Where to obtain a l28et

[Add]

Hiya,

 

First post so be kind, hehehe and have done a search. So the qn is how to obtain an l28et in Australia. I have seen plenty of conversions from NA to Turbo however different blocks and heads and lots of money was used in oreder to obtain the required results. I figured that it would be better to obtain an existing l28et via import. It would save chasing around and waiting for the parts to come up by chance. Is there some one in victoria that I could contact who has been know to import l28et's or even have them. Oh by the way this is going to be placed in a hill climb car (l28e), so the power is necisary.

 

Thanks in advance.

Add

[zedevan]

i belive they are around the same price as an rb25det to obtain, although i'd like to hear otherwise.

 

i guess its one of those things where we wish we lived in america, but they wish they lived here for rb's and specifically rb30s

 

RPMz's one is out of a jap import from memory, so i guess you could ask any engine importer, although i asssume what i said about is true due to availibililty

[Toecutter]

I can get one for about US$400.00 complete however not sure how much shipping would cost. I thought of doing the same but when you take into account most likely need to reco turbo in which case most likely to upgrade any how, new injectors and computer set you back alot. So once you include price of motor and shipping it quickly gets to the point where it's not such a cheap conversion anymore. There was thread on this let me find it...will be back soon!

 

EDIT: ah here it is, not much technical info but a general consensus that as Dave has mentioned below it's not as cheap an option as some might think but good luck anyhow should your budget be higher than I had in mind.

 

http://www.viczcar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=882

[thehelix112]

Ask yourself why you want a L28ET in the first place. If its to go fast, then the only thing you really need is a P90 head, assuming you will be replacing/rebuilding a lot of the internals of the engine you build anyway.

 

If its to go fast cheaply, look elsewhere.

 

Dave

[Add]

Well as i said the true pupose is not for street but for hill climbing and maybe track events. Living in Central Victoria has its downsides. The current engine is a l28e out of an 83 s130. I have considered making a 3.0 bored engine. There is a guy in bendigo that makes drag racing engines who said he could do it, take about a week. Rebuild plus improvements will be approx $2500 that doesnt include fuel injection system.

[Sooley]

No way I would go that way.

 

You would be better going for a VL Turbo RB30 engine in that case. Will get a lot more power and will be great straight out of the box. can buy parts cheap off other forums and its an easy upgrade.

Or, go the RB25DET, very easy once again but with the twincan head.

$2500 is a lot of money and only end up with an L series motor, not worth the effort in my opinion.

 

Sooley

[Add]

True, however then u have to pay for engineering certs and last time I checked both those engines required modifications to engine mounts, plus new gear box and fabed universals to go to the diff. That also adds up. Plus correct me if im wrong both engines actually weigh more than the l28.

[Sooley]

Both weigh more put will put out WAY more power. Mounts are easy to fab for both engine and gearbox and a whole front cut with everything could be bought for $3K ish.

You will spend $2500 on the L28 and you still wont be happy with the car, especially for hill climb type events, I guarantee it.

 

Sooley

[thehelix112]

Add,

 

My advice would be to pick a power target, pick a budget, then try to make one fit the other.

 

FWIW I have spent over 10K on the turbo setup for my L28, and I haven't even pulled it apart yet. That being said, I'm not in any hurry (read, don't care about budget), and was not willing to change engines. Not for any good engineering reason, I just like the L.

 

Dave

[Add]

I am actually a bit of a purist, so I would like to continue to use an L series engine.

[luke_mcmahon85]

say....just hypothetically...someone had an f54 block and a p90 head on their car, and a 280zx turbo manifold lying around...it shouldn't be too expensive should it? i plan on going with megasquirt and using a NA 280zx intake manifold and fabbing a downpipe and buying a t3 turbo...what do you think?

[zr240]

Not trying to be picky but you say your a bit of a purist and you want to bolt a turbo onto a car that never had one?

 

Also the 240z (432) had a stright 6 twin cam motor back in japan so if you bolt in a rb its still in the spirit of the zed (in my opinion).

 

I think its a good thing dave said about looking at a hp figure and seeing what motor fits that.

 

I was running a tripple webbered l28 bored to 2.9l that puts out approx 250-280hp in my race car. I have now decieded to change the motor to a rb25det because to get much more out of the L series I would have to spend alot on money for not much gain. The Rb25det has about 250hp std (and probably a fair bit more tourque) so I am starting at a similar pwr to the L series but have alot more tunning potentioal.

 

Ash

[nat0_240_chevZ]

well yea i happen to have an f54 with a p90 sitting in a parts car!!!

odd combo seing it was carbed.

cant say for sure the condition of it, but i may do something with it.

bought the car complete for cheap, the guys didnt realise what was in it!!!!

and they wreck em!!!

 

280zx or any l-series turbos manifolds im afraid not

 

nato

[Scando]

My car simply run a normal n/a L28 with the tops shaved off the pistons for decompresion which I think is a bit dodgey but it runs 10psi and produces 300+ hp with very good reliability.

