaru Impreza sportwagon 1.8L)

Yeah thanks a lot for the RWD clarification PublicEnemy137. I plan on going turbo+intake+exhaust+ECU. Oh yeah, by the way, car is in decent shape with 156,000 mi and i got it for only $350 so i have a few $K to blow on that stuff. Would a T3 turbo setup be sufficient for 240RWHP with I/E/ECU? or would a T3/4 hybrid be better? (assuming 7psi boost no I/C) How about a T28 at 6psi? i know the T28 will spool up faster but cant give me the same gains as a larger T3 or T3/4 hybrid. thanks again, and i WILL read the 240SX FAQ!

P.S. I have decided to name my car the 24 Hour SeX Machine. 24 Hour from 240, the SeX comes from SX, and machine because it IS a machine. (My other cars have names like Captain Spanky's All Encompassing Monkey Blasting Meatwagon, 1994 Subaru Impreza sportwagon 1.8L)


You aboslutely NEED an IC unless your running 1psi of boost. A t3 is more than enough for 240hp. I suggest going for a KA turbo with a t3/t4 hybrid, or if you want a SR20 go for an HKS GT-SS turbine. Not as much potential, but the spool up will be super fast, which is what you want for drifting.

definitley need an IC.

so i'm guessing your going KA-T? T3/4 would be a good bet...

how much is 156k mi. in km?

here since im drunk and have nothing better to do right now i'll do the math for you

156k miles = 251057.67km = 9884160000in = 823680000ft = 135559.96nm = 2510576400cm = 251057664m

i think that should cover all the measurements

definitley need an IC.

so i'm guessing your going KA-T? T3/4 would be a good bet...

how much is 156k mi. in km?

rouglhy 300,000

in that case, better make sure all your gaskets and seals and shit are intact if you're going to turbo it. make sure the engine is up to the task.

in that case, better make sure all your gaskets and seals and shit are intact if you're going to turbo it. make sure the engine is up to the task.

More importantly check the frame rails of the car for rust. That will destroy your resale value, and the overall quality of the car. Replace any old/shot bushings, especially since the 240 bushings are filled with liquid. Great for a soft ride, crappy for handling. Get adjustabile torsion rods while your at it.

Next get a set of spring/shocks. Everyone gets coilovers, but, truth be told, if you have some good Konis/KYBs/Tokicos matched with a nice set of APEX,KG/MM, Eibach, or hell, even the TEIN springs, you can have just as good handling. Of course, you also get camber plates/pillow ball mounts with the coil overs. Start out with spring/shocks and then go for coilovers when you need them

Next you'll want an LSD. I reccomend a KAAZ or a Cusco because of their clutch type LSD, which is superior to the stock or Nismo viscous peices. Nismo in general is just factory parts with a cool finish, and they dont offer too much of a gain vs. other aftermarket companies.

Of course, you also need tires. When your making 155hp, you can get away with all seasons or used performance tires. In fact, getting a stick high performance tire will hinder your drifting performance, because you'll have too much grip. Thats why the D1 guys run 275 series BF Goodrich KDs, because they have the 400hp needed to break traction on the stickies.

Then, go get a CAI, Exhaust, headers, and underdrive pulleys(these will make a HUGE difference)

Only untill your totally comfortable can you turbo or swap to an SR. Once you;ve decided on an engine, get a short shifter. These dont do anything tangible, but they really improve the quality and "fun factor" or the manual shifter.

Have fun, dont do stupid shit, and keep it on the track

Newbs take note-this is the way to get a response to a FAQ .

some basic stuff that might interest you
http://auto.consumerguide.com/auto/used/reviews/full/index.cfm/id/2218

More importantly check the frame rails of the car for rust. That will destroy your resale value, and the overall quality of the car.

if he's getting it for $350, i'm thinking that his resale value will be higher than what he paid, rust or not.

Replace any old/shot bushings, especially since the 240 bushings are filled with liquid. Great for a soft ride, crappy for handling.

the liquid filled subframe bushings may not be bad, depending on how his car was driven by the previous owner(s). also, solid bushings are not always a good thing. they don't have play in them to account for chassis flex that is inevitable on a budget sports car from japan. they are very hard on the car. there are subframe bushing spacers available that are what i am going to be purchasing for my street driven 240. they firm up the liquid subframe bushing while still allowing for chassis flex.

Get adjustabile torsion rods while your at it.

i'm sure you mean tension rods. these are a very good upgrade, i highly recommend them.

