RB20DET vs. SR20DET

[rubbersidedown]

Which do you people think is better? I haven't been able to find consistent info on either engine. everywhere i go the horspower output seems to differ. I found a site that sells both the engines but it appears that the SR is more expensive than the RB. is this rightly so?

[BlankFlip]

personally, i like the ball bearing turbo rb20det. one of my dad's friends had a silvia w/ a sr20det, n both of our cars were basically stock n i never lost to him in a race. i'm not sure exactly what the weight difference would be from a 240 n a skyline gts-t, but i'm pretty sure that the 240 would be lighter, so the 6 would be able to use its power on the 240 considerably easier due to the fact that it doesn't have to push as much weight. the rb20det seems to fit just fine in the 240's so i don't c why the rb wouldn't be the smarter choice. can nebody provide any info as to why the sr would be better than the rb?

edit: i like the sr's for practicality reasons now.

(Edited by BlankFlip at 2<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':0'>9 pm on Jan. 14, 2002)

[carnal c30]

SR20DET advantages are relative ease to maintain, and pretty much it'll provide you with all the power you'll need unless you wana be hella hardcore

[Jeff240sx]

Also, it depends on what model your friend's sr20det came from. &nbsp;There is a 45 horsepower difference between them all. &nbsp;That makes a huge difference.
-Jeff

[DragonReborn214]

The weight of the SR20det makes it ideal for the silvia, because of the resulting weight distribution. Handling matched with power.

The RB is much heavier. You will have a straight line racer. No curves for you... At least not with the ease you would have with an SR.

Also, you can get MASSIVE power out of an SR. Jun has a Silvia that runs an 8 second 1/4 mile...

[rubbersidedown]

anyone else have any comments? i guess dragon has a point w/ the whole weight thing but does anyone have anything else to argue?

[nguyen]

the RB20det is a dis-continued engine and was never made for the 240 chasis so installation of the RB motor will require custom mounts. I personally have a black cover SR20DET with stock boost, front mount cooler and a SDS engine controll got me a 14.2s 1/4 on 17&quot; street tires, so don't see why go with the RB20det

[BlankFlip]

i can understand the weight standpoint of it all, but won't the power make up for it? by the way, my dad's friend had a 1991 silvia k's. the main thing i don't like about the rb20det here in the states is the fact that there is more support for the sr20det. if u wanted to be original, i guess u could go w/ the rb20det. does nebody know ne 1/4 mile times of a car w/ a rb20det, whether it be the 240sx w/ it in or a skyline.

edit: i suck

(Edited by BlankFlip at 8:46 pm on Oct. 23, 2001)


(Edited by BlankFlip at 2:10 pm on Jan. 14, 2002)

[S13Grl]

I thought the RB20DET came with an AWD tranny? Won't the conversion for everything come out costing more if you swap this, even if the product itself costs less?

[BlankFlip]

i'm not sure about all the rb20det's coming w/ awd tranny's, i've only seen them personally w/ my own 2 eyes in rwd, not saying that some don't though b/c i'm not 2 sure on that. but i believe they should all be rwd's, but the rb25det might be awd, n i know the rb26dett is awd.

[rubbersidedown]

some are awd some are rwd. it all depends. i think i might go w/ the SR. but for some reason running 14's with an SR seems kinda slow.. can't a normal american s13 run 15's w/ the stock ka or something? or am i greatly mis-informed. so i guess would getting the SR but really worth while as opposed to just putting a turbo on the ka?

[S13Grl]

Stock 1/4 is 16.4 best time. A few bolt-ons will get some 15s, but not with stock intake and exhaust.

[rubbersidedown]

ok.. but is the small time gain worth getting the SR? or would i be better off putting a turbo on my KA?

