RB30 question??

[tomtom]

Hey guys!~

 

I have a datson 280zx shell sitting at home, and im looking to chuck a RB engine in it in the next few months....had a look through the web, magazines and stuff and decided to chuck a Turbo Charged rb30 in it... soo i just want to ask a few questions:

 

firstly, how much does it cost to turbo charge a N/A RB30? parts + labor. Theres a couple turbo charged Rb30s on ebay, the prices range from around $1500 to up to $2000ish, is it reliable or worth the money? because a N/A engine cost roughly around $500.

 

Also, is the standard manual gear box from the RB30 anygood? i know their quite old, so im not too sure if i should use the existing gear box that come with some of the engines or if i should just get the engine alone and buy the gear box from another car. and if i was to buy another gearbox, which gearbox is good and will fit the Rb30 engine as well as fit straight into the current mounts on the car.

 

i have a few more questions but just forgot , ill post them up bit later, but in anycase, general tips and stuff would be much appreciated

 

Thanks in advance for your help!!

 

Cheers

[RB30X]

Na RB30's work brilliantly with a turbo manifold/turbo and ecu thrown on, up to about 9 psi without an intercooler and a few more with one. This is more than enough to blow away a standard LS1 powered car and very torquey with the na compression still. Unsure of how heavey a 280zx would be against a VL shell though. A factory turbo engine will let you run a lot more boost but has the lag to go with it. Depends on what you want to do with the car and how much power you want to make.

 

The last conversion I did cost just over a grand for the parts I needed, and installed it myself. Na engines should not cost $500, $100 maybe. Na gearboxes will hold the conversion power for a while providing you don't boost in 4th or 5th gear. VL turbo manuals are stronger but cost more. These boxes fit in the same spot but once again not sure about the 280zx fittament.

 

 

 

[tomtom]

when you turbo charged the rb30 do you have to change all the engine internals??

[1979ZED]

Should be ok with low psi. If you are going to boost it crazily then you should be thinking about internals.

[DatPilot]

look for the R31 club forum, they sell RB30 turbo parts all day long.

My mate had a N/A with good bolt-ons, we got 190Kw first dyno tune.

the key part is to get a 'darkhalf' remapped ecu from adelaide, its made to suit the VL turbo (280cc hose tail) injectors

[RB30X]

Should be ok with low psi. If you are going to boost it crazily then you should be thinking about internals.

 

9psi with standard internals will be fine if you have turbo injectors and ecu (and that will haul).

 

Calaisturbo.com is another good site for parts.

[RBZ 260]

yeah calaisturbo is good site.

 

i think the turbo block has extra webing but i havent realy seen it in person just from what i heard. obviously the compression is lower on the Turbo model and cam injectors etc.......

 

from experience ive turboed a CA18DE in a silvia. this was quite straight forward job. done in a weekend.

 

had turbo manifold and turbo and all fittings. needed a turbo sump as it had turbo oil return attachment on it.

 

replaced the ECU for turbo one, turbo injectors, turbo fuel pump. all up cost maybe $750 with second hand turbo.

 

the transformation was unbeliavable.

 

with 8psi wirtualy no lag but there was a distinctive push at higher revrange.

 

driven the car myself to do the job. a 83 accord cleaned me off the line. (very embarrising) did the conversion everything ran like it was there from factory.

 

my relative spent bit more cash on it big front mount and engine oil cooler and remmaped ecu ( some 600 extra) and got 180kw at the wheels running 15psi boost on stock NA CA18DE. 140kw with original stock setups from CA18DET parts. and while was NA he got like 75kw.

 

suprisingly to me 15months of thrashing never had an issue with it. sold the car.

 

drivability was quite good as the lag was reduced (though i like my lag) its the quiet eerie bit before the big storm.

 

so yeah turboing an NA sure is a good thing. best $750 my cousin spent on his silvia and almost doubling the power.

[sco_aus]

You will find doing the RB30 conversion a lot more expensive than turboing it, however make sure you do them at the same time so that you can have the exhaust made to fit turbo instead of doing it twice and there will be other things that need to change if you dont.

[RB30X]

Hmm, charge the L28 instead then?

[tomtom]

Thanks for all the help guys~

 

Hmm, charge the L28 instead then?

sold the engine after i took it out...purely out of ignorance...my life would be so much easier if i just charged that one...

 

 

also, do you guys know if the RB30 gearbox fits  straight into the 280zx?

 

lastly, is the installation process DIY-able? or would i have to pay a mechanic? to do it?

if i do it my self, would there be troubles getting it registered?

 

Cheers

[Zeddophile]

lastly, is the installation process DIY-able? or would i have to pay a mechanic? to do it?

 

Of all the stupid questions that get asked around here over and over again, this is one of the most annoying to me.

 

Who are you, and how is your mechanical ability?  How much space have you got to work in, how much time can you be without the car for?  What tools do you own, and what tools do your mates own that you can borrow?  Answer all of these questions, and maybe we can tell you how much of it we think you're capable of doing.

[C.A.R.]

Of all the stupid questions that get asked around here over and over again, this is one of the most annoying to me.

 

Who are you, and how is your mechanical ability?  How much space have you got to work in, how much time can you be without the car for?  What tools do you own, and what tools do your mates own that you can borrow?  Answer all of these questions, and maybe we can tell you how much of it we think you're capable of doing.

Would you like to become a Moderator?

[tomtom]

Of all the stupid questions that get asked around here over and over again, this is one of the most annoying to me.

 

Who are you, and how is your mechanical ability?  How much space have you got to work in, how much time can you be without the car for?  What tools do you own, and what tools do your mates own that you can borrow?  Answer all of these questions, and maybe we can tell you how much of it we think you're capable of doing.

 

what i meant was if every thing would fit straight in, bolt on and bolt off, or are there modifications, welding, cutting, precise measurements etc required to get it to fit. how high is the risk that ill screw during the process, how high is the chance that ill end up blowing up the engine or other irreversible out comes.

 

ive got plenty of space, plenty of tools, plenty of time and plenty of mates and as mentioned above, if its bolt on and bolt off, it shouldnt be any problems, if theres anything more, i wont be able to handle it.

 

Cheers

[sco_aus]

If you have to cut your car, you have done something wrong.  You need to source the correct parts for the conversion.  None of the above is direct bolt in without the right parts...  There a lot of threads on RB conversions on the website, do some research on whats required and then ask the questions.  You will god ideas off of build up threads like mine and others on how to do it, but there most definately custom work required, so I don't know how handy you or your mates are with a welder and metal...

[Zeddophile]

Would you like to become a Moderator?

 

I don't have enough time to edit all the spelling mistakes you've been making lately....

[sco_aus]

lol owned

[RB30X]

I don't have enough time to edit all the spelling mistakes you've been making lately....

 

That was the best reply ever.