How to turbo your N/A

[Nickzke]

can i swap over to rb25det fuel pump and injectors without needing a ecu / emanage tune?

[Samon]

can i swap over to rb25det fuel pump and injectors without needing a ecu / emanage tune?

No. It will just run mega rich and chew through a tank of fuel in record time - the bigger injectors are there to cope with the extra air flow, you will need an ECU tune to only use the full capacity when required.

[blk94r33]

Few questions, I have almost everything sorted, but am having trouble with one water line so am looking at tapping the heater lines:

1. How are people plumbing their water lines, ie: are you using one heater line so the coolant leaving/entering the heater core flows through the turbo then back (in-line with ONE heater hose, sort of like series) or "tee-ing" into both and running the turbo in "parallel"?

2. If using the above in-line method, does anyone know which heater hose is the return/feed to the engine? And is it possible to tee into one line, and use the factory return line to the block beneath the exhaust manifold without any other issues?

3. Is there any kind of heater tap/restriction in the heater lines that can prevent coolant flow to the turbo, and needs to be tapped "downstream" of?

4. Finally, what is the internal diameter of the heater lines, from what I can ind it's 5/8th's correct?

Cheers, Josh

[blk94r33]

Found some of the answers:

....The water supply for the turbo was T-pieced into the heater line just before the heater tap, and returned into the block via the standard banjo fitting...

Where specifically is the heater tap?

Which line did you tap into? Upper or lower (on the firewall)?

And can anyone confirm which line is feed and return for the heater? I'd guess the one with the heater tap is the feed line?

[blk94r33]

Anyone??

[blk94r33]

Bump

[Samon]

Hey mate, been a while since I did the RB25DE+t conversion, but I'll have a go at answering your questions...

I took the water from the heater line on the firewall, just behind the head and slightly to the drivers side, just before the heater tap (which is just there, you'll see it, got a little cable moving the tap itself). Yes, it is this one which is the feed, you'll obviously need to add your t-piece in before the heater tap (i.e. on the drivers side of the tap) so tat it still gets water when the heater tap closes.

I returned the water via the standard turbo banjo fitting on the block - now I believe the S1 engines had the water return fittings on the block for both DE and DET, whereas the S2 only had it on the turbo variant, luckily I had a S1 so it was just a case of removing the stock blanking bolt and chucking in the stock turbo water return line one.

Hope that helps!

[blk94r33]

Hey mate, been a while since I did the RB25DE+t conversion, but I'll have a go at answering your questions...

I took the water from the heater line on the firewall, just behind the head and slightly to the drivers side, just before the heater tap (which is just there, you'll see it, got a little cable moving the tap itself). Yes, it is this one which is the feed, you'll obviously need to add your t-piece in before the heater tap (i.e. on the drivers side of the tap) so tat it still gets water when the heater tap closes.

I returned the water via the standard turbo banjo fitting on the block - now I believe the S1 engines had the water return fittings on the block for both DE and DET, whereas the S2 only had it on the turbo variant, luckily I had a S1 so it was just a case of removing the stock blanking bolt and chucking in the stock turbo water return line one.

Hope that helps!

Hey mate, cheers for your reply.

Had a good read through the workshop manual, and established that:

-The line that goes beneath the exhaust manifold is actually the feed line, not return, the return line runs to the intake manifold, behind the head.

-The heater "feed" hose, is the one that eventually connects to the "rear" of the throttle body, closest to the firewall.

So i'm sure I can get something together.

I've looked and looked, is the heater tap the plastic piece that all 4 hoses run to directly behind the cylinder head, mounted to the firewall? As it doesn't look like any heater tap i've ever seen.

[blk94r33]

Hi all

DE+T is finally (almost) up and running, took the car to get the intercooler piping made up at 2pm today, quite excited, and thought i'd try to do a bit of a write up of my experience. My car is a Series 1 R33 2 door, RB25DE.

Had already upgraded to platinum plugs, yellowackets and a Walbro fuel pump previously.

Almost all parts were sourced from the forum, with only a few new bits being required. Rough cost breakdown (including freight):

Turbo (370cc) injectors, rail and regulator, stock exhaust manifold, and stock BOV, ~$200

R33 standard intercooler, ECU, oil and coolant feed lines, crossover pipe, some piping/joiners ~$125

R34 NEO turbo, ~75,000km, banjo bolts to suit ~$450

Dump, front, and standard intake pipe ~$120

New bits:

Gasket set (manifold, turbo, dump, front pipe, turbo oil return pipe, turbo outlet) ~$78

Fittings/hoses/sealant, nuts/bolts etc ~$100 (fair estimate)

Stuff you will NEED, but might not buy:

Copper washers for the bango bolts on the oil/coolant lines.

