SR20DET in a 240Z, problems????

[Guest Dan0myte]

If you want CA18ET info, go to http://www.Club-S12.org (for 84 - 88 200SX owners).

 

CA18DET, you'll have to look into australian and british sites. Most 240SX forums will have a CA18DET section as well.

[Guest Zachb55]

im considering this swap because handles is almost more important to me then hp because i know at 300 that thing will go alot better then any of my friend's old chevys around here so im not worried there. but just for taking it to the nearest place i could consider an actual city, which is 45 minutes of twisty, almost rally-worthy (actually they held a WRC race near aberdeen a while back) roads, i want to be able to traverse these and feel like im in a 4wd that weighs nothing, and with a S15 i could do that and im sure the swap couldnt be all that difficult.

[Guest Anonymous]

Been reading this entire post with great interest as I've been long dreaming about almost exactly the same thing. Basically swapping Nissan CA18DET or SR20DET (fairly easy to get hold of over here in Europe) into a 240Z/260Z along with transmission and if possible the rest of the drivetrain. For me, the car would primarily be for track use, so no need for super high power/torque.

What I've found out so far is that the CA18DET can easily be taken to 270bhp (improved exhaust, airfilter, IC, T28 turbo and remapping). The gearbox for the CA18 can take up to 400bhp, so no problem there either.

What I need to find still is how best to hook up the engine/gearbox/drivetrain in the 240Z/260Z body easiest, where I can find the necessary products and what other mods I need to do to the chassis.

Apparently the use of these engines is still a serious taboo on here, as I struggle to find the necessary info here. Any progress from the post initiator on these points or useful info from anyone else ???

 

greetinx

 

deevious

[Guest vegeta]

Mudge,

Were you talking about the "L28" or did you really mean the "L98" motor? Because the L98 SBC is about 600 lbs when fully dressed with iron heads. Just wondering, thanks.

[260DET]

My 260 has a four cylinder FJ20DET engine in it, a mate has a RB30ET in his and there is one around with a RB26DET engine. All are good conversions, it depends what you want but I think most people would be happy with either.

 

The FJ engine is a bit heavier than the SR20, IMHO weight is particularly important in a Z unless the body is strengthened. The FJ engine gives much, much more performance than can ever be used around town, the boost gauge hardly ever goes into +, it is very tractable and will pull well at low rpm particularly under load. And it is economical, except when I let her loose around the track.

 

So if you think that you would like a SR in your Z you very likely will.

[Guest FullBoostOrBust]

This is some thread, Seems like we have more people who are into the SR20 in the Z then people who disagree.

 

My S14 Sr20det is being shipped to SPI powerexcel in New Jersey as we speak. Also my LSD R200 rear from the turbo Z31 is on its way aswell. I was planning the RB26 swap in the begining aswell but saw that it was just too much motor for me. I want some small, light and agile that will not disrupt the 240Z's handling characteristics much. I also figured i would have room for a V Mount intercooler with the SR20. I want minimal lag for i cannot stand waiting for power, And i dont believe in NOS for a car that will be on the street more then the track. With that in mind the S14 engine was perfect, its farly new, light, has a ball bearing turbo stock and is good for 400hp on stock internals. I will be popping in a Power FC and keeping the stock T28 for a while. 300 at the wheels should be easaly obtained. And should keep me happy for a while.

 

I Will keep you all posted on project SR240Z. Also i am very Video happy so there will be many Mpegs of the car soon to come.. anyone who has a site and wants to host them for me let me know

 

I mean everyone who wants to do the SR swap wants to do it for the same reasions. And they are great reasions. So with that said, Its a great swap!

 

http://www.spipowerexcel.com

[Guest gerryG]

I am just beginning this very swap. I am putting a SR20DET into a 1983 280ZX. The car will be a very BASIC sports car. no frills.

 

We are also about 1/2 through putting one of these motors into a 1931 Model A pickup.

 

Anyone who doesn't love this motor I consider to be uninformed. Good power, light weight, plenty of aftermarket goodies, modern DOHC setup --- what more could you ask of a motor.

gerry G

 

1980 280ZX

1983 280ZX w/ SR20DET

[fl327]

They lag a bunch if it has a turbo thats supporting big HP. My buddy has a t51r on his sr20det with cams and headwork, doesnt get full boost until third gear, he runs the stock 4.08 gearing in his sx. He sucks at drag racing but got 116mph trap in the 1/4!!! Fast though Ill give it that, I had him beat good out the gate and through second widening the gap, but in third he opened up the back door and just destroyed me, from 70mph on though. I thought he was playing with me, but he told me he had to launch his car hard and drive hard to do that, and man was he gone in third, thing BLEW past me. He shifts that sucker at 8200 or something crazy like that too. If youre looking for mild 300hp that you can use daily and get boost quick, RB all the way for me, its what I want to do next after Im done with L28et fun and putting together a driveline that will take 300hp from the L motor. SRs are pretty hot, RBs are on FIRE...

