Nissan RB engine


The RB engine is a 2.0-3.0 L straight-6 four-stroke gasoline engine from Nissan, produced from 1985 to 2004, and will be continuing production in 2019, after a 15 year hiatus. The RB followed the 1983 VG-series V6 engines to offer a full, modern range in both straight or vee layouts.
Both SOHC and DOHC versions have an aluminium head. The SOHC versions have 2 valves per cylinder and the DOHC versions have 4 valves per cylinder; each cam lobe moves only one valve. All RB engines have belt driven cams and a cast iron block. Most turbo models have an intercooled turbo, and most have a recirculating factory blow off valve to reduce compressor surge when the throttle quickly closes. The Nissan RB Engine is derived from the six cylinder Nissan L20A engine which has the same bore and stroke as the RB20. All RB engines were made in Yokohama, Japan where the new VR38DETT is now made. Some RB engines were rebuilt by Nissan's NISMO division at the Omori Factory in Tokyo as well. All Z-Tune Skylines were rebuilt at the Omori Factory.

Bore and stroke

All Nissan engines follow a naming convention, identifying the engine family, displacement, features present—see the list of Nissan engines for details.
The stock dimensions for the Nissan RB Engine
The first RB20ET/DE/DET engines were fitted to the HR31 Skyline and the Nissan Fairlady 200ZR, produced from August 1985. The early twin cam engines featured the NICS injection system, while the later twin cam engines used ECCS. Later versions which used ECCS engine management, discarded the twelve tiny runners for six much larger ones. It was also fitted to the A31 Cefiro, C32 and C33 Laurel. The Fairlady 200ZR was fitted with an intercooled NICS type RB20DET.
The first RB20E engine was used in the C32 Nissan Laurel, produced from October 1984.
Laurels, R32 Skyline and Cefiros used the second series RB20E/DE/DET. This had an improved head design, and used the ECCS injection system. These later motors are known as "Silver Top" engines.
The RB20DET-R was used in the Nissan Skyline 2000GTS-R and was limited to 800 units.
There were a variety of 2.0 L RB20 engines produced:
This is a comparatively rare engine, as it was not produced for the Japanese domestic market. These were fitted to some left hand drive Nissan Cefiros exported from Japan new. Mechanically, the RB24S combines an RB30E head, RB25DE/DET block and RB20DE/DET crank with 34 mm height pistons. The resulting bore and stroke combined to form a inline-six engine.
This engine used carburetors instead of the Nissan ECCS fuel injection system. It is able to rev higher than the RB25DE/DET as well as being almost the same displacement as the RB25DE/DET. A common modification is to fit a twin cam head from other RB series motors while retaining the carburetor set-up. The standard single cam form produced at 5,000 rpm and of torque at 3,000 rpm.

RB25

The 2.5 L RB25 engine was produced in four forms:








The RB25 series of engines was first introduced in the R33 Nissan Skyline GTST. RB25DE and DET engines produced from August 1993 also featured NVCS for the intake cam. This gave the new RB25DE more power and torque at lower rpm than the previous model. From 1995, both the RB25DE and RB25DET had a revised electrical system and the turbocharger on the RB25DET had a ceramic turbine
wheel rather than aluminium. The most obvious change to the system was the introduction of ignition coils with built in ignitors, therefore the coil ignitor that was on previous models was not used. Other changes were, different air flow meter, engine ECU, cam angle sensor and throttle position sensor. Mechanically Series 1 and Series 2 are very similar, the only mechanical difference would be the camshafts as the Series 2 Cam Angle Sensor's shaft that goes into the exhaust cam is slightly different. Early Series 2 featured the traditional Mitsubishi CAS which was later swapped for the Black CAS because of a positioning tooth which occasionally broke off.
In May 1998 a NEO head was fitted, which enabled the engine to be classified as a low emission vehicle engine due to their lower fuel consumption and emission output. The NEO head featured solid lifters rather than hydraulic, revised camshafts, with on/off solenoid Variable VCT, used a hotter thermostat, model-specific coil packs and a revised inlet manifold in particular the RB25DE NEO which had two inlets going into the inlet manifold. The combustion chamber of the head is smaller so GT-R spec connecting rods are used to compensate as well as model-specific pistons. The turbo received the larger OP6 turbine which some came with steel compressor and turbine wheels, where others had the nylon plastic compressor wheel and ceramic turbine wheel. Some also used an N1 type oil pump and had the oil pump drive collar on the crank revised to help cope with the breakage problems associated with fast, high revs.
All in all they are quite a different engine in their own right - a culmination of 20 years of Nissan RB engine building rolled into one.
The non-VCT, non-turbo RB25DE was fitted to the R32 Skyline, the VCT turbo and non-turbo was fitted to R33 Skylines and the WNC34 Stagea. Early R34 Skylines use the non-NEO RB, later Skyline and Stagea models use the NEO version.
R32 Skyline RB25DE Camshaft duration 240°in, 232°ex lift: in, ex
R33 Skyline RB25DE Camshaft duration 240°in, 240°ex lift: in, ex
RB25DET Camshaft duration 240°in, 240°ex lift: in, ex
RB25DE NEO Camshaft duration 236°in, 232°ex lift: in, ex
RB25DET NEO Camshaft duration 236°in, 232°ex lift: in, ex

