KLZE - Worth the head ache?

[MrMazda92]

Just do your research!

From what I've seen, imported ZEs seem to be the hardest for emissions. Lack of EGR comes to mind, but it may be other things as well.

[wytbishop]

Well I can't speak to the emmisions issue as Alberta doesn't require emmisions testing yet. I will say that I think my ZE runs pretty clean and that I would pass and I didn't have to do anything special to it.

The MX-3 ECU is not extremely sophisticated. It measures exhaust emissions in each bank simultaneously, whereas more modern vehicles (and most older vehicles too) measure emmisions before and after the CAT to determine O2 levels. As long as you have good O2 sensors and the proper ECU and VAF combination I don't think you will have any problems.

[Nd4SpdSe]

whereas more modern vehicles (and most older vehicles too) measure emmisions before and after the CAT to determine O2 levels.

The second set is for verification that the cats are doing their job. Guys reporting on the Nissan forums no change in emission output, as so much as to pass emission test with a CEL on for a bad secondary 02. Pretty much just to measure the difference from the primaries to see if the cats are working. You can get "Check Engine Light Eliminator"s for the secondary 02's (for those that get headers), which is just an angled extension for the rear 02's.

[Pritchett]

Well when I was researching the curve neck(eunos 800) vs straight neck hp. I found many sites that listed both as 198bhp and equal torque, the only difference was the KL31 cams made their peak torque at 5200 i believe where the curved neck made its peak at 4800. However this does mean the straight neck will have more pull higher up and be faster then the engine that belongs in a midsize car. Which makes sense, as automatic trannys usually dont rev that high before they shift unless you floor it. I found specs on the eunos 800 that was in japanese and the numbers said 198bhp and the torque was in a different unit of measurement but once I converted it to ft/lbs it did equal 165.

But like always, dont take anyones word, this topic has been decided on again and again. Then one person asks the question and it sparks a whole new debate, do the research, look at various JDM cars that had the KL-ZE, look at pics of their engines and compare. Look at their specs..etc. I researched for just a couple days on my iphone and came up with numerous articles, I checked used car sales for the eunos 800 and looked at their pics, as I did for other cars that were in question. I was content that my curved neck was a KL-ZE, and I stopped searching and eventually lost the pages that held the information. The internet is your friend my friend

[RX8SE3P]

Just get a 2.5L KLDE. Any 2.5L is going to smash the 1.8L so don't get too mixed up with all the mumbo jumbo. Just go for the 2.5L and make sure it's in good condition and it's not too hard to get it all going from there.

Everything will bolt up fine. You can even use the K8 manifold on the KLDE if it's too hard to make new intake piping (the ports match up). Change the ECU and air flow sensor and I'm fairly sure you're good to go. Just make sure you use an ECU from the same year as your car to simplify things such as coolant sensor compatibility.

[MrMazda92]

KL31 cams in a low mileage DE would be fine for almost anyone. Truth be told, a JY KLDE/KLG4 with KL31 cams, coilpacks, and MegaSquirt would cost less than some have spent on ZEs, and net equal, or more power.

In case anybody is curious, the KL31 cams work fine with SLAs. The rumor to the contrary was blown to bits long ago.

[Ryan]

work fine. Yes. Work near some optimum? Not really. The ramp rate on SLA and HLA cams are not the same, not the same at all. A cam manufacturer would facepalm you.

[MrMazda92]

As in the rate at which the lobes shift from zero lift to max lift?

I can't wrap my head around that. Why would there be a noticeable difference? The valves still open and close as normal, only the lifters and cams change, no?

[Ryan]

The derivative of lift. At what rate the lift changes. HLA's allow some squish, SLA's allow none.