Designer. Fabricator. Problem solver. Tuner. Friend. Paulo at AES Auto led this project and has built a fabulous car. Four days after releasing the car from the shop, it was out at our local track where it ran all day long. It needed a couple of bump starts as I kept flooding it. The alignment, which I did, needs some tweaking. The kill switch which hadn’t been touched during the project needed to be tightened as the entire electrical system went dead. That is minimal and not at all tied in with the work that AES Auto did. Paulo might be saying, “One of One, Frank!” right now, but I know that in a month or two he will be looking for another unique build. AES Auto has built me the best version of the NX that I have had. And for that, I thank you for enduring the frustrations and challenges that this project brought you. Well Done!
Having an awesome motor in a unique body is one thing. Getting it to handle properly is quite another. To assist us in this endeavour to be an excellent handling car, I called the best suspension guy that I know – Mike Kojima. And Mike connected me with Feal Suspension, who opened for business in 2007. I’m guessing that you may not be very familiar with the brand – but you should be. I’m pretty sure that a large percentage of you will recognize the name of Feal’s CEO – Aurimas ‘Odi” Bakchis’. Feal Suspension is a quality company and the personal feedback during the initial discussion and then the purchasing process was fantastic. Driving on the street is exactly what I expected of a track orientated coil over setup. My first drive was first city driving and then a lovely forest road with lots of corners and elevation changes. It was incredible. Driving on the track literally destroyed all of my expectations. The Feal Suspension 442’s were that much better than I anticipated! Those of you running high end setups won’t be surprised. Those like myself who are running a budget-based suspension using parts that you can piece together and run, well, start saving up because you really need to upgrade. Really. There will be a track day reflection piece focusing upon the Feal Suspension 442s soon.
Unboxing the Feal Suspension 442 system just before Christmas, before I knew the fate of the 54C SR20DET was incredible. They look fantastic. And it was time, as the well used and well worn suspension on the car had been through enough.
Talking with the team at Feal Suspension, they walked me through the measurements that they wanted. They discussed potential rates. And Mike Kojima worked with me on the specs and spring rates that we wanted for the NX.
After the NX K24’s first track day, the Feal Suspension’s 442 system is dirty. And I am smiling. Stay tuned. I’ve got to give you my driving reaction to this amazing suspension setup!
DAMN VERY NICE. IS THERE A SWAP KIT FOR SELL ON THIS K20 INTO B13 SHELL. IM SURE ALOT PEOPLE WILL BE INTERESTED SINCE THERE SO MANY PARTS OUT THERE FOR THESE K20 MOTORS.
Upgraded, thank you so much. You’re very aware of the struggle that I’ve had the last few years. And know that a lot of thought went into this decision. Thanks so much for introducing me to AES Auto!
This K24 engine is simply silly fast. WHP drop from 360 to 280 – but at the first track day I was out all day and as long as I wanted each session with temps barely rising. I haven’t had a day like that with the DET ever.
It’s like Honda put the things it learned in the past into the K24 and made available in many platforms — Decent power, good reliability with potential for upgrades.
I don’t think we got a final pic of the subframe, but it seemed like there had to be more crossbracing than the one bar with the motor mounted in it, right?
Also, that’s a 4-2-1 header that’s installed.
Hey, congrats on the build. It should be bulletproof.
A little sad to see the SR go, but nothing better than having a track car that just works every time and nothing to think about! 280whp on a mustang is plenty of power. It would probably trap 115-120mph in the 1/4.
And for reference, my old B14 SE-R with T25 and JWT S3 cams put down 250whp on a dynoject and trapped 110mph. The poor stock VSLD wore out which made the car about worthless on an auto-x. Not too bad on a road course with big enough turns to keep from lighting up the inside tire.
Khiem, sorry that I missed your posts. I haven’t had it out to the 1/4 yet as I’m worried about the axles. I’ve lost Nissan axles in the 1/4 and they were relatively available so I wasn’t worried. These axles are one off and, while I’m having a second set built, I don’t want to risk them just yet. The M-Factory LSD is absolutely keeping the power down in corners, so I’ll have to get out to an autocross (just never been my forte), and just a few weeks ago I put down a personal best at my local track. Besting the SR20DET’s time by half a second.
Well Done! I think there are now more than one B13 chassis with the K series, but at the time this was the first running one that I knew about. Do you have some pics of yours?
22 comments
you really love that car…
I’ve owned it since it came off the showroom floor – so the answer is yes.
DAMN VERY NICE. IS THERE A SWAP KIT FOR SELL ON THIS K20 INTO B13 SHELL. IM SURE ALOT PEOPLE WILL BE INTERESTED SINCE THERE SO MANY PARTS OUT THERE FOR THESE K20 MOTORS.
B13NX2K, there is no kit that I am aware of in production. Sorry.
The Ridge Motorsports Park is in “Shelton, WA”, not “Sheldon, WA”
Noch, thank you for catching that. That slipped past all of us! In the first paragraph, no less. Corrected!
Very good read on the article Frank. Enjoy the ride.
Upgraded, thank you so much. You’re very aware of the struggle that I’ve had the last few years. And know that a lot of thought went into this decision. Thanks so much for introducing me to AES Auto!
Awesome write-up Frank! Cool to see such an unorthodox (turbo to NA) swap play out in such a satisfying manner.
This K24 engine is simply silly fast. WHP drop from 360 to 280 – but at the first track day I was out all day and as long as I wanted each session with temps barely rising. I haven’t had a day like that with the DET ever.
It’s like Honda put the things it learned in the past into the K24 and made available in many platforms — Decent power, good reliability with potential for upgrades.
Awesome Build, Awesome write up! Thanks for sharing
Brycen, glad you enjoyed the article. I’m enjoying the car. It’ll be back at the track in a week.
I don’t think we got a final pic of the subframe, but it seemed like there had to be more crossbracing than the one bar with the motor mounted in it, right?
Also, that’s a 4-2-1 header that’s installed.
Hey, congrats on the build. It should be bulletproof.
That’s it for bracing, Joe! And bulletproof is the key here!
A little sad to see the SR go, but nothing better than having a track car that just works every time and nothing to think about! 280whp on a mustang is plenty of power. It would probably trap 115-120mph in the 1/4.
And for reference, my old B14 SE-R with T25 and JWT S3 cams put down 250whp on a dynoject and trapped 110mph. The poor stock VSLD wore out which made the car about worthless on an auto-x. Not too bad on a road course with big enough turns to keep from lighting up the inside tire.
Khiem, sorry that I missed your posts. I haven’t had it out to the 1/4 yet as I’m worried about the axles. I’ve lost Nissan axles in the 1/4 and they were relatively available so I wasn’t worried. These axles are one off and, while I’m having a second set built, I don’t want to risk them just yet. The M-Factory LSD is absolutely keeping the power down in corners, so I’ll have to get out to an autocross (just never been my forte), and just a few weeks ago I put down a personal best at my local track. Besting the SR20DET’s time by half a second.
Man I have a Nissan 200sx. I would love to do a K-swap in my car.
Hi Thomas, there’s now talk on the SR20 FB groups of a swap kit. Maybe it’s getting closer!
Cool to see someone throwing a K series in an NX.
I currently have the only known Nissan Pulsar NX with a K series.
Well Done! I think there are now more than one B13 chassis with the K series, but at the time this was the first running one that I knew about. Do you have some pics of yours?