Need help, looking to build 500+ hp sr20det

[silviaNC]

HI, I'm new to 240sx World. I recently got a 1989 240sx from a friend and looking for some help on my build. I'm currently putting the car back together, it has the stock Ka24 engine on it but I bought a sr20det red top with harness, ecu MAF sensor with it.
sr20det aftermarket parts, everything else stock
cp pistons(unknown compress.)
nismo fuel regulator
stage 1 act clutch.

I'm aiming to get 500+hp on the setup. any help on what i need to get this build started? id like to have a list of everything from engine to gauges, controllers, ecu management( or flash ecu ect.)

[Imarvin240]

okay, people are definitly going to jump on this thread about doing some research first...which i do agree with, but here is my one question to help me figure out what to tell you.

1) what is the price limit?

[silviaNC]

Hi, so far this is what I've been researching for. money avaiable 4-8k( car need some bodywork and better brakes, suspension so part of that money eill also be invested on that)

most of the labor will be mostly done by my friend and myself other than machine work.
Also if there is not needed or overkill for this hp range say so.(will save my wallet Drivetrain will be the las thing to upgrade and any idea how much hp will hold with stock internals?
Head:
wich intake manifold??spec?
HKS cams . Specs?
Crower springs, retain, ect
angle, valve job, port n polish?
solid lifters?
cosmetic gasket

Block:
have to double check what CP pistons are in block but hopefully they are 8:5:1
eagle, manley, crower H- or I beam rods?
arp bolts on everything
balance job

Fuel
740cc or above?
fuel rail?
walbro fuel pump

turbo:
not sure what I need, i do know i dont want to have a big lag. 425-550 hp turbo? Specs?
dont know about exhaust manifold
bov?
westgate?

ecu:
flash ecu,? haltech is too expensive imo
boost control,

drivetrain:
aluminum 1 pc driveshaft. brand?
LSD? any interchangeable from nissan?

[Croustibat]

You have 4-8k for the whole car and want a 500+ hp engine ? And a clean body ?

forget it then. For that kind of money you can get a good chassis, bodywork ... and not much more.

[silviaNC]

Bodywork is on. Only need paint job wich will be done by best friend for dirt cheap but if its going to take more $ it will be a lil longer, but I still plan to build it for that hp. I'll be using the ka24 meanwhile so there is no rush. help is appreciated

[Imarvin240]

with only 4-8k to spend on suspension, brakes, engine, turbo setup, electronics, ect...quality will be low :/

in my opinion, do to a some what limited budget, you should do everything to the car in preperation to handle/control the 500hp first (suspension, brakes, electronics) after that, see what is left over and build the engine and get a turbo setup. the reason Haltec, AEM, Power FC are so expensive is because they do so much and are very good to fine tune an engine setup...basically you get what you pay for. Also, to do a 500hp set, you will most likely be sending your engine to a machine shop which will definity eat up a bit of money. as for oem internal limits, I myself have held ~350 on stock internals, but i strongly recommend not trying that. last, build the engine before you buy the turbo setup...no reason to get a baller ass turbo setup when you may end up not haveing the money to build the engine to support it. you can always get a basic turbo setup to start and move up to a bigger one down the road.

[silviaNC]

Originally Posted by Imarvin240

with only 4-8k to spend on suspension, brakes, engine, turbo setup, electronics, ect...quality will be low :/

in my opinion, do to a some what limited budget, you should do everything to the car in preperation to handle/control the 500hp first (suspension, brakes, electronics) after that, see what is left over and build the engine and get a turbo setup. the reason Haltec, AEM, Power FC are so expensive is because they do so much and are very good to fine tune an engine setup...basically you get what you pay for. Also, to do a 500hp set, you will most likely be sending your engine to a machine shop which will definity eat up a bit of money. as for oem internal limits, I myself have held ~350 on stock internals, but i strongly recommend not trying that. last, build the engine before you buy the turbo setup...no reason to get a baller ass turbo setup when you may end up not haveing the money to build the engine to support it. you can always get a basic turbo setup to start and move up to a bigger one down the road.

thanks for the help peeps
seems it will take me lil longer to get it done. I dont want to get cheap HP that will last me a week. Want a car for track but also be able to drive it on the street at times, if 500 hp is too hard to achieve then i can settle for 400hp+ but well built. budget wise it will change just wont be able to invest 10k in a month. Now does it make sense to get electronics ect if ill be using the Ka24 for now? spending $ on that but not having a engine to control sounds kinda worthless to me but I might be wrong. I had plans to do block and head first. even if swap is fully built I wont plan to tune it up for that kinda hp untill i upgrade suspension, drivetrain and electronics.
today I just picked up test pipe, full exhaust, racing seats, 300zx brake swap(free from a friend, cant complain for now), to put on car.also searching on suspension drivetrain options for next week.
I already have CP pistons on block, what good rods for this built?
H bean or I beam, brands?

