Sr20DET vs. KA24DE-T?

Question

I know this questio has been asked over and over gain, but I am conducting mmy own research and am checking with you all on here.. juwst curious which is better, the sr20det or a turboed ka24de for my 240sx

Answer 1

really simple, only depends on money and purpose... if your looking to make a kick *** street car out of a 240sx the best performance for your money is the obvious kade-t... but keep in mind most ka's have no less than 120k-150k miles on them.... so the reliability of the engine can be in question. also keep in mind that the KA only revs up to 5500 rpm,,, where the sr revs to 7000...
now if your a hardcore 240sx enthusiast i would recommend the sr20det.. the short story is that the sr was designed for the 240 (silvia) so almost nothing else out there gives you the balance of the sr20... now if its a price issue theres always the redtop sr's for less but what i did was buy an srde from a s14 q's and then turboed it... makes an sr20det with variable valve timing, and with a stock turbo makes about 250hp at the crank due to its increased compression ration (9.5:1)
hope this helps

Answer 2

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Ok, so you want everything for the cheapest basically? Sorry, from little 4 cylinders, not gonna happen. You always have to sacrifice something to gain something else typically. If you want a very responsive engine, you need the most displacement possible, which means you would want the KA-T with a smaller turbo. This will give near-instant turbocharger spool up, great response, but you won't be able to rev it over 6500 rpm. If you want high RPM, then you will want the more balanced SR20. With that you will give up a not-insignificant amount of low RPM torque, give up a lot of response, but with the right combination of parts, it will scream to 9000rpm or higher. Neither engine will make much over 400whp on pump gas, so the "aftermarket support" is a moot point at that point. For what it's worth, consider this. The SR20DET makes about 210hp and about 200ft-lb on 10psi of boost. A KA-T makes about 210wheel hp and 245ft-lb on just 7psi boost. Match the 10psi, and you could have 250-260whp and anywhere from 280-300ft-lb. The extra 50lbs for the iron block KA will be meaningless when you have an 80whp and 100ft-lb torque advantage over the guy in the next lane with the SR swap. For the people who say parts are hard to come by, that's false. The SR20 was sold in the US from 1989 to 2003 I think. The 89-94 Sentra SE-R and the 1995-1998 Sentra SE-R/200SX SE-R were all SR20DEs, and the 1999-2002 or 2003 Sentra XE 2.0L is an SR20 also. There are a few things that are different from the RWD SR20 to the FWD SR20, but not many, though I'm not sure off the top of my head what is and isn't interchangeable. If you're going to rebuild the engine either way, then there's no sense in spending an extra $3000+ to get a smaller displacement engine with a weaker engine block (ironically true) is a wasted expense, especially since a 240SX is a 2700lb car even with the heavier KA engine. 400 crank hp in a car that's race weight including driver is 2900lbs will be capable of going 11.20@120mph in 1/4 mile. 400whp with traction will net 10s, and that's with a full interior street car, mind you, on pump gas. Add some higher octane race gas, bump the timing a few degrees and add 4-5psi boost, drop 100lbs or so and you could touch 9.90s with either engine. 2800lbs and 575 crank hp (roughly 480-490whp) should be good for 9.80s @138mph.

Answer 3

Steven S posted: "Consider a an RB26 swap, these motors were made for the JGTC (Japanese Grand Touring Championships) "

Dude, please don't answer when you don't know what you're talking about. The RB26DETT is NOT a simple swap, requires an RB25 trans, and tons of fabrication. It was the OEM engine in the R33 / R34 GTR ( http://www.RB26DETT.com )

SR vs KA is a silly argument. There are NO MORE low-mileage SR's available, so either choice will require a rebuild.

I'm running close to 400rwhp in a KA-T and love it.

Plan on $6K minimum, regardless of which way you go, for a reliable and sturdy setup. Also, if you haven't already, search "240sx" on Google, hit the first site that comes up. Lots of good info to be had.

