SR20 or CA18?

[kafanylovesme]

Well guys, like the title says SR20 or CA18? I am looking to buy a 240sx and I am not sure what engine I should drop in it or if I should just get a 240 that already has a KA. If any of you can help me out I'd really appreciate it. What would be easier? What would be cheaper to get some horsepower out of? Basic stuff like that. If you have any insight please let me know. Thanks a lot and I appreciate your help in advance.

[Okinawandrifter87]

Depends on what your looking for cause its all on your own personal opinion.. you could go for the sr jus cause its easy to find parts for and their common and interchangeable or you can go ca and be different from everyone else! Either way its your car and you should do what you want to do..unless you have a more detailed question then its all up to you buddy and good luck with your choice!

[2l84u]

SR are great. CA are ok too. But id recommend RB25 depending on ur budget. 2JZ are becomming a popular swap but alittle more expensive than RB25. My friends CA with SR t25 bigger injectors and z32 MAF FMIC and full exhaust feels crazy fast. My SR is awesome too, but a different power band than a CA. RBs are becoming very popular for HP levels 400+ with less mods. Hopefully this has helped you out.

[johngriff]

How much money do you have?

You spoke of cheap, maybe you should look into a civic.

[LowNismo17]

these days building civics aren't cheap.. I say buy a 240 with a KA24DE and do a turbo kit, for the price of just a SR swap you could have a turbo kit on the KA

[s13gold]

just go sr...shit load of aftermarket parts...

[eastcoastS14]

KA-T...save your money till it blows then go SR

from reading your thread im getting that you dont have a 240 yet. If I were you id pick one up drive it as much as possible till you know the car like the back of your hand then upgrade the power gradually, then swap it if you still want to. SR swap is pretty straight forward with a huge aftermarket...just my opinion tho

[street240]

Originally Posted by eastcoastS14

KA-T...save your money till it blows then go SR

The story of my life...

[liv2drift045]

Please don't choose the ca18 swap because the motorset is cheaper. While i LOVED my ca18, they usually take a little more work to get going than a SR swap (meaning having to replace more stuff to make your swap work right/last). This doesnt happen all the time but think about it. The CA is an old motor. This is in no way discrediting the CA.

[Howard92884]

Upgrade your suspension first!!! If you swap motors and build it up all that power won't do shit if your suspension sucks balls. I did that with my first 240, swapped the motor, no money for suspension and the ride sucked.

[kafanylovesme]

ok. well you guys helped me out. i made up my mind and I'm staying KA24DE for now. Ima pick that 240 up tomorrow during lunch time. Thanks a lot guys and I will post pics up of my car as soon as I get it tomorrow. It doesnt really have any mods to its just a stock 240. Only thing it has are Tein S-Tech springs and im picking it up for 1300. what do you guys think?

[jaboyak]

If it's mildly clean, it's a pretty good deal. I just picked my 92 Fastback up for 1500. :-D

[kafanylovesme]

yeah. overall its clean just a little dent on the front right fender, but i was thinking of going sil80 so it doesnt matter. or sil40 for now i guess. it already has some 180sx stuff on it like the quarter panel glass and rear center garnish and i will be getting the kouki taillights in a couple of days so I think that should do for me for now. I will begin upgrading my suspension like those of you have mentioned. What do you guys suggest?

[OptionZero]

Please refer to the CA and SR threads stickied at the top of the Tech forum and search as well for more specific questions.

[Vision Garage]

I really dont see why people still want CA18's in their cars. These motors are ancient ppl. There is a reason why they were replaced by the SR. If you want a CA, mite as well stay KA and turbo it later. Its all up to what you want. Read up on the forums, look at the pros and cons of each. Jump on to KAT forums and read there. Then make a educated choice.

[liv2drift045]

i wouldnt say all that... carb'd 302's are ancient... theres a reason we came up with fuel injection so u saying all mustangs have to be fuel injected and not carb'd... same thing imo

i like CA18's mine kept up w /many a sr w/ the same mods (I/E/fmic/mbc)

thats not what this thread is about though...

[articdragon192]

Just because CAs are old doesn't mean they are shit. Look at FJ20s. Awesome more, and older some many of the people here.

[dvdevo]

Originally Posted by Vision Garage

I really dont see why people still want CA18's in their cars. These motors are ancient ppl. There is a reason why they were replaced by the SR. If you want a CA, mite as well stay KA and turbo it later. Its all up to what you want. Read up on the forums, look at the pros and cons of each. Jump on to KAT forums and read there. Then make a educated choice.

What is the reason that ca18s were replaced by Srs then?

[dorkjoey240]

SR are great! =] lots to make hp so...many ways.

