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Hello there !
I know that the subject may have discussed several times but I would like to know your opinion on it.
My Bluey got a CA18DET with something between stage 2 and 3.
Was very pleased with it since I don't care about power figures.
Now engine is missing compression on one cylinder, and this is the time to choose between rebuilding it or SR20 it.
I'd prefer to keep the CA18 but money is in the balance ( like every one ).
So what will you do and why?
Thanks
Depends why it's down on compression, really. SRs are also not new and it's hard to know what you're buying, you could be in for a rebuild either way.
All of this is simply my opinion. Your question is very subjective so my answer is also subjective.
The CA is a lovely engine that has a great torque curve at Stage 1 with a T25 on it. It also sounds gorgeous with a Mongoose turbo-back on it. Not very loud but so sweet when you are on the power.
The SR on the other hand sounds like a wet fart no matter what you do to the exhaust and, unless you are heading for 400 bhp, its not as pleasant to drive as a CA.
As said, you need to find out why the compression is low. It could be as simple as worn inlets (a batch of CAs suffered from prematurely worn inlets) and that is a relatively cheap fix.
Just to demonstrate that I put my money where my mouth is, I did own both an S13 with a CA and an S14a with an SR at one time. They both had similar mileage, were in similar condition and worth about the same but the S14a was 5 years younger and I had owned it from new. One of them needed to go to make room for a new car. I got rid of the S14a just because it had an SR not a CA.