The T1R X-brace is a strut tower brace that has a lower x member that ties the tops of the strut towers to the steering rack on the Honda S2000. This brace effectively locks the front of the chassis which sharpens steering response and feedback. Installation First, park the car on level ground, raise the hood and remove the intake box by removing the bolts and clips around it’s base. Now...
Now why would you take one of the best handling production cars ever made and make it slide? I have found myself asking that question lately. Maybe it is because I like a challenge, maybe it is because I will try to drift anything or maybe it is because this is my brother’s car and like me, he loves all motorsports but drifting seems to hold that special place above all of the rest...
Ok, maybe I will but in any serious car buildup the obligatory drivetrain tech installment invariably comes up. And that my friends is what we are about to embark on. The drivetrain includes any system that takes rotation from the motor and translates that movement to the wheels. In this case, I will talk about the flywheel and the driveshaft. Any amount of weight that is removed from the...
Of all of the mods I have done to the 240sx, liquid intercooling is the one that raises the most eyebrows, receives the most praise and insults and generally leaves people scratching their heads. This tech article is going to walk through the thought process and design considerations involved in liquid intercooling your Nissan 240sx. This is not a step by step walk but more along the lines of a...
New simplified coolant mod number 2 available here. CA18DET Coolant Mod Number 2 (From 10 Lines to 1) One thing I value on a car that will see serious track time is weight reduction and simplification. This mod focuses on simplifying the water circulation system to improve it’s reliability and greatly reduce it’s complexity. Considerations This mod is perfect for the racer looking for...
I’ve come to the conclusion that the Nismo mounts that everyone swaps into their 240’s are not only over-rated but a waste of money. One of the main reasons people swapping in the CA18DET have a hard time locating a front strut tower bar that clears the intake manifold is due to the fact that the Nismo mounts raise the height of the motor. In my case, this problem was compounded when...
The turbo found on the SR20DET motor is an upgrade that virtually every CA18DET owner has run at one point or another. Where the CA18DET T25 turbo is good to about 12psi and looses boost towards redline, the SR20DET T25 can run around 14psi and will hold steady till redline with the .80 exhaust housing. Additionally, there are tons of SR guys swapping out their factory turbo so finding SR...
Like most Nissan motors, the CA18DET has a maze of vacuum lines that quickly become confusing to those unfamiliar with the motor. The following is a quick guide of what needs to be hooked up and where in order to get your CA18DET up running. Upper Intake Manifold (rear) Read below for the explanations and click here for a larger view. Connects to the passenger side valve cover at the front of the...
Installing a lightweight single piece driveshaft on the 240sx offers a few benefits over the factory 2 piece unit. First, your driveshaft is considered a rotating mass and as such, any weight saved on your driveshaft translates into a quicker, freer revving motor. This effect is similar to installing a lightweight flywheel on your car. Second, the single piece design of an aftermarket driveshaft...
Background Even with the abundance of OEM parts available for the CA18DET, there seems to be a very striking lack of affordable lightweight flywheels. Clutchmasters and Spec make several clutch kits for this motor but for the time being there really isn’t a true, US market, bolt in replacement flywheel. Of course, there is always the occasional JUN lightweight flywheels that pops up on ebay...
Part 1 of the CA18DET swap guide deals with removing the factory engine from your 240sx but before getting started I will cover a little background information regarding the CA18DET motor and engine swaps in general. But first and foremost, if you do not have the Factory Service Manual (FSM) I urge you to download it now. (1989-1994 Nissan 240sx (S13 – 180sx) CA18DET) This manual can help...
Some of us get lucky, we import a motor from Japan, swap it into our car and drive off into hybrid heaven. But sometimes things just don’t seem right and unmistakably, as I pile the miles on my latest CA18DET, it has started to feel off. The smoke the car leaves behind after trips to redline is less concerning than the strong gas smell present at the next oil change. Since crankshafts that...