# '94 SE-R: GA16DE or SR20DE?



## B-iLL (Oct 29, 2004)

I'm new to this whole Nissan thing, so bear with me. I have a '94 Sentra SE-R. My question is that does all SE-R carries a SR20DE engine? I searched around and it seems so but my friend said I got a GA16DE. When I look under the hood, it doesn't say what liter I have, so can someone tell me how I can actually find out what motor I have? Thank you in advance.


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## Slacky (May 31, 2004)

yes se-r is the sr20de unfortunetly if u have your year correct u have less of a intake cam, still a great engine though aswell as the rest of the car, hope your happy


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## B-iLL (Oct 29, 2004)

Yes, now I am happy. Now I get to brag about it. Hehehe :thumbup:


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## Slacky (May 31, 2004)

try lookin for a 91-93 sr20 intake cam


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## B-iLL (Oct 29, 2004)

Hmmm. As I said I'm new to this so I need an idea what an intake cam does. Is there any website that can tell me what are some basic engine components that I need to know because I really want to know my car. And what is the difference between the '94 SR20 intake cams and the '91-'93 SR20 intake cams? What makes the '91-'93 SR20 cams better?


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## mille-16i (Jun 16, 2004)

There will be a plauge on the fire wall that says what engine you have either the GA16DE or the SR20DE also the under hood emmisions sticker should refer to the displacement. It could very well be a GA if the car is a look a like SE-r and not a factory so look at the tags also the stamped ID is on the bell housing towards the exhaust side of the engine and there is a buldge on the valve cover on the back side by the tinning chain of the GA. but chances are it is the SR not many look alikes are out there


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## B-iLL (Oct 29, 2004)

Regarding to the intake cams. I think I found a thread about it (http://www.nissanforums.com/showthread.php?t=71931) but if you have any more information then drop a few lines here. Thanks.


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## B-iLL (Oct 29, 2004)

mille-16i said:


> There will be a plauge on the fire wall that says what engine you have either the GA16DE or the SR20DE also the under hood emmisions sticker should refer to the displacement. It could very well be a GA if the car is a look a like SE-r and not a factory so look at the tags also the stamped ID is on the bell housing towards the exhaust side of the engine and there is a buldge on the valve cover on the back side by the tinning chain of the GA. but chances are it is the SR not many look alikes are out there


Thanks. I just wanted to know what engine a SE-R contains since I have the sticker on the back of my ride. The reason why I doubted it was a SR20 was because my friend told me it was a GA16DE and he knows a lot, so I believed him. Thanks again for telling another way I can find what my engine is.


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## Slacky (May 31, 2004)

yea well hopefully it is a sr20, and i hope your kidding on what a intake cam is, if not do some reading


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## B-iLL (Oct 29, 2004)

Hehehe. I aint kidding ninja. I'm fresh like a newborn out his mama's womb. I will get caught up though, hopefully.


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## Slacky (May 31, 2004)

how old are u?, and heres a hint u have a dohc engine (dual overhead cam) so u ahve a intake and a exhaust cam, they press and depress valves to intake and exhaust gasses


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## B-iLL (Oct 29, 2004)

Heh, I'm 17, but does age matters? I was just not into cars back then. Now my friends and I are doing a small auto service business. They are supposely the mechanics and I am the financial manager because I'm taking all these courses (accounting, promotion/marketing, and personal finance) and I'm good with money. How we get paid is by who does most of the work on the vehicle, therefore I need to know what things does in an engine, and how to install, repair, replace, and maintain the car. Even though this is a side job, I am taking this very seriously. So learning I decide to learn my car first which is a '94 Nissan Sentra SE-R. My friends also want to work on my car, for like a little project car or something similar. And there you have it, I am a blank piece of paper.


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## chimmike (Oct 17, 2002)

your friend=an idiot


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## jeffinbham (Nov 1, 2003)

B-iLL said:


> Heh, I'm 17, but does age matters? I was just not into cars back then. Now my friends and I are doing a small auto service business. They are supposely the mechanics and I am the financial manager because I'm taking all these courses (accounting, promotion/marketing, and personal finance) and I'm good with money. How we get paid is by who does most of the work on the vehicle, therefore I need to know what things does in an engine, and how to install, repair, replace, and maintain the car. Even though this is a side job, I am taking this very seriously. So learning I decide to learn my car first which is a '94 Nissan Sentra SE-R. My friends also want to work on my car, for like a little project car or something similar. And there you have it, I am a blank piece of paper.


hey man, check out http://www.howstuffworks.com/ , just type in cams, or dohc, and it will give you a diagram and some animations shit, you can see how all that stuff works. hence the name, heh heh.


