well i saw someone selling an oem one for 25bux and it was brand new. sadly, i might just keep my head gasket, and order a cometic when or if my stock one blows. i just picked up my turbo today so hopefully soon i could start mocking shyz up.

 

hows derrecks turbo the t57 u had for sale.. did he sell it yet or wat....if u cud pm me pics.

 

it hasnt been sold yet. but i have 2 other offers on it. pming you pics.

 

pmd

 

if the stock rods were forged, noone would produce 4130 forged rods. if you wanna be cool supercharge it. desert runner for the win......

 

Sweetest KA-T setup in my mind is right off of ka-t.org

Ebay bottom-mount manifold
S15 or GTIR T28@9-12 psi
SR 370s or DSM 450s w/ top feed rail, Walbro
SR intake, turbo outlet, ebay SR downpipe with a flex section, any exhaust
Cheap ebay FMIC kit, generic ebay BOV or stock DSM bov
DIY Rom tune or SAFC+4-5 degrees retard at distributor
Maxima/Z maf a nice upgrade, but the stock maf will work at lower boost/power

I've seen several setups that closely match this generic formula that put out ~250hp for relatively cheap at just 9-10 psi, even more at 12 psi. Awesome torque band, instant response, and with the T28 they hold power past 6000 rpm unlike T25 cars that peter out past 5000. If I ever get a daily driver and decide to have some fun with my car this is the way I'm going. If you want more power than this, get an LS1. (Well, I'd rather put an LS1 in an FD, but that's a whole new thread topic.)

 

yes that is the setup im mainly doing but with a t25 instead.

 

Ive heard bad things about cometic head gaskets and for what your gonna be running with a t25 a fel pro would be cheaper and still very good.

If my Ka wasnt leaking oil id do a small set up as well. But just gonna have to see if it holds up till i can afford a SR. Plus reliability would be a big factor for me.

 

I think it's a great idea to start with a T25 until you get the bugs worked out. They're cheap and easy to find and it's not like you're going to lose money flipping the T25 in three or four months when the setup is running reliably and you've saved up more money to upgrade. Build the rest of the setup and then pop in the T28 when you're ready for another 30-40 hp.

 

even if the stock rods were forged, it's not the same material as a true forged rod, since KA rods can bend just like any other stock rod.

the problem isn't necessarily the piston top, it's the ringlands. the ring lands are not designed for boost. they are too thin/too close to each other. the rings can hold up pretty well, but usually a cracked/damaged ring land is the culprit for compression loss, and it usually happen in cylinder 3 or 4, being those are the hottest.

many people on the cheap can do an OEM rebuild with forged pistons. that alone will be pretty reliable for around 400hp, as long as you pick the right size turbo and aren't running insane amounts of boost, as the cylinder pressure can stress out the stock rods real fast.


as far as cometic head gaskets go, yes i've heard of them failing. i've heard about the enjuku cars having ARP head studs where the nuts backed off or something freaky, and everyone jumped on an 'i hate arp head studs' bandwagon, and started saying to use new oem head bolts. yet majority rules, and there are far more people successfully running cometic and ARP products than not.

IMO, most of the problems with cometics and ARP setups is that everyone has their own idea what the torque settings and procedure are.