well i just bought my 200sx vg30e for $400 with 244,xxx miles still runs good an all, but soon i want to do a ka24de swap, has anyone done this swap, if so how hard is it to do and what i need to get to get?

is it the same as swaping a KA into a CA20 S12?

No, because swapping a KA24DE into a CA20E S12 is a good thing, and into an SE is a travesty

Ok ok sarcasm aside, the SE has the C tranny, so you only need to swap the bellhousing and keep the trans you have. The wiring is otherwise going to swap the same, maybe there will be minor differences but the major changes should be identical I think.

where the hell is everyone finding these nearly perfect looking SEs for little to nothing???

well i am doing this swap but that is besause my vg was shot and at the time i thought this would be a quick and painless swap, wrong. first of all the front crossmember had to be swaped out for one from a ca powered s12, then since mine was auto i got the 5sp trans from the same ca20 car and did the ka bellhouse swap method only to find out the auto mounted in a diffrent place, the auto driveshaft might be ok for me, but i'm still not 100% sure myself. the power stering lines and rez.need to be moved to the other side and the radiator needs something for a fill neck as the vg is on the motor and the ka is not. also the exaust will need to be made to suit a 4 cly, mine rotted away so. this all being said the factory rated power outputs for both motor are simalar, and i will be speaking with sterling about the wireing cause thats not quite the same as the other swaps ither, but will be figured out soon. take it from me, when i think back now i think i might have gone a diffrent way. if the motor still runs good just look in to regular matanince things like the timing belt for sure, had i checked and replaced mine i could of saved it, and the vg might still be in her

Why would you want to go down two cylinders and .6L of displacement?

I've driven a VG car and I've driven a KA24DE car. That doesn't make me an expert, but the VG felt way better

Everything sinestro just said is exactly the kind of info that Sterling is trying to gather up.

So for Sinestro's reasons, Alex's comments, and my own, you'd probably be better off just getting another VG30E, or better yet, rebuilding yours as an opportunity to put in some turbo-prepped rods and pistons. Bart still thinks that parallel twin turbo will be a snap on that engine, he's just waiting to get his hands on one to find out.

VG= lots o torque. They are pretty easy to find, so really, I'd stick with that if you could.

That, and, 3.0L>2.4L.

You would need crossmember, and whatever he mentioned about the alt/power steering lines in a different location as well.

The wiring is similar, but the setup is way different. That aspect will be figured out shortly, but really,

If you can,

Don't get rid of the VG. They are good engines, and can be made to be great. Bart is working on a twin turbo kit, that should satisfy just....about...any power you'd ever really want

or if you do go ka i want ur vg motor..lol

for simplicity sake, id rather have a ka.

simplicity after the swap of course.

doing the swap might not be so simple, but i dont really see it being that hard, as long as you have access to the right parts.

well like what he said,

5HP and 14TQ is not that much to lose, A good set of headers and intake will fix that.


PRO's of doing the swap:

the aftermarket parts (endless)
changing the plugs is easyer on the ka (big plus lol)
weight ka VS vg (not much, but every lil bit helps)
it just looks so dam good!!!
well i just like the ka24de lol


cons of the swap:

(the swap)
5HP and 14TQ (big deal)





i got it at a tow yard, the people who had it befor me had to be tweaking hard core, the intior was f%#ked up, a household plug in was wirer into the dash, no joke


here some pics of what it looked like when i got it

now i have my ka24de, i know that the cross member must be changed,
and the bellhousing too. but my ??? is about the wiring, the wiring
is diffrent from the ca tothe vg i know that. want needs to be hook
up where. info please!!!

Pay closer attention to the sticky/pinned topics in this section.

this is what i got so far, corect me it if im wrong or add to it,fi i missed something

and if you could post some pics of your wiring like where you hooked the wires up at

s13............................................................s12
orange.....................Start Signal................black w/ yellow stripe
black w. pink strip........Fuel Pump Relay............yellow / blue and ground the white
blue w/ black strip........Water Temp.................yellow / red and yellow blue
black w/ red...............Primary Coil...............black / white
black w/ white strip.......ECCS Power:................red
red........................backup power to the ECU....orange
red / black................efi control................light green / red
green / yellow.............neutral switch.............black / pink


i dont no if i need this?

you have some of those mixed up, I have all that info, I'm helping sinestro finish that aspect of his atm. right now I don't have the info on me, but I'll send it to ya within a day or two.

well thats y i asked cuz i wasnt sure, and i no your the man when it come to ka swaps

i'm usually not one to argue that there is no replacement for displacement. But, i think this is the one case that it can be!

VG30E HP: About 165
TQ: Upwards 170 ft lbs

KA24DE HP: about 155
TQ: about 160 ft lbs

So by the numbers alone, you only lose ten. I don't have the graphs in front of me, but im sure the VG makes its power at a lower rpm. but don't count out the KA. even though its 2 cyl less, and 10 hp/tq less it can reach higher numbers less expensively than the VG. for example, there are turbo, and supercharger kits for the KA, that can work with the s12 relatively easilty. VG? theres remote mount turbo, or supercharger popping thru the hood, but either takes a good engineering/auto background.

I was considering this as an option, and glad to see someone else is too. i like it asa swap, but stock for stock? i would want a VG, if im swapping i want power potential!

dammit..im a few months behind here..

i have change my mind on the vg to ka swap but im still tring to get the wiring figured out, for people that want to do the swap, but 200sxkitcar knows more then me. so tuesday im getting a ca todo the swap. but there r some others doing the swap.

i think a s12 w/ kade would beat a vg
i think your power numbers are wrong, it more like

vg= 160hp & 174tq (for the 87 vg) and 160hp 165tq for 88

KA24DE:
Max power: 155 hp @ 5200 rpm
Max torque: 160 ft·lb @ 4200 rpm

It's damn close. And because of the engine layout, it's far easier to turbocharge. Not to mention turbo conversion parts are cheap and available.

Sterling have you figured it out yet, what i fuck up of course lol

i have abanded my vg to ka swap but maybe this could help some one down the road you

yeah, I noted that you picked up the other car for the swap, no worries

I've got all the wiring info for VG to KA swappage, I'm not going to post it up on the forums tho because I don't particularly want to encourage that swap, I think the VG cars should stay that way. there are plenty of CA20 cars needing better motors

i didnt want to tear in to vg. i love the tq. if it aint broke dont fix it right,lol
it a good strong car even @250,000 miles. they should stay vg