1993 Nissan 240SX Part 4: The 240SS Is Born! (With the Help of an LS3)

MotorTrend

It’s happening! On this episode of Ignition

Transcript

00:00 When we've done it, we've installed an LS3 into our 240SX, and it's pretty much just

00:06 as ridiculous and as fun as you can imagine.

00:12 Before we can get into the tire smoke and the craziness, we'll start with the swap itself

00:16 to show what went into creating the 240SS.

00:21 Joining us again is Mark "Stop Calling Me a 240SX" expert, Lenardon.

00:25 He's an expert on 240SXs.

00:29 Also we have a local guy, Alex, from a company called LSPEC to give us a hand.

00:42 Essentially what we have here is the drivetrain from a Camaro SS.

00:45 This is a 430 horse E-Rod LS3 6.2 liter V8.

00:50 Now we went with this engine in particular because it's emissions legal, it'll be reliable

00:55 because it's basically using all OEM components, and we don't have to worry about repairing

00:59 parts on it.

01:00 It's reliable, it's all new.

01:02 That's basically why we didn't go with the SR20, which is the common swap, turbocharge

01:07 the existing KA, or do an RB26 or something crazy.

01:11 This is also lighter than any of those options in the engine itself.

01:16 The main reason why this swap works so well is because of the LS3's compactness.

01:21 Being a pushrod motor, it doesn't have a lot of valve train going on, which means smaller

01:26 heads.

01:27 The block and heads are also aluminum, making them lightweight too.

01:31 We have a T56 Super Magnum, which is essentially a T56 size transmission with TR6060 inners

01:39 inside of it, which is great because that means it's compact, which is important in

01:43 this platform, and it will withstand about 700 pound feet of torque according to GM,

01:48 and that's great should we decide to go really crazy with this engine.

01:51 Putting this engine in trans into the 240 chassis is surprisingly easy.

01:55 The tunnel needs to be hammered out to clear the bell housing, and we had to notch the

01:59 tunnel to adapt the T56 Super Magnum's forward shift position.

02:03 Overall, the chassis is remarkably accommodating.

02:08 Now if you want to put a Chevy V8 in your 240SX, you're going to need a swap kit to

02:12 do it, and for that we turned to Fueled Racing, and they sent us this really comprehensive

02:16 kit, which is all the hardware you need to get this done, essentially.

02:20 We have a new Clutch Master cylinder, we have motor mounts, we have transmission mount,

02:24 we have a new oil pan from Moroso, we have a drive shaft, we have all these lines, we

02:27 have oil filter relocation kit, and if we wanted to go further, we could have.

02:31 They also do headers, powder coated, any color you like, intakes, and all this and that.

02:36 This is a really comprehensive kit, and it should help a lot during our swap process.

02:41 While getting the driveline in place took a day, routing and relocating everything else

02:45 around it took much longer.

02:47 Check for a more detailed story at MotorTrend.com.

02:53 We were continuously impressed by Fueled Racing's swap kit.

02:57 The mounts bolt right up, as does the trans crossmember and drive shaft.

03:03 The included Moroso oil pan fits snugly between the 240SX front crossmember and anti-roll

03:08 bar, and the oil filter relocation kit comes with all the hardware and lines you need to

03:13 mount it to the passenger frame rail.

03:15 Last night we got really excited because the engine and transmission fit into the car on

03:20 the first try, which felt really cool, and I think we can officially label this car the

03:24 240SS, because you know, Camaro SS drivetrain and so on, you get it.

03:28 What do we have now?

03:29 Well, we have to bolt in all the accessories around the engine, take care of power steering,

03:34 take care of oil filter, take care of the charcoal canister, this, that, and the other.

03:37 We have to wire it all up with the GM supplied ECU, and that's kind of it.

03:45 Because this is an emissions compliance swap, we had to use the Chevy provided exhaust manifolds

03:49 and catalytic converters.

