Compound charge a KA

[Pat]

ok.. so would it be worth the time, money and effort to compound charge (supercharge and turbo) a KA24DE. ive seen KA supercharged with anything from a stillen supercharger from a Z33 kit to an older benz supercharger... and the turbo is a no brainer for what will work. but the issue is getting all the custom stuff made and ECU mapped. any thoughts?

[WorkInProgressK]

The ECU wouldn't be a problem, its the easy part. The main issue is looking at it and saying that it is worth it.

There are many turbo setups that exist which proved them selves reliable and powerful. If it was a V engine, maybe, because its a compact way to feed compressed air to a already full engine bay. That is the reason why they are so popular on Z33's and why car manufacturers actually come up with it (Corvette ZR1).

IMO Very high COOL factor. Any use on the track? nope. Heat soak is a bitch.

[Def]

Would absolutely not be worth it. Spend the money making a good and reliable turbo setup - done. A turbo can make enough power to blow the stock block up easily, and after 3k RPM you have all the power you could want.


There's a reason no one compound charges engines.

[Tower240sx]

Yeah without a good aftercooler on the S/C you are gonna have IAT's that limit the overall performance/reliability,

you can get to whatever power goals you have cheaper (and with less weight) by going LSx

[Def]

Yeah without a good aftercooler on the S/C you are gonna have IAT's that limit the overall performance/reliability,

you can get to whatever power goals you have cheaper (and with less weight) by going LSx

Or an SR...

[s13dude]

Someone on nico did this with the single cam. idk if he ever finished it though.

[Sleepy_Steve]

If I had to put a supercharger in my S14, it would be on top of a VQ35.... But yeah, would not twin charge a KA; routing everything just gets out of hand.

[Pat]

yea.. it kinda was more of a "what if" question. hahah im 18 i have nowhere near enough moey to compound charge it. but my thought was if a lotus elise that has a toyota inline 4 in it could do it and do it good and very fast. (a write up in modified mag) i think it had a "normal" SC and a big turbo so the SC would loose power as the turbo kicked in. but the guy went thru 3+ motors and boat loads of money between trial and error and custom work..

[Pat]

If I had to put a supercharger in my S14, it would be on top of a VQ35.... But yeah, would not twin charge a KA; routing everything just gets out of hand.

i would want to put the new VQ37 in it weaghs less and has more L

[Preston]

More L isn't the issue...we're "sport compact" guys...we're well endowed thus don't need large lumpy cammed motors to compensate for what god failed to give us Strap a turbo on that baby and light them up.

[Pat]

More L isn't the issue...we're "sport compact" guys...we're well endowed thus don't need large lumpy cammed motors to compensate for what god failed to give us Strap a turbo on that baby and light them up.

Hahahaha nice way of thinking.

[PoorMans180SX]

I've been through many ideas when it comes to choosing an engine for my car, including twin-charged setups and whatnot.

Let me tell you that a twin-charger setup is never, ever ideal. There is just too much complexity and compromise to be efficient or reliable.

If you really want a massive power band from a KA or SR, I would look into adapting a twin-screw supercharger to it. They are extremely efficient compressors and make boost as fast as a roots blower. I would say something like a 2.3liter charger would turn your KA's powerband into something that looked like it belonged to an LS7. But, there is the budget issue. Everything costs money. You just have to figure out what works best for you as far as that goes.

[Def]

Superchargers still take power off the crank. E36 M3s with 3.2L engines struggle to put down more than about 450 rwhp with a twinscrew. The crank losses just start getting really high.

[eye-5]

There was a guy with a dual charged civic at the 2010 Redline time attack in Chicago, It killed the FWD street class record. It was incredibly quick. That being said, It seems overly complex and expensive to do right, as well as the practicality of it.

[PoorMans180SX]

Superchargers still take power off the crank. E36 M3s with 3.2L engines struggle to put down more than about 450 rwhp with a twinscrew. The crank losses just start getting really high.

Those use a 2.1liter Kenne Bell Supercharger, IIRC. The Whipple 140AX is a bit more efficient and has a little more displacement. I'd imagine with the right pulleys, a built KA with cams, and a large air-to-air intercooler, you could make around 400whp on a KA. It would probably be considerably faster than a 400whp turbo KA, considering the zero lag and low-down torque. It would probably tend to break gears and axles more too though, haha.

There was a guy with a dual charged civic at the 2010 Redline time attack in Chicago, It killed the FWD street class record. It was incredibly quick. That being said, It seems overly complex and expensive to do right, as well as the practicality of it.