[Guest exahertz]

I am just beginning this very swap. I am putting a SR20DET into a 1983 280ZX. The car will be a very BASIC sports car. no frills.

 

We are also about 1/2 through putting one of these motors into a 1931 Model A pickup.

 

Anyone who doesn't love this motor I consider to be uninformed. Good power' date=' light weight, plenty of aftermarket goodies, modern DOHC setup --- what more could you ask of a motor.

gerry G

 

1980 280ZX

1983 280ZX w/ SR20DET[/quote']

 

Please keep us ALL posted on the issue. I would love to see some pictures. Also, what kind of customizations are needed to make the engine fit in a 1983 ZX. I am looking to do the exact same thing to an '83 280zx. Is it a basic drop in?

[Guest tkrskyline]

Well boys...here you go. Our SR powered 240Z

 

 

 

 

Our SR powered Z31

 

 

Our SR powered Z32

[Guest ON3GO]

wow a Zfever guy on here.

i use to bring my Z32 to you guys before i learned how to work on it myself.

you and S.S from clearwater both built a SR20 S30? or did you both build it together?

 

mike

[Guest tkrskyline]

We also have a VG30DETT powered Ferrari 250GTO Kit 280Z...tight fit. We are about to do another SR powered 240z with a Race widebody kit.

 

As for the SR20DET in the 240z, the setup is currently pretty mild with only basic bolt ons making somewhere in the neighborhood of 250-260whp as is very fast. Many great things about this swap. The engine is not only lighter weighing in at about 490 complete with tranny, but it is much further back making the car actually mid engine. The engine runs strong and smooth, and since the car weighs so little, it really really moves. Just an all around excellent swap for this car.

 

For anyone that thinks putting a 4 cylinder in this car is a bad idea, keep in mind that this particular 4 cylinder come from a heavier car and in that car is extremely fast and torquey when setup right. As far as I am concerned there is no downside to this.

 

It does however require a bit of fabrication with the mounts, drive shaft, and wirring.

 

This engine even does really really well in the heavy Z31 and we are nearly done with the Z32 which will be making around 400whp on an NA 2+2 chasis

[Guest tkrskyline]

wow a Zfever guy on here.

i use to bring my Z32 to you guys before i learned how to work on it myself.

you and S.S from clearwater both built a SR20 S30? or did you both build it together?

 

mike

 

I don't believe SS has done anything like this although they do a lot of SR work, they tend to stick to the 240sx. I have heard rumors of another one in south florida, but none around here.

 

I just found out this board exists, but now that I know, I should be on here frequently with all the hybrids we are making.

[Guest ON3GO]

oh we know whats needed to put a SR in a S30, its been done a few times now in the states... as well as we have a few ppl on here that have done it and or almost done with theres.

very badass idea.

i had the idea of putting a SR in my Z32 back in the day but Doug thought it wouldnt be a good idea, as well as others from Race Related and some people i told it about.

im glad somebody has done it in the USA!

S.S put up pics on Tamparacing.com of the S30 Z with a SR Z they were worken on. I do know that they have somebody that knows both of your shops very well.. Matt? and somebody posted pics. lol im confused.

 

also what wide body kit are you putting on that other SR20 S30 your build?

Also are you that guy that has that T.K R33 silver skyline that moved to florida?

if so very nice car man.

and welcome to hybridz... the best forum on the net so far

 

mike

[Guest tkrskyline]

Matt used to work for us and now works for SS. I know SS pretty well, and Martin nows them very well. We were the ones that posted it on TR a little while back. When Martin posted it, I dont think he put where it was from on it which could lead to confusion. It would be very interesting to see the other ones on here.

 

Doug has changed his tune about the SR now that we have a lot of experience with it and have Martin. I wouldnt dare put it in a turbo chasis Z32 just do to the extra weight and it starting with a strong engine, but its not bad in the NA and the greatest thing is its realiable compared to the VG on top of making good power.

 

The widebody for the 240z is an actual used race body of no particular make. Just basically much wider fenders and all fiberglass body panels for almost the whole car. In that one, we are going to run around 400whp with a real nice setup.

 

The Tommykaira is mine...moved here with it last year. Thanks for the complement

 

BTW...your car looks great

[Guest ON3GO]

thanks man.

i remember your car from either NICO or freshalloy.com.

