The above car, featured in Fast Fours and Rotories magazine a while ago, is a prime example of what YOU can do to your Nissan EXA. Take a high-powered turbocharged engine add an LSD gearbox and be ready to run all over WRX's!

Hopefully by mid-next year we'll have one of the fastest pure front-wheel drive 4-cylinder clubs in Australia. It's not a difficult achievement when you think about it, with our more hardcore members of the club running setups similar to Smurf's above who ran mid-14s when that EXA was still on the drag-strip. In essence, this is the road most of our members are hoping to go down. Get your average CA18DET-FWD motor with ECU from something like an imported U12 Pintara, use the existing gearbox, insert an average size front mounted intercooler, wind up the boost with something like a bleed valve, and there you have it, a conversion for around AUD$4-5K that can see your average V8 off at the lights (and probably around corners too).

Of course you can spend more and turbocharger/motor setup such as Dennis's OOBABY (Featured in various Fast Fours Magazines and Videos), or if you never want to see another smug STi or EVO beat you again then you can't pass Fireball's SR20DET conversion (that's right 154+ kilowatts at the front wheels, an estimated 220+ kilowatts at the flywheel).

The reasons why the CA18DET is the engine choice for builders are:

• Power is developed at lower rpm than standard. Making the car far more drivable than say your average CA18DE motor.
• Overall power and torque is massively improved (around 40% unmodified trim).
• Simplicity of conversion. Being a CA series engine it is very similar to the standard CA18DE that currently sits in your EXA. Many undertake this conversion at home, and send the electrics to the auto-sparky to wire up.
• Easy to pass Road Transport Authority of Australia. Check with your state, but typically no change in capacity warrants no change in brakes. Many keep the rear-drums on, but I don't recommend that. I have heard that NSW RTA will require a brake upgrade (such as Cross-drilled rotors front).
• Potential of this engine. Being a turbo engine, the usual turbo modifications will yield anything up to 100% more power. The usual higher boost, better intercooling, filter, mandrel-exhaust can get you up to the magic 200kW mark (that is why an LSD conversion often mandatory when running this much power). Rule of thumb, anything over this mark will probably require forged pistons maybe decompression too.

 

The Low-Down on the CA18DET Motor

Type: 1809cc EFI DOHC 16-Valve 4cyl Turbo Power: 130kW@6400rpm (108kW@6400rpm 87-88) Torque: 225Nm@4000rpm(201Nm@4000rpm 87-88) Gearboxes: FWD 5-speed. Note: lower power figure in 87-88 model due to no intercooling.

What other owners say about their turbocharging experience

Nicholas Knight's Experience

"I recently had it intercooled and running 14psi boost, it made 151.2hp at the wheels with 685 pound of torque this relates to 14.1 quarters on the Gtech, best I ever got before the turbo was 16.2." - Nicholas Knight (knights@turboweb.net.au)

"Well I installed my CA18DET just over a year ago when the CA16 over heated and warped the head. I got a front wheel drive engine from SSS with the wiring and computer still attached but without a gearbox. The engine installs really easy, minor engine mount swappings but just off the old engine. I replaced timing belt and thermosat. The turbo was seized but some mates helped me unseize it and boy did I shit myself the first time it came on boost. Blew the oil seal in the turbo 3 minutes later and luckily SSS replaced the turbo free of charge. Benefits would have to be ease of installation (I installed it myself and also matching the electrics up), heaps better power (mine is still essentially standard except with a modified intake and running up to 15-18 pounds boost). Disadvantages are probably the cost of engineering ($200) for basically nothing. As for caring for the engine, I confess to not even changing the oil since I installed it a year ago. The big end bearing went and I replaced them (not because of high boost but just worn I think, because I am still running the boost and it hasn't done it again). Other than that I've had less troubles with this engine than the CA16DE - blown module, spark plug problems, and the infamous overheating incident! However if you do the conversion think seriously about the gearbox. I'm still using the standard CA16DE box and have just had to replace it. Stripped half the teeth off the final drive, 5th gear stripped. Problems with this is that the CV joints would have to be custom made because the diameter of the joint at the gearbox is bigger than both the CA16DE and CA18DE. However the benefits of a bigger clutch spline, clutch plate and CV joints should pay of in the long run- less breakages hopefully."