My R32 GTS-T daily driver. RB20, big turbo, big power, but small budget.

Thread in 'Project Cars and Builds Threads' started by Stavros, Oct 26, 2012.

  1. Stavros

    Stavros Active Member

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    Bought a R32 GTST a while ago as a new daily purely as a mate was selling it down the road from me.

    Unlike most fucked R32s these days, it's a mega clean non-rusty one, which was nice.

    Anyhow, the last owner didn't drift it, though he bought it off someone on here, and in fact it had a spastic long and open diff, so it needed some changes.

    Here's how it looked when I bought it...
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    It had some useful bits, coilovers, DW tension rods, drift handbrake button and very good handbrake, a front mount, uprated fuel pump, etc etc, but any daily for me needs to be a drift car too, and ideally fucking fast too, so it was time for a few mods.

    As it's a daily, and not one I want to spend a lot on either, nothing could cost loads, and nothing could stop it being off the road for more than a day either, so it was no easy task.

    First up I managed to snap up a set of 9x17 ET20 Weds wheels (previously fitted to the pink Dragon RX7 drift car) for a bargain price (complete with some Advan Neova semi slicks), which meant the wheels the car came with could be used as drifty spares.
    I had some 235 wide R888s kicking around so I chucked them on the front, binned off the rear spoiler, and it looked like this...
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    Then it was time for power.
    People rarely bother with RB20s here, but IMO it's way better than an RB25, but due to people fitting RB25 turbos to them and moaning they laggy and shit, people don't bother with em and just bin em off.
    I knew they could be good with the right mods, so I decided to do it properly.

    I got hold of a ~600bhp capable HY35/HE341 from Compressor Racing to 'test', along with a ceramic coated tubular manifold and used Turbonetics Deltagate wastegate off eBay and fitted them...
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    Then with various exhaust bits I had kicking around I decided to prove a point and make myself a 4in diameter system blatantly good enough for even a 1000bhp engine that was also bloody quiet...
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    4in turbo back, 4in flex pipe, v-band flanges on each join, going down to 3.5in just before the rear diff. Ground clearance just as good as the gay 3in system the car originally had.
    I can't weld for shit so I just tacked it together and Thomas from Zurawski Motorsport (https://www.facebook.com/thomas.zurawskimotorsport) expertly welded it up properly for me.

    I got some suitable silcone hoses, heat shielding shiz, and got the crossover pipe modified, and it was all fitted...
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    Despite it not being mapped, I was seeing boost under 3000rpm and 1bar by 3500rpm, on a massive turbo- So what was that thing about RB20s being laggy again? Not when they're done right!

    It also happened to sound amazing, with mega spoolup and down noises- Love Holsets!

    Even as it was it was fucking quick, enough that the clutch started to slip almost straight away- Luckily the car came with an uprated Excedy clutch (bought from DW years ago and never fitted) that a friend fitted for me.

    Next up was a bucket seat, vital for a drift car IMO- Got a used Sparco Evo inc side mounts from eBay for about 50quid, winner.

    Then a diff! Stock one was open AND 3.6:1- Geared to 225mph on the rev limiter, lol. I wanted a 4.3 but it wasn't easy to find, but finally got one from Garage D, and I took the diff and the car to Zurawski Motorsport again to weld the diff and fit it. The change in diff ratio made a MASSIVE difference to acceleration, so well pleased with that.

    I ordered Tein tie rods and ends from Driftworks too, and once again I got Zurawski to fit them and lock spacers, modify the lock stops on the hubs, and do the allignment too.

    The final thing that needed doing was the big injectors, Z32 AFM, and Nistune to be fitted and mapped.

    I was told by the mapper that it would take 2 days, and as I had 2 drift days booked a week or so later, that was fine.
    Unfortunately it turned out to be a total balls up, the Z32 wasnt working, they couldnt fit the injectors, and generally took many weeks to do with 2day job, meaning I missed the drift days and got rather pissed off.
    It finally got done, running 1.5bar and 720cc injectors, and I was happy, well, for about 10mins!

    Fucking thing had a mega missfire on boost, loads of bits were left loose or missing, and my wideband shown that it was ridiculously rich on boost too.
    Not only that, it was laggier than when it was unmapped! Full boost by 4k, so not bad for the turbo size, esp with an 8k rev limit, but still!

