[mav1178]

and something with a decent amount of power - being able to beat the honda's is the main goal here. Being beaten by a ricer is what loses respect.

Though, I have to say, selling the car, and getting an older 240sx, swapping in a rb26dett or something is really tempting. Though that'd be a pretty penny to spend.

These last two lines really tell me you have no idea what you would use the car for.

My 2 cents:

- Who cares about straight line speed? If that's all you want get a B13 SE-R because the P10 is TOO DAMN HEAVY. I know, because my car was matched up against a EG Civic Hatch with a LS/VTEC swap in Project Car and if it weren't for the bad Civic driver, it would've been a slaughter.

- Uh.... RB26 into a S13. Yeah, that's not only a pretty penny, but also utterly useless and not practical. Not to mention really REALLY bad for anything other than the "wow look at me and my cool car" factor.

Not to put you down, but you need to get your priorities straight on what you ultimately want to do. If you know a thing or two about S13/14s, you'd not even LIST a RB26 as a viable swap option.

-alex

 

[Plutoman]

Of course it's not practical. And who does anything except to show off? Well, depending. Some people would do it for themselves. It was more of a joke than anything else. I'm not looking to do engine swaps now, nor would I drop that much money into it.

I'm not really looking for massive amounts of power. Just a bit more than stock. If I could end up around 160-170 to the wheels I'd be happy.

What I want the car for? A nice, clean, and good looking daily driver, that's fun. It's what I'll be driving for the next four years minimum, and I'm taking care of it. Now that I have money to put into it, and time to work with, I want to do more than take good care of it, but I want to have a car I can show off. My priorities are just fine, I think. Repaint, manual, lowered, possibly some rims, and some bolt-on modifications? Before you go into anything else, I enjoy putting work into the car - I want projects to do with it, I want to keep myself busy with it. I take excellent care of the car, and it runs well. It even gets steam cleaned a minimum of once a month.

As to the reference to hondas - got quite a few ricers around here, and if I'm going to show off a nice looking car, I want to make sure it can hold it's own. I do auto-x once in a while, the heartland raceway is not far from me, and the car is good for it, but I don't have the money for a sole track car. A gain in power would really help. I would like to do a turbo, and gain some torque, but I'm reconsidering the possibilities of that. That won't likely come now.

 

[burubuduy]

I'd go for paint, cams, intake, header, s-techs springs, sway bar, strut bar, rims, euro headlights and euro tail lights.

 

[thefultonhow]

I'm not really looking for massive amounts of power. Just a bit more than stock. If I could end up around 160-170 to the wheels I'd be happy.

If you want that much power, you NEED VE or turbo. You won't get that kind of power with bolt-ons. And honestly, if this is your daily driver, I'd be hesitant with turbo -- I've seen way too many people go to turbo their car and then all of a sudden it's not their DD anymore.

 

[Chris]

stuff like SSAC intake header and 91 intake cam is only going to grant you about 10-15hp (I think someone had 18hp gains at top end eliminating the cat, 91 intake cam, and advanced timing w/91 octane)

...I don't see more than 15hp tops (and your talking top end with a loss at lower end) with the cheapest mods of:
1) advance timing an 91 octane
2) eliminate CAT and install SSAC
3) 91 intake cam (or other performance cam)

 

[95g ATL]

If you want that much power, you NEED VE or turbo. You won't get that kind of power with bolt-ons. And honestly, if this is your daily driver, I'd be hesitant with turbo -- I've seen way too many people go to turbo their car and then all of a sudden it's not their DD anymore.

AGREED.....!
There are only a few that have generated that power without changing pistons, port/polish and other "costly" enhancements. VE can get you that with I/E/H (tuning) easily.

stuff like SSAC intake header and 91 intake cam is only going to grant you about 10-15hp (I think someone had 18hp gains at top end eliminating the cat, 91 intake cam, and advanced timing w/91 octane)

...I don't see more than 15hp tops (and your talking top end with a loss at lower end) with the cheapest mods of:
1) advance timing an 91 octane
2) eliminate CAT and install SSAC
3) 91 intake cam (or other performance cam)

I yielded 135 whp with SSAC, pop, 19º. Added the aggressive BC II cams and it was only 151whp with absolutely NO torque to mention...all HP.

When it boils down to it, the stock 120whp vs 135whp isn't going to be that much of a really noticeable difference.

Riding in Dave's VE, best of both worlds.....TORQUE and HP. If you have $2k, do the VE, no doubt about it.

