Guest pistolpete Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 hey guys iv been looking at an engine swap for my z lady once she is completed. iv given cocideration to most of the jap motors for a swap into the z (83 targa, 2+2), iv settled on the syline motors mainly because they have so much potential and they are readily available here. however as a long term project i would like to build an rb30det, i have the ability, the parts and facilities, iv have got a very good guid how to do it, and support from various web pages and forums but here is my thing...... im not sure what to go about doing when putting it into the z, like iv swapped motors before but never such a custom job, the motor uses the block of an RB30de with the head (and various other parts) of an RB25DET, has any1 here done that swap b4??? or knows somebody who did and could give me a few pointers??? pp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheftrd Posted February 24, 2005 Share Posted February 24, 2005 The RB30 block is a taller block and there will be clearance issues with the hood unless you mount the engine way back and down. Not trying to rain on your parade, but nobody in Japan even messes with the RB30 because you can get more power fron the 26 base with a lot less headache. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pistolpete Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 really? well i guess that was the kinda info i needed before jumping in the deepend. well back to the drawing board i guess. ill have to do some thinking. thnks dude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZROSSA Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 Pete, There was a guy here a while back (RB30z?) that did a na version of a rb30. He was also from aussie. Mabye the rb30 turbo that was in the c/dores has a lower head? That would still meet your objectives and probably be a lot less expensive. Douglas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Timd Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 "but nobody in Japan even messes with the RB30" Far as I know Japan didnt even see the rb30et? Anyway, i cant see why the rb30et or rb30det(25 head) wouldnt fit. Although I must say the rb20 in my 280 is set pretty far back(have to dislocate fingers to get to bellhousing bolts) and still sits quite high with an inlet crossover pipe. My 280zx hauled arse with the rb20det when it was making around 190rwkw. Aiming for 220-230rwkw after rebuild. My point is with a lightly modded rb25det your car will crack. The extra torque of the 25 alone will keep you happy. Hope your diffs up to the task! I would love a 25 in my 280, They are a great motor, try and get a manual box with it they are bullet proof. In the end its up to you, just something to think about. Cheers, Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjfawke Posted February 26, 2005 Share Posted February 26, 2005 People in Japan might not be into the RB30 motors, but the RB25/26 head onto RB30 bottom end is a common build here now for Skylines. The rev limit is a little lower, but the extra capacity is well worth it. Most of these guys are getting around 1000hp reliably. There is at least one Z is Australia with an RB25/RB30 combo with twin turbos (black coupe in Sydney). I know of another motor being built for a Z at the moment (Canberra). There is also at least one Z running an RB30ET, still with the stock manifold. So clearance is not that much of an issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeusEx Posted February 27, 2005 Share Posted February 27, 2005 This is a common argument, Japan had little to do with Rb30s, and aside from that they dont like putting RBs in Zeds cause Zeds have a god like status and RBs come in family cars. The US never saw an RB30, and they hate RB20s, as they got the red top motor, its the silver top you wanted and transplanted into a Z you have a very fast car. But litte torque but thats a driver preference. Alot of guys around here have RB20s and love them (do a search for a thread i started called "happy with an RB20" should answer some quesions. And the whole go buy an RB26 things, cause its easier to get power out of is true, but do you have 8k for an engine alone? RB can get big numbers, rb20 is excellent value for money, and 25 brings more torque and power....rb26 is alittle overkill if you ask me, but im gonna get shot saying that on this forum... As for the RB30 with the RB25 VVTI head, you can get some very good numbers even in NA guise, there is a guy on classic Z car (http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showpost.php?p=113060&postcount=53'>http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showpost.php?p=113060&postcount=53 <-outake, http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4098&page=4&pp=15'>http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4098&page=4&pp=15 <- full page) who cant say enough good things about it. Its a relativley cheap swap with the VVTI head being the most expensive at around 1k (you can get them cheaper) and you could probbaly find a complete RB30 block from a wreckers for 300 bucks with a small warrenty. Id go the combo, but i want to find the head first, as i wont bother doing it without the VVTI head. And of course when foing turbo, you can easily put out 300 HP with stock gear and proper timing. its worth doing a search on here and http://www.classiczcars.com and everyones best friend http://www.google.com.au, lots of people have built the RB30/25 head combo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pistolpete Posted February 27, 2005 Share Posted February 27, 2005 cheers guys yeh id love an rb30 hey iv heard so many good things, just depends on funds and stuff, basically the rb25 parts are going to kick me in the pants i think, ill have to check into what i need cause wreckers here would probs have the motor kicking around somewhere. just a bit worried about mounting the motor and positioning it and stuff, ill have to check it out i reken but as an option what do u guys reken? