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

i'm mainly talking about serious hp with the alloy block, once you twist the block the steel liners float around. OHV nothing against, just old technology, i could boast about the CA all day, but at the end of the day it's all about what $$$ you spend. my CA had a 177 000 k's head gasket still good.

anyone that hates an engine needs to get a life

all motors from japan in that era had graphite head gaskets.they fail after a while. 7m are worse as block corrodes


ca: compact, light(ish), legal in 1200,plenty of help avail,common swap,good power,cheap,off the shelf conversion parts avail,plenty around due to silly sr boys pulling them out

sr:bulky, heavier,more power,easy to find hi perf parts,spit rockers ,break oil pumps,not legal
same graphite head gasket from new so it will be a prob at some point.had a guy in perth pull out the sr and refit a ca in his drift car.got sick of it blowing up

fj:heaviest, heaps power, indestructable,will turn 1200 into evil handling lemon,not legal,hard to find big$

honda b18:v light ,10000 rpm ,powerful but turns the wrong way,bugger

13b:max power, min weight, compact

4age:similar to ca in size n weight,good motor

The CA although being smaller is has a better design. The whole one rocker for two valve thing does my head in. The SR's do make nice torque, but I prefer the CA's revvyness.
It's a bit like hondas. People hate them with a passion, or love them. If the EF7/EF8 crx had been rear wheel drive, no-one would give two ####s about the 4ag motors. The b16A would be loved by all.

Ca does it for me even in n/a form cheap,light for capaccity relatively small (not in a 1200 bay )good revs great sound makes me happy a mates got a sr20de in his 1600 think its great in a way that it suits the 1600 like ca suits the 1200 and then theres the FJ the tower of power!!!! crazy indestructable torque monsters however large and heavy its all about compramise what combination of features works best for your application a motor is only better if it suits the driver/car better.

My 2c

Jake

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.

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

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

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 :)

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