Sr20det, Ca18det, Fj20et - Pros And Cons!

[Mickya]

i am set on getting a datsun 1600 for my next car (daily driver with power.), and majority of the ones i'm seeing for sale are sporting on of these three engines.

what i want to know is what are the pros and cons of these engines (sr20det, ca18det, fj20et) and overall in your mind which would be the best one to have in a 1600.

i want as much feed back as possible.

cheers.

[DLOOOK]

The SR would be your best bet. As it is the newest out of the lot and there are heaps of off the shelf bolt ons available. Have a look on nissansilvia.com If you are on a budget the CA would save you quite a bit and still go hard in such a light car. Hope you are going to upgrade brakes and suspension. How much are you budgeting?

[Mickya]

The SR would be your best bet. As it is the newest out of the lot and there are heaps of off the shelf bolt ons available. Have a look on nissansilvia.com If you are on a budget the CA would save you quite a bit and still go hard in such a light car. Hope you are going to upgrade brakes and suspension. How much are you budgeting?

well i plan on getting one thats had most of the hard work done (already had the engine conversion and shit) and then fine tune it. i think come the time to get one i'll be looking to spend up to 15 grand. just depends on the car, the engine, condition etc..

[VB-]

if you want to buy one already built, i think what ever motor has been swapped in there cant be part of your selectable criteria. unless there is a massive stockpile of 1600's with various engine conversions for sale that i dont know about?

[Mandingo]

FJ20.

Con - Gettin a bit long in the tooth (didnt bother me)

Pro - Plain scary with big turbo. Rips SR's a new a-hole.

[mad082]

sr20 or ca18. the fj20 is basically what the sr20 was based off and is a bit of a rattley old engine. CA18 aren't a bad engine (rather under rated by a lot of people) and the sr20 is a good engine.

[Swiper the Fox]

sr20 or ca18. the fj20 is basically what the sr20 was based off and is a bit of a rattley old engine. CA18 aren't a bad engine (rather under rated by a lot of people) and the sr20 is a good engine.

CA's are an awesome bit of gear...id swap a SR for one in a heartbeat.

The Silvia guys are mad for thinking the SR is an upgrade. Dollar for dollar the SR 'upgrade' vs the built CA is a no brainer.

Im currently building one for my daughter's S13...great little engine that is not plagued by the weakness'/issues of the SR.

Edited March 7, 2010 by Swiper the Fox

[(OO)SKYLINE(OO)]

CA's are an awesome bit of gear...id swap a SR for one in a heartbeat.

The Silvia guys are mad for thinking the SR is an upgrade. Dollar for dollar the SR 'upgrade' vs the built CA is a no brainer.

Im currently building one for my daughter's S13...great little engine that is not plagued by the weakness'/issues of the SR.

You have a point there "Mr. RH9".

BTW didn't you use to be Dirt Garage?

To the OP, if you ask the CA18 enthusiast, CA18 = RB26 of the Silvia world.

1 tuff engine.

Having said that, I don't mind a SR20 either.

[12th_man]

will depend on budget, and how much power you want from that budget.

now days all the motors have decent aftermarket stuff so you wont have a lot of trouble with parts.

Can get 200kw out of an SR relatively easily, where as a CA will need a bit more to get there.

I've had a CA and an SR, the CA was good fun, bulletproof, but lacked the 'kick' and i couldn't be bothered dumping $$ into it.

SR although its the tractor motor has been reliable and easy power.

i dont have a clue regarding the FJ, but hear good things, just an older motor is all.

can come down to personal preference. just make sure you do your research and dont jump into anything too quickly.

have fun

[bozodos]

get a CA18DET, will be less headf**ks with fitting, engineering, and pretty much everything else.

[DELLER]

How come he doesnt try RB20DET in there

[WHITER33GTS-T]

runs to4z at 30 psi and makes 708rwhp

[bozodos]

it's a crying shame but an RB20 will never fit into a 1200 engine bay at least for a street car, it's way too long.

[Swiper the Fox]

You have a point there "Mr. RH9".

BTW didn't you use to be Dirt Garage?

To the OP, if you ask the CA18 enthusiast, CA18 = RB26 of the Silvia world.

1 tuff engine.

Having said that, I don't mind a SR20 either.

[Peter89]

15k on the engine or in total?

a rebuilt sr20 turbo with ve head would be insane.

i own a s14 (australia model) with a stockish sr20det

pros:

lots of bottom end torque

good response, great for the street

large aftermarket support, parts easy to find, good prices.

new compared to ca and fj

cons

not so great top end

stock internals not that strong

weak stock turbo

crappy australian ecu

[bozodos]

you can get Nistune and better turbos though...

IMO carburetted motors are best in Datsuns for that old school cool factor, but I can understand the logic in throwing in a CA18 + 5 speed.