We have huge hate here in South Africa about CA18 vs SR20 in the SX/Silvia clubs

95% of the time the people that say CA18 is the better than an SR20 is people that have never actualy owned and driven an SR20.

Easy facts:
Stock on stock the SR20 has more power and a lot more torque
modified vs modified the CA18 turns into a bottomless pit of funding due to the parts being very hard to come buy and the majority of parts needing to be changed to support decent power levels.

I have owned both in 200sx's and both were changed out for RB25's... I have also built probably 30 11 and 12 second SR and CA's by now of which all i do a 1200km break in... in my 1200 I stuck with a built A series though if i did go CA/SR it would DEFINATLY be SR due to added parts availability and more power and torque at no matter what level of modification/investment.

You are swapping a motor to make more power, why not go for the one that makes more power and is cheaper to modify as well.

sr20 n/a should be fine in a 1200 as 2L is the max non turbo motor you can go and 1.8L being the max turbo motor you can go

Like people have said it's just friendly rivalry.

Most people know that if you want to go fast either will be up to the task.

Engineering/Approval is still the biggest deciding factor in most cases. I know I tried to find away around the original tare mass in kg x 2.5 rule that exists in NSW and ACT. Most people use the commercial vehicle loophole when putting in SR20's, but I went CA18 just to be 100% legal (in my state).

I still wish the rules were more lenient and you could have more freedom to make crazy street cars

i think one of the main problems with these new bigger engines in our bays in there's not enough room for the air to circulate around, i've got a ca20e in mine and without the elec cooling fans it overheats so quickly. my mates also got a mk1 esky and it has an sr20det with 300hp and he's got fairly serious overheating issues, it only ever really sees the track though.

edit: and never ever go with a ca20e, mine came with it already installed and i got it cheap but yeah it's a crap motor and i sometimes wish i either got a stock one or shelled out some more for a decent engine.

No modern engine likes too much heat. You can cook the nuts off and A series all day and they can bounce back. If you're going to run a CA (hard) and not run a decent radiator/cooling fans etc then it can't be expected to handle the jandle. IMO it's ot really comparing apples with apples. More like raspberies with strawberries. Both pretty sweet, just some prefer one koind over the other. Mmmmmm..........raspberries!

I have a ca18det in my wagon and have been in a sr20det sedan and much prefer the sr by a long shot but in qld its not allowed to do a sr in a 1200 so i had to make do with the ca. In my personal experience with my ca which has had every single part replaced with brand new parts a ca is quite reliable on 16.8psi and so much fun BUT i have had a head gasket go on me and yes with new head bolts and re tensioned ect but the one thing a ca does not like is HEAT !!!! once the engine has a little too much heat in it the head needs to come off and be re surfaced.. Apart from that the engine i have in the wagon has been un touched for two and a half years and it does get a work out with all the monaro's in town !! not that they are much of a challenge for the old girl !! ha ha ha ha

well if ya gonna go down to your jap imported and get a half cut and drop the motor straight in , chance's are the sr20 will last alot longer , im yet to see one ca18det in a grade at the drifts where silvia's are everywhere ,
you can rebuild but when the afm , tps , ect ect goes belly up you can only replace with a second hand parts

but soon this will be over and well'l be all runnin elec motors in our dattos

every one has a preference

no hard feeling :)

by perthute on 2008/11/14 11:56:30

ca18's are know for blowin the head gasket
there a old motor now i have had 3 or 4 of em and wont do it again
and i find most ca18 lover's have not been in a sr20

my next sr20det will be the s15 one :)

and its the same with 186 vs 202 winza vs clevo its normaly a bit of fun



These comments always make me laugh. The only CA's that are "known" for popping head gaskets are the ones that numbnuts throw into a car without thinking "hang on, this is a 20 year old motor, maybe I should replace the gaskets, belts, water pump and hoses before I wind 15 psi into it on a second hand fuel pump........"

Now's the part where you say my mates's brother's girlfriend's cousin had one that was fully rebuilt and it still blew a head gasket. But don't mention the fact that the idiots at the workshop re-used the orginal head bolts and they were never retensioned after running in.

Sorry if I'm being harsh Perth Ute but I'm yet to see a CA pop a head gasket under reasonable conditions. And, yes I have been in plenty of cars with SR's over the years.

Personally, I have no real preference as I believe they are both fantastic motors that can produce excellent power levels reliably and relatively cheaply.

I bought a CA due to the fact that they were over $1000 cheaper in half cut form at the time. The downside, as has been mentioned earlier, is that aftermarket parts are harder to come by than they are for an SR i.e. winged sumps.

Regards Matty

For fitment into a 1200, you cant go past a CA, they are compact, strong and have decent power in stock form.
SR in a 1200 is a more involved conversion, Can also be made legal, parts are easy to come buy, more power in stock form, but a little heaver.
FJ too heavy and old, parts are hard to come buy, powerfull and go for ever.

I have had both of these fitted to my car, and both started out stock CA=146rwkw and the SR=168rwkw
Sorry they both had a 3inch exhaust, K&N filter, and the same front mount intercooler.

The extra weight of the SR was not noticed in the way it handled, but the SR really pulls a lot harder.

I had head gasket issues with both engines, both fixed by facing and new gasket.

SR runs smoother, for the fact that it is a newer engine and all the sensors seam to read more accurately thus making it idle and run smoother. Replacement of them can fix that issue tho.

All in all if i had a choice i would go the SR.

But im about to make a 13B turbo fitting kit for 1200's so i may change my mind.
Light, powerfull, revy, cheap, low center of gravity and use #### loads of fuel.

Scott

hahah i think its just having a dig. for someone to comment on your car, then talk about a mates car.... ah look i dont think they have the credability too make any comment lol.

I like SR's because iv had the most experience with them, i have never been in a CA car. and unfortuantly the CA1200 thing to me has been beaten to death, every car that pops up for a photo has a CA.

Iv lost interest in the conversions now, im finding myself more interested in what i can do with the a series.

previously i built a car the way i thought it shouldv come from the factory - fuel injected 2lt 16v 4 wheel discs, now i am more about appreciating what i can do with what they have already got.