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tannji Posted February 27, 2005 Share Posted February 27, 2005 what issues with fuel and octane rating would I have in the US if I used the the red or black-topped RB20? I noticed a comment on this from a Auzzie, but am not familiar with their fuel ratings. I dont mind having to pump premium fuel.... but is our premium adequate for this engine? "The only downside is that it doesn't seem to like 96 RON octane fuel - It detonated on me the other day, so back to the 98 RON and poor idle quality...." not familiar with RON...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeusEx Posted February 27, 2005 Share Posted February 27, 2005 well in australia 91 is our normal unleaded....98 is our premium..no idea what 96 is.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zhadman Posted February 27, 2005 Share Posted February 27, 2005 ...but do you have 8k for an engine alone? . RB26's have come way down in price. You can find motors from $2500+ and motorsets from $4000+. I paid $2500 for my R33 and $1200 for the GTS-T transmission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjfawke Posted February 28, 2005 Share Posted February 28, 2005 what issues with fuel and octane rating would I have in the US if I used the the red or black-topped RB20? I noticed a comment on this from a Auzzie' date=' but am not familiar with their fuel ratings. I dont mind having to pump premium fuel.... but is our premium adequate for this engine? "The only downside is that it doesn't seem to like 96 RON octane fuel - It detonated on me the other day, so back to the 98 RON and poor idle quality...." not familiar with RON......[/quote'] The Red/Black top motors are the SR20's - RB20's came in Red and Silver. The R32-onwards RB motors motors have two fuel maps - one for 100 Research Octane Number (RON), and I don't know what the second map expects, but probably 95 RON. The other octane number is the Motor Octane Number (MON). Premium Unleaded (95RON) has an 85 MON, the 98RON fuels are 86MON. The US uses the average of the two numbers, so 93 US is approximate to our 98RON, 95RON is approximate to 91 US. edit : I corrected some RON numbers (96 down to 95). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeusEx Posted February 28, 2005 Share Posted February 28, 2005 RB26's have come way down in price. You can find motors from $2500+ and motorsets from $4000+. I paid $2500 for my R33 and $1200 for the GTS-T transmission. And what country are you in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zhadman Posted February 28, 2005 Share Posted February 28, 2005 And what country are you in? RB26's are that expensive there? I didn't realize there was such a price differential between the two (US and AUS). $8000 AUS is equivalent to ~$6300 US. $6300 is pretty pricey. So... in light of recent evidence... I retract my statement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeusEx Posted February 28, 2005 Share Posted February 28, 2005 Haha, ty To be fair i have only seen a couple that price, because that includes Gbox as well, if you just want the engine i have seen them go for between 5-6k...unsure it that includes loom etc. They are very expensive and a Z would haul just fine with an rb25 in it. Darius is proof that you dont need big turbos to go very very fast... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pistolpete Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 z's are light cars (well 280zx backwards) i think the 280zx's aree the heaviest at like 1200kg or so arnt they? that means that u dont need a stupid amount of power to go pretty quick as for the rb26's here in aus front cut go for around 6.5k as far as i know rb25's from 2.5 and rb20's from about 1k, think sr20's from 2K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeusEx Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 nooooooo Rb25s are like 4k, Tokyo Toys does the conversions for the following; RB20 - 5.5k RB25 - 7k RB26 - ??? The 25 would be the sweet as middle of the road Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalium99 Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 . Darius is proof that you dont need big turbos to go very very fast... Your 100% correct, if anything Darius is proof that you need a big blower... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JAMIE T Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 On a 383 Chevy... Not really a comparison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeusEx Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 It aint THAT big......through the bonnet is big..And yeah cubes are cubes, but we are talking about a primative push rod V8, none of this fancy DOHC p.s i am all for the fancy DOHC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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