RB26DETT

The RB26DETT engine is a Inline-six engine manufactured by Nissan, for use in the 1989-2002 Nissan Skyline GT-R. The RB26DETT engine block is made from cast iron, while the cylinder head is made from aluminium alloy, which contains DOHC 4 valves per cylinder setup. The intake of the RB26DETT varies from other RB-series motors in that it has six individual throttle bodies instead of a single throttle body. The engine also uses a parallel twin-turbo system, using a pair of T25-type ceramic turbochargers set by the wastegates to limit boost pressure to, although the Skyline GT-R has a built in boost restrictor to keep boost under.
The first 2.6 L RB26DETT was rated by Nissan at around at 6,800 rpm and at 4,400 rpm. By the end of production, power levels had gone up to around at 6,800 rpm and at 4,400 rpm, not only because of developments and modifications to the engine, but also because of the "Gentlemen's Agreement" made between Japanese automakers to limit the "advertised" horsepower of any vehicle to. While the published figures from Nissan were as quoted above, it's a known fact among enthusiasts that the car actually had a factory power output of closer to for the R34 was the power out put of. The RB26 is widely known and became quite popular for its strength and power potential thanks to its iron block and forged internals, making it a modification friendly platform for tuners and aftermarket modifications in general.
Some factory features of the RB26DETT:
There is a common oiling problem with the pre-1992 R32 RB26 motors, as the surface where the crankshaft meets the oil pump was machined too small, eventually leading to oil pump failure at high rpm. This issue was resolved in later versions of the RB26 with a wider oil pump drive. Aftermarket performance parts makers also make oil pump extension drive collars to rectify this problem. More recently a spline drive solution has been developed by an aftermarket tuner Supertec Racing who moves away from the OEM flat drive system and uses splines to drive the oil pump gears in the same way as Toyota's 1JZ-GTE engine as found in the Supra MKIII. This kit is available for most uprated RB26 oil pumps including Nissans own OEM, N1 and Nismo although most high hp RB engines all over the world have been proven to be reliable without spline driven oil pumps when built and tuned correctly.
Besides minor cosmetic updates and ECU fine tunings, changes were made in the R34 generation to ball bearing T28 turbochargers as opposed to journal bearing turbos. The R34 GT-R turbos retained the ceramic exhaust turbine wheel. Models that had steel exhaust turbine wheels included the R32 Nismo, R32-R33-R34 N1 models and R34 Nür spec skyline GT-R's.
R34 GT-R model RB26DETT engine specific differences to the R32-R33 engines include:
Originally the R32 GT-R was planned to have a 2.4L RB24DETT, and compete in the 4000 cc class. This was when Nismo was going through the process of designing the R32 GT-R to be a Group A race car. But when the engineers added the AWD system, they found it made the car heavier than expected and as a result, much less competitive. Nismo made the decision to make the engine a 2.6L twin turbo, and compete in the higher 4500 cc class, resulting in the RB26DETT known today.
The RB26DETT was used in the following cars:
The RB26DETT N1 is a modified version of the RB26DETT engine, developed by Nismo for Group A and Group N motorsport. Nismo found that the standard RB26DETT engine required too much maintenance for use in a Group-A or Group-N race car and subsequently designed the N1 block. This was first used in Bathurst Australia. Nismo balanced the crankshaft to a higher specification than stock, as the standard RB26DETT engine experiences vibrations between 7000 and 8000 rpm. The engine also received improved water and oil channels within the engine block. The pistons and top piston rings were also upgraded to. The N1 engine also has upgraded camshafts and upgraded turbochargers.
Although all versions of the RB26DETT N1 engine use Garrett T25 turbochargers, the specification of the turbochargers changed through the 3 generations of the RB26DETT N1 engine. The R32, and R33 versions used Journal Bearing T25 Turbochargers. The R34 RB26DETT N1 engine used Garrett GT25 turbo chargers.
The biggest difference between the turbochargers used in the N1 engine, and the standard RB26DETT engine, is that the turbine wheels in the turbocharger are made from steel, rather than the ceramic used for the standard RB26DETT turbochargers. The ceramic turbine wheels are found to be very unreliable when used at high rotational speeds inducing higher centrifugal forces. With the advances in manufacturing technology such as sealing and material processes.
The Nismo RB26DETT N1 engine block uses an bore which can be bored up to either. The N1 block is cast with an identification mark of 24U, whereas the standard RB26DETT block is marked with 05U. The RB26DETT N1 block is compatible with all GT-R engine bays.

