Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

Hey guys,

I have done a fair bit of searching on this topic, and want to hear the experiences of others.

I Have spent lots of money on my RB20 and it is going great, but i feel spending any more money on HP gains just isnt cost effective, and think i would be better off throwing in an RB26 with a 2wd sump and GTR box.

Who has done this, what additional costs did you encounter, and how did you go about making a 2wd sump.

As far as labour costs etc, i plan on doing most of this myself, maybe a few odd jobs will be sent off to the experts.

all info and advice would be awesome!

thanks.

Ben.

Hey guys,

I have done a fair bit of searching on this topic, and want to hear the experiences of others.

I Have spent lots of money on my RB20 and it is going great, but i feel spending any more money on HP gains just isnt cost effective, and think i would be better off throwing in an RB26 with a 2wd sump and GTR box.

Who has done this, what additional costs did you encounter, and how did you go about making a 2wd sump.

As far as labour costs etc, i plan on doing most of this myself, maybe a few odd jobs will be sent off to the experts.

all info and advice would be awesome!

thanks.

Ben.

HiBen, the wiring harness is different, RB26 has air temp sensor and 2 X AFM's. ECU is different of course. I assume you meant use an "R33 GTST" gearbox. If you did mean GTR gearbox then you will have floor pan problems, they are different. Engine mounts and front subframe as well.

I was going to do the RB26DETT upgrade with our R32 GTST, but I found the RB31DET to be cheaper and more effective. For example I could keep the R32 GTST wiring harness and RB20DET Power FC as well.

There is more than one way to skin this cat :D

SK,  

given the above, i assume u guys r running the RB20 head with the RB30 bottom end?

if so, doesn't the RB20 head have small ports & valves? i'm sure this would be quite a restriction.

Many years ago we did run a Commondoor with an RB30ET with an RB20 top end (cylinder head, manifold etc) . Huge improvement over the single cam, 2 valve RB30 head, made 80 bhp more, same turbo etc. So it's not THAT bad, super cheap too.

About 4 years ago we did the RB25DE top end on the RB30ET, that was a good thing. It made 475 BHP on the engine dyno with standard internals, all up cost $1,200.

Most of what we do now is RB26 top end on RB31 (forged) bottom ends. It's the best value for money big power upgrade.

It's all releveant to where you are starting from and what size your wallet is. :cheers:

Hey guys,

I have done a fair bit of searching on this topic, and want to hear the experiences of others.

I Have spent lots of money on my RB20 and it is going great, but i feel spending any more money on HP gains just isnt cost effective, and think i would be better off throwing in an RB26 with a 2wd sump and GTR box.

Who has done this, what additional costs did you encounter, and how did you go about making a 2wd sump.

As far as labour costs etc, i plan on doing most of this myself, maybe a few odd jobs will be sent off to the experts.

all info and advice would be awesome!

thanks.

Ben.

Cheater :)

:jk: You can still use the R32 loom etc. However it means you dont run the air temp and you have to put the single (bigger Z32 etc) AFM before the single inlet into the intercooler. The ECU should not know the difference. I have pi55ed in a friends pocket on numerous occassions about doing this, and it seems it would not be that big a job provided you aint in a hurry.

I supect im going to be happy with the power form the RB20 after going to Phillip Island running SFA boost, so have settled on sticking with the RB20.

But RB26 seems the logical choice...i was only saying to someone yesterday that i wish Nissan had stayed true to the RWD philispohy with a 1350kg RWD GTR with pumped aluminium guards and RB26. Would have still destroyed the Grp A competition :cheers:

And best of all you can use thet RB26 fuel rail :)

I think sydneykid has cover pretty much everything. At the end of the day, money makes all the decision. You should sit down and do your budget and the future plan for the car before making such decision. However for street application I would go with rb26 top end on rb30/31 bottom end with correctly matched turbo just because of the better low rev range response.

I think sydneykid has cover pretty much everything.  At the end of the day, money makes all the decision.  You should sit down and do your budget and the future plan for the car before making such decision.  However for street application I would go with rb26 top end on rb30/31 bottom end with correctly matched turbo just because of the better low rev range response.

That makes sense, but... on the street? Seriously on the street an asmatic RB20 can get you into trouble. How much low end power do you need in a road car. An RB31 with RB26 head with correctly matched turbo, im guessing at a minimum its going to have 260rwkws and grunt in the mid range.

If you are racing then i say build an RB30. If its a road car then i say save your money and enjoy driving it :cheers:

LOL...I dont know what the point of this post is :Oops: just think ppl sometimes place too much emphasis on getting such a power ful engine that you cant enjoy it on the street. My old SR20 Pulsar was great, you could row thru gears and revs without doing anyting too illegal. I hate to think the tommfullery id get up to in an RB31 :)

About the cheapest ultimate street setup i can think of is an RB25 with a 2530, it was wild :headspin:

The RB20 sump is a minor mod to fit on the RB26 to clear the oil pick up, the RB20 wiring is easy to add the few wires and connectors needed and the GTR ecu does plug in the same.

No RB20 heads do not fit Rb25-26-30 bottom ends, the studs are in the same place but not much else so this story is misleading as all the water passages need to be welded up and re drilled plus other mods and the tiny valves make it a waste of time.