    They offered to fix it, but after the mess they made instead I spent a week finding out and fixing it myself and now it was all good. Still rich as fuck, but properly properly flys, WAY faster than Lexus ISF, modified E46 M3, etc etc. Hits 7000rpm in 5th from a 20mph rolling start within 400m!

    Oh I cut the front bumper a bit more too to get more airflow to the intercooler.
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    Here's a coupla little videos fucking about doing 2nd gear launches...



    Then, as I loved the fact most people didnt expect it to be half as fast as it is, I made it more of a sleeper by painting the intercooler and wheels satin black. Which while not as lairly looks badass. Also fitted some smaller mirrors as I hate big ones.
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    It's pretty badass, but you know what's the BEST thing? At this stage, despite having supercar levels of straight line speed and a pretty bloody good drift spec too, I'd done ALL of this for £5000 INCLUDING buying the bloody car! Fucking bargain IMO, shows what you can do with a little thought!

    Continued on post 2...
     
    #1 Stavros, Oct 26, 2012
    Last edited: Oct 26, 2012
  2. Stavros

    Stavros Active Member

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    Then, after all the fucking about and daily driving it, it was ready, so...
    I FINALLY WENT FUCKING DRIFTING IN IT!

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    Car was badass considering I'd never drifted a Skybus before, worked really well and smoked 3rd with ease, didnt get hot, lots of lock, handled ace, etc etc.

    Fucking DESTROYED tyres though, almost brand new Pirelli P Zeros lasted 2 laps! Got though 10 or 12 235 wide tyres from 10 till 3 despite not being used to the car.

    Unfortunately at about 3pm there was a sudden loss of power, thought maybe a boost pipe had came off, so drove back to the pits to see whats up...

    Open the bonnet and it was covered, and I mean fucking COVERED in oil! Oh shit. Catch tank had a good 2ltres in it too.
    Something is very fucked.
    No smoke from exhaust, but breathers are smoking like a steam train.

    So we cleaned up the oil best we could, I vented the oil breather pipes out the underside of the car, and limped it home, expecting to need to call the AA at some point, but nope, it got all the way home, about 110miles.
     
    #2 Stavros, Oct 26, 2012
    Last edited: Oct 26, 2012
  3. Stavros

    Stavros Active Member

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    I compression tested it, and 3 of the cyls was low, had some, but not enough!

    Next job was to drive the car 30odd miles over to Zurawski Motorsport in Ledbury (www.facebook.com/thomas.zurawskimotorsport) to see what the fuck is wrong with the engine.

    It turned out to be this...
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    Pistons had cracked between the rings!

    No det on the pistons or combustion chambers though...
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    Fair play though, RB20 rods are mega short and mega beefy- No wonder they can rev so high!
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    Also, the head gasket had gone oval on 3 of the cyls, not blown, but was about to!

    The cause for this? Well it seems the wastegate pipe had melted in half due to heat (it was heat wrapped), so for at least some of the day it was running unlimited boost! Badass! No det on the pistons and chambers though regardless!

    The crank, bores, and bearings were all mint and stock size when Thomas took it apart though, so that's good news- It's a bloody good condition engine.

    So while I don't want any more power, I wanted it to take a serious beating for a long time, so it was time for some fancy bits...

    ACL bearings...
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    Stock thickness Cometic head gasket...
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    ARP head studs...
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    External head oil drain kit...
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    Supertech forged pistons and rings...
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    Driftworks oil cooler...
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    Zurawski Motorsport are also modifying the crank where it connects to the oil pump, as that's a serious weak point on all RBs too.

    Oh, it got in FastCar too...
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    Here's how it looks at the minute, but it will be back together soon...
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    #3 Stavros, Oct 26, 2012
    Last edited: Oct 26, 2012
  4. initial_j

    initial_j Made guy

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    boy done good!

    like it all so far. needs a gtr bonnet though to make it a bit prettier. gts bonnets are the one thing that make them look aids
     
  5. driftescort

    driftescort Active Member

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    Glad you put this up here Stav, It is a proper piece of work!

