Darius

ANVIL the voltages were posted for the DW red 650cc's above. I know it has been a while, but how did your RB run with these lag settings? And did you also change the latency settings "Inj Lag (ms) vs. BatV" to match the DW provided voltages??

I'm running 20 psi on a T04Z on my RB25 and I have yet to max mine SupraTT pump out. It is quiet and I have never heard a hiccup from it. Great pump for the money until you go big with Bosch 040 or 044, or other aftermarket units.

Try coating the coils as already mentioned and see how that works. Splitfires aren't worth the money unless you aren't very mechanically inclined and/or you want a COP setup like stock. I am in the process of swapping my old coils since the epoxy didn't help in the high rpms. I picked up a set of 8 Chevy Corvette LS2 coils for $125USD and mounted them along the firewall with separate spark plug wires. They should blast the splitfires away and provide adequate spark for whatever I throw at them. Plus they have built in ignitors so I can get rid of my RB25 Series 1 ignitor/power transistor unit (PTU) and wire them directly from the ECU.

Is this magic 4* of crankshaft retard the same for aftermarket cams? I have a set of HKS cams and am wondering if the setting changes because the duration and lift are different than the stock cams? I know this is a newb question, but I haven't really researched cam timing and affects of running more/less overlap etc. for a turbo car.

I had the exact same symptomes as you except my car left me stranded 2 hours from home. Parked it and it wouldn't start. It would crank and crank, but not even a sputter. My MAF was working properly and I was getting fuel because I could smell it. After checking every plug, nothing got it to work. I replaced the ignitor module with a known good one, still didn't fire at all. Went to check for spark and as we were checking, for spark with 3 of the coils pulled and the other 3 on the engine, the engine tried to start with 3 cylinders firing and the one plug out was sparking too. Turned out that somehow the power was getting grounded before the coils or wasn't getting grounded at all. After inspection, I still couldn't find anything wrong with the coilpack harness, but it started up and drove all the way home without issue. Totally pissed me off mostly because there was "nothing wrong". Readjust the coilpack harness and confirm the ground loop on the rear coilpack assembly bolt. At least it's free!

There is a guy in the states here that installed one and had issues with the ignition. Triple checked his wiring and ended up removing it and sending it back. I guess he was getting a new one sent out.

Thanks to everyone for the good discussion! I think there might be a little confusion on the engine part of it though. I live in the States, so in this current project I am stuck with an R33 RB25DET with the modifications listed above. The machine work has already been done on the block and head and I have no intentions of changing heads at this point. The next project will have to be the 26/30 hybrid. I have sunk almost $10,000 into the swap (S14) and upgrades so far and am not afraid to spend the money to accomplish my goal. I never considered twin charging simply because I see most guys with RB26's going to a large single setup to reduce plumbing headaches and avoid paying for two new/larger turbos. The full-race manifold is looking more appealing every day, as long as I can keep my A/C because you can't be a baller unless you have huge hp AND ice-cold air! hahaha jk OK so say the exhaust manifold is going to be Full-Race and obviously a large single turbo. Garrett has been my focus because I can get them for the least amount of money and they can still get my to my power goal. Frankly, I don't think a GT30 will have the top end capacity to flow enough air for my power goals. I have not looked at Turbonetics much but I'll check out their line. I have looked at Holset and Borg-Warner turbos, but have read here on SAU that they're better for diesel than gasoline engines. ?? Maybe someone can brief me on why that is.

Right on. I'm not worried about the rods at all. I've seen RB26's pushing 600hp daily and have not had rod issues. I've read the RB25 destruction thread and most blow because of rings or ring lands at about 500hp due to ill tuning. LOL it is funny that you mention full-race because I'm fully aware of their product, but the $2300 price tag makes me flinch. That is a lot of money to spend when I could find someone to build me a custom manifold for about half the price and it would be close to equal-length. I'm very serious about the power level as it has been my goal from the beginning of the swap/build. I know the lifters are the weak point, but I don't think I should have to rev a 2.5L turbo motor above 8000 rpms to make 650 hp. I might end up getting the Full-Race manifold if my tax return is large enough. I can't look at bigger cams because I'm not going to pull the head again to machine the head to fit the higher lift cams. I will simply have to live with what I have and make 650 with that. Thanks for the informative responses discopotato and GeeTR.

