i have a few questions, maybe someone can point me to a website that has the answers.
how much do 240sx's generally weigh?
what engine comes factory with american models? specs?
what engine is factory in japanese models? specs?
if japanese engines are preferable, how much do they cost?
what is the difficulty level of swapping one into an american chassis? any difficulty as far as wiring goes?
i understand japanese 240's come from the factory with turbos. what turbo do they come with? are they intercooled?
2700 lbs, usdm spec motor is ka24de, same motor that comes in hard body pick up. i dont know specs for it. jdm motor is sr20det. it varies from year to year but red top makes 205 hp and 203 torque. the newer black tops make more but they also have larger turbos. prices are roughly 1300 to 2500 for motor swap, it just depends on what it all comes with. puting the motor in the car it self shouldnt be hard (i just got my 240 and am workin on finding a motor as we speak) its the wiring that is a small problem. you can just send the harness' to JWT and they can rewire everything for you. the cars came with dinky little t25's and t28's and they are intercooled, but its a dinky intercooler too.
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Well, FFgeon knows a little bit, unfortunately, it's not all correct...
The USDM S13 weighs at least 2700 pounds, I think weight with driver and gas is more like 3200, so thats what you need to look at.
The 89/90 S13's came with an SOHC KA24E, 140HP
The 91-94 S13's came with a DOHC KA24DE, 155HP
In Japan, 240's are divided into 2 categories, Silvia and 180SX
The 180SX is our 240SX hatchback, it started out as a CA18DET, then they switched to an SR20DET, but retained the 180SX name.
The Silvia is our 240SX Coupe
The Japanese engines are preferable, although ILLEGAL, let me rephrase that, ILLEGAL. The SR20DET is practically bulletproof, the headgasket has been known to hold up to 25psi, and the bottom end has been known to hold up to 450HP. The most common swap is the SR20DET into an S13 chassis.
Engines will run you 2200 for a motorset, and 2500 for a clip. Don't buy an engine off of ebay or for any less than 2000. You're risking losing a lot of money and getting a fucked up engine if you do. IMO, you have three places to buy engines from... www.phase2motortrend.com www.afterdark-tuning.com www.heavythrottle.com
The SR20DET will bolt into the S13 chassis. The driveshaft will bolt up, the mounts (including tranny) line up, it's a fairly simple swap. The only difficult part is the wiring, and no, AFAIK, JWT does not do a wiring "service." The only company that I know of that does a service is Heavy Throttle. For an S13 SR20DET into an S13, it's going to run you 100 bucks.
JWT, JWT. I wouldn't use them. Reason 1. For a tuned SR20DET ECU, it's going to cost you 600 bucks, then 100 bucks more every time you want it retuned, which is everytime you add another mod, after 3 mods, you can afford a standalone system, which is MUCH, MUCH better. Reason 2. They will also try to get you to switch to a distributed system, you have to source the distributor from a USDM SR20DE, and then they want to retune your KA24XX ECU. This little investment will run you $1100. Not my cup of tea. The reason that they want you to convert to distributed is because the SR20DET has DFI, and the ECU outputs to 4 coils. The KA24XX is distributed, so the ECU only outputs to 1 coil. And because they are technically retuning your KA24XX ECU, it will still only output to one coil, and that is where the SR20DE distributor comes in.
The S13 SR's come with T25 turbos, they are good for 1 bar of boost, but start dropping off in efficiency around 10 psi. The stock intercooler is also crap, and not to be trusted past 10psi, and I personally wouldn't trust it past stock boost.
S14 and S15 SR20DET's come with T28 ball bearing turbos.