Depending on your car, a way to return the used oil form the turbo to the sump, remember it's gravity fed.

Nuts and washers to hold the dump pipe and turbo inplace, factory nuts secure the manifold and front pipe.

CRC/WD40/Inox-will save alot of pain.

12mm ratchet ring spanner to remove the top of the intake manifold, f*** doing it any other way, I found this easiest.

I think that's everything there, so far ~$1100

All up I think the conversion took me about 10 hours, could have been alot quicker, but I didn't have EVERY part I needed handy such as sealant, nuts, bolts, hoses, clamps etc that I had to source, and making up a water return line, "T-eeing" in the oil return line, BOV, IAC lines, etc etc all takes time. Having a complete RB25DET (blown engine in a shell for example) would have been ideal and quicker.

Now to fit everything.

I started by taking off the exhaust heat shield, and drowning every visible exhaust fastener in Inox (WD40, CRC), to give them time to soak, same underneath the car.

Removed the top section of the intake manifold, out with the old fuel rail assembly, and in with the new rail ready to go with injectors and regulator.

I did try to remove the injectors to change over the pintle caps as some were damaged, but couldn't remove them without risking breaking them.

Refitted the top section of the intake manifold.

Now the important bit. Removed the oxygen sensor, unbolted the front pipe and standard manifold with NO breakage! Gave the head and manifold a thorough clean with carby cleaner and scotch brite, for some reason the maniold would not fit straight on, so had to die grind out some of the stud holes. New gasket on with some copper maxx sealant, and tightened the manifold to the head using the oldnuts and washers.

Removed the blanking bolts for the oil and coolant feed, caught the coolant. Fitted the turbo with a new gasket, and had to buy nuts and washers to fit it into place.

Now things got difficult and time consuming. The stock coolant and oil feed lines went straight into place with the banjo bolts and new washers. The coolant return line i had to make. I used a 18mmX1.5mm to 1/2" barb fitting on the turbo, into a 1/2" heater line fitted with a unicoil and 300mm section of 1" hose over it to protect it from the exhaust. This then ran into the top radiator hose, I had previously fitted an after-market temp gauge, and tapped another 1/2" barb fitting into the gauge sender adapter to return coolant from the turbo.

The oil return was fun too. The VCT oil drain rubber hose is 5/8", the turbo drain line is 3/4". I teed into the VCT return line from the head using a 5/8" t-piece, then cut and shrunk down the standard metal fitting off the turbo, and connected the t piece to the VCT line using oil and heat proof hose (has about a 6mm wall thickness, and doesn't kink easily.) This worked ok, and the fitting is lower than the turbo, will have to wait to see how it works, but didn't get smoke on cold startup or idle through to running temp.

Dump and front pipe bolted directly in. I think my rear pipe is standard, only the muffler has been changed.

Intercooler was mounted in front of the drivers wheel using a bracket made out of strips of 2mmX25mm sheet metal. I didn't want to cut holes in the engine bay to run the cooler, and after talking to the piping guy, decided this was the best spot as it would simplify and cheapen the piping.

The stock intake hose is no good with the stock airbox (too short, wrong angles), one is being made up and having bungs for the BOV and breathers welded in. ECU is a simple unbolt and swap job.

Primed oil pressure, started the car, re-filled and bled the cooling system, checked the whole set-up for leaks (thankfully none). Not sure if it's a placebo effect, new exhaust, but the car sounded a bit nicer/tougher. Had to do a temporary fit of the AFM, and limped (idled) down the road for inter-cooler and intake piping. Hopefully tomorrow get to pick it up!

If anyone has any questions post them here and i'll try answer, as I had trouble getting answers prior to the conversion. Will update when i get the car back.

Edited May 11, 2011 by blk94r33

[blk94r33]

Back again!

Got the car back at 4pm on friday, just in time for the weekend! Had to plumb in the BOV return and rocker cover breather, took it to my work, and used the scan tool to take the base timing from ~15 BTDC, down to a measly ~8 BTDC. Sh*t for power, yet nice and safe until I can get it checked for knock, combine that with factory actuator pressure (only getting what I guess to 5-6psi at the engine, as the wastegate line is plumbed directly to the turbo outlet), and the standard GTST ECU running it rich, I doubt the car should go bang any time soon.