I am debating on what turbo to upgrade to on my RB25 and am having a difficult time deciding on the GT35R (.82 A/R exh.) or if I need something a step larger?? I have mapped my power goals, but mapping flow seems like taking a stab in the dark. I'm looking for 600-650hp=450-485kW on a car used in drag racing and highway pulls. The following modifications have been done: Stock bore Forged pistons (8.5:1 static compression) GTR rods Cometic head gasket Block and head oiling/draining modifications Port and polished head Ferrea 1mm oversized valves Tomei valve springs HKS 256 8.8 mm cams ARP fasteners everywhere Stock hydraulic lifters (rev limit = 8400 rpm) N1 oil pump The intake side and fueling system are going to be upgraded accordingly. Please don't flame me for asking a "which turbo" question because I have researched my ass off, but it just seems like standard practice to throw a 35R on and call it a day. Has anyone had experience with the GT40 vs the GT35R?

The PFC speed signal is from the gauge cluster so it won't read any differently.

Do you know what kind of condition your turbo is in? Could be a bad oil seal on your turbo allowing oil into the compressor housing. Did you plug off the PCV valve on the valve cover? Try running just a breather filter on the outlet side of the catch can and see if that clears up the oil situation. If so, you need to find a better way to remove oil vapor before returning it to the intake or your turbo oil seal needs replacement.

As the topic title says, I am looking into using valve stem caps to take up the tiny bit of slack in the hydraulic lifters due to short valves provided to me by Ferrea. I had to have them custom cut because they do not make a valve for the S1/S2 RB25DET motors, only the R34 RB25DET. I don't want to have to pull my head off and get new valves or a new valve job if I can avoid it. Does anyone have experience in running these or something similar and what are your impressions?

To follow up on this thread, I just installed new lifters to eliminate the easiest fix but it didn't help at all. So now I have 24 lifters that are used and good and a motor that still sounds like a thrashing machine. I think Sydneykid and psiii hit the nail on the head with the improper installed height, because the lifters never made noise earlier when I had the front oil passage blocked. What is the best way to adjust the installed height of the valves because they are obviously too short. Should I back-cut the valves or should I have the valve seat set deeper? I could go with solid lifters I suppose, but I've already got $250 into a valve job, $500 into valves, $300 into springs, and $360 into new lifters. These are U.S. values BTW...I don't really think taking a totally different approach is an option at this point. Maybe the next time around. Thanks for the support guys. I greatly appreciate it.

Wow, just wow. Where do these "shops" learn how to do an RB engine swap? Anyway, how does it run now? All good?

"Did it solve the problem?" is what I'm getting at smart-guy.

My RB25 is making a very similar noise and I am hoping that it's because of some faulty lifters. Sounds like a diesel truck at idle. Any update on the situation?

The RB26 valves stems are much longer than the RB25 w/hydraulic lifters. The RB26 exhaust valves are even longer than the RB25 NEO exhaust valve stems, but the NEO intake valves are longer than the RB26's. In short, there's no easy way to go about converting to solid lifters with an OEM parts mix. A kit is your best bet.

