In our last SR installment of the KA vs. SR battle series (Issue #90, June 2010) we sent a brand new SR cylinder head core to TOMEI POWERED (TP) in Japan. There, TOMEI POWERED’s cylinder head specialist Mr. Tahara put the head through the TOMEI POWERED Genesis Phase One and […]
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KA24DE vs SR20DET Act IV | Port Flow Design Readies our KA24DE Head
The design of the cylinder head (intake & exhaust port size length and shape; valve angle, valve size, number of valves per cylinder) plays an important role. The design determines the velocity and volume (CFM) of air-and-fuel entering and exhaust gasses exiting the combustion chamber. While the proper selection of […]
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KA24DE vs SR20DET Act III | SR20DET Heads Up
“It’s all in your head.” When it comes to establishing the efficiency and character of an engine, the cylinder head plays the lead role. A cylinder head’s port design, valve sizes, valve angles, valvetrain design and combustion chamber shape will dictate key performance factors. Flow velocities into and out of […]
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KA24DE vs SR20DET Act II | Preparing the KA for Boost
Ugly! There’s no other word to describe the performance of the KA24DE engine in stock form. Nissan tunes the KA24’s 2.4-liters of displacement to deliver just 155 horsepower at 5,600 RPM. Take the KA24DE under the knife and add a turbocharger system and you’ll see the “ugly” transforms into a […]
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D’Garage Silvia | Preparing For the KA vs SR Battle
Is factory turbocharged performance superior? Can an aluminum block deliver the goods? Making the most of the SR20DET engine has been the focus of the D’Garage Silvia S15 project car from day one. With the introduction of our KA vs. SR Challenge, taking the head start that the SR20-powered S15 […]
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SR20DET vs KA24DE | Which is Nissan’s Best Four Cylinder?
Since 1991, the great debate among Nissan’s S-chassis fanatics has been between the SR20DET and the KA24DE. On the one hand, the JDM chassis’s were equipped with the turbocharged SR engines, offering out-of-the-box forced-induction power from the factory. On the other, the USDM variant received the torquey-yet uninspiring KA24DE engine. […]
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Ford Fiesta ST Build: Part Three | Party Time
Adding power isn’t always the best method to go faster. Take a look at the various divisions of motorsport, for example. How do 200-to-300 hp club racer formula cars outperform 725hp NASCAR cars around the same track? Or how do 90hp, 250cc go karts turn quicker lap times around Mazda […]
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Project Fiesta ST: Part Two | Springs, Sway Bar, Intercooler & Exhaust
There’s no better proving ground for a car’s strengths and weaknesses than on the racetrack. The twists and turns separated by straightaways and high-speed bends test every element of a car’s driving characteristics, from the engine’s powerband to the chassis’ ability to stick to the road. Our first stage of […]
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Ford Fiesta ST Build: Part One | Party Time
Many forget that although the Apollo missions that set foot on the moon nearly 239,000 miles away were a tremendous achievement, these daunting voyages took place with less computing power than a modern smartphone. Adding to this undertaking, NASA implemented extremely low power consumption and massive weight savings for maximum […]
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Switzer’s P800 Upgrade Kit Pushes a Stock GT-R to the Limit
THERE’S NO QUESTION ABOUT IT. NISSAN’S R35 GT-R is the performance bargain of the century. When it was originally introduced, its $69,850 base price was definitely more attractive than its current starting price of $101,770. Due to this 45-percent increase in price, enthusiasts looking to make the jump behind the […]
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D’GARAGE CRX: Honda Twin-cam Swap Part 2
BE IT A JUNKYARD BARGAIN FIND OR A COMPLETELY REBUILT ENGINE FROM THE ground up, swapping in a B-series engine will generally require the same parts, procedures and pain-in-the-you-know-what. Within the family of B-series VTEC engines, small di fferences like the intake manifold, deck height, combustion chamber and sensor placement distinguish […]
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Part 15 PROJECT RH9 GT-R | 834 WHP at 35 PSI of Boost Pressure
As we close out this November issue, we look ahead to the next opportunity to bring our GT-R to the dragstrip. If you remember from last issue, our GT-R managed a 10.34- second elapsed time. While this accomplishment is extraordinary on many levels, we have still not reached our primary […]
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Part 14 PROJECT RH9 GT-R | Into the 10’s with 9’s Not Far Away
Photos by Sami Sharaf // Text by Michael Ferrara Wednesday, July 20th, 2005 During the weekly DSport magazine meeting, it is decided that we will try to get as many vehicles race-ready for an upcoming import drag racing event at California Speedway in Fontana, California. Our plan is to have […]
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Part 13: PROJECT RH9 GT-R | 10-Second Power, 11-Second Timeslips 11.25@ 133.7mph
“Should have…could have…would have…” Our most recent trip to the strip with our Project GT-R proved to be full of both trials and tribulations. While many questions were answered, a number of new questions and concerns surfaced. Text & Photos by Michael Ferrara Persistence Pays The original plan was to […]
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Part 12: Ported & Flowed: Part 3 | Computer Models Versus the Dyno on our RB26 GT-R
In our last installment of Ported & Flowed (October 2004), we mentioned that our next step would be to put the computer model to the test. This test would occur when we installed the ported cylinder head along with the camshafts on our GT-R. Then we would optimize the fuel […]
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