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SR20DET swap vs. L28ET swap


Chris-280ZX

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You know what, its going in a 280zx right? Just go ahead and through in the L28et and be done with it. I was thinking along the lines of the early 260z that I have and the 240z. They are lighter cars. The ZX needs that bottom end torque. I may even say that a VG30 would be a good choice, but I don't know what kind of support is available for such a swap.

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  • 5 months later...

Now, I have noticed most or you on here posted about the 280zx being a LARGE car, or bigger car. Saying missing 2 cylinders would be hard. The car in stock form, with no weight reduction of any sort, curb weight is 2824lbs, the stock 180sx weighs 2690, now keep in mind, that is stock curb weight, meaning if you removed both the engines from each car, they would be nearly the same weight. There are also many more easily obtained upgrades for the sr20det than an l28et

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  • 1 year later...

How did this ever work out? I also had to make a decision a few years ago in the same way, chose SR20 and have never looked back. Just wondering if Echo had the same results. I'll be honest that it was a lot easier in most ways than I thought. Fabrication was not difficult either, but I guess I took it a little easier without mounting the whole motor aft of the crossmember or switching crossmembers. I'm definitely not an expert, so if I can do it, then any experienced gearhead can. Wiring was very simple. All it took was a good wiring harness from the SR and patching into the ZX ECU relays and fuel pump relay. I can't wait to get home and take part in some aftermarket goodness for the SR finally as she's still pretty stock. Oh yeah just for some quick stats (not really something to brag about but interesting) S13 redtop w/underdrive pulley and lightweight flywheel and stock turbine in my 2+2 gets 29-30 mpg highway consistently, 240 rwhp 265 ft lb. I've had it in there going on 4 years now and haven't had any issues with regular floggings every month at the SCCA club and occasional highway merges.

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You two realize your posting in a thread that's 5 years old and the last past is in 2008 right?

 

Necroposting at it's finest.

 

Reading through this thread though I was amazed at how much misinformation there was that never got corrected. If this thread topic came up today it'd be a very different outcome I think.

 

And to add my icing onto this old stale cake, the SR looks better and better year after year. Prices keep on falling, and great deals on a L28ET gets harder to find. Rebuilding a L28 kills some of the value factor, but most are getting up there in mileage. But as this thread has well covered, it's all about your goals and intended uses. The original poster was way over budgeting I think, unless they were wanting absurd power levels. Most S30 or even S130 owners are more than happy with 300hp, and both motors will do that for a very low cost.

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69sroadster is my younger brother. His swap inspired me to start doing the same with my latest Z (78). I had a few S13 240sx cars in the past & have some experience with the SR20DET. I have to say that it's been a great engine for me in the S13's, so I will also be doing an SR swap into the '78. I have a Vildini engine cradle, trans mount, driveshaft & intercooler setup, which I recently acquired. I also made a deal with an old buddy of mine for a decent S13 SR20DET locally. Some issues I see will be the speedometer (going to use an RB20 speed sensor in the SR trans to keep the original Z speedo), and other gauges. I don't know if the newer oil sending unit & coolant temp sensors will interface with the old gauges, and I know that the tach will have to be replaced or recalibrated for the SR's signal. Other than those small issues, it looks to be a very straight forward swap.

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  • 3 months later...

Wow, I just read through this thread, and even though its old, I'll add my $02- the l28et will be cheaper... at first. I imagine the sr gets way better fuel economy and management as the engine is newer. The SR also has great aftermarket support, which is pretty cheap.

 

The SR is lighter. And the pistons and rods are pretty decent from the factory.

 

My favorite thing about an SR swap is that you can get a S15 6speed.

 

As far as an sr not having enough power to move a ZX I call BS on that one. IIRC a 280zx weighs about 2800 lbs- which is close to both the s13 hatch (180sx in japan) and s14.

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BTW, the S15 6-speed is much weaker than the regular 5-speed, and has the same final drive ratio. I've known a few guys to break them with bone stock motors, back in Okinawa.

 

That's interesting, and good to know- I always figured that the 6th gear would be more of a longer gear. Mostly since my ka is screaming at 3500rpm at an 80 mph cruise. Newer cars seem in general seem to be much lower in rpm at higher speeds, I'm assuming for fuel economy. IIRC the sr trans gear ratios are closer than the ka's so why they crammed another gear in there is beyond me... 6speeds will usually be weaker than a 5 speed in the same space- but I didn't know guys were blowing up s15 gearboxes on stock cars...

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