:confused: Buy a big ass turbo, bigegr injectors and cams to make a peaky but fun 250rwkws at about 1.3 -1.4 bar

OR

Install a dead stock RB26 with std injectors, std turbos etc etc and make an easy 250rwkws ar 1-1.1 bar.

Hate to say it but the RB26 looks like a done deal. Chatting to a guy down here running an RB26 with std RB20 box, its lived for around 6 months and it sounds like he knows how to enjoy the cars performance. ;) The gearbox and front pipes/dump pipes add some cost though.

R32 GTST with RB26 would rock, good brakes, good susp, good power and reasonable weight at around 1350kg

:confused: Buy a big ass turbo, bigegr injectors and cams to make a peaky but fun 250rwkws at about 1.3 -1.4 bar  

OR

Install a dead stock RB26 with std injectors, std turbos etc etc and make an easy 250rwkws ar 1-1.1 bar.

Hate to say it but the RB26 looks like a done deal. Chatting to a guy down here running an RB26 with std RB20 box, its lived for around 6 months and it sounds like he knows how to enjoy the cars performance. ;)   The gearbox and front pipes/dump pipes add some cost though.

R32 GTST with RB26 would rock, good brakes, good susp, good power and reasonable weight at around 1350kg

:whackit:

and you can run your std rb20 box into the ground while you save for that R33GTSt box...

But RB26 seems the logical choice...i was only saying to someone yesterday that i wish Nissan had stayed true to the RWD philispohy with a 1350kg RWD GTR with pumped aluminium guards and RB26.

your wish has been granted and will be complete for Autosalon Final battle :wassup:

:confused: Buy a big ass turbo, bigegr injectors and cams to make a peaky but fun 250rwkws at about 1.3 -1.4 bar  

OR

Install a dead stock RB26 with std injectors, std turbos etc etc and make an easy 250rwkws ar 1-1.1 bar.

Hate to say it but the RB26 looks like a done deal. Chatting to a guy down here running an RB26 with std RB20 box, its lived for around 6 months and it sounds like he knows how to enjoy the cars performance. :D   The gearbox and front pipes/dump pipes add some cost though.

R32 GTST with RB26 would rock, good brakes, good susp, good power and reasonable weight at around 1350kg

They were exactly my thoughts roy.

I had a drive in a mates GTR the other week, and while he only produces about 15rwkw more than me, the RB26 is just so much more drivable than the RB20. sure mine is heaps of fun, and has been seriously reliable, but the RB26 feels so much greater, and the potential for more power and easy mods is there. it has a shitload more torque down low too.

I just cant justify spending any more on my RB20 when i should just get an RB26.

considering the sale of my RB20 and 2530 turbo, it would be fairly cost effective.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • Check the injectors flow evenly, and are actually flowing what you and the ECU think they should be flowing. If it's starting up on starter fluid, you have a fuel issue. Is it possible under cranking your fuel pump is turning off?   The harness you replaced, is that the whole engine harness? Do yourself a test, and drop the old harness on and plug it into the Z32 ECU. It's possible they've wired things different. From memory S1 to S2 is different in RB25 and you may have a wrong loom
    • I haven’t pulled the injectors to watch them spray yet but they are clicking from the cas and all of the spark plugs are wet with fuel. I’ve thought the cylinders were being flooded from the beginning and was hoping fuel pressure would fix it. Tonight I am going to pull the rail and watch the injectors spray. Don’t know how to test/diagnose if the plugs are firing in correct sequence but that should be a timing thing and as far as timing goes my car still has the half moon for the cas can only install it 1 way. And my mechanical timing is 100% correct I posted photos above. Confirmed with the balancer on and off. 
    • I checked spark on all cylinders and they all visually have spark with the plug pulled and grounded, but plug 1 is the only one that fouled. This was a running swap that blew up and was rebuilt by a machine shop, put a new wiring specialties harness and did all gaskets, studs, and bolts while it was out.  compression is 135-150 across all cylinders. Aside from that from my understanding with the z32 ecu and maf the car should start regardless. The wiring for TPS and the dual 02 sensor/ dual knock sensor stuff shouldn’t actually stop the car from starting or even running well, (just slightly rich)  they just give fault codes. Car supposedly is supposed to start as long as you have z32 afm and ecu with the nistune base map and that’s info coming from a well known and trusted tuner who does a lot with SR/RB (Rsenthalpy). After more trouble shooting today where I’m at right now is that the cas is sending signal to the injectors they click while spinning the rotor, Fuel pressure is now set at 43psi, all cylinders have good compression and all of the plugs looked great (just wet with fuel) except for cylinder 1 which was very black (cylinder 1 has 150psi compression). all of the coils generate spark if pulled out and grounded out on the head. On the fuel pump car just pops into the exhaust. On starting fluid car will fire off. Hard to tell if all cylinders are firing off but definitley a couple. sounds like all of them but it’s only for 3-5 seconds hard to tell. 
    • Final update!!! Got the front bar fitted and sprayed and all sorted now. My cutouts worked great and the indicators aren’t just falling off. 😂  
    • Is this a brand new LSD? if so, have you followed any break/bed in procedure for it? Usually involves heaps of figure 8 patterns, a fluid flush.
×
×
  • Create New...