There are many swap ideas out there currently that are possible. They vary in difficulty, performance, cylinders, and ease of aquiring. I have created this page as a way for people to quickly decide what engine swap they want to do. The first idea isn't a swap at all, merely just turboing your stock KA, while this may seem stupid compared to the hp gains of other swaps you must also think about how cheap it is to do and how much potential your stock engine really has. In many cases a front clip is important and can make the installation troublesome and very costly with just the engine. Always try to get a clip instead of just the engine.
You may want to know what the engine codes for each engine stands for. You can find that here.
For a list of links to get a swap done or buy a clip/engine click here.
Turbo KA24DE [more info]
Swap Difficulty: 1
Aftermarket Support: 3
Donor Car(s): S13 (1991+ US model), S14 (all US models)
Stock Horsepower: 155hp (157ps) @ 5600rpm *before turbo install*
Stock Torque: 160lb/ft (22.2kgm) @ 4400rpm *before turbo install*
Redline: 6400rpm for SOHC and 6900rpm for DOHC
Good: cheap, fast, less work than a swap
Bad: reliability issues in some cases when running med/high boost sustained
Engine Cost: $800-1,500 (a few hundred more if it's rebuilt or has some parts upgraded/strengthened)
Install Cost: n/a (everything is installed other than turbo) OR $200-500 (to install a new KA where your old KA was)
Modified Horsepower Ceiling (stock internals): 250-350hp
CA18DE-T [more info]
Swap Difficulty: 4
Aftermarket Support: 4
Donor Car(s): Silvia (1989-1990) and 180sx (japan)
Stock Horsepower: 173hp (175ps) @ 6400rpm
Stock Torque: 166lb/ft (23.0kgm) @ 4000rpm
Redline: 8,500rpm
Good: higher redline and cheaper than SR20DET with about the same potential, iron block
Bad: less parts support (esp in the US), weaker head gasket than SR20DET
Engine Cost: $2,000-3,000
Install Cost: $1,000-2,000
Modified Horsepower Ceiling (stock internals): 300-400hp
SR20DE-T (S13) [more info]
Swap Difficulty: 4
Aftermarket Support: 4
Donor Car(s): Silvia K (japan), Kouki 180SX
Stock HP: 203hp (205ps) @ 6000rpm
Stock Torque: 202lb/ft (28.0kgm) @ 4000rpm
Redline: 7,500rpm
Good: great output for the price with very good potential
Bad: less output than an RB25 and weakest (stock) SR20DET, aluminum block
Engine Cost: $2,500-3,500
Install Cost: $1,000-2,000
Modified Horsepower Ceiling (stock internals): 350-450hp
SR20DE-T (S14) [more info]
Swap Difficulty: 4
Aftermarket Support: 4
Donor Car(s): Silvia K (japan)
Stock Horsepower: 217hp (220ps) @ 6000rpm
Stock Torque: 202lb/ft (28.0kgm) @ 4800rpm
Redline: 7,500rpm
Good: slightly better output than the S13 SR20DET
Bad: VVT can be an issue when modifying heavily, aluminum block
Engine Cost: $4,000-5,000
Install Cost: $1,000-2,000
Modified Horsepower Ceiling (stock internals): 350-500hp
SR20DE-T (S15) [more info]
Swap Difficulty: 4
Aftermarket Support:
Donor Car(s): Silvia K (japan)
Stock Horsepower: 247hp (250ps) @ 6400rpm
Stock Torque: 202lb/ft @ 4800rpm
Redline: 7,500rpm
Good: ~250hp stock, usually very low mileage, better condition than s13 or s14 engines (in most cases)
Bad: 6 speed tranny is somewhat weak, so if you plan to increase the hp much you want to swap it for the ka tranny or an s13/14 tranny, VVT can be an issue when modifying heavily, aluminum block
Engine Cost: $5,000-6,000
Install Cost: $1,000-2,000
Modified Horsepower Ceiling (stock internals): 350-500hp
RB26DE-TT [more info] Swap Difficulty: 2 Aftermarket Support: 4 Donor Car(s): Skyline GTR (R32,R33,R34) Stock Horsepower: 316hp (320ps) @ 6800rpm Stock Torque: 289lb/ft (40.0kgm) @ 4400rpm Redline: 8,000rpm Good: huge potential, high horsepower stock, iron block Bad: AWD tranny can't be used without lots of modification and custom work. TT setup can be retained, but it's much easier to convert it to a single turbo. RB25 tranny (5 speed rather than RB26 6 speed) because of clearence and fit issues. Engine Cost: $7,000-8,000 Install Cost: ~$3,000 (AWD and TT setup will be in excess of $15,000 for install) Modified Horsepower Ceiling (stock internals): 500-600hp
RB30DE-T (hybrid) [more info | head conversion how-to] Swap Difficulty: 3 Aftermarket Support: 3 Donor Car(s): Australian (block; RB30ET 3.0L SOHC) / Skyline GTR or GTS-T (head; RB25, RB26, or RB20) Stock Horsepower: ?hp (?ps) @ ???rpm Stock Torque: ?lb/ft (?kgm) @ ???rpm Redline: Good: good potential, iron block, cheap engine, when modified produces large hp numbers at low revs Bad: age, replacement parts availability, block is hard to find, RB20 head requires lots of work to fit correctly Engine Cost: n/a Install Cost: ~$3,000 Modified Horsepower Ceiling (stock internals): 350-400hp
2JZ-GTE [more info | 300sx conversion!]
