# CA18DET vs RB20DET



## little240boy (Jan 13, 2004)

since all i hear about the SR is that its good for drifting (which I won't be doing) i wanted to get your guys thoughts on the stronger, beefier engine swaps.


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## little240boy (Jan 13, 2004)

i forgot to mention that this is going to be a daily driver with moderate highway use, if that makes any difference


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## azRPS13 (Jun 7, 2003)

Both engines are great... One you will have to put alot of work into (CA) to compare to the RB... I haven't gone for a ride with Opium yet (hint, hint) but I know its alot faster/stronger than mine... (He asked if i consider my car fast, and he was surprised when I said yes) Both are gass guzzlers, and ones a Four banger. Since drifting isnt in your future go with RB. Thats power until mine is built. HAHAHAHA

EDIT: Or You can turbo the KADE/E thats alot of fun too... Swapping isnt always the answer...


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## Enthalpy (Mar 17, 2004)

whoever told you the SR is "only good for drifting" is an idiot. The SR is a great all around engien for drift, drag, daily driver, road course. Like any engien it has it's short comings but it is in general one of the most reliable engiens you can put in your 240sx. If the CA was so great then why did nissan stop producing it? also the RB20. same displacement as SR, alot heavier, and a bit harder to get parts for. Any of the three engiens is fine. just read all the info on this and other sites and decide for real what is right for your budget and goals. And honestly there is nothign wrong with just leaving the KA in there and doing some work with it. especially if you live in a state that is strict about engine swaps. neither the CA, SR, or RB are LEGAL swaps.

Good luck.
Scott


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## azRPS13 (Jun 7, 2003)

Enthalpy said:


> If the CA was so great then why did nissan stop producing it?


Higher production cost. SR was cheaper to make. Not saying its not a good enigine.


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## Enthalpy (Mar 17, 2004)

higher production cost does not always = better engine


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## azRPS13 (Jun 7, 2003)

Enthalpy said:


> higher production cost does not always = better engine


Never said that. But it does say that its not an inferrior(sp) engine :thumbup:


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## vsp3c (May 15, 2003)

little240boy said:


> i forgot to mention that this is going to be a daily driver with moderate highway use, if that makes any difference


stick w/ the ka24 then


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## OPIUM (Aug 18, 2002)

azRPS13 said:


> I haven't gone for a ride with Opium yet (hint, hint)



haha, well its still not as fast as say,.. Enthalpy's car, but the RB definently kills your CA. I don't think there is a man/woman on this forum that could stick with Enthalpy's ride. But IMO, the CA with similar mods as my RB would still be left behind. It's just the way the things roll I guess. The CA has a cult following. To me I relate the CA to oldschool VW people. It's not the greatest thing to be a fan of, but you know what? They are all die hard fans and they usually know their engine/car inside and out down to every last detail. But its a cult following nonethless. And as Marshall Applewhite and David Koresh proved to us all, Cults are not always a good thing to be a part. And if your in one.. don't drink the punch


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## little240boy (Jan 13, 2004)

so basically what i'm getting out of this is that the ca18det is going to be faster than the stock ka24e i have. and the rb20det is better STOCK then the ca18det STOCK. Is getting the clip that much more useful on either of these swaps as i have heard if you want to remain stock for a bit (which i probably will only be able to afford!) that the motorset with a few upgrades is all you need. any thoughts?


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## 93blackSER (Feb 1, 2003)

it's more beneficial if you get a clip. clips can be had for a few hundred more than a motorset and will actually include everything you need for a swap. you also get an idea of how the engine looked in its' original engine bay so you know how it should look in yours. you also might get lucky and get some extra items installed on your engine that whoever owned the car installed. stock for stock, the RB20 will be faster than the CA18. it's also heavier. the CA can easily be boosted to beat the RB out for very little money. a FMIC, full exhaust, and a boost controller can get to where a stock RB20 would be, maybe even past it.


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## boost_boy (May 25, 2002)

93blackSER said:


> it's more beneficial if you get a clip. clips can be had for a few hundred more than a motorset and will actually include everything you need for a swap. you also get an idea of how the engine looked in its' original engine bay so you know how it should look in yours. you also might get lucky and get some extra items installed on your engine that whoever owned the car installed. stock for stock, the RB20 will be faster than the CA18. it's also heavier. the CA can easily be boosted to beat the RB out for very little money. a FMIC, full exhaust, and a boost controller can get to where a stock RB20 would be, maybe even past it.


