shaolin_racer said:
i have a sentra se with an sr20de. would it be cheaper to buy a turbo kit or swap in a sr20det engine?
are there any 50 state legal turbos for nissans? or at least california legal.
Nothing's legal in California.

You'll spend almost the same money on a turbo kit or on a DET swap. If you do a DET swap yourself you might come out on the cheaper side. A turbo kit will be at least $3000. Best way to go about deciding what to do is: A) decide what you want. What kind of HP, how streetable, on pump gas... figure all that out first, then B) determine how much money you have. Once you figure those two things out, it should become clear which way to go about doing it.
also how are power to weight ratios done? is it horse power or torque divided into weight? also, what would be the units of measure, hp, lbs/ft, watts, kilos, lbs?
Take the weight of your car in lbs. and divide by horsepower.
Stock B13 SE-R: 2500 lbs / 122 HP (at the wheels) = 20.49.
2002 SE-R Spec V: 2650 lbs / 145 HP = 18.27
SE-R with a stock DET: 2500 lbs / 200 HP = 12.5
Chris Allen's SE-R: 2500 lbs / 497 HP = 5.03
For comparison:
Ferrari 360 Modena: 3064 lbs / 360 (at the wheels) = 8.51
2003 Mustang Cobra: 3665 lbs / 390 HP = 9.39
Dodge Viper: 3460lbs / 450 HP = 7.68
These numbers are a good (although not 100% accurate) representation of how fast a given car is. It doesn't take gearing into account or anything else, but in a general sense it's a comparable figure.