CA18 or SR20?

[turbo_blitz21]

*MAF sensor sorry!

[nissanguy_24]

Re: CA all the WAY

Originally posted by turbo_blitz21
CA all the way man. First off the iron block that thing is the little brother of the rb26. It takes the hi revs and its reliable as anything. It an amazing engine. You won't need nos. Just slap a new turbo on like t3/t4 ot the super 60 and you will be good to go. The CA has soo much potential. I just got done dropping one into my coupe I will post some pics this week. But yeah its amazing I talked to Ken Gushi and he said he wishes he had one instead of an SR so there you have it.

The only advantage i see the CA having over the SR is its iron block. AND I"VE NEVER heard of someone running so much boost on a SR20 that they broke the block. Thus iron block = bad thing. Also to run enough boost to make the iron block nessisarly you will be running aturbo that you probably wont want to drift with. Especailly with out d1 level skill.

I dont care if the CA is the rb's little brother, or big brother or great aunt gemmima. The Sr20 is newer, bigger displacement and carries more aftermarket then the CA. If you really want a CA get it. but you obviously dont want it paticularly because your asking this question.

Do what you want, but im sick of hearing about how the CA is vastly superior to the sr. Also the Ca's stock turbo blows. Get your self a redtop SR, should be plenty cheap outside of america. Get your self a gt28 off a S15. upgrade your fuel pump, get a manual boost controler. You will have more power then you know what to do with on a drift car.

Further more a T3 or bigger turbo wont just bolt up. Its going to require at least some kind of new flange or exhaust manifold. Not to mention a bigger intercooler to handle such a large turbo. No car 'needs nos' however nitrous is a very handy way to make power when needed. Especialy if you have access to good gas.

Anyways just my thoughts on the subject, i am by no means a expert on nissan engines.

Originally posted by raging panda
dude, a t3/t4 will have way too much lag on a 1.8 ltr engine, not even gonna mention the super 60, its all about response with that little engine, especially for drifting. Either engine will be good to 300hp, so unless you are worried about making like 500+ hp you dont really need to worry about the block. The CA will rev higher, but wont get the torque the SR will, so its kind of a trade off as to which one you prefer, but neither engine is really a lot better than the other in any real sense. I would recomend whichever one is easier/cheaper to maintain for you.

Exactly, and i always say when all else is nearly equal, do what the domestic boys always say.. get more displacement. Especialy for drift/touge and well drag racing...

[RallyGT]

imagine how i feel in touge....auto and ff....i get by tho

[raging panda]

I like the CA for its willingness to rev, it has a way better/reliable valvetrain, and the head design (from what I understand) is better, but not in such a way that it makes it vastly superior to the SR. I wanted a CA, its a cool engine, but the reality is that power parts from that engine will be hard to come by due to it being around only 2 years. The SR is over 10 years old, so you know which one has a larger following just by volume. The SR has had some blocks blow up i've seen them on NICO forums, guys post pics of their aluminum cans getting crushed, but even if the block didn't blow up in the CA, the internals are still so far wasted that it wouldn't make a difference, so the iron block really doesn't ever make that big a difference.

[hachiroku-fc3s]

Yeah, Im with raging panda, the head design is the vast(my word, not his) superiority, perhaps you will learn that when you go upgrade your engine internals, you SR20 guys. Also, turbo_blitz was not incorrect, he compared a t3/t4 hybrid to NOS, sensible comparison as both need to be at near full throttle to realize results (perhaps he didnt realize this but he is correct none-the-less). But those of you who said a t3/t4 on a 1.8 is too much for dori are right too. Ive done it, not a linear poweband at all. Yeah, Ive heard of at least 5 busted SR blocks. Usually something else goes wrong first and it doesnt get to that, but its happened.

*whispers to SMC* do you realize you told him that the stock turbo on the CAdet engine sucks then told him to upgrade his stock SRdet turbo?

SMC is right about the T3 and NOS tho.

[nissanguy_24]

Originally posted by hachiroku-fc3s

*whispers to SMC* do you realize you told him that the stock turbo on the CAdet engine sucks then told him to upgrade his stock SRdet turbo?.

Yeah i caught that too.


I didnt mean to imply the sr20 turbo was so much better, then told him to upgrade it. I was just stating problems with the Ca, and like usual my thoughts get bunched up. Fact is the SR turbo kindof sucks too. Though i hear its slightly better.


If your going to a point where your going to be blowing up a block. And i am thinking full out drag car then i would hope you have enough experience to not be asking for our opinions. However thats not the case, and nothing wrong with that.

And if you are wanting to push that much power i would sugest the KA, you will be doing alot of work eitherway, might as well get the big boy of the S13 4 cylenders.