 

[Plutoman]

Alright - how much would a VE swap run then? You're convincing me here. I was thinking with cams, a CAI, pulley set, advanced timing, that I could gain 40 horse, but that's not exactly going to happen now that I think about it, unless I do quite a bit, and a lot more than $2k. However, I can't rock the whole $2k into it, as then I'm left with a bone stock car otherwise, that's an ugly tan, stock rims, and nothing to set it apart from even a camry or corolla.

The VE is compatible with the manual transmissions, correct? It wouldn't need to be bought with a full new one?

You're correct - if I'm doing a turbo application, it'd be small, but I'm hesitant to do a lot with it. I wouldn't think running more than a 5-6 pound boost would be harmful to the engine, however, while gaining me a fairly substantial amount of power over the stock. What's a cost comparison to a turbo?

Is the VE engine as well built as the DE, then, too? And what would be the ideal place to get one?

And is the DET any better for any reason? Everyone's recommending a VE swap over a DET swap, what's the reasoning behind it?

 

[00 blk G20t]

Riding in Dave's VE, best of both worlds.....TORQUE and HP. If you have $2k, do the VE, no doubt about it.

i also rode in daves car at sr09 and even with it pack full of us Gs it still felt very peppy....i dont care what his dyno said.....it was peppy. enough to get in trouble with for sure.....i can only imagine riding by yourself and with the ASP header how it is now.....

VEs are cheap as cheap can be right now too....better jump before the price does....they will be back over 1K before long i would think if the economy makes a turn for the better like it looks like it might do here in the near future....

 

[Plutoman]

i also rode in daves car at sr09 and even with it pack full of us Gs it still felt very peppy....i dont care what his dyno said.....it was peppy. enough to get in trouble with for sure.....i can only imagine riding by yourself and with the ASP header how it is now.....

VEs are cheap as cheap can be right now too....better jump before the price does....they will be back over 1K before long i would think if the economy makes a turn for the better like it looks like it might do here in the near future....

So it'd be less than $1k? Would that be with everything for the engine? Trying to cover all the bases here so I don't get myself into anything unprepared. If I do a VE swap, it'd be my first engine swap. And I have friends to assist me, but still. At least need the right equipment.

 

[95g ATL]

So it'd be less than $1k? Would that be with everything for the engine? Trying to cover all the bases here so I don't get myself into anything unprepared. If I do a VE swap, it'd be my first engine swap. And I have friends to assist me, but still. At least need the right equipment.

more than 1k sir. the engines are around$800 now, but you will need add'l parts to run, ie: calum, header, solenoids, clutch, etc. $2000 would probably be your minimum...
ask the VE owners.

 

[Plutoman]

Aiee. If I could do the whole thing for 2k including a manual... That might be possible. And I could bump up my budget to get the repaint and interior, refurbish the stock rims. And if I get some more money I'll lower it, get some new rims, factory spoiler, as future plans.

Anyone with a VE want to chime in with my earlier post?

 

[00 blk G20t]

well i would follow davids build to keep it bare basics......im sure if you look through his thread you will find a parts list....but yeah the motors are going for less than when he got his around a year ago. most engine places have 20ves going for 800$ right now...you can order it on ebay or just call your local engine importer shops and check and see the prices....but for the most part im gonna say you could get the motor for around 800$ as opposed to over 1200$ or whatever david paid for his....that will keep your build cost lower.

 

[thefultonhow]

Yeah, I paid $1150. Final cost with only the parts I needed was around $1500. So your cost could be as low as $1150 if you get free shipping or pick the motor up.

 

[Plutoman]

Bookmarked his thread... Very well might be a possibility. I'll start looking into parts, and checking into what I can get from a junkyard, to cut costs back. He paid $800, but also got a stage 2 clutch and comp flywheel ($400), and I'm not sure if I'd need that. Though it might be nice.

@thefulton - did you already have a manual transmission? Or was that a complete swap too? I'll be looking into this as a definite possibility here. A VE swap with a new paint job, and refurbished rims.

I'm still looking at the pros and cons of a DET. Most people around here use the DET, and I don't know of anyone who's done a VE engine.

 

[thefultonhow]

Bookmarked his thread... Very well might be a possibility. I'll start looking into parts, and checking into what I can get from a junkyard, to cut costs back. He paid $800, but also got a stage 2 clutch and comp flywheel ($400), and I'm not sure if I'd need that. Though it might be nice.