Oh and one last little tidbit, if you want to mod your SR to the moon and run quarter miles in less than a teen, get an S13 SR20DET, regardless of whether you have an S13 or S14. The S13 has no VVT which and also has a high port intake design as opposed to the S14 and S15's with both have VVT and low port intake design. Plus the fact that S14 SR's are like 3500 and S15 SR's are like 5000. Don't even think about the S15 SR though, way too much extra shit that has to be done.
thanks for the lengthy reply. im trying to learn as much as i can about these cars before i decide to build one.
so the lightest of the 240's weighs over 3000lbs? that seems pretty heavy to me, especially when compared to the 2300lb civic im currently tinkering with. however, im still very very drawn to the idea of an affordable turbo RWD car.
i've read through the RB swap thread in the S13 forum. what are your thoughts on this? the guy who started the thread seems knowledgeable, but it's also apparent that he's trying to sell some engines. he says that the swap is as easy as the sr20 swap. is there any truth to this? i've read that there is some difficulty with bolting the engine in. i know that the wiring has to be a little more difficult, simply from switch in to a six cylinder engine. any experience with this?
the idea of a 2.5l inline six is pretty awesome, especially since the prices he quoted are similar to that of an sr20. however it seems like the sr20 is a very capable turbo engine that would be reliable and fast in a track situation.
what are the advantages of a clip, and am i going to buy this engine and rebuild it or toss it in and race the shit out of it?
also, about the suspension: can these cars be made to handle without getting too involved?
thanks again for the reply and any more information you can give me!
Last edited by wide open throttle : Dec 14th, 2002 at 09:02 PM.
Man, I don't know what it is with all these people who want to put RB's in 240's. If you just want exclusivity, you have a fairly large purse, and a backup car, it's probably not a bad idea. Let me remind you of something big. The RB engines were NEVER made here. If you break anything on your engine that doesn't interchange with something from another engine (which will be a limited amount of goods), you will have to order it from Japan. When you order something, it will A) Cost a lot more because whoever you are buying it from is having it shipped here in a quantity of 1, or B) Take a long time because whoever you are ordering it from will wait until they have a fairly large order.
Now, here are some things about the RB into a 240 chassis.... The mounts don't line up, you'll need custom mounts. Will the driveshaft bolt up? I don't believe so. I wouldn't even want to mess with the wiring. Also, you'll want to look at the weight distribution if you don't intend on just going in a straight line all the time.
I'm sure the RB swap is fairly straightforward if you have good mechanical knowledge, and also the prerequisites that I stated earlier.
The 240SX has good suspension, but take that for what it's worth, it is stock, and upgrading couldn't hurt, at least to an LSD if not equipped. If you just want to have some fun in autox or drifting, the stock suspension will be more than enough, but if you want to win races and drift events, then no, upgrading will be necessary.
Personally, when given the opportunity to get a clip, that's what I wanted, but Wayne found me a real clean motorset with the stuff that I needed, so thats what I bought. If you are going to upgrade a bunch of stuff when you do your swap, then a clip really isn't for you. I'm glad I didn't get a clip, because the stuff that I needed wouldn't have been in there anyways, and I got the gauge cluster, which I needed because I have an 89. You can't use the JDM P/S lines, despite what some people will tell you. And if you are talking about an RB clip, it's really not worth it because the engine bay is totally different, so how it sits in that bay doesn't mean anything to the 240SX engine bay....
hey, when you buy an sr20det your wanting to spend around 2000 grand or your gonna get ripped this one site seems very tempting sayd there sold for 1799
and also if you do buy it wut is included? intake, cuz i rember on my of my other post someone said it was not compatable with the KA24DE engines so would they give you one? and would they supply you with other parts that are not infact interchangable with your old eninge?
Intakes and MAFS from a KA24DE will not be compatible with an SR20DET.
When you buy an engine from a REPUTABLE source, you get the engine, tranny, ECU, harness, ignitor chip, MAFS. Thats what you will need to get running. Plus it should come with all the peripheral stuff like the A/C compressor, P/S pump, alternator.
Something will be wrong with any engine that is less than $2000. And if there isn't, you will be killed on shipping.
WOT-People will say RB swaps are easy, because technically, they are. As long as you have a good working knowledge, and have some creativity. If this is your first swap, or you just want a straightforward swap, the SR20 is obviously the best choice.
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