I have been wondering which engine is the best 1980's+ A-series engine. I see a lot if people talking about A12 and A14, but not much A15. Which would be better: A12, A14, or A15?

Thanks

i have an A12 in my SSS cam, factory headers and twin 40's. also an A15 out of an early 80's C20 van with a mild cam carb and extractors it has smooth power though the range with heaps of torque. but then it all comes down to what you can afford.

well as far has high revs, the shorter the stroke, usually the faster and higher the rev, hence why as a general rule smaller capicity motors rev harder and faster, thought not always the rule. Acording to that theory and a12 will rev a little harder than an a14/15. Their highest revs are about the same,(6000rp,) but the a12 would probally get there faster. (the shorter stroke)

power, you mean torque, then an a15/14 is the go.
An a12 can go just as well as an a14/15, but you have to spend a little more money on it to do so. (its about 10hp less in standard form i think, 81hp to 72 from memory).

But bigger, better, faster more. is a simple rule that will always bring good results.

Thanks for the reply, I guess I can go with an A15 and have the thing Fully balanced after I tune it with the parts I want.
Thanks again

Yep the shortest stroke will give you the easiest and best revs. I know you're not talking stock so that 6000rpm figure someone threw out there is not an accurate figure of redline. All the A series rev really great when built right, but the A12 has the max potential for highest revs. Best way to go to get the best of both worlds is a big bore A12. One of the popular racing engine choices involves mixing and matching A12 and A13 parts, but I'm not sure exactly what. The A14/15 will give you the most torque and power though, so I'd go that route personally if you were sticking to A series.

i'd go with the biggest engine possible - so yeah, the A15.

these little babies need all the help they can get in the "low down torque" department, and the extra rev-ability of the samller engine will be offset by the lower amount of torque it produces. this might make it a great power producer for it size, but be a pain in the proverbial to 'drive' the thing out of corners or get any decent speed out of it.

that's my happy meal with fries anyways...

im always amazed at how big the difference is between the a12,14 and 15, i have a decent a12gx setup and a mild a15, the a15 makes me feel like im driving a 6cyl compared to the a12, to get

the a12 to go fast I rev the crapper out of it and change gear as quick as possible, good for racing/rally

the a15 i dont take to max revs as it's not required and it pulls great after a nice smooth gear change, great for road driving

morale of the story.. what exactly are you looking to use the motor for???

I agree with 1200rallycar, the a15 you don't have to rev as hard because of the longer stroke (more torque) By far the best reving motor i have had is the one i am currently using in the rallycar at the moment, it's a big bore a15 with a knife edged crank in it (I machined two kilo's of the crank, 12 Kilo's down to 10 kilo's) added to a very light flywheel/clutch assembly this thing revs instantly, it's amazing!!
But it all comes down to the use of the motor and the budget.

I want to use the car for daily driving and take it out to the track once in a while (and a little drifting) I'd like to keep up with my friends (One has a stock 1990 Nissan 240SX and the other has a now overbore 1.8L hi-comp 4AGE in his 1986 Toyota Corolla GTS)

I may be wrong, but I think to get enough power out of a A12 to keep up with these cars you will struggle with it as a daily driver.
Rather then go A15 with less mods to keep it drivable as a daily car.
the A15 will also give you better power out of corners than the A12.

What do you guys think?