KA-Turbo S14 240sx Review!- Is the KA Worth Swapping? 

The KA24DE is an excellent engine. People that improperly prepared/built their engines, causing it to fail, gave it a bad reputation for turbocharging. In the last 4 or 5 years people have started building them properly so we're getting to see what it can really do.

Thanks for watching! You guys rock. Have a great week.

I used to love the Zenki more than Kouki, but now I love both, it just came out of nowhere.. ALL S14'S ARE BEAUTIFUL!

"not worth swaping the KA for 300~hp" goes and buys a 240 and swap a 2jz in it for almost the same amount of hp lol

Personally I would keep the KA just because I love the sound of it and it's so easy to work on. As long as it is turbo lol.

Nice.. never disappoint. I was smiling all through this video... Such an analog car that looks like a blast! Thanks for sharing.

"Real" kouki front doesn't include cheap fiberglass bodykits. I'm sorry, but I'm a 240SX snob. I've had my 95 S14 since 2005 and don't plan to give it up anytime soon. Also, let me drop some knowledge about the KA24DE: It's based on the L24 straight-six from the original Datsun 240Z, the first automobile it was ever put in was a 240SX (then came the Altima and Hardbody), so calling it a "truck motor" is incorrect. The KAs that were installed in 240SXs were built in Japan, all others in Mexico. Nissan did not bring the SR20DET to the USA because of emissions and cost reasons.

The KA is an absolute monster when built. Can handle tons of power since it has an iron block

Awesome! Im going KA-T next month and I'm SO excited! never been boosted before either! Im doing a build series if anyones interested :) this car is 100% goals for me

I see you working in those Jib shots ;) Looks Mad Dave

I would like the 240sx's more if 75% of the owners were not hipster swag people....who just buy them because they think they can drift. Not sayin everyone is like that but.....there is toooo many people like that around.

There have been reports of the ka-t engines taking 400hp on slightly modded internals. Whereas the sr has you limited to right around 340 or 350

Love the 240s! Such a great Japanese car. RWD and the turbo can be really fun off that 4cyl. IIRC the SR20s come stock with a built bottom end, not sure if the KAs do as well. I guess if you keep the power upgrades modest it's not too much a danger to boost an un built KA. Not normally a fan of too many body kits but, this one looks tasteful and not too overdone. I must admit I do love some turbo lag but overall, I give this car a solid 7/10. I would tone down the bodywork just a tad bit and really upgrade those wheels but, of course they are better than stock. Very well done car and the interior held up nicely as well. Thumbs up to the owner.

I worked with the original owner of this 240 he sold it because he was moving to California. Looks exactly the same from when he sold it! I believe he painted it himself as well. Cool to see it on here!!

not trying to be "that guy" but it's pronounced "coke-ee" not "kooky" the "ou" in kouki has a long O sound in the Japanese language.

Funny, everyone with a 240 tries to get rid of the KA, guys like me with a s12 cant get enough of them. I hope to get one soon myself. Great video! Never stop david!

The KA24de is really under rated. 1320 racing channel has a video of a 600 plus hp Honda crx that was beating some high hp cars and a ka24det 240sx walked it like it was sitting still. Wish I would have never sold mine now LOL !

David I can not describe to you enough How Much I Love your intros. Just the shots, the angles, the quality and the music which somehow you choose perfectly for every cars personality just can not be anymore creative and just straight f*ckin awesome. Love your vids bro and really appreciate all the thought and work you put into them. Keep it up man, this is the kind of thing people wanna see

You really need to drive one with a 1jz VVTi like mine, if you ever in Colorado hit me up and we can make a video together. You coming for the pikes peak hill climb/Airstrip attack? ThatDudeinBlue

Hey David, I know its hard to just get your hands on a certain car. But I was wondering if maybe you can try to, or put on one of those lists of cars, a 2nd generation eclipse (gst or gsx) Or if you don't have anyone you know that has one. Let me know haha, your one of the only people I trust for reviews and see kind of where it stands in your list compared to other certain cars. Thank you for reading.

Welcome to the 'under 301 viewers' club, how tough are ya?

"You're not a mechanic you're going to learn to be" This is soooo true lol

Song is dope AF

Hey David, just wanted to say I've been subbed for a while and wanted to tell you how far you have come as a youtuber. From your editing to your glamor shots, you have come so far. I appreciate everything you put out and how much effort you put into this channel. It really shows. Take it easy man and keep it up.

nobody: david: INSTANTANEOUS

Turbo KAs make awesome motors with stock internals for a low budget build and they are durable as heck. Nice vid!

David's reviews: 1. talks shit 2. "that's what I love about it'' Lol. Luv u David. Pls don't be mad

Your videos are worth watching just for the entros! Always awesome!