RB28DETT

This is the engine used in the Nissan Skyline GT-R Z-Tune built by Nismo. It uses the stronger RB26 GT500 block, modified with Nich produces and of torque.

RB30

RB30 were produced from 1985 - 1991:
This motor was produced for use in the Skylines, Patrols and rights bought by Holden because the Holden 202 powering the Holden Commodore could no longer satisfy tightening emissions requirements, and with all new cars required to run on unleaded petrol by 1986 a quick replacement was needed. Nissan Motor Co. sold the RB30E to Holden for the VL Commodore. Because the radiator is fitted lower in relation to the engine in the VL, there is an increased likelihood of air locks forming in the cylinder head if the correct bleeding procedure isn't followed, causing this to overheat and warp. This was less likely in the R31 Skyline as the radiator is mounted higher. The engine proved to be very reliable apart from this issue. The RB30S was found in some Middle Eastern R31 Skylines and in some Nissan Patrols. The RB30E was found in R31 Skylines and VL Commodores in Australia as well as in South African R31 Skylines
The turbocharged RB30ET was found only in the VL Commodore due to the conditions set out by Holden to Nissan in the contract to supply engines. It consists of a lower compression RB30E bottom end, more powerful oil pump, knock sensor, Garrett T3 turbocharger, injectors, different intake manifold and supporting ECU. The motor itself is still popular today in Australian and New Zealand motorsport and drag racing in VL Commodores, R31 Skylines and swaps in other vehicles.
Nissan Special Vehicles Division Australia produced two limited models of R31 Skylines, the GTS1 and GTS2. These contained slightly more powerful RB30E engines, containing longer opening duration cams and better flowing exhausts.
These rare engines were used in the Tommykaira M30 based on the R31 Skyline GTS-R. A modified RB20DE head was bolted onto the RB30E block. It delivered at 7000 rpm and at 4800 rpm.
More commonly a hybrid conversion with an RB30E block and a twin cam RB25 head without a turbo.

RB30DET

Nissan did not produce this engine. It refers to a turbocharged engine using an RB30E short block with the twin-cam head installed from another RB series engine. A common hybrid in Australia and New Zealand uses an RB30E bottom end mated to a RB25DE,RB25DET or RB26DETT cylinder head and turbo. The RB25DE cylinder head from the A31 Cefiro C33 Laurel or R32 Skyline can be used. The RB25DET head is also used, however an external oil feed must be fabricated for the variable cam timing on the RB25DET, and the oil galleries at the front of the engine are misaligned. The variable cam timing may be disconnected altogether. It may be necessary to reduce the size of the oil restrictors in the block and machine a full face oil pump drive collar onto the crank,, with the use of a twin cam oil pump.
The fitment of a twin cam head from any of these engines onto a standard compression RB30E bottom end gives a forced induction friendly compression ratio, for a mild to moderately modified street turbo engine, making the conversion popular amongst those who would otherwise convert their RB30E to a high compression RB30ET using original ET bolt on externals.
Although it has a larger displacement than the RB26DETT, maximum possible horsepower is less, as the RB30 block lacks the RB26 block's internal bracing, and consequently cannot rev as high due to harmonic issues at ~7500 rpm. To compensate, the RB30DET produces more torque at lower revs due to its longer stroke. However they have been known to reach engine speeds up to 11,000 rpm with extensive balancing and blueprinting.
There is also an 'RB30DETT' kit manufactured by OS Giken of Japan, which bolts an extension on top of the RB26 engine block, and fits liners, to give an bore and stroke of. It is available as an assembled short block, containing billet chrome-molybdenum crank, billet chrome-molybdenum H-beam connecting rods, forged pistons, and costs ¥1,500,000.

RB-X GT2 and RB28DET

The RB-X GT2 is an engine specially made for the NISMO 400R. The difference between this engine and a RB26DETT is that the engine is bored and stroked which results in. The engine produces at 6800 rpm and at 4400 rpm.
This engine was manufactured with a reinforced cylinder block and cylinder head, metal head gasket, pistons with cooling channels, forged crank shaft, forged connecting rods, N1 turbine with reinforced actuator, high flow intake, stainless down pipe, and low exhaust resistant sport cats, most of which were not offered for the RB26DETT. RB-X GT2 engines competed in LeMans 24hr race, Pikes Peak, and other forms of motorsports. GT500 and Z-tune engines are also based on REINIK's design although later built by NISMO's Omori Factory.
REINIK also made over 20 RB28DET based on the R33 RB25DET. These engines were ordered by Prince Nissan Dealership network for a special edition R33 GT25t called 280 Type-MR. The engine was built for high torque and limited to and of torque.

Stroker kits

There are many stroker kits available for RB Engines.
Achievable Stroker Displacements for RB Engines: