Tuning the Nissan CA
CA16 S, DE, CA18 DE / ET / DET & CA20 E,S,DE,DET

"Comprehensive guide to performance parts and tuning the Nissan CA engine!"

The Nissan CA blocks are really good project engines and with the ultimate performance enhancements like remapping, turbo kits and camshafts you will substantially maximize your driving pleasure.

Nissan modified the block size and configuration adding turbos and DOHC profiles leaving us with a very versatile engine block to tune.

We shall review and look at CA tuning and provide tips on the greatest modifications for your car.

The best CA mods on an engine are usually the ones that give the best power gain for you spend.

We won't be swayed by popular CA mods, they need to be cost effective.

Significant gains on the CA can be made from cam upgrades. Altering the cam profile alters the intake and exhaust durations on the engine and can dramatically change the bhp and power output.

NB: Fast road camshafts commonly boost the bhp and torque over the rev range, you may sacrifice a little low down torque but the higher rpm power will be better.

Race camshafts, boost the higher rpm power band but as a result the car will not idle smoothly and low end power nearly always suffers.

On a road car must carefully try to match your engines power to your preferences.

I'd be surprised if you have found a CA Competition camshaft is a pleasure to live with when on the daily commute.

Some CA engines respond better to extreme cam durations than others.

To create a twin cam version of the 2.0 block you could fit a twin cam head from the CA18DE/T and as long as you switch manifolds and alter the timing pulley belts it works quite well.

So the following have been created but are not official engine versions from Nissan.

  • CA20DE/CA20DET/CA20T/CA20ET

The ecu map and fuelling also will say much on the torque gains you'll get.

Longer valve durations can alter the torque band and on most engines the exhaust and intake durations do not need to match, although most cams and tuners use matched pairs there are some advantages to extending the intake or exhaust durations.

Stage 1 modifications: Panel air filters, Remaps/piggy back ECU, Intake headers, Drilled & smoothed airbox, Sports exhaust manifold, Fast road camshaft.

Stage 2 modifications: fuel pump upgrades, high flow fuel injectors, induction kit, Ported and polished head, Fast road cam, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust.

Stage 3 modifications: Competition cam, Engine balancing & blueprinting, Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves), Twin charging conversions, Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression, Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger).

The CA engine blocks are great to work on and we note that there are plenty of upgrades and tuning parts out there.

ECU flashing allows a tuner to release the full potential of all the parts you've fitted to your CA.

It will usually give around 30% more power on turbocharged vehicles and you can expect to see around 15% on NASP engines, but the outcome may depend much on the parts you've applied and the condition of your engine.

It is the aim to any engine tuning task to push air into your CA

Air Intake manifolds flow the air from the air filter and allow it to be fed into the engine cylinders with fuel for the squish phase.

The size of bore and shape and flow rate of the Air Intake manifolds can make a noticeable effect on to fuel mixing and power on the CA.

Most intake headers are in dire need of aftermarket tuning parts, although some makers provide reasonably well designed intake headers.

Big valve conversions on the CA, carrying out port work and head flowing will also improve power, & more importantly will afford you a greater power increase on other upgrades.

Turbo upgrades

NASP engines need quite a lot of work when you add a turbo, so we have a separate guide to help you take into account the pros and cons of going this route on your CA

The more air you can get into an engine, the more fuel it can burn and uprating the induction with a turbocharger upgrade makes major power gains.

If your motor is fitted with a turbo tuning parts are going to net you a larger power gain and you'll see that turbo engines are made using uprated components.

However most engines have weakspots

We recommend you find these limits and fit better pistons and crank to utilize the power.

It's not unheard of guys spending a lot of money on turbocharger upgrades on the CA only to have the CA literally blow up soon after it's been enthusiastically driven.

Larger capacity turbos tend to suffer a bottom end lag, and low capacity turbos spool up quickly but do not have the peak rpm torque gains.

Over the last 20 years the choice of turbo units is always increasing and we commonly find variable vane turbo units, permitting the vane profile is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end bhp.

Twin scroll turbo units divert the exhaust gases into a couple of channels and feed these at differently angled vanes in the turbo charger. They also boost the scavenging effect of the engine.

It is not unusual that there is a limitation in the air flow sensor AFM/MAF on the CA when considerably more air is being pulled into the engine.

We see 4 bar air sensors coping with quite large power gains, whereas the OEM air sensor limited bhp and torque at a much lower level.

Adding a supercharger or additional turbo will make large performance gains, although harder to setup. We have this guide to twinchargers if you want to read more.

Fuelling upgrades and mods

You will need to ensure that the engine is not starved of fuel so should ramp up the fuelling when you start extending past 20% of a power increase.We strongly recommend you to be generous with your injector capacity.

The rule of thumb is to add 20% when fitting an injector, helps cope with injector deterioration and provides some spare capacity should the engine require more fuel.

We think this one is common sense, but you'll need to match your fuel injector to the type of fuel your car uses as well.

Exhaust upgrades and mods

Only look to improve your exhaust if the current exhaust is actually creating a flow problem.

On most factory exhausts you'll see your flow rate is fine even on modest power gains, but when you start pushing up the power levels you will need to get a better flowing exhaust.

Sports exhausts can usually air flow out of the engine but do not go too large or you may end up will reduce the flow rate. Stick to 1.5 to 2.5 inches for best results.

Usual exhaust restrictions are traced to the catalyst and filters installed, so adding a higher flowing sports alternative will help avoid this restriction.

Weak spots, Issues & common problem areas on the CA

The engines, if regularly serviced and maintained, are generally very reliable and have few issues.

Regular oil changes are vital on the , particularly when the engine has been modified and is putting down more power than the manufacturer intended.

History of the Engine

  • CA16S
    81 PS 80 hp at 5200 rpm and 123Nm(91 lbft) at 3200 rpm
  • CA16DE
    122 hp  at 6400 rpm and 137Nm(101 lbft) at 5200 rpm
  • CA18(i) 91 hp  at 5200 rpm
  • CA18E 113 hp at 5600 rpm, 16.5 kg⋅m (162 Nm; 119 lbft) at 2800 rpm
  • CA18S
    89 hp and 149Nm(110 lbft)
  • CA18DE
    131 hp  at 6400 rpm and 159Nm(117 lbft) at 5200 rpm
  • CA18ET  133 hp and 183Nm(135 lbft) 
  • CA18DET  166 hp and 228Nm(168 lbft)
  • CA20E  105 hp and 160Nm(118 lbft)
  • CA20S
    102 hp  at 5,200 rpm (118 lbft) at 3,600 rpm

To create a twin cam version of the 2.0 block you could fit a twin cam head from the CA18DE/T and as long as you switch manifolds and alter the timing pulley belts it works quite well.

So the following have been created but are not official engine versions from Nissan.

  • CA20DE/CA20DET/CA20T/CA20ET

For more information on Tuning your engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our owners. It would also be worth reading our unbiased tuning articles to get a full grasp of the benefits and drawbacks of each modification.

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