[drift donkey]

OEM parts for an SR are a hell of alot easier to find. I don't think any USD engines cross reference with the CA. I like to think about it like this: if my oil pump or water pump go out I don't want pay an arm and leg to get one. Nor do I want to wait a month for shipping from Japan.

[Vision Garage]

donkey got it rite there. Yes, I know there are some CA out there than can keep up or beat srs but why not just go srs. As drift donkey said, parts are easier to find. Good luck finding replacement parts for CA motors. No I am not hating on CA. Im just being realistic about it.

[sliddinsil8o]

what are you guys talking about...cross reference wit the CA!!!!!!! the pulsar and the 200sx both came with a ca18de and ca18et....i brought back 2 CA's from japan and im having no problem replacing my WATER PUMP, seal, belts and what not...so the statement that parts are hard to come by is bullshit. yea maybe the aftermarket is lacking support but the shit is out there. yea it might take me 2 sec. to get a intake manifold for an SR but in 15 min.s ill find on for a CA.

[dorkjoey240]

Originally Posted by sliddinsil8o

what are you guys talking about...cross reference wit the CA!!!!!!! the pulsar and the 200sx both came with a ca18de and ca18et....i brought back 2 CA's from japan and im having no problem replacing my WATER PUMP, seal, belts and what not...so the statement that parts are hard to come by is bullshit. yea maybe the aftermarket is lacking support but the shit is out there. yea it might take me 2 sec. to get a intake manifold for an SR but in 15 min.s ill find on for a CA.

I was thinking about CA18 , but people were like CA just sucks! im like what? CA18 make good amount hp.

[dvdevo]

you guys are just full of misinformation. Yeah its much harder to get parts for a ca18det. I only had to goto my local kragen and drive back home. Pretty tough. To the original poster: just get a sr20det it has more power out of the box.

['90RPS13]

Much harder eh? How about 20 seconds to search and you have part numbers and vechiles that cross over:

http://www.zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?t=66226

Search before you speak.

[AFSil80]

Personally, my experience with the CA18 has been pretty good. Not saying the SR was bad, but considering my goals, I feel the CA18 can achieve them for less $$ than the SR20. IMO, the SR is becoming like Honda swaps. Serious spike in price (2 years ago, S13 blacktops were sub-$2k, now you're lucky to get one for under $3k) whereas the CA18's are still on the inexpensive side due to unpopularity (there, I admitted it, haha). And whoever believes that all CA18s are older than SR's, well, they're full of misinformation. UK-spec CA18's were produced until 1993 (one of my CA's is a '93), since that was the engine in all of the UK-spec S13's. They cost more than J-spec engines, and some feel that they're not worth it. But considering the fact that I have friends that are US military in England, it's easy for me and a bit more cost effective to get parts from England than going through a vendor that deals out of Japan. I also have a personal theory that the UK-spec CA's are better than the J-spec CA's due to the head design (UK = 4 runner/4 port open vs J= 4 runner/8 port w/ butterfly valves). I plan to put one of each to the test over this summer, although I already feel that I'm going w/ the UK engine in the end.

I dunno, I'm neutral on the subject when explaining it to others. I try to put out what I know about the CA18, and let the user decide. It's all about what you want your car to be. I want a lightweight road race/HPDE car that I can enjoy, so I feel that the CA18 is my best option.

If you're interested in UK-spec CA18's, check out:

www.sxoc.co.uk <---UK's largest s-chassis site
www.horsham-developments.co.uk <---ECU reflashes, tuning work
www.norrisdesigns.co.uk <---internal parts, did my head porting
www.driftworks.co.uk <---not CA18 specific, but has a decent classifieds

Again, I'm not trying to press my opinion on anyone, I'm just putting out the info that I've gathered over the last few years that I've been researching/planning/building my car.

I hope this helps you!

[articdragon192]

Originally Posted by dvdevo

What is the reason that ca18s were replaced by Srs then?

Cost .

[sliddinsil8o]

afsil8o...alot of your boys are over here in the desert with me....sucks that i didnt stay on the 135

[AFSil80]

Originally Posted by sliddinsil8o

afsil8o...alot of your boys are over here in the desert with me....sucks that i didnt stay on the 135

Dang, I see that your location reads Okinawa.

Did you know an Andrew Rush by chance? Skinny/crazy white guy from Texas? He's sheet metal. EDIT: IIRC, he worked the F-15 side @ Kadena.

I'm also 135 sheet metal, but I'm @ Grand Forks. I just happened to make a lot of friends at Mildenhall while I was there for manning assistance. And yea, our base goes to the desert a LOT.

[street240]

Ca are all good and stuff but not even the ka can match the aftermarket support of the sr.