# What are you thinking!?



## Guest (Apr 6, 2003)

Ok, one more thing looking around this forum that really gets to me. Everyone seems to be looking for HP gains (so am i... ) but no one seems to realize that getting huge HP gains, means that you *HAVE TO* upgrade other things so your car wont just explode. If say you put something into your car like a turbo, that means you should also put in some forged pistons, and depending on how old you engine is, probably upgrade other engine components. But combine a turbo sr20de, and cold air intake, performance exhaust, performance ecu, and headers, and your looking at almost converting over your entire car. Remember a car with an sr20de in it is only made to handle about 140 hp. a little more wont hurt your car, but much more will most definitley strain your entire car. Most people that talk about these huge hp gains have cars with 130,000 miles on them. i even saw one guy talking about an sr20VET!!! think about how much strain that would be on a car with 130,000 on it, and remember, that means theres 130,000 miles on the tranny, and clutch, unless youve replaced them recently. sorry just had to get out some of my thoughts on this. im sure ill think of more to complain about later.


----------



## Hawaii_SE-R (Apr 30, 2002)

Zeus2k said:


> *But combine a turbo sr20de, and cold air intake*


Ummm . . . OhhKayy . . . I guess you could try to run a CAI rather than an intercooler if you are barely boosting.


> *Remember a car with an sr20de in it is only made to handle about 140 hp. a little more wont hurt your car, but much more will most definitley strain your entire car.*


Oh boy, my 12-year-old, 160,000 mile car is in trouble now.


> *i even saw one guy talking about an sr20VET!!! think about how much strain that would be on a car with 130,000 on it*


If the frame of the car is in good shape and the suspension is decent, where is the strain? The tranny? It is well known that there are certain components in the tranny that could break under certain usage regardless of the amount of miles or age of the mechanicals. Depending on the transmission, not age, different cars can handle various degrees of performance upgrades including turbocharging.


> *sorry just had to get out some of my thoughts on this.*


Interesting thoughts. BTW, I'm not trying to flame you, I'm just trying to point out that some cars like a '91 SE-R can handle quite a bit more than you may expect.


----------



## 99.se.ltd (Jun 21, 2002)

Zeus2k said:


> *Remember a car with an sr20de in it is only made to handle about 140 hp. a little more wont hurt your car, but much more will most definitley strain your entire car. *


car manufacturers don't build cars/motors that are already at their peak potential. what would be the point of that? why would anyone want to drive a car that's on the very edge of its capabilities? do you mean to say that adding some bolt-ons would deminish the car's life/performance value? proper maintanence and level-headedness are key. 
and most 'strain' in our cars is caused by people installing turbo kits on 130k+ mi. engines. most people know that if they have a high mileage engine, it's best to swap in an engine from a reputable importer. (less than 40k mi.) 

don't want to sound like an ass. it just seems like you're too pessimistic/uninformed about the strength our engines/drivetrains come with from the factory.


----------



## brucek2 (Sep 25, 2002)

exactly. don't forget about emmissions and fuel mileage. If every car had a CAI, Headers, and a free flowing cat and exhaust, then emmissions would most likely suck and fuel mileage would go down. And if that was the case it would KILL (exageration) the aftermarket world.


----------



## fastpakr (Sep 18, 2002)

That's not really true. None of the things you listed would have a real effect on emissions or fuel economy. However, they do increase interior noise levels, which is an important aspect in moving cars off the lot. The average consumer is looking for a quiet and reliable car, not one that trades that for 5 or so hp.


----------



## brucek2 (Sep 25, 2002)

what? if you got a CAI, Header, and a full cat-back exhaust your trying to tell me that those won't affect emmissions? ya right. come to california with those mods and try to get your car smog tested.


----------



## Guest (Apr 7, 2003)

273.6hp 280.1ft lbs 13.3 1/4 and 110,000


----------



## fastpakr (Sep 18, 2002)

You can't get them through CA testing because they haven't paid to go through the process of being CARB certified. If the car is tuned for those parts, there is no reason they would have any negative effect on emissions whatsoever.


----------



## chimmike (Oct 17, 2002)

did you just combine turbo with a header?????

look............the only major thing you NEED to upgrade with turbo is the fuel system, on an SR20. The stock internals are more than strong enough to handle more power.


