Nissan CA18DET Engine

The final and most advanced version of Nissan CA-Series, the CA18DET was the released in 1985. CA18DET managed to gain a strong reputation for great strength and features that were way ahead of its time. Extremely sound cast iron block was housing four aluminum pistons. Oil squirters were placed underneath the pistons for increased cooling characteristics. CA18DET was displacing 1809cc with 83mm bore x 83.6mm stroke while the compression ratio was 8.5:1. Bore and stroke dimensions gave the engine almost square design allowing it to spin well above 8000RPM.

CA18DET employed an all-aluminum head with dual overhead cams and 16 valves. Intake and exhaust durations were 240° and 248° respectively. Intake valve lift was 7.8mm and the exhaust valve lift was 8.5mm. Lash type cams had 8 lobes. The cams were coupled with hydraulic lifters to operate the valves and the valve train was driven via ribbed rubber belt. Engine was fed through an electronically controlled fuel injection system that uses 370cc injectors. A direct ignition system was adopted with an individual ignition coil placed on top of each spark plug.

CA18DET was using a water-cooled Garret T25 turbocharger which features a ceramic turbine wheel. The turbocharger was generating a peak boost of 8psi. The boost was controlled by Electronic Control Unit (ECU). The earlier CA18DETs were lacking an intercooler and were equipped with a head that featured four intake ports. These earlier engines were delivering 135hp at 6400RPM when fitted with an automatic transmission and 145hp at 6400RPM with manual transmission.

With the release of Nissan Silvia/180SX S13 and Nissan Bluebird U12, CA18DET received some updates. An air to air intercooler was now adopted and the number of intake ports in the head was increased to eight. Along with the head, intake manifold was also revised and ECU was reprogrammed. Along with these changes, the engine was now delivering 175hp. Production of CA18DET ended in 1994 along with S13 Nissan Silvia.