I personally wouldn't go to the trouble of getting a proper L28ET engine when most parts such as the pistons and head are going to need to be modified or replaced to produce big power anyway.

Turbo, injectors, computer, etc will all have to be replaced to produce big power whether you go for an L or an RB.

At the end of the day an RB conversion will probably be more cost effective and produce slightly more power in the long run. The reason I bought my car is because it is much much simpler to work on than one with an RB conversion.........And it was cheap :wink:

If I was you Add I'd just do the turbo conversion on your engine you already have. Without spending massive dollars it'll produce a fair bit more power and give you truckloads of torque compared to what you have now and it'll definatly get you up those hills much quicker

 

That's my $2 worth

[Add]

Cool, I was considering the turbo conversion to the old motor swapping out the N42 (I think, been a while) to put in a P90 not sure whether to go the P90A or not. The main reason I was considering the turbo engine is the fact that it has thicker walls in the cylinder wall, has larger groves for the cooling of the block (so I have been informed) and comes with the P90 head. But the reason I asked here was different people have been giving me different answers, alot contradictive. So I thought I would as a comunity of people who actually know what they are on about. Someone has offered to sell me a R34 rb25det for 4,000. Whats the story with these neo engines in relation to the r33 version? Thanks for the assistance all it has helped alot.

[Toecutter]

There is a member here with P90A head, I believe he wants to sell it. If interested look up memeber name RacingZstripe & PM him.

[luke_mcmahon85]

the F54 vs N42 debate is always on...however, i don't think it really makes much difference, there's supposed to be siamesing of the cylinders, or webbing between the cooling passages to make the F54 stronger, but many claim the N42 is stronger....

 

it really won't make any difference which one you use...

 

the same goes for P90 and P90A heads, while apparently some P90A heads came with hydraulic lifters, mine has the solid type, and Lindsey from the Z shop told me that every P90A he's seen has had hydraulic lifters, so it must have been a US only thing. As long as it has solid lifters don't worry about whether it's a P90 or a P90A

 

As for finding a P90 head, they only came to australia on patrols (MQ's i think, althouhg there may have been others).

[zedevan]

i've been wondering what the difference between a neo and non-neo engine is too...so if you find out, or find a good site with info please pass it on

[Toecutter]

Don't mean to hijack thread but just a quick question re N42 head vs N47. I've read the later N47 has hardened seats and well suited to unleaded unlike N42. Might be a silly question but what sort of damage and how probable is it re running unleaded without addative on an N42 head with the standard valve seats?

[nat0_240_chevZ]

thought the zx's with efi ran unleaded with the n42 anyways....

will cause bugger all damage anyways like i said above.

aslong as ther is no stupid amounts of pinging, which is the real cause for premature wear on the softer seats, you will be ok.

 

Really when you think about it the valve guides will need replacing before the seats, so when you rebuild, you put hardened valve seats in, cost a bit more than a basic reco but the money youll save on the additive, and if you run ultimate or 98 ron then dont even worry about it.

 

id be more worried about the condition of the roads and what its doing to your shocks and other susp bits, aswell as the frame rails.

 

nato

[Zeddophile]

The 'Neo' engine is a redesign of the RB series to try and meet tighter emissions laws. However, far from being choked by it, its actually considerably more powerful than the earlier motors - as such, they're worth more than a normal RB.

 

Quick search dug up these figures:

 

R33 RB25DET: 250PS (approx 250 horsepower, but just slightly less) @ 6,400rpm, 294NM @ 4,800 rpm.

R34 RB25DET (Neo): 280PS @ 6,400rpm, 340nm @ 3,200rpm.

 

Can't remember the exact differences, but the intake manifold is definitely different, along with a few other bits and pieces.

[Scando]

I'm pretty sure the main difference is that the Neo has a variable valve timing and lift setup, similar to the later SR20's. That price sounds good for a Neo engine if it's in good condition Add.

[Add]

Well I had a look on tradingpost.com.au and in the second hand section u can pick up a neo rb25 for $5000 including the gearbox. So throw another thou for a gearbox, dont know if they offer lume and comp. But using this setup will cost around 8k before u can even drive it on the road (rough working out in my head). That will include aftermarket engine management, conversions, engineering, motor and gearbox ofcourse, suspension (front). What u want is a front cut for that amount. *sigh*

[Sooley]

I'm pretty sure the main difference is that the Neo has a variable valve timing and lift setup' date=' similar to the later SR20's. That price sounds good for a Neo engine if it's in good condition Add.[/quote']

 

The normal RB25 has Variable Valve timing too.

 

I bought my front cut for about $4500, and ended up selling heaps of un wanted parts off it too.

 

Gearbox's are the problem, they are dam hard to find and are VERY EVRY expensive. $1500 MIN for a second hand and $2800 new. I will be going new as I sold mine to a mate that was desperate for one at the time

[nat0_240_chevZ]

early rb25's did not have vvt, in late r32 and early r33.

neo has the new intake with variable inlet flow and a few othe rintake goodies.