03:52 The space is tight, but Mark was able to fab up a system that met the cats to a 4" HKS

03:57 muffler that came off the car when we got it.

04:01 The system hangs a little low though, so we're looking forward to redoing it again in the

04:05 future.

04:07 Hooking up the Chevy wiring harness is almost completely plug and play, as each plug is

04:11 labeled and cut to fit.

04:14 We were happy to have Alex's help.

04:16 On top of other things, he made and hid a chassis harness that ensured we'd still have

04:20 wipers, lights, hazards, and turn signals and so on.

04:23 He also relocated the battery to the rear.

04:29 Right here we have a radiator from Mishimoto.

04:31 It's an S13 drop in replacement basically.

04:34 Big core, great build quality, which is why we went with Mishimoto.

04:37 Doesn't take much work to get it to work with the LS3, we just have to build an adapter

04:41 for the steam port that keeps the engine nice and cool.

04:45 On this we're going to go to two electric fans that look like this.

04:50 These attach right up, wire them up to the GMECU, and it turns it on when the car gets

04:54 too hot.

04:56 Pretty simple stuff.

04:57 One of the cool things about the engine that we're using is that it has an OBD2 port, and

05:03 that means we can use this display from Race Pack.

05:06 What this does is it plugs into the OBD, takes all the sensors that the engine's reading,

05:10 and displays them in a really customizable, configurable way right on this screen.

05:14 We also have an additional oil pressure gauge because oil pressure can be an issue when

05:18 it comes to over 1G in handling on these cars.

05:22 Other cool things, this has data logging, this has GPS, so it'll have accurate speed,

05:26 and on and on and on and on.

05:27 This is a really, really cool system.

05:29 And also we got this neat bezel that we can trim to fit in the original dash location.

05:39 Once the engine was running properly, we carefully monitored it while performing the break-in

05:43 procedure.

05:44 After that, we finally got the suspension aligned and corner balanced the car.

05:52 And it was time to drive it.

06:11 Let me start out by saying, as someone who's tested the 918 LaFerrari McLaren P1, that

06:17 this 93 240SX is the best car in the world.

06:24 I might be a little biased because of the time I've spent working on it.

06:29 Maybe this is kind of what it feels like to be a father of a newborn.

06:33 But this thing is the best thing I've driven.

06:37 Now, why is this car so great?

06:40 Well, there's the obvious things.

06:42 It's a 430 horsepower car that weighs 2,800 pounds.

06:46 I mean, you could just hear that and know that this car is going to be fun.

06:51 But what I'm surprised about is that we have managed to take the fundamental strengths

06:57 of the S13 240SX chassis.

07:00 We haven't screwed them up a lot.

07:03 The 240SX traits are still here.

07:06 Great visibility, really nice and easy to put the car in a line.

07:10 It's nice and low.

07:11 It feels like it has a low center of gravity.

07:13 And adding this V8 didn't add any significant amount of weight, which is probably the best

07:19 part.

07:20 It adds so much in terms of fun, but nothing in terms of downside.

07:27 Our scales show the 240SS weighs in at 2,808 pounds, meaning it's picked up just 68 pounds

07:33 from the swap.

07:34 Add in the big wheels and brakes and suspension and other parts we've included, and the 240

07:39 has gained 100 pounds since we started working on it.

07:42 But crucially, the weight balance hasn't changed.

07:45 The speed of the thing has changed dramatically.

07:49 What's really satisfying about this 6.2 liter V8 is the response.

08:01 Now, you don't get that with forced induction engines, or at least with turbocharged engines.

08:07 You don't have that just linear behavior.

08:09 As soon as you pick up the throttle, you know exactly how much torque you're going to get.

08:14 And by the way, it's a lot of torque.

08:16 You also have a really, really nice soundtrack.

08:20 It's just bizarre to hear the V8 sound through that four-inch HKS exhaust.

08:25 But when you hear it, it just makes you smile because it's so silly.

08:34 The steering is light, just like a Ferrari F12, just like the LaFerrari.

