Engine swaps for noobs

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Intro-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, you just got your new (old really) Nissan 240sx. Coupe, hatch, zenki, or kouki, it doesnt matter; we all know you sure as hell didnt buy the car just to drive it. You want to go faster, you want to turn harder, you want to look better. We all do, thats why your here.
The “big thing” with 240’s, the engine swaps. So there is nothing about the turning or the showing in here (well a little bit of handling). With some 5 common motors to choose from, the newcommers may not no where to start. Start here, but beware this is just to get you crawling, not walking. The world of swaps and motors is bigger than your brain so just chill and do your homework, this is only to inform you on the basics so you know now what to search for specifically.

The Purpose---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As stated above, we want to go faster. Just like any other car, the concept is simple, fast is fun. We all like fun. The reason for the swaps, is potential. The KA24 in stock form, lets face it, it’s nothing special. They have been in your car for 1xx,xxx miles, and, well no motor lasts for ever. So what are your options. Well there are 3 thing you can do:

1. Slap an intake and some headers on her and drive her till she dies…borrrring
2. Rebuild and/or boost it. There are a fair amount of KA24DE turbo kits floating around and will surely shock your butt dyno. Without a rebuild, that 1xx,xxx miles is going to own you sooner or later, don’t deny it. Rebuild it and you have yourself a beast but not everybody has that kind of money. This lead us to the main focus of this thread…
3. Swap it. An engine swap provides a great alternitave to beefing up the KA. The motors available give a great base platform to build your dream car out of. Solid, stout, and boost ready, what more could you want. So like most people on here, they choose the latter path. That choice in itself opens up a whole new world of many paths.

The Basics-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are 5 common engine swaps that are nested in the 240sx engine bay:
CA18DET
SR20DET
RB20DET
RB25DET
RB26DETT
KA24DE-T (not a swap but boost is boost)

Each of these motors is unique in their own way. All have great potential. But of couse, it call comes down to, whats right for you, what you want, and even though we all hate it, your wallet.

The Motors-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So you want to know about each motor, well good because, well just read. So lets look at our situation again, we want a motor. Which one, well you sure as hell dont know because thats why your here. These motors are in order of displacement and price (with two exeptions). They also follow the same order as the engine list above.

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CA18DET

Okay, here we have a 1.8L 173hp inline 4 cylinder turbo motor. The CA18 is the original motor of the S13 chassis in japan from '88-90. This thing is pretty stout for a little 1.8L. It’s like the geek with glasses hiding a 3rd degree black belt. The internals are forged and good for well over 300hp before they need to be upgraded. It’s a pretty rev happy motor and is great for a person with mild power goals and wants a good balance. Also, it is the cheapest of the available motors and just as easy, if not easier than the SR20 swap. For all you weight watchers like myslef, it is the lightest motor on the menu, even though it’s an iron block. The engine sits pretty far back in the bay and places most of the weight behide the front axles; thats a good thing. From a handling point, it offers better weight distribution from the engine position than that of the RB motors, but were not here to talk about handling so moving on. The CA’s arent very common mostly due to their age. They are oldest of the motors. When swapping its going to be in your best interest to check rod and main bearings and replace if nessesary. Pumps, belts, and some other accesories should also be checked and/or replaced. Another downside is the US aftermarket for the motor. Finding aftermarket parts isnt the easiest thing in the world but they are out there. Yet in the end it will still be the cheapest swap.

Good CA18 resource, dont be lazy, click on it: www.ca18det.org

SR20DET

If you haven’t heard of this motor then, well you must have been knocked out for the past 10 or so years. SR’s are by far the most common swap seen in any generation fo 240’s. Why? lets take a look.There are three versions of this motor, well, technically four.

S13 Red Top SR20DET

The redtop is the most popular choice. Its the cheapest of the SR’s, 203hp (dont give me crap about that because the 205 rating is in ps and not HP) with 7psi of boost comming from a T25 turbo. Basically, these suckers are nice. I personally have had a ride in a base swap and drivin one with about 250hp, they pull hard and are a blast. The best thing about this motor is the aftermarket. Because everybody has one, there are a zillion parts for them. The install is pretty basic, as it’s just drop in and wire. But of course, with any swap you should know what you’re doing. I am adding a little here about the tech part of the swap now that i have actaully done it. I helped my buddy with his redtop swap recently. We did it in his garage,a lack of decent tools, no power tools, limited space,lack of money, and time. If anybody who was thinking about this swap was worried about install, its really not that hard. Im 16 years old, the swap isn’t hard, yes it takes time, but if you use that time to do things right the first time, your in good shape. The best part of swaping any motor yourself is you learn alot, thats what counts most.

