Drawbacks of RB26dett swap

[JapDrifter]

Alright I have 25k to spend on a car and I was wondering if this is recommended?

Probably spend around 8k on the car, and leave the rest for the swap.

[zephyr]

you might be one of the first to have an rb26dett...kinda risky being the first guy but id say go for it
might do suspension first though

[DSC]

Welcome to Zilvia.net!

Check unstable-hybrids rb26dettfaq (http://www.unstable-hybrids.com/rb26dettinstalled.html) for some info. Try e-mailing them. What car do you have, s13 or s14? Where you located? I would love to see someone do this swap...look foward to seeing pics.

[luke20]

Either you've got to convert it to right hand drive, or make two ####-of-a crazy turbo manifolds for it.  The reason the RB26DETT never made it here is because the turbos would hit of the steering rack if it were in a left hand drive car.  (at least in a skyline, anyway).  You know someone will do that swap someday anyhow, so why not it be you?  I'd consider an RB25DET, still a challenge, but not as bad, probably.    

[JapDrifter]

I don't have a 240sx yet, but im selling my Eclipse and thinking about getting one.

I live in CT

[JapDrifter]

Forget about the RB26 for a sec.

Would it be more logical to invest 10k in a sr20?

I'm going for a daily driver car here.

[silk]

as far as the sr20 is concerned you could drop about 1 to 3 grand on one of those in pretty good condition. then use the rest of the 10 grand to build it up, change the turbo, get a boost controller, afc, timer, etc. and put whats left into suspension. and you might even be able to get a few bucks for the ka24 if its in decent condition.
also, you proble wont spend all 15k left on the 240, #### i got a 97 LE with 39k miles on it for 10. and you dont even need a low mileage motor if your gonna swap it out. 25k leaves you with alot of options.

for a daily driver, all you really need to do is keep your hp around 3-400 at the max and keep your boost low.( i wouldnt go higher than 8-9 psi) as long as you build up the motor and take care of it, it will last.

but if your really interested in the rb26dett..youll most likely be turning it into a single turbo because of that steering rack problem. other than that, i think all the custom mods to make the rb25 fit, will be the same for the rb26. someone please correct me if im wrong.

[DSC]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Quote: from silk on 10:36 pm on Jan. 30, 2002
as far as the sr20 is concerned you could drop about 1 to 3 grand on one of those in pretty good condition. then use the rest of the 10 grand to build it up, change the turbo, get a boost controller, afc, timer, etc. and put whats left into suspension. and you might even be able to get a few bucks for the ka24 if its in decent condition.
also, you proble wont spend all 15k left on the 240, #### i got a 97 LE with 39k miles on it for 10. and you dont even need a low mileage motor if your gonna swap it out. 25k leaves you with alot of options.

for a daily driver, all you really need to do is keep your hp around 3-400 at the max and keep your boost low.( i wouldnt go higher than 8-9 psi) as long as you build up the motor and take care of it, it will last.

but if your really interested in the rb26dett..youll most likely be turning it into a single turbo because of that steering rack problem. other than that, i think all the custom mods to make the rb25 fit, will be the same for the rb26. someone please correct me if im wrong.</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>how are you gona get 3-400 hp on no more than 9psi?

japdrifter, what are your goals with this car? Any specific HP number you want to hit? If we had more information on exactly what you were looking to get out of an engine swap we might be able to give more advice. I think the rb25/26 would be awsome, but may not be worth the money if your hp goal is only 350 or so. Whereas if you hoped to someday push it to 550 or something crazy, you wouldn't want an SR (even if it is doable) you would want an RB. IMO a daily driven car over 400HP is overkill but cool none the less.

(Edited by DSC at 10:58 pm on Jan. 30, 2002)

[mbmbmb23]

Upgrade the brakes and suspension before the engine.