The result? Definately worth the time and money. Car has alot more sting, yet the power comes in nice and smooth and holds until redline.

More updates once the timing is set properly and hopefully a power figure!

[Jonno34]

Hey guys,

I've got a R34 25GT in Manual .. Had it for 3 years, and its run about 92 000 kms now .. got it with around 69 or so, never had any problems with it and it runs great.

So far All i've done is ..

high flow panel filter, 2.5" mild steel custom mandrel bent exhaust (gonna need to change the muffler soon), and some wheels and tyres.

The car will be getting some impul sides/rear as well soon enough (needed to change this anyway as I banged up the rear bumper )

Next up will be suspension (new bilstein shocks coming in soon since their already leaking) and a new muffler (swapping the cannon for a nice oval with twin tips since thats gonna crack too!), and I'll keep working on the handling mods .. ie swaybars etc etc for quite awhile since I reckon thats the most important thing

But the car does feel kinda slow, and the modding bug has hit me bad .. and i want some POWAAAAAA

But anyway overall not much work has been done to the car, but since this was my first car I'm kinda attached to it and I really don't want to sell it and get a GTT as most people have recommended, so I was planning to this, since N/A's just dont get much performance out for the money you spend on them!

After reading this thread .. im a bit confused ... did anybody have alot of success with this? It seemed like initially it was all going well and then it went sort of downhill ...

Also, with prices the way they are now, is it now a better option to try and find a R34 RB25DET Engine?

I do know my engine is very reliable though, and as most people have said, working on an engine you know is gonna work well is probably a better idea.

Just wondering how your cars are running now after quite awhile? Is everything still running well?

Also, I get hit by the modding bug pretty bad and quite often, and I get the urge to do more mods, If i was to do this mod using 2nd hand gt-t parts is there anymore room to improve on the RB25DE? Besides changing those 2nd hand gt-t parts for aftermarket parts ... or would I basically be peaking at the 250kw most people have said and stuck there? Cos then maybe its a better Idea to buy a GTT ....

I'm planning on definitely improving the handling/braking first before doing this conversion but just wondering whether this is still considered a good option or if I should really just grow some balls and sell my GT for a GT-T (I would miss my car so bad though )

Also ... in regards to transmission .. if I changed the whole engine to a RB25DET I would need to change the transmission as well right?

Cheers everyone

Jonno

[zebra]

Buy a GT-t

[cannabiscorpse]

Yep- definitely get a Gt-t man, much less hassle, much less money to be spent in the long run, bite the bullet and buy the factory turbo, they are built much better to begin with

[cannabiscorpse]

Yep- definitely get a Gt-t man, much less hassle, much less money to be spent in the long run, bite the bullet and buy the factory turbo, they are built much better to begin with

[blk94r33]

Hey guys,

I've got a R34 25GT in Manual .. Had it for 3 years, and its run about 92 000 kms now .. got it with around 69 or so, never had any problems with it and it runs great.

So far All i've done is ..

high flow panel filter, 2.5" mild steel custom mandrel bent exhaust (gonna need to change the muffler soon), and some wheels and tyres.

The car will be getting some impul sides/rear as well soon enough (needed to change this anyway as I banged up the rear bumper )

Next up will be suspension (new bilstein shocks coming in soon since their already leaking) and a new muffler (swapping the cannon for a nice oval with twin tips since thats gonna crack too!), and I'll keep working on the handling mods .. ie swaybars etc etc for quite awhile since I reckon thats the most important thing

But the car does feel kinda slow, and the modding bug has hit me bad .. and i want some POWAAAAAA

But anyway overall not much work has been done to the car, but since this was my first car I'm kinda attached to it and I really don't want to sell it and get a GTT as most people have recommended, so I was planning to this, since N/A's just dont get much performance out for the money you spend on them!

After reading this thread .. im a bit confused ... did anybody have alot of success with this? It seemed like initially it was all going well and then it went sort of downhill ...

Also, with prices the way they are now, is it now a better option to try and find a R34 RB25DET Engine?

I do know my engine is very reliable though, and as most people have said, working on an engine you know is gonna work well is probably a better idea.

Just wondering how your cars are running now after quite awhile? Is everything still running well?

