R33 Rb30 Conversion

[r_speedfreak_r]

hey guys. i've had alot of people tell me if you want to ditch the vct and get two adjustable cam gears you need to buy an na head. But i pulled my cams off the other day and to me it looks like it's got a solenoid that opens an oil passage which goes into the vct actuator and changes the angle. i got hks cams on the way surely i could just put two adjustable cam gears on keep the vct actuator off and disconnect the solenoid that opens the oil passage. can anyway confirm or deny this?

[Spoolup]

yes its quite easy. The r33 head requires to have the little brass plug ( do da ) removed so the front cam bearing gets oil.

The R34 head like Im using requires nothing - just unplug the solenoid.

What size cams are you planning to run ?

[r_speedfreak_r]

HKS 256 Degree, in 8.8 lift HKS 264 Degree, ex 9.0 lift with tomei valve springs. i'm not really sure on all the modifications required to the head for the hybrid but i know one of the employees at 101 and he recommended me to an engine building workshop to get all my machining done so i'm assuming hell know what to do.

[Cubes]

Cruising around ct.com I came across kyles ask tech questions thread.

Inside he had this little bit of helpfull info for those home builders. Mainly the oiling mods.

Now, as for the engine internal stuff, I strongly recommend King Bearings, do some research on their website, the top layer is 17 TIMES thicker than a trimetal bearing, they can also take twice as much heat. You need to run big clearances on an RB to keep the big ends alive, I run 2.5 thou on the mains and 2.2-2.75 thou on the conrods, depending on quality of the rods. There is also oiling system mods that need to be done, such as radiusing all the oil galleries, and drill the main oil feeds out to 7mm with a long shank 7mm drill. Also need to match the new 7mm oil gallery to the bearing shell, which doesn't line up with the hole properly. All of these will prob need to be done by a competent engine builder, but in my opinion, are vital to a good healthly RB.

As for components, you simply can't go past Spool rods and CP pistons. Cp's are widely regarded as the best in the world in piston design and manufacture, they aren't any dearer than most pistons(other than some of the crap no name brands), so thats a given, and they only make 1 off teh shelf RB30 piston, which has a compression ratio of 8.2:1. Spool rods have been tested by Luke at Tighe engineering, who had a company they use for metal testing do some material testing on a spool rod. The test results came back that the material met or exceeded all requiremtns of 4340 chromoly, and was unbiased and not paid for in any way by the manufacturer. While some of the others on the market may very well be as well, how can you beat $890 and proof they are legit?? I'd rather go that than some eagles or similar that I don't know anything about.

[r33_racer]

kyles going around telling everyone the secret to bottom end life....haha. Only thing he left out was grooving the big end oil gallery so you can use gtr bearings on the mains with the multiple feeds. Unless thats what he meant by radiusing the oil galleries.

[Careless]

kyles going around telling everyone the secret to bottom end life....haha. Only thing he left out was grooving the big end oil gallery so you can use gtr bearings on the mains with the multiple feeds. Unless thats what he meant by radiusing the oil galleries.

i always thought to radius oil/water passages was the same as chamfering at.. e.g say,... a 60 degree angle or so, to aid in oil distribution.

[r33_racer]

i always thought to radius oil/water passages was the same as chamfering at.. e.g say,... a 60 degree angle or so, to aid in oil distribution.

Yes that makes sense...if you call it chamfering.

[r33_racer]

well after lots of arguing between the team we finally decided to that inorder to keep up with some of the faster cars out there since were having trouble getting the weight out of it we need more hp!

So the next motor will definetly be 9.0 cr or close enjoy. usual cp pistons and maybe brads spool rods perhaps. Thinking 1mm oversize intake and 2mm oversize exhaust. Run some wild cams and have the hydraulics converted to solid and hopefully make another 50-80hp.

Edited May 21, 2007 by r33_racer

[Scooby]

yeah it was a pretty restless night. couldn't believe how quickly it caught, ran and idled smoothly - pretty much straight way, with instant pressure. at least if it's a dog on the dyno I can turn it into a giant water pump and use the RB26 to run it. just got to concentrate on the niggly things that are bound to arise. last night was filling it with coolant, then heard it hitting the floor - thinks oh fark what's that - and it was the banjo that goes into the block - about .5 of a thread too long and the washer didn't seal. running long dumps so getting it out was a bugger, but an hour later and with some judicious application with a hacksaw no more leaks.

so...after months of waiting the day started well...excellent flatbed operator Eurotow took it to exhaust place...exhaust place actually called me just before it was ready, just as i asked, so i could get out there and take it straight next door to the dyno...perfect dyno run to only 4500 rpm on stock ecu produced 176 rwkw @10 psi, afrs great...get home and front turbo makes noise like a vacuum cleaner winding down.

turbos off - lots of fun with long style dumps. there's oil in the feed and return lines, so lack of oil that doesn't seem to be the problem. turbos now on the way to GCG. spoke to Brett and when i said 'new motor' he said they'd like a dollar for every time someone bought new bb turbos, put them on a new motor, and got crap in the feedline from the rebuild that blocked the .6mm oil feed orifice and stuffed the turbo. i don't know if this is the problem with mine yet or not, and they were 2nd hand although from a trusted source and checked out by gcg before purchase.

