Some Thoughts and Revelations on KA Turbo Cars and Tuning - Zilvia.net Forums | Nissan 240SX (Silvia) and Z (Fairlady) Car Forum

steve shadows · 10-04-2009, 07:42 PM

Hi Team Zilvia.

I had the chance to tune a KA-T this weekend and wow what can I say.
this weekends car came out great.

The thing I wanted to discuss are some very common and very important things with KA-T setups.

1. Make sure whoever if tuning the car has a very deep grasp of MAP base tuning
2. I fully recommend the AEM unit. This is the best unit to use for the KA-T
3. Make sure you use 0-2 degrees of advance at MOST on top end when you are building your maps. KA Turbos HATE timing. Honestly if you take your car to a place like "church" or some shop that doesnt have Nissan Expertise you are putting your engine at serious risk for catastrophe due to not knowing how fragile and specific the timing map needs to be.

If you are looking for a cheap and affordable 220-250 WHP car with GOBS of torque I have totally taken back my thoughts about KA Turbos.

Make sure you upgrade you cooling system, your FMIC and a good exhaust but a cheapo manifold and a basic T3/T4 Turbo + an AEM ems and you will be looking at a car that has the same power band as an RB25DET with the boost cranked up.

The cars I have tuned recently with KA-T have had a very similar power band to RB motors. This is excellent if you need lots of low end response.

So for all you KA-T guys out there, make sure you invest most of the money in the build in you EMS system, your base map and your dyno tuning. But you can get away with a cheap manifold and FMIC and land yourself a very reliable and extremely fast 220-275 whp car.

If Allen sees this thread please post up your dyno graph and how much you built the car for too

*s13 @ fullboost* · 10-04-2009, 09:34 PM

Thats dope I want you to tune mine once its done K steve? haha

importdude · 10-04-2009, 09:54 PM

a good clutch is also needed

junn · 10-04-2009, 10:01 PM

dammit wish i was their to see it

stupid fuel pump!! haha

ill most likely see you this comming up weekend

steve shadows · 10-04-2009, 11:41 PM

sounds good, hope to see you this weekend.

and to you above Junn, Ill be waiting for you too!

*filiperuvian* · 10-04-2009, 11:44 PM

what about guys like me who are going the rom tune route?

*s13 @ fullboost* · 10-04-2009, 11:51 PM

ohh Good question I am curious about this also how do you feel about it?

*wangan_cruiser* · 10-05-2009, 03:16 AM

thats good to know steve.

steve shadows · 10-05-2009, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by filiperuvian

what about guys like me who are going the rom tune route?

Honestly Jason, if you are willing to throw down the dough on the AEM unit this is always going to be the best way to go, because it is a 100% custom fit.

The Rom tune is a good stand-in but if you can save up the extra 400-500 dollars for the AEM unit + 500 more for tuning it is worth the money, because HP per Dollar you will gain will be much higher even for the higher price. You could be looking at between 20-50 whp more with the AEM custom tuned for your setup.

If you are interested I will give you a little break on the dyno session to entice you to go this route. Then I can say I did the turbo and the map

*s13silvia123* · 10-05-2009, 09:28 PM

steve is the best. i wish you live over here all i got is AMS and theyre 9 hours away from me and MN tuners seem to have really fucked up shops not really reputable with thier work ethics

*filiperuvian* · 10-05-2009, 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve shadows

Honestly Jason, if you are willing to throw down the dough on the AEM unit this is always going to be the best way to go, because it is a 100% custom fit.

The Rom tune is a good stand-in but if you can save up the extra 400-500 dollars for the AEM unit + 500 more for tuning it is worth the money, because HP per Dollar you will gain will be much higher even for the higher price. You could be looking at between 20-50 whp more with the AEM custom tuned for your setup.

If you are interested I will give you a little break on the dyno session to entice you to go this route. Then I can say I did the turbo and the map

dude you're timing stinks i already took the plunge on a pre-tuned ecu :P but oh well.

irritatedmax · 10-06-2009, 08:23 AM

interested in seeing the results and looking forward to more input on the ka, steve!

*lok* · 10-06-2009, 09:56 AM

how much boost was being run on the t3/t4?

by not liking timing, how many degrees at full boost?

also was this just a stock 150k mile turbo ka engine?

