for tuning - look on ka-t.org u should be able to pick up a tuned ecu for ur application for around $300 or so.
agreed…
sell your car… buy this one.
i do agree that an sr will be more reliable. there turbo to begin with and have better properties for boost. a ka is na and has different properties not set for boost. they should be more reliable, but im saying that a ka can be reliable if the build is right. it will give out earlier then an sr yes, but can still go for a good amount of km.
im not trying to go cheap on parts but this ka-t is going to be a mild build. i’ve mentioned that i have 2500 to play with, give or take a couple hundred, so that could increase my budgest up to 3000. this is a fair amount of money to play with to get a decent mild set up that can be reliable on a ka. high horsepower numbers are mentioned when im only looking to acheive 220-250whp.
i know that it is a good possibility i will go through more than one motor. this is why i like nissans, theres usually something thats going to be getting fixed in the meantime and i dont mind playing with it. my dad has a shop and engine swaps have been done and engine work is easy to access with labour being right there and access to a lot of tools. ka’s can be found for cheap and doing the swap wouldn’t be a problem at all.
i would rather go sr over a ka-t but for the time being money is not an option to dump any extra money for a newer engine. this is my first build and i am looking to learn off of this for future builds that i have in mind. im planning on an sr build in the future in a different chassis, hopefully a coupe.
for now i have a hatch with a ka already available and am looking to learn from this. im not planning on big boost set up or anything. i plan on running stock boost which is why im unsure about tuning. aem is awesome i agree, but if i plan on keeping the boost at a stock psi, i dont know if i want to run a serious tune like that. if at the time it is available for a good price i would want to hop on it. as of yet im unsure of what tuning route im going with. that will be the last part i take care of in the build process. i will be buying parts a couple at a time every couple weeks. last part i will deal with is tuning, and if im going to stick with stock boost, i may just run a tuned ecu.
this kat is not a huge horsepower build, its some average boost to satisfy my needs for now. if i get around 220-250 whp with this set up, i’d be happy. i don’t want to randomly jump in the 400whp range after driving a mostly stock 240. thats too much power to get used to right off the bat, and at that point a ka wouldnt be reliable. i feel it is safer to work my way up slowly, to get used to the extra power over time.
i dont plan on this ka set up ever being more then 250whp because i’d be saving that extra money for an sr in the future. that is a set up that i’d be looking for numbers greater than 300whp where i feel an sr would be the better option. for now low numbers seem ok and somewhat reliable on a ka.
from the looks of it, that ka-t build (darkforcejackal) is a good set up and has been reliable for him. im looking to run low boost like he did which can hold up on the ka. i would not want to buy a car with a ka-t already done because i like to work with cars and wouldn’t mind learning a few new things while im at it.
thanks everyone for the comments. feel free to keep posting. its all good information whether it comes in handy now or in the future with different builds. it’s good to see different views on this.
ka-t ftw my cousin bought originaldriftmasters car last year and well turbo needs a rebuild but the engine is still strong even after daily beating at 14.7 psi and many ”top end” runs.
The car is tuned with bikirom and thats probably why it stayed together for this long. This is his setup http://http://www.ka-t.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=23040
thanks for the post. i tried looking at the set up but the link didn’t work for me. could you try again or maybe it was just me?
“feel the power” as in run the shit out of your car then grab a timer so you dont hurt the turbo i figured most people would know what i was talking about
http://www.ka-t.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=176837&highlight=#176837
sorry for double post cant edit…:rolleyes:
just remember tho guys as you all say sr vs. ka he probably has a 240 with a ka in it it would cost much mor eto buy a sr make it work in his car then make it go faster rather then ka he already has it might only want a cometic HG and studs then turbo i think the ka is the way to go much cheaper then buying a sr and making it work in your car
I went for the extremely rare approach with my KA-T. Most people thought the “FMU” concept was crap, but realistically it was mostly everyone wanting higher boost levels etc. I liked the FMU for it’s simplicity, and the fact that it would not change the way my car runs when out of boost. Although not really ideal for a fuel system, I decided to try it knowing i’d be content with low boost, and that others might also be interested in seeing my results.
