potential of a stock 1990-1992 240 sx engine

over the summer i want to buy a beater 240 sx and tune it just for fun

now i know the sr20 series engines are really the best way to go as far as tuning the car goes but i want to know if the stock 2.4 liter on it is capable of handling any serious tuning, because if i can just have that engine rebuilt and turbo it, i see that as a better option as compared to spending another 2000 dollars if not more on a sr20

I have turboed my stock SOHC KA. Doing so I have saved $1200+ and make more power than a sr w/fmic, boost controller pushing 10psi, and after market bov.

i guess we have to go over this again...
not your fault but every new 240 owner has a one track mind, and that track is sr20

ka24de is every bit as tunable as an sr20det, and in some cases preferred(as its a bigger motor, no replacement for displacement)
many many turbo kits available

do a search!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!

http://www.phatka-t.com/videos/638dyno.zip

638whp and 599ft/lb of torque on the KA (stock engine).

damn right, the SR is slowly dying out....kinda....lol

stop insisting the ka motor is good for turbocharging, its not, the ka sucks balls...


;)

i can see it now, the new "thing" to do in Japan is going to be swapping the ka in instead of the sr, lmfao that would be hilarious.

Go w/KA less money more power and I live in Cali.

Go w/KA less money more power and I live in Cali.
thank you, sir.

I disagree with the "one track mind" thing because I have debated on both options, and I am still going for the SR. Mainly because my car is being built for drifting, and with the higher redline, it will truly help out. I realize that I could build the top end of the KA, but by the time I get the power amount I want out of the KA, I would rather have bought the SR20 and go from there. I have priced and added up both options in my preferences, and to me, I am sticking with the SR (just my 2 cents). Just to make myself clear, I am not at all against the KA-T The Ka-T is still a potent and powerful platform.

It comes down to personnal preference, both engines are awesome engines, just follow your heart.

sorry when i said one track mind i was referring to new 240 enthusiasts who have heard over and over again that the sr20det is the only option for making serious power

now thats alot of replies, no my luck is that ive made friends with this guy and he deals inaftermarket parts, and offerred me a GOOD price on a custom turbou kit, and frankly i just cant afford to do nething more to my audi and i do not want to kill its logevity.

in this case i think i will stick with the ka but neverthe less b4 i do the turbo i would still need to redo my engine internals correct?

and to thos who sed the oine track with the sr, it was not that i was just guessing that the ka was a high compression engine since it was not built with a turbo in mind and i didnt want to spend a bunch of money to get a expensive lightshow from my hood. :smokin:

nah the ka is like 9.5:1 compression so if you boost carefully you shouldnt even need to overhaul the motor(as long as its in good shape anyways)
put like 6 psi in and see how fast you get

9.5:1 is pretty high comp compared to other engines today.

9.5 compression is high for a boosted engine, but low for a n/a engine. most honda's have over 10:1 to 10.5:1 some are even in the 11:1 range.

anyways with proper fuel, and timing management you can get way with 13-15psi. ( or 300-330whp ) on stock internals. i've been running 9 psi for 2 years and my engine is still mint.

just saying which is a better choice is meaningless without numbers.

on stock bottom you can pretty much do:
200-300whp - ka-t
300-500whp - sr-t

after that you are tempting fate on stock bottom end.

remember, one you start boosting it is addictive, that's why a lot of people choose sr's. 500whp in a s chassis is scary fast.

past that it is built bottom end on either motor if you want as much reliability as possible. no one in the states takes their engines to the limit. i know in japan there is a 700whp+ sr20det. in the states there is a 600whp+ ka-t.

reliable? hell no. reliable to about 550whp prolly on either engine.

Built SR Record 976WHP
Stock SR Bottom End Record 596WHP Corrected
KA Built Bottom End Record 638WHP


Sorry. the only thing the KA has on the SR is cost per HP. for now??? Da Da Dum

and the fact that its illegal here.....

and the fact that its illegal here.....
you afraid you'll go to hell or get bitchslapped by your parents?






muahahhahhahaha

wow lotsa false info here. Record on stock bottom end for sr is 500 yes. But that was for a dyno queen. not reliably driven. And wow the record for built bottom end ka.....did you notice the other stock parts that were restricting the hp levels??? ANd that was on a t3 turbo also. The engine was not fully built to par. And lets also not over look this obvious point. THe sr's bottom end was built for a turbo....the ka's wasnt. So um who truly does have the better bottom end stock for stock??? A 100 hp difference from a turbo built motor stock bottom end compared to a N/A 100,000 mile engine on stock bottom end. Wow thats pretty damn impressive if you ask me. But wait im not finished. Change the pistons on the ka to a more turbo friendly low comp like the sr and bamn the ka competes just as good. Kinda of funny huh.

