inlet manifold spacer- what the?

[Timd]

Took delivery of the new rb20 the other day. After having a good look at it i noticed something unusual.

I say unusual because it looks totally unecessary and isnt on my other rb20

Im talking about a spacer in between the inlet runners and the head. Its about 15mm thick and has what looks to be an aftermarket plug wired into it at the rear of the engine.

What the hell is it, im going to get rid of it but would like to know what it is.

Tim

[R31 POWER]

If it's a redtop NICS or ECCS they have butterflies in that spacer.R32 silver tops don't have it.

It's all in here http://forum.r31skylineclub.com/index.php?...p?topic=19951.0

[Timd]

well well well

looks like ive been done with a red top.

I did a quick compare with the inlet manifold of my r32 rb20, everything else looks the same? Altho the rockers are polished they look the same as the 32 rb20. injectors look the same too. Are there any other features which i can use to tell whether its a red top or not??

not real happy........Tim

[Timd]

That may explain why the oil pressure sender is different that on the silvertop. Does anyone know if all silvertops had the same ones?

[Timd]

Was advertised as an rb20det from 1993 r32

[Timd]

anyone?

Are there any numbers or stamps on the block/head that show the difference between a r32 or r31 rb20?

[browny]

The nics rb20 manifold I had was really different looking compared with to the eccs unit. You couldnt really mistake one for the other.

Can you take pics?

[DCIEVE]

The red top plenum is considerably different to the silvertop, post a picture

[Timd]

will get pics tonight. Ive got a feeling its a silvertop as everything is exactly the same as my other silvertop except for the spacer and the oil pressure sender. The spacer doesnt look like the butterfly arrangement ive seen photos of, so perhaps its an aftermarket thing?

ill pull the manifold tonight, should clear things up, thanks for your replys

[FATGTS-R]

The nics manifold is different but the red top eccs is very similar to R32 and are interchangeable. Pretty sure the only diff is the R32 has slighly larger runners and/or plenum but have not verified. I would say you have the R32 inlet manifold as you mentioned the injectors are the same. The red tops use a hose tail type compared to the silvers o-ring type. And the rails do not interchange, I tried.

If the spacer is there, I dare say its a red top. As mentioned, the spacer has butterflies on every second port ( red tops are 12 port heads ) which are closed at lower rpms to help the turbo spool faster and give better off boost response and open up when its on song for maximum airflow.

The downside is the spindle runs through all 12 ports and ends up being a restriction, I estimate it is equivalent to having one port completley blocked off.

Now considering the silver top RB20 only has a 6 port head, this spacer would be useless.

[predator]

rocker covers can be exchanged very easily..and the center cover, that's no guarantee..

Saw a bloke with an RB30DET worked to the nines with a simple red-top cover the other day. nice look

[Shaun]

As i am the one that sold the engine to you, i will explain again what the spacer is. When i imported the car (a stock silver top 1993 R32 gtst), i noticed a spacer between the head and plenum which was connected to a Japanese gadget type module in the engine bay which had "Auto Save Green" written on it (everything else was in Japanese). This module was then connected to another box underneath the the passenger side carpet with some sort of adjustment on it.

When everything was connected, the car drove beautifully; when i disconnected everything, the car still drove beautifully. I, therefore, pulled everything except the spacer out of the car. I attempted to remove the plenum to take the spacer out, but it was more difficult than expected, so i left it in and enjoyed no apparent loss of power etc.

When you remove the injectors, you will notice an element (not butterflies) running the length of the plenum. I reckon this either heats the fuel (i dont know why) or aids in better mixing of the air/fuel mixture in order to produce better economy (thus Full Auto Green).

Now that you have the engine out, pull the ****in thing off.

The engine is a low kms 93 silver top sold to you at an excellent price with a compression test that was performed prior to removal from the car. You were not ripped off or had; i have been completely honest with you. Thats it.

[FATGTS-R]

Very interesting. When you remove it post up some pics. Be interesting to see what this devices intentions were.

[Timd]

Settle down Shaun i spoke to you yesterday, all is good mate. Even if it was a red top it is still a bargain at the price i paid for it. just looking for some input from other people that may know. Any way i pulled the manifold off last night and as Shaun said, no butterflies, just an element running the length of the spacer. I have pics.....though i have no idea how to get them in here.

[Shaun]

I admit i got a bit grumpy. My apologies.