14 Months of RB20 Daily Driving so far: My Review

[accel junky]

Thought it might be useful to some to write a review on daily driving my RB20 S13 since its' been a good 14 months post-swap completion.

First, let me identify my car and relevant mods (or lack there-of).

1990 S13RB20DET at 12psiKA24E 5spd transmission w/ oldness/high-mileageness and thus Grinding.Stock S13 Exhaust w/ Gi-normous muffler hole rusted out.Stock Sidemount w/ shart-tons of road debris from no fender liner :gaylaugh .Top Hat MountsDriveshaft Shop 1-piece DriveshaftNismo AFPRWalbro 255HP PumpRB20 Tach in S13 Cluster

Power: The car is peppy but lacks torque but I still roll GTO's etc...so it must be quick. I may just be spoiled by my other ride, but I'm fairly positive that a turbo back exhaust and a FMIC would make a massive difference.

Handling: Seems decent considering the motor length and weight. Felt much better when I lowered it (albeit the seemingly "blown" used JIC's I bought on ebay....Bouncy McBouncerson)

Reliability: At first I had the stock KA radiator. It had a crack that I kept JB welding until the crack spread to the edge and I got fed up :dancingwt . Temps would get pretty high, like 210-230. I bought a Koyo race and a 14 or 15" electric fan and it ran constant 180 temps for the most part. Still going good, although I have a manual switch for the fan. Fairly reliable swap, and I am sure that it helped that I didn't do a lot of upgrades.

Sound: I love the sound of inline 6 motors and this is no exception, but without an aftermarket exhaust, all I hear is the turbo whoosing constantly. When I rev it or when it idles you KNOW there is something different under the hood despite the stock muffler. I've got a 3" turbo back on the way and I CANT WAIT!

Shifting: Using a KA transmission was a good budget idea, but the transmission is weak and grinds between 1-2 and 2-3 high rev upshifts. I think a RB25 transmission or even better, a 300zx with a modified MazWorx SR adapter plate would be a better ticket and the shifts would feel more positive.

Braking: Using the stock S13 brakes, the car seems to have pretty good stopping power. I really have no complaints here. The extra weight ("supposedly") doesn't seem to have any adverse affects.

Amenities: I, like many people, ditch the A/C and Power Steering for the swap (which you don't have to do). If I could take it back I would at least try to keep the A/C as it gets damn hot down here in the summer and for a daily driver, no A/C is not smart. The power steering I can live with. Once, the car is rolling there's no real difference other than more direct feedback.

Speedo - Tach: I drove without either for a good 3-4 months. Definitely hones your "estimation" skills. Surprisingly I didn't get a ticket during that time. The speedo worked out well (when I finally got around to it) because I had used the KA transmission and thus had a direct use and accuracy once I got the faulty speedo itself replaced. The tach was straightforward as I just trimmed and swapped in a RB20 tach from the Skyline cluster, no wiring necessary other than the dash plug-to-ECU tach signal wire. Works great, and is very accurate, but it doesn't match or solidly fit the S13 cluster and thus the backlights shine through the gaps at night (tolerable, but again, could be better). When I get some more financial freedom in spring 2007, I will probably invest in a LS Auto converted SR/DOHC tach.

Startups: I have never had a problem starting the car in the morning or the cold, but I had always had a problem starting the car mid day and in the evenings. I only now figured out the problem. Turns out that when I prime the pump and turn off the key, the residual fuel pressure drops in a matter of seconds, even with the return line and FPR vacuum lines pinched. Thus indicating that pressure is being lost through the rail and causing a flooded motor when I come out to my car from a days work. New o-rings soon and that should solve the problem.

That's all I can think of for now, and I think that installing the 3" turbo back, FMIC, and fixing the leaky injector issue should substaintially increase my happiness in this swap.

Oh, it ran a 14.6 at 88mph and 14.8 at 95mph in its current stage. Put down the follwing dyno chart:



-Daniel

[Lroi]

man u have one clean hatch, Im thnking of scrapping selling my sr to go rb20.

I take it you use the rb bellhousing with the ka trans?

[accel junky]

Actually, I modified the KA bellhousing by drilling out one upper hole and removing the dowel alignment pin on the block.

There's a build thread about my car somewhere around this forum.

-Daniel

[SeVa-S13]

man u have one clean hatch, Im thnking of scrapping selling my sr to go rb20.

