Nissan guys, look here

[humjaba]

Hey there

So I know there are a few Nissan guys lurking around. I'm getting involved in a lemons project, the base for which is a '93 240sx. The car is in perfect mechanical shape (they basically took advantage of some drift kid's heat-of-the-moment hatred of the car and weaseled him out of it for $500) but I just wanted to know where the common failure points are. The car was originally an automatic, but is now a manual (we have no idea where the transmission came from or what it was out of). It has a shiny-looking mishimoto radiator, but other than that it's bone stock.

First order of business - how well do these things deal with heat? I know iron block engines hold more heat than Al engines - is this a problem with the ka24? As I said, runs fine now, but 7 hours of hard racing will likely change things.
How do the head gaskets hold out? Valve train equipment OK if we keep it under redline?

Also, any cheapo ways to increase power and/or handling, without sacrificing reliability? The stock suspension is quite squishy.

And finally, if anyone is in need of interior parts, we have those for sale. I'll post up a list in the classifieds one we get inventory.

Thanks

[zps2004]

I know that chumpcar guys usually cut the springs, andweld angle iron to sway bars. For the shocks, drill a small hole and drain the fluid. Then put something thicker like engine oil in it, and weld up the hole. Should stiffen the shocks.

[ghudson]

tie rods are wimpy, replace them. if open diff car, get an r200 outta a 300zx or j30, (95/96 j30 works, pre 95 j30 you will need the j30/300zx axles too, 90-96 na 300zx works but youll need the 300zx/j30 axles for it also)
If your worried about heating that much then change the thermostat... or not even run one haha...
You can mess around with cams from s13/s14 ka24de's but it really doesnt do too much... Ka's really dont put power out unless boosted (thats why everyone has an sr20
take the timing chain guides out (look it up on forums...) they break and suck
suspension get coilovers i have fortune auto 500 series, they went for a grand but import image racing has isis basic coilovers, they might do the job for what you want (pretty nice for the price): http://www.importimageracing.com/mm5/mer...re_Code=ii
You should itb it!! http://www.xcessivemanufacturing.com/mer...129&step=4

[kbrew8991]

buy sawzall
apply to stock exhaust
add straight pipe to vent towards side, add muffler if sound restrictions are enforced
done.

Welding the diff might be a good budget thing to try if the wheelspin is too excessive at track speeds. You might be surprised though, could be fine as-is

welding on an oil-filled enclosed vessel scares the bejesus outta me, but I won't get blown up if you do it. Be careful. Shocks are kinda overrated unless its a real transition intensive track and even then... eh. (says KB who pilots an E30 on Monroe shocks with 500+lb coilover spings for LeMons)

gotta think cheap to get it past the judges - if you make it actually good even if it really is under $500 you'll still end up with penalty laps

[humjaba]

(09-09-2010 08:22 PM)ghudson Wrote:  tie rods are wimpy, replace them. if open diff car, get an r200 outta a 300zx or j30, (95/96 j30 works, pre 95 j30 you will need the j30/300zx axles too, 90-96 na 300zx works but youll need the 300zx/j30 axles for it also)
If your worried about heating that much then change the thermostat... or not even run one haha...
You can mess around with cams from s13/s14 ka24de's but it really doesnt do too much... Ka's really dont put power out unless boosted (thats why everyone has an sr20
take the timing chain guides out (look it up on forums...) they break and suck
suspension get coilovers i have fortune auto 500 series, they went for a grand but import image racing has isis basic coilovers, they might do the job for what you want (pretty nice for the price): http://www.importimageracing.com/mm5/mer...re_Code=ii
You should itb it!! http://www.xcessivemanufacturing.com/mer...129&step=4

Not sure you quite get the purpose of a 24 hours of lemons car If anything is wimpy, it will likely be fixed by welding steel scrap to it.
http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/contentpage.aspx?Id=6611

Our budget, until we can sell some interior stuff, is $0. The car seemed to put down power pretty well when I romped on it with one tire on gravel exiting the SAE shop. I thought it had a welded diff because the inside tire was so active. Who knows. It was a "drift" car.

[300zmankellan]

Dude, good luck Tyler. I would love to race a dirt cheap 240sx. In my experiance, the KA is a tough motor. A friend of mine wanted an SR20DET, so he decided he wanted to blow the engine. It was a lot harder that we thought it would be. It's a truck engine, drive it like one lol.

[ghudson]

(09-09-2010 10:34 PM)humjaba Wrote:  

(09-09-2010 08:22 PM)ghudson Wrote:  tie rods are wimpy, replace them. if open diff car, get an r200 outta a 300zx or j30, (95/96 j30 works, pre 95 j30 you will need the j30/300zx axles too, 90-96 na 300zx works but youll need the 300zx/j30 axles for it also)
If your worried about heating that much then change the thermostat... or not even run one haha...
You can mess around with cams from s13/s14 ka24de's but it really doesnt do too much... Ka's really dont put power out unless boosted (thats why everyone has an sr20
take the timing chain guides out (look it up on forums...) they break and suck
suspension get coilovers i have fortune auto 500 series, they went for a grand but import image racing has isis basic coilovers, they might do the job for what you want (pretty nice for the price): http://www.importimageracing.com/mm5/mer...re_Code=ii
You should itb it!! http://www.xcessivemanufacturing.com/mer...129&step=4

Not sure you quite get the purpose of a 24 hours of lemons car If anything is wimpy, it will likely be fixed by welding steel scrap to it.
http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/contentpage.aspx?Id=6611

Our budget, until we can sell some interior stuff, is $0. The car seemed to put down power pretty well when I romped on it with one tire on gravel exiting the SAE shop. I thought it had a welded diff because the inside tire was so active. Who knows. It was a "drift" car.

