KA-T Reliability

if you do either yourself, it's going to cost alot of money and take alot of time. engine swaps are not for the novice mechanic and turbocharging and tuning a ka is not that easy.

---but to answer the original question, depending on the boost you plan on running, both engines will sacrifice reliability. Ka-t.org has lots of stock block turbo'd ka's and i think people say it'll hold 300whp stock (some people push it beyond that, but of course it wont last long).. that would be ~15 psi (on a semi-large turbo). However, i would not attempt unless the tuning is perfect. try other things to make the car faster though (removing weight, ac, ps...etc). idk about you but 250whp in a 2500 lb car is plenty for drifting.
 
ok seriously this time i think you should really just go SR. because it seems you have no research in going ka-t and just jumping into a ka-t will end up with you buying another motor.

this has been talked to death on every 240 forum on the net. dont go by how much either costs just go with something you know your not going to be in over your head. which is why i suggest going SR for you. it would just be the more worth while choice. im not douting your turbo backround or knowledge it is just that the KA seems to be alot more tempermentle when it comes to boost and especially drifting a ka-t.

P.S. : clunky truck motor FTL :) SR FTW!
 
okay, stock sr already tuned for turbo, raise the boost 4lbs (free), buy a flywheel and a clutch, 400$, exhaust fmic, 500$.. rocker arm stoppers, 25$ already pushing easy over 250hp with reliability for who knows how long. ka, n/a motor. lot of work to get that way and running right everyday of the week.

so in my professional opinion.. I say leave a N/A motor N/A and take a turbo motor if you want a turbo. they are both bandwagons, but I would rather jump on the reliable bandwagon then have to push my bandwagon home.
 
Most of the time when an SR blows it's due to a few factors:
1. Spinning a bearing because of oil starvation. RED TOP sr's suffer from an oil pickup problem (which is why everyone is so picky about oil pan condition). Hard cornering makes it even worse. Upgrade to a blacktop SR oil pickup or purchase a blacktop SR. Add a Greddy oil pan for even better oiling.

2. Valve float or other head problem causes piston to come into contact with a valve. 9/10 of the time this happens when somebody mis-shifts and revs their engine far beyond safe levels. Due to the head having hydraulic lash adjusters and rockers that can easily become displaced, damage can follow. Mis-shift or rev most motors to 8.5k+ levels and you'll have the same issues.

3. People expect too much. Yes, SR's are JDM. Yes, the tuners make some really good numbers on stock blocks and mildly built engines. No, this does not mean that you can run 400whp 24/7 and nothing will break! Most of the time, something's got to give. My setups being put together right now and as much as I hope nothing will happen with the numbers I am expecting, the reality of it all is that anything can happen...I can have an oil pump fail on the dyno before I even get a baseline!

I honestly think one of the biggest problems with the SR's reputation is what's so great about much of the drift community...they actually drive the piss out of their cars! Fact: most SR's are being used by the drifters. You seriously can't expect to beat your engine day in and day out and have nothing happen. A lot of the high hp KA guys are not into performance driving...mostly drag strips or street racing - hardly the kind of abuse drifting or track driving will put on an engine. Just look under the hoods of most s-chassis at any drift or track day and count the number of SR's to boosted KA's.
 
dori dori said:
I honestly think one of the biggest problems with the SR's reputation is what's so great about much of the drift community...they actually drive the piss out of their cars! Fact: most SR's are being used by the drifters. You seriously can't expect to beat your engine day in and day out and have nothing happen. A lot of the high hp KA guys are not into performance driving...mostly drag strips or street racing - hardly the kind of abuse drifting or track driving will put on an engine. Just look under the hoods of most s-chassis at any drift or track day and count the number of SR's to boosted KA's.
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Ding Ding Ding.

Many if not almost all ka-t engines have only oil cooled turbos, and many people do not have oil coolers on their cars. Factory water cooling absorbs all kinds of heat in a turbo, hince why there really isnt a purpose to time water cooled turbos. Non water cooled turbos heat up the oil so much it looses its viscosity, then the oil isnt doing its job to the best of its ability. Thus you toss rods.

IMO any non water cooled turbo engine must have an oil cooler.
 
some people that do sr crossover type ka's use both oil and water lines on t25/t28 turbos...lower horesepower than the bigh t3/t04 guys..but runs closer to stop with a smaller chance of damage if tuned right. at 10 psi with stock exhaust piping a t25b setup is good for around the same hp as a stock sr with a bit of a difference in torque. Bottom line...for hardcore drifting and all day 6k revs...dont use a ka...for street and an occasional drift day (at your own risk!!) a ka-t's ok..you'll get that extra torque feel but it will drop off sharply after your out of the band...Its all about tuning as many said above. Either way any motor not made and blueprinted to specifically drift is gonna die eventually while being used as it wasnt designed for.

CA18det>bandwagon truck motor SR> unpopular truck motor KA-T - for high revs ;)
 
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Itz all in tuning and how u can monitor your situation..i have over $800 n guages to know whats goin on
 
kahlistrophic said:
CA18det>bandwagon truck motor SR> unpopular truck motor KA-T - for high revs ;)
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Go ahead and rev a CA over 8k and report back how things are running after a couple events!

SR20ve FTW.
 
dori dori said:
Go ahead and rev a CA over 8k and report back how things are running after a couple events!

SR20ve FTW.
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lmao whatever happen to that sexy blue hatch w/ a CA and those blue lip black Advans at OSW that kept redlining all day.. i never saw him again :confused:
 
thats what im talking about the ve-t...sorry i mustve missed that the t wasnt tacked on :D


"No one will put it in RWD chasis because transversely mounted engine layout and make no sence to put in RWD chasis.
X-trail is smaller than Xterra and about same size as RAV-4, come with transversely mounted Neo VVL SR20VET engine is only come in X-trail GT 4wd version. Nissan still offer X-trail with SR20VET in Japan"
 
kahlistrophic said:
d
lol...putting a ve into a rwd platform :slap: lol...heres a link on that statement above

http://www.npclub.com/bb/showthread.php?threadid=2166
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That guy's an idiot. He thinks an SR is oversquared and a CA can rev better because a CA is square. SR's are in FACT, square. 86mm x 86mm Lets try making a valid point.

dan said:
lmao whatever happen to that sexy blue hatch w/ a CA and those blue lip black Advans at OSW that kept redlining all day.. i never saw him again :confused:
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He had one of those Bee*R rev thingys. Lets him bounce off the rev limiter with an ignition retard and no fuel cut...bang bang! That guy had a bad attitude too. I remember him telling me that he should have won the event and that the judges hated him. :rolleyes:
 
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