Just that I had a conversation with someone yesterday in which I was saying how good and reliable a mildly tuned SR would be and how expensive (and regular) it is when RB26's die from drifting, then realised I was only really thinking of Gary Hughes' R32 and all of his woes, and seeing Scotty's RB30 engine problems. So I was wondering how many drift with the bigger RB's- ie26 or 30, and how reliable they are in comparison to a reasonably (350 ish BHP) tuned SR20? I'm now just thinking it's perhaps my own blinkered view and there are plenty of people using relatively stock RB26's with no problems.
I've skidded with a 26 and it killed it, it was due to a bad engine build though. In my opinion it comes down to money (as always). Ignoring the initial purchase price, epic power can be gained from a 26 for very little money, a simple bleed valve to raise the boost on the stock blowers will you with 400bhp and no other supporting mods needed. A set of hybrid stock turbos with adjusted boost and fuelling etc. should put you around the 500-550 mark still on stock internals. The 26 does suffer from some known problems though including vibration and oil starvation, if you make some shrewd modifications to the engine before you fit it like a Tomei/Jun oil pump (never N1) and fit a head drain/oil restrictor mod including some cam baffles then you're on the right track. But this costs a fair bit, especially on top of a 2.5k+ initial engine cost. I've never used ans SR, always RB's but I know they can be bought for cheaper and let's face it - all engines die eventually right? It comes down to budget I think Mitch
Mitch, you know my opinion. Nowadays, you can forge and SR for the cost of an RB and run 400bhp without an issue. I know myself and phil only blew one SR each in 3 years of battering them on the road and in comps. Think about Scotty, Hudson, Wanders, DW RB25, etc... They all have major issues, blown engines, turbos, shafts. It's a joke for the money you have to spend to make it reliable, then its still touch and go. Plus the cost of re-builds or replacing engines. The only person having trouble with the SR is Polo, but then he's running 2.0 bar of boost and an idiotic set-up. SR wins. If you can afford to piss money away and unbalance your car, then go RB by all means. R32 with SR = best car ever.
Cheers. So far all these opinions match with my own. Does anyone run an RB26 or 30 with no issues? I'm only interested in ones that drift by the way, not fast road or drag ones as they don't appear to have the same issues as drifters.
Hi Mitch Had a load of teething problems with my RB30, now i have sorted out the oil flow problems (fingers crossed) it will be ok, had two outings where it got a severe thrashings and is still ok. I was out in it yesterday and kept hitting the rev limiter again and again trying to kill it ! No problems phew. My old 34 had a bored out 26 in it, I built it with all the right parts and never had any problems at all with that one, I thrashed it for 2 years and its current owner has thrashed it for a year now without any internal problems. Last year I was near to throwing in the towel on the RB and going v8 or JZ but stuck with it and hopefully this year it will be ok. Julians RB30 32 castrol car ran for years without engine problems (as far as I know anyway) Last time I rebuilt mine I had the crank and everything that bolts to it balanced and it feels completely different, much much smoother so I guess it wont shake itself to bits again. Gregg mapped it to a safe 565bhp with massive torque, nothing maxed out.
they have no problems if you build them right mt gtr has been fine since i built it and will be running 2 rb26 powered cars this year for drifting. if you want to know what you need to do to stop them blowing up let me know.
Nonsense. Fitting an RB doesn't 'unbalance' a car. There are a string of RB powered highly successful drift cars out there that prove it, it may not be as balanced as an SR up front but 'unbalanced' is completely the wrong word Mitto. At the end of the day SR's are cheaper to replace, may be a better solution in the long run.
It my car mitch is coverting I just like RB and think ill drive round any issues that is causes if you use the right oil pimps eg non cast so Jun or tomei they are fine for fast road drag I'm unsure what problems you would have with drifting them but surely its the same a good engine is a good engine or a well built engine is a well built engine a 15 year old engine getting battered whatever it is will break as would a badly built motor I'm gratefull for the advise from everyone but I really want to do this The laurel would be cool with a RB26 or am I wrong ?
i loved my rb26 in my gtr when i built it but 12 engines later in 3 seasons they just cant take the revs when drifting , i dont care who builds them maybe great in a road car or drag car but the oil issues are the problem we changed everything including 2 12000 builds and they all suffred big end failure due to oil pumps or piston problems , toyota all the way for a quater of the money tuned sr works much better than tuned 26 the 25 doesnt seem to struggle so badly tho if they have pistons changed at least they can rev a bit
Cheers all-pretty much as I thought really. I was trying to convince Senor Dango above to go the tuned SR route rather than the RB conversion, but at the end of the day it's his choice, his car and his money. Let the conversion commence
to be honest i dont know what to do mitch good advice has now mashed my head better decide v quickly though gulp!
No rush mate, we've got two weeks to get it ready I did say to Alex when he dropped the engine off that I was talking myself out of work suggesting the SR, but wanted to give the best advice I could.
If this matters to the question looking for less than 400bhp tops maybe 360 ish with the exploding Rb26 question Sorry to ask mitch if we do the gtst gearbox swap and the turbo and other mods you suggest how long do you think could you get it done for oulton this weekend so i could have a play check everything before knockhill ?
oh really... so, besides atsushi kuroi, whos running a really competative RB'd S body car? because, you know, im new to this drift thing... oh, you know how phils 2JZ is like, way back in the car, thats around the 54% front heavy mark. RBs are heavier are they not? no, no balance issues there at all.
Whatever Mitto. I don't care how long you've been into drifting or how many times you've been to Japan etc. unbalanced is still not the correct term here. Unbalanced means unstable, fitting an RB will not render a car unstable. Yes an SR will give a better balance but an RB won't be unstable, look at the Japspeed S15's as another example of s bodies where an RB works.
My mate drifts a s13 with a rb26 in it and has nothing but trouble mosty heat issues http://www.driftworks.com/forum/drift-car-projects-builds/72338-my-s13-rb26-drifter-5.html He did have a well speced s14 with a sr pushing around 360-390 and never once had a problem with it. As quick as his rb is in a straight line drifting and cooling the thing is somthing else and has put me off ever rb'ing a s13 (not that my pockets could stand one) But i must admit its a hell of a drift car think its just under 500bhp got mapped by rising sun not to long ago
I can't personally compare to an RB in long term drifting experience but if I were only building a car to 360bhp I'd build an SR from choice. That's not a massive spec level for one and you save weight. Having driven a 14 with an RB in and a 14 with a decent SR in I prefered the handling of the 14 with the SR in, plus power-wise I never felt like I was missing out with the SR. I know that's not what you're building and I on't know if that helps you but it was a back to back comparison of the 2 engines. I'd personally go SR if I had the choice. 2871r with a .64 housing, usual supporting mods, z32 AFM and 555 injectors would give that power and a decent spool up too. It's my aim for next year