[orlando240]

Turbo the Ka


http://www.zilvia.net/forums/cgi-bin/topic.cgi?forum=2&amp;topic=231 (http://www.zilvia.net/forums/cgi-bin/topic.cgi?forum=2&topic=231)

[nguyen]

rubersidedown if you want to drop in a motor that would run 12's in your s13, I suggest you get a v10 from a viper or a corvett motor, because a car that weighs close to 2900 bl with a 2.0l at 7 pound of boost that runs 14.2 is not slow. If I put slicks on I will run high 13s. my car has 3 amps in the trunk, 2 10&quot;Focal subs in the rear quarter panels with ac. so to me the SR20det swap was worth every pennies that I spent on it....by the way a KA with basic bolt ons should run low 16s if not high 15s

[rubbersidedown]

so i take it you have an s13 as well? what is your boost at and what octane gas do you use and do you have to add or mix anything w/ your gas?

[BlankFlip]

here's basically what other posts have said. the 95 n on 240's have stronger internals n would be better suited for a ka turbo kit. before that, especially w/ higher milage on ur engine, u should go w/ the sr20det.

[nguyen]

no I have a S14, I only use 92 octane without any additives, and the boost level is still 7psi. I will buy a profect B boost controller next summer, cause my car will be parked for the winter now.

[rubbersidedown]

(Edited by rubbersidedown at 8:46 am on Oct. 24, 2001)

[Tuck&Poke]

turbo the ka. &nbsp;look the ka is a 2.4l engine. &nbsp;the sr is a 2.0l engine. &nbsp;you have more displacement to work with in the ka. &nbsp;and you know what they say (no matter how you fight it its always true) more displacement....more power. &nbsp;youd eventually get more power from the ka simply because of the fact that theres more fuel air mixture hapening.

[nguyen]

you can't just strap a turbo on a bigger motor and expect more power than a smaller motor, it doen't work that way. it how strong the motor is and what the motor was design for. its all in the motor designs like how long the intake runners are, how thick the ring lands are, rods, cams, compression ratio, bore/ stroke ratio. these are just some things to consider before turboing an engine in stock trim, but if you were to rebuilt the whole thing then thats a different story. more displacement only mean more torque

[matic 240sx]

the Rb2.0det only came in the RWDs.. correct me if im wrong... &nbsp;and the rb2.6det is in the AWDs

Wow I see a lot of you guys haven't been to our site.....
<a href="http://www.unstable-hybrids.com

Look" target="_blank">http://www.unstable-hybrids.com

Look</a> under the projects and then the RB20DET install in the S-13, there are pictures, I have personally driven that car a lot.....

Now to answer the obvious speculation going on here...why SR20DET over RB20DET, thats pretty simple as someone said, the parts can be found in the US for the SR20DET much easier, and the power out put on both is relatively the same stock stock. &nbsp;

Somet thing I heard that I know are assumptions are the weight difference. &nbsp;Now the RB25DET and 26 I'm sure have more bulk than the 20, but on our car we did the RB20DET install on, if you look at the pictures, that car has OEM stock front springs on it(not touched at all), the car had a KA and automatic, we installed the RB20DET with 5 speed we added a total of 60lbs, the car weighed at the 2800lbs, so its pretty good on that if you really look at it.

Now how does it perform, well I'll compare it with a SR20DET powered S-13 locally, he's putting out 233hp and 250lbs of torque at the wheels on his red top sr, stock turbo running 14psi......best ets....are [email protected]

Our RB20DET running 14psi, similar setup to him, heavyer car was running [email protected], we had 60.s that were .2 worse than his, so the RB has a 13.6 or 7 in it.

Basically you get out of both about the same thing, and since the weight difference isn't much the car doesn't just want to understeer like crazy, trust me I've been driving and drifting it....its very stable

The one category that the RB shines in is the pure enjoyment of the powerband, &nbsp;and the sound. &nbsp;The inline 6 is smooth and feels refined, far more than the SR or KA even thought about,

My advice, if its your toy, the RB might be entertaining, the swap isn't nearly as straight forward, if its your daily do the SR.......easier to maintain.....but I&quot;ll do RB on both my toys and my daily........

thanks

[S13Grl]

Thanks for all the info. I guess we were all misinformed.

