Which motor to put in?

[slydar]

im gonna put it out there. if you even have to ask, or are even comparing the choice of an sr or a 4a, and have that little knowledge that you are considering 6 cylinder engines. then sr20det power, will be too much power for you. just go 20v, or even stock jdm ae86 4age. a decent one of those, with some small cams later is plenty to learn to drive/drift an 86 in. as has been proven by many members here who actually drive their cars on the track.

hopefully you can do some more digging and work out that that is clearly the way to go in an 86.

converting an 86 to sr20, is almost "stupid". though it does make sense for some.. consider that sr20det powered s13s can now be bought for 6 grand. sometimes less. if you want a turbo charged drift car. buy an s13. if you want a fun, compact, simple, sports car, and a bit of a classic. tune the 86.

[sun_moon]

this motor.

note the "doseing"

[redsprinter]

yeah what slyder said.

seriously .. 20v, smallport 16 v ... and or even 4agze ... if i ever do it agian id go 4agze with standard boost for street and drift work . much easier to rip a skid and also the extra torque helps with start and go trafffic. drivetrain can almost remain stock

[Ballen]

I'm well aware of the differences in power etc, I meant it more in terms of if I'm going to go to the trouble of doing an engine swap then I might as well go as high end as I can for my purposes. Since any of the mentioned motors would suit my needs I couldn't decide, but I wanted to hear people's opinions as chances are that each of those motors lays under the hoods of any of the members here.

[Nicko]

There are many schools of thought for engine upgrades.

Personally, I like to think of it in terms of duty cycle.

For example :

1. I put a 4AGE in a KE70 but because i'm bored with its lack of power, I upgrade the engine so that it can pull a few more revs, nm of torque and HP. For argument sakes, lets say its making ~100 RW KW.
I spend ~$5000 after all is said and done, doing most of the work myself.
The engine consumes oodles of fuel to make that 100 RW KW, but is nice and revvy.
I drift it every weekend for 6 months until a rod lets go and smashes my block to shithouse, rebuild needed. More $$$
Not particularly reliable.

2. I put an SR20 into a ke70, I don't need to do many mods to make it driveable. I use a T28BB and for argument sake, lets says it pulls about 180 RW KW
I spend ~$6000 after all is said and done, doing most of the work myself.
The engine is torquey, on and off power. I can cruise it pretty lean when I need to pullup a hill in 5th gear, it just does it. I never really need to ask the car to go over 7000 RPM, even dwipting.
I drift it every weekend for 18 months until I need to fix a timing chain
More reliable, more power all round.

I think that any motor that is suited to the application is the better option.

It all comes down to that ultimate question.

[Konakid]

Wat.

SR's are half as reliable as a mildy tuned 4age. Since when do stockish n/a 4age's throw rods?

A 4ag would also use FAR less fuel than a 2 litre turbo motor.

$6000 sr conversion..... + F series diff, + custom tailshaft + W58 box, + strong Clutch + bellhousing + Epic fuel system.... 10K later......

[Nicko]

1. False

2. False

3. Was for argument sake, but have seen budget SR conversions.

[stx-16]

im doing a budget as shit na sr conversion
iv done the maths got some cheap deals on stuff and its came up to about $1500
not counting paying someone to wire it up or any little fuck up's that might/will happen

[shift_rook]

ok here's somehting

sr front cut-3000 for redtop with box, clutch and all the loom and ecu etc etc, could sell some parts off it to save some money but let's not get pissy
t28bb-$500?
exhaust-$3-500 maybe up to 1k
wire up- $3-500 though if you've got thre knowledge you could do it yourself
f series- 1k, bought off here as a bolt in cause you cbf sending one off to get mounts made etc etc
tailshaft-4-500
mounts- if you really cbf doing them yourself i bet you could get some made up for easily under 500
so that makes about 7 at pretty much an absolute most, i was being fairly generous with pricing
and sr's are reliable as shit as lnog as you don't push over 15 pound into the, give them a regular oil
and that would make the easiest 180 atw with gobs of torque to go with it.

4age- for something in great condition as a bolt in package i wouldn't expect a whole lot back from 2k or so
then you've got a piece of shit t50 so turf that and chuc a w58 behind it as you want to be able to clutch kick the shit out of it without it cracking the sads- 1200 including tailshaft
clutch, something good and then you have to change splijnes over so i'm going to say 500+
cams around 800 for some cams form a reputable company, though could pay more or less depending how far you want to go
diff you'll still snap axles and be annoyed every so often so let's go f series too that'll be 1k
on top of that still need a wire up so let's say 2-300 unless of course you want to do it yourself
then there's little bits like a fuel system too which should be able to setup for under $100 without a suge tank or anything jut a bare bones shitty fuel setup
after all that you're looking at about 6k

i believe i waas being pretty fair with all the pricing thiough i'm more than happy for someone to debate it with me

[Konakid]

You forgot:

Front mount cooler + piping
Fuel setup
Gbox x member

A 4age doesnt need a w box, a t50 with h/d organic clutch will last many many kicks of abuse.


Sure sr20 is a good skid motor but for dailying, with the firewall getting hot, sorting out the heater + aircon so they still work, having a working tacho + speedo, defectability, 4age really does make a lot of sense.