    Can I have your engine when you are finished please! :)
     
  6. markturbo

    markturbo Tarmac scrapper

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    Glad you put up a thread mate, had seen a few post that you had bought a r32, so was hoping a thread would pop up :) Your project are always fucking awesome :thumbs:
     
  7. Darenm

    Darenm Member

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    Sweet job man looks cool but as initial_j said gtr bonnet would make it that bit more sexy lik the direction ur going with it should see good power
     
  8. mati

    mati Member

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    Nice. Good to see you're keeping the RB20 :thumbs:
     
  9. Traumtänzer

    Traumtänzer Member

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    I really like him, even without ever talk to him in person. He really is a nice guy ;)

    Awesome car Stav, I love the idea of pushin' the RB20 to it's limit ;)
     
  10. Rads_s13

    Rads_s13 DWYB & DRIFT TAXI

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    I had the same damage when I stripped my last CA, breather looked like a steam train. I partly put it down to insuficiate oil pressure getting to the rear oil squirters letting the pistons get too hot and melting / breaking up the ring land.

    along with the map having had reverted back to a base map :smash:
     
  11. reeperR32

    reeperR32 Drift-Street-Imports

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    really really liking this.. subtle, effective, WIN!!! :D

    who fucked the mapping up then?
     
  12. AdDaMan

    AdDaMan Active Member

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    Very nice.
    Yer who fucked the mapping?
     
  13. cefiro_drifta

    cefiro_drifta Mad pointing Munky

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    very cool. No bullshit just balls out power and function
     
  14. Blackett

    Blackett No Comment

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    [​IMG]

    Yay, I got a pic in Fast Car! :p

    I have a silver GTR bonnet with a genuine Nismo lip if thats' any good to you. I also have a GTR bonnet catch to make it fit nicely.

    Ian. :)
     
  15. Stavros

    Stavros Active Member

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    Cheers for the replies, appreciated.

    Yeah I've no doubt a GTR bonnet will look loads better, GTS ones look shat, but in a way, I kind of dont want to, as rather than just a drift car, its my daily driver and also my daily 'destroy flash cunts in sports/super cars who keep trying to race me' car, and I wouldn't want people to think they racing a GTR or even anything very highly tuned.
    It actually has a 'diesel' badge on the bootlid...

    Blackett- Indeed mate, and as ever there's a 'Cheers to' with a link to your website etc!
     
  16. aston_87

    aston_87 Member

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    Nice motor. Looks super tidy inside.

    Given me ideas for mine.

    Where did you get all the parts from as i would really like to keep the RB20? Love the rev'y nature of the engine.
     
  17. docwra

    docwra Active Member

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    Nice smoke machine, what power do you reckons its at, 400ish??

    Had exactly the same damage on my last SR but wasnt det, just bad luck we think :(
     
  18. Stavros

    Stavros Active Member

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    Aston- Yeah it's a really tidy car, the body and underneath is properly mint for a 32 in the UK as most are repey as fuck now. L-reg so a very very late one, that probably helps it being in good nick.
    Regarding parts, eBay for mostly tbh! Came from all over the world mind, UK of course, but USA for lots, even Poland.
    And yeah, RB20s are brilliant IMO, rev like fuck, and way better than a 25, hugely thick cyl walls, mega short stroke, mega short rods, ideal.
    They just got a really shit rep in the UK as people don't know what to do and they just see the small capacity and don't bother with em. In Oz/Nz/Japan etc they love em, here they fit a RB25 turbo, complain its laggy and still not fast, then they get binned off for a RB25.

    Doc- Going by the tests I've done (on my secret test track called the A40) I'd say bare minimum 400, probably more like 450 going by other cars I've 'tested' there etc. Mapper also reckoned it felt about 450 on the road to him too. Goes well, and doesn't feel like the power really drops all way to 8k, so it's ideal.
     
  19. aston_87

    aston_87 Member

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    My car has a Mines ECU and a RB25 Turbo on it. Not laggy atall tbh but could do with more power.

    Who mapped yours in the end, as i will be hopefully rebuilding mine over the winter with the aim to get 400 plus horsepower.
     
  20. Munkul

    Munkul Active Member

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    awesome results for a stock engine. what boost were you running? Also what injectors did you fit - they are normal bosch-sized jobbies on this engine arent they?
     

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