And the record for a completely STOCK(accept for turbo daaa) ka is not 638 rwhp. It was 404. The 638 had cams and amongst other stuff. It had a stock throttle body and other small stock stuff.

All in all dont waste your time with an sr. And the ka will undoubtedly have a 1000hp engine. I can smell it. I mean after 15 years of tuning you would think they could get higher with an sr. Whats the ka been tuned for...5 at most. In time my friends in time. Ka is more bang for the buck, and is more "bangier" than an sr. ANd to get over 350 whp with an sr.....you basically have to do the same to a ka, but ka is cheaper. So whatever floats your boat. THe sr, you buy a stock beater engine from a junkyard thousands of miles away. THen you install it, only to find out you have to replace all the "turbo" parts ( maf, mani, turbo, fmic, fuel management, injectors etc) to get decent power. WOW why spend 3gs to get a engine that you'll replace most of the shit for. Just spend 3gs rebuild your ka to be bullet proof, then buy all the aftermarket turbo shit that you have to get anyway and wala, you have most of the sr's beat already with extra change in your pocket for gas!!!!! The only thing the sr has to me is a more eye friendly look. But is it looks we want? :confused:

going by how inflated prices for SR's are now, i would say yes, they are not worth the money but it all depends on how cheap you can get an SR for if you can get a deal they are still a good option

if u want power jus drop a RB25Det or even a Rb26dett

if u want power jus drop a RB25Det or even a Rb26dett

disregard this ^^^ comment.

And you cant "drop" it in there like you could a sr or ka. And any engine can make power. For the price of an rb, a sr or ka would smoke the shit off it.

disregard this ^^^ comment.

And you cant "drop" it in there like you could a sr or ka. And any engine can make power. For the price of an rb, a sr or ka would smoke the shit off it.
lol tru i did sum research on it it would at least cost 7-12g ahah but i prefer the Ka better my self

ummmmmm so you like to give out random comments? People want serious answers not some random comment that you didnt even know anything about before you posted. I mean your rb "drop" was so randomly dumb of a comment. Plz dont do that again.

9.5:1 is not bad fro turboing. The bottom end is good for 350 RWHP as long as you have a good fuel management system. But stick with 6 to 7psi if you want longevity. the onl bad part about the bottom end is the pistons cause they are cast but the rods are forged so they will last. When you decide to go with the turbo and need info let me know I'll tell you almost everything you need to know.

yea i heard that you only lower compression just to give more room for error in tuning. A high compression engine can be turbo'd but has to have a more precise level of tuning. This is what i read. Like its almost like a NA engine, higher compression is better. But i guess thats if you want to get deep into engine technology. I personally dont care, cuz im not going to be a dale earnhardt.

higher compression is better if you want to make more power on a turbo engine, it will also spool faster, but it wont last as long as the same engine and components with lower compression and will require more in depth tuning...

Isnt there a KA with 400-450 on stock internals?

F.Y.I. that 638whp KA was on stock head, stock valve train besides the cams, Small 400HP rated FMIC and too small Hot and Cold Pipes, T3 Turbo, Stock Intake Manifold and Stock throttle body ... I also wanna say something was smaller then 3" on the exhaust system but not sure.

KA will reach 1000+HP...once the KA breaks 800-900 i think it should go on the Super car list with the Skyline, Supra and the Silvias. Notice Nissan has 2 of them well 4 if you wanna get technical :D soon to be 6(w/ S13 and S14 USDM).

Cant wait until I get moved out and I can buy a 2nd 240 and make it a project car that I will shoot for 800-900whp 240. Maybe we can get it sponsored as a AutomotiveForums.com car

yea i hope it does get that high. That would be cool to know it happend on an engine that you have lol. Its like damn that ka hit 1000. And you have the engine in your car....obviously not that fast but its the thought. I really only want 400 hp. Eventually, ill get there and i think thats far enough. I mean 500 600 would be cool but i dont think it would be to streetable. I like to drive the streets, not a track car person. Your goal is a huge gaol, if you have the motivation i say do it, but damn dude thats a money pit your digging. 900 hp sheesh.

yea i knew that record for the ka was on some stock shit, but not that much stock damn that is a nice number for what it was. Havent they started tearing the engine down again? And are currently "upgrading" it? I thought i read that somewhere. Or maybe im to high cuz i just took a stupid math final. SCREW math.