@thefulton - did you already have a manual transmission? Or was that a complete swap too? I'll be looking into this as a definite possibility here. A VE swap with a new paint job, and refurbished rims.

I already had a manual. 00 blk g20t was talking about my thread, I think. The link is in my signature. If you do go this route, I would recommend trying to get a B14 SE-R or P10t transmission, because those are LSD, which will help you put the power down more easily. Before I upgraded my transmission, I got a lot of wheelspin. Now I still get some, but it's more manageable. It's going to be probably $100 extra, but IMO it's a good place to spend money if you're doing a VE/manual swap at the same time.

 

[Plutoman]

I don't know anyone on a first name basis, so when people use those, I tend to get confused -.-

I'm looking at yours, and another's done here -
http://www.g20.net/forum/showthread.php?t=90993

I'll remember the LSD transmission, hopefully I can find one in a junkyard somewhere. Your thread is more detailed, so I'll be keeping track of it. If I can up the budget just a tad, and budget down tightly, I should be able to manage a VE swap, with the transmission.

What possibilities are there in the future for the VE engine? Not as of now, but after college, when I could use it as more of a project car. This is one reason why I'm wondering about the SR20DET, as I think that would have more upper end potential overall, unless you can turbo the VE engine as easily as a DE, but I have never seen that done, either. And this is looking down the road a bit, nothing for this moment, but I'm curious.

 

[project_stripes]

the reason why so many people down on det's more than ve's is because the ve is a much more practical motor swap and many think much more dependable,some people would rather one thing over the other,i personally like the ve motors and im still going to go with the det,just because when it does brake i have another car.

Now as for the 240 comment earlier,never do an rb series if its your dd,go sr(for some) or ka-t,believe it or not the ka-t is a much better motor.now i know that you dont know me so you may not take my advice,but stick with the g20,240's are nothing but a pain in the @$$,and a money pit,ALL OF THEM!!!!i just got rid of my s13 for this reason,for a year i did nothing but pour money int it.


mav1178-i love your car and it was so great that the issue of project car came out the day i got my g20

 

[thefultonhow]

What possibilities are there in the future for the VE engine? Not as of now, but after college, when I could use it as more of a project car. This is one reason why I'm wondering about the SR20DET, as I think that would have more upper end potential overall, unless you can turbo the VE engine as easily as a DE, but I have never seen that done, either. And this is looking down the road a bit, nothing for this moment, but I'm curious.

Cams, cam gears, ASP header, and a Calum Realtime with tuning should have a good chance of netting you 190-200whp. And yes, you can put on a turbo -- most people recommend a low-boost setup with a bigger turbo, although people have used the T25 with success before. Without a turbo, the car should be super-reliable and fun to drive. With one, it will be a beast. And it could still be reliable then, but I wouldn't count on it. It depends on how well you do the install, as well as pure luck.

 

[mav1178]

SR20VE will cost the following, MINIMUM:

$750-1000 for engine
$100-400 for clutch, depending on how fancy you want
$150-1000 for header, depending on how fancy you want
$200-600 for ECU, depending on which one you go with
$100-??? for some sort of RPM switch, may be priced with ECU so depends on what you go with.

That is the BARE MINIMUM to swap a VE. You use most other existing stuff such as harness, etc. BEWARE that if you do an auto to manual swap, you'll need to figure a few things out regarding TPS sensor, etc.

Having said that, my car put down 187FWHP with the following:

VE
Outlaw Engineering thermoblock spacers
N60 MAF w/ Apex'i Z32 filter
Fujitsubo header
test pipe + 60mm catback
SR16VE N1 cams
JWT cam gears
JWT ECU

I could make more power with a Calum, but beware the wait time. His stuff is good but I so wish he could be faster in terms of goods delivery.

Obviously results may vary, but if I went with Calum RT + ASP header + short ram intake, I'd get around 200FWHP.

-alex

 

[thefultonhow]

Alex, I think your cost estimates are a bit high, for the following reasons:

$750-1000 for engine

Correct.

$100-400 for clutch, depending on how fancy you want

Also correct. I reused my clutch because it only had 11,000 miles on it at the time.

$150-1000 for header, depending on how fancy you want

I got my original SSAC for $75, and others have had similar prices.

$200-600 for ECU, depending on which one you go with

The Calum Basic is $105, as long as you can send off your ECU and wait a month.

$100-??? for some sort of RPM switch, may be priced with ECU so depends on what you go with.

The Summit 830452 is $50.