Yeah im glad doug is more open minded.

i have a few pics of your car, even some with that sweet yellow FD rx7.

and yeah my Z was a n/a but i stuck with the n/a motor and made some good power out of it.

im glad Zfever is doing good, i think you guys fixed more rear mainseals on my Z32 then anybody elses Z.. it was CRAZY!

please stick around on this site, its nice to see shops maken these cool hybrid cars.

as soon as im done with college here in texas ill be back in florida.. hope to have a shop that works just on hybrids...

the other SR20's on here are pretty badass.

demons on here is sweet as hell, and well my buddies on here is also sweet, it should be done soon.

again welcome to the site... maybe one day when i get back to the sunshine state you can give me a ride in your GTR... would make me have a smile on my face for years.

 

also you doing any RB swaps in any Z's?

 

mike

[Guest tkrskyline]

Well as a matter of fact, we have a couple of RB26 swap in the works both of which are slightly on the DL, but I will hint. One will be AWD and in a Z32 of sorts, and the other will be more VIP tunning.

[Guest ON3GO]

awesome keep us posted...

as soon as i take my L28ET to the limits on the stock internals im going RB or VQ35DETT... already have a few contacts on the RB.

best of luck and like i said keep us posted.

 

mike

[240Z-DET]

I have been lurking on the board for over three years and I hardly ever post, but I have to back up the SR20DET! It is VERY potent with eons of potential. I owned a Sentra SE-R FWD with a turbo kit consisting of a Garrett TO4E/T3 hybird Stage II with a .82 A/R turbine housing. I also had a custom intake manifold on it. I dynoed the engine at 15lbs. of boost on a K&N dyno resulting in 322hp / 288 lbs. of torque at the wheels. I forgot to mention that my engine was a STOCK JDM 9.5:1 compression SR20DE. The SR20DET only has 8.5:1 compression but has a much more stout bottom end with larger caps, main bolts, oil piston squirters and can rev to 8000rpm stock. It is not unheard up to run 24psi of boost on the stock DET.

 

With 13 X 8 inch slicks I ran a 12.2 at 118mph in the quarter at only 18lbs of boost. My car weighed 2760 with me in it. My old SE-R was actually heavier than my '73 Z! I couldn't imagine placing that engine in a light RWD vehicle. I would guess that there would be at least a one hundred lb. weight savings. I'd bet with that with the same combo installed into my Z (just on drag radials), I could hit a high 11 at over 120mph. As far as the SR being laggy, I was in full boost as low as 2800rpm! You have to be methodical in your choice of turbos. I wanted one that would serve as my daily driver and a weekend drag racer. Somewhere I have pictures of the intake manifold that I'll post later.

 

Regarding the weight of the SR20DE, I built a short block and shipped it out. The shortblock alone weighed 120lbs. The p&p bare head I sold weighed 40lbs. Fully dressed, I can t see the engine weighing more than 250lbs. and even that's a stretch. My buddy and l lifted the JDM engine into my van ourselves. The tranny weighs less than 90lbs. 450lbs is way over estimated!! As a matter of fact, I contacted SOKO and the shipping weight of the engine/trans is less than 350lbs!

 

The SR has a tremendous aftermarket support system now as compared to just two years ago. I'd say anyone who is interested in it, do it. Hands down.

[Guest sspikey]

Hey everyone im new to the boards and just had the wild idea today of trying to get a 240Z. I use to have a 240sx but am use to working with turbo nissans all day long. Im from montreal, canada Btw

 

On the note of the SR20det people are pushing 500whp on these motors so whoever says they arent that great should really reconsider. I myself at work have a car running 11.52@ 124.8 (full interior 91 240sx with ALOT of show mods on it ) 20 psi and E/T street tires mind you the car is running a JWT eco so once we get rid of that the car will get faster. We are fully stock other than the turbo and all the supporting mods like fuel system, intercooler, exhaust etc etc. NO CAMS no work done internally to the motor other than the headgasket which was blown when we got the motor. Awesome motor i absolutely love it.

 

Zfever: i know matt and the gang at secret service and heard you do great stuff. I REALLY love the SR conversion on the 240Z. I am really interested in what you guys did to make it fit. I noticed the motor on your website seems to slightly tilt back. Why is this? Is it possible you just give a rough idea of what has to be done other than wiring and motor mounts? Things like driveshaft im sure is custom, What about shifter did it lineup? For a shop that has done about 30 SR swaps this swap should be pretty easy i guess.

 

On a sidenote a RB26dett is fun but fact is a SR = free for me along with most parts for it since we have pretty much a junkyard of sr20s in back of the shop . The determining factor will be when our S14 with RB26deTT yes kept the stock twin turbos comes out this summer because it aint going nowhere in this snow and salty roads YUCK. Depending on how the RB feels i might lean more towards that.