Ive given Justin at Intense Motorsports a deposit on the KA he happened to have kicking around, it’s been really damn handy having Intense just sitting out there waiting to be utilized and I must say Im really happy with the way things have worked out.
So now it’s time to re-work the motor a little before it goes in the car. Ive been considering all of the options and Im going to build my turbo kit over some time and do it right the first time. For now Ill just have to be happy with the Nitrous bottle in the back…for now…
My instincts tell me there are a few things I should do to the motor before I install it and a few things I should probably purchase simply for there ease of install while the motor is out and the car is off the road for a couple weeks. I have started a list of things I intend to do and parts I have sourced or need, new and used. If there is anything that you think I should do in addition to my list or parts that might be worth while let me know.
Keeping in mind, parts are expensive and labour is free. All of my research tells me that no one has broken 200hp on a NA KA24DE motor, so Im not hoping to gain much as I don’t intend to swap cams, upgrade internals, bore it etc. but I would like to make it breath better and perform better till I can get a turbo together.
So here is the list…
New Parts
Timing chain (and tensioner?)
Belts
Premium synthetic fluids
At this point new parts are a luxury and if I was intending on doing a full rebuild I would do more but Im not so I can’t.
Used Parts
Freshly powder coated valve cover
DC Sports 4-2-1 Header
Kakimoto 2.5" Exhaust (No model info.)
ASP crank underdrive pulley
Megan Racing front and rear upper STBs
I know thats not much of a list of parts, but Im broke folks so bare with me.
I know the valve cover won’t make it go faster, but I gotta represent. lol…
The header, exhaust and strut bars are all coming from the same guy, but Im not sure I want the exhaust so badly. It seems to me the stock exhaust doesn’t flow too bad (mines nearly new) and I do have to pass one more e-test before the car turns 20. Any advice? I checked out the kakimoto website and they seem to have good stuff, Im just not super knowledgable on exhausts. So a little help is appreciated.
Underdrive pulley in itelf won’t make much of a difference, but considering Im going from a motor with 300kms on it to one with 130kms and all the little stuff I intend to do. It will collectivley make a pretty big difference in the way the car revs and drives in general.
I intend to capitalize on the less expensive, labour aspect of tuning in lots of different ways but Im hoping you guys can help me out a little bit here.
Mods/Tweaks
Grind out and polish inside of intake manifold
Removal all A/C components
Remove power steering components
Loop powersteering rack
There is more and Ill update it when I think of it, but I have a few queries first.
Flywheel re-surfacing… Is it relevant/necessary/easy if Im not doing a new clutch, I can’t afford a light weight one but can a stock one be lightened?
Battery Re-location… Id like to just put together the parts and do it myself. Who has done it and where can I get the parts locally?
Powersteering loop… I get the idea but can anyone point me to an online writeup about it?
Roll cage… I found a decent price on a 4-point rollcage and I like the idea of increased safety and rigidity. If in the future I wanted to participate in some event of some sort some where, what minimum specifications should the cage have? tubing dia., wall thickness etc? I know it’s a very vague question but Im not putting it in for looks and I don’t want to have to put another one in any time soon.
just incase anyone wants to question thigns…
Im fairly aware of the laws regarding nitrous use, the bottle isn’t in my car all the time and if it is it will be empty
I understand that KA motors aren’t the best motor for a build but Im broke and have no options
The header is great IMO if my car is NA for a while regardless of future plans,
It will cost 10g’s for a 200hp KA thats why I said Im not hoping for much gain, but I am gaining 15hp and 18ft/lbs approx. with the switch to the DOHC and I figure that coupled with the other little things should be a fairly substantial difference between old car and new car
Rollcage is great for street/strip and I like the strip (drifting and autocross someday) I also have 4 point harnesses that arent very well mounted and seats that I can’t move because of the mounting, a cage would fix that. Besides that I already hit my head on the roof
Motor came out of the white car at Intense and has 165-170 compression across the cyclinders and only has 130kms on it
In an ideal world I would have gotten rid of the KA and most of this wouldn’t have applied but Im broke and this is the motor Ive got, this is the plan Ive got.
Ill have more to ask later Im sure…
Thanks alot
Adam