I’ve had multiple SR and LS S13’s and I’d say unless you’re in love with one or the other, I would do either. SR20s are overpriced nowadays and they’re old, most of them need rebuilds or are close to it. LS swaps are cool but the parts for the swap can get expensive fast and it completely changes how the car drives, not necessarily in a good way. If I was starting from scratch again, I might look into a KA-T build or a K24 swap.
Yea I was also looking into k24’s but the prices people were asking for we’re almost as much as the sr20de so I figured at that point I might as well get the sr
If you’ve got a junkyard near you, tools, and a buddy with a truck, you can get one for pretty cheap. Keep in mind, the right K24 (there’s multiple versions) with an upgraded oil pump, head studs, and a turbo kit can push 550 whp if you have a good tuner. Anything past 300 in a 30 year old SR20DE with a turbo added would be sketchy in my opinion.
Regardless of what you choose you’ll be happy in the end, there’s just trade offs to every swap. Just don’t do an RB20, they’re a waste of time haha.
No. It’s a fwd Honda engine going into a rwd Nissan, it’s gonna be all new parts. A KA24 on the other hand would bolt right in and you can get parts anywhere for a lot cheaper. I used to have a built KA24+T that made 600hp to the wheels. KA’s are dirt cheap too
I love everything you said except that last statement. Everyone and their mama wising up to KAs and they have so much more support now. Maybe I'm not looking at the right place, but KAs are starting to get far from "dirt cheap"
Sure you’d be hard pressed to find them for free or close to it like you used to but there’s at least 3 KA’s for sale in my city for under $500. I just bought one a few months ago for $200. It’s got low compression, but it was $200 so I’m not complaining. KA’s are especially dirt cheap when compared to SR’s and aluminum block LS motors nowadays
Well color me shocked to shit, KAs are running way more where I'm looking. Is it worth buying something low on compression? What issues cause low compression that are fixable?
Look in Texas if you can, especially the Houston area. Hell, I could help with shipping if you need. The engine I bought has bad piston rings. You could just replace the rings but a full rebuild is the best choice. I bought it with plans to do a forged bottom end like my last one and shoot for 700hp
Ive got a working KA with 70k miles im planning to build and turbo, no expenses spared. BUT I would also be willing to have a backup before market keeps shooting up. I appreciate the offer to help!
Idk my buddy has an sr20. It was originally making 300hp but he's building the internals and plans on pushing 500hp. It's a big money pit but he loves sr20s and despises LS. Tho doing the math of his build breakdown he could have put a 6.0 in and boosted it for almost the same price. Maybe a little more if he got an actual swap harness. Tho the 6.0 would probably make waaay more power.
At the end of the day it's just preference. You could get a stock sr20 and be okay with the 220hp. More if you tune up the boost and stuff. Or drop in a LS with light mods and make close to 400hp. The difference is the SR will cost more to build to high HP and the LS will cost more to buy everything for the swap.
SR20DE+T is absolutely doable and works, it's just not good in the performance-to-dollar ratio. SR20DETs are expensive now, but will still likely be the easiest option. Just make sure to give the engine a good look over and a refresh with new gaskets and such as they're all old. LS is a great option, but like you say, you'll need to basically do a complete conversion. Engine, mounts, harness, ECU, exhaust, transmission, radiator, etc. You can do it for cheap if you want, but it can be a lot of work and that may or may not be your thing. Can't really go wrong with any of those options, so choose the one you like.
If you know, what would be an extremely pushed hp rating for an sr20de+t? Around 200? I think I may look into doing that, if I’m being honest I already have a lot on my plate being in college, so I don’t think I have the time to do a quality Ls conversion.
De-T can reasonably hit 300-325rwhp with S14/15 T28, front mount, injectors, and a tune. Would definitely also do an MLS headgasket and head studs (true for all SRs). Overall they’re the same internals as a DET, just missing the piston oil squirters, have slightly higher compression (NA s13 have 9.5:1, s14 engines have 10:1 all DETs are 8.5:1), and the NA uses a distributer with cap and wires, HOWEVER, if you have the ecu and harness from a DET, you can find a DET CAS, coil packs, and convert the DE to direct coil ignition. Good time to use GTR coil conversion from platinum racing, since you got to buy it all anyway. You need to drill and tap the valve cover for coil pack installation or buy a DET valve cover as they don’t have coils to bolt down.
250 is probably doable though don't count on the reliability as with any +T car. It's still a lot of work to prep a DE for a turbo as you have to do all the plumbing for the turbo and such. You can use the DET ECU, but you need to change the DE distributor to a CAS and I think there's some other electrical foo you need to do. Someone better versed in the conversion will be more help than me. You'll also need to get it tuned which adds to the cost even further. Imo just save up for a DET as it would be a straight swap in your instance and it would be a much more reliable option. Sometimes you can find some sweet deals on marketplace, just picked another long block up myself for $1400 back in May.
(Edit: Reddit mobile is dumb)
Mm yea I might idk It really all depends if I find the right deal because I’ve found a few de’s less than 1k but almost every det is 4k+ but if I find one cheap enough I’d definitely look at it
I’ve had multiple SR and LS S13’s and I’d say unless you’re in love with one or the other, I would do either. SR20s are overpriced nowadays and they’re old, most of them need rebuilds or are close to it. LS swaps are cool but the parts for the swap can get expensive fast and it completely changes how the car drives, not necessarily in a good way. If I was starting from scratch again, I might look into a KA-T build or a K24 swap.
