pete280z Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 Up to now, I've been planning to build an l28et to put in my 1975 280z. My project requirements have been: 1. straight 6 2. turbocharged 3. ~400 rwhp 4. reasonable reliability Building to those requirements from the L6 platform is looking pretty expensive. The cost of a built longblock and a transmission that can reliably handle my power goals gets pretty close to the price of an rb26 and GT-S transmission. What am I missing? I expect the engine and transmission to run $4000, and another $1000 - $2000 for other items to complete the swap. I've searched and done some research on the rb26 swap, but I'm not familiar with the typical upgrade path for this engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kennysgreen280zt Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 You can do 400hp with a RB25 without too much hassle, and the initial cost is lower. I know there are a few threads kicking around discussing this topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RB26240Z Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 Do a search at skylinesdownunder. As far as price, that all depends if you are going to to do all the work. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wondering Nomad Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 Welcome to my world. I was in the same boat about a month ago. I've done some research and talked to a few members here to try and figure things out. So far it looks like a $10K project depending on your level of involvement with the install. L28ET fits the existing mounts and you can reuse the majority of the items in the engine bay. RB swap will require engine & tranny mounts, driveshaft, intercooler, radiator, custom downpipe & exhaust, upgraded fuel delivery, and a few other items. ~$1.5 - $2.5K Items you'll probably need either way...engine rebuild kit, gaskets, rings. Engine& Tranny combo $4K - $5K Items from above $1.5K $2.5K Misc. $1K - $2K Total (estimate) $6.5K - $9.5K Don't forget about the need to upgrade other items like your differential, brakes, suspension, etc. I'm sure others with much more experience can chime in on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMWHYR0HEN Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 Well I think an rb25det fits all of those qualifications, and the over all swap is much cheaper than the rb26. pretty straight forward it seems... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete280z Posted April 14, 2006 Author Share Posted April 14, 2006 I was actually considering the '25 initially. A few people on this forum that have done the RB25 are saying that in reality the RB26 would only be a few hundred more once you swap the intake and throttle body on the RB25. A few hundred bucks seems cheap for the mystique of "godzilla." More research is in order to find out what the difference in upgrade parts are for the two. RB swap will require engine & tranny mounts' date=' driveshaft, intercooler, radiator, custom downpipe & exhaust, upgraded fuel delivery, and a few other items. ~$1.5 - $2.5K ... snip ... Don't forget about the need to upgrade other items like your differential, brakes, suspension, etc. [/quote'] All true. But these costs are no different than what would be necessary in a 400+ rwhp L28. Upgraded suspension, brakes, wheels, and safety items are going in the car before any engine swap takes place. First things first. edit: oops, didn't see that bit about engine & tranny mounts. Obviously those aren't an issue w/L28 Wondering Nomad makes an excellent point about the rebuild. With the L28 I'll have a newly rebuilt engine as opposed to a used engine in unknown condition with the RB26. I doubt that I'll ever put more than 50k miles on the car once it's swapped, but whatever miles it does get will not be kind. If I go RB26, I'll probably leave the engine as-is until a rebuild is necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ON3GO Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 if you dont mind making things work, fit, making custom this and that and or researching then go with the RB... just so much more advanced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-Gad Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 At those power levels, you'll require an alternate transmission for the L28 as well...just something ELSE to think about... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete280z Posted April 14, 2006 Author Share Posted April 14, 2006 At those power levels, you'll require an alternate transmission for the L28 as well...just something ELSE to think about... Seems like the best option is the GForce T5 conversion. But that's $$$$. That was the tipping point toward considering the RB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stony Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 Well lets see here. First of all the only thing different between a rb25 and a rb26 swap is the initial cost of the motor sets. you will still need all the required support equipment for all 3 motors, Ie intercooler, fuel system upgrade, ect ect Oh and BTW all the stuff that has been asked here and talked about has been answered many times over. BUT just fro the sake of argument... If you have self control and can stick to a plan. The RB26 CAN be done relatively cheap and have more power and reliability then its L28 or RB25 brothers. If you can fabricate then the savings will double. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete280z Posted April 17, 2006 Author Share Posted April 17, 2006 Thanks for your insight guys. Exactly the reality check I needed. I'm well on my way to making an engine decision. My apologies if this thread seems redundant. I've been reading HybridZ regularly for at least 4 years and I'm very aware af how many times basic rb26 and l28et questions come up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wondering Nomad Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 Here's another point...the RB26 will be at your target HP levels in basically stock form whereas the L28ET will be nearing it's max potential. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RB26240Z Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 Good point Nomad. Henry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ON3GO Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 some what true.. 400whp is no where near max in a L28ET.. plus its all about power delivery.. so a 400whp or near L28ET could very well eat up a near stock RB26DETT.. mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wondering Nomad Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 some what true.. 400whp is no where near max in a L28ET..plus its all about power delivery.. so a 400whp or near L28ET could very well eat up a near stock RB26DETT.. mike I don't want to debate this since I'm by no means an expert on either of these motors. That being said... Once you start to reach those kinds of HP figures on an L28, don't you need to start upgrading the internals? It would seem to me that you need to start looking at forged components at around 400HP. I could be totally wrong though. And if you do need to change to forged rods & pistons, you're then looking at another $2K in parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clifton Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 Here's another point...the RB26 will be at your target HP levels in basically stock form whereas the L28ET will be nearing it's max potential. True. An RB26 is about at it's max as far as fuel and turbo at 400rwhp though. An L6 with larger turbo and fuel can easily do 400 reliably with stock internals. An L6 doesn't need anything special to be reliable, just don't run a small turbo and expect big numbers. If you ever want more than 400, the RB26 would definetly be a better choice but you'll need to spend more than the initial swap to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete280z Posted April 17, 2006 Author Share Posted April 17, 2006 Missed this post earlier. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=92455 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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