Nissan 240SX Forums banner

Update on my ka-e build -

47K views 326 replies 58 participants last post by  mikethebiker 
#1 · (Edited)
Current Mods

Suspension
Megan Tension rods
Tanabe Sustec Front Sway bar
Tanabe Front Strut Brace
K-Sport Coilovers
Custom Fender braces
SPL Outer tie rods
Z32 Inner tie rods

Power
EGR Removed
Custom Short Ram Intake
2.5" Exhaust
110 amp Alternater
Rebuilt motor
Ported stock manifold

Others
A/C removed
P/S removed
Removed rear seats and belts, front motors & control module + non-working lap belts
Walbro 255
TONS of wiring work
Home Depot Front Air damm, modified bumper


Im waiting on gasket set from schucks right now, so its not together at the moment. Where im at

And for anyone who hasn't seen what a miracle EGR removal is take a look - this isn't even everything. i feel privileged to be in a state w/o emissions.

And finally my ebay filter upgrade.

Just need to devise a way to mount the other sensor in there.. and thats about it. Also waiting on some agency performance radiator hoses. after that im going to move on to sway bars, alum. driveshaft, flywheel and clutch. then i should be pretty set for some fun at the lot.:heyhey
 
See less See more
3
#3 ·
you might want to plug the intake ports with lint free cloth so that dirt bugs rats dont get in.

what autocross class do you plan on competing in?
 
#4 ·
Im not sure yet, whatever i can get into i guess. I've did it a while back in my celica, but i dont know the classes or anything... i think street modified or something along those lines?

We dont have problems with pests right now.. its cold as all hell.
 
#5 ·
Here's another update:
I got my sway bars last night, Tanabe Sustec F&R's for 350$ off ebay which was a pretty good deal if you ask me.




I also got a new 02 sensor yesterday and when i pulled my heat sheild i found this :

what you can and cant see, is that i am missing 4 bolts... well 2 bolts and 2 studs. for some reason the previous mechanic had not only decided to refrain from putting bolts in the left side, but also remove the studs in the left side! so i got one from the right to the left to hold it down a bit more evenly, and now you can guess what my next project is.
 
#10 ·
found this :

what you can and cant see, is that i am missing 4 bolts... well 2 bolts and 2 studs. for some reason the previous mechanic had not only decided to refrain from putting bolts in the left side, but also remove the studs in the left side! so i got one from the right to the left to hold it down a bit more evenly, and now you can guess what my next project is.
Looks like how my last 240's manifold was when I pulled off the heat shield; oddly enough it was also an E. I'd suggest getting rid of that shit filter and getting a K&N.
 
#6 ·
I picked up one of the ebay headers for the KAe and it works and fit fine.
Only $100 after shipping too.

Btw you can just ditch the other sensor. Its just a temp sensor that wont throw a code if gone.
Plug that hole on the intake too.

Nismo Power Brace is a great add on for an auto x car.

Loving the build so far. Keep us updated=)

I'm doing one myself for auto x too=)
KAe
 
#7 ·
spend $50 and buy an electric fan and dump the stock mechanical one. huge difference in revability in the lower gears. you're dropping rotational weight and load on the engine. if it were an autoX-only car you can probably get away with no fan at all... but if you drive it more than 10 min or so, you'll want to have a fan on it.

a 12/14" electric fan from a speed shop will run you about $50 and work just fine. it's all I'm running on mine and ic an keep the water temp at about 180 sitting in heavy traffic with it running all the time.


have fun with the car. I also highly reommend a power brace.. if you can weld, you can make one for about $5 in scrap metal. 3' of 1" tubing and some 2" x 1/8" flat stock to box in the other stuff. easy enough.
 
#8 ·
Yeah i want to get the fan but while im broke im deciding whether to wire it to the temp sensor (?) or just make it with a switch.

I need to find a way to re-stud my head for the exhaust, either that or can i just use correct bolts? I would never buy headers, the stock are 4-2-1 and im going turbo someday, theres no point.

Its funny everyone mentions the power brace, i was sitting under my the car the other night adjusting my sway bars and was like damn, i should get a nismo power brace, or just weld that shit. Does it make more handling rigidity or just general chassis rigidity?
 
#11 · (Edited)
So i just finished installing an electric fan. All i have left to do is the wiring, but when i started it up to get it warm i noticed i have an intermittent loss of spark in one of my cylinders. I pulled all of my plugs and they all looked pretty old, even though none of them are more than maybe 150 miles... They kinda look oil fouled, but theres not really any oil on them, it just looks covered in carbon like crazy. Im running Bosch platinum 4's. Im thinking itd either my timing, the 2 guage wire i have running from my battery (upgrade to single or double ott?), or an oil leak from my pistons, since i do burn oil but i dont have any leaks. I comp tested the other day and ran 1-4 respectively, 148, 150, 151, 154. So it may just be time for some new piston rings.

Get pics up in a bit of the work.
 
#47 ·
So i just finished installing an electric fan. All i have left to do is the wiring, but when i started it up to get it warm i noticed i have an intermittent loss of spark in one of my cylinders. I pulled all of my plugs and they all looked pretty old, even though none of them are more than maybe 150 miles... They kinda look oil fouled, but theres not really any oil on them, it just looks covered in carbon like crazy. Im running Bosch platinum 4's. Im thinking itd either my timing, the 2 guage wire i have running from my battery (upgrade to single or double ott?), or an oil leak from my pistons, since i do burn oil but i dont have any leaks. I comp tested the other day and ran 1-4 respectively, 148, 150, 151, 154. So it may just be time for some new piston rings.