[Imarvin240]

Originally Posted by silviaNC

thanks for the help peeps
seems it will take me lil longer to get it done. I dont want to get cheap HP that will last me a week. Want a car for track but also be able to drive it on the street at times, if 500 hp is too hard to achieve then i can settle for 400hp+ but well built. budget wise it will change just wont be able to invest 10k in a month. Now does it make sense to get electronics ect if ill be using the Ka24 for now? spending $ on that but not having a engine to control sounds kinda worthless to me but I might be wrong. I had plans to do block and head first. even if swap is fully built I wont plan to tune it up for that kinda hp untill i upgrade suspension, drivetrain and electronics.
today I just picked up test pipe, full exhaust, racing seats, 300zx brake swap(free from a friend, cant complain for now), to put on car.also searching on suspension drivetrain options for next week.
I already have CP pistons on block, what good rods for this built?
H bean or I beam, brands?

it isn't that 500hp is hard to achive, its just not in the current budget...doesn't mean you can't get 500 down the road. for the electronics, some electronics are nice to have no matter what, but i would say that in conjuction with building the engine, you should be getting the electronics for the car. once you do cams, change compression, injectors, ect., a tune will be needed no matter what. z brakes will do fine, just get good pads such as (project mu) and upgrade the Master cylinder and that will help alot. As for rods, I personally like Turbo Tuff rods and Crower rods...I don't mean BC...but eagle rods would also work just fine for your power goals. (nothing against BC, just wanted to clarify what rods I was speaking of)
Also, im not speaking out of my ass, you can always check out my build thread that im doing on here and see I have a pretty good idea what im talking about. you can also PM me if you have any other questions.

[Croustibat]

brakes : wilwood setup front and rear, cheap to run, reliable, light. around 1200-1300$ for 4 corners ( see on NRR bbs)

second hand wheels that clear the brakes and new tires : 0.8K -1K

suspension arms: that is another 2K

Want to go low too and still handle ? Need knuckles, 0.7K minimum.

ARBs, springs and dampers that works, that is another 1.5K

this is already 6K.

You still need at least a bucket seat(min 100$), a transmission that can handle the torque output (thats is at the very least a 2-3K upgrade for the box, 400 for the clutch), new turbo, boost controler, manifold, MAF, injectors, intercooler, watercooler, head work, gauges and sensors, exhaust, intake, remap ... That is another 3K minimum.


You need to at least double or triple your budget, if you want something that handles and is reliable. Or you could be realistic, and stick to your engine with a few mandatory parts like a FMIC, a boost controler and a remap. that will give you around 300hp.

The main idea here is "be realistic". Do you want a 500HP car, or do you want a 500HP engine ? With your budget, you cant have a 500HP car.

You could cheap out on chassis parts of course. Getting cheap parts that will bend, have a high running cost, ruin your handling and develop play quite fast. Which is not a good idea.

Or you could cheap out on brakes, and install Z32 stuff. Which still costs money, and wont stop a 500hp car on a track for long. Pads and rotors are expensive too (and heavy).

[slow92]

OP....you really need to rethink your goals. Your spending limit is too low for what you are wanting to make. Ya you could to the 500 hp mark but the car won't last for long. Either your rear end or axles will break, you won't be able to stop your car, your transmission will break or a series of other problems. Besides you are skimping on some of the most important parts of building an engine like this.....engine managment. You gotta pay to play and in this case you almost have to go stand alone to trully dial your car in and be able to monitor everything. I am building a car and my motor alone costs almost as much as your spending limit. Good luck.

[ForceFed]

Before anyone else gets all antsy with your budget, what do you want to do with the car? If its just "beat around town" setup it's doable. But if you are trying to be competitive at the track, you're going to need to spend more

[Walperstyle]

Figure out your budget, then times it by three... that is reality.

[Kingtal0n]

The cheapest way to go 500 horsepower on a daily driver 97 without paint/wheels is an OEM 2jz-gte JDM engine, top mount journal bearing precision turbocharger, top feedinjectors, automatic transmission with some goodies, twin walbro in the tank.

