Rb26 Turbo Choice And Rebuild Options

[A31cefiro]

hey guys,

basically, ive been offered a rebuildable RB26 out of an R32 GTR for $2000, it did a big end bearing. basically ive been told i will need a new crank (or get the old one tested or redone somehow), rods, pistions, bearings, etc. the package includes everything minus the turbos. (so has loom, plenum, afms, etc)

do you guys think this is a good price for the engine? and how much for a basic rebuild kit, im just looking for tourqe rather than outright power.

he also offered me R34 GTR turbos (not N1s), for around a grand for a pair thats only done 12,000kms. what kind of power will i be looking at with this setup?

the car is being used primarily as a track car (A31 Cefiro), with mainly drift days but also sees the occasional track day. the car already has a 3 core alluminium radiator and oil cooler which i assume i can reuse with the RB26 even if the pipes need a bit of custom fabrication.

any information would be really helpful as im new to the RB26

cheers

Phil

[paulr33]

other guys will have some better specs and prices but on memory a rb26 rebuild will set you back around 5k at least. once youve done that you would be mad to fit ceramic exhaust wheel turbo's on a newly rebuilt engine

[A31cefiro]

the R34 GTR turbos are steel wheel, so thats not an issue, but if i can get something better that will suit my application then ill go for those instead

cheers

[Blitz]

the R34 GTR turbos are steel wheel, so thats not an issue, but if i can get something better that will suit my application then ill go for those instead

cheers

Have you seen Sewid is selling immaculate R34 GTR turbos for $870?

Cant go past em' for that price

Check the for sale section

[paulr33]

only N1's are steel wheeled. the other 34GTR twins are ceramic wheel

[A31cefiro]

interesting, the ones hes got are deffinetly steel wheel, but the exhaust housing says .48, which i thought was standard GTR rear housing, instead of .64 for an N1 specification.

thanks for the info guys.

also does anyone think that 2grand for the engine is a good price?

[wrxhoon]

As long as you know you cant buy new cranks from Nissan for RB26. Depending on how bad the crank is you may not be able to re-use it, dont forget you can only go 10" thou ( 0.25 mm ) undersize.

For $5 k you will get a very basic re-built at best, depending on what it needs to be done so budget for more.

$2 k for a 32 RB26 is ok as long as its re-useable .

If you do buy it and you want some good forged pistons and rods i have a set of brand new Tomei 87mm forged pistons and Tomei rods, you can have for $3400.

Edited May 22, 2006 by wrxhoon

[A31cefiro]

cheers for the info 'wrkhoon' ill consider those rods and pistons if i take the engine

cheers

[Quinny]

You may be better off getting an RB30 bottom end and swapping the RB26 top end over to that. RB30's are really cheap, and you will have a 3.0L Twin cam, twin turbo. Nice....

Paying $2k for the twin cam head and turbos etc is still a good price.

Edited May 23, 2006 by Quinny

[A31cefiro]

so your saying, grab a VL bottom end, get a forged kit for it and wang the RB26 head onto it? is there a thread on going about doing this kind of modification and the tricks of getting it done? also what about the templates for all the oil/water pumps etc, are the mounting points the same?

cheers for any info guys

[Quinny]

It is very popular with the VL Turbo boys to do an RB25 or RB26 head onto the RB30ET. Apparently it is a very straight forward conversion. There is heaps of info about it on the Street Commodores forum, maybe have a look there, maybe try the calaisturbo forum as well.

The RB30 bottom end is already quite tough too, if you ar not going for stupid power, you probably won't even need the forged kit. There have been VL Turbos know to runs 10s on the standard bottom end on stupid boost (like 20psi). But, I suppose it is a good idea seeing as you already have the engine apart to fit forged rods/pistons.

Here is a couple of links, they might help you a bit. I am sure there is more to be found with a little searching. Sorry if linking to other forums not allowed.

http://forum.streetcommodores.com.au/showt...d.php?t=8464989

http://forum.streetcommodores.com.au/showthread.php?t=10231

http://forum.streetcommodores.com.au/showthread.php?t=44332

Edited May 23, 2006 by Quinny

[CEF11E]

Another vote for RB30 bottom end...

