are ca's really that unreliable?

eileen said:
ye clearly were unlucky with ye're purchases or ye have no talent for spotting sound cars haha. even the ca's i know here in eire are all going strong lol
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its going to be a mixed reaction on the ca on driftworks some think they are brilliant indestructable yadda yadda yadda mine was originally an auto with 70-80k converted to manual for 4500 miles and shat itself my personal view is there only worth of the bin.
 
Not a bad engine, certainly not mega over designed, but soo cheep to replace one.
The thing is though, you will want to go stage 2 with it, so by the time you found a decent t28, gaskets, chip, intercooler ect ect, you are spending money on getting it close to what a sr20 can do out of the box. If i ever went down the s13 road again, it would be sr20'd without a second thought.CA's just gave me ball ache tbh
 
superclarkey said:
I think there main problem is age, secondly crank design :thumbs:
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the point age is pretty void. best example are cams. way older and "apparently" the best bloody drift cars ever made :wack::wack::wack: there are cars much older that are still 100%

dustyjake said:
what typically goes the most? ive always thought big end shells but it hasnt been mentioned yet
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i tell you something, i heard worse things bout the sr20's bottom end than the ca's one!!!!! :smokin:

PeeJay said:
My first ever 200sx was with ca lump in, never gave me any jip in all the 2 years i owned it and believe me it was driven for its purpose, regular services helped alot i would say though.
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:worthy: its like mine so.
 
Honoustly? I don't get stuff like this....

People that hate the CA love the SR. People that love the SR hate the RB. People that love the RB hate the CA and the SR. People that love the CA..... I think they actually love all three engines, not sure. Then there's the JZ-lovers who hate everything that comes from Nissan, but somehow put JZ's in S-Bodies a lot. I don't think anybody really hates the JZ. Beyonce loves JZ, but that's a whole different story. Before you know it, everybody's in a big fight about how straigtline engines suck anyway and how we all should go V8, we got some brapbrapbrap-rotary sounds in the back and after 20 frickin' pages nobody knows what the question was about and the thread either gets closed or turns into one of those ghostthreads where the most obscure things get disscused.....



Or maybe that's just me.

Anyway, CA's are cool engines, enough of 'm around that are running high HP's. Then again, quite a lot have blown up. Exactly the same thing can be said for SR's and RB's. And maybe even some JZ's aswell..... ;););)
 
the ca engine is as good as its treated mine got rebuilt when i bought it runs 1.1 bar boost and only drifted in the last two years and i scream the shit out off it prob used twice a month as well as castle coombe stuff and no problems yet
now sr s are getting older the similar problems are being told
 
I hate CA's. Frankly i would rather fuck my grandad than have one in a car i owned.

I like SR's a lot, i LUURRVE RB's and i have a horn for Japanese V8 engines. I also love 1.5jz engines but wouldn't replace an RB with one, that's just nuts. Each have their faults and capabilities, all fail if poorly maintained.

However none of the above gets away from the fact that the CA is an evil, god forsaken, arsehole of an engine that was created specifically to grenade everytime i go anywhere near it.
 
ca's rev nicer and sound nicer and if taken car of properly are a perfectly capable engine. £ for £ however there are better options as they require a lot more expense to get to a decent power output now.
 
TBH i wont be touching the engine for a while anyway id rather spend my hard earned on the suspension and diff. At most ill do the exhaust and filter (maby a remap) but thats about it
 
kieran_e1 said:
ca's rev nicer and sound nicer and if taken car of properly are a perfectly capable engine. £ for £ however there are better options as they require a lot more expense to get to a decent power output now.
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Have to dissagree, the CA does not rev half as nice as a SR20, i've tunned both and ran both over the years and the SR20 is far far far more aggressive engine, the CA is lame compared to the SR20.

SR are cheaper as you don't have to replace the big ends every 1000miles.

CLarkey. :smokin:
 
Anyone knows (really) why nissan stopped to use the CA and putted the SR in the S13?

I'll not accept a "Because it's better" as answer :D

They needed more torque? Or a reliable engine?

Thanks
 
Aurox said:
Anyone knows (really) why nissan stopped to use the CA and putted the SR in the S13?

I'll not accept a "Because it's better" as answer :D

They needed more torque? Or a reliable engine?

Thanks
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sr's were built on the cheap and mass produced from a cost perspective. thats why they have an inferior head design and an alloy block.

cheapness

superclarkey said:
Have to dissagree, the CA does not rev half as nice as a SR20, i've tunned both and ran both over the years and the SR20 is far far far more aggressive engine, the CA is lame compared to the SR20.

SR are cheaper as you don't have to replace the big ends every 1000miles.

CLarkey.
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having had one ca and one sr with identical turbo's and almost identical setups run back to back on the same rolllers i'd disagree tbh
 
no ones rly spoke about forged rebuilds.

If people had the choice of spending their money on a complete SR swap or a forged rebuild what would people choose? cause everyone says the block is sound on the CA but shells rods etc are made of cardboard.

My CA has lasted 1 and half years with heavy abuse and daily driving and hasnt died yet but is showing signs of top and bottom rattle, mines only gotta last 1 more DWYB day and she gets her winter rebuild :)
 
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superclarkey said:
Nothing like getting into a nice S13, its like finding a hot lady with massive boobies only to open the bonnet and find a big hair cock and two balls..
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HAHAHAHA :nod:


SR's and RB's, that's the way forward.:thumbs:

Oh yeh' and SR's produce can produce more BHP per cylinder than CA's and RB's...A very balanced engine.
 
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I thought the standard internals (rods/pistons) on a CA were good for around 300Bhp?? From what I have read on SXOC the problem with the CA lies in the crankcase breather being too restrictive and gets blocked up. This then leads to oil starvation in the bottom end as the pressure builds and prevents the oil from dropping back down from the head.

Thats my understanding of it anyway. My CA has the bottom end grumble and I have replacement shells to get fitted although the engine mounts proved to be well and truly rusted in place when I went to try and swap them so been soaking them in WD40 and hoping to have another go soon. I am tempted to get a replacement CA and rebuild it, as much as I'd like to go forged bottom end not sure I could afford it to be fair. Although I would look to possibly bypass the restrictive part of the breathing system whilst the engine is out.
 
I've heard both sides of the story albeit having never owned one. I reckon it's like owning any engine - If you look after it and make small improving mods then it'll be fine, if you treat it like shit then it'll be a constant dark carnival of torment :)
 
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