im new to the nissan game and plan on building a ka24de-t daily driver to mess around with until i get through school, and start making real power.like i said im new to this and just have a few questions? and would appreciate any input. im not looking for any major horsepower just wondering on whats worth doing for about 300hp.i will be doing a rebuild with new bearings and seals as there will be about 250000 on the engine when i start.and i will want to use this engine again providing i dont blow it up and do any significant damage
money isnt really an issue as im in no rush just want to do it right the first time and not have to do to much playing around and spending money once its in the car.
any help with parts or any info will be greatly appreciated.
ive also considered the SR swap and i know that it is cheaper but i would like to do this instead so please knowledge on KA’s
thank you what kind of set up?
im in school right now and im no rush cause i dont have a lump some of money thats why i was gonna peice together a set up not buy it all at once but thanks for the offer…
Building a ka24de-t is a very smart choice, but before you pull the trigger and buy power parts you can start with changing all worn out rubber bushing and taking care of the rest suspension parts.
At the same time remove all unnecessary weight like ABS, Hicas and A/C.
Then replace driveshaft with one piece aluminum and heavy OEM iron flywheel with lightened aluminum awesomeness.
Changing OEM Clutch Fan for dual Altimas and radiator for more efficient one will get you ready for big power.
You’ll enjoy totally new car and your 300hp will feel much better than 350hp in wonky, falling apart POS.
car is a 91 so no ABS and No AC already and hicas is coming out in a couple weeks. the suspension i have everything in mind because every bushing pretty much clicks and clunks because i beat it up pretty bad alreadyy haha and im doing a s14 brake swap as well…and for the altima fans did you wire those up manually with a switch or did you put a relay and wire it in so it comes on automatically… because ive heard stories of people blowin engines because the fan fails(wired to a relay, instead of a manual switch)
relays fail very rarely if you use good relays. IF you’d feel more comfortable with a hard wired manual switch you must use heavy gauge wire and a switch that can handle the current.
A relay needs to be used in either case. You shouldn’t have 30A of current passing through a switch in the cabin. An electric fan should be automatic, so find a thermostatic relay or fan controller instead of a switch.
thank you for clearing that up for me ive always been skeptical. another question is a fan controller with a rad probe are these any good because there really the only ones i can find i was looking for one that would maybe be hardlined into the cooling system? are there such things?
I have an Flexalite controller that uses a rad probe, it works very well. There are controllers that use a wire that slips under a hose. DIF makes one that taps into the wires of the coolant temp sensor.
I have the whole setup done in my car altama fans and KAT on stock engine with an enthalpy chipped ECU. I still have my AC and ABS. As well this is my DD car and i do take it on long trips so reliability is a must in my current setup.
Altama fans are for sure the way to go man hands down but it comes with a price of very very high current load on the whole electrical system. my voltage will drop from 14v-12-13v when idling and if you have a bad idle the fans could make your car stall with the amount they draw. They do suck power from the engine only because of the current needed to go to the injectors and spark plugs my suggestion is upgrade your alternator to one with higher amp output. i hear some S14s came with higher amped alternators they are direct bolt on. just enlarge the hole for the main power cord.
I also ran a switch and a temp prob all running on a 60 amp fuse to a relay. always run a relay rip one off an old 240 they should be blue.
Dont ever buy a ebay header i know they look sexy and cheep DONT DO IT. they crack and require constant rewedding. talk to centerline 700 bucks good stuff. you may also need a custom downpipe built by them as well. I modded mine sr20 parts but added 2 inchs to the downpipe.
What ebay header did you buy? I was considering buying one for an rb20det, I know the 2jz guys have good luck with the xs power ones and I’ve heard the t25 manifolds are ok for the ka i personally was running a cast manifold from revhard.
don’t waste your money on altima fans. they look like shit. spend $125 on fans with a good shroud. i’ve had the ISIS ones in my cars before and they pull heat out of a mishimoto rad very effectively.
Altima fans do look like balls but they work very well. and you dont have to upgrade your rad i never had overheating issues my fans don’t even come close to running all the time either. but if your going kat you will for sure want fans of some sort and a tep switch. the nice thing about the switch is when driving down the highway your rad is cool enough with all the air flow so the fans don’t kick on. 0 parasitic loss at that point. clutch fans will always make you lose power 100% of the time.
I have no idea the brand of header. I think its for a sr20 but fits the KA the ports didn’t completely line up so i had to report it as much as possible the flange was warped so one bolt is on so tight im worried of it braking soon or ripping out of the aluminum head. and it has about 8 different welds, it brakes on hard bends and right next to the head. I was highly considering going to center-line and just have them put one together for me. the gauge of steel maybe 20-18g.
stock hp on ka is like 130 if u want 220-250 hp u can run a megan manifold for t2 on ka engine and put the t25 from a sr onto the engine and put in sr injoectors 370cc and have a chipped ecu like nistune or enthalpy or jwt and your set. of course u need walbro fuel pump and some smic or fmic to complete the tubing. eventually a better clutch aswell (upgrade ur brakes too). but in general under 1000$ u can have a 200whp car and working fine. my car is 10-12psi t25/370cc inj/fmic/megan manifold/jwt ecu/ 4+years daily,drifting tracked/ over 270k on engine stock clutch fan. my kat was a budget build years ago but its working just fine and a/c works too . please make sure ur engine is tuned reliable and durable good compression lol not every ka can be turboed without going boom. i think sr is still better way to go if u didnt start for cost/power . ka needs to put in just as much or more for same power reliably.
sr swap is not much more though…200hp at 2000$ engine . then minor upgrades can make it to 300s easily
