CA18det VS. SR20det

[Nebuchernezzer]

haha yeah i think he does understand
the commodore over here just stopped using a 3.8L buick derived V6, thats 6 cylinders from an old buick V8, same with many a car.

[Mechperformance]

I can say many things about either engine.....

I have built a Ca and I have built an SR.......

Which one was stronger? The SR.....Sorry CA guys.....
Which one lasted longer? both are still running fine after 2 years.....
Which is easier to mod? The SR unless you live in japan or can pay Tomei prices....
Which is best bang for your buck? Both...They beat the shit out of a CA18ET, VG30E, or of course the CA20E (No offense guys)....
Which would be better for you? Dont know, depends on what you want to do with your car......(personal preference.....)

Which is over all better? Neither.....Drop and RB25 in it and call it a day.... :mrgreen:

just playin......They are both equal competitors.....The cast Iron block of the CA holds up to a lot of power, but the light wieght cast aluminum block of the SR makes up in lack of strength (not really enough to notice strength wise) it gains in weight reduction.......

Its all about you......Ive had a SC61 Prescision tuning boosted CA walk away from my S13, and thats not easy.....

[Nebuchernezzer]

but the light wieght cast aluminum block of the SR makes up in lack of strength (not really enough to notice strength wise) it gains in weight reduction.......

The SR is actaully a fair bit heavier than the CA, due to using an alu block it has to use more material and more ribbing etc to get it\'s strength.  I\'ve been told the difference between the two engines is 30kg although i havn\'t checked that myself.

[Mechperformance]

The SR is actaully a fair bit heavier than the CA, due to using an alu block it has to use more material and more ribbing etc to get it\'s strength.  I\'ve been told the difference between the two engines is 30kg although i havn\'t checked that myself.

Well I am gauging this by the 4 guys on each corner of a palate with a CA on it Vs. the SR on a pallate with 4 guys......(taking it off the truck.....)

:dontknow:

[Euroboy]

I can say many things about either engine.....

I have built a Ca and I have built an SR.......

Which one was stronger? The SR.....Sorry CA guys.....
Which one lasted longer? both are still running fine after 2 years.....
Which is easier to mod? The SR unless you live in japan or can pay Tomei prices....
Which is best bang for your buck? Both...They beat the shit out of a CA18ET, VG30E, or of course the CA20E (No offense guys)....
Which would be better for you? Dont know, depends on what you want to do with your car......(personal preference.....)

Which is over all better? Neither.....Drop and RB25 in it and call it a day.... :mrgreen:  

just playin......They are both equal competitors.....The cast Iron block of the CA holds up to a lot of power, but the light wieght cast aluminum block of the SR makes up in lack of strength (not really enough to notice strength wise) it gains in weight reduction.......

Its all about you......Ive had a SC61 Prescision tuning boosted CA walk away from my S13, and thats not easy.....

if you have worked on them you would have know that the sr block is actually heavier than the ca block!
The engines are sr 28kg heavier than ca

[Nebuchernezzer]

Well there you go someone told me right it seems.

[Mechperformance]

if you have worked on them you would have know that the sr block is actually heavier than the ca block!
The engines are sr 28kg heavier than ca

I think I just explained my opinion on the block weight.......As for building Nissan\'s, come back to me when you have your Nissan Scope tech certification.....I admitted that it was just from the feel and you try to slam me? You must be one of those CA Nazi\'s that has a size complex.....I just got done saying that I had a CA hand my Built S13\'s ass to me....LOL...Sorry my opinion offended you.....

-Jeff

[bartc_j]

comone boys and girls no need for this it all comes down to preference and how much $$ you have.. remember we are here as a community to make these cars kick ass,, not to bitch about which or what it better.. we dont want to become a dsm or supra forum.. we are a family here.. or at least thats how i feel being here..

[SHEPPO3930]

are we still comparing to totally different engines? hey lets compare a 3 cylinder to a W16, or a pushrod V8 to a DOHC one?? Man both engines have pro\'s and con\'s, and as i see it, you choose an engine you can afford, or which is easiest to install or what you can get parts for..............but if you can afford to dump a RB26DETT into ya S12, then do it, it will woop both SR and CA in power, torque and outright street cred!

[Euroboy]

I think I just explained my opinion on the block weight.......As for building Nissan\'s, come back to me when you have your Nissan Scope tech certification.....I admitted that it was just from the feel and you try to slam me? You must be one of those CA Nazi\'s that has a size complex.....I just got done saying that I had a CA hand my Built S13\'s ass to me....LOL...Sorry my opinion offended you.....

-Jeff

i am sorry you have to get offended and show what you have in terms of certification wise.  But it\'s not impressing anyone.  Actuallly for a tech you should have known not to make the assumption of just guessing by feel.  If you are a tech you leave everything to comps/science/paper pen and calculator.
I didn\'t try to slam as i haven\'t tried to slam anyone here.  I was just stating a point which is widely spread on the net and has been repeated here at least 3 or 4 times.  No i would have preferred the fj before the ca but the deal went south.  BTW i am really sorry my fact offended you about the sr being heavier.  I am not here to start an argument, opinions are opinions and unless i hear someone who designed BOTH these engines then they are just that. OPINIONS!

