l20 turbo or high compression

[jonesy510]

ok this is the dea,l i just picked up an l20 to put in my wagon and it needs rebuilding. As of now im running an l18 with twin su's flat top pistons l20 cam and the peanut head. i want more power and want to keep the l series under the hood so i decided to buy the l20. Now the question comes do i run turbo or high compression. im really leaning towards the turbo because of how different it will be. im planning on using the car as a daily driver and also be able to have some fun in canyons and such. i know w/e my decision is its gunna cost money :( but im not gunna drop a half ass motor in my car so i'll b saving up for this engine build...

 

now im wondering what will b best for what im trying to "daily driver, canyon running, mayb some 1/4 mile"

 

turbo or high compression.. thanks ratsun

:D

[DISLEXICDIME]

once you go over 10.1.1 on a l series tuning on pump is a pain !

[lynchfourtwenty]

by the time you build a decent turbo L you could of swapped a sr20det in..

[Jester]

im planning on using the car as a daily driver and also be able to have some fun in canyons and such.

 

 

If your first agenda is a daily driver, I would say keep it simple.

Just my two pennies though.

 

 

[VintageRice]

Jonesy510, totally off topic but the graphic in your sig is great. But I have always wondered what the third one is. The little arrow looking sticker, seen them a million times in cars but have no idea what it is. Enlighten me so I can properly make fun of it. :D

[HRH]

Do an SR20 if you're going to do a turbo, like Lynch said. The amount of time for custom manifolds, fuel management, and all the rest that go along with it are a massive undertaking. Expect 3 times the cost of building a turbo vs. a high compression L motor.

 

I calculated to rebuild my L20 high compression like I did would be 1500-2000, and probably more now that I've done the EFI swap. One of the reasons I converted to efi instead of sticking in another motor; I already spent a lot on this block and head. No reason not to use it. Glad I kept it now.

 

Don't forget, turbos make it much easier to blow up the engine. Especially if you don't spring for EFI and do a suck through turbo. Unless you know what you're doing and are really careful....boom! And it will probably happen quickly. A high compression L is more than plenty for daily driver and canyon carving. I can peel out on dry pavement all the way through 1st and scratch 2nd for about a half second, and at that point you're going pretty fast. More than enough to outrun most cars especially in the corners.

[banzai510(hainz)]

Daily Driver?

 

kepp what you got and buy a 510 thats done already with that extra money. Cause after you spend all the money you could have almost another 510 with a KA in it already.(baby forces sale),I lost my Job.Going to school ect.....

[jonesy510]

i do realize it cost lots of money do build up a l20 and its really not worth it BUT the whole reason i want to build a l20 is to b different. this last year at jccs under almost every hood was a ka or sr. Personally there is just something about seen an l series under the hood of a datsun that has a special place in my heart.

 

hainz: i dont have a money for a new dime all done already and i really like building my own.

 

 

hrh: what kind of set up do u have in ur ride? i was looking into doing efi and if i did build a turbo l series i would do efi so i dont blow myself up.

 

Vintage: in japan land it means new driver... im america its SUPER JDM YO!!!!..... to me it just means im a shity driver thats y my honda is all beat up:)

 

Jester: the reason i dont want to do turbo is because is exactly that.. it will b a daily driver every once and awhile and l series turbos are complicated builds.

 

 

sense i already have the a87 closed chamber head and twin su's i was thinking can i run that head and su combo with a lil bit bigger cam? "im running a l20 cam now"

 

what else can i do to mayb get a lil bit more compression out of it?? mayb borin it to make it a 2.2 and callin it good??

[Master-O-Turbonics]

I am building my L/Z series motor because I know the blocks are stout and I am familiar with them. Ya it hurts when I see an RB25 driveline go for just over $2000, but thats ok I love what I'm doing.

 

 

Over $1500 so far and I just have OEM NA EFI setup, awesome bombproof boooooost-ready bottom end, and stock top end(so far). Just looking to get it broken in and mounted in the car before boost becomes a factor.

 

[VintageRice]

I'd like to see some video of a rowdy l series. :)

 

I have an L18 and think it would be fun to have a NA 150hp Lmotor.

[Master-O-Turbonics]

I'd like to see some video of a rowdy l series. :)

 

I have an L18 and think it would be fun to have a NA 150hp Lmotor.

 

High hp L series motors are fun for short sprints, but my 9.2:1 compression L26 was like an on-off switch. Open exhaust, 11Lb flywheel, twin SU's, revved like a bike engine. Not very great for a daily driver. I bet that engine didn't even make 150hp yet it was still quite a handful.

I'd take a very stock~ish acting engine like what I am building that can take some boost and be fast when you want it to be, yet have good enough manners to be suitable for daily driving.

[VintageRice]

High hp L series motors are fun for short sprints, but my 9.2:1 compression L26 was like an on-off switch. Open exhaust, 11Lb flywheel, twin SU's, revved like a bike engine. Not very great for a daily driver. I bet that engine didn't even make 150hp yet it was still quite a handful.

I'd take a very stock~ish acting engine like what I am building that can take some boost and be fast when you want it to be, yet have good enough manners to be suitable for daily driving.

 

 

 

DroooooooLL............

 

Tell me more ! ! !

I would LOOOOOVE a motor in my car that revved like a bike motor. YUM.

[HRH]

i do realize it cost lots of money do build up a l20 and its really not worth it BUT the whole reason i want to build a l20 is to b different. this last year at jccs under almost every hood was a ka or sr. Personally there is just something about seen an l series under the hood of a datsun that has a special place in my heart.

 

 

 

hrh: what kind of set up do u have in ur ride? i was looking into doing efi and if i did build a turbo l series i would do efi so i dont blow myself up.

 

 

 

what else can i do to mayb get a lil bit more compression out of it?? mayb borin it to make it a 2.2 and callin it good??

 

 

See the 510 fuel injection thread about 6 posts down in the General Technical section.

http://community.ratsun.net/topic/22074-510-l20b-efi-conversion-the-project-is-finished/

 

Just remember, no one is different or unique. EVERYTHING has been done before. And if it hasn't, you're doing it, which means it's REALLY expensive! That's why cars cost so much, the engineers and testing teams have already spent a shitton of effort on everything to make sure it works. There's nothing wrong with a KA or SR.

 

I chose to build a 20b because I wanted to get close to what the original African Safari Rally car was. Granted, it was an L18. I wanted a bit more torque and had a good L20 block and they were easy to find, so there we go. Besides that, I knew I could get stock high compression pistons from the Z series car motor that would work in my application without paying $150/hole for Arias custom pistons, regardless of the fact that they would have been nicer.

 

Running turbo requires fuel management. Not the EFI I have on my car. Expect to pay $1000-$3000 for a GOOD fuel injection system. If you know what you're doing you can run megasquirt much cheaper but with boost, there is the very real danger of blowing up your motor.

 

Let me repeat that: You WILL screw SOMETHING up during the course of your build. Hell, I screwed up my head by drilling the holes wrong for the EFI manifold. I hogged out the mounting holes to make it work, still irritates me, but hey, it works just fine and until I need to build another motor, it'll be fine. It's attached and doesn't leak.

 

Basically it comes down to money and time. If you have lots, go turbo or unique combination. If you just want something you can enjoy, start small with an L series and get it running period. After that figure out which direction you want to go.