Dobz - I am really only concerned with long duration high rpms possibly during some future autocrossing/track driving, but that will be rare since I don't live near event locations. I may go with a baffled sump in the future, but right now I only want to get the motor running correctly and get a good tune on it. Once I feel comfortable that my build is mechanically sound, then I will upgrade turbo/fuel/IC. I have installed external oil drain lines from the back of the head that will lead to a t-fitting in the turbo oil return line in the future. A baffled sump is something I never really considered necessary, but if it didn't cost me an arm and a leg to get one here in the US I would think about it. Any recommended brands and shops to buy from that ship internationally? RB parts are somewhat scarce here. And for the 700 miles after my build, the car was driven like I was an old man. Nothing near redline at all. I think 4500 rpms was the max I got it up to and that was after 500 miles and two oil changes. I'm thinking that the storage of the lifters for an extended time period and not submerging them in oil caused some to stick/fail when I got it all back together again after I rebuilt my head. And I have always run 10W-30 (dinosaur) during break-in. I'm planning to switch to synthetic once I get the new lifters installed. T04GTR - I am beginning to think its the lifters and am planning on buying a set today. I will keep this thread updated as I go. Thanks guys.

Did you properly gap the new spark plugs to ~0.8mm? Also, make sure the belt didn't skip a tooth.

Yes what I refer to as the "trouble" lifters have anywhere from .1 to .25 mm of valve lash when the cams were installed. I only did this to follow Sydneykid's guide to solving the problem with over oiling the head. There are issues with the sump going dry during periods of extended high revs and oil not being able to return fast enough. Why is it an issue NOW? I drove the car with the stock valves and upgraded cams/springs for 700 miles (two months) and never heard the lifters ticking except initial startup. Out of curiosity, what is the operating temp of the RB25? I have an 84*C thermostat from a VG30 in there now. I ask because the ticking becomes noticeable at about 70*C.

Yep I bled them according to the link that I listed above. And thanks for the reference. I've been calling around to local dealerships and they want $35US each. For at least 14 new ones, that is going to cost me a bundle of money. Anybody have any good hook-ups where I could get them for cheaper? Are OEM lifters worth the money or are aftermarket/OE parts producers okay too. There are some that I have found that are non-NISSAN for $17 each. Anyone have insight?

I've been doing some research online and since the problem is temperature related, it is leading me to believe that the hydraulic lifters are leaking down as the oil thins when hot. I started it with 10W-30 and it was quiet but then got loud as the engine temp rose. Then I replaced the oil with 10W-40 and the engine ran quiet for longer, but still got equally loud as the engine temp got to operating temp. At this point, I am going to replace the lifters and pray that the issue goes away. Anyone have input or comments on this?

HAHAHA When they told you that they were unaware of the issue, they were full of $hit. I and another guy were having ours cut to the proper length for a S1/S2 RB25DET two weeks before you talked to them because they only had NEO sized valves for the solid lifters. I talked to Zeke for about 20 minutes and told him that there's a larger US market for non-NEO RB25's than NEO, but he didn't seem to believe me. I'm having issues with my installed valve height now too and it is either because the valves were not machined to factory specs or my valve job was a little too aggressive.

I too have had issues with the Cometic gaskets not sealing. Viton doesn't seal for $hit as a general material property and head gasket applications are no different. It has a higher temperature resistance than EPDM but not nearly as easy to seal. Even though both my head and block were decked and had mirror finishes to them, I still had a coolant leak on the left rear of the head. The leak was only a seep but it still dribbled a couple drops every time I parked and I didn't want to risk blowing it so I had to pull the head again. Total PITA if you have HKS cams without the head stud recesses to leave the cams in. I'd spend the extra money for anything BUT a Cometic. There is a reason that they are so cheap, it's because they suck. Good for you if you can get it to seal, but most will have troubles without finishing both the head and block.

I did not check the valve stem length because I had them cut by Ferrea according to the FSM. I didn't measure the installed height either because I figured the lifters would expand to rest the lifter on the cam during operation. I measured the valve lash of each lifter bucket prior to removal and again after cleaning and installation. The valve lash did not change much, if at all. I originally thought the lifters were just dirty or stuck and that disassembly and cleaning would allow them to telescope again. Didn't work as I planned. I still think the lifters should be able to expand 0.25mm if given the proper oil pressure and that's why I am curious if the head feed modifications for the RB25 are recommended for hydraulic lifter applications?