Also, I get hit by the modding bug pretty bad and quite often, and I get the urge to do more mods, If i was to do this mod using 2nd hand gt-t parts is there anymore room to improve on the RB25DE? Besides changing those 2nd hand gt-t parts for aftermarket parts ... or would I basically be peaking at the 250kw most people have said and stuck there? Cos then maybe its a better Idea to buy a GTT ....

I'm planning on definitely improving the handling/braking first before doing this conversion but just wondering whether this is still considered a good option or if I should really just grow some balls and sell my GT for a GT-T (I would miss my car so bad though )

Also ... in regards to transmission .. if I changed the whole engine to a RB25DET I would need to change the transmission as well right?

Cheers everyone

Jonno

So you've already done/doing the following?:

-Panel filter

-Exhaust

-Wheels.tyres

-Bodykit going on

-Shocks, swaybars

Do you still have the standard gear to change back onto the car, if you bought a GTT?

Your best bet to help weigh up the decision:

-Look around and find out what your car is realistically worth

-As above, but for a GTT

-Factor in what extras will be incurred by the change over: RWC, rego, extra insurance, personal attatchment, etc etc.

-Make a decision

I went with the DE+T as i'd already done alot of work to my car and CBF changing it over. And finding a GTST for the price and condition of my GTS minus mods? Probally not. Along with the fact that adding a turbo to a R33 is a bit cheaper and easier than a 34. Check out WYTSKTY and Dori34's cars as good examples of DE+T potential.

In the end, it's your decision...

[blk94r33]

DP

Edited May 16, 2011 by blk94r33

[Jonno34]

Hey mate, well basically all the mods I've done to the car were almost a necessity ... The shocks were leaking, the rear bumper had a bad dent in it .. its basically how I control my impulsive spending on the car by just restricting myself to modding parts that NEED to be replaced .. well I try to stick to it anyway!

But yeah most of the parts cant really be put back on (they were busted anyway so just got rid of em)

Yeah I figured getting a GT-T would be a whole ton better since it has everything required and has tons more potential .. But itd b a shame to let such a nice 34 GT Go, When I got it it was in near perfect condition and I've taken tons of care to look after it and its only gotten better since then

I've also met someone who basically changed every part of his car to GT-T Parts, transmission, brakes, exhaust, and it was a whole R34 RB25DET engine in there, not a RB25DE+T

But then that would almost defeat one of the main points of keeping my car since I'd be changing to a whole brand new and unknown engine anyway

[blk94r33]

Hey mate, well basically all the mods I've done to the car were almost a necessity ... The shocks were leaking, the rear bumper had a bad dent in it .. its basically how I control my impulsive spending on the car by just restricting myself to modding parts that NEED to be replaced .. well I try to stick to it anyway!

But yeah most of the parts cant really be put back on (they were busted anyway so just got rid of em)

Yeah I figured getting a GT-T would be a whole ton better since it has everything required and has tons more potential .. But itd b a shame to let such a nice 34 GT Go, When I got it it was in near perfect condition and I've taken tons of care to look after it and its only gotten better since then

I've also met someone who basically changed every part of his car to GT-T Parts, transmission, brakes, exhaust, and it was a whole R34 RB25DET engine in there, not a RB25DE+T

But then that would almost defeat one of the main points of keeping my car since I'd be changing to a whole brand new and unknown engine anyway

You seem pretty keen on the DE+T?

As I said, your decision, there's extra risks associated with the conversion, but may work out less than swapping to a GTT. And despite what everyone says, you can't run 20psi through a RB25DET with just a PFC, they will both require the same mods for the same gains...

Does your car have GT-V brakes?

[Hanaldo]

DP. Damn board error messages

Edited May 17, 2011 by Hanaldo

[Hanaldo]

I've also met someone who basically changed every part of his car to GT-T Parts, transmission, brakes, exhaust, and it was a whole R34 RB25DET engine in there, not a RB25DE+T

But then that would almost defeat one of the main points of keeping my car since I'd be changing to a whole brand new and unknown engine anyway

This is what I did. Imported a donor car from Japan that had been in a front end accident. Swapped EVERYTHING over, including little things like brake booster, master/cylinders, etc. etc. Made sense to given the donor car had only done 61xxx kms compared to my cars 140xxxkms. Basically anything that could be swapped, was. At the same time, replaced all gaskets and hoses. Lots of work, lots of headaches. Lots of fun.