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Why the bad rep on the CA18?


AkumaNoZeta

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I've never built a car before, this would be my first car build, so I love input from other's opinions. From what I learned in school I can get into the generals of what I want, but the lack of experience makes it harder for me. So far I love the idea of a high reving CA, and if I'm not happy with that then I could just go ahead and do a VH/VQ V8 swap.

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I was playing with this a little today. http://www.geocities.com/z_design_studio/ I used the CA18DET transmission gear ratios I found which were 3.321, 1.902, 1.308, 1.000, 0.838 with a 9000 RPM redline and 225/40/17 tires and I think a 4.50 rear end would be pretty good according to this graph. Would anybody like to suggest something better?

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Ok, I actually looked up gear ratios you can buy for the R200 longnose, theres a 5.143, 4.875, and 3.154 from Kameari (expensive though) and then I looked up the Nismo 6-speed (can that be adapted to the CA? Custom bellhousing?) which was 2.9071, 1.9888, 1.5373, 1.2179, 1.000, and 0.8624. I plugged all this in using the same tire size and redline and think the 6-speed with the 4.875 would be pretty good. Slow in first but after that would seem to be fairly quick.

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The engine I choose is not determined yet. I'm still learning about all my options. Right now I kinda like the VH45, spent all day looking into that. The only thing I don't like about that is the lack of room in the engine bay and I can see it raising the center of gravity quite a bit with the giant heads that are on it. I'm looking into different engine choices everyday...whenever I get to that part in my build it would probably be picked on my income and the price of the engines. Nissan just makes too many great engines

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Great vid. I'm almost sold on the CA idea...2.35 bars of boost is like 30-35psi right? Thats a little much for 91 or 93 octane isn't it? One other thing I don't like about the VH is how many litres it is, I want great fuel economy because I want it to be my daily driver and then I can get rid of the Mustang. The 5.0 is great but I want better than 20 mpg and I think the Z is a lot greater looking. I actually want to sell the Mustang for CHEAP to my friend because I know he'll want to build it into a drag car and I would love to do the chassis and suspension work for that. I figure to run on 91 I probably wont be able to go past like 20 psi with a good tune, huh? So that would be looking at that vid about 430-450 horsepower which would be great because city driving done off boost would also be like 30, maybe 35 mpg.

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Fyi, do NOT order from flashoptions.com

 

As a side note, stock s14 sr20det turbos are T28, not T25.

 

As for the ca20e idea, club-s12.org is your best friend for research. I don't think this idea is good one bit, especially for a Z. Coming from the s12 myself, I'll stick with the l24e over the ca20e.

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Got this off of wikipeida:

There was never a factory-produced twin-cam CA 2.0L motor, nor a turbo version. However the blocks are the similar, and it is possible to fit the DOHC CA18DE/T twincam head to the SOHC CA20 block. However the DOHC/SOHC manifolds are different and the timing pulley/belts are not compatible. Despite this, CA20DET turbos have been built. The cheaper alternative to a CA20DET is a newer SR20DET, which will cost you a lot less in the long run, considering it is a newer engine. Parts for the SR20 are cheaper and more readily available.

This is no easy task, however. The rods of the normally aspirated CA20 series of motors are not up to the task, and many tuners use modified Mitsubishi 4G63 con-rods in this application. With a larger bore than the CA18, custom, flat topped and forged pistons are a must if boost is to be reliable. The CA20 also did not include the crank girdle support which vastly increased the harmonic resistance of the CA18. But the crank girdle from a CA18DET block will fit the CA20 main caps. The CA20 also did not include the under piston oil squirters of the CA18, but like the crank girdle, oil squirters from a CA18DET block can be fitted to the CA20 block.

Tomei and JUN of Japan produced 2 litre stoker kits for the CA18. If you search around the internet you are able to find these parts but they will not come without an expensive price tag. There is also a company called Norris Designs that produces a CA20 stroker kit as well as a CA20 engine.

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I'd personally say get a RB25det, mine is great on gas when I'm not boosting, I have really tall gearing so I think its running about 2200rpms at 65 miles an hour. Well the gearing isn't ideal for drag racing it is great on the highway and still plenty fast. The C18 would be cool though. If I were you I would budget first find out absolutely how much you have to play with then, choose the best from there. It sucks paying a couple hundred for a water pump and close to a grand for cams on an RB when you see what the chev boys are getting alot more hp per $. I wouldn't run much more than 20 psi on pump gas at all, other wise stuff will break and dedonate . To do that you would need at least 600$ worth of injectors, an aftermarket ecu (200-2000) a big intercooler (200$) and a turbo (1000$) not to mention a fuel pump and tank set up to provide it. Once this is all in place you need to get the whole system tuned so either free if you know what your doing or somplace with a dyno. That is all assuming that the internals will hold up to that 20 psi. I think your on the right track though, keep looking at options and budgeting. There are a ton of cool engines that people have yet to capitalize on especially in the Z.

 

Chris

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I would love to have an RB engine in the car but I want the wieght distribution of a 4 cylinder of V8 and I want to keep it Nissan, just showing some brand loyalty. An LS1 would be great or a 351, but the domestic V8 in a Z is done so much and is expected. Every Z I've seen in real life, except from mine, had a SBC in it and to me just makes that swap less exciting. Plus 30 mpg would be great to have again, not neccessarily to save money on gas but to be able to go longer without refueling. I hate stopping at gas stations.

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