Cheap 240sx Turbo Kit

Buying a JDM swap is getting pretty pricey but you are after more power? Here is a cheap Turbo Kit for your 240sx ka24de. We aren’t going to mess with the single jingle ka24e in this article, if the demand is there I will make a write up on them. Sr20det and Rb25det are the most basic and common swaps for 240sx. Prices for both range between 2000-2500 but lately have been on the rise with SR20 getting up to the $3,000 area.  Here is a list of items you can order to build your own turbo kit.

This turbo kit is for the budget builder who wants to boost their KA24de in a weekend.

So the setup we will be building is for a bottom mount t25/t28 turbo. The goal of this is to go boost safely and reliably so don’t expect to see t3 or t4 top mount for supporting 500+rwhp.

This setup will give you a good 75-120hp more for your KA24DE. It is not recommended to proceed if your KA is wore slap out. If it smokes, leaks, and just has issues I suggest a rebuild prior to boosting. Boosting increases massive wear on components so it can kill your already wore out and tired engine in no time.

Turbo Manifold $80
So we have 3 to select from, 1 obviously the better quality, but the price isn’t what we are aiming for. So lets just say $80 for a turbo manifold.

Turbo$179
So a t25/t28 turbo will bolt right to the manifold.
Specs:
T25 Flange, 5 Bolt Downpipe
Ideal for the SR20DET, KA24DE engines and smaller displacement engines. Capable of making up to 270 hp
Compressor Wheel : 44.6/60
Turbine Wheel : 53/46.2
HP Rating: 270

You will also need this outlet kit to be able to hook up the turbo to the FMIC

$60 t25 Elbow $60

Honestly you can get one from someone for 20$ used, but for the sake of this, lets go new.

So now that we have a manifold and a turbo to mate to your 240sx, lets get a turbo elbow and downpipe so we can bolt it to your exhaust.

Elbow $65

So we have 2 elbows that bold to the back exhaust housing of your turbo. 1 internally dumped and the other externally. To sum it up, external is louder, internal keeps it in the exhaust and just keeps it a bit quieter.

Downpipe $70

This bolts to your turbo elbow and lets you bolt up to your either stock exhaust, or aftermarket exhaust.

Now that we have turbo manifold, elbow, and downpipe all sorted lets work our way forward now.

Front Mount Intercooler “FMIC” $346

Yes I know, FMIC are not cheap, and stay away from universal ones. You can tell whats univeral when you get 2 straights, 2 90° and 2 45° and 2 U bends. Unless you can cut and tig weld so save the money I’d go with a direct bolt together setup. Or source a used one from someone. This also comes with an ok Blow off valve “BOV” it is a Greddy Knock off but works fine.

So now we have most of the basics needed for a turbo kit. We will need a few basic pieces to complete this setup. With this turbo you will be running 7-10psi which should give you a huge power spike. Only thing is, is power takes more fuel, and the stock 270cc injectors although will work, I highly suggest just upgrading. When upgrading them a fuel pump would help as well.
550cc Side Fed Injectors $260

These are direct replacement injectors, and can flow double what stock can.

Fuel Pump $90

The ISR 255 fuel pump is equivalent the the super common walbro 255.

Now we have a fuel system worked up, exhaust, turbo, and fmic. What more could possibly be left? Well a tune to handle the new injectors and new power you will have. There are a few different ways to do this. You can go piggyback such as Air Fuel Controller “AFC” which you can find on ebay for 100-250$ although it will work and you set it and leave it, it is intimidating to many.

I suggest going with a chipped ecu. Martin at RS-Enthalpy sells them for 400-500$ and it is a plug and play system. Simply tell them your injector size and fuel pump and turbo size and boost you will be running and they flash it and send it to you, EASY!

Some things that are HIGHLY recommended is a wideband. Knowing your air fuel can prevent engine failure. They are easy to hook up and are great to have. Boost is also nice to have.
If you are looking for gauges, and gauge pods, I highly recommend going to Glow Shift Gauges and Pods! Super fast shipping and great people with fantastic prices!

240sx Cheap turbo kit

So without the gauges and engine control/fuel control we are currently sitting at under $1200 shipped to your door. You can source used parts together to help save money such as turbo and injectors and so on but I have been burned by scammers so many times why risk it. Turbo manifold, FMIC, downpipe, and elbow, sure go ahead and get it used, they are metal, no issue unless they are cracked.

$1200 total plus lets say you get a tuned ECU, the total is $1635 shipped to you! That’s well under half of a sr20det or rb25! Remember, if you buy a sr20det for $3000, you will also need a downpipe, FMIC, and gauges and so on so add another $500-$600 to that swap for miscellaneous items. A healthy bone stock KA might put down 120-140 to the ground, boosted, it will easily be over 220hp and will be a brute to drive since the KA produces far more torque then HP.

If you start with a healthy KA24de, and you follow all this, you will have more torque then an SR20det with under half the cost.

There are some places in this write up you can shave off some pennies, check out some of your local facebook groups for people selling parts. If done over time and not in a hurry, you can probably source over half of this at half the cost saving you a substantial amount of cash.

So after reading this, you might come across those ebay kits that are quite tempting. 450$-650$ for a turbo kit! I’ll give you some input on them so you understand a bit about them. Universal intercooler kits are such a pain to work with. You are limited to straights, 45°, 90° and U-bends. These only truly work if you have access to a tig welder and can fab everything up yourself. With that being said, consider the time you’ll have invested with this, the money saved isn’t really work it and looked terrible compared to the kit designed to fit properly. Some kits don’t include a down pipe. One of the benefits of going bottom mount t25/t28 is that a sr20 downpipe works with them.

Cheap 240sx Turbo Kit