Get a series 2 block from a R31skyline and rebuild it with standard internals. If you use a RB30ET you will have a lower CR.

the rebuild will cost you $2000 once you have bolted the RB26 head on. Then bolt the N1 turbos on and you will have a super responsive 3 litre. you will even be able to run the standard ECU for run in and possibly for tuning.

Don't bother rebuilding the 26 bottom end sell it and use the money to buy a RB30 bottom end.

[A31cefiro]

wouldnt using a turbo bottom and with a 26 head create too low of a compression ratio? i wouldve thought running an NA bottom end with a turbo head wouldve provided a compression ratio close to 8.5 or so.

anyway, my mind is almost made up, time to 3 litre the ceffy. going to the wreckers tomorrow and see how much i can pick up an RB30 for

seems ALOT cheaper to do an RB30 bottom end than to simply rebuild the 26.

Edited May 23, 2006 by A31cefiro

[Quinny]

wouldnt using a turbo bottom and with a 26 head create too low of a compression ratio? i wouldve thought running an NA bottom end with a turbo head wouldve provided a compression ratio close to 8.5 or so.

anyway, my mind is almost made up, time to 3 litre the ceffy. going to the wreckers tomorrow and see how much i can pick up an RB30 for

seems ALOT cheaper to do an RB30 bottom end than to simply rebuild the 26.

If you are going for forged rods & pistons, then it doesn't matter what compression the stock bits will give you. The main thing you need is the block and crank. Just get your pistons to suit whatever compression you want.

Rebuilding an RB30 bottom end with forged pistons & rods will probably be cheaper, and you end up with a 3lt engine, with RB26 go-fast bits. I reckon that is definitely the way to go.

One thing you might want to check is what gearbox you will be using and how easily it will bolt up the the RB30 block. I am not too sure on that one, quite a few commodores just use the VL Turbo box, but others have used RB25 Skyline boxes etc. I am sure you will work something out.

Edited May 23, 2006 by Quinny

[CEF11E]

have a look at the RB30 sticky at the top of the page.

rebuild the bottom end stock using R31 new pistons and rings, bearings and VRS kit.

just get them balanced and get the rods balanced. it will provide you with enough headroom to safely max out the N1's

you will not even need a new strut brace due to the RB26 intake manifold being on the side:)

goodluck with the rebuild...... mmmmmm sexual cefiro 3.0 power

you are going to be beating off tha chix

[BOOSTD]

Yep RB30 block is the go !!

torque = good drift

[Turbz_13]

vl rb30's are weaker than the rb26's...take that into account if u want massive power. have you considered a 2.8L stroker kit for it

Edited May 23, 2006 by Turbz_13

[A31cefiro]

i wouldnt think the strengh would matter so much, using a forged bottom end, and the engine not having to rev so high to make power. also the fact that im only looking for tourqe and response for sliding a car around. and with a 3 litre bottom end im pretty sure i can retain low end tourqe and make a fair bit of power in the process.

but of course im looking at both options at the moment. it just seems so frightingly expensive to rebuild an RB26 lol. although the engine has only done a big end bearing. he recons the crank is a little stuffed and will need new rods and pistons. so rebuilding the 26 with stock parts could be an option, as there is a set of rods/pistons and crank going for $400 in the classifieds, then just get new bearings and clean everything up. im sure it could be done on the cheap seeings as i dont plan on going with huge turbos.

Phil

[paulr33]

"...vl rb30's are weaker than the rb26's"

what's that based off?

[Quinny]

vl rb30's are weaker than the rb26's...take that into account if u want massive power. have you considered a 2.8L stroker kit for it

I reckon there is a few drivers of very quick VL Turbos that would disagree with you there. A 2.8L stroker kit would be way more expensive than just using an RB30 block & crank.

The RB30 crank is indestructible, no-one makes a forged crank for them because they just don't need it. The stock rods and pistons can cop a hiding, but it is probably a good idea to go forged just to make sure you don't have to do it twice.

I happen to know where there is an N/A RB30 from an R31 Silohette engine sitting around, which is going cheap. If you are in NSW, let me know if you want one.