browntrout

Rb20det 1982 GSL fully swapped:

Sard FPR

Ebay FMIC/Charge Piping

Rb25 Turbo

Greddy RS blow off

Custom Intake Plenum

Eibach 450/300 springs and sleeves

Koni Red's front

Bilstein HD's rear

New brake pads

Walbro 255

Some others can't quite think atm.

Building swaybar and 3" stainless echaust & screamer pipe coming next.

Springs are have 0 sag and are bit tight, car bounces a bit. Thinking of puttin 300 springs on front and getting new springs for rear. What do you guys think?

Here's some pics of the build. There are some ghetto pieces on the car, don't mind them for now.

browntrout

Springs, towers, mounts:

browntrout

Don't ask me why my engine bay is yellow, car is unpainted.

limepro

iTrader: (2)

Why is this in the 3rd gen section?

browntrout

Beause its a third gen, obviously I missed that part. Can a mod switch it?

gsl-se addict

iTrader: (3)

thread moved.

browntrout

After some readin I ordered 10" 175lb spring sfor the rear to replace the 8" 300lb's that I will put up front.

stilettoman

iTrader: (1)

Before I started my project a little more than 2 years ago, I could not find any example of an in-line 6 installed in a 1st gen RX-7. About the time I got mine running, Super Street magazine published the article about the guy with the RB26 project, obviously intended to be a serious drag/street racer. Mine is strictly for normal street driving.

Your radiator looks pretty small, if I am interpreting the photo correctly, and I assume the intercooler is not yet installed. I used the stock Skyline radiator and clutch fan, and it cools very well, even in pretty hot weather.

I added 100 pounds to the stock 1984 GSL, mostly on the front wheels. I removed the front springs and measured the rate at 85 pounds per inch. I did not measure the rears. I installed some good quality gas shocks, otherwise stock springs and suspension. The front sits about 3/8 inch lower than stock. I installed the 2nd gen big brakes, front and rear, with a set of 1990 RX-7 convertible BBS alloys and some Falken RT615 tires,206/50x15. I am very happy with the ride, performance, cornering and stopping ability, wet or dry, but of course it is just street driven. I have no idea what you plan to do with your car, but I think the ride may be pretty harsh.

I am puzzled by the 3 inch exhaust - what kind of horsepower do you plan to get with this motor?

Details of my build are shown here:

https://www.rx7club.com/nw-rx-7-foru...roject-982785/

browntrout

Right now, with bald rear tires the thing will spin most gears lol. Works really good. It has a front mount intercooler under front bumper support. The rad is really small, but was around 100$ with eletric fan, it holds a constant 1/3 on temp gauge (roughly 150F) without fan on around -10C outdoors. I'm not sure will heat effectively in +20c but we shall see. Seems to heat up quite quickly under boost.

My power goal for this year is at it's limits, Thinking of getting nistune, Injectors and a holset Hy35 in seasons ahead. Planning to do a couple tracks days this season as well. Really worried about it leaning out on the mines tune, the engine is tuned for 100 RON octane fuel and the greatest we have is 91 (roughly 93 RON)

As for the 3" exhaust,from what I understand on a turbo motor the best exhaust is no exhaust. 3" is slight over kill but will be there for above mentioned upgrades. I like your crossmember better, Mine is a bit less designed, more of a box around the oil pan.

The suspension is far too stiff at this time, I don't mind a race car feel on the roads to an extent. 300 and 175's will be stiff side I think. But nothing like 450/300's In it now lol. Got a good deal, and didn't do any research before buying. Seems odd RX7's are 50/50 weight dist from factory with much lighter rear springs?


I really appreciate all the info you have given me so far. Recently I bough the SGI-8 from dakota and wired for 6cyl but it seems the rpm is inflated and runs around 2k at idle, oddly enough. Did you ever get your shift buzzer to work with the Dakota?

I seen the RB26 project, weighs a fair bit but is not limited in power!

stilettoman

iTrader: (1)

My RPM buzzer works just like it did before the swap. I just assumed it is triggered by a switch in the tach, but I never researched it. My engine does not want to idle below about 1,000 rpm, but it is so quiet and smooth I just don't care.

My local tuner expert seems to think a little back pressure in the exhaust is good for street driving because it helps develop more boost and more torque in the mid range rpm. I am running a 2 1/2 inch cat and then into the stock RX-7 tailpipe, which is about 2 1/8 inch, back to the stock RX-7 muffler. It is very quiet until I go to full throttle and high rpm. Everyone who has driven it seems to be impressed with the power and thinks it is an ideal motor for this car, even the diehard rotorheads. Of course an RB25 or 1JZ would be more exciting, and very helpful if I wanted more traffic tickets, but you would not likely find a complete front clip for $1600.