As for the why, well I just wanted a little extra power because it felt like it would suit the car & it’s handling…and the KA-T option allowed me to run lower boost #'s with more HP/TQ while still having readily available OEM KA parts (water pump, starter motor or whatever). Decided that about 5-7 PSI or about 190-210whp was enough for me.
After getting the AEM Uego, I had some real #'s…which basically said because of my rather large turbo (T3/T4, arguably overkill for my setup) I was starting to lean out after more than 6 PSI (not too surprising). So I left it at 5-6, remaining happy with the resulting 193rwhp/231rwtq (dynapack 8% corrected) on stock injectors.
Ironically, I am technically not on my first motor…however it had nothing to do with the KA-T. My car started out with bad compression #'s so I went with an OEM rebuilt. Car has seen about 50,000km’s or so since KA-T.
If I could do it again, SR or KA-T would still be up in the air for me. Tough call. But the fact is, over the last 3 years a lot has changed so there are other factors these days (such as SR parts availability or ready-to-go KA-T ECU’s…) that wouldn’t have been there when I was deciding and putting my setup together.
Long and short of any build is that it’s in the details and perfectionist approach.
And thanks for the shout outs gents haha! 
my ka-t with almost the same setup with a smaller turbo, lasted 40,000km before i put her away and she still ran fine at that time. Changed the oil every 2,500-3,000. and Bing drove it numerous times.
the setup you are going for will be very reliable if your engine is good to start with. You will have to modify the sr downpipe a bit.
take a look at my ka-t project im selling, $1800 for more than half your list plus it comes with a whole chassis in decent condition. pm me if your interested.
T25 KA more fun then a T25 SR… doubtful. Anyone who rode in my car on the T25 might have a different opinion. I guess daily driver ONLY maybe though… but once you step rubber onto the track, I dunno.
Whats more fun, driving your car, or pulling over every 3 laps to check the oil levels? 
what kind of power are people making with an SR T25 on the KA? do they compare to dustins 266whp and 275wtq on his SR?
i was in walters car with a T25 and KA and spent lots of time in Dustins car when it was T25.
I drove walters car enough to get a good opinion of it. also tracked it for several sessions at dunnville. It was really smooth and spooled early, yadda yadda… but he wasnt making anywhere near the power dustin was on his sr t25 so it’s hard to compare the two myself. the answer is in the numbers… need a T25 KA dyno posted, dustin has one of his setup and it’s pretty darn nice 
Correction it was 260whp and 266wtrq.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see a KA @ 14psi make more power, but what I wonder is whether it would hold up to the pounding my car got on the T25 flawlessly for 2 years like it did.
thanks for the good points.
i’m in debate now over the ka-t and sr. sr i’ve always wanted and was saving for another project, but if i just save money now things will probably work out better in the end. also, a 95 s14 se came up for a good price and im looking into buying. may save money and throw an sr in that.
You Can make a reliable 300whp+ KA-T on stock internals,
And hands down it will pump an SR, the torque makes the SR’s go home.
URL to original post. http://www.son240sx.org/forums/showthread.php?t=25421
Here is my Dyno sheet from my last S14.
Way to post a T3 dyno in a T2 discussion thread… have any T25 dyno’s?
Looks like a fun dyno… I know I LOVE it when MY torque drops off after only 5500RPM… 
Or wait… NO IT DOESN’T!
I’d post some T25/T28 KAT builds but they never ran well enough to get a full pull in…hahahaha.
See this is where the problem starts, you guys are putting t25 style turbos on a 2.4 litre engine and expecting magic with a S-AFC.
I see good power there for about 1500-2000rpm… is that supposed to be awesome?