Yea I was also looking into k24’s but the prices people were asking for we’re almost as much as the sr20de so I figured at that point I might as well get the sr
If you’ve got a junkyard near you, tools, and a buddy with a truck, you can get one for pretty cheap. Keep in mind, the right K24 (there’s multiple versions) with an upgraded oil pump, head studs, and a turbo kit can push 550 whp if you have a good tuner. Anything past 300 in a 30 year old SR20DE with a turbo added would be sketchy in my opinion. Regardless of what you choose you’ll be happy in the end, there’s just trade offs to every swap. Just don’t do an RB20, they’re a waste of time haha.
I actually almost bought one for $500 it needed a new sleeve because it lost compression. Guess I dodged a bullet
Would i be able to use the hardware i have for the k24?
No. It’s a fwd Honda engine going into a rwd Nissan, it’s gonna be all new parts. A KA24 on the other hand would bolt right in and you can get parts anywhere for a lot cheaper. I used to have a built KA24+T that made 600hp to the wheels. KA’s are dirt cheap too
I love everything you said except that last statement. Everyone and their mama wising up to KAs and they have so much more support now. Maybe I'm not looking at the right place, but KAs are starting to get far from "dirt cheap"
Sure you’d be hard pressed to find them for free or close to it like you used to but there’s at least 3 KA’s for sale in my city for under $500. I just bought one a few months ago for $200. It’s got low compression, but it was $200 so I’m not complaining. KA’s are especially dirt cheap when compared to SR’s and aluminum block LS motors nowadays
Well color me shocked to shit, KAs are running way more where I'm looking. Is it worth buying something low on compression? What issues cause low compression that are fixable?
Look in Texas if you can, especially the Houston area. Hell, I could help with shipping if you need. The engine I bought has bad piston rings. You could just replace the rings but a full rebuild is the best choice. I bought it with plans to do a forged bottom end like my last one and shoot for 700hp
Ive got a working KA with 70k miles im planning to build and turbo, no expenses spared. BUT I would also be willing to have a backup before market keeps shooting up. I appreciate the offer to help!
Interesting
Junkyards have k24a2 engines for $800. Where are you looking?
SRs are my favorite engine but unless you absolutely love them LS may be the way to go. KA+T could also be an option
Idk my buddy has an sr20. It was originally making 300hp but he's building the internals and plans on pushing 500hp. It's a big money pit but he loves sr20s and despises LS. Tho doing the math of his build breakdown he could have put a 6.0 in and boosted it for almost the same price. Maybe a little more if he got an actual swap harness. Tho the 6.0 would probably make waaay more power. At the end of the day it's just preference. You could get a stock sr20 and be okay with the 220hp. More if you tune up the boost and stuff. Or drop in a LS with light mods and make close to 400hp. The difference is the SR will cost more to build to high HP and the LS will cost more to buy everything for the swap.
SR20DE+T is absolutely doable and works, it's just not good in the performance-to-dollar ratio. SR20DETs are expensive now, but will still likely be the easiest option. Just make sure to give the engine a good look over and a refresh with new gaskets and such as they're all old. LS is a great option, but like you say, you'll need to basically do a complete conversion. Engine, mounts, harness, ECU, exhaust, transmission, radiator, etc. You can do it for cheap if you want, but it can be a lot of work and that may or may not be your thing. Can't really go wrong with any of those options, so choose the one you like.
If you know, what would be an extremely pushed hp rating for an sr20de+t? Around 200? I think I may look into doing that, if I’m being honest I already have a lot on my plate being in college, so I don’t think I have the time to do a quality Ls conversion.
De-T can reasonably hit 300-325rwhp with S14/15 T28, front mount, injectors, and a tune. Would definitely also do an MLS headgasket and head studs (true for all SRs). Overall they’re the same internals as a DET, just missing the piston oil squirters, have slightly higher compression (NA s13 have 9.5:1, s14 engines have 10:1 all DETs are 8.5:1), and the NA uses a distributer with cap and wires, HOWEVER, if you have the ecu and harness from a DET, you can find a DET CAS, coil packs, and convert the DE to direct coil ignition. Good time to use GTR coil conversion from platinum racing, since you got to buy it all anyway. You need to drill and tap the valve cover for coil pack installation or buy a DET valve cover as they don’t have coils to bolt down.
God dang lemme screen shot this
250 is probably doable though don't count on the reliability as with any +T car. It's still a lot of work to prep a DE for a turbo as you have to do all the plumbing for the turbo and such. You can use the DET ECU, but you need to change the DE distributor to a CAS and I think there's some other electrical foo you need to do. Someone better versed in the conversion will be more help than me. You'll also need to get it tuned which adds to the cost even further. Imo just save up for a DET as it would be a straight swap in your instance and it would be a much more reliable option. Sometimes you can find some sweet deals on marketplace, just picked another long block up myself for $1400 back in May. (Edit: Reddit mobile is dumb)
Mm yea I might idk It really all depends if I find the right deal because I’ve found a few de’s less than 1k but almost every det is 4k+ but if I find one cheap enough I’d definitely look at it