Swap Difficulty: 2
Aftermarket Support: 4
Donor Car(s): Supra TT (1991-1998)
Stock Horsepower: 320hp (327ps) @ 5800rpm
Stock Torque: 315lb/ft (43.8kgm) @ 4000rpm
Redline: 6,800rpm
Good: great potential, amazing engine, .4 liters more than RB26, iron block, engine isn't imported
Bad: different motor mounts, more custom fabrication than RB26, non-nissan engine
Engine Cost: $2000 or less
Install Cost: $11,000
Modified Horsepower Ceiling (stock internals): 550-650hp
VG30DE-TT [more info]
Swap Difficulty: 2
Aftermarket Support: 4
Donor Car(s): 300ZX TT
Stock Horsepower: 300hp (304ps) @ 6400rpm
Stock Torque: 283lb/ft (39.3kgm) @ 3600rpm
Redline:
Good: very unique and a decent engine for heavy modification
Bad: huge cost for custom fabrication
Engine Cost: $4,000-6,000
Install Cost: $10,000-20,000+
Modified Horsepower Ceiling (stock internals): 450-550hp
VQ30DE(K) [more info]
Swap Difficulty: 2
Aftermarket Support: 3
Donor Car(s): VQ30DE in A32 Maxima(1995-1999 US model), VQ30DEK in A33 Maxima(2000-2001 US models)
Stock Horsepower: 190 hp @ 5600 rpm(A32 VQ30DE), 222hp @ 6400rpm(A33 VQ30DEK)
Stock Torque: 205 lb ft @ 4000 rpm(A32 VQ30DE), 217 lb ft @ 4000rpm(A33 VQ30DEK)
Redline: 8,000 rpm
Good: Can be cheap, good low-end, lightweight, very turbo friendly for an NA motor.
Bad: Aluminum block, lack of top end on non DEK motors. Note: Can be fixed with variable intake manifold from Courtesy Nissan. Needs Pathfinder tranny.
Engine Cost: $400+
Install Cost: N/A
Modified Horsepower Ceiling (stock internals): 350-400hp
VQ35DE [more info]
Swap Difficulty: 2
Aftermarket Support: 2
Donor Car(s): 350Z, G35, kouki Maxima, kouki Altima, kouki Pathfinder
Stock Horsepower: 287hp (291ps) @ 6,200rpm (350z/G35), 245hp (249ps) @ 5,800rpm (Altima)
Stock Torque: 274lb/ft (38.0kgm) @ 4,800rpm (350z/G35), 246lb/ft (34.2kgm) @ 4,400rpm (Altima)
Redline: 6,600rpm
Good: very unique and a decent engine for heavy modification
Bad: huge cost for custom fabrication, engine taken from a kouki Altima or Maxima will need a RWD trans
Engine Cost: $5,000-7,500
Install Cost: $10,000-20,000+
Modified Horsepower Ceiling (stock internals): n/a (350-400hp est.)
VH41DE [more info | pics ]
Swap Difficulty: 2
Aftermarket Support: 2
Donor Car(s): Infiniti Q45, Cima (J) (Both also came with the VH45DE as well).
Stock Horsepower:340 HP @ 6,400 rpm (taken from automotive.com, specs for 2001 VH45DE)
Stock Torque: 333 ft lb @ 4,000 rpm
Redline: 6,600rpm
Good: huge torque at low rpm
Bad: possible weight distribution issues
Engine Cost: n/a
Install Cost: n/a
Modified Horsepower Ceiling (stock internals): n/a
Very good thread. It should be made a sticky. But you might want to redo some of the pricing like for a rb20det i usally see them go for like 1200-1800 and also believe that they 215hp
good job- that must have took a while-you have the day off -? lol
seriously , looks good- but the difficulty rating seems like it should be "broader"- sort of an individual thing- but i get the idea.
sort of like rating porn movies with stars..!!!!!!!
a retard has a hard time pushing a lawn mower,let alone a swap.
me- being a retard- AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA lol... i do swap- You get No start-up warrenty.. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH lol ah shit....
Great thread, but to my knowledge a lot of the info. isn't consistent from what I've heard/read up on. Also are these prices in canadian because they seem a bit high for some swaps.
good start! i'm sure you'll be able to modify the page accordingly with input from other members and more resources.....great idea though, looks like most stuff is in the ballpark, now to fine tune the page hehe
I think it's a good place to get some starter info. Good job and thanks. Even though it's not accurate it's good to have a ballpark figure. Also 240-kid or someone else will need to keep this info up to date since 6 months from now things might get better of worse for some statistics.
Hopefully this will lessen the redundant questions and keep the search nazis cool.
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