I am really sold on the idea of a front clip, because as you may have read, we are using just about everything. My current project is using another R32/RB20 front clip, this one with only 35,000 miles. We have grafted the complete front clip onto the firewall of a 1948 Studebaker, and also adapted the complete rear suspension of a R33 Skyline. Hope to have it running this summer. Some photos here, starting with post number 15:

https://www.rx7club.com/nw-rx-7-foru...garage-999198/

MazdaMike02

iTrader: (4)

Why waste money on an ancient, underpowered 6 cyl..if your gonna go RB at least get a good one like an RB25 or 26..a bloody SR20 would smoke an RB20 all day..and its lighter.

browntrout

Mazdamike

Lol, someone put on their extra chromosome today! Have you ever even driven an sr or RB?

Rb25's are known for failure I have a friend with one that died and a friend with an r32 gtr, whilst Rb26's are heavy with the 4Wd tranny and very expensive. Rb20's are 1300$ +tax motor trans/ecu/maf and can make 400 HP on stock internals. More reliable than an SR (1800$ + tax +/-) and less expensive for equal power returns.

The internet is only a tool and is only as useful as the operator's skill.....

A thrown together cheap Rb20 made 373Rwkw for over 50 dyno runs and sounds 10x better than any SR.

An Rb20 coming from a 2800-3000lb car into a 2300-2500lb or less car is a huge relief for this car.

I cannot see what makes your opinions greater than anyone else? Especially when it's based on seemingly zero facts.

Come back when you have had some time to do some research, and field testing.

BT
TURBOTUNE BUILT RB20 **373RWKW** - Hardtuned.net

browntrout

StillettoMan, A front clip here was well over 2K$ and It would have made things like wiring especially much easier!

Well my thoughts where that the turbo creates the back pressure when exhaust gases have to spin the turbine, But I guess if there is gas pressure behind the wheel it would create more back pressure on the turbo wheel? Hard to say. The Rb20 turbo is very small even compared to the RB25, I'd Assume there is more than enough backpressure infront of the wheel lol. The stock Rx7 muffler makes me giggle lol. I've got a 3" magnaflow for mine which is more quite than most flow through mufflers. Rb20's scream up top! sounds so good. Your swaps are very clean and you take the time to do things right, where as I'm more in a rush to get running for the summer.

BT

MazdaMike02

iTrader: (4)

**** you.
Yes I've driven SRs and RBs.
Before getting into Mazdas I was into Nissans before, we've had a couple 240s. One with an SR, and stock.

Equal HP for cheaper? Bullshit. Nissan guys I know will disagree with you all day. More reliable? Again bullshit. I've seen plenty of SRs that get flogged mercilessly at the track and still keep going strong. I have plenty of friends with 240s with various engine swaps and not one of them has an RB20. Thats because they know how old and shitty they are. Not to mention that SRs arent nearly as expensive here.

At the end of the day its an ancient, underpowered, garbage choice of an engine. If your such a Nissan expert why did you use an RB20? Or buy an RX7? Or your just a self proclaimed internet expert right? Please, go read some more internet articles Mr Expert.
Lmao an RB20de is rated at around the same HP as a 13B NA, which is barely an upgrade from a 12A.. DET is rated around the same as an REW. So your basically wasting a bunch of money to downgrade. Thats hilarious. Now you just have an RX7 that isnt an RX7 anymore, with one of the worst possible engines lmao and you'll never get what you put into it.

browntrout

Woah man, calm down big rig! This debate has been in debate for years with no final outcome. Turn up your hearing aid war amp, not once did I ever say anything of being an expert. I honestly couldn't give two ***** what your equally down syndrome riddled "buddies" say.

Not once were Rb20de's mentioned.

Literally go make your own thread, I just don't see why you would want to bash someone's project or engine. Being young and having a first real project car, At least I can make my own decision. Engines are engines and any engine can make power and be reliable, We've seen this with the evolution of the rotary.

I'm no expert and you and I both know I never claimed to be.

Rb20det 210HP rated factory more than double the 12a.

12a 100 hp factory rated (came in car)

13b 130hp factory rated

Cost of rebuild kits and little power just didn't seem the best route at the time. I do not see how I downgraded? Please Clarify.

