RB26 stronger internals/rebuild help PLEASE!

[justinfox]

Hi all,

Some of you may already know that I have an oil leak on my RB26 (R32 GT-R). It's under the plenum somewhere that cannot be reached without pulling the engine out.

I've decided to do a full rebuild whilst the engine is out. I am selling my Type-R daily driver next week in the trading post and will use the cash from this for the GT-R so I will have more than enough cash for this rebuild.

I already have bought these parts to go on the car: HKS 2530's, HKS manifolds, Tomei head gasket, Nismo 555cc injectors, HKS fuel pump, Tomei sump baffle plate.

Now I wanted to know what pistons, conrods, cam gears and camshafts to get. Above all I am after reliability and a bulletproof engine for track work.

I'd appreciate advice on what brands of pistons/rods I should be buying. Are there alternatives to Japanese brands? (So far it seems like it's going to be Tomei products all the way).

I will also be machining the head/block and also a port and polish.

Thanks in advance for any help! (HELP!).

[pnblight]

Tomei cams and cam wheels are awesome (i'm running 260 9.15mm)

Arias Pistons seem to be developing a good rep

Pauter,tomei,trust etc take your pick all good

High volume oil pump (take your pick of brands all good)(not an N1)

Custom sump extension 9 litre sump with baffle doors

for the rest of the car

Do you turbo back exhaust system?

Personaly i would have gone 700cc injectors

Apexi pfc and hand controller

4.375 diff ratios frt and rr (gts4)

100mm cooler

custom radiator ~50mm

Oil cooler kit with thermostat

afms (rb20/25 to 540rwhp and z32 above this)

[justinfox]

Cheers, yes I wanted to know about RODS and PISTONS that are not Jap. They seem so cheap, is this because they are not as good?! Arias, Billet etc? I have been told they are not as good as Tomei, but some of you may know better.

I already have exhaust, Power FC is in the car. radiator is done, need new cooler I suppose and damn are my injectors too small? Not on the car yet so may sell them still.

[Roy]

Did you end up sorting out the oil temp thing at the track? With an oil cooler i wouldnt bother with a thermostat, just somehting else to go wrong.

Speak to whoever you plan on using to build your engine. Most Jap pistons/rods are made by the big players, so dont shy away from Carrillo and Argo, and JE, Venolia, Wiseco, Arias, Cosworth etc etc

[doridori32]

Did you end up sorting out the oil temp thing at the track?  With an oil cooler i wouldnt bother with a thermostat, just somehting else to go wrong.

Speak to whoever you plan on using to build your engine. Most Jap pistons/rods are made by the big players, so dont shy away from Carrillo and Argo, and JE, Venolia, Wiseco, Arias, Cosworth etc etc

Carrilo Rods are far better then most japanese brand... compare the prices, much better for your buck.

Argo come second since there nice and cheap and affordable and high durability.

Screw TOMEI.

Petar.

[justinfox]

Oil temps sorted, turned out it was a stuffed up oil temp guage! How's that?!?!?!?!

OK cheers for those brand names (non Jap) I will do some more research into them now.

[justinfox]

PS: Carrillo looks good. Where can I find a stockist in Australia (Sydney prefferable) as all my contacts can only import Japanese goods. Thanks in advance!

[Roy]

Carrilo Rods are far better then most japanese brand... compare the prices, much better for your buck.  

I cant remember which rods i was looking at, LOL...a friend had Apexi and HKS rods for an RB26 in his room, but they were in fact Carrillos...but this debate has done the rounds a thousand times. Some jap engine parts are just farmed out and re-badged by the usual players in that area, just as there turbos are.

Faulty oil gauge...lol...doh.

Cant wait to get back to Sydney for a trip to Eastern Creek, might see you at next Motoconcerpts day

[C_DawG]

PS: Carrillo looks good. Where can I find a stockist in Australia (Sydney prefferable) as all my contacts can only import Japanese goods. Thanks in advance!

Rocket Industries will have most of parts your after, dont trust whats on their site. Speak to them on the phone and they can generally source the required parts. Exact same deal with VPW although they are sometimes cheaper.

Consider SCAT or Eagle rods also.

[pnblight]

well i'm doing a rebuilt with arias piston and pauter rods

arias i seen a couple of nasty engine failures and the pistons survive fine(oil issues)

and the pauter rods have good rep in america and there a alot of guying installing them in the west

both items good valve for $

hope this helps

[justinfox]

GUYS I AM HAVING 2ND THOUGHTS:

What I'm really trying to achieve here is not a massive boost drag car. I want a RELIABLE AND BULLETPROOF (as much as it can be) GT-R that will see the track every month and also be drivable (only a little lol) on the street. I am happy with the power as it is really, a little more would be great so surely these turbos I am fitting will make more power? (I really do not know what to expect guys!).

Perhaps I'm better off spending the cash for the pistons/rods on a massive brake kit instead for what I want to achieve.

The HKS 2530's + HKS Manifolds will surely, at 1bar of boost, give me a lot more power automatically and perhaps I will be happy with that?