The swap will run you about $10,000-$12,000 installed, with properly welded engine mounts and custom plumbing. For around $15,000 total you can include paint and wheels to that chassis. The price includes the chassis of the 97 240sx, which can be found clean around $5000. So the swap by itself is around $5000-$7000, which beats any built SR20 build done right.

[slider2828]

Nah with an SR that runs maybe for like a week, he can do it pretty cheaply. Dump on like a GT35R.... Run a Freddy Manifold and HKS272 Step 2Cams... and a straight pipe exhaust.

Then throw on JWT manifold, rebuild the bottom end with rods and piston, and get a 1.6mm metal head gasket....

THen have a go at it.... Oh then dump some cash into a PowerFC(God knows those are so cheap now)....

Run maybe an ACT Heavy Duty Puck Disk....

Walboro with 850cc Deatshwerks Injectors...

Basically you are done....

Seriously that is about it.... Can't say it will be fun to drive, but it will get close to 500HP.... The tranny should handle a couple of passes if you don't have something too sticky on their.... Brake department just get some 300zx and call it a night cause I assume mostly drag anyways.

[Croustibat]

400HP will cost about the same to build (turbo will be a bit cheaper but you still need everything else). The cost different is the usage, a 400HP setup will cost less to run and will be easier to drive. Going "down" from 500 to 400 may shave around 0.5K off of your budget, a grand max.

Your budget allows you to get a nice chassis, and a 300HP SR so i strongly suggest starting there. Do that, learn how your car drive, then get more HP. It will be funnier and more efficient this way, driving a 400-500HP 240sx on a track is not by any mean easy. I would even risk saygin that if you are not a pro or very talented driver, you just cant expect anything by jumping in a car like that if you have not driven a fast one previously.
You cant step on the throttle, you will be overtaken by easier to drive 300HP cars, get angry and finish in a gravel pit somewhere. Like everyone playing out of its league.

[silviaNC]

build is moving slow due to lack of free time, already installed racing seats, bodykit(includes fenders, skirts rear bumper, still need to work on front bumper)
took block apart and found out I have 8:5:1 CP pistons and decided to pick some BC rods bc6209. any feedback on these?

[trickey1991]

my buddy runs 400whp on a SR with a t3/t4 precision and HKS cams. at 20lbs

[silviaNC]

Originally Posted by trickey1991

my buddy runs 400whp on a SR with a t3/t4 precision and HKS cams. at 20lbs

Yeah I was reading it handles 200hp per rod= 800hp. Sounds too good for the price
So I need different bearings(racing) if there is any or jist stock???Im looking for 450 + build according to my new budget.

[trickey1991]

well he runs everything stock except HKS cams he picked up brand new for like $700, the turbo was like $750-800 This is the turbo I have its good for "490" I talked to a guy at precision he said literally they are usually good for 20-30% more then rated they just have to cover their own ass.

Precision Turbo 3231E (aka T3/T4E 50trim): CTS Turbo

You can run stock rods, pistons etc. Just install cams, bigger fuel pump , injectors, and a solid maf and you'll make 400whp at 20-22psi on a stock SR

[Imarvin240]

Originally Posted by trickey1991

well he runs everything stock except HKS cams he picked up brand new for like $700, the turbo was like $750-800 This is the turbo I have its good for "490" I talked to a guy at precision he said literally they are usually good for 20-30% more then rated they just have to cover their own ass.

Precision Turbo 3231E (aka T3/T4E 50trim): CTS Turbo

You can run stock rods, pistons etc. Just install cams, bigger fuel pump , injectors, and a solid maf and you'll make 400whp at 20-22psi on a stock SR

at least do arp head studs and a good headgasket...I have arp head studs for sale too. Also, I would recommend doing a bit more just to be on the safe side.

[silviaNC]

Originally Posted by Imarvin240

at least do arp head studs and a good headgasket...I have arp head studs for sale too. Also, I would recommend doing a bit more just to be on the safe side.

like Imarvin said, I'm sure it can handle it but i want to build it to last a while, blockwise I'd like to have well built. I'm getting arp as well. what kind of HKS cams, and how big fuel injectors ?.

[trickey1991]

There is legit no point in doing anymore. When you pop the head off an engine you always have to machine the head and the block to ensure they seal properly. SURE you can "get a thicker head gasket" but that is stupid you should always machine both surfaces smooth to ensure true flatness . To get them machined you're looking at at least $200-500 . A SR20 goes for like $750-1000 with no Tranny . By the time you buy a Head gasket $200, Arp Studs $150 and everything else , you could just save the money and buy a new motor. If you have knowledge and know what you're doing 400whp on a stock SR with Cams and supporting mods is nothing.

