# SR20DET swap vs. building my KA24DE...



## UnKnOwN @uDiO (May 15, 2005)

ive been told that for the money i would spend on the swap i could build the hell out of my ka24... id just like to know roughly where to start if i was going to "build" the ka and what parts/company's that ppl have used and gotten good results out of b/4 i start buying crap and am disatisfied with the results and wish i had just done the swap

secondly has anyone done a widebody conversion, im interested in one, but i need to know if the widebody rear fenders are an addon to the existing fender or if i have to chop the old fender off and weld the new one back in... 

thanks in advance 

Joe of Unknown @udio


----------



## Nismo14-180 (Mar 31, 2004)

Id start with pistons and rods. Ive heard good things about Weisco and Ross Pistons. The rods I would go with are from Pauter. Next thing would probably be the cylinder head up grades. But thats up to you.

Ive seen a few widebody kits. and from the 5 ive seen, they just cover up the existing metal. They were fiberglass, so its not much weight added.


----------



## 240luvr (Oct 8, 2004)

Yes, pistons are the weak link in the KA's bottom end. Although I have seen KA's pushed pretty damn far on stock internals. Try www.Phatka-t.com, www.Ka24de.com, and read up at www.Ka-t.org/forums, I've learned a lot from those forums and boosting the Ka...Also, www.jimwolftechnology.com is good all around...

And as for the widebody. All the rear fenders that I've seen get added on to your existing rear quarter. If you were to cut out the rear quarter and re-weld another one in, you would then have the possiblity of weakening the body (not good).


----------



## UnKnOwN @uDiO (May 15, 2005)

240luvr said:


> If you were to cut out the rear quarter and re-weld another one in, you would then have the possiblity of weakening the body (not good).


that is exactly what i thought and did not want to do so, so im happy to hear that it is just an add on!

thanks for the links on building up my ka, i need some serious help on doing this, first time ive messed with anything non-domestic...


----------



## 240luvr (Oct 8, 2004)

Just do all your research thoroughly and you won't have a problem. And don't forget that you're using metric tools now :thumbup:


----------



## UnKnOwN @uDiO (May 15, 2005)

metric tools are the only ones i own anyway, most domestics are switching to metrics too!

ok so if i replace the internals (pistons, rods, fuel injectors, new fuel rail, pressure reg.) whats the next step.... heads? who builds a good head (turbo) and is there a website i can check em out at?


----------



## 240luvr (Oct 8, 2004)

Let's start with this question... How much power are you looking at pushing? Because if it's not that much you don't want to waste your money on parts you don't need...


----------



## UnKnOwN @uDiO (May 15, 2005)

im not affraid to drop 5-6 k into the motor itself if thats what it takes, the car will end up being my daily driven show car (yeah i know, oxymoron!) speed is the key, i want the car to be FAST! but i want it to be built solid, and i plan to turbo the motor with all the boost i can possibly run (10 lbs. or so) I see this car getting an entire new front end (suspension) new rear end, tranny rebuild, and im looking for a block to start with, have it machined and ready to go when i start buying internals and then swap over any parts from my motor that arent in need of upgrading. basicly i want to build a motor on my engine stand and drop it in once its done. so for a short sweet answer to your question, any and all power that can be had out of a ka24de, thats the kind of power im looking for!


----------



## joerc240sx (Jan 19, 2003)

stock block will handle 10lbs boost easy. Stock block should get you into the 300hp if its tuned good. stock shotpinged rods have gone as high as either 450 or 500hp in a KA with forged pistons. A built engine should only cost you around 3k unless you go crazy and start getting coatings and freeving your parts then stuff can keep going up. realy the sky is the limit, i dont think anyone has pushed the KA to its breaking point of what money can achive.

If you got forged pistons, shotpinged your rods, good metal head gasket, ARP head studs, mild port job (3 angle), turbo cams, you could see 400hp on pump gas with a good tune all day.

There are alot of options out there, and alot of ways to get there. how driveable do you want your car? 400+hp all the time would suck to drive around all day, having a car with mutiple tunes like daily/track/strip would be alot nicer. You might want to set soild goals and go from there.


----------



## UnKnOwN @uDiO (May 15, 2005)

joerc240sx said:


> There are alot of options out there, and alot of ways to get there. how driveable do you want your car? 400+hp all the time would suck to drive around all day, having a car with mutiple tunes like daily/track/strip would be alot nicer. You might want to set soild goals and go from there.


the car has to be daily drivable, but i do want to have multiple tunes, but i don't know exactly how to achive this... i would love to see 400+ hp, i just need guidence to get there! 

the pistons i had considered running were the supertech coated race pistons with the pauter con-rods, i need to know of a good place to get a crank from to finish out the bottom end, and i also need to know what would be a good cam/head setup to achive 400+ hp. im in the process of getting a parts car with a dead motor/tranny, and provided the block is in good shape still it will be the block that i will have machined and start from there

yesterday i was talking to a fellow enthusiast and he has heard of ppl using the SR20 heads on KA24 blocks... anyone heard of this or know if they would even come close to bolting up? also how big of exaust do i need to run going with the turbo?


----------



## joerc240sx (Jan 19, 2003)

No need for all of that. Like i posted to have an engine that can take 400hp is not that hard, a stock KA24de has taken over 400hp.

Tell you what, why dont you start out easy!

Find a low miles used engine with less then 100k miles and good compresion.
Swap that into your 240
If you want to get some bolt-ons try turbo CAMs, Underdrive pully, and Flywheel
Upgrade to a stage 2 clutch with 300lbs/ft holding force or higher.
Pic out the Turbo parts; Manifold, Turbo, Piping, BOV, and Intercooler. Or get a Turbo Kit l
Get a tune by either JWT or Empathy (I belive thats right, check Freshalloy)
get a Cobra MAF, 50lbs injectors, and a 255lph fuel pump

On a setup like that you should see up to 320-350hp befor you max out the injectors as long as the turbo can flow.

From there you can see if you still want more power, plus if you kill the engine you are only out 100-600 dollars and not 2k-4k for a built motor. Then if you do want more power start building a killer engine on the side that will get you what you want.


----------



## thedaddies (Sep 29, 2003)

Cams aren't necessary below 500 rwhp I mean Rick(ka-t.org) made 533 rwhp on stock cams. 

If you want the perfect build go to phatka-t.com and buy the works. Built block, manifold, AEM EMS, etc. Then you'll be good for whatever the turbo max's out at...PK GT32=450 rwhp or PK GT35=650 rwhp. The 32 spools really quick for it's size, there are some dyno's to look at on their page that will show.

ka-t.org is where you want to find this info, it will be much better explained, and much easier to search since there is much more info on the KA that here.


----------



## UnKnOwN @uDiO (May 15, 2005)

thanks for the link man, all the advise and such... ive got alot of reading to do, and as for bolting on upgrades to a used motor, i just cant do that, ive built a motor for every car ive ever owned, so im serching for a good ka block to start with and im gona build this thing as nasty as my pocket book will allow!


----------



## Nismo14-180 (Mar 31, 2004)

Haha, you said pocket book...

Boost Designs Another good KA-T shop
Top Hat Performance Another good shop, located in ATL.


----------



## thedaddies (Sep 29, 2003)

Well how deep is your pocket?=) I'm sure Ivan at phatka-t.com can help lighten it's load and also help you to fulfill all your dreams from a KA.


----------



## UnKnOwN @uDiO (May 15, 2005)

this car is going to be a 3-5 yr project, so my pockets are as deep as they need to be, im looking at building a 5-600 rwhp car, phatka-t is going to help in this quest!


----------

