My 1990 240sx is SOOOO slow, is there anything i can do? ka24e truck cam?

3079 Views 11 Replies 8 Participants Last post by DaCheat, Feb 14, 2005

Lotus2843

Discussion Starter · Feb 2, 2005

Im in no way a noob to engine performance, this 240 is my daily driver to my very worked over GC8 impreza. Right now the car is bone stock, by this weekend i will be done with the header, and have an engine back 2.5 inch exhaust system installed. (custom made by myself with a hydrolic exhaust pipe bender) Im half done with my header, custom 3/8 mils steel flange that i made with a set of whole saws and drill bits ( i dont buy anything i can make myself with the same quality) the donor header was the left bank header i got brand new for a ford 351 v8. i bought it off a friend who had to custom make his own left side header for his 351 in his 96 ranger. With some cutting and my mig i have it almost done and just need to fit it to the car this weekend, finish the welds, grind them a litte and fiber wrape it. I havnt picked up and intake yet but am running the 3: AFM adaptor and my old HKS mushroom filter that i just ran through the wash.

After all that babble. is there anything else i can do? I would imagine all that work i just did will put me at like 120 horse to the wheels. I have heard rumor of using the ka24e cam from a pickup, i think they are the same but i'll ask anyway.

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little240boy

· #2 · Feb 2, 2005

Well firstly, search. You'll end up finding that bolt ons don't really do much in terms of hp ratings for some reason. Personally I would buy parts that are turbo ready, its the only way to really push this car. The 89-90 series had 140 hp i believe and the later 91-94 had 155 because of the added camshaft. i was thinkin about getting a WRX as it would be a great all year car but haha full insurance is out of question. We just had our required PLPD(personal liablity etc) reduced but still, full insurance on a 2004 WRX Imprezza was lookin at 8500 a year, Canadian dollars. I pay 1500 for the bare insurance, haha I don't think its that worth it. sorry anyways about the car, if your serious about adding power to this car, build the engine for a turbo or swap the engine. In the mean time, worry about suspension, brakes, looks if thats what your after. Personal preference. For the same price, I could repaint my car a different colour and get all my body work done or swap in a new engine, haha i'll pick the later anyday. Lots of info on the types of swaps and rebuilding your Ka24e for forced induction. lots on suspension and the infamous 300zx brake conversion, something to seriously look into if your wanting over 250-300hp with this car, nice to have anyways considering the stock brakes are complete shit. Anyways good luck and hope to hear more about your progess.

Matt

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zlr101

· #3 · Feb 2, 2005

I would say get a cam from pdm if you want to do more i would say P&P the problem with the KA is it cant get enough air you have the exhaust an open air filter cam P&P will make it better but not fast.

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Lotus2843

Discussion Starter · #4 · Feb 2, 2005

Oh i know that im not going to get much power out of the bolt ons, but it will at least make it sound better and maybe look a littlw more bad ass, Turbo'n the car is just out of the question that would decrease the reliablity of my daily driver and thats not what im looking for. I just figured i would do the custom bolt on fab work and see if there was anything else i could do such as the truck cam. I dont mean to sound cheap, But well... for this car i am cheap, im not going for show just a little more pep i think the exhaust will give it a little more high end power which is exactly what it needs.

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bridrive55

· #5 · Feb 3, 2005

Lotus2843 said:
Oh i know that im not going to get much power out of the bolt ons, but it will at least make it sound better and maybe look a littlw more bad ass, Turbo'n the car is just out of the question that would decrease the reliablity of my daily driver and thats not what im looking for. .

Have you looked into adjustable cam gears? A little bit of advance might give you the power you're looking for. I've heard that you can grease up to 170 brake horsepower out of an SOHC KA with just cam advance. Try EBay... I think Cusco makes the adjustable gears.

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spec240sx

· #6 · Feb 3, 2005

Lotus2843 said:
Oh i know that im not going to get much power out of the bolt ons, but it will at least make it sound better and maybe look a littlw more bad ass, Turbo'n the car is just out of the question that would decrease the reliablity of my daily driver and thats not what im looking for. I just figured i would do the custom bolt on fab work and see if there was anything else i could do such as the truck cam. I dont mean to sound cheap, But well... for this car i am cheap, im not going for show just a little more pep i think the exhaust will give it a little more high end power which is exactly what it needs.

You may find that you gain low end power and loose the high end with what you are doing.
Yet, keep up the Home work, better than buying most Brand name crap...
As for What you can do... www.aspracing.com Pulleys WILL give you MORE.
www.Jimwolftechnology.com. The ECU changes the overall curve for the engine run, relating to Detent, Timing, A/F mixture, etc.
Also www.pdm-racing.com has cracked the code and has a NEW cam also.
NOW, Work on the Intake. Injen IS the BEST proven for mass market, PDM's will do almost the same, yet a bit less $$

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Lotus2843

Discussion Starter · #7 · Feb 3, 2005

heres a pic of the beast

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azRPS13

· #8 · Feb 3, 2005

She has a perty mouth.... Very nice man!

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bridrive55

· #9 · Feb 4, 2005

Nice rims! You drive that thing in snow? I had to retire my 240 for the winter. I drove it last winter, but after getting stuck on flat streets, I just wanted to walk. The city bus is free here anyways. This way, I'll have a whole ton of new crap for my car by the time I bust it out in spring. Lol, have fun spinning tires!

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drifterdan

· #10 · Feb 14, 2005

just put a turbo on it a stock ka can handel it

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Lotus2843

Discussion Starter · #11 · Feb 14, 2005

drifterdan said:
just put a turbo on it a stock ka can handel it

Yea right :loser:

I only drive the 240 on days where my 4x4 cherokee is not needed

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DaCheat

· #12 · Feb 14, 2005

The rims and the coloured mirrors are very nice.
I use my 240 as a winter driver right now, but after the results of this winter, i don't think it will be winter driven ever again.
The winter is too hard on a car, especially when I am trying to restore it.
Plus i'll be working on my engine swap next winter! :thumbup: .

But, your car is very nice, keep it looking nice! :cheers:

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