[burgy240]

minor concern, but if you put the rb25/26 in a 240 you will lose a lot of the 50/50 weight ratio handling characteristic. &nbsp;Not a concern if you just want straight line performance though. &nbsp;Definately gonna need suspension work though. &nbsp;good luck

[crazycuban]

every time someone brings up engine swaps, people say you're gonna mess up the 50/50. &nbsp;ITS NOT THAT BIG OF A DEAL. &nbsp;my celica, for example, handled great, and it was 60/40 - i would even go as far to say as it handled as good if not better as the stock 240sx. &nbsp;that's not to say i like the celica handling better - i love the rwd - but that just shows that weight distrubution is not the end all of handling. &nbsp;
unfortunately, however, the turbos will hit the steering rack. &nbsp;go for a log manifold or something, you should be able to figure out a way to get twins in there somehow.
RB26 swaps have been done, but i don't think i've ever seen one on a LHD car. &nbsp;i've seen a couple in option magazine, and the HKS RPS13 drag car (low 7's) has one. &nbsp;
if you have 10g laying around, that you just want to spend on an engine, get a jun or tomei crate motor, or take it to AEBS (maybe even better). &nbsp;any of them will build you a helluva nice sr20.

[grahams14]

I would go for the SR20det conversion and forget the RB26. The RB is a gorgeous engine but will wreck the handling of your car and any suspension mods will be compensating for that weight over the fronts and not improving the already beautifully balanced chassis of the 240. With that budget you could get a nice SR20det and easily get it to 300-350hp and further as you seem to have access to much more affordable parts Stateside than we do. I think all you will need is exhaust system turbo back, air induction, boost upgrade,ecu re-mapping, a bigger turbo and FMIC. That should see you easily over 300hp.

[DSC]

from some things I've heard recently, our car really isn't as close to 50/50 as we thing...more like 58/42 or so. And the RB (don't know which one was being talked about here) is only ~50lbs heavier than the Ka since IIRC the ka is iron and the RB (and sr/ca alike) are aluminium.

[Cheater240SX]

I've measured my '91 Fastback with me in it---2850# total, 1482# on front, 1368# on the back = 52/48 front/rear weight distribution.

I went to a local scrap metal recycler and measured each axle.

[DSC]

I stand corrected <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'> Although the fast back is a little better f/r because of its heavy rear glass, it can't be too much different on a coupe. Thanks for the info Cheater.

[uuninja]

The real drawbacks of the RB26 as I see them are...

1. Fit, the twin turbos are going to be a tight squeze with the steering rack, master cylinder and what not.

2. You will need to get another tranny. Unless you want a real project. The RB25 tranny would work but it might be hard to find. You probably could even use your KA tranny with a RB25 bell housing.

3. Custom everyting. Nothing is going to be a direct bolt on &nbsp;for that setup. So think custom IC pipes, and exhaust plumbing, motor mounts. Not to mention custom wiring and EMS, $Bling$Bling$ and more $Bling$.

4. Lose of many comfort features on your car. AC pump may not fit off the RB, not sure that you can use the one from the KA. You may also need custom hard lines. Not to mention figuring out how to make the associated electronics work with it.

5. Cost$Cost$Cost. This is not a project for the faint of heart or the light of pocket book.

[240 2NR]

Ok, IMO I'd go with the tired and true swaps if this will be a true daily driver. &nbsp;My friend just had his SR swapped in at a place that has done 5 swaps already and they are still learning new ways to wire stuff up. &nbsp;Going with a motor that was never intended for the chassis, electricals, etc, will only complicate things more, especially on a first swap ever. &nbsp;If you must do that, budget for a true daily driver (beater) that you can use for parts running and when the RB'd 240 isn't running.

To truly know what to do with the car, decide your realistic goals. &nbsp;If you know how you want to drive and what you want out of the motor/car, it will be much clearer than just asking us how to spend your money. &nbsp;Each of us will tell you what we want, based on what we would do with the car.