10-04-2009, 07:42 PM	#1
steve shadows In time-out for misbehaving. Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: LA and OC Posts: 7,409 Trader Rating: (3)	Some Thoughts and Revelations on KA Turbo Cars and Tuning Hi Team Zilvia. I had the chance to tune a KA-T this weekend and wow what can I say. this weekends car came out great. The thing I wanted to discuss are some very common and very important things with KA-T setups. 1. Make sure whoever if tuning the car has a very deep grasp of MAP base tuning 2. I fully recommend the AEM unit. This is the best unit to use for the KA-T 3. Make sure you use 0-2 degrees of advance at MOST on top end when you are building your maps. KA Turbos HATE timing. Honestly if you take your car to a place like "church" or some shop that doesnt have Nissan Expertise you are putting your engine at serious risk for catastrophe due to not knowing how fragile and specific the timing map needs to be. If you are looking for a cheap and affordable 220-250 WHP car with GOBS of torque I have totally taken back my thoughts about KA Turbos. Make sure you upgrade you cooling system, your FMIC and a good exhaust but a cheapo manifold and a basic T3/T4 Turbo + an AEM ems and you will be looking at a car that has the same power band as an RB25DET with the boost cranked up. The cars I have tuned recently with KA-T have had a very similar power band to RB motors. This is excellent if you need lots of low end response. So for all you KA-T guys out there, make sure you invest most of the money in the build in you EMS system, your base map and your dyno tuning. But you can get away with a cheap manifold and FMIC and land yourself a very reliable and extremely fast 220-275 whp car. If Allen sees this thread please post up your dyno graph and how much you built the car for too

10-04-2009, 09:34 PM	#2
s13 @ fullboost RedLine SlideWays Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Moorpark/Thousand Oaks, CA Age: 18 Posts: 1,494 Trader Rating: (1)	Thats dope I want you to tune mine once its done K steve? haha __________________ Team RedLine SlideWays www.aigraphix.com/wordpress Just another rough day at the office.

10-04-2009, 09:54 PM	#3
importdude Zilvia FREAK! Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: san j0 Posts: 1,042 Trader Rating: (11)	a good clutch is also needed __________________ built ka-t

10-04-2009, 10:01 PM	#4
junn Zilvia Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: lynwood ca Posts: 283 Trader Rating: (3)	dammit wish i was their to see it stupid fuel pump!! haha ill most likely see you this comming up weekend __________________ s13 ls1 comming soon

10-04-2009, 11:44 PM	#6
filiperuvian Ting Ting!!! Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Hesperia Age: 32 Posts: 431 Trader Rating: (6) Rides Gallery: filiperuvian	what about guys like me who are going the rom tune route? __________________

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10-04-2009, 11:41 PM	#5
steve shadows In time-out for misbehaving. Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: LA and OC Posts: 7,409 Trader Rating: (3)	sounds good, hope to see you this weekend. and to you above Junn, Ill be waiting for you too!

10-04-2009, 11:51 PM	#7
s13 @ fullboost RedLine SlideWays Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Moorpark/Thousand Oaks, CA Age: 18 Posts: 1,494 Trader Rating: (1)	ohh Good question I am curious about this also how do you feel about it? __________________ Team RedLine SlideWays www.aigraphix.com/wordpress Just another rough day at the office.

10-05-2009, 03:16 AM	#8
wangan_cruiser Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: SKYLINE BLVD, BAY AREA, CALIFORNIA Age: 25 Posts: 1,644 Trader Rating: (13)	thats good to know steve. __________________ buy my dohc ka-t parts http://zilvia.net/f/sale-items/28249...ml#post3063591 SR20DET STARTER SWAP http://zilvia.net/f/tech-talk/182962...rter-swap.html

10-05-2009, 09:28 PM	#10
s13silvia123 Premium Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: where waldo is Age: 28 Posts: 2,108 Trader Rating: (2)	steve is the best. i wish you live over here all i got is AMS and theyre 9 hours away from me and MN tuners seem to have really fucked up shops not really reputable with thier work ethics __________________ 18g and 20g turbo users click on me http://zilvia.net/f/tech-talk/261219-18g-20g-turbo-users.html

10-06-2009, 08:23 AM	#12
irritatedmax Zilvia Junkie Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Lincoln, NE Age: 24 Posts: 389 Trader Rating: (0)	interested in seeing the results and looking forward to more input on the ka, steve! __________________

10-06-2009, 09:56 AM	#13
lok POSER Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 455 Trader Rating: (1)	how much boost was being run on the t3/t4? by not liking timing, how many degrees at full boost? also was this just a stock 150k mile turbo ka engine?

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