Exhaust replacement

****NOOB Alert*****

Hi all. I have an 89 240sx with the original KA24E with 243,000+ miles. Everything on it is stock or a replaced stock equivelant. It has a slight oil leak of unknown origin(had to add 1/2 quart after recent 1400 mile trip), but is not producing any smoke. It also has an occasional idling problem that sometimes chokes out takeoff power, but is completely non-existant at other times.

It recently had a run in with a ditch that has left the exhaust damaged, and having decided to replace it from manifold to end it seems like a header and new pipes is the place I need to start the quest to improve performance. I am not really looking to race or anything of that nature, but would like to make the change to performance enhancing parts over the stock ones as I plan to replace them anyway and have no plans of parting with my 240. :grinyes: I was originally searching ebay and saw what looked like some nice stuff, but what little reading ive done here so far suggests that might not be the place to look. I was planning to do more reading before posting, but my poor baby is choking on exhaust fumes and I need to take care of it quickly before any (more)damage occurs. Unfortunately, I am a complete noob to all this and would welcome all thoughts/warnings/suggestions anyone may have on how I should proceed.

Thanx in advance

try a k&n filter.. it'll do a better job than your oem filter.. and for headers and exhaust, pretty much anything will do.. go with 2.5" piping

HotShot headers, 3" test pipe (gutted cat) and then 3" straight through exhaust.

K&N sux hardcore
i'd rather run stock

ebay is your friend..

s13 exhaust then press "search"

K&N sux hardcore
i'd rather run stock

k&n doesn't suck. you have no idea what you're talking about. thats like saying honda sucks. honda doesn't suck cause they put out some quality products. so does k&n. learn about something before you talk shit about it noob

90$ for a droppin filter = weak.

as for your idling problem i tcould be your injectors. i just replaced mine because my car would be struggling for gas at some times. like when i was going a steady 40 it would start to studer. now my car is running fine and feels great.

a K&N filter messed up my friends truck
that's what i'm going off of
and its my opinion you don't need to agree with me
calling me a noob wont change a thing

a K&N filter messed up my friends truck
that's what i'm going off of
and its my opinion you don't need to agree with me
calling me a noob wont change a thing


What? Did it like key the paint? Did it not tighten the filter after an oil change.


IByourfriendfuckedituphimselfandmadesomelameasssto ry.

I dunno who's talking about an oil filter and who's talking about an air filter, but how the hell can a filter mess up a truck?

Thanx all for the advice.

I have been doing lots of reading and price checking the past few days and like the Hotshot header, but just curious what makes it worth aprox $200 more than similar items on ebay. The cheaper ebay stuff seems to have similar construction (Mandrel bent) other than the ceramic coating. I have no problem spending more for better quality parts, but was wondering if there was anything uniquely special about the Hotshot or if the best price I could find (aprox 350 w/shipping) is too high.

As for what to do after the header, I'm still undecided. I'm leaning toword doing 3 inch, but having discovered I have the "red headed stepchild" of 240 motors with my SOHC KA, Im still not sure how far I am wanting to tweak it. I've also realized before I consider doing anything serious to it, it will have to be pretty much rebuilt as nearly 250k miles and a small oil leak are not mod safe. Unfortunately, I can't afford to be without transpo for any length of time, so I'm leaning towards getting a fix up project of sorts to both learn on and provide me with a ride later so I can take the 240 apart and put it back together with some nicer stuff;) I havent decided yet on the project car, but there are some rough looking 280s at a salvage yard here that might offer a good candidate, and im always looking for a cheap 240, but would want a SR20DE or at least a DOHC KA and there doesnt seem to any cheap ones around. I am going to do some more reading before I decide on anything as I'm still fairly clueless.

as for your idling problem i tcould be your injectors. i just replaced mine because my car would be struggling for gas at some times. like when i was going a steady 40 it would start to studer. now my car is running fine and feels great.

I thought that about 5 years ago as well, and had them replaced in addition to what was supposed to be a total checkup and replacement/repair of anything faulty @169,659 miles. $3500 later, I had a nice running car, but it would still slip into spells of "idle bounce" which the tech said was caused by wear in the sprocket for the timing chain causing it to slip slightly out of time. The shop specialized in Zs, but they worked on pretty much all quality imports and they did seem to know what they were doing. Knowing pretty much zero about cars myself, it seemed as good an explanation as any. I guess I just stay in denial hoping its something else The problem only shows itself at idle and low RPM during takeoff. It feels particularly "compueterish" at idle as the RPMs bounce evenly from about 650-1000 and other times is smooth as glass. I have tried putting in occasional bottles of injector cleaner, but the results are pretty much the same.

I did make my first purchase today of some real tools. A 348pc craftsman mechanics set, vise grips, channel locks, and a rubber mallet :) I'm literally starting from scratch. Just a set of stanley screwdrivers and a crappy adjustable wrech to start with lol. Also planning to get a torque wrench and some good adjustable wrenches. Any other tools that should be in every mechs toolbox?

Thanx again for taking the time to help me. I wasn't planning on doing too much with it before watching(and hearing) nissanfanatic's quick vid as I honestly didn't realize the needles on a 240 could move that fast :D

Honestly, you don't want an SR20DE, get a KA24DE or SR20DET. And the HotShot header is more expensive because it won't crack after a month, but I wouldn't buy anything for that engine that couldn't be swapped to a DOHC or SR afterwards because that engine is trash. (It may be good at 100k or less, but at 265k or whatever you have, it's trash.)

HAHAHA red headed step child.. the sohc really isn't that bad.. what makes them 'shitty' is the fact that they're the oldest s13 engine and also that they were only made in bulk in north america for 2 years for the s13. that means that these engines wouldn't be taken care of as well as the newer dohc kas.. there have been some pretty impressive ka24e-t setups.. nico and zilvia have guys that run ka24e-t engines.. just don't discount the E..

i know very little about 240sx headers but 2.5-3" will do, its all up to you.. different sizes will give you power in different rpm ranges and will also produce different sounds..

and i'll have to go along with slidestar's naivete (just kiddin) and say that the sr20de wouldn't be a good idea.. the 240 is known for its large amount of displacement for a 4 banger, rwd and hicas.. don't downgrade to a smaller engine.. you'll have a little more potential with a ka, whether it be dohc or sohc.

congrats on the tools too! i got a shitload of craftsman tools for christmas which is gonna motivate me to get my hands dirty.. that and spend money on more tools. thats the ONLY problem with them.. you can never have enough tools haha

in conclusion to my novel, i have to say that cory's video makes you think what it would possibly be like to sit in his seat and i think it would be amazing. he's got a very reliable setup, which just happens to be really fast :p
i don't have it anymore but someone should post the ka-t video.. i don't even remember who it was from.. i think it was from ka-t.org.. wait, i'm gonna look for it..










k couldn't find it but if someone could post it that would be great. its an amazing video of s13s and s14s and all the combinations within, powered by the ka (both e and de)

k&n air filters arent that expensive. I went and bought a filter for my dads truck (christmas present) and it was only 35$. I was gonna expect more because it was a truck but it suprised me. I didnt look for one for my car though.

When I name prices it's CDN, but whatever, still to expensive, it was 12$ for a house brand or 75$ for a K&N.

yeah i didnt really think of that, i ended up getting some basic fram filter back when i had the stock air box, which was like 10$...