Viper_r32

i have a meating on the weekend with Joe from Skyline Performance to discuss certain aspects of the rebuild, get an itamised list of exsacly everything that will be done and get a quote for the job.

um let me guess dose it start with the letter "y" and have six letters and split into two letter silybles

I know the rb20 isn't a great engine when in comes to response, I stated that earlier. But I’m trying to find ways to make it a little more responsive. I’m not looking for top end and a gt30 is not realistic, as it is ratted as 500hp turbo, even HPI magazine found the KKR 480hp turbo to lagy for the RB24 and went down to a KKR 430HP. My current turbo is rated to 450HP and is almost equivalent to a GT28 and its lagy enough.

mainly the car will be used for daily driving, what i want out of the car is response.... i know that is difficult because the RB20 is not the most responsive engine to start with. although i have read allot of information recently that says allot of benefits can be gained simply by porting and flowing the head and manifolds. apparently the is allot to be gained including throttle response and helping the turbo to spool up earlier. i am not really looking for any more top end power, as before me engine troubles i was happily making around 210rwkw running a GCG hi flow turbo (rated to 450hp and producing most of it's max power from 4000-7000RPM) and a re-chipped ECU. so my main goal is to try and tap into more of the lower end to mid range power of the engine for more response. as to Ex!$t3nZ comment about the RB24, i too was thinking about this for a while, but after following HPI magazines whole right up (over quite few issues) on there project r32 with the rb24 build, at the very end of the project they wrote an article calming that it wasn't really worth the effort. there wasn't much of an increase in torque or response that you would get over just strengthening the bottom end with forged pistons and connecting rods. as at the end of the day putting all the same mods on standard rb20 would produce close to same power and toque. and it wasn't worth spending the extra cash to stroke it. also personally i feel an engine loses part of its personality or character once its stroked, but that just might be me! another thing is that due to the standard size bore and stroke the RB20 doesn't put as much ware or strain on the bore compared to the RB25 or 26 and this can give the rb20 a really long and healthy life if the engine is well looked after. if it hadn't been for oil pump problems my original engine would have lasted for ages, as i had done nearly 190,000ks with it and it still had around 159psi per cylinder. considering new from the factory they have around 165 to 170psi per cylinder that only shows that rb20's can hold good compression if they are well looked after.

Hey Guy’s I’m finally getting things together for my RB20 rebuild. after so many engine problems due to the poorly designed Nissan sleave that runs the Oil pump and oil pressure problems killing my turbo Multiple times, due to how much power I’ve been pushing through the motor. I’ve decided it’s finally time for a rebuild. Yes I know I could drop in another engine for cheaper or go an rb25, but my issue hear is reliability, in other words unless it’s 100% new and drop forged pistons and connecting rods I wont be happy with it. And for the budget rebuilding the RB20 is the logical choice. Although I have a few questions on certain areas of the rebuild. I was thinking about replacing the cams. Although there is so much info out there that many people have clamed that it’s not worth replacing them and have read that depending on how much power the engine is making it can actually make performance worse. Is there any one hear who has had any experience with replacing cams on an RB20? Also what about running cam gears on the standard cams? What cams are compatible with the RB20? Also if any one has any suggestions on good ways to get good power out of an RB20 let me know!

I do believe so, but i have to get back to him shortly to discuss in detail everything i want done. I'm pretty sure he mentioned to me last time we talked that he takes the engine some ware else to get certain aspects done, so i would Imagen that this is where the balancing and machining is done.

Joe's Mobile Number (skyline Performance) is 0412369176 he's a great guy, and looks after his customers, and dose great prices on rebuilds. he will be rebuilding mine in about a month or so.

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Solar Tint in fishwick! approx $250 for the hole car (excluding front windscreen of course) with a life time warranty! if it ever bubbles or starts to peal they will replace it Free!

yeah i know what you meant! i did understand that part (bigger displacement = more torque) but after talking to Nick Danger about it he convinced me is isn't worth going to the 25, he said compared to the amount of torque I'm already making on my current setup, the extra torque would be hardly noticeable. he said with my current setup if i was to do a straight swap to the rb25 with wiring lom ecu and all, it would most likely make less power than I'm already making, and i would most likely have to get a power FC to bolt my existing turbo or another after market turbo on. and adding up the cost at the end of the day its a hole lot of extra money that i don't have for a gain in power i don't kneed. so I'm going to go with swapping it out for another rb20 as it will only cost me about $800 plus $1000 for the install.

