Thread: Finally Rebuilding my Sr20 , Need Help!

hey guys

finally after a couple of months i have the time to rebuild my beloved sr20De. i have some very serious questions that if possible needs to be adressed. but first what im doing to the engine, keep in mind im on a very tight budget

-Bore it out
-cams
-bigger injectors
-shaved head
-Forged pistons ?
- extractors
and of course a rebuild kit out of the states

now here comes the questions lol

1. i got told that i need to get a piggy back system for my stock ecu to tune it ? is this correct and is there any cheaper alternatives ? cause the tunning shop charged me 1700 just for the system and tune ( aint no body got time fo dat )

2. when its bored out do i need forged pistons ? or could i simply use over sized pistons ?

3. when the bigger injectors are in , do i need to upgrade my stock ecu ?

as you all can tell i dont know alot about the modifications so any help would be greatly Appreciated

im looking into buying these parts new or second hand so if anybody knows anybody thats selling or selling themselfs please let me know and ill be in contact with you

cheers stephan
0450078993

I'll let someone else get into more details but here are the basic answers


1. You have different options for ECU piggy backs. Nistune, on older calum unit, or Nistmotronic. None of these should be any more than $550. Nistune being the most widely known and some shops may have the software to tune it.

2. You can simply use oversized pistons, no need for them to be forged unless you want some serious power down the line then might as well get them now.

3. Anytime you upgrade injectors or maf you will need to change the tune on the ecu, as the ecu wont know how to control the new bigger items.


Good luck with the build

Just to suplement sentraga

1. Older calum ecu can be had for less than 300. The basic boards being the cheapest around 120-150.

2. Depends on your bore size. Some one correct me if I am wrong, but OEM only goes up to 86.5. Anything larger you will need forged pistons.

3. He's spot on with this one.

I would like to add though, if you are increasing the compression via the piston, and as I can see shaving the head, you will want to keep in mind the valve strike can be a problem if you choose the wrong cams.

What are your goals with this engine? Reliability? Power?....

hey guys thanks for getting back to me

yea i might invest in a piggy back system !! whice is cheapest but realiable and get me what i want ?

last of all i was going for pon cams , could you suggest a good cam brand ? because to be honest i didnt even think about that

i dont want to lie to you but i want both , doesnt need to hectic power but in my n14 i have a Sr20De (stock) and i just want that little more power , my mate has a ca18det and he always gloats about beating me lol i want that to end he has a small turbo and runs about 6 psi so nothing fast. but when i put my foot down i want to know about it haha:onthego:
you guys know where i can get a piggy back ? and is second hand a option when choosing them ?

If you are on a tight budget it might be cheaper to just buy a VE motor and swap it in. You are looking at $200 in machine work, $100 for rings, figure around $100-200 for oem oversized pistons, $50 for a headgasket, $300-400 for aftermarket DE cams, etc. You will put all of this work in to make less or maybe the same power that a VE will give you.

This is my opinion on what I what do if I was in your shoes.

Oh, Nismotronic sells their basic ecu which is a good starting point for engine management. Look in the forum vendors section.

Nismo94tuner is right. A ve would be the most cost effective and simplified setup. Even getting an ve ecu is easy and cheap to be had. The only thing extra that would need to be done is the rpm window switch. Whether it be an msd or a cheapo from summit racing.

All in all, with my experience, I would highly recommend a ve swap.

im located in australia , and Ve's are very expensive !!!

the machining work is pretty much for free , i work at a machining shop and they will do it for me

yea ill look into a nistune setup !

over all does this look alright ? , would there be anything you guys would remove/add ? o got told bigger injectors are a waist ?