I'm looking at a 240sx (1998) to daily drive (as the Integra vs Civic thread may have indicated, I am looking for a daily driver, sorry to spam the board fellow GRMers).
I noticed that Nissan recommends 91 octane in the KA24DE... why? Can I run it on 87? I mean, it only has a compression ratio of 9.5:1 and it is a modern, fuel injected motor. Seems like an odd requirement for a truck motor... the information:noise ratio is so high on the 240 websites its impossible to come to a conclusion on this.
I'm also 2200ft above sea level if that matters.
that's a rare~ish car. at least it won't depreciate.
idk why it would need premium either.
My first car was a 1992 240SX (KA24DE). IIRC I used regular but that car and motor were on their last legs anyways, so in my poor college student mind I figured using lower octane wouldn't hurt things more than they already were!
I hope you don't have to pay a dorifuto tax on that car. The 97-98 S14s (a.k.a. kouki) are more desirable to the slideways boiz because of the sharper front end styling when compared to the 95-96 S14s (a.k.a. zenki).
I think it cranks the timing up pretty high. I believe those cars have good tuning options, too.
Generally most cars that spec 91 octane or higher will run just fine on 87 octane, but with a loss of power and big drop in fuel economy.
My whiteblock Volvo 960 knocked back 24MPG on 93 octane and about 15MPG on 87. Needless to say, the premium fuel paid for itself and then some...
I ran 87 in my '91 240SX back in 2000-2002 never had an issue with knocking and got a pretty steady 28mpg. Just try them both and compare.
Nissan recommends premium in a lot of their motors. Even in my older Maxima (VQ30, 1995 model), premium is recommended, but I think it has a higher compression ratio than that KA. I would at least run mid grade/89 in it, that kept the spark knock at bay in the Maxima.
Nissan roadracing is the only good source for info and even then you have to wade through the crap.
MotoIQ has very solid Nissan content, I'd ask over there.
Deal went up in smoke anyways, the guy selling it realized he had it priced WAY too cheap. Oh well :(
These engines have a knock sensor too, so they should be able to compensate for the lower octane rated fuel. I'm a fan of those motors, and I wonder why they don't seem very popular in the modifications world, while the holy grail in Nissan motors seems to be the SR20's.
Pretty much what was said above. They run quite a bit of timing so you'll run into some preignition if you run 87. The knock sensor will compensate, but it'll feel like a turd powered shoe box when the ECU yanks the timing out of it.
It's a shame that the deal fell through. They're great cars.
HiTempguy wrote:
Deal went up in smoke anyways, the guy selling it realized he had it priced WAY too cheap. Oh well :(
Yes, you will not find a 240sx for a decent price. I tried for about a year and moved on to other cars. Turbo MR2, WRX, 350Z, and JDM imports can be had for the price you pay for a 240sx.
