First off, I just want to say this is about THE best forum for actual race talk regarding the S chassis I have ever seen. Incredible amount of knowledge and actual constructive discussions going on, I have read through the entire 25 pages of old threads and thoroughly enjoyed just about every one of them. I am a bit more of a 'lurker' than a 'poster' and the race banter is top notch quality.
I value the input of the mature race oriented crowd here and finally have a predicament that is in need of some supplementary advice.
I have only been into racing my S13 for the last 2 race seasons so I am still sort of green, but have managed to snag the points championship at my local sports car club (G) and come in top 5 (PAX - ST modifier) in quite a few lapping/track days (amongst throngs of S2k, Evo, STI, C5, ect).
I am definitely hooked and love everything about it, but I feel I am at the point of moving up progressively in the power dept. The car is currently in ST trim with NO power mods, we are talking stock down to paper filter. It has been purely suspension/tires and getting to know my car and driving habits with seat time being my biggest priority. Having a slow car is paying dividends as I can outdrive quite a few of my fellow club members in their own vehicles when I co-drive with them. Now I am not THAT good of a driver as the ST class civics/ZX2's DESTROY me when I go to SCCA events and I most definitely get humbled when I play out there (Milwaukee Region ST class).
Now here is the predicament I am faced with. I have a 1990 240SX hatch with the SOHC KA and it is bar-none the cleanest I have ever seen. Never has seen snow and has only seen rain on a handful of occasions. I want to generate a bit more power but have a REALLY hard time sticking money into the SOHC engine when I feel as though its not the best power plant option. My goal is only 300-350 hp, but I am looking to make that as economical and reliable as possible. I don't really care about my SCCA classing or anything as I go out and drive just to do it. I have no aspirations of winning SCCA nats or any sort of NASA events.
So considering I want to hold onto the car due to the cleanliness of the chassis here are my options.
-Turbocharge the KA24E.
-Swap in a KA24DE and do the same.
-Swap in SR20DET via front clip.
-Dare I say...swap in LS1 (buy in is $$)
I also want to make it clear that I don't NEED the 300-350hp, its just where I want to end up. I would be EXTREMELY happy with a stock SR and put-put around at stock power levels and be happy as a clam. The whole 100hp I have now has been fine for the last 2 years. The end goal of 300-350hp is my end game. Also the only reason the LS is on that list is the fact that I co-drove an LS1 powered FC RX7 on some A6's and was awestruck.
I REALLY just want to avoid the "If I could go back, I would have done it WAY differently" scenario as the collective experience of this board has probably had WAY more of these than you all care to admit.
I am also not looking for the global approval of random internet strangers via a message board, just curious what some of you more seasoned veterans would do given my situation. For me the race season is over (not the case in warmer regions I know) and now is the time to build for next season if something of this magnitude is going to be taken on. I suppose I should also note that I am a BMW/MINI tech and would be performing all of the work myself with a top notch shop at my disposal (no shade tree chit here).
Sorry about the long winded post and I hope this is in the right section.
Thoughts?
I value the input of the mature race oriented crowd here and finally have a predicament that is in need of some supplementary advice.
I have only been into racing my S13 for the last 2 race seasons so I am still sort of green, but have managed to snag the points championship at my local sports car club (G) and come in top 5 (PAX - ST modifier) in quite a few lapping/track days (amongst throngs of S2k, Evo, STI, C5, ect).
I am definitely hooked and love everything about it, but I feel I am at the point of moving up progressively in the power dept. The car is currently in ST trim with NO power mods, we are talking stock down to paper filter. It has been purely suspension/tires and getting to know my car and driving habits with seat time being my biggest priority. Having a slow car is paying dividends as I can outdrive quite a few of my fellow club members in their own vehicles when I co-drive with them. Now I am not THAT good of a driver as the ST class civics/ZX2's DESTROY me when I go to SCCA events and I most definitely get humbled when I play out there (Milwaukee Region ST class).
Now here is the predicament I am faced with. I have a 1990 240SX hatch with the SOHC KA and it is bar-none the cleanest I have ever seen. Never has seen snow and has only seen rain on a handful of occasions. I want to generate a bit more power but have a REALLY hard time sticking money into the SOHC engine when I feel as though its not the best power plant option. My goal is only 300-350 hp, but I am looking to make that as economical and reliable as possible. I don't really care about my SCCA classing or anything as I go out and drive just to do it. I have no aspirations of winning SCCA nats or any sort of NASA events.
So considering I want to hold onto the car due to the cleanliness of the chassis here are my options.
-Turbocharge the KA24E.
-Swap in a KA24DE and do the same.
-Swap in SR20DET via front clip.
-Dare I say...swap in LS1 (buy in is $$)
I also want to make it clear that I don't NEED the 300-350hp, its just where I want to end up. I would be EXTREMELY happy with a stock SR and put-put around at stock power levels and be happy as a clam. The whole 100hp I have now has been fine for the last 2 years. The end goal of 300-350hp is my end game. Also the only reason the LS is on that list is the fact that I co-drove an LS1 powered FC RX7 on some A6's and was awestruck.
I REALLY just want to avoid the "If I could go back, I would have done it WAY differently" scenario as the collective experience of this board has probably had WAY more of these than you all care to admit.
I am also not looking for the global approval of random internet strangers via a message board, just curious what some of you more seasoned veterans would do given my situation. For me the race season is over (not the case in warmer regions I know) and now is the time to build for next season if something of this magnitude is going to be taken on. I suppose I should also note that I am a BMW/MINI tech and would be performing all of the work myself with a top notch shop at my disposal (no shade tree chit here).
Sorry about the long winded post and I hope this is in the right section.
Thoughts?
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