Answer 4

Many people are unaware about the capabilities of the KA24DE. Yes, it is a truck engine! And yes almost every turbo 240sx out on the street is SR20 powered. Many of us that do not have a lot of money to put into our cars, but want something strong and fast, should go with the KA. Also, the SR20 is an imported engine, and if something breaks, one will have to spend a lot of money to get the parts, but the KA24 came in all the 240sx, some Altimas, some Xterra and Frontier, meaning that there is tons of parts out there for them. The SR20DE nonturbo has 140 hp and 132ft. lbs. torque. The KA24DE has 155 hp and 160ft. lbs. torque. Compare the two and the KA24DE has very strong internals and strong base because of its truck root. It is true that the powerband on the SR20 is wider, but the KA24 cannot be ruled out. If you buy a 240sx, 9 out of 10 times if will have a KA24 in it. Also the KA24DE has more displacement, iron block and is cheaper than the SR20. To get a good SR20DE on your car one will have to spend at least $2000 on the engine with decent miles, then all the wiring to make it work with the 240, transmission, you might have to get a turbo if the SR20 is not a turbo, and all of its components. That will be a total of about $4000. All this money to get 220hp out of the SR20DE-T. If one puts $4000 on the KA24DE and turbo, it will be a hell of a street car. It will be pushing close to 350rwhp and will be spanking the SR20DE-T any day.

Answer 5

KA vs. SR. Man, will this ever end.

Both engines have their pros and cons. Some of them being, but not limited to, parts availablilty, cost, reliability, power output.

SR is not as easy as everyone thinks, especially for non-mechanically inclined idividuals. You have to get the wiring harness lengthend, longer throttle cable needs to be aquired (if memory serves me correctly), you will probably also need a little bit better fuel pump. Plus, you need to protect your brake and clutch master cylinders from the heat (although, this will need to be done with KA-T as well.

KA is also not an easy DIY type job.

As with any motor that started N/A, converting it to turbo is not as simple as just slapping on an exhaust manifold and turbo.

RB26DETT...unless you have about $10K in burnable money, don't even think about this swap.

RB20/25DET, cheaper than the 26, comparitively priced with the SR/KA setups. Doesn't change your weight balance to bad, it's an I6 with a great sound, makes good HP with basic bolt ons.

The RB20 and the SR20 are very close in comparison to each other in stock form, although, the SR does edge the RB in stock torque, but not by much.

What it all boils down to, is how much research are you going to do on your own, instead of asking for other peoples' opinions, because, no matter, you are going to have people telling you the SR is better than everything, people saying the KA-T is better than everything, and people saying the RB is better than everything. It all comes down to your budget and personal prefrence on the motor you choose.

Answer 6

Ok heres the thing. yes there are a lot of SRs out there. easy to find and not so expencive. Now in my mind I would just say keep the Ka in there because not only will the produdct be ready faster it will be less expencive. yes the SR is probubly a engine that will last longer ist is a good engine. but I dbout that you are gunna put a ton of miles on this engine to the point of breaking it. you should just keep in the Ka and do it cheaper. save some bucks and spend the extra money on eather getting a girl friend or making a current girl friend happy.

Answer 7

Sell you KA powered 240 and buy a 240 that someone has already done the SR20 DET conversion to. This swap is awesome, you can't get your money back out of it though. You may even get a bad *** intercooler and boost controller with your purchase. If that dosen't sound resonable to you and you are attached to your 240 than money is no object to you. Consider a an RB26 swap, these motors were made for the JGTC (Japanese Grand Touring Championships) they have forged interals and it is safe to double there horsepower with out moding the bottomend. This swap is for those who want a badass, exclusive streetcar.

Answer 8

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RE:
Sr20DET vs. KA24DE-T?
I know this questio has been asked over and over gain, but I am conducting mmy own research and am checking with you all on here.. juwst curious which is better, the sr20det or a turboed ka24de for my 240sx

Answer 9

Ka24de

Answer 10

To the person who posted above me...you have your information wrong. The SR is a 4 cylinder, the RB is a 6 cylinder.