Tweet
in all respects its all based on the person and how they wanna approuch there PROJECT car weither or not to put in a KA or SR to me its all the same"not literally" but as long u have fun and put ur time into it all the power to u goin side ways
-
-
For FYI purposes:
I have the longest running, most reliable KA+T in the US. 4+ years, 60k+ miles.
Stock internal, daily driven at 14.5psi (1.0 bar), 91 octane. Car gets used for road course, drift etc.
Bounces off redline often while drifting (7,200rpm).
At the boost level, the engine makes over 318rwhp and 330lb-ft of torque. A very, very driveable package that works for topspeed, grip, drift, and all around daily driving.
The peak power is @ 6k to 6.5k rpm. Yes, there's a flat curve there.
When Benson Hsu drove my car, his comment was interesting. "Drives like a SR!"...
My point here is:
With a properly setup package, reliability is not an issue, and driveability is also great. The KA doesn't have a top rpm issue when boosted. Most SR folks that talk down on KA, haven't been in a KA+T or KAT. (+ for bolt on). Even if the peak power is the same, the KA will have a broader powerband.
An often used example was back in 2001, during the first Nissan 240SX convention in Kansas City, Mo, where 2 different cars, KA vs SR, with same peak power did an impromptu test. The heavier S14 with the KA+T was able to walk away everytime... More power in the powerband...
As for block strength, stock block, well, it's still holding up on my friend's T66 534rwhp KAT. No issue.
But as I've concluded time and time again in this seemingly ageless question of KA vs. SR/SR vs KA. Vanilla vs Rocky Road? Which is your favorite flavor? Just pick one and enjoy... Both are good.Comment
-
I havent had much experience with either the KA or the SR, but if you like revs, go for the 13B! JK, i had a CA20 N/A before, and altho it was redlined at only 6500 (in my old S12), it absolutely loved to rev, almost as much as the 13B N/A. Lighter valvetrain, etc, helps with that, and Im sure the lighter flywheel and drivetrain would make a huge difference.Comment
-
I agree with the train of thought of "it really depends on what you want". Both engines are great and have their strong and weak points. I have a 97 S14 and the county that I live in is possibly going to start doing emmisions (obdII scans) starting next year. So that limits me to the KA if I want to keep my car streetable. To boot, my car is an automatic so I need as much help in the torque department as I can get :-) I have to admit though if I live somewhere that emmisions didn't apply, then I'd chose the SR. Strictly from a cost perspective, it makes more sense. I get a 5 speed swap in the package and the engine will support 250 whp or so easily assuming that you do a decent job setting up the fuel system.Comment
-
So why exactly isn't the SR20DET able to pass emissions? And what is a obd2 scan compared to the one where they meter what is coming from the pipes? I thought that as long as you had a cat. converter that it really didn't much matter, especially with a stock engine.Comment
-
SR20DET has never been certified/legalized for us in North America. It's illegal flat out... Simple as that.
And OBDII is a North American market requirement. Doubt you find a Japanese market engine having the same system. So, immediately you will fail emission testing.Comment
-
i'd love to see where you got your information about the weight of the engine. cause when i did the swap for a friend we actually weighed the motors. and it was not 100lbs difference. more like 35-40lbs.Originally posted by raging panda
you are right except for the KA actually weighs about 100lbs more than the all aluminum sr. Still not a big difference. I am very biased since I think its stupid to spend 2500 on a stock engine just to make 185whp instead of improving what you have for 2500 and make 250+whp. Only time I would consider SR is if I had a ton of money and ultimate horsepower is the goal, the SR has a much bigger aftermarket that the KA cant compare with.
and aftermarket as in what? connecting rods, piston heads, valves and valve springs? the aftermarket support is bigger than you think.
the KA is supported well. but if you compare how the KA is supported here in the US and how the SR is. theyre pretty much on the same level. with that being said it would just be easier and and a tad cheaper to keep with the KA. of course when you run it hard something is going to give. and it would be allot easier to replace a KA block or water pump than to have to wait for an SR piece.Comment
-
Thats awsome, then the KA is lighter than I thought. Someone posted "official" engine weights on the NICO forums once, I took them for fact, but first hand knowledge beats out. I was comparing the KA total aftermarket to the SR total aftermarket, worldwide. The SR is much more supported, but yes in the US each are pretty close aftermarket-wise. I know all about the KA aftermarket, I was in it until I sold my S13. I know you can get all that stuff plus some. It is big, but still nothing to the SR aftermarket where you have complete head packages with rocker arms, cams, valves and springs, coming from 2 different companies. The KA cant compete with that.