Black Top SR20DET

The differnece between the red top and black top is minimal. There are some minor ECU changes, cooling fins on the head (eariler red tops did not have them) and thats basically it. They are a little more pricy because they are newer. This is also a common choice for the same reasons as the redtop. Good power, aftermarket etc. Ok enough with these, next.

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S14 SR20DET

So here we have the mid version of the SR. Some of the obvious changes at a glance are the new intake manifold, rear slanted valve cover with a hump on the front. That hump houses a variable timing system not present on the S13 SR’s. These are going to get you 220hp out of the box. Some of that power comes from a larger T28 turbo. Yea all this sounds find and dandy but you are going get a bigger hole in your pocket as the price of these is a fair chunk more than the S13 SR’s.

S15 SR20DET

Good stuff. 250hp on tap. 6-speed tranny to make that 3500rpm @ 80mph go away. There are pretty minimal visible differences from the S14 SR. This one has another turbo imporvment. A T28 ball baring, feeding that 250hp. But like always, goodness comes at a price. That fancy 6-speed isn’t as strong as the 5-speeds that came with the rest of the SR group. And big price in this case, be ready to bust out the needle and thread for this one, it will burn a hole in your pocket. The S15 SR is the least common because its the most expensive, and like the S14 SR its also harder to install than th S13 SR’s, including a driveshaft, motor mounts, more extensive wiring, etc. Yes its awesome, no you cant afford one .

SR Wrap Up:

If you’re the kind of lazy bumb with some cash and just want a motor, drop your car off at the local import tuning shop, tell them you want an SR and hand over a few grand. You will be good to go. If your looking for good power, good aftermarket, lots of potential, and just a great motor; the SR is for you. I think people are running somthing stupid like 400whp on the stock bottom end so power is plentyful. End of story, for the SR’s anyways.

Opps, cant forget the link.(please, use it abuse it love it)
http://www.srswap.com/faq/index.asp

RB Series Motors

Iron block, Inline 6 turbo, strong, reliable, and some of the best damn sounds your ears will ever hear. The RB’s have that “cool” factor. I know i would like to answer “Its a skyline motor.” You’re an instant cool person . So lets get down to it. First off there are 3 RB swaps that are known to be done( Im excluding the RB30 hybrid as it is a rare swap).

RB20DET

OK, this motor is a common choice among RB enthusiasts. This is the expection of the list order. It is cheaper than the S13 SR20. 2.0L single turbo, pretty rev happy and again, the cheapest way to say “I have a skyline motor”. Your butt dyno should read about 210ps (what, like 207hp i guess). The problems with this and all the RB motors is that aftermarket and spare parts aren’t quite up to the SR for the US market. You can always pay out the ass for uber cool JDM stuff though. Internals here are strong can take a good beating past 300hp. Jumping into the RB realm requies alot more know how for the DIY swappers. You don’t NEED custom mounts or driveshaft, the KA driveshaft and R32 crossmember work fine, but its always nice to have a better aligned motor if you get mouts and a drive shaft.

RB20 specific site: www.rb20det.com

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RB25DET

Pretty isnt it, no yours wont come with the shiny red valve cover so keep saving thoes pennies for a nice powercoat job. This and the RB20 are the usual choice of people who do RB swaps. The RB25 is a 2.5L straight 6 single turbo. Its got more power than the RB20 cheking in at 250ps ( again somthing like 246hp). Stepping up your swap skills is on the to-do list for this one. As far as install goes, you do not need custom mounts, the stock crossmember bolts up fine, if you re-drill it about 1" back for the motor mounts, their are no clearance problems except the hood, and the shifter is centered. A mount kit is still the best way to go if you are willing to pay up. www.mckinneymotorsports.com their site is goofy right now but you can get their number there.

Another good site www.rb25det.org

RB26DETT aka the godzilla motor

This RB26 is far from stock i just had to use this pic because its the sexiest engine bay ive ever seen.