Regarding turboing your KA, I would personally not suggest doing it unless you've got lots and lots of money and unless your internals are strong. Just my $.02.

[BlankFlip]

it's nice to have someone able to post that has had experience with both the rb n sr in a 240sx, it really helped me c the difference between the 2, even the difference w/ the rb being in a skyline or a 240.

[aidan]

Hey everybody I'm new here and really interested in the RB20DET swap (as a daily driver.) &nbsp;I'm also torn on the decision between SR and RB. &nbsp;I'm guessing nobody from Unstable will disclose this, but does anyone else know exactly what needs to be done for a RB swap? &nbsp;I'm very curious as to how much it would cost in the end, but don't even know what needs to be done. :\

Thanks! <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':D'>

[Ni5mo180SX]

For all the people talking about the KA having weak internals, I recommend going down to the local Nissan dealership and asking how often KA's come in for serious engine work before giving the &quot;i heard, he said, she said&quot; crap. The KA's probably one of the most stout 4's Nissan has built.

[DjBaMBaM]

Hoesntly...thsi thread will never die...

[pinoy nismo]

btw guys the ka engine before it was use on a silvia it was being use on a datsun pick up..... imo the ka would good cadidate for some turbo spankin................. &nbsp;

[mistert]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Quote: from matic 240sx on 5:33 am on Oct. 25, 2001
the Rb2.0det only came in the RWDs.. correct me if im wrong... and the rb2.6det is in the AWDs
</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>

the rb25det and rb20det came in the skyline gt-4, a 4wd version using the &quot;lesser skyline&quot; engines

[drift freaq]

pinoy nismo writess..
tw guys the ka engine before it was use on a silvia it was being use on a datsun pick up..... imo the ka would good cadidate for some turbo spankin.................

_________________________________

eehehheheh survey says wrong!!

The KA24e came first in Stanza's and 240sx's It was not put in the Nissan truck till 1990 .

Ok guys as far as Turboing a KA goes . Few facts and points.
Point one: Piston oil squirters stock(this is normally only found in Turbo engines, hhhhhhmmm scratchs head starts to think :biggrin:)
Point: on 95 and later extra girdle was added to block making it even a little stronger.
Ok as far as decisions to Turbo a KA or SR20DET. If your KA has low miles on it its a good canidate for Turbo and that is any year. even the early ones bottom ends were strong enough you just have to keep boost down on the early ones because of the higher stock compression. After 95 they stuck 8.5 :1 pistons in them/
Truth , if you Turbo a stock engine you need to limit your boost to not to much more than 12lb's because stock pistons are cast. Not ideal for Turbo setups.
Ok now back to SR20DET vs KA24DE+T. Cost differences are one of the major factors here . If you can do a SR20DET swap for less than it would cost to Turbo your KA saying it had high mileage . then that would be the way to go because rebuilding your KA for Turbo will wind costing you more than the swap.
Now if you have a low mileage KA then you just might be able to Turbo it for less(thats me ,yes thats what I am doing:biggrin:
) .
Ok few more things , do you like revs? SR20 will rev better.
#### if your gonna go there then you need to get the CA18DET which is actually a awesome engine, square bore x stroke combo makes it the highest revving engine in these debates . More boost on stock internals make it another plus engine Heheheheheh CA18guy were are you?
KA24DE+T equals raw brute force torque monster lower in the rev band . I.E. awesome launchs. won't rev as high as the others but will produce power sooner do to its low end torque. Can rev to 7 with a few mods.
So there you have it.
SR20DET cool
KA24DET can be cool
CA18DET super cool
RB20DET,RB25DET,RB26DET awesome cool engines but swaps are not for faint of heart i.e. more work leave to Joel over at Unstable Hybrids. Or on the West coast McKinny Motorsports or Motorex.