# KA24DE Performance



## 240luvr (Oct 8, 2004)

All right everyone, I'm gonna be different. I want to play with the KA not the SR, also I don't want to turbo it. I was talkin' it over with my pops and we've decided to pick up a DE, throw it on an engine stand in the garage, and build it up outside the car, then when it's done, do a direct swap in a weekend. My question is if I want to approximately double my horsepower (aiming for around 300). So without boost, no nitrous, I just want pure motor running this thing, what would I have to get, I was thinking cams, pistons & rings, rods, cam gears, cat-back, overhauled fuel system from phatka-t.com, I already have an injen intake, other than that what would you guys suggest for reaching my goal in power, and from what companies would you suggest buying this stuff from, don't forget you're talking to a 17 year old kid with a part time job at a pet store, I don't have all the money in the world so I can't be buying tanabe cat-backs and such. I realize that I'm gonna drop a good amount of money on this, but I also know that it can be done the right way while saving some cash. Thanks for the help guys...


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## Startours7 (Nov 30, 2004)

Carbs.

It's very costly to build these motors for NA preformance. I would lower my HP goal. Good luck.


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## Nismo14-180 (Mar 31, 2004)

Your gonna hve to do some ecu tuning to even think about coming close to that #. I recomend getting a AEM EMS. Also, a company called TWM Induction is making an Individual Throttle Body system for the KA24DE. They dont have a release date as of yet. But it will be around $3000 - 4000.


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## kellen_wynn (Jul 25, 2004)

Lets stay realistic. I have a similar goal for N/A performance, untill I blow this engine up, but mine is much more realistic. I'm not trying to discourage you but 300!?! N/A!?! I would save your money for boost if you want 300. 200hp(+/-15) is my goal and is much more realistic, even for my older engine. Think about legality too. And if your like me (broke ass bum) 300 N/A will put out on the street selling booty or crack. Sit down again with you pops, do some research on the KA, WRITE DOWN your goals and stick to them. I would hate to see your car on ebay because you failed half-way through.

Remember Dash before Flash! Dont get distracted! Good Luck!


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## kaptainkrollio (Jul 29, 2003)

Realistically, you might (probably won't) get 200bhp on an NA KA before you really ahve to start spending a lot of money for minimal gains.


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## 240luvr (Oct 8, 2004)

*how about w/ turbo?*

I know I'm lookin' at a lot of horses for NA and the money situation, but I always set my goals high. Okay so say realistically, I know I can reach 200 horses without boost (not saying it'll be easy), but lets say this, what do you guys think I should be putting into one of these engines to turbo it? I want to get cams, but what size would be best for turbo? Also, pistons, rings, and rods, what compression should I be looking for? Lets say for this goal lets keep it at 250-300 horses w/ turbo (realistic?)...how many pounds of boost am I lookin' at, and what other parts am I gonna need (beside the obvious, turbo, intercooler, b.o.v. etc.)? Thanks for giving me those smacks across the face to knock some sense into me...


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## azRPS13 (Jun 7, 2003)

240luvr said:


> I know I'm lookin' at a lot of horses for NA and the money situation, but I always set my goals high. Okay so say realistically, I know I can reach 200 horses without boost (not saying it'll be easy), but lets say this, what do you guys think I should be putting into one of these engines to turbo it? I want to get cams, but what size would be best for turbo? Also, pistons, rings, and rods, what compression should I be looking for? Lets say for this goal lets keep it at 250-300 horses w/ turbo (realistic?)...how many pounds of boost am I lookin' at, and what other parts am I gonna need (beside the obvious, turbo, intercooler, b.o.v. etc.)? Thanks for giving me those smacks across the face to knock some sense into me...


For the compression Id look towards 10:1+... As for boost... It would depend on the turbo... but Id say around 10-15lbs


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## dj42000_2000 (Oct 19, 2004)

there are tons of good sites dedicated to the KA turbo. www.ka-t.org is a good one. JWT(jim wolf technology) makes some useful stuff for a turboed KA, like cheaper standalone engine management, adjustable cam gears, cams, fuel delivery, MAF upgrades, and the like. look around and search. The turbo KA is also my project, not yet, but soon. suspension is first. I am around 190 at the flywheel, probably more, but I like to stay conservative. I have the KA24DE with an HS intake, Unorthodox underdrive pulley, NGK ignition components with bosch platinum 2 plugs, a cat-back exhaust that is fairly free-flowing, and I just built the head with new seals and a full port and polish. I want to get a block back exhaust for now until I am done with other parts of my gradual build. I have the stoptech stage 2 brake kit. I have an ACT clutch ready to go on. Suspension is next on the list, then LSD, body work, stereo, etc. then I'll go turbo. I have alot of things that I want to do with this car, but the primary goal is smooth, clean, and not flashy. If you want to talk about the turbo KA in depth, we can chat or open a new post for the purpose of turbo KA discussion. Hope that helps.

peace 
truman


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## Nismo14-180 (Mar 31, 2004)

*Thread Jacked! ha!*

If I cant get azRPS13's car, then I'm gonna build the other ka motor I have sitting in my shed for a NA goal of 220hp. Probably use JE 11.5:1 custom pistons and Pauter Ti rods(3000 a piece, how crazy is that?) to get the most gains. most of the other gains are gonna come from the work already done on the head.


