putting in a ca18det

[mike]

im at a condrum here... ive got a NA 1.8 exa, and was just wondering if it makes financial sense to put in a ca18det... how much are we looking at to have one fitted, and everything that needs to be, strengthned to make the engine and gears etc bulletproof? i mean wouldnt it make more sense to sell the exa dn buy a turbo car, and with the differenece of putting the ca18det in, work the new car?

or what about just droopping a turbo in to my existing engine? what do i need to do to make that quite bullet proof, i mean its virutally the same engine with a T at the end isnt it?

[mike]

oh i know there is a similar thread to this in the technical section, but the posts are kinda dying off and its not really answered my questions :)

[jason_sheman]

go and ask Cypher industries......
they will help u....
ask Galvin there
they told me 2 weeks ago, they can find a f.w.d. turbo 1/2 cut...
for around $1200 but missing computer....
and they said the computer is not hard to find..from eastern state or maybe from the silvia one...for $300
to fitted, labour around $1500
and some more....e.g. clutch, and new timing belt if u want.
tuning up..change oil...etc
should be around $3000

[mike]

i was under the impression it was closer to 5k? at 3k thats a very dooable project... can some of the ppl who have gone thru with it tellm e how much its cost them? ta

[Jessie]

Mike, if you still have questions about this, PM Hairball. He's done the CA18DET conversion, and later threw in an SR20DET. He did both the conversions himself (hence why he's the conversion king).

He'll be able to tell you what has to be strengthened and what doesn't. From my understanding, and I'll be the first to admit it's pretty basic, you don't have to do a lot before putting in the CA18DET. You can keep the same gear box, (Craig recommended a new gearbox, maybe from a turbo pulsar, but it wasn't essential). You can get away with a stock exhaust too, but again, if you can afford to upgrade, why the hell wouldn't you? A few other small things but no major work, like what is required to put in the SR20DET.

From my own research into the conversion, it was going to cost about $1200 for the engine and ECU, another $300 for the new gear box and $650 for a 2 1/2 inch exhaust from the engine. Plus a whole weekend in which to do the conversion. Approx $2150 if you do the labour yourself.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but that is my understanding of the situation.

Jessie

[boostinhard]

Hey,
sounds fair Jessie... As a suggestion, if you got a few extra bucks - instead of spending $300 on a std computer, spend 1g more and get and aftermarket ecu. Will pay dividends in the long run. Gives more flexibilty, better running, better efficiency and more importantly, better power!
Sam