That is a big draw I think for the KA, the fact that you can replace your engine, possibly that week, where the SR you are going to shell out some money for another engine, and you might have to wait.Comment
-
The thing about the SR legaity is... It doesnt mater what it produces. Or what equipment it has. it was never sold in america so the smog station will simply not pass it legally.
Now there is grounds to question that. So anyone with a law degree or a good layer might be able to pass emissions with one, The grounds is there is at least 1 company that is importing and selling legalized S15 silvias. which run the sr20 motor. That means the Sr is now sold in america. Which means test and BS had go to threw to sell. So would be no different then swapping in a different legal engine. like some of the S10 guys do when they swap in late model V8s legally.
Now good luck convencing the smog guy.. like i said bring a lawyer.. its not something the average enthusiest will be able to do. And dont take my comments here as proof the SR is legal or anything.. far from it.
On the same note the RB25 and RB26 are sold by motorex in the skyline.. may be a legal path to persue for those guys too. No doubtable they had to add alittle equipment to these motors.. but i imagine its nothing big.. really its the paper work and bureacuracy..
That said.. few KA turbo setups are california legal either so... welcome to the world of the S13..Comment
-
Another point to note is that for all practical purposes, both engines will achieve the same power levels that a "high powered" drift car would have. Figure in the neighborhood of 350whp. That number is well within the limits of both engines. While the SR would handle that power with a better head gasket and stud kit (just to be prudent) the KA might require a better set of pistons to make power at that level reliably. The KA will make more torque lower in the RPM band which to me would be a desireable quality when it comes to drifting. It also has a flatter torque curve. The SR on the other hand can turn significantly higher than the KA. It's turbocharged from the factory so the initial cost of operating it is probably a bit less than a turbo KA. Figure it'll cost 2 grand for the motor, ecu and trans and right there you're at or near 200whp. You're going to have to spend close to 3k with the KA on a turbo kit but you'll probably make more power and definately more torque. The biggest winning factor for the KA is that for the traditional drifter (the guy/gal that drives the same car to work the next day) a KA+T will still be able to pass emmisions. That's a biggie folks...Comment
-
the KA turbo isnt guarunteed to pass emissions, and if you are in cali, I dont think there is a carb exempt kit yet, although I thought the greddy was pending. The SR will make about 190 whp, not bad, but there are guys with home made kits on a KA making 220+ whp, and thats on the cheap with like a used T25, a crappy ssautochrome manifold, and other parts used to cut corners. No idea how reliable those setups are as they are still relatively new, but we will see with time.Comment
-
Basicly if you have a S13, and you want to make more then 160 whp you wont pass emisions in california. Thats just how it is. Home built turbo kits arent carb exempt because they need special paper work... stupid huh? any highly turned NA KA wont pass emisions because of everything needed to push the KA very far.. high compression, massive head work demonic assistance...
SR CA and RB wont pass the visual... Yes thats right.. you can put a giant smog spewing v8 into a muscle car and be fine.. but you can swap in a relatively clean running japanese spec engine.. or build a turbo kit...
if your in CA and you want to make big power with these cars you wont pass smog legally.Comment
-
Greddy's system is CARB.
NSport's S13 turbokit use to be CARB as well, when it was sold by Bell engineering. This kit came out back in '92... Yeah, that long ago...
For states that does OBDII testing, KA+T is the only way to fly. My car is 100% OBDII/emission compliant. Passes emission on first try. No codes etc either.
How? JWT tuned ECU that is...Comment
-
What turbo kit are you running on your 97? I was under the impression that JWT couldn't flash 97+ ecus.Comment
-
They still don't.
Takes 3 wire swap on ecu harness plug to run a '96 OBDII ecu.Comment
Comment