This is the kinda crap we're trying to avoid; thanks Accel. SR 4 LYPHE!

Car looks great; but the stock exhaust and SMIC really are holding you back a ton.

[Carl H]

bronzemfp's swap has been uberreliable for him as his dd, 25kmi in about a year and teh motor still goes like a cut bastard.

[partymonster 975]

nice car, cool review.

[Chaos the Xile]

wow, thats a clean, clean hatch! nice job keep us posted!

[NISMO_RB25]

Thanks for the review. I think this kind of stuff will really help out the noobs that are trying to figure out what they want to do. I second the clean hatch. That thing looks sick.

[pirate87]

definately good to hear that there are some daily driven...and reliable RB S-chasis' out there

[Bronze MFP]

+1 for another reliable swap. had my 20 in since last december. never has let me down. still using the stock KA radiator with 2 permacool fans, temps never got abover 90*c in the summer, now that its cool out, it hardly gets over 80. Fires right up every time after replacing the injectors. before then it would take a while to start. accel, you may want to get your injectors cleaned. I know mine looked kinda gross when they came out.

[Logan76]

Nice review, im really curious to see your supra though

[accel junky]

Nice review, im really curious to see your supra though

Enjoy







I also just went single with a BL67DBB kit. These pics are with a regular point and shoot though:

[Darius]

You probably should have edited "not safe for work" into the title of this thread because now I have to go home and change my pants.

[rbsileighty]

Nice MKIV and super clean S13!

It's dyno graphs like yours that make me feel sure the HG was on its way out for a while... regardless of if yours was on a different dyno and probably corrected values? My corrected values weren't anywhere close even with all I have... 166whp dynapack I think ~75 degree day uncorrected baby... woot!

So... feel good on a solid platform bud... What catback did you order?

Should you want a better set of seats in there... I've got a set of S15 Spec R's you could take off my hands... gotta love the shameless plug

[accel junky]

Thanks for the kind words on MKIV!

Rbsileighty - Mine was on 12psi, stock exhaust, side mount. I've seen numbers like yours for stock boost on stock s13 parts like mine. So maybe its ok?

I bought an ebay exhaust. Didn't really want to spend a whole lot on the 240 just wanted more power.

As for the seats, I do need new ones, but my budget is tied up until next spring

[Chaos the Xile]

+2 on the kick butt Supra!

[Logan76]

Thanks for posting supra pic's...but since ive soiled my boxer's I now have to go change.

[rbsileighty]

Thanks for the kind words on MKIV!

Rbsileighty - Mine was on 12psi, stock exhaust, side mount. I've seen numbers like yours for stock boost on stock s13 parts like mine. So maybe its ok?

I bought an ebay exhaust. Didn't really want to spend a whole lot on the 240 just wanted more power.

As for the seats, I do need new ones, but my budget is tied up until next spring

MKIV's were what got me into turbo'd cars way back in the day... always good to see a clean one!

Mine was 166 uncorrected @ 12.5psi on a RB25 turbo w/ 3" turbo back (no cat one muffler) and FMIC... so I'd say my motor was on the way out, and you've got a nice foundation

[93coupe]

you have 2 very clean cars! thanks for the write up

those wheels on the supra are amazing, what are they. and thank you for not putting a body kit on your cars
Modified by 93coupe at 1:52 PM 11/11/2006

[SeVa-S13]

Never seen (what look to be) CCW's on a MKIV before...and I typically hate MKIV's but that one looks quite nice.

[NightKids2]

Great write up =)

Ive been daily driving mine with about the same thoughts.

My valve seals are starting to go so I smoke like crazy till I warm up, and my start solinoid is also on its way out. Other than that its been good to meh.

[Poor_S13_Driver]

White Supras FTW!! Absolute beauty, but how do you spoil yourself with a supra then drive a 240? I love nissans but if I had a MKIV i wouldnt even look at 240s again..maybe just a little when no one is looking

[accel junky]

Thanks for the comments on the wheels. They are CCW classics indeed. 18x10 front and 17x11.5 rear with 285f/315r BFG's.

As for driving the 240 while being spoiled by the supra, they are really different cars and I enjoy the 240 alot as it's alot lighter and more nimble. The Supra is a nice GT car, straight-line beast, and head turner.

[PITCH]

Supra... Umm WOW. Man I want one.