[Mechperformance]

i am sorry you have to get offended and show what you have in terms of certification wise.  But it\'s not impressing anyone.  Actuallly for a tech you should have known not to make the assumption of just guessing by feel.  If you are a tech you leave everything to comps/science/paper pen and calculator.
I didn\'t try to slam as i haven\'t tried to slam anyone here.  I was just stating a point which is widely spread on the net and has been repeated here at least 3 or 4 times.  No i would have preferred the fj before the ca but the deal went south.  BTW i am really sorry my fact offended you about the sr being heavier.  I am not here to start an argument, opinions are opinions and unless i hear someone who designed BOTH these engines then they are just that. OPINIONS!

As is why I posted what I posted......

[Joel07]

I am not here to start an argument,

Sure act like you\'re here to start an argument...   :roll:  

How long is this crap gonna go on?????   :slap:  :guns:

:cheers:

[bartc_j]

hey while on the subject of sr and ca... whats the crank main journal diameter of the sr??

[Joel07]

SR20DE

Main journal - 2.1636-2.1646
Rod journal - 1.8880-1.8887

Don\'t have the specs for the SR20DET since it wasn\'t sold here, but I\'m pretty sure they\'re the same...   :cheers:

[bartc_j]

thanks thats what i needed

[Nebuchernezzer]

The SR20DE and SR20DET cranks are the same.

[Euroboy]

Sure act like you\'re here to start an argument...   :roll:  

How long is this crap gonna go on?????   :slap:  :guns:  

:cheers:

no i only ment \"keep certificates on the wall and facts in here\"

sorry that you think that joel but i have been here for some time and never have i attempted to start an argument.  I just don\'t appriciate ppl who think they know better JUST because they have some sort of certification.

Matt here knows a ton and i don\'t think he ever got any certification from nissan or anything in between, and so with a lot of other member who have helped me and others here, who i really am gratefull for.

[S12PSI]

OK, so this is a fairly debatable subject, basically AMEN to EUROBOY\'s first post on the first page.

If you don\'t go fiddling around with the bores of the ca18det, the basic factor that its a cast iron block, and SR is an alloy block the ca18det will handle more horsepower, mega-HP SR\'s run a sleeved block.

CA\'s and SR\'s with similar mods make very similar HP figures, the SR just spools the same turbo sooner given its longer stroke.

*** Benefits of an SR is all them yankee\'s make aftermarket parts for them, so it makes bolt on EVERYTHING and ANYTHING possible. but in the end, the SR replaced the CA because it was cheaper to build, Aluminium blocks are cheaper to make (not becoz its lighter, becoz it isn\'t). SR was CHEAPER to produce becoz it has something like 50 less moving parts, or 50 less parts to it. IN THE END the ca18det comes from a background of CA family and it was their final masterpiece in the series, SR has SR16 or SR20, both built at the same time, $$$$ saving led to the SR, years of CA family led to the CA. As nissan were very well off in the late 80\'s early 90\'s they could afford to make cars with a ca18det.

In reality its hard to say one engine is better, nissan came up with the SR which was nearly as good, but made it for less $$$. (oops did i just inflict my opinion *snickers*)

(sorry if any of this has been said)

its all about \"horses for courses\", what you will use your car for and how often you will use it, and most often comes down to a BUDGET factor as to which engine to choose. but if you pick an SR u have to put up with that droning farting exhaust note (sorry Neb)

Now, not to rub anyone up the wrong way, but both these engines are good, but will never live up to the legend of the

FJ20ET  :guns:

King of the Nissan 4cyl turbo motors.  :werd:
(not that an FJ20et is very good in a drifter)

catchas

P.S. just read the first page again, whats this about SR\'s rocker arms being perfectly fine SHeppo? i don\'t care what design they use, they a reknowned for cam follower breakage, and to rev an SR regularly you need to fit Rocker Arm Stoppers. One higher profile case in WA would be ROY\'s S13 (aftermarket flared front guards) from C-red performance, after blowing up 3 motors, he finally fitted aftermarket valve train gear. the ONLY SR to to have a different setup and not run into problem is the GTiR motor. Thankyou  :kicknuts:
RISPEK tho

[Nebuchernezzer]

but if you pick an SR u have to put up with that droning farting exhaust note

Yeah it\'s true, i think they sound kind of like a light truck haha
Basically what i heard of the SR replacing the CA was that they worked out what they did and didn\'t need from an engine to perform to nissans factory requirements and they used the CA to work that out.  The SR only had what it needed to make nissans cut and therefore save nissan money while still delivering to the public (who i have heard weren\'t overly impressed that the S13 Ks was initially quite down on power compared to the S12 RSX turbo).  As with all factory bits it\'s down to economics.
Good post S12PSI.

[S12PSI]

Cheers mate, i edited it about 4 times

And yeh thats one to think about, considering we didn\'t get them one after the other like a commonwhore (Holden Commodore for foreigners)

You\'d have to be pretty miffed if you were awaiting the Most powerful S12 after owning a 190hp fj20et RS-X and the next car out had less. imagine Holden dropping the GTS from 300kw to 250kw haha, whole bunch of loonies (65% of australia) would be ravin mad. Popularity would take a DENT (as if the BA XR6t and BA GT didn;t do that enough already)

I\'m sure everyone here would agree, but it has happened, particularly in AUSTRALIA and USA/CANADA where the \"fuel crisis\" in america had cars dramatically dropping in power, while in Australia it was \"SUPERCAR SCARE\" that lead to the biggest drop (also fuel was a factor)

Sorry if this is unrelated folks, but its a bit of history relevant to current topic.

Hope someone benefits from these ramblings (EUROBOY)  :honda: