DE to DET... good or bad???

[jcl603]

I'm kinda toying and serious about the idea of swapping from a DE to a DET... I was wondering what is the TOTAL cost of the swap, meaning installation, the actual motor (I think was quoted to $1,500US) and any other parts I have to buy. Also any pros and cons of the swap. I want to know as much information as possible. Thanks!!

[b-b00gie]

$2000 for the DET (give or take a couple hundred)
$1000 for an intercooler

you'll need to have custom piping done, a blow off valve, some kind of upgraded fuel management (upgrade ecu or aftermarket computer), a turbo timer, some guages.... lastly the install costs

you're looking at $4500 to 5500 depending on the parts you buy and the labor costs...

[G-Forces]

Not to mention changing out the crank berrings and with a DET you're playing the turbo lottery. You might get one in good shape, you might not.

[jcl603]

thanks for the replies, so basically the DET converstion will run me $4,000??? Man, that's a lot of money... I have about $2,000US, what should I do to get the most out of the DE engine?? Thanks!

[G-Forces]

Advance timing to 19BTDC. Hotshot Header, Cold air intake (pick one), custom exhaust (cat back), underdrive pullies.

[G22DET]

save up for another $2500-3000 or so and get the DET motor....u would have to spend A LOT more money for your NA motor to produce the same amount of power as the turbo motor.
most people who gets the det swap done, have little or no problem, i have yet to hear anyone that put in a motor and the car runs ultra shitty or doesnt even run at all. If you are serious about making your car fast, turbo kit or DET is the only way to go.

[jcl603]

Thanks for the replies.... I think I'll save up. Probably have the money by sometime next year... hopefully.
Luke: wrote you an email about it, thx for help!

[i_rebel]

Hey Jcl603 . . .

I've got a friend in VA that does swaps. He's working on building his clientele . . . he has under his belt:

1 DET swap into a Sentra SE-R
1 DET swap into a P10 G20
1 DE swap into a Sentra that held a 1.6l motor . . .

He does his work well, pays VERY close attention to detail, which is important since the DET can be tricky to get running properly . . .

If you want, I can put you in touch with him . . . e-mail me privately: [email protected]

He's not all about the money.

[walden-puddle]

Hi,

I'm not at home right now to get the info for you...but there is a shop in San Diego that quoted me $2800+/- for a complete conversion, inclding the motor (one of the 30k milers coming form Japan. He even offered to help me sell off my old motor etc....and it inlduded a bunch of JWT upgrades. He came recommended by someone in this forum or on g20.net...and seemed really good. He answered e-mails promptly etc.... I'll post specifics when I get home and check my e-mail in a few days...but maybe somebody here knows who I am talking about?

Thanks...ml

[P10DET]

A DET swap will cost anywhere from $2,500 to $4,000 depending upon several factors. First is how much you can get the engine for. I've heard of people getting them as low as $1,300, but that's rare. About $1,500 is as cheap as you'll usually find. I paid $1,700 and that was pretty much the going rate. I could have gotten one for $1,500 w/o the TMIC, but a friend picked mine out for me in SoCal.

Add a JWT ECU for $500-600 depending upon whether your car is OBD-I or OBD-II.

You have to replace bearings and seals.

If you're lucky the turbo will be fine. If not, it will need to be rebuilt. Most of the DETs I've seen have had marginal turbos, although some have been great. Mine is *perfect*. *No* play.

A FMIC and piping will run roughly $1,000. I'm running a relatively small HKS that HotShot supplies with their turbo kit. It packages quite well and should be just fine with a stock boost DET.

[jcl603]

I have to get a new ECU for the DET? I thought that the stock ECU was okay if you were going to stay under 300hp. My car is completely stock and I don't think I'm going to do anything else to the engine after the DET swap. What's the hp at the wheels and at the crank for the DET on a completely stock car? Thanks again!

[P10DET]

Originally posted by jcl603
I have to get a new ECU for the DET? I thought that the stock ECU was okay if you were going to stay under 300hp.

That is *not* true. You have to either run a JWT ECU programed for the DET or run a couple of Dial-a-Booms.

For what it costs to get the black boxes, just get a JWT ECU. It's a no brainer.

Running a stock ECU is not a good idea. For one thing, you run out of MAF and injector at around 250 hp at the crank.

You cannot use the DET ECU either because it is programed for a different MAF.

Geo