After a great season with the mildly modded S13 I started thinking about potentials of further improvement. Especially performance-wise.
The car handled quite well and was great fun to drive. Although the peaky rev band and lame response of the engine started to bother me.
When researching through the internet, I found multiple parts and ways to enhance the performance of the old CA18. But none really convinced me, except the setups that would have cost me a fortune to realise.
I went through several engine swaps and weighted the different pros and cons. In the end it was obvious… the little CA18 had to go… 🙂
(sorry for the following blurry images, they were made by my cell-cam)
By October 2009, the Silvia went on four supports, ready to get ripped out its heart.
Actually it’s a great little engine that sits far back in the engine bay and provides lots of space to work. If you get rid of the usual plastic crap.
But unfortunately, it had to go! Make room for a better alternative… 😉
It was an exhilarating moment for me, since this was the start of a greeeeat evolution.
The little busters get quite rare these days (in good condition), so I sold it to a buddy from the SX forums here in Switzerland.
This looks tempting, but actually it was the beginning of a great amount of work…
I did forget, with how many lines, wires, hoses and other crap an engine bay can be stuffed. Though this was also a nice chance to lose some extra weight.
In the meantime, I decided on the swap and the corresponding engine already was on its way to Europe. I tried to cure the engine bay’s loneliness by spending some time.
While the chassis was „waiting“ for its new heart, it took the opportunity to get released from the cell antenna and rear window washer spray on the roof. So off to the local car painters.
Teaser: A few weeks later, I could go to get a small package from the customs repository in Basel. 😛
…more on this in part 3
The car handled quite well and was great fun to drive. Although the peaky rev band and lame response of the engine started to bother me.
When researching through the internet, I found multiple parts and ways to enhance the performance of the old CA18. But none really convinced me, except the setups that would have cost me a fortune to realise.
I went through several engine swaps and weighted the different pros and cons. In the end it was obvious… the little CA18 had to go… 🙂
(sorry for the following blurry images, they were made by my cell-cam)
By October 2009, the Silvia went on four supports, ready to get ripped out its heart.
Actually it’s a great little engine that sits far back in the engine bay and provides lots of space to work. If you get rid of the usual plastic crap.
But unfortunately, it had to go! Make room for a better alternative… 😉
It was an exhilarating moment for me, since this was the start of a greeeeat evolution.
The little busters get quite rare these days (in good condition), so I sold it to a buddy from the SX forums here in Switzerland.
This looks tempting, but actually it was the beginning of a great amount of work…
I did forget, with how many lines, wires, hoses and other crap an engine bay can be stuffed. Though this was also a nice chance to lose some extra weight.
In the meantime, I decided on the swap and the corresponding engine already was on its way to Europe. I tried to cure the engine bay’s loneliness by spending some time.
While the chassis was „waiting“ for its new heart, it took the opportunity to get released from the cell antenna and rear window washer spray on the roof. So off to the local car painters.
Teaser: A few weeks later, I could go to get a small package from the customs repository in Basel. 😛
…more on this in part 3