08:39 The clutch is light, and so the car still has this quality of being light overall.

08:45 But it also has this big, burly V8 in it.

08:48 It's the best of all the worlds.

08:53 The front end still feels nimble.

08:55 The steering helps that sensation, and so does the light pedals and the light controls.

09:00 And you still have a terrific amount of grip in the car overall.

09:05 The 240 SS didn't turn out the way I expected.

09:11 It turned out better.

09:13 It still has some bugs.

09:16 It still has some issues.

09:17 You've got to still fix some small things, but--

09:27 While I babied the launch for fear of breaking an axle, the 240 SS hits 60 miles an hour

09:32 in 4.1 seconds.

09:38 It passed the quarter at 12.3 seconds at 120.7 miles an hour.

09:44 That's the track speed of an 11-second car, and it's not too shabby for a completely stock

09:48 engine on its first day at the track.

09:53 The 240 SS's figure-eight performance got even better.

09:57 At 23.9 seconds, it's faster than a long list of great cars, including the BMW M3, Porsche

10:03 Cayman S, and yes, even the Ferrari 458.

10:08 The car's low weight and high lateral capabilities means you can just toss it in without using

10:12 too much brake.

10:13 While there is some mid-corner understeer that will have to tune out, you can fix it

10:17 for the time being really quickly with the throttle.

10:21 On power, the 240 is a bit loose, but in a really fun way.

10:25 And it still has good forward acceleration even when you're putting in countersteer.

10:29 You could laugh at the thing all day.

10:31 Even better, we know with that some suspension tweaks and better brake balance, the car could

10:35 go even faster.

10:36 While we weren't looking to set the fastest lap times, we were curious to see what the

10:43 car would do on its first day at the track.

10:46 Yeah!

10:47 Okay.

10:48 That is amazing.

10:51 Wow.

10:53 Did you do the work?

10:55 It was myself and Mark Linardin right there.

10:58 Wow, Carlos.

10:59 Well, Mark too.

11:00 Welcome to the real world, man.

11:01 Yeah, Mark too.

11:02 Yeah, warming the tires.

11:03 It's light.

11:04 Light and quick.

11:05 A little too much understeer through the long sweepers.

11:06 Great transmission.

11:07 Don't like the brakes.

11:08 No ABS.

11:29 I've been spoiled here coming into one.

11:31 240 wants to lock that inside tire.

11:36 I'm wondering if we have enough suspension travel in the front of the car.

11:40 I think it might be bottoming.

11:41 Broad power band.

11:42 It's a wonderful engine.

11:43 I got to be a little careful with the brakes.

11:54 In the bumpy, curving kink, that brake zone is a great place to have ABS.

12:02 We don't.

12:03 I'm still trying to decide whether it's underdamped or overdamped.

12:08 I think it might be a little underdamped.

12:09 I'm going to try to get it to work.

12:37 I'm going to try to get it to work.

13:06 I'm going to try to get it to work.

13:33 I'm going to try to get it to work.

13:56 The 240 SS's performance is a hugely impressive result for its first day at the track.

14:01 We did find some glitches.

14:03 The braking balance is off, so the performance potential of those Brembos isn't being translated

14:08 properly through the tires.

14:09 There's also a bit of mid-corner understeer that we need to dial out.

14:14 We also need to improve air flow under the hood.

14:16 Once we address those things, we're pretty confident this car will lap streets in the

14:20 high 123s.

14:24 The goal from day one was to improve the 240SX without compromising the inherent strengths

14:29 of its chassis.

14:30 In short, make it fast, but keep it fun.

14:33 And I think we can say mission accomplished to that goal.

14:37 Of course, the question now is, what's next?

14:41 On top of the brake and suspension tuning, we're planning on getting new axles and a

14:44 better limited slip differential.

14:46 What else?

14:47 Let us know what you'd like to see.

15:00 Thanks for watching.

15:26 - I'm just rolling with it. - Cool.

Category

Transcript

Recommended