Who can answer THIS!!!

From your intense knowledge and experience with the 240sx and the abundance of swap capabilities, tell me what your best engine setup would be for a '96 240sx le that is to be driven daily(i.g. needs to be relatively dependable), but would need immense power at the accelerator pedal to be used in gettin girls and satisfying my need for speed. The engine swap needs to be within $5500 budget. But Stage 1, 2, and 3 upgrades will be allowed a new and much larger budget. Just need to know what you think would be the best step in the right direction...

rebuild the KA for turbo or SR20DET. but KA-T would be best for 5.5k you'd have a DD that also was a beast.

I would say if you want to get girls and you have a need for speed I would get an RB, either a RB20DET or a RB25DET because they put them in skylines so you know they are dependable and the swap is relitivly easy also. you can get a front clip (engine, trans, ECU) for around $3k-$3.5k

sell the car and get a different car, maybe a honda....if you are just looking to get girls and go fast....it would be cheap to make them go fast or just get a skyline....oh and if you are looking for girls who only want you for your car, you better take car of the car.....

sell the car and get a different car, maybe a honda....if you are just looking to get girls and go fast....it would be cheap to make them go fast or just get a skyline....oh and if you are looking for girls who only want you for your car, you better take car of the car.....
unnecessary...u could tell he was playin when he said need for speed

but anyways, id say sr20det swap with a bit of upgrades

LS1 T56 swap, stock


350hp 375lbs of torque, stock reliabilty without one modification. Thats power and thats reliable. And will smoke tires and impress girls with the immense torque more then a SR20 would hehe...

unreliable non daily driver for 5,5k? KA24DET built up bottom end and valvetrain with a decent turbo running high boost......

Rb20det..... Its Powerful Enough To Spin Tires Starting In Third. The Three Women I've Had In My Car, So Far, Love It So Much They Were Scared To Death.

girl's like eclipses....sad, but true.

That Is Very True In Most Cases.

yes they do like eclipses but y u ask????? because its a girls car!!!!!!!!!!!! look when u see one ull count more girls than guys driving them....same with a z3 beamer. Back to topic
i say ka-t.

most manual cars can spin tires hehe, its a true burnout that requires immense torque downlow, atleast a good 300lbs of it. Japanese motors just don't produce torque like a pushrod v8. Torque is what moves a car. Japanese motors make lesser torque and only high in the powerband..


ya ya ya everyone says Jap cars rev out quicker so thats not a factor, but I beg to differ. The Impala revs out very quickly, when u stomp on it in 1st it bangs 2nd gear right away and 3rd is real close to it. It shifts faster then a 5spd B16 honda motor.

girls like eclipses but they don't like guys driving in em, what girls like a man who drives a girl's car. Anyways, if you're trying to impress a girl, a 240 won't do it. The only cars that would is a BMW, Benz, or any other luxury car. Besides, if you're trying to get girls from your car, a 240sx won't do it...

So don't go out and spend 6gs on mods expecting girls will crowd around you, it's not going to happen, and you're just waisting your money if that's what you want to spend your money for. As far as speed, KA-T would be a good daily driver.

Why are you guys focusing on one sentence of my thread. My point was to ask you what you thought would be the best engine for this car, and i was trying to give you an idea of where the product is heading. I love my 240, and just wanted to know whats best for it. I have been leaning towards the black-top sr, but wasnt sure, since i heard all of this talk about the rb's. Back to topic, what is the best thing to do engine/performance wise to a '96 240sx le?

it depends on what you want to do with it, your budget, and your time.....

i don't wanna spend much more than $5000 on the engine/tranny swap, after that, it doesnt matter. I want to be able to do atleast 90% of the install, with less than 2 weeks down time for the swap. I am rather handy, but the install shouldnt take too much custom work, such as machining.By too much, i mean more than one trip to an outside source.

to answer your question, there is no best engine. Do what fits your needs because it's all preference. Research more, and don't expect people to spoon-feed you information. It's not hard finding out which engine is best for you, just read the FAQ sticky thread up top.

cough cough Chevy LS1/T56 swap cough cough


Id just love to see it done in a 240sx properly. Girls like loud v8's over whiny import engines, just trust me on that one LOL. Put on some headers, with 2.5" mandrel bent dual exhaust with straight through mufflers and a 240sx like that would attract a lot more attention then a RB. Face it as an import enthusiast, I still like american v8 engines for performance, they just didn't come in many good cars. With a swapped car you pop your hood and you attract attention from both camps. The Import crowd will like to see the craftsmanship behind the project and how it performs, the domestic crowd will be ineterested in the motor and if its faster then their Camaro....

and to top it off

girls like the vibrating rumbling from the v8, it jars their sensitve lil pussies hehe, just like real loud bass on the right tone.

If you want girls, rice your car out. from the pedals to the goofy wing on the back. spend your money in the performance aisle of discount or autozone. chicks seem to dig that crap. I live in a toun where I'm like the only 240 around (nice). Nobody even knows what Apex, HKS, or even Greddy is. Nobody has even asked about my car, but everyday I see these kids and even chicks around this old ford probe with a rice wing and dragon decals on it with original paint and original clay road stains on it. So point is, girls don't like real cars i.e. RWD with true mods...

^ yep, they like stuff that they think is expensive, so they can latch on like a leech onto a rich man and use his money to buy herself clothes and expensive meals.

the v8 would be a crazy mod i'd love to see it done but it would be a major change a ka24 to a ls1 the suspension would definately need upgrading

If you want girls, try enzyte. If you want cheap power, just turbo your current engine. If it doesnt have a huge amount of miles and a compression test gives good numbers, then you are set for a turbo. Because of its many boost-friendly characteristics (i'll spare you guys the repitition of them) a KA turbo would make a good daily driver.

If you want realiable 350+ hp, do a v8 swap or get another car.

Lastly, dont even consider EITHER unless you have the skills to do the work yourself. A SR swap would be good for the n00b wanting power, but you'd need wrench skills if you want more than the stock HP output.

^Yes. If you don't know what days of wrenching on a car means, then you dont even want to attempt. Try something more simple before a turbo or v8 swap. And DO RESEARCH FIRST!!! dont just jump into the project and find yourself without a car. Doing this thing wrong the first time could be your last on that motor. That is a lot of money to waste on a stupid mistake.