Yeah i basically described the build of a cheap budget drift car Thats all these cars are good for anyways hahaha
and not to burst your bubble, but you wont really make anything off interior pieces... 240 guys really dont care that much about interior/dont need interior

---

(09-09-2010 10:34 PM)humjaba Wrote:  Our budget, until we can sell some interior stuff, is $0. The car seemed to put down power pretty well when I romped on it with one tire on gravel exiting the SAE shop. I thought it had a welded diff because the inside tire was so active. Who knows. It was a "drift" car.

if welded diff it should chirp tires when taking corners...

[soccerbummer1104]

(09-09-2010 11:10 PM)300zmankellan Wrote:  Dude, good luck Tyler. I would love to race a dirt cheap 240sx. In my experiance, the KA is a tough motor. A friend of mine wanted an SR20DET, so he decided he wanted to blow the engine. It was a lot harder that we thought it would be. It's a truck engine, drive it like one lol.

if you want a new engine and you dont ave a complicated as balls ems *cough* bmw*cough* just drain the oil and coolant and go drive it around a parking lot. that'll be sure to f it up real quick...

[97nismo]

As for the ka24 is it a sohc or dohc?? because that can make a difference when it comes to tracking it. The ka24 is a good motor the single cam put down loads of torque. These motors are ok for drifiting but just do not rev high enough to keep the wheels spinning. One common problem with the ka is the fact that they freaking leak everywhere. The front seal, rear main and you must always check the oil before and after every event.
The iron block is very heavy and nearly impossible to break unless you overheat it. I have never had any trouble with the head gasket but....
A built ka sohc with a turbo will fly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m8CKeaLgVM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdprxGUEG1U
The rear end must be welded at events to put the power down to drift and track it. The vlsd that gains means is good but its a viscious rear end meaning until its super warm it wont lock up and i think welded is better since you have no money. Unfortunatley this will slow a car down a little unless you are boosted.
I have a mishimoto radiator and those things are awesome, a lot of guys pull the thermostat for events, I personally would get a nismo thermostat. Also I would run a mechanical clutch fan with the shroud, if you track it.
And selling interior stuff to make any money prepare for lowballers.
Its not worth much on an s13 anyway and not much more on an s14
Your best bet is save up a little cash and see if you can get a small turbo kit cause the ka just isnt that great unless built or boosted period
Also if you had an auto before it very likely that the lower engine harness is crap, but on a good note the brake booster and master cylinder are bigger so you can run bigger brakes with changing that out.

Budget build ideas:
cut the springs for lower stance
get a front brake upgrade
weld rearend
new oem thermostat
change the waterpump for peace of mind
cut all the exhaust crap out, will be loud though
short shifter install, probably best deal it will allow you achieve quicker times since the ka tranny has such a long throw

BTW i have q45 front brake calipers and rotors, no pads though, i would be willing to give to the cause for super cheap

Good luck

[humjaba]

^ It's a the sohc engine, the 155hp 160tq one. It has two concentric fans behind the radiator, with a shroud around them. One is definitely a clutch fan, the other I didn't look at closely enough to see. Possibly an electric fan too?

Will definitely keep in mind the info about fluids. Do we really need a thermostat at all if it's on track? Seems like it'd always be open anyways, and is just something else that can break/clog/cause heating problems.

As far as brakes, is that a simple bolt in mod? How much?

[zps2004]

I wouldn't worry about brakes. We run the stock stuff with good pads and cooling ducts on our car and it was fine so I am sure your car would be fine. Definitely take the thermostat out. Water pump is a good idea to change. Also if you have one set of tires you should be fine. might want to have 2 spares though. Don't worry about the shifter though. As I said especially for the first race, just work on reliability. Also check every bolt on the car to make sure it is tight.

[97nismo]

That motor is a a lot less powerful, however out of corners it pulls kinda hard, but top end sux big time.
Problems can arise with taking the thermostat out, it will take a while to warm up, and cause your car to run super rich, the fuel to air ratio will be way off, the car is trying to dump more fuel in there to warm up faster. Not to mention you will probably be using a ton of gas at the track and last time I checked gas is expensive.
Just get a new oem one like 7 bux.
Also as for brakes, if you track it U WANT BETTER Brakes, the stock s13 front brakes are even worse i think than the s14 ones, especially under hard cornering. If your really crafty you can get the q45 front brakes and 1985 z31 rear caliper brackets. The z31 rear caliper brackets will allow for 2003 altima rear rotors which are really big compared to stock. So you would be set front and rear.
If this car is non ABS i would upgrade the fronts at least, if it has ABS then you should be good for a while.
My friend put q45s on the front and and z32s in the rear and outbraking corvettes on a road course, but top end they killed him with sohc.
Yea the q45 front brakes bolt right up same banjo fittings etc, they were made for a car weighing 4500+ lbs, so they will work great.
The fans you see, are probably the ac fan and the clutch fan. You can rewire the ac fan to the battery and have it running the whole time and plus the clutch fan and you will be good.
Good Luck

[humjaba]

I retract my previous statement that it's a SOHC engine. It's DOHC. KA24DE

[ghudson]

(09-11-2010 08:14 PM)humjaba Wrote:  I retract my previous statement that it's a SOHC engine. It's DOHC. KA24DE

hahah well thats a good thing, single cams suck!

[humjaba]

Hey now, my mustang is a single cam It runs out of breath at about 5500rpm too.

As an aside, what's the widest tire you can fit on the stock rims? Not sure what the budget looks like, but some dunlop star specs would be nice.