Ok guys, I have been thinking about going for the rb25 but I need to know some things, I've tried to call Nick but he seems to be very busy. If you are running the rb25 engine with the rb20 ECU, dose this mean that you are not running it with the NVCS (Nissan variable Cam System)? If I’m going to swap to a 25 I can’t see the point unless I swap the turbo over from my rb20 because its steal ball bearing and handles a lot more boost than the stock turbo 25 turbo Plus my rb20 engine was already making the same power the rb25 would if I did a straight swap. so I don't see the point of going to the RB25 unless I use my current turbo. The only issue I have is the stock 25 ECU, I don't know if it will run correctly with the new turbo. If I use the rb20 ECU, it could be reprogrammed to run the RB25 but would this mean that I could not use the NVCS?. I know I could go a Power FC, but the conversion is going to cost enough as it is and i just couldn't afford it. I all ready have an Apexi AVCR for boost so, I need to work out my options.

Hey, I was wondering if anyone would have any pictures on how the Air con pipes are supposed to be set up on the R32 GTS-T RB20 When I first received my car it had previously had all the air con piping ripped out, I don’t know if this had to do with the custom inlet piping that was done or not. Ether way I want to see how the original setup looks, and where each pipe is supposed to run from and to. as I’m getting the engine changed I thought now might be a good time to finally get it done as I hate not having air con. So if anyone has any pics, or if possible if someone could take some pics of there own air setup it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

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Happy new year to all! :laughing-smiley-014:

well its pumping out 210kw at the wheels at 15psi as for the engine figure that may not be accurate. i worked it out by finding the ratio between the original power at the engine and the original power at the wheels and then used that ratio to work out how much i was making at the engine from my rear wheel figure. i thought it would have been close as I've heard you can lose up to a 3rd of your power down the drive line, but the may not be the case. it was just a guestament so i'ts prob wrong. as for changing to an RB25, i can see why it is worth it for the extra torque, but to me the killer is the cost. i was already making 210rwkw on the rb20 and although the extra 20rwkw would be nice i just cant justify spending another 3 grand on top of what it would cost just to drop another rb20 in. if i had the cash i would do it, but there are so many other things that need to be fixed. i worked out a list of every thing i need, and using the rb20 engine the total came to $7,500. i just cant justify spending $10,000 or more when i could buy another r32 for that. but when you think about it you could prob buy another r32 for $7,500

dude seriously, dose it have the removable front lip. if so and lip is in good nick (don't really care about the condition of the rest of it) consider it sold

is it one that has a removable bottom lip like the GTR one (like the front bar on my pic), if it is and the lip it self is in good nick I'll take it!

i'd be interested in the Centre Console Surround with Gear boot on its own if you cant sell it as a complete package

after the stock steering wheel if you have it? i assume it's the same as the two door wheel

We'll i did some more research today and phoned up a few places, to get an idea on prices. an late model r33 half cut with manual box and 3 months warranty is $4,500 and to drop the engine in is $1500 plus all the rewiring which is between $500-$1000 depending on how long it takes. so its a total of $6500 - $7000. and then i would still want to replace the oil and watter pump. or have another rb20 installed with new oil and water pump for just over $3000. which leaves me cash to put in new seats and coil overs and stereo gear. i just don't think i can justify spending nearly 7 grand in an engine swap. i know it would be a crap load cheaper if i did the work myself, but with my Muscle disability i shouldest even be thinking about it!

