It’s been a while since this topic has been brought up, and it should probebly stay that way … but something from pdm-racing caught my eye:
They tuned a stock ecu to pump out around 25 rwp from the ka! throwing on some bolt-ons brought it to: 177 RWHP and 182 ft/lbs Torque ! suprisingly it was done on a 250 000km engine as well…
the bolt-ons used:
Dc Sports Header
Megan 3" Catback Exhaust
Injen Intake
i was thinking, with a high comp engine + proper cams, maybe some pullies would you be able to hit 200rwp ?
i knew a few people who put SOHC pistons in a DOHC motor with 11:1 compression…but it didn’t last. Also doing some more research reveals everyone saying it’d cost 4K + to hit 200rwp, but pdm got close with under $1400
personally i think ka’s are cheap, they break you buy a new one for 400 bucks, in a sense i see it as being economical smarter if your not looking for big power and don’t feel like going turbo.
my Turbo setup in total is costing me around $1975. The only thing missing now are the gauges if I want of course(WIdeband,Egt,boost,oil temp) but none of those are really required. I am guessing around 215 whp. Don’t forget the cost it would be to buy those mods and then get it tuned on a dyno to push out that much hp.
Forged pistons are heavy, need to be run sloppy in the bores for expansion.
Forged are very strong, but for NA builds, pointless.
You’d want hypereutectic. Much much lighter.
If you’re serious about this engine, I could walk you through it. You won’t make the same #s as a turbo motor, that’s for sure. but a well-built NA KA would be a serious blast to drive.
The head would need a bit of reworking I’ve got a great cam setup bouncing around in my head, the bottom end would have to be balanced …
11:1 compression is tough for the street, especially with a hacked ECU and crappy gas.
The top end of the motor would need to be done too.