 If you can build an engine, either one of these motors will get tthe job done. Some may call us CA18 owners cult-aholics; whatever! But they get the job one fairly easy and are fairly cheap to repair. The RB20 is entry level inline 6 fun. It makes decent power, but I wouldn't go out of my way to get one. The SR20 needs no introduction, it does what it needs to do. Basically, it boils down to how deep your pockets are. You can get RB20s pretty cheap nowadays as well as CA18s. The SR is still somewhat high, but if you got the bread, who cares. If money is really a problem, boost KA24DE. Gobs of torque and can produce good power with a good ecu tuning or standalone,

Dee


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## 93blackSER (Feb 1, 2003)

boost_boy said:


> If you can build an engine, either one of these motors will get tthe job done. Some may call us CA18 owners cult-aholics; whatever! But they get the job one fairly easy and are fairly cheap to repair. The RB20 is entry level inline 6 fun. It makes decent power, but I wouldn't go out of my way to get one. The SR20 needs no introduction, it does what it needs to do. Basically, it boils down to how deep your pockets are. You can get RB20s pretty cheap nowadays as well as CA18s. The SR is still somewhat high, but if you got the bread, who cares. If money is really a problem, boost KA24DE. Gobs of torque and can produce good power with a good ecu tuning or standalone,
> 
> Dee


i agree with Dee on this one. CA's are easy to repair and you can get all the parts to do it at any auto parts store. when the RB breaks down, good luck getting parts. aftermarket parts are also more expensive for the RB from what i've seen. i say that the CA is the way to go.


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## boost_boy (May 25, 2002)

93blackSER said:


> i agree with Dee on this one. CA's are easy to repair and you can get all the parts to do it at any auto parts store. when the RB breaks down, good luck getting parts. aftermarket parts are also more expensive for the RB from what i've seen. i say that the CA is the way to go.


I guess it all boils down to who wants what! If the KA24DE was belt driven, I would probably give it a shot. But chained engines have a distinct ability of running up the labor charges at the shop and this I know because I do charge for the extra labor associated with dealing with them. I can re-ring, water pump, headgasket, headbolt, rod bearing and timing belt a CA18DET for under $200. An SR20 and KA24's oil pump costs significantly more! I can't say for the RB series. But if you are a budget-booster, be very careful at what engine you select, especially if you're paying someone to fix stuff when it breaks.....

Dee


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## little240boy (Jan 13, 2004)

ok so parts for an rb20 are expensive and parts for a ca are less expensive. the rb20 is better stock vs the ca but reliabilty/repair costs are better for the ca. i defiently am on a budget as i have to pay for school. the sr swap where i live, calgary, alberta, canada, just the motorset, is going to cost me around 5000. how it adds up i dont know, i'm sure its just labour thats half of it. how much better is the ca18det than the ka24e that i have now? will it actually be that much of a noticable difference to even bother? thanks guys, your input has been really helpful!


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## boost_boy (May 25, 2002)

little240boy said:


> ok so parts for an rb20 are expensive and parts for a ca are less expensive. the rb20 is better stock vs the ca but reliabilty/repair costs are better for the ca. i defiently am on a budget as i have to pay for school. the sr swap where i live, calgary, alberta, canada, just the motorset, is going to cost me around 5000. how it adds up i dont know, i'm sure its just labour thats half of it. how much better is the ca18det than the ka24e that i have now? will it actually be that much of a noticable difference to even bother? thanks guys, your input has been really helpful!


The CA18DET is better than your KA24E "Point Blank". It's physical size is smaller, but don't look down it's throat. I've smoked many a 400+Hp vehicles with my cars and none of the engines were built. The CA is an old, but reliable engine that one can be proud to say they own one. The RB20 stock VS a CA18 stock is mismatch. It's worth every dollar you spend on it, trust me on this one.

Dee


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## OPIUM (Aug 18, 2002)

^ Old boost boy CA18DET dyno that I just happen to have on my server still


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## boost_boy (May 25, 2002)

OPIUM said:


> ^ Old boost boy CA18DET dyno that I just happen to have on my server still


 Man, you still have this dyno, huh! I can say this to all and you can quote me on this: Choose your weapons wisely! Don't jump on a bandwagon with high expectations. What one car/engine supposedly does, don't always mean that your car/engine will do the same even if you have similar mods. And for the shopping man who's trying to identify which engine is worth of what, here's my hypothesis: 

The CA18DET engine is a good engine that can get the job done. If you're looking for torque, wrong engine. Can be taken to over 400hp on the stock motor (of course you'll have to upgrade the ecu, fuel system and turbocharger) and can reliably handle 300+whp on a daily basis. It shares the same drive train design as the RB series, but it's not an RB (Just more reliable). There's 500+hp variants around, but not many in the U.S. My target is 600hp and I will do it one way or another.

The SR20DET is a good engine! It's old like the CA18DET, but still newer compared to the CA18 and RB20. Like any engine, it has it's short comings, but performs very good in street application and will out perform the CA18DET stock for stock (Remember that). It too can handle 400hp in stock form and also possibly be competent at 300+hp at a daily rate. I guess with the SR, it boils down to who tuning it because most of the ones I've seen live for a minute and people blow them (Sleeved blocks and all). Some people have proven that the stock bottom end of the SR20 can handle over 500hp. It has good torque and is very popular as well as expensive to this date.

The RB20DET is a good motor as well. Most people would rather put the newer generation RB25s and RB6s in their 240s for prestige. You can't really compare the RB to the SR or the CA and get a fair and impartial verdict. I can't preach much about the RB20DET, but judging from the RB25's performance, I guess it'll work. To each his own..............

Dee


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## OPIUM (Aug 18, 2002)

hahahah call me a pack rat so what! hahahhaa


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