600hp was on a SR20 with 67mm turbo. It was laggy. Very peaky powerband but it felt great to me. Had the economy of a 2.0L during normal driving but hauled ass at WOT which is all i want the power for. That turbo was full boost around 5500rpm and less tq than a 2.5 would have. I used it for street racing and the only cars around here that could stand with it would be a drag v8. But even then it was only cause they could dead hook off the line using a auto with trans brake. On the highway it was a different story. Was running with 1L bikes majority of the time. It had quite the reputation till i sold the engine back in September. I built that setup for $15k. Thats including the cost of the motor set, building it, different clutches used, tunes, gaskets, little odds and ends like that. Doing the work yourself saves a ton of money.
I totally understand the concept of cubic inches and tq making for a way more responsive setup. In regards to that, I already having the RB fitted into the car, id like to use the platform. I believe in keeping things simple and using the parts internally to handle the power needs. Use the turbo thats gonna meet my flow requirements (doesnt have to be the bees knees, just something that works the way its made to). A proper MAP standalone for tuning. And a proper fuel system. Im not against using nitrous either for spool up if i would get into racing again. For now i just like a fast jaunt every now and then down the highway.
From my understanding with the Journal Bearing and Ball Bearing turbos is the biggest difference being the transient response between shifts. Itll take a second longer to build boost again because of the journal bearing drags the speed of the wheel down during the shift. From what ive seen comparing 67mm journal and ball bearing turbos is not a large difference in spool time at all. Maybe 200rpm. Its just the response during shifts. Im not too worried about that. Once again im not out to win races at the moment. If i were into competing id definitly look at spending the money on a BB unit for the edge.
The Rb30 block is a PITA to find in the states. People overprice them horribly. Id switch to a 2jz before doing that.
I can deal with mid to upper 5000rpm for full boost. Currently ive got a 4.36 rear in my car and will be using a 26x10.5 tire. If revving out to 8500rpm, its got enough gear to reach 150mph in 4th gear. Thats perfect for the trap speed i hope to hit. Ive often thought about going auto but doing so i would need nitrous without a doubt. Sorry if i may have said daily driven. Itll be street driven. Not more than 100-150 miles a week. Weekend warrior for the most part. No sense on putting a shit ton of miles on a built motor.