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## kaptainkrollio (Jul 29, 2003)

I've actually heard of somebody making a better intake manifold for the KA that should be out soon. A new manifold should help solve some flow problems and give a little bit more power if you are interested. If you want a quick cheap 15bhp, then get the 91 cams and an s14 intake manifold.


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## 240luvr (Oct 8, 2004)

And the intake manifold from the S14 will bolt right up no problem?


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## 240luvr (Oct 8, 2004)

*fuel system*

Would the fuel system from www.phatka-t.com for the S13 be good w/ upgraded stainless steel lines? Or is there something better out there (bang for you buck that is)...

Thanks for all the help guys, also any more ka-t sites?


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## kellen_wynn (Jul 25, 2004)

Another thing to consider is the weight of your car. I've shed 100+/-lbs on my 240 while maintaining interior panels and most comfort features. The engine is mostly stock but I smoke these Hondas all the time with my AUTOMATIC. My next step after I increase the flow(CAI,CAT) is to replace the body with some light weight material. Here was my stage 1 weight reduction(as I like to call it):
1. Remove spare tire and tools, replace with an emergency kit w/tire repair and AAA membership.
2. Remove seats (if you must keep the passenger but its about 30lbs, I'm a loner so I dont need it)
3. Remove the power Antenna(damn thing breaks all the time anyways) or anything else you dont want.

This is the most important.....

4. New Wheels!! Get some light weight rims with some good tires. Dont go to big like 19" or something stupid like that, bigger tires mean more weight and alignment issues, stick with 16".

Try this out and notice how the car feels like you just dropped huge weight and installed a turbo(but you didn't shhhh). If you drift you'll notice the rear will break loose much easier without the spare tire and subs and etc.

DASH before FLASH!


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## kaptainkrollio (Jul 29, 2003)

It should.


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## KnightDrifter (Aug 8, 2004)

You can look at Boost Design's turbo kits. So far there the cheapest around and i haven't heard anything bad at all about them. Plus i think it comes with a one year warrenty. They just concentrate on building only KA motors.


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## zellx2004 (Sep 30, 2004)

you may want to upgrade your brakes before anything. Just remember that safety first and performance second. Around 300 hp there will no way your brakes would be efficent. 

If you want to make your KA quicker, start with the drivetrain. Like new bushings, shocks, springs, tires, LSD. You would be surprised how much that makes a difference.


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## DaCheat (Nov 4, 2004)

Yeah, man that sounds like a nice project, I wish my father knew atleast something about engines.
Personally I am stuck between building up a KA24DE from the ground up, and keeping it NA for the time being. I eventually want to turbo it, but that is many dollars and days down the road.
Boost Designs does have some really great stuff for the 240's including forged pistons, and pretty much everything else you need to build up the engine.
Also it is Boost Designs if my memory serves me right that is developing a new intake manifold for the 240's. There is another good sight that has some nice build up kits for 240's too, they provide engine rebuild kits for pretty much any import, just can't find the website. :dumbass: I will post the site when I find it again, btw good luck with the build up. :thumbup:


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## kaptainkrollio (Jul 29, 2003)

www.kas4de.com has a decent selection of KA performance parts.


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## SPECTRE72168 (Jan 20, 2005)

*CHEAP POWER*

A LOT OF GUYS WILL TELL YOU ABOUT A LOT OF REALLY GOOD WAYS TO GET HP BUT ALSO WITH A LOT OF $$$$$$$$$ AFTER DOING A WHOLE LOT OF RESEARCH I FOUND THAT SUBURU TURBOS PUT OUT ABOUT 10 LBS OF BOOST. THEY ARE FAIRLY COMPACT AND ARE EASY TO FIND, MOST YARDS WILL HAVE THEM FOR ABOUT $15-25 (IVE BOUGHT 5 OF THEM SO FAR) THE 280ZX TURBO PUTS OUT ABOUT 7 LBS AND IS ALSO BIGGER. THE ONLY PROBLEM IS YOU HAVE TO MAKE A CUSTOM FLANGE FROM THE MANIFOLD TO THE TURBO(SOMETIMES TRADE SCHOOLS MIGHT HELP YOU WITH THE WELDING IF YOU SUPPLY THE STEEL)THE HIGH DOLLAR ROUTE IS NICE BUT IF YOUR ON A BUDGET LIKE ME YOU HAVE TO CUT COST SOMEWHERE. I JUST SWITCHED BACK TO NISSAN(1989 240SX) AND ALSO REALLY WELCOME THE ADVICE OF THOSE OUT THERE. I AM LEARNING A LOT


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## Dustin (Dec 14, 2003)

spectre, could you please stop typing in caps, it hurts my eyes.


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## Drift Machine (Aug 22, 2004)

To get 250WHP you only need roughly 8 psi of boost, also depends on other factors but most who run 8 psi hit 250WHP or higher.

If you are going high compression don't waste your money on exspensive pistons, just put SOHC pistons into a DOHC. You're compression will be either 11.1 ro 11.6 depending on what year the SOHC are meant for. Saves a lot of money.


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## sunnydet90 (Sep 10, 2004)

just word to the wise if you do turbo the ka dont be stupid and try to run insane amounts of boost on stock internals i've seen perfectly good motors go to hell just because some retard wants to be crazily fast but doesnt want to take the time to build the motor up

Don


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## 240luvr (Oct 8, 2004)

I know better than that ^^. I'm buying a seperate engine to build up outside the car, so I have enough patience to build up what I have to. Also, I'm only looking at pushing like 8 lbs...10 at most...


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