I'm thinking of putting the ka24de into my 1972 Datsun 521

LOVE the car, but I can hardly look at that front bumper... It takes away from the fluidity of the S14's body lines. So nice to see the big 2.4l KA shown some love though! Ive always liked KA's ever since I realized they could push out 250whp with TONS of torque on a bone stock block.

Hey David have you ever thought of doing an SRT-4 review

Alignment is the directional wheel degree, balance is your vibration. Like a washer with all the clothes on one side. When it spins it wobbles. Counter weights on the tire creat balance for smooth rotation.

You should review my car David! I mean once it's done, I'm building my mk3 Toyota supra turbo/goal is to have 400hp. Let me know if it's possible lol!

I'm partial to American cars, but after watching your channel for awhile I found a new love for imports as well. Great vid like always David!

David, what would you say are your top 5 import, and top 5 domestic cars?

Your edits just keep getting better and better

Its technically not "The truck motor" it was actually in the 240 before it was in the truck .

KA24's sound nice you just gotta get the right exhaust,trust any car can sound really good just depends on the exhaust you put on it.

What motor did you like in a 240 the best? Ka turbo, sr20, rb25?

I love what you say about the 240sx body lines. As much as I love the performance of so many other cars over the 240sx, I fell in love with the s14 body and have owned one for 7 years now. Btw this guy was lucky making that power on stock internals. From experience, you'll want to, at a minimum, put in chrome piston rings before turbocharging the KA motor.

the vibration sounds like it could be wheel balance

Just a correction... The ka24E was the truck engine because it was 1st put into the hardbody ... Then it was put in the 89 & 90 nissan 240sx ... as the pig nose SOHC motor the ka24"D"e was 1st put in the 91 240sx as the DOHC.... THEN put into the 1st model Frontier which was introduced in 98 .... So you guys just got ka24e & ka24de school 101 ...

Why can't Nissan bring these cars back?!

The hsk hi power exhaust paired with the KA sounds amazing...one of the best exhausts for the the s13

How to know if a car is shitty or not. Pause at 0:32.. Look at that trim about to fall off..

Been a fan of your channel since the come up. I know we all love when David gets to review a car you own which in this case is the S14. Keep the 240sx videos comming please!

That body kit is terrible

First time catching a dudeinblue video when it came out

How can one get a 240sx?

yo the glamour shots and song went together so good im just gonna watch it over and over again!!

DID ANYONE SEE THE NEW AE86 REVIEW FROM MR.REGULAR?

The way which you describe the clutch suggests it's at the end of it's life. My legacies clutch was like that and a week later it started slipping to the point where the car was undrivable. New clutch engages near instantly.

ThatDudeinBlue OMG OMG David that's the awesome 240sx I saw at Richmond cars and coffee when I met you about a month ago and it was freezing I think I talked to the owner I can't remember , but it's nice to see a review on this beast.

You're definitely getting better at this stuff. This was a really good review. Very informative about the car and it seemed like you knew exactly what you wanted to say about it without missing a beat. Great work. Keep it up!

Use hair spray on the pipe before you put the silicon couplers on. Its lube to help get it on and then gets sticky once it drys to help the coupler from not coming off.

Also the environment you were driving in is amazing holy shit

The shots that u took for this car was amazing

Have lived in Richmond my whole life. Have never seen any of these guys around and I thought I was always on the lookout.

The ka engine is actually really great. Its cheap, its tough and it loves boost. Personally when i first got my 240sx i bought it for 800 bucks... had a single cam engine.. I threw a turbo kit on it, blew it up. Built it and now it loves boost and handles basically as much boost as i want. If my engine at the time didn't have such high miles it would have done fine. People need to keep their KA's !! they are good motors ! you just have to drop the mentality that soon as you get your 240 you have to do sr.

The intros on your reviews get better and better every time, sick shots David and nice review!

The KA always has the metallic mechanical sound. It's mild and wholesome. I've hardly heard one that sounds whiny or buzzing. It's a great mature sound as apposed to the typical 4 inline custom exhaust car.

God damn... you always have such great music with your videos. Makes them just that much better.

The first video I've seen from your channel, the channel has grow so much in 1 year!

I sware to god you have the best music taste!

David that was one of if not my favorite reviews from you I love 240s and was smiling the whole time thank you for making great videos.

Watching this video in 2023 and seeing now KA24DE's making upwards of 600+HP and being more reliable then SR's is hilarious! I'm glad KA's are finally getting the support they deserve.

It's been such a wait for this one. I've been watching since 123,000 viewers. Keep goin David!!