thnx 4 the advice usdm ill take u up on ur oiffer i got my 90 240 yesterday
thats at least 600 bucks well spent
now ill be off to scrape some rust off the hood jk :icon16:

wow lotsa false info here. Record on stock bottom end for sr is 500 yes. But that was for a dyno queen. not reliably driven. And wow the record for built bottom end ka.....did you notice the other stock parts that were restricting the hp levels??? ANd that was on a t3 turbo also. The engine was not fully built to par. And lets also not over look this obvious point. THe sr's bottom end was built for a turbo....the ka's wasnt. So um who truly does have the better bottom end stock for stock??? A 100 hp difference from a turbo built motor stock bottom end compared to a N/A 100,000 mile engine on stock bottom end. Wow thats pretty damn impressive if you ask me. But wait im not finished. Change the pistons on the ka to a more turbo friendly low comp like the sr and bamn the ka competes just as good. Kinda of funny huh.

And the record for a completely STOCK(accept for turbo daaa) ka is not 638 rwhp. It was 404. The 638 had cams and amongst other stuff. It had a stock throttle body and other small stock stuff.

All in all dont waste your time with an sr. And the ka will undoubtedly have a 1000hp engine. I can smell it. I mean after 15 years of tuning you would think they could get higher with an sr. Whats the ka been tuned for...5 at most. In time my friends in time. Ka is more bang for the buck, and is more "bangier" than an sr. ANd to get over 350 whp with an sr.....you basically have to do the same to a ka, but ka is cheaper. So whatever floats your boat. THe sr, you buy a stock beater engine from a junkyard thousands of miles away. THen you install it, only to find out you have to replace all the "turbo" parts ( maf, mani, turbo, fmic, fuel management, injectors etc) to get decent power. WOW why spend 3gs to get a engine that you'll replace most of the shit for. Just spend 3gs rebuild your ka to be bullet proof, then buy all the aftermarket turbo shit that you have to get anyway and wala, you have most of the sr's beat already with extra change in your pocket for gas!!!!! The only thing the sr has to me is a more eye friendly look. But is it looks we want? :confused:

1) Record for stock SR Bottom End is 596WHP Corrected KAs as you stated is 404WHP
2) The KA 638WHP Number was on a built bottom end
3) I did say that the KA had Cost Per HP. but as for actual Peak HP it still loses.
4) Bottom line You cant say the KA "can" make more HP until it actually does.

rw240, why are you so against the KA?

rw240, why are you so against the KA?


Im not against it, and I have no doubt that the KA will one day hit the 1000 mark. but people like chuki piss me off because they're trying so hard to be Anti JDM they ingnore the facts.

SR Record----------------970WHP
KA Record----------------640WHP
Stock Block SR Record----590WHP
Stock Block KA Record----400WHP
Stock SR-------------170-215WHP
Stock KA-------------120-130WHP

What do you mean dont waste your time? it looks like the SR has the bigger # there everytime? (including the cost) I geuss the cost is a matter of Opinion. even with all the bullshit Ive put up with on mine I still wouldnt put a KA-T in it because I prefer High revving smoothness to lumbering torque, but thats just me.

"it looks like the SR has the bigger # there everytime?"
How is this relevant? SR has been being tuned for like 14+ years..KA only like 4-6 years i think is the earliest KA-T. SR has internals made for turbo so it holding more power under turbocharging wouldnt surprise me. Also how can you compare a TCd cars HP to a N/A cars HP

Even though I like the KA, I'm with RW240 on this one, you can't say anything about KA numbers until it reaches those numbers.

i simply stated that it was a built bottom end. But there were hella stock parts and to small of parts hindering the total output that it could handle. THe record for the sr, im assuming is totally rebuilt...to where there is nothing further possible to do to the engine. Thats all i was stating. I mean 970 for a fully built engine is great yes. But im just saying that the ka bottom end may have been built, but that wasnt no "im gonna set the all time record" set up like the sr your talking about. And yes money is everything. Why spend alot when you can spend a little and have the same, if not better.

And how am i anti jdm?? Because i dont like the sr. o no im not cool cuz i like the engine my car came with. Tell me one thing, did you buy a 240 just so you could do an sr swap?? How am i anti jdm. Everything i want is jdm, except the engine. So sorry im not super jdm cool like you. Im not ignoring any facts. Because the ka's facts havent fully been acheived. You make it sound like you like the sr better because of the facts that it has more horse. So when the ka completley annihilates the sr's numbers, are you going to switch over the ka side??? I mean wtf do you care. If i cared about being anti jdm, i would of said dont get the sr because jdm shit is gay. How am i being anti jdm. I think its impossible to be anti jdm, when virtually every after market part for the car is from a japan company. Your just an ignorant ass person. You dont know me, yet assume shit. Another reason this country is so fucked up, people are quick to draw conclusions and are off with there one track mind.