Now if the higher more rev happy CA meets your criteria and style for all means go with it. But understand less displacement means less low end power, it also means more turbo lag for any sized turbo ect.. You can run a much bigger turbo on a Rb25 or KA for example with the same lag a smaller turbo on a CA will have. Displacement is often our friend.

If you deside you want the rev happy CA (and from what i've heard the sr isnt exactly afraid of RPMS either, especialy compared to the KA) get your S13's weight down as much as possible to compensate for the lack of displacement. And go to a responsive turbo, i still sugest the S15's turbo, though i dont know what it takes to bolt up. Anyone have any info on this ?

[turbo_blitz21]

Well I am glad that we got the cleared up. But does the CA stock turbo really suck.. I mean the one that came with my engine was perfect. NO shaft play. Boosts at 10psi stock, plus the good thing is that if something on a CA breaks you can go to napa or pepboys and they will have some CA parts there. Atleast here in ATL they do. Anways thanks for all the new info guys hachi-fc3s thanks for backing me lol!

[nissanguy_24]

Originally posted by turbo_blitz21
Well I am glad that we got the cleared up. But does the CA stock turbo really suck.. I mean the one that came with my engine was perfect. NO shaft play. Boosts at 10psi stock, plus the good thing is that if something on a CA breaks you can go to napa or pepboys and they will have some CA parts there. Atleast here in ATL they do. Anways thanks for all the new info guys hachi-fc3s thanks for backing me lol!

Yeah if you want to push high power you wont want that turbo. Which i assumed you wanted to do sence you were talking about needing a strong block and big turbo ect.. it was just an assumption though. What is your power goal?

[turbo_blitz21]

I want to push hi 200's maybe 300. I was thinking of just keeping stock turbo and doing internal work. Starting off with new gaskets or boring out the engine. What you think? Maybe new cams and fuel system? Its a drift car not drag. And I know what you are gonna say you don't need that much power for drift.

[nissanguy_24]

Originally posted by turbo_blitz21
I want to push hi 200's maybe 300. I was thinking of just keeping stock turbo and doing internal work. Starting off with new gaskets or boring out the engine. What you think? Maybe new cams and fuel system? Its a drift car not drag. And I know what you are gonna say you don't need that much power for drift.

NAh i wont say that, i will say that your going to want a bigger turbo to push that much power. sport compact car's project silvia is pushing similar to what you want, they went with the gt28rs "disco potato" turbo. But the stock CA, and SR turbos will be spinning way to fast at those power levels.

[turbo_blitz21]

Ok so with the gt28rs will I need to upgrade anything else or is it just a bolt on. Another question is. If I do stick with the stock CA what you think would be the best upgrades to get it aorund 275hp?

[turbo_blitz21]

Dude the gt28rs is expensive what about the gt28r wil that work?

[nissanguy_24]

yes Jim Wolf has gt28rs for about 1200 bucks. However the gt28rs will put out the power you want and be very responsive. In SCC they made 275 at the wheels at 14 or 15 psi. And pushed that up to about 22 psi at the drag strip, so you can image that was over 300 at the wheels

the GT28 on the S15s where rated at 255 at the crank so probably made about 230 at the wheels. You probably can push 300 at the wheels with one of these even more. I honestly couldnt tell you what. If you got a compressor map you could do some quick math and some estimations.

[raging panda]

if you want a cheaper bigger turbo, id say go for a t3 off a z31, those will run about 300-500 rebuilt. your idea of doing internal work and stock turbo is kinda backwards, as the internals wont be a problem at 300ish hp as long as your have adequate air/fuel getting to the engine. Get a bigger turbo, bigger injectors, bigger exhaust, fmic, etc. bolt ons and you can get around 300hp on stock internals. Just get it tuned on a dyno really well, it will be pretty reliable, although at those stress levels, nothing is for sure.

honestly i would go turbo KA, its the easiest engine to get, gives the best low end and with minimal money on the turbo side, gives a good 250+hp for around $1500 if you know what you're doing. Importing the CA or SR to me means you either
A. want to show off your jdm madness
B. want super mad power and parts that you can get for the SR
C. have way too much money
D. have blind super street loyalty and believe all the cool things they say and how much they rag on the KA

I'm not calling anyone out here so dont cry. I just dont see why people drop 2500+ on a SR swap just so they can have 185whp instead of modifying what they have and making 250whp, unless you are option B. But thats not really true either since there are guys with KAs making 500+ whp.

[S13 Black Wolf]

yeah ok i have choosen the CA in this case it don't really brother me about the cc's u can alway's stroke an engine and that will give more torque. i don't much about turbo's by brands and suff like that but the kit i purcased the HKS GT2540 350hp Turbo Kit for CA18 or SR20. as soon as i get the rest of the money together i will set upon doing up that engine (mabe annother year?). so at the moment i put the SR20 so i can still drive my car whille working on the CA18