RB30'ing a 33 GTST

zombie

zombie

Active Member
..i want to something really special with the build im doing at the moment
and i really need to start making some concrete decisions as far as the engine goes

up untill now ive been dead set on building a nice high tune rb26
but
im starting to think i wanna do things a little bit differently
and the strength of the rb30 is really appealing

and id prefer to run a down tuned road map on the rb30 and turn it up for track and it handle it no probs

rather than the rb26 being pushed 24/7


now i dont want replies saying "go for the 26" blah blah blah


what i want to know IS

what is involved in the conversion ?

can i jus get an rb30 block (maybe from the aussie commodore??) and 26 head and make the rb30 engine complete myself

i know rips nz are like the authorities on this subject

can i use an rb25 gearbox?

the sump will have to modified if im correct?


any help appreciated

even better if someone could just to a few * bullet points
and go bang bang bang thats what you need
 
RB30 conversion...
Kind of a big box of worms your opening there mate. Very simply there are two ways to do it.

Option one, is get a stock RB30, land a 26 head on it, buy a new timing belt, sling it back in the car and drive on with a reliable 400hp/400ftlbs all day every day. But it does have some weaknesses.

The RB30 uses the short nose oil pump drive collar (as does the early R32 RB26's) this is a fairly large problem on drift cars as you spend a lot of time sitting on the rev limiter and within an astonishingly short period of time the oil pump drive ends up spinning in the oil pump, causing zero oil pressure and fucking your engine. This is really easy to solve, but does require a complete rebuild and taking the crank out and getting a collar (available from spool or soon from JDM Garage) interference fitted.
Top, short nose. Bottom, Long Nose (see the flat contact patch difference)
shortnosevslongnosecranks.jpg


RB30's will take either an RB25 or RB26 head without messing with the block too much. RB26 is a million times easier as you don't have to fuck around with sorting oil feeds for the VVT system. To do a 30/26 you basically use all RB26 parts for the head and a complete OEM Nissan RB26 gasket kit. (with your choice of head gasket)

Option two is that you build a proper RB30/26 with forged internals. The crank is pretty bullet proof and the rods will do 500-600hp as will the pistons providing that you map it properly, but that's using new or good condition OEM parts which are hard to come by. My recommendation is that you speak to Spool in Australia. They do complete rebuild packages with Pistons, Rods, ACL bearing and ARP fasteners for about £1500 landed here in the UK.

RB30 will take RB26 Oil and Water pumps plus pullies, thermostats etc.

Make sure you sort the oil control issues with the 30 before you put it together. The RB30 has two very large oil feeds (one at the front and one at the back of the block) these are a fair chunk bigger than standard RB25/26 oil ways and magnifies the "Oil pooling in the head problem" (See this link: http://www.driftworks.com/forum/tec...g-issues-why-do-rbs-blow-up-answers-here.html)

Drain kits can be bought from JDM Garage and machining to the block/head/crank can be done at any good machine shop.

Hope that helps you a bit.

Checkout Skylines Australia and read the RB30 specific threads. Pages and Pages of info there and should be all you will ever need to know.

RB30 conversions - Skylines Australia
 
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scotty your a fucking ledge

i jus wanna build a car im proud of
and the car i want
and i wanna leave shit stains on the bride buckets everytime i get out
wether on the track or going to pick up some fags from tesco
so it seems the natural progression

and although i dont wanna skimp on it
id rather do it the most economical way possible

ie not going out and spending 10k in one hit to have a rips rb30 sent to me
i wanna build the fucker from ground up lol

will send you the email now scotty
btw you get the gearbox safe and sound?
soz about the dust sheet, but i ran out of bubblewrap :D
 
thanks for the info as well bizzle
really appreciate you taking the time to write that

im liking the sound of option 2

so the general consesus is its do able, not the hardest in the world
but theyre are jus oiling issues that really cannot be ignored
but as long as theyre seen to its all gravy baby :D

just out of interest, which of these 2 routes did you go down scotty?
im presuming number 2?


when i get home later tonight i will read your build thread from start to finish
 
Sweet man. Yeah and 1500 seems reasonable for the security you get from the kit
I'm probs gunna go for a standalone ecu anyway and a decent mapper isn't an issue
So that's that sorted at least

How much will an rb30 block rush me ? (Again from the commodore isn't it?)
 
You want a series II block as they have oil/water feeds already drilled and tapped from the factory. Get yourself an RB26 Power FC and get Steve Sadler from FC Tuning to map it. He's done quite a few now and is in regular contact with some of the big tuners in AUS who do these day in day out. Think he's currently at 550hp on a standard internal one that's in Stu's S13.

Stock series II here in the UK is £500-£600 but that's if you can get hold of one.
 
Cheers
Its jus hard decyphering all the crap on the net to find the bare facts of what I need
Ok well that's an extremely reasonable base to start with
But I take it they're jus in short supply then?
 
Ahh yeah found a few
Bout 250
But then 300 shipping to get to the uk
Then to the door shipping on top

But that's not too bad. Awsome
My spirits are high
And I thankyou.
 
sorry just one more thing bizzle, did you use the stock rb30 sump?

does it require any modification?
 
RB25 sump :) But you need to slightly modify it because the RB30 crank counterweights are slightly bigger than the 25's so the cooling fins/baffling catches on the crank as it rotates.

Easy fix
 
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