[silviaNC]

Originally Posted by trickey1991

There is legit no point in doing anymore. When you pop the head off an engine you always have to machine the head and the block to ensure they seal properly. SURE you can "get a thicker head gasket" but that is stupid you should always machine both surfaces smooth to ensure true flatness . To get them machined you're looking at at least $200-500 . A SR20 goes for like $750-1000 with no Tranny . By the time you buy a Head gasket $200, Arp Studs $150 and everything else , you could just save the money and buy a new motor. If you have knowledge and know what you're doing 400whp on a stock SR with Cams and supporting mods is nothing.

I paid 1k for the swap including harness, fuel pump, ecu.
motor was rebuilt 1k miles ago with cp pistons,arp studs and thicker head gasket, I'm still going to get it resurfaced just in case when i put on the crower rods next week but i think i got a pretty good deal

[trickey1991]

ARP studs are a waste of time unless you are going machine the head and block. you're going to crack a motor open and get leaks. for instance: there is a guy here that has replaced 4 head gaskets on a 280whp SR in the last year because he didn't machine the surfaces . My buddy has been running 400whp on a stock unopened engine since last year and hasn't had a single problem. When you take a head off you risk leaks , unless you are going to machine the surfaces you're just asking for headaches.

I'm not sure the model of the HKS cams, but I'd run at least 600CC injectors

[Imarvin240]

Originally Posted by trickey1991

ARP studs are a waste of time unless you are going machine the head and block. you're going to crack a motor open and get leaks. for instance: there is a guy here that has replaced 4 head gaskets on a 280whp SR in the last year because he didn't machine the surfaces . My buddy has been running 400whp on a stock unopened engine since last year and hasn't had a single problem. When you take a head off you risk leaks , unless you are going to machine the surfaces you're just asking for headaches.

I'm not sure the model of the HKS cams, but I'd run at least 600CC injectors

he already said he took the head off

[silviaNC]

Originally Posted by trickey1991

ARP studs are a waste of time unless you are going machine the head and block. you're going to crack a motor open and get leaks. for instance: there is a guy here that has replaced 4 head gaskets on a 280whp SR in the last year because he didn't machine the surfaces . My buddy has been running 400whp on a stock unopened engine since last year and hasn't had a single problem. When you take a head off you risk leaks , unless you are going to machine the surfaces you're just asking for headaches.

I'm not sure the model of the HKS cams, but I'd run at least 600CC injectors

yeah even on stock engine they recommend to cut the heads and block.( I call it resurface). make even more sense if u buiilding a performance car. performance between BC and HKS cams??

[Imarvin240]

Originally Posted by silviaNC

yeah even on stock engine they recommend to cut the heads and block.( I call it resurface). make even more sense if u buiilding a performance car. performance between BC and HKS cams??

Im running Tomei 270 cams in the head in selling, they work great.

[trickey1991]

Originally Posted by silviaNC

yeah even on stock engine they recommend to cut the heads and block.( I call it resurface). make even more sense if u buiilding a performance car. performance between BC and HKS cams??

If you already took the head off, and are going to resurface then yes put a head gasket and put arp studs. I like the Brian Crower but HKS are awesome too. I personally sell both and seem to sell more Brian Crower then HKS camshafts.

[silviaNC]

Originally Posted by trickey1991

If you already took the head off, and are going to resurface then yes put a head gasket and put arp studs. I like the Brian Crower but HKS are awesome too. I personally sell both and seem to sell more Brian Crower then HKS camshafts.

Yeah everything is off already. For what I c any stage 2 cams need springs and retainers upgrade.( recommended by crower) is it true or can stock handle it? Lots of peeps I c have 272 cams. But whats better for a range of 375-450 hp? If im using crower rods and I'd like to stick with a company unless there is really a defference on performance.

[Imarvin240]

Originally Posted by silviaNC

Yeah everything is off already. For what I c any stage 2 cams need springs and retainers upgrade.( recommended by crower) is it true or can stock handle it? Lots of peeps I c have 272 cams. But whats better for a range of 375-450 hp? If im using crower rods and I'd like to stick with a company unless there is really a defference on performance.

in my personal option and from plenty of experience with building cars/engines, I would do the springs, retainers, and all other other simple things. if you are already in the engine replacing parts, may as well upgrade the little things so you CAN BE CERTAIN that you wont have any problems down the road and feel worry free if you do decide to push the engine a bit more in the future. last thing you want is to have to rip it all back apart because you didn't replace something simple. I would go with something around the 270-272 area. Crower does make good parts, but it never hurts to go with a different company for certian parts.