Next get a set of spring/shocks. Everyone gets coilovers, but, truth be told,

everyone gets coilovers? most people i know don't get coilovers. i'd say the majority goes with a spring/shock combo. check out cardomain once.

if you have some good Konis/KYBs/Tokicos matched with a nice set of APEX,KG/MM, Eibach, or hell, even the TEIN springs, you can have just as good handling.

spring/shock combo perform as good as a good set of coilovers? i think not.

Of course, you also get camber plates/pillow ball mounts with the coil overs.

coils don't automatically come with pillow balls and camber plates. and if you want, you can get either or both for your spring/shock combo.

Start out with spring/shocks and then go for coilovers when you need them

how do u know if he needs coilovers now or not?

Next you'll want an LSD. I reccomend a KAAZ or a Cusco because of their clutch type LSD, which is superior to the stock or Nismo viscous peices.

i recommend quaife. they are the best when it comes to LSDs, as they do not hurt your handling. if you are strictly going be drifting with the car, go with a 2 way clutch LSD. if the car is going to be used for anything else, go with a quaife if you can afford it, IMO.

Nismo in general is just factory parts with a cool finish, and they dont offer too much of a gain vs. other aftermarket companies.

what?!? nismo has some good products that are way, way better than stock!

Of course, you also need tires. When your making 155hp, you can get away with all seasons or used performance tires.

the better the tires, the better the performance, no matter what the horsepower. tires are one of those things, like weight reduction, that helps all three areas of automotive performance- acceleration, handling, and braking. after all, that is all your car essentially does, and there are few upgrades you can do that benefit all three at the same time.
if you are only going to be drifting with the car, buy the cheapest tires possible, because you will probably be going through a lot of them.

then, go get a CAI, Exhaust, headers, and underdrive pulleys(these will make a HUGE difference)
Only untill your totally comfortable can you turbo or swap to an SR. .

he said he wants a turbo. what does he have to be comfortable with? he may or may not have the know-how already, seeing as how he has experience with hondas.

underdrive pulleys make very little difference.

You aboslutely NEED an IC unless your running 1psi of boost.

no you don't. an IC just increases effiecency and reduces the likelyhood for detonation at high boost.

A t3 is more than enough for 240hp. I suggest going for a KA turbo with a t3/t4 hybrid, or if you want a SR20 go for an HKS GT-SS turbine. Not as much potential, but the spool up will be super fast, which is what you want for drifting..

if a straight t3 is more than enough for 240hp, then why recommend something bigger? there's no point in going bigger then you need to, it only decrease performance.

i recommend the garrett disco potato turbo if your goal is 240hp.

you don't really need an intercooler but 240hp will be testing that. I would suggest one for sure for what you are going to be using the car for. It seems like it will see boost a lot and be revved up constantly and flogged, so get an intercooler, t3, who needs an intake? lmao..., who needs exhaust? lmao..... who needs ECU? lmao.......

get a turbo manifold, t3, some used Sr20det injectors, a LSD, and some coilovers, boost controller, intercooler, and BOV. This is all you would need for a competent drift car that could light up the tires at command.

I suggest RealNissan.com internal actuator manifold for 330bucks, get a t3 with an internal actuator(junkyard) TIAL Bov's are the best, but get whatever u want, SR injectors will work on stock fuel rail, and are cheap. Then you will need to customize your MAF. Take out the internals from middle and reinstall them in a pipe I believe with 37% more diameter then the stock MAF housing to be able to use the SR's bigger fuel injectors. You could stick the MAF meter before the Throttle body on the charge pipe and run a blow through setup. This way you can run 2 things without a problem, an open atmosphere blow off valve by the turbo's compressor, and an opened up intake, or none at all. If your just going to run it on the track for drifting then you don't really need an intake, just let the turbo draw in air. You could put a litle velocity stack on it, they make them for t3's. I would suggest a SR20det aftermarket Downpipe, and have a custom piece made that fits from that to the turbine outlet. You could just let it run from there, make a straight pipe angled out to side of car with no muffler, or spend some money on an aftermarket cat back, me personally for a track car Id just buy a 45degree or so mandrel bent piece of pipe and then attach a straight piece out to the side of the car without a catalytic converter or muffler(best HP gains) I would recromend 2.5" to 3" piping for this. 3" is ideal for turbo cars, but a mandrel bend 2.5" straight pipe to the side with no muffler or cat would also work good for a car with just 240hp.....

you'll also need some sort of fuel computer. the Apex'i S-AFC is very popular. and i doubt the stock fuel pump is up to pumping for 240hp.

also, if you're on a budget, 1st gen. DSM BOVs work well.