On that note, I would get a 97-98 and turbo it. &nbsp;For 5k you could be pushing 300hp easy without giving up any accesories like AC and cruise control. &nbsp;You could get new cams, exhaust, pistons, rods, etc. &nbsp;That would be sweet. &nbsp;I don't really see the point in an SR swap with a low milage KA (like under 50k miles). &nbsp;It seems like a hassle for such an already high potenial engine (when both are built, it looks like the SR and KA's are both putting down comparable dyno numbers, with the KA having more low end torque) when turboed. &nbsp;Plus then suspension, wheels, tires, etc. &nbsp;Easily under 25k

Start with an S14
$10k decent - 14k very nice, low miles, low wear, good paint, abs, lsd

$3-4k turbo kit depending on brand

$1-2k motor build up, pistons, rods, cams, etc. &nbsp;prepped or replaced.

$1-2k suspension kit like whiteline full setup, springs, koni shocks, sway bars, and bushings- full N1 coilovers

$1-2k wheels and tires

$1 misc
_______
$17-25k
PERFECT!

Hey crazycuban, the celica handled good because it is a front wheel drive that has all of the suspension and weight engineered so it will handle good, unlike the 240 where an upset in weight ratio wasn't taken into account in the design and engineering.

[SpoiledBoi]

*Tomei* <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'>....low boosted and fully tuned,for the sameprice as a rb26 installed....and u can still tune it...andullbe runing faster stock bc of theweight...: )

[jdm togue]

I would love to see the RB swap done, but then again money might be better spent to go other routes for power or driving comfort..If mad power is what you want then go for the RB swap, otherwise build a Ka or
SR...

[240racer]

If we are going to talk about adjusting the weight distribution of the &quot;perfect&quot; 240 then lets use real numbers. &nbsp;Does anybody know how much weight difference there is between the rb26dett and the ka24de? &nbsp;I don't but I am going to assume 200lbs. &nbsp;I think that is a lot, so hopefully we should see a huge weight dist. change. &nbsp;We can figure that the engine is a little behind the front wheels so about 85 percent of the weight goes to the front and 15 percent goes to the rear. &nbsp;Add that to Cheaters numbers and you get. &nbsp;1652lbs in the front and 1398lbs in the rear. &nbsp;54/46% &nbsp;Now do any of you think that you will notice the 2 percent shift in distribution? &nbsp;Also, 200lbs is a hefty estimate, if somebody can come up with real numbers we can do it again. &nbsp;Also, when a swap is done unneeded stuff goes bye bye under the hood which saves more weight. &nbsp;I know I would be losing a/c p/s emissions etc. &nbsp;So even if we don't ever swap a rb26dett into a 240 lets not worry about it affecting the handling.

Adam

[junia]

I was just wondering, If you got 25K to spend on a car and you want an rb26, why don't you just get a r32 GTR from motorex or something. I think thats about how much the r32 would cost. If you still want to do the swap you're going to need atleasr
car (s13 start cheap)
tranny(from a R33 gts25t thats what they use in Japan)
wiring+ECU(you might as well go all out and get a V-pro or something)
BIGGER BRAKES(probably the most important)
Drive shaft.
and some other stuff. I've never done it but I've seen one back in Okinawa. The guy swapped out the rear brakes for the skyline ones so he could put the bigger ones on and have a five lug setup. One the front he swapped out the hub and the lower arm for a one from the s14 and used the stock brembo brakes from the R33 GTR. everything fit neatly, but like every one else said, you're going to need to have a single turbo setup. If your going to get a GTR engine you might as well build it for 600+ hp. Now that I've read what I wrote, you're probably better off just getting a new car with the money or just get a SR swap........You know, you could do something different and just build a lancer evolution or something. All you need is an eclipse gsx and a mirage with an evolution body kit and swap out the enigne and the drivetrain and ecu etc. And you got yourself a pretty much genuine evoIV...