well, i looked at rebuilding the rb20 and it worked out to be at leased 7 grand, which was just way to much. and i couldn't justify a rebuild unless i was going to strengthen the engine, which would cost at leased 10 grand, once i had put all the rb26 gear i wanted into it (conrods,crankshaft etc.). then i thought about an rb25, and a engine and gear box package is like 3 grand and once i put it in the car and cut and balance the tail shaft that takes it to around 5 grand, and then there is still no guaranty the engine will be in good condition and how long it will last. plus I'm not sure how easy it is to connect all the current exhaust and inter cooler piping. my curent engine was pumping out 300kw at the engine and just over 200kw at the wheels, which i was happy with. plus Nick tuned my ecu and the setup was perfect. if i drop a stock rb25 straight in it will not produce the power i want straight off the bat. and i don't want to spend money doing up an rb25 and having to have the ECU returned. plus Nicks in Queensland now and i don't know of anyone else i could get or trust to tune it. another option is bolting my inlet manifold and exhaust manifold which includes my current hi flowed rb20 turbo. I'm not sure how my current turbo would respond running on an rb25 block, i don't even know if my current inlet and exhaust manifolds would bolt on to the rb25 head. this would mean including my current ECU and electricals (in other words swap the rb20 head and block with an rb25 head and block). this would be like fitting a different crack and boring the engine out, and my current ECU tuning in theory would probably only require a light tune? so this is still an option CeJay how did you set up your 25? if you are using the RB20 ECU are you using any other rb20 components or parts (manifolds, etc.) another thing that concerns me is all my inlet piping, the piping for my pod filter, the blow of valve, the intercooler is all custom piping. and if i cant use this or have to pay to get it modified, it just don't know whether it would be worth the cost or the hassle. replacing it with another rb20 seamed the simplest road to take. the reason my current engine died is because it has done nearly 200,000ks and it use to be used on the track and the old saying is that about 4 hours of hard thrashing on the track is almost like 10 to 20,000ks of daily driving. a replacement rb20 with only 70,000ks that has been flow tested with a compression and oil pressure tested is only $800 with 3 month warranty. i can have the sump pulled of and the bottom end inspected, have an n1 oil pump put in, a new watter pump, and a strengthened oil pump collar and have it all installed for just over 3 grand. and i know that i will have all the power i had without having to do anything to it. plus i get to keep my old engine and slowly build it up later on if i want to. and with all the other things that need fixed like new seats, new shocks, and a decent stereo (since my last one got stolen) i just cant justify spending more money. so this is my logic, but i do appreciate your advice and I'm keen to hear more about what you think. I guess it depends on what ill will take in total to put an rb25 engine in, piping, ecu tuning, new turbo, and i have read that the wiring loom can be a pain in the ass. and despite how much i have enjoyed working on cars, to be honest with you I'm just not into doing the work myself as much as i used to. after rebuilding two engines myself on previous cars and all the time spent over the last 10 years with all the headaches i just don't have the patience to do the work my self any more and would rather pay someone else to do it, only prob is i having the cash to pay someone else to do it! but hey let me know i still haven't made any definite decisions and i still have 3 more weeks before i have the cash to go ahead with it all, so let me know I'm up for any ideas, but as you can see I have been putting allot of thought into it i tell you one thing though if i had 13 grand i would be buying a nice new n1 rb26 long stroke i saw!

i actually believe the gear box and engine have been pushed hard, as i believe one of the previous owners in japan used to race it on the track. but have to say it is interesting that despite being pushed so hard the engine still has full compression even at 190,000ks

ok, im not disagreing with you, and i'm not saying you are wrong. you are probably correct. all i'm trying to say is that i don't have syncro in first. one of my close mates who has been into imports long before me, and has driven an s15 for like the last 7 years told me that allot of Nissan boxes don't have syncro in first. maybe he was wrong i am just trying to work out what box i want to go to and whether or not i will buy a 25 box or go for another 20 box. I'm not trying to say you are wrong in any way I'm just trying to get an idea of what most people think i should do? i didn't mean to offend you so if i did i apologize.

geese when did this turn into a debate, i hate debates cant we all just get along anyway i know my gearbox and the one my mate has in his s15 do not have sincro in first, so would prefer one that dose. so maybe a 25 box is the go, I'll see what the price difference is when i order my replacement RB20. decided that I'm just getting a replacement RB20 for now. but im going to replace the watter and oil pump for N1 stuff. and put one of those new stronger collars on the pump as i believe thats what has caused the prob in my existing engine. so wile I'm getting that done i'm going ahead with a short shifter kit, and replacing my Cusco coil overs for some Tien Super Street ones. as the Cusco are just to stiff for a daily driver. I'm getting new bucket seats. a clear camgear cover and to top it all off a new shift knob so about $5000, later but that's the price you pay for high performance cars! and ill just keep my existing engine and slowly rebuild it over time, possibly a full Tomei RB22 or 24 kit. well see........

not true as all s13, boxes and rb20 boxes do not contain sincro in first gear, this is why when you slow down at a set of light and just as your about to stop the lights turn green so you go to stick the gear in first but the box wont let you. this is because 1st dose not contain sincro!