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## Felonious Cat Stalker (May 1, 2002)

B-iLL said:


> Thanks. I just wanted to know what engine a SE-R contains since I have the sticker on the back of my ride. The reason why I doubted it was a SR20 was because my friend told me it was a GA16DE and he knows a lot, so I believed him. Thanks again for telling another way I can find what my engine is.


I bet if you had a couple of those SR20s, they would pull a premium 1 week before race wars.

BTW, I recommend that you still check under the hood. It isn't uncommon for people to put stickers on cars that they actually don't belong to. If the back said GT-R, that would not make it so.


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## B-iLL (Oct 29, 2004)

chimmike said:


> your friend=an idiot


Actually he is not.



FCS said:


> I bet if you had a couple of those SR20s, they would pull a premium 1 week before race wars.
> 
> BTW, I recommend that you still check under the hood. It isn't uncommon for people to put stickers on cars that they actually don't belong to. If the back said GT-R, that would not make it so.


I checked under the hood again. I didn't notice the sticker under the hood. It happens to say it is a 1.6 liters, so I'm guessing that it is now a GA16DE. I guess who ever had the car before me put that SE-R sticker on the back. Thanks everyone who has helped. You can closed this thread now moderator.


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## EhSteve (Mar 16, 2004)

or you could type "SR20" into google image search.


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## Slacky (May 31, 2004)

that sucks.... well the ga16de is still a good engine and u can always swap a sr20 in there easily or build from the ga


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## B-iLL (Oct 29, 2004)

Is it true that a GA16DE engine turboed isn't as great as the SR20DE turboed? I heard a supercharger might be better for the GA16DE because of it's great bottom end. I'll go research now.


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## Slacky (May 31, 2004)

the engine is smaller so it puts out less exhaust, and the sr20 is meant for high rpm so when u make it a det u get a good start by hooking up then the turbo gives u another swift kick in the rear when it starts to kick in at higher rpms


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## B-iLL (Oct 29, 2004)

Hmmm... My friend wants me to keep the GA16DE and keep it classic because he thinks a lot of people go for the SR20DE or SR20DET swap. I would want the swap for power but money is too scarce. I'll see what I can do with the GA16DE. Thanks for the knowledge.


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## BikerFry (Jul 31, 2003)

B-iLL said:


> Is it true that a GA16DE engine turboed isn't as great as the SR20DE turboed? I heard a supercharger might be better for the GA16DE because of it's great bottom end. I'll go research now.


I don't think anybody has successfully supercharged a GA16 yet. Yeah, so far the SR20 has been taken farther with turbo (it's been proven to hold together up to about 500 horsepower on a stock bottom end, if done properly), but there's a couple of guys with well over 200 horsepower at the wheels with turboed GA16's (233 and 249).

Hey, just out of curiosity how many doors does your car have?

Oh, and if you want more than 120whp out of this car (assuming it's a GA16, which you seem to have) you'd better plan on spending at minimum 2000-3000 dollars for a cheap custom turbo setup or a cheap swap, neither of which are easy in the least. Realistically, if you want more than 120whp (be able to do better than mid 15's in the quarter mile) figure 4,000+ for a hotshot turbo kit, plus a stronger clutch. An SR20DET swap might be somewhat cheaper, but requires a lot more capability.


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## toolapcfan (Jul 10, 2002)

What's your VIN #? All B13 SE-R's/NX2K's will start out 1N4GB. Now, that's not to say someone didn't swap out the SR20 engine, tranny and ECU but it's highly unlikely. You'll at least know what the car came with from the factory.


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## Tavel (Aug 21, 2004)

B-iLL said:


> They are supposely the mechanics and I am the financial manager because I'm taking all these courses (accounting, promotion/marketing, and personal finance) and I'm good with money. How we get paid is by who does most of the work on the vehicle


what? dude, the accounting guy always makes the most money because he is more important to the buisness than anyone else. it doesn't matter how good the mechanics are, if there's no one managing money the business goes down the drain. get your fair share, i would say at least double what they earn(assuming you have an accounting degree, if not then you should make the same as them)


oh and for your engine, i dont know why no one said this earlier. there's a sticker on the drivers door frame that says what engine the car has. (also se-r's are 2 door cars, so if yours has 4 then its not an se-r)


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## Slacky (May 31, 2004)

if its not a sr20de then get one, u can pick one up for like 400 bucks maybe engine and tranny from a junkyard for about the same but it would probebly be high miles,regardles u start out with 120 or 130 give or take depending on how tiredthe engine is, if u need any spare parts let me know i have a few stock se-r parts sittin around now that i dont need them


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## B-iLL (Oct 29, 2004)

Can anyone help me find a front wheel drive layout for the SR20DE? I would appreciate the effort to anyone who can help me find one or even if you are selling one. Thanks in advance.


