Pressure Cooker - 1996 Nissan 240SX

This Turbocharged 240SX Sizzles on the Street

By Evan Griffey

Photography by Henry Z. DeKuyper

Angelo "Geelow" Foreman is serving our country in the Army; he can thank Kuwait for his pressurized KA24DE-powered 240SX. Geelow's story starts as a familiar tale of an addiction to power and the struggle to satisfy it. For Geelow, it all began in 1996 when he bought his Nissan 240SX. While it was a love at first drive, Foreman was satisfied for merely a year. Then, he realized he lacked power under the hood; family sedans were pulling him hard from stoplights. He ran through the typical bolt-ons, buying him another year.

Geelow needed real power, but before he could research his situation and take action, he was transferred to Kuwait. This was a blessing in disguise; he was making bank serving abroad, plenty for all of the modifications he'd been dreaming about. With nothing to do with his limited free time, he surfed the Web. The night he came upon www.240sx.org changed everything.

"They had cars on that site that put mine to shame. There was a guy named Chris May that had a 240SX with 309 hp. I said, 'that's the kind of power I need.' I contacted Chris and he gave me some good ideas. I was making good money, so buying parts was no problem. I scored my turbo parts in Texas, my GReddy body kit from Modacar in California and my OZ Racing F1s from the Tire Rack. Once stateside, I had the turbo kit installed and damn, that's power," says Foreman.

Unfortunately for him, the thrills only lasted a few months; the Nissan found itself with a blow-by problem. Apparently, the engine was tuned too lean and his right foot was too heavy, too often. Things would get worse before they got better.

Foreman got involved with a disreputable shop, resulting in a year of downtime where he paid for work that was never completed. His savior was Tuned Performance out of Marietta, Ga. Tuned Performance's Mike Kamalian and John Walton handled the complete build-up of the KA24 and reconfigured the turbo system to supply loads of reliable power. This was a great arrangement-Foreman was stationed at Ft. Gordon and lived in nearby Evans, Ga.

Delta ForceThe DOHC 2.4-liter four-cylinder has a solid foundation, consisting of a race-proven reciprocating assembly. The stock crankshaft swings Carrillo connecting rods and 8.2:1-compression JE Piston slugs. The head and valvetrain remain factory spec. The 240's Delta Force, or more precisely, Delta Pressure, is generated by a Garrett T3/T04 hybrid turbo perched atop a Rev-Hard custom header. The turbo is corralled to 25 psi by a Turbonetics Deltagate and a Blitz Dual SBC boost controller.

The bottom end of the 240SX's...

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Once compressed, the charge air is funneled through a GReddy air-to-air intercooler nestled behind the GRacer chin spoiler. From there, highly polished intercooler piping leads the charge air into the intake system, which consists of factory-spec parts. On the hot side, exhaust gases exit a ceramic coated custom downpipe and 3-inch custom system. The system features a GReddy turbo-tuned muffler with a big polished tip.

Lock 'n' LoadFuel for the fire is provided by a rough 'n' ready system, featuring a 300ZX fuel pump and big 50 lb/hr injectors. The injectors are positioned via a TPI-fabricated rail and flow is controlled by a Mallory regulator. Fueling strategies are instigated by a Jim Wolf Technology-tuned ECU piggybacked with an APEXi Super-AFC.

Spark energy is generated by an MSD 6BTM box, Nology wires and NGK plugs. An APEXi engine monitor keeps tabs on vital engine functions.