----------



## zeno (Sep 17, 2002)

> But combine a turbo sr20de, and cold air intake, performance exhaust, performance ecu, and headers, and your looking at almost converting over your entire car. Remember a car with an sr20de in it is only made to handle about 140 hp. a little more wont hurt your car, but much more will most definitley strain your entire car.


Actually, a stock sr20de engine was specifically made to handle a turbo. Why do you think sr20det engine is so powerful and reliable platform to build on? The U.S. got the shaft and got the dumbdowned version. The sr20de engine is a tank, 200whp on a NA sr20de engine is not out of the question as far as keeping the engine in good working order and not having to worry about destroying parts on a constant basis. Hell, the sr20de engine can handle a 100 shot of no2 on stock internals! Not many other stock engines can take the abuse that a sr20de engine can, I'd like to see a Honda engine take the same abuse.



> Racing in a Civic is like the special olympics, even if you win, you're still retarded


lol.....nice sig


----------



## Hawaii_SE-R (Apr 30, 2002)

chimmike said:


> *did you just combine turbo with a header?????*


LOL, I missed that too.


----------



## bahearn (Jul 15, 2002)

External bolt-ons won't affect emissions very much, if at all. California fools have a VISUAL test as well as tail pipe test. Doesn't matter how good your tail pipe tests, though, if there's non-stock or non-CARB certified stuff visible, you fail. Bunch of crap if you ask me. The point is to get clean air. If you sniff good, what's it matter if it isn't stock? Damn Democrats and the sheep in California that let those dumb laws get passed.


----------



## Guest (Apr 10, 2003)

ok, see im being attacked here a lot. i'm just saying that if i had the money to upgrade my car that much, i would look for a more balanced setup then just hp. and im not just talking about putting strain on the engine, but theres more that can be affected in old cars then just engines. sorry, but i bought my nx2000 used, with about 90k on it, and after about 2k my transmission was shot, i love the car, but wtih any car i own after that, i always make sure to balance upgrades.


----------



## Hawaii_SE-R (Apr 30, 2002)

Zeus2k said:


> *ok, see im being attacked here a lot. i'm just saying that if i had the money to upgrade my car that much, i would look for a more balanced setup then just hp. *


Well, you did list certain mods that really don't work together at all. That would get some people's attention and quite possibly drop some of your credibility.

You may also find that those out there who do upgrade the power of their car's engine tend to also upgrade the car's suspension and brakes, especially those that are going beyond purely bolt-on.
*



sorry, but i bought my nx2000 used, with about 90k on it, and after about 2k my transmission was shot

Click to expand...

*Woah, sounds like either the previous owner ran the crap out of the tranny or somebody borrowed your car a just doesn't know how to drive standard. The trannies that are usually mated to the SR20DE are pretty strong and can handle quite a bit of boost. Heck, there are those out there with engines and trannies that have hit the 300,000 mile mark. Of course my 12-year-old car only recently hit 160,000 miles and there is still a lot of life in the JWT clutch (since 120,000 on the OEM clutch).


----------



## ccroaddog (Jun 20, 2002)

Zeus2k said:


> * But combine a turbo sr20de, and cold air intake, performance exhaust, performance ecu, and headers, and your looking at almost converting over your entire car. i even saw one guy talking about an sr20VET!!! *


ok im sure everyone has seem the big mess up with having a turbo with headers and CAI.... and a comment on the VET... only one guy has done it and he had done tons of work and did a really good job. The problem with turboing a VE is the compression is 11.1 which really isnt best for a turbo. I know there are a lot of 95 to 98 SE-R with a T25 or T28 that can handle the extra hp just fine with stock internals with only changing the injectors and fuel pump to help the turbo perform.


----------



## Hawaii_SE-R (Apr 30, 2002)

*Re: Re: What are you thinking!?*



ccroaddog said:


> *and a comment on the VET... only one guy has done it and he had done tons of work and did a really good job.*


You could always try to buy an SR20VET from a Nissan X-Trail:








. . . unless you really want to go through the long process or turboing an SR20VE.


----------



## ccroaddog (Jun 20, 2002)

u could but everybody who has thought of that has not really came up with a for sure yes on the transmission. the xtrail i believe is nissans first AWD turbo automatic car. Im sure it can be done but would probally be better off getting a sr20ve(5speed) then getting the xtrails turbo manifold or custom one and go that way. this kind of swap would be great for show but if you wanted to hit high hp numbers u would be better off with the GTI-R with its beefy internal extras


----------

