58 replies to this topic

[Hanaldo]

Hey all,

Most of you know i drive a non-turbo R34 Skyline. Originally my plan was to save and buy a 34 GTR in a few years, but recently i decided that i want to have some fun with a car and build one up myself while im still young enough to enjoy doing it (not that im getting near old lol).

I love my current car, it is exactly the look i want, it has upgraded turbo model brakes, aftermarket suspension, plus a whole lot of other modifications leading to it being the way it is - and having 198.3rwhp So i want to keep my car.

My decision to build isn't purely about achieving more power, although that is the main objective. I want the experience of building a car into something that is solely mine (in spirit not ownership, i already own it obviously lol).

Basically i have two options, as i don't want to sell and buy a GTT. I can turbocharge my RB25DE, and have a high compression turbo engine, which appeals to me because my car sees mostly street driving, i prefer acceleration to top end speed. This option would be very involved and hard to do, quite expensive, and risky for the motor. But possibly suits me more, and has been done successfully many times.

The other option is to do an engine/gearbox swap. For either option i need a new gearbox, so that isn't really negotiable. But RB25DET Neo engines with decent kms are still quite expensive. The positives of this option are that it would be far easier, and possibly a little bit cheaper than turbocharging my current engine. It would be a stronger motor that could handle more boost and be less likely to blow, and i could build it up further in the future. Not to mention far easier to find a mechanic willing to do the work. Plus my current engine has done almost 160000kms, i could get an engine with far lower kms. Downsides are that i lose the high comp ratio, so lose that low down quickness for the street which is what i really want, don't care about high end power. Could end up being more expensive if i can't find an engine for decent price.

Thats really all i can think of for now, what do you guys think?

[2LV8ETR]

Drop the turbo in = win.
Turbo the NA = FAIL!

Driving a turbo car is a matter of putting a few more revs in before letting the clutch out, this way you're closer to the spool.

[Hanaldo]

Mhmm, but it still won't have the acceleration of a high comp engine

[2LV8ETR]

Really?????????????

[karbie]

I still reckon you should do a engine swap. Then at least you have a motor with alot less KM's. Considering you already have 160,000 km's on the clock whats to say your motor wont die in another 40,000 Km's? So if you get another motor with less kmn's you can enjoy having a turbo R34 for longer

[Hanaldo]

Low kms are the biggest factor in getting me to do the swap. But while i was having a look for engine packages last night, one of the companies was selling one with 190000kms on it... So there is no guarantee of low kms on the new engine?

With a high comp turbo engine, the turbo starts spooling at around 1200rpm, reaches full boost at 2200rpm and carries through to 6300rpm. Imagine the acceleration of that! The maximum power i could get out of the engine without forging internals and going low comp anyway would only be about 250-260rwhp, but considering it reaches maximum power so low down, i think that would be alot better for the street.

I have to say, at this stage the engine swap is starting to appeal to me more and more. Lower kms would be great, and i would love to be able to build the engine quite a lot. But i can see myself getting carried away, building some 500hp monster, and then not having a car to drive lol. On the other plus side, i could use the RB25DE to help my mate build his R31... Or i could sell it to recoup some money... Lots more options with the engine swap

[karbie]

Go the engine swap Martin, then once its done you can decide if you want to play with the spare motor or keep it as spare parts or sell the parts. Either way if you look around on like SAU or KYP's website you may find a motor with low Km's. I saw one with 67xxx a couple of months ago for sale. You should have made this thread so that people could vote on whether to do a engine swap or to install a turbo so to help you make a decision

[Hanaldo]

Haha yeh, i didn't even think of doing a poll. But i think its pretty clear what the answer is going to be anyway, i think im the only person that likes high comp turbo engines lol.

I forget who it was, may have been KYP, but i found a Neo engine with 40000kms on it. Didn't have a price though, im sure it would be really expensive

[2LV8ETR]

i think im the only person that likes high comp turbo engines lol.

* Looks at ground and shakes head *

[Hanaldo]

Lol there is nothing wrong with high comp! Unless you want to run 30psi and make 400hp on stock internals, there are no problems. I know someone running as much as 17psi on stock internals and he has been driving that engine hard for 6 years and done over 70000kms on it since the conversion. You just gotta look after them

[karbie]

Yeah I have seen KYP selling a few Neo motors that look like they have been looked after, I think the one i saw was about 4k

[karbie]

since you forgot to do a poll.... I vote to do a engine swap

[Hanaldo]

Yeh see if i do the engine swap then i don't want to be spending more money than if i did the conversion. I could do the conversion for roughly $4500-$5000 including labour. If i did the swap then i would need to get engine and gearbox for around $3500 for both so that the final cost came to around $5000.

[karbie]

That may prove hard. It wont be impossible though. But you also have to remember are you actually willing to do a turbo conversion on motor that has already travelled 16x xxx?
The decision really lie to you Martin, but if I was you I would measure up the Pro's aginst the Con's like,

Pro- Less Km's on engine swap, Con- More expensive
Pro- High compression motor, Con- High Km's already on motor.


Just a suggestion

[Hanaldo]

Yeh i did that already but came up with the same amount for each... haha.

I think im gonna take into consideration the fact that my ultimate goal is to own a 34 GTR. Which means at some stage i am going to want to sell my car. The high kms on my car are proving to be a considerable decrease in the value of my car, something i think is unfair because of the condition of the rest of the car. If i could get a engine with far lower kms, it may be worth the money i pay for it...

Thanks for your opinion dude, its useful to just discuss my options with someone other than the mechanic im gonna be paying to do the job lol.

[Ten Four]

Like said, you missed that R34 Rb25DET & gearbox for 1.4k on sau. How about you pay Danny at JPC a visit? Pretty sure hes got a huge crate of new stuff you could tell him you cant afford...

[Hanaldo]

Lol there will be more of the same. Right now i could afford the engine. Not the gearbox or the labour. But thats why im saving... Im sure there is another car out there that you could go buy and then sell

[karbie]

Martin why don't you try asking Imports 101 about getting a engine and the cost to do so, or try Styled 2 Race I know that a while ago they were doing Half cuts and engines.

[Hanaldo]

Yeh right now im checking out everywhere that might have them. Got anymore shops that might be doing them?

[karbie]

Tradingpost.com or even ebay maybe?????