So I have a few questions:

What do you guys think about:

A) Just installing all I have bought. (sump baffle plate, 2530's, manifolds, head gasket, injectors, fuel pump, power FC) and tuning the power FC and leaving it on 1bar of boost and running on stock internals

B) Going all the way with conrods, pistons, bolts, port polish, machining etc.

And also, with A) should I get some Tomei poncams + cam gears for more response?

THANKS AGAIN for any help!!!

[hungry6]

Also u might want to look up cunningham rod if you absolutely wants the bees knees of rods for the street, bit pricey though.

[wrxhoon]

Justin ,

With forgies you can run 1.2 -1.3 with your 2530 's , if you are only after 1 bar you could use smaller turbos , 550 injectors are plenty for 1.3 bar boost , nismo or z32 airflow meters will be nice .poncams will be good to give you a bit more mid to top .

As for spending the piston rod money on brakes , yea i would too but the forged pistons are not much more than stockers form nissan , maybe 100 - 200 extra . For track work you most definantly need sump baffles and maybe a bigger sump an oil restrictor would be a good idea too . I wouldnt pull the engine down and put back the same pistons , bearings just to save $1500 now and spend $5000 later to pull it down again .

I have arias 87 mm pistons in mine n1 turbos ( about the size of 2530 's ) and i run 1.2 bar boost on stock rods , stock cooler ( r33 gtr) , stock injectors ( on the limit ) , stock airflow meters ( on the limit ) . I have power f/c and full exhaust ( 3") , stock airbox , stock cams and camgears . I had a couple of runs @wsid 11.7 @121 mph ,you could easyly do better with the above mods as my car is heavier ( r33) .

[pnblight]

wot hp are you running now to give us idea of the level your hoping to achieve

my gtr r33

std internals

garrett 320hp ball bearing turbos

tomei 260 9.15mm cams and adj wheels

sard 700cc injectors

rb20 afms

apexi pfc and hand controller

custom exhaust and inlet

525rwhp 11.3sec 125mph 20psi

so the std internal can take a bit of punishment and your turbos will not wake up till 18psi

(i think this would be your best setting(safe as houses)) but send the money on oil system for track large sump ,oil cooler etc no buts ,and yes you'll most likely get best track results from a good suspension and brake upgrade

[justinfox]

OK guys car when it was dead stock got only 180rwk's. Since then I have put on front pipes, dump pipes, exhaust and boost controller up to 0.95bar of boost. In all honesty I am very happy with the car this way. I love it on track, enough power for sure.

Adding these manifolds + HKS 2530 turbos will gfive me how much more power? I really don;t know. Or have any idea at all here. I already have the turbos. Just waiting to chuck them on! But still deciding whether to just chuck them on or go the whole hog and do the rebuild with stronger internals.

[justinfox]

What kind of power will I achieve with these HKS 2530's? Any ideas?

[pnblight]

i have seen not that i would recomend hks2530 on std internal produce 550rwhp (25psi) thats just to give an indication of potiental (i think this car was running 106 oc fuel tho and is would be a good for to long getting a track pounding)

i'm thinking you might be in the 280 to 300rwhp area at the moment

i think you would be worth put your turbos on with rb20 afm(much cheaper than z32and good to 540rwhp) and injector (700cc) tune to 18psi you should easily make 400rwhp and have a reliable awesome track car on std internals (internals opional up to this level in my opion) but do sump and oil cooler .

you will truely be amazed the difference this will make .

you could then fit cams and adjustable wheels to gain more but the further you go the more need for internals upgrade you will need so get your 400rwhp and just have a ball and sum good running gear instead (tyre r comp, suspenion and brakes)

[Roy]

I wouldnt go too crazy on brakes either, not unless you are finding your existing setup is lacking....definitely a rotor upgradfe, but think long and carefully before going to the expense of a caliper upgrade.

If your engine is coming out to repair the leak, then id say stick with the std rods, i think its about $125 per rod for balancing and linishing.

But grab soem Arias pistons for peace of mind. Combined with some fresh bearings, ARP studs etc and a mild cam upgrade, you will have a very reliable 300rwkws at sane boost levels and tune for the track.

My thinking is you are going to a different level when you start grabbing aftermarket 6pot calipers and usign forged rods....sure great to have them, but to me you have to carefully consider the expense for minimal, id say negligible performance gains and questionable reliability gains at the sort of hp and track duration the car will see.

At the end of the day you still have a very trick lookign GTR with those tasty wheels:thumbsup:

[Sydneykid]

Hi Justin ,I would add to your list;

ARP rod bolts (if you are using the standard rods)

ARP head studs

ARP main bearing studs

PS; go the 2530s' my all time favourite turbo for 2.6 litres.

[justinfox]

Good stuff. Had a talk with my mechanic yesterday and talkinmg to my supplier too. I've decided to go ALL THE WAY!!! Whoo hoo. This is all going to cost between $15-20k. Insane but I will be using all Japanese products. Tomei everything. I'll let everyone know how it goes. I'll be sure to take pics along the way too. Thanks for all the advice. It's helped a lot.