Having said all that I do respect your opinion but i do not believe it's fair or entirely factual. I've never been in an SR but I know that 6.0l stock Denali is on par with a tuned one. Having driven my rx7 with an Rb20det and driven cars like Evo's and Corvettes, I like this best as a fun light car to drive and has more than enough power as is.

I did research between Sr's RB's and F20's and I literally would have bought an f20 before an sr20. It comes down to personal preference, and not one engine is strong in ever point of preference. I chose and Rb20det and that's my choice, just like Sr20's are your's. Obviously I'm going to check you on that after posting some hater **** in a build thread, Like what kind of lacking man does that ? lol

Also what newer japanese car do you ever get your return on investment back >?

BT

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

Lets keep the thread civil. This is starting to sway off topic.

browntrout

I agree, this is a build thread.

stilettoman

iTrader: (1)

Yes, this is a build thread, but I suspect some here may not know the history of this ancient, crappy six cylinder motor we are wasting our time with. Here is a little history. In the early 1950s, Prince Motors made a licensing agreement with Daimler Benz to build their straight six motor. In 1966, Nissan bought Prince Motors, and continued to build certain Prince models, including the Skyline. Nissan made changes and improvements to the motor and produced the L series which they believed was sufficiently different that they no longer needed to pay royalties. This motor was used in the 240/260/280Z and other models. This was eventually replaced by the RB series, originally with single cam and later with the dual cams we are familiar with. Of course a motor with dual overhead cams and four valves per cylinder is very modern technology, first used in the Peugeot that won the French Grand Prix in 1912, but perhaps more familiar to American car enthusiasts in the 1929 and later Duesenbergs and various racing engines by Miller in the 1920s.

The second version of the RB20 was the RB20DET first used in the R32 Skyline in 1989, and had improved heads, cam profiles and fuel injection systems. This is the same year the SR20DET was introduced, although the front engine/rear drive version was first used in the Sylvia in 1991. People much more knowledgeable than I have stated that the technology of these motors is essentially the same. Of course the aluminum block with steel liners is a very old technology, but was used in quantity by Alfa and Fiat from the 1950s and 60s. Obviously the iron block of the RB series was used because was it thoroughly developed and there was no pressing need to redesign it. My opinion is that the smooth running of the RB20 is primarily because of the straight six configuration, but also because of the rigidity and inherent damping of the iron block.

The RB20DET and SR20DET have essentially the same power over the years produced until the last version of the SR20DET was used in the S15 from 1999 to 2002, with variable valve timing, more refined cam profiles and improved fuel injection, and another 30 hp. Equivalent changes were made in the RB20 and RB25 Neo versions, but only in the normally aspirated version of the RB20. These changes were made specifically to improve emissions and fuel economy.

My local JDM source here in Seattle has not been able to come up with an S15 or RB25DETNeo front clip from their contacts in Japan, but if they do it will cost at least twice what I have paid for the RB20DET clips. Everyone seems to want more power, so the RB20 is cheap and in my opinion is the best bang for the buck of any JDM engine. Hundreds of people have seen my RX-7 at various car shows and informal JDm meets, and no one has ever suggested that an SR20 would be a better choice. But for people with no swap experience and limited fabrication skills, I have often suggested the SR20 would be easier to deal with.

browntrout

These are some facts and well needed at that, thank you.

notveryhappyjack

iTrader: (4)

Keep going with the build man. Not sure why that guy is wasting his time shitting on your thread or what he thinks he will accomplish by arguing Nissan motors.

notveryhappyjack

iTrader: (4)

Keep going with the build man. Not sure why that guy is wasting his time shitting on your thread or what he thinks he will accomplish by arguing Nissan motors. RB20 motors sounds great for a cheap little engine.

browntrout

Thanks jack, It's sounding even better with an the 3" coming along. Half way done, TIG skills are starting the shape up as well. New springs are in as well.

Anyone know how I can upload images easily in a larger format?

BT

notveryhappyjack

iTrader: (4)

I use
https://imgur.com/
over on the right side of the page you can upload from device or hard drive. You can even do mobile phone uploads. Then you just copy paste the link in your thread. Should appear full size

browntrout

Okay thanks!

Finished building the sway bar with poly end links, switched up the springs and have half of the exhaust built. Works good and sounds good. I need some taller/light springs for the front. 8" 300lb is still bouncy, I'm sure some stronger adjustment may help it though.

browntrout

New spoiler from Rx7club member





Diamond racing Pro Streets coming 15x8 0 Offset and 15 x 10 +25 offset

ZG flares will be going on as well.

BT