Get pics up in a bit of the work.
the bosch platinums (singles 2s and 4s) run too hot for the KA, they'll work great for a couple weeks and then burn up. though ymmv i would stick with either denso or kyg (that's what oem uses). if for some reason you must use bosch plugs the supers (copper) will last a lot longer in the KA
 
#13 ·
im pretty sure it is running rich, it stinks. but my fpr DOES have a vac line, running from it to a hardline on the fuel rail to the intake mani.. here are some pics of what i did with the electric fan. Its a 1250 cfm 14" that i have wired to a switch right next to my ebrake. sweet ass. Along with my custom dash lights.. I ran out of red, but its growing on me i guess. And the interior is impeccable. if only i didn't have leather seats.



 
#14 ·
So, I got some more stuff for this slut. (studded tires included), I installed my MR tension rods. As far as those, the only neg i have about them as the paint is kinda chipping of on the adjuster, but for me, i dont give a shit since a) all my shit is beat to hell anyway and b) im not a baller. I did like that the pillowball has a rubber boot sround it to help protect from the elements. shopping around, i didn't notice if any of the other brands had em
I also installled my new magnetic drain plug, after install i noticed, give or take like 32 hp and 16 ft lbs of torque at the wheels.
Also installed the new agency power stainless clutch line, i got mine from enjuku racing for like 40$.. And at the same time removed the damper which took like 5 minutes. Overall, i noticed a bit stiffer pedal and all of the clutch depression is done in probably the first 3 inches of swing, unlike the stock good 7 inches, maybe. im too retarded to remember what it's like. so if anyone wanted to know. And yes, it should be fun with an aftermarket clutch. just glad my right leg is the broken one.
Also finally installed my reverse sensor after like.. half a year of having it.
Finally i removed my taillights, and cleaned up the ground a bunch. Before i was having problems with only half of each light being used during breaking, well when i got into it i found that at some point the grounds of the dual intensity housings had apparently come loose, and were arcing at some point or another. It apparently made some excess heat and cause much of the plastic to melt, and made a large gap. after shaving the plastic, sanding the grounds and re-installing them everything now works as it should. Sorry for no picks. My mom is in san-diego using my camera, that lucky woman
 
#18 ·
my e-fan came discount from schucks since they like me, it's like a 14" 1250cfm i think, works great for me, and i still have my a/c condensor in, i need to get it out and then ill be golden. i only need to use it when i leave the car running and its parked, which is like never.

And i went E since im broke, but more-so since i like a challenge, which is the whole reason i work on cars, if everything was easy then why do it? i've heard so many "know it alls" say you can't make power with a single cam, they are crap, they suck compared to DE's all this shit. it's like oh, i know huh cuz you missed 2nd and 3rd just then huh? oh, your car isn't runnign right? It's not a big difference and i like to be different. I love slowly building the car and getting a feel for what each of the parts do to the performance, driveability, everything about it. Some things abot it i like, like the set-up of the engine bay compared to the DE, well thats it. Otherwise, the de is nice since you can indivdually fine tune the cam timing, which is nice. so it all comes down to what you do, but im more about weight and agility then power, but power does come in to. Im kind of attatched to my single cam. :)
 
#19 · (Edited)
ok, so sound clip of exhaust and a stupid video of a burnout i did with my phone on some shittty tires i had laying around. Its kinda tough with a cast on, but i can still floor it. lol

 
#20 · (Edited)
SOOOO i suck at this thread anyway since the last time i posted i have...


Removed my auto belt motors, removed the wiring for the belt control unit and the unit itself..

thats all thats left now :)
 
#22 · (Edited)
yeah im working on finding a job that will pay for this thing.

I fabbed up some additional grounds for my engine bay with 4g wire, it made my headlights a little brighter, and helped a good deal with voltage drain when lots of accesories are on.


voltage would sometimes drop to 13.5 with nothing on, but now its never below 13.8, even with headlights, e-fan, and fogs on.

Cleaned it with a scrubby sponge the other day, and my engine bay a bit too. looks a lot nicer now. changed oil, did all that coming up to summer stuff. now i need to find time to do my tranny fluid



check out the tread on these babies
 
#23 ·
Wow, check out that bushing. Ouch.
We're in the same boat. A sinking one.
I need tires also.

Like what you did with the grounds. If you wan't more cheap ones. I went to Wal Mart the other day and found some Marine Batt Ground Wires for 80c each. I picked up 6. They aready have ends on them too.
 
#25 ·
Like what you did with the grounds. If you wan't more cheap ones. I went to Wal Mart the other day and found some Marine Batt Ground Wires for 80c each. I picked up 6. They aready have ends on them too.
yeahhh have a bottle full of propane, 10ft of cable and some grounds waiting for me. i cant find anywhere else to do grounds, i know i could use some more for the REAL hot weather, but i dont know where to locate them that wont take more than 5 minutes to do..

i want some RUCA's real bad but the things i want... that list is too long..
 
#27 ·
coupes are nice, but they really only look good in dark colors. and flip up lights dont suit them, the body line of the hood doesn't flow with the body like they do with hatches. imo they shoulda never made coupes w/ flip ups. leave the silvia front on em
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top