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## B-iLL (Oct 29, 2004)

For those who want to know how many doors I have, I have a 4 door. Wow, talk about disappointment. Damn SE-R stickers! Oh wells. I've been reading the modification of the GA16DE on the Sentra.net by Mike Kojima. It seems like a good reliable engine, but of course I want SR20DE or even better SR20DET (hopefully, if it can fit in).


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## Slacky (May 31, 2004)

it will deff fit, the chassy for the 91 is the same regardless of the engine its the b13 model, just need to change some mounting parts


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## B-iLL (Oct 29, 2004)

Cool. I will defiantely look forward to swap engines in the future, but right now I'm thinking about working on my suspensions and brakes. I'll go get anti-sway bars, springs, and shocks. My brakes are fading also, so I'll be replacing them with some semi-racing brakes. Any recommendations is welcome. Thanks for your time. :cheers:


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## Slacky (May 31, 2004)

if u are planning on putting in a sr20 l8r, make sure that all the parts u buy will allow the sr20 to fit by, like strut tower bars that would clear the intake and what not, idk if they make different parts for ga or sr model b13 sentras but just make sure


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## chimmike (Oct 17, 2002)

B-iLL said:


> Is it true that a GA16DE engine turboed isn't as great as the SR20DE turboed? I heard a supercharger might be better for the GA16DE because of it's great bottom end. I'll go research now.



whoever is telling you these things, needs to stop talking, they don't fully know what they're talking about.


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## B-iLL (Oct 29, 2004)

chimmike said:


> whoever is telling you these things, needs to stop talking, they don't fully know what they're talking about.


Well, my friend was telling me about how turbo and supercharger works around the top end and bottom end. So I thought that super chargers will be good for the GA16DE. Sorry if I confuse you how I typed that out. He knows nothing of Nissans because he's a Toyota fan. That's why I joined this forum.  Just correct anything if I am wrong. Or correct my friend.


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## Slacky (May 31, 2004)

did he explain how they both work?


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## B-iLL (Oct 29, 2004)

Not specificly. He just told me that supercharger are good for bottom end because there is not that much lag. I know that he knows more but he is just giving me the basics since I'm like brand new to this.


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## Slacky (May 31, 2004)

super chargers are on right from the start u dont have to wait for them to spool up so they are good for engines wither realllllly crappy bottom end , turbos have a bit of lag but once they get spooling they push out a huge amount of power in the top end, the sr20 revs to 7 grand easy its actually recogmended to shift out of second at 6800 i think in a early model se-r. so keep your eyes open for sr20s or early model se-r parts cars with good engines so u can swap everything, then if u want u can turbo from there. thats what i would have done if the se-r i got didnt have a blown engine


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## B-iLL (Oct 29, 2004)

Ouch. Sorry to hear that. I will do a motor swap in the future. It is really hard to decide if I should power the GA16DE because at maximum potential isn't it around 200-250 hp? And with the SR20DE, someone got it above 400 hp, right? About the super charger and turbo, I hear that the supercharger doesn't lag because it is apart of the engine and it makes these things spin faster. I don't know what they are called but I think I can read the rest of it online. Thanks a million. Here's another topic that we can discuss, I heard about the GTi-R engines and the U13 SR20DE? Do you mind to compare and contrast these engines (SR20DE, GTi-R, U13 SR20DE) for me? And will they fit my '94 model?


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## Slacky (May 31, 2004)

yea supercharger is running off one of the pullys on the engine so its always on , turbos run off exhaust pressure, the more rpm the more exhaust put out so the faster the turbo spins which in turn means the mroe air compressed so u see its a coninual rapidly growing cycle every time u shift, yes the gtir and the u13 will fit, the gtir needs a little bit of trimming to pass the crossmember and has more power but if anything breaks u are probebly beat for parts as they are very rare, the u13 has a little less power but is a lot more common, comes with smaller injectors and a smaller turbo a t25 compared to a t28 on the gtir.


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## B-iLL (Oct 29, 2004)

Hmm... cool, cool. So is it safer to just go with a SR20DE swap?


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## Slacky (May 31, 2004)

yea cheap and easiest and build from there


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## B-iLL (Oct 29, 2004)

Thanks Slacky. I appreciate what you have done for me. Well, I guess that sums it all up.


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## b13pnoysentra (Mar 30, 2005)

B-iLL said:


> I'm new to this whole Nissan thing, so bear with me. I have a '94 Sentra SE-R. My question is that does all SE-R carries a SR20DE engine? I searched around and it seems so but my friend said I got a GA16DE. When I look under the hood, it doesn't say what liter I have, so can someone tell me how I can actually find out what motor I have? Thank you in advance.


I'm trying to reach 100 posts to change avatar. The answer is a true SE-R would have an bigger engine, the 2.0 over the 1.6L GA16DE. From the outside It would be a 2-door coupe, have front and rear disc brakes, 14" alloy rims, a spoiler with LED, rear trunk lights, fog lights, and an optional sunroof.


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