This is the god motor. Its used in the old Skyline JGTC cars for a reason. The RB26 is basically a detuned race engine. It was actually designed for race use more than street use. It is the most cabable RB motor that rolled out of the nissan line up. Although this all sounds great, its also the most expensive. You need an RB25 transmission to use with the RB26 if you don’t want to hammer away at your trans tunnel. Installation is also the most difficult of the RB motors so you better know your shit. The swap has some very invoved work: modding an RB25 oil pan or making a custom one, mounts, drive shaft, crazy wiring, clearance issues with twin turbo setup ( many people switch to single), and many other things, i have seen quite a few people on this forum and others who have attemped the swap and simply gave up. this swap is still the shit

And for all the good stuff about specs and whatnot…
http://www.meggala.com/nissanrb3css.htm
http://www.gt-skyline.net/

A great new forum for all the RB motors is here: www.racebread.com

KA24DE-T

Turbo KA24s can make very reliable power with little effort and some know how. This isn’t going to be for the novice 240sx enthusiast unless you buy a bolt-on kit and take it somewhere.

Parts for a KA24 DIY Kit
Turbo Manifold (matched to your turbos flange)
Turbo, of course
Custom downpipe or possibly sr20 downpipes
Custom hot and cold pipes
Intercooler
BOV
Wastegate(unless your turbo is internally gated)
Upgraded Fuel pump
Upgraded Injectors
Some type of Fuel Controller
EGT Gauge (recommended)
WIDEBAND o2 (recommended)
New Clutch (recommended)

So there you have the basic parts you need to boost your KA. The biggest downside in my opinion is the lack of boost the KA can take in its stock form, but if your just looking for some fun 7psi on a SR20 t25 will make more than enough “fun” for you. There are a few comapnies that make BOLT ON kits for our cars (Edit: I dont even think Boost designs is still in busness. There was so many issues involving them, incomplete parts, shit aprts, poor designs, scams etc…). GREDDY makes a bolt-on kit for OBII or s14 KA24DE so that is an option for you s14 KA owners out there. NOW, if you want to go big power on your KA you have some options but all require a rebuild of the bottom end with some forged internals and a headgasket upgrade. Some of the SR parts are also with KA-T’s. There are alot of companies that make good parts for your KA and all that info is just 1 search on GOOGLE away but ill help you get started.

Resourceful Websites
www.ka24de.com
www.KA-T.org
www.turbo240.com
Jimmy
KA-T Write-up courtesy of the user: TwoFortySx

So, What To Get-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now that you have some idea what the hell your getting into, you should have a better base to make the decision on what you want to get. For all you people that ask questions like what motor is better for drifting, shut up and do your suspension first before you crash your new pretty motor swap. Set up your suspension right and any of the motors are game. But, the logical choice would be one of the 4 bangers for weight and weight distribution reasons. If the name of your game is purly power, the RB25 and 26 are for you, but then again you can make alot of power with any of them, but thats a different story, so go bug zilvia or somthing about that. Now I can guarentee you any question you have has been answered so dont be lazy, use the search button.

Where to get your motor, clip or motorset----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is the most important step of a swap, if you get some peice of junk off ebay because its cheap, nobody is going to feel sorry for you if it goes boom, or cant even run to go boom. In the car world, yes there are deals out there but for the most part YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!!! Whether you get a clip or a motorset is really up to you. A Clip is obviously going to be more expensive but your going to get absolutly everything you need and somtimes some extra goodies. Getting a complete motorset is more practical and is just as good while costing less. Projecting prices for motors swaps is really kind of useless. There are way to many variables. Where you get the motor from, its condition, miles, what you get with it, cost of replacing any parts, if you have it installed etc… rather than just throw some figure out in the open, check out the links. You can find the cost of the motors any just about any aftermarket parts you want. Use your kindergarden addition skills and you have your self a number. A couple good, reliable names in the business to get motors from…
www.jarcoinc.com
www.srswap.com
www.phase2motortend.com
www.jhotexports.com
www.jspec.com

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hiope thats all info is good for you

[D.Evops]

No probs man.

Just to clear up a few things.

A series motors = Direct swap motor mounts should line up, possibility of using the same transmission is very high

S series motors = Not Direct custom mounts required, will need to use a a transmission designed for the series of motors

ZZ series motors = Not Direct see above

Direct does not mean you can put the motor and plug everything and away you go, just means the motor is compatible with the car without major modifications. You will still need the wiring harness and sensor for the motor youre installing, and probably a fuel pump upgrade.