The SR20DET is a

straight-four A straight-four engine (also referred to as an inline-four engine) is a four-cylinder piston engine where cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft. The majority of automotive four-cylinder engines use a straight-four layout ( ...

four-stroke A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either directio ...

gasoline engine A petrol engine (gasoline engine in American and Canadian English) is an internal combustion engine designed to run on petrol (gasoline). Petrol engines can often be adapted to also run on fuels such as Autogas, liquefied petroleum gas and Common ...

that is part of the SR family of engines from

Nissan is a Japanese multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and ''Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house ...

, produced from 1989 to 2002. It is a

turbocharged In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (also known as a turbo or a turbosupercharger) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake air, forcing more air into the ...

version of the SR20DE engine. Both the SR20DE and SR20DET engines were replacements for the CA18DE and CA18DET engines, which no longer met Japanese emissions standards and were too expensive to manufacture (due to its cast-iron block). Like with the outgoing CA18DET, the SR20DET was a turbocharged intercooled engine in top form. The SR20DET was Nissan's popular four-cylinder turbocharged engine fitted into a wide variety of cars, including the Pulsar GTI-R, the

Nissan Bluebird The is a compact car produced between 1955 and 2007 with a model name introduced in 1957. It was Nissan's most internationally recognized sedan, known for its dependability and durability in multiple body styles. The Bluebird originated from N ...

, and (most notably) the S13-chassis Nissan Silvia and

180SX Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number) * One of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the short story ''God's Dice'' * ''Eighteen'' (film), a 20 ...

. The previous CA18DET engine originally powered the Silvia and 180SX from the S12-chassis and prior, including the early S13-chassis models. The SR20DET is a popular choice for an engine swap in several cars, most notably the 240SX sold in the United States and Canada. They were fitted with the

SOHC An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine in which the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combus ...

KA24E for earlier models and the

DOHC An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine in which the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combus ...

KA24DE for later models, all of which are naturally aspirated engines and are often less-powerful than the CA18DET and SR20DET engines used in its Japanese counterparts, producing about and respectively. SR20DET swaps have become more commonplace due to a variety of aftermarket

forced induction In an internal combustion engine, forced induction is where turbocharging or supercharging is used to increase the density of the intake air. Engines without forced induction are classified as naturally aspirated. Operating principle Ove ...

options available for the engine. There have been many tuning shops around the world that specialize exclusively in SR20DET engine swaps.

Model code breakdown

The breakdown of the engine codes are as follows: * SR - Engine family * 20 - 2.0 liter displacement * D -

Dual overhead camshaft An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine in which the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combusti ...

* E -

Multi-port fuel injection Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of a fuel injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines. All co ...

* T - Turbocharger NOTE: The lack of a "D" in some engine identifications indicates an

cylinder head. For more information of Nissan's engine naming conventions, see

list of Nissan engines This is a list of piston engines developed by Nissan Motors. Engine naming convention Nissan uses a straightforward method of naming their automobile engines. The first few letters identify the engine family. The following digits are the displ ...

History

The SR20DET was first introduced in the U12

2000SSS

ATTESA ATTESA (acronym for Advanced Total Traction Engineering System for All-Terrain) is a four-wheel drive system used in some automobiles produced by the Japanese automaker Nissan, including some models under its luxury marque Infiniti. The 'mechani ...

Limited in a transverse-mounted

front-wheel drive Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of internal combustion engine, engine and transmission (mechanics), transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel-drive vehicles feature ...

four-wheel drive A four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, is a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case pr ...

form in October 1989. The first revisions of the

rear-wheel drive Rear-wheel drive (RWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the rear wheels only. Until the late 20th century, rear-wheel drive was the most common configuration for cars. Most rear-whee ...

S13 Nissan Silvia and

Nissan 180SX The Nissan 180SX is a fastback automobile that Nissan Motors produced between 1988 and 1998. It is based on the S13 chassis from the Nissan S platform with the variants receiving an R designation (ex. PS13 and RPS13). It was sold exclusively in ...

produced in 1991 were built with a longitudinally-mounted SR20DET, with some models using the naturally aspirated SR20DE. The engine then went on to be used in a number of Nissan vehicles, including the

Nissan Avenir The Nissan Avenir is a line of station wagons beginning production in May 1990 by Nissan of Japan, with the budget oriented delivery van starting out as the Avenir Cargo, then being renamed the Nissan Expert ( ja) in 1999. The Avenir replaced the lo ...

in 1995, the Nissan R'nessa in 1997 and the Nissan Liberty in 1999. The SR20DET (along with the naturally-aspirated SR20DE) was retired in most Nissan vehicles in August 2002 (which included the S15 Nissan Silvia as it used the SR20DE/SR20DET engines), and were replaced with the QR20DE engine in most applications. Out of all the

models produced with the SR20DET engine, the Silvia was the longest-running model to use it, beginning with the S13 series in 1991 and ending with the S15 series in 2002. The S14 and S15 series used a bigger turbocharger than the S13 series.

Valve cover colors

The colors of the valve covers seem to relate to the year the engine was produced: *1989–1994 "Red top" - Came from U12/13 Bluebird, S13 Silvia and 180SX pre-94 ( Garrett T25G turbo) 370cc injectors were used. *1994–1998 "Black top" - Came from 180SX's post-94 (Garrett T25G turbo) *1994–1998 "Black top VCT" - 94–98 Silvias - Variable Cam Timing or VCT was introduced on the intake cam ( Garrett T28 journal bearing turbo for Australian and European markets and Garrett T28 Ball Bearing turbo for the Japanese market) 370cc injectors were used. *1995–2002 "Silver top" - 95-02 Avenirs and 97-01 R'nessas. *1999–2002 "Black top" or "Notch top" - 99–02 Silvias. Same VCT as above, 6-speed manual transmission (Garrett Journal Bearing T28 for Europe and Australia and Ball Bearing T28 turbo for Japan) 480cc injectors were used and the intake manifold was redesigned.

Engine specifications

4 valves per cylinder, Chain driven cam sprockets * Bore × Stroke of × * Displacement of 1990–1994 RNN14 Pulsar GTI-R *Compressor Flow: 33 lb/MIN *Throttle Body: Quad *Injector Flow: 440cc/min *Ignition Timing: 20º BTDC 1991–1994 S13 Silvia & 1991–1998 180SX *Throttle Body Bore: 60 mm *Injector Flow: 370cc/min 1995–1999 S14 Silvia *Throttle Body Bore: 50 mm *Injector Flow: 370cc/min 1999–2002 S15 Silvia *Throttle Body Bore: 50 mm *Injector Flow: 444cc/min

Comparison table

Twin-turbo modifications

While all factory manufactured SR20DET's featured only a single turbo unit, some aftermarket tuners have engineered working twin-turbo configurations. One such kit was produced by ENDLESS Japan in 2008 and featured two

GReddy is a Japanese automotive aftermarket company specialising in performance tuning parts for cars. The company is widely known for its sub-brand of tuning parts GReddy and the turbochargers under this brand. GReddy/The Trust Company LTD The Tru ...

TD05-16G turbines in parallel. They were mated to a custom exhaust manifold and downpipe. Major reworking of the engine bay was required in order for the twin-turbo setup to fit in correctly, as the new setup would not be able to fit properly on an unmodified engine bay. This twin-turbo setup achieved its peak power at 2.2 bar between 5,500–6,000 RPM, and costs ¥300,000.

Applications

The SR20DET was used in a number of Nissan vehicles produced from 1989 to 2002, including the Nissan Silvia line of small compact sports cars. Below is a list of these.

References

{{nissan SR