I'm actually glad you uploaded this video because i was just debating getting an s14 and what to do with it. It's kind of funny i was just re-watching the other s14 review earlier. I think i'm gonna try to go SR20 though mainly because of high mileage on stock KA's. The KA does look pretty viscous though. Gonna be my first build! Awesome review!

The height of the clutch depends on the pedal height adjustment. Meaning that it can easily be adjusted.

The Saab 9-5 is a 2.3L Turbo with 220-260hp depending on what year you get. Very torquey and a great bang for your buck.

I own a 97 nissan hardbody with a KA in it, just lowered it 3 inches all around yesterday myself

I bought my s14 two years ago because of this video, and im currently turbocharging it

Thanks for another great video. I have a few to catch up on but I prefer to not have them as background audio when working so that I can pay attention to what is going on. It would be cool to see a drag race and circuit race between a stock SR20 and a KA24 with an aftermarket Turbo. My guess would be that the SR would take the circuit and the KA would take the drag race.

deffenitly one of the best reviews on here

Was debating about doing a KA-T setup and this video just sold me! I'm doing it!!

One interesting thing I read recently about the KA vs. SR debate is that the KA has a better rod ratio than an SR20. 1.71 vs. 1.58. In theory if you had a fully balanced crankshaft and some decent valve springs the KA should be able to make power at higher revs and last longer in a high revving race application due to less side loading of the piston into the cylinder wall.

The intro never gets old lol

this is the best intro you have ever edited for any car on your channel lol

Song goes hard with the s14 😍

My STOCK bottom end KA-T did 260 whp and 250 tq ... all day long for 2 yrs, Eventually i built the bottom end and now at 462 whp and 411 tq ... I would NEVER give up the instant torque this motor gives, i don't want to wait for the power to kick in like the SR20... I don't care about top end power, what i care for and what i want is that when i step on it, IT FUCKING MOVES .... Not wait for it.... wait for it..... almost there.....

That moment when u realize today is monday and you know there is a new video up after a weekend! Keep it up david your the best!

I'd go KA24DET over SR20DET for sure. Dollar for dollar, a KA24 will out perform a SR20. 1) 300+ hp on stock internals 2) TORQUE 3) Quicker boost and higher boost threshold. You can buy a 240sx and build the engine, gt30 sized turbo and supporting mods and get up to 400+whp for the same price it would be to have a shop swap in a BONE STOCK 180whp SR20DET. Think about that one...

Man best description ever! "Not a mechanic, well you are going learn to be!" Just like my DSM lol Driver Slash Mechanic

I have owned s chassis cars and z32 before fast and furious. Just something you have to experience and enjoy key word grassroots. Just fun to drive turbo or not. Parts are not expensive and turbo upgrade is cheap for high quality parts. My current 97 s14 is my daily and plan to restore and give it to my son (which is non existent now lol) but the wife understands man has to have his toys, and she enjoys the ride. Im Tampa we have many s14 and everywhere we go people always ask what kind of nissan it is, ask if im selling or give the thumbs up. Im just a humble Nissan lover that has been blessed to drive and own many S chassis cars that all where reliable until i acted a fool. Currently owned this one for 2 years and never drifted it. I rather keep my body lines crisp.

the intro song was ok, not sure why ppl gushing about it lol, but the quick snap and slow pan visuals are nice..

Thanks for ever upload and all the content and just being yourself David

Don’t sleep on the single cam ka either. I’ve seen some crazy high hp builds for cheap. And I’ve seen over 300hp bone stock with 300k miles. You just can’t kill ‘em

Just got done boosting my KA24E hardbody. Don't underestimate the KA!

If people in Virginia are still doubting the KA24E/DE then they've been living under a rock for over a decade, and seeing that his charge pipe came off he must have cut piping.

ThatDudeinBlue The vibration you mentioned is a balance not alignment. My car has the same thing, I'm having the wheels balanced this week.

Loved your video on the S13 but this is the one that made me subscribe. I'm an S13 guy personally and currently own a 92 shark I swapped a fresh SR in it but I really like how you compare the KA with a truck motor

My friend had one of these in red until he sold it and bought a red Toyota supra, stock all original parts, but he probably going to do some tuning on it eventually, anyways great video as usual !

Dude, that song in the intro was rad

A Chris Harris and a David Patterson video in one day AND it's a MONDAY?! Good week already!

1:47 Alrighty then - ThatDudeInBlue

Best glamor shot intro yet!

You should come to Myrtle Beach for one of the Nopi car shows. Big turn out. Nopi will be here twice this year

Ah 240s. One needs to love them. Now you just need to review that S15.

Always love your editing and music. Just awesome!

You should come to import face off at Capitol raceway in Maryland. On the 29th of March. I know it's a hike from Richmond but it'd be awesome to meet you and I'm sure the locals would think so too haha