Brett recommended using plain bearing turbos for run in if possible to avoid this (looks over to plain bearing turbos on side of RB26 on engine stand in garage) and also suggested running filters in the feed lines.

fun and games. oh, and $

[Craved]

Oh that sucks Scooby.

i learnt from B-Man's mistake with his rb25 and 3040 setup, he had the same thing happen to him

i run a small inline filter from motorsport connections on my feed line.

[sky30]

so...after months of waiting the day started well...excellent flatbed operator Eurotow took it to exhaust place...exhaust place actually called me just before it was ready, just as i asked, so i could get out there and take it straight next door to the dyno...perfect dyno run to only 4500 rpm on stock ecu produced 176 rwkw @10 psi, afrs great...get home and front turbo makes noise like a vacuum cleaner winding down.

turbos off - lots of fun with long style dumps. there's oil in the feed and return lines, so lack of oil that doesn't seem to be the problem. turbos now on the way to GCG. spoke to Brett and when i said 'new motor' he said they'd like a dollar for every time someone bought new bb turbos, put them on a new motor, and got crap in the feedline from the rebuild that blocked the .6mm oil feed orifice and stuffed the turbo. i don't know if this is the problem with mine yet or not, and they were 2nd hand although from a trusted source and checked out by gcg before purchase.

Brett recommended using plain bearing turbos for run in if possible to avoid this (looks over to plain bearing turbos on side of RB26 on engine stand in garage) and also suggested running filters in the feed lines.

fun and games. oh, and $

What turbos you using? what RPM they on full boost?

[Scooby]

Craved: motorsport connections you reckon? i'll look them up on the web. thanks

Sky30: i'm using R34N1s, contemplating getting them high flowed if the noisy one has to be rebuilt anyway. not sure of rpm, have been meaning to find out. 100km/h was at 4500 rpm. max boost was at 85km/h. i'm thinking 3rd gear.

Cheers

[shanef]

Craved: motorsport connections you reckon? i'll look them up on the web. thanks

Sky30: i'm using R34N1s, contemplating getting them high flowed if the noisy one has to be rebuilt anyway. not sure of rpm, have been meaning to find out. 100km/h was at 4500 rpm. max boost was at 85km/h. i'm thinking 3rd gear.

Cheers

Motorsport Connections: 02 9838 7272

I'm keen to hear what ur power figure is like with the N1's with the final tune!

[Scooby]

me too!

thanks for the number Shane.

ps bloody twin turbo pipe still hits - just - at the point above where the second turbo joins. least of my concerns, easily fixed. removing the twin turbo boss helped a lot though.

[Craved]

MSCN.com.au - but they dont have those filters on the web .. but from memory they are about $100 each but are reuseable(cleanable mesh insert) you may be able to find cheaper ones.

[BAMR33]

Hey guys just wondering when people state they have they have a 'stock' rb30 bottom end ie. sky30, pus16, 88silhouette making big power. Do they mean untouched or rebuilt with stock internals plus all the basics things bearing, rings etc. Just want to get a few opinions, as I'm looking at building an rb25/30 as a spare engine/time filler and want to know what's best way to do it without breaking the bank and yet have something that will last.

[mr_rbman]

Hey guys just wondering when people state they have they have a 'stock' rb30 bottom end ie. sky30, pus16, 88silhouette making big power. Do they mean untouched or rebuilt with stock internals plus all the basics things bearing, rings etc. Just want to get a few opinions, as I'm looking at building an rb25/30 as a spare engine/time filler and want to know what's best way to do it without breaking the bank and yet have something that will last.

can't speak for the others but i know sky30's isn't rebuilt (roughly 300,000kms i think its up to now), if u want somethng to last but not break the bank personally i would rebuild your rb30 to standard spec, just a bit more reassurance in my mind.

[Scooby]

got the dreaded phone call today. noisy turbo had worn bearing and seal, needs machining and oversize seal. other one - not noisy - has worn bearing. had them checked and given stamp of approval by same turbo shop before purchase. 20 km later, stuffed. go figure. waiting for advice on if it looks like there has been oil starvation.

been quoted $650 for a basic rebuild, plus $400 for parts. each. not sure why one needs less work but is still the same to repair. and this is a 'reduced' price apparently.

YAY!

anyone know if this sounds reasonable? cost is not much behind new equivalent Garretts, but not sure it's worth the extra over rebuilt ones.

Cheers

[r33_racer]

unlucky scooby! There is always problems....its quite annoying.

I need a little bit of info so i can work out the cr for this new motor....

Does anyone know what the std compression height is from gudgeon centre to deck...is it 1.300" or 33.02mm? I know the cp's all have a comp height of 1.280" and the 9:1 pistons have a 6cc dome. But i have a set of acl rb25 pistons and was going to see if i can use them to get a 9:1cr in this new motor.

[Rolls]

got the dreaded phone call today. noisy turbo had worn bearing and seal, needs machining and oversize seal. other one - not noisy - has worn bearing. had them checked and given stamp of approval by same turbo shop before purchase. 20 km later, stuffed. go figure. waiting for advice on if it looks like there has been oil starvation.

You'd think if it was such a common problem they'd inform all buyers that are using them on new motors. Sucks but now that its happened to you its probably much less likely to happen to anyone else thats thread this.