rb20/rb26 vs Ls1

[240_hero13]

rb20/rb26 vs the ls1

which one has more tourque and horse output??

which one is pretty much the better enginewith hp and power

[Joe]

you cannot compare those 3 engines as they are totally different on all levels. im not even gonna talk about a rb20 because theres NO reason it should be listed next to those other 2.

a RB26 and ls1 will cost the same amount of money to swap but youll have more power, better reliability, better parts availability and better aftermarket support with a ls1. out of the box the ls1 will make more power, and once you start modifying its less of a hassle with cheaper parts to make more power than a rb26.

my car is a very mild ls1 and im pushing just under 400whp right now.

of course the downside of the ls1 is the amount of work it takes to do in a S chassis. its an incredibly time consuming and difficult swap because only a small handful of people have done it, and all the mount kit options available right now are mediocre at best.

i had a rb25 for about 4 years in my car, my ls1 is 10x better than the rb ever was.

[StricNyne]

yeah, i debate this often... i own a rb25 that i paid double the price to make it comparable to a rb26 (twins and some other junk and i built it up and make it 2.7) but i often wanted a LS for sheer factor about reliability if i break a RB part i am ****ed but ls its 10x easier to source, i do not know too much about the actual swap but with more people doing the swap its just gunna get easier as people share the info, when thought fo doing the LS everyone spread ton of lies (a ton of people said LS was too big and would throw off balance but last i heard the LS was lighter seeing how its aluminum) if i did a LS though, i would get a haltech or a similar standalone to simplify wiring ! BUT i do love the sound of boost

[240_hero13]

haha so your both saying pretty much hands down ls1 around the board?

haha see the thing that takes me tho is the sweet sweet sound ofthe rb series

just something about that pure import power haha but yea idki have been looking for videos and **** on ls1 vs rb's or specs on them and i havntbeen able to pull anything up

thats when i thought of coming here to get the answer ive been goingback and forth to my self

[StricNyne]

NOT saying that, my build is sooooo fubar its not funny at all so i am biased a bit hahah, like Joe said they are too differant, point is, 400hp is 400hp no matter how you get it so knowing that look at how much you have to spend, how good of a mechanic you are, and how you vision your car !

[240_hero13]

yea i see that of course it comes out the your skills of tuning and the $$ you gotbut in all out which one tops out around the most hpis the answer im lookin for

[Joe]

NOT saying that, my build is sooooo fubar its not funny at all so i am biased a bit hahah, like Joe said they are too differant, point is, 400hp is 400hp no matter how you get it so knowing that look at how much you have to spend, how good of a mechanic you are, and how you vision your car !

totally not true

400hp on a NA large displacement engine is totally different than 400hp on a boosted small displacement engine.

example: my engine makes over 330wtq at 1700rpm.

[240_hero13]

haha ok you guys are losing me now

so its not the same at all?

so technically the rb would be better 400hp cause of the twin sets on itor the ls1 because of the non boost

and can you even hook up a supper charger or a turbo to the ls?

[Joe]

in my personal opinion, after having owned boosted cars and now owning a high power NA one, NA is WAY better.

the powerband (what makes you accelerate) is bigger on a large NA motor. so you go faster because you are accelerating longer.

yes you can boost a LS. twin turbo and superchargers are common. but not many exist in S chassis.

[240_hero13]

what is this s chasislike silvia or what?and dont you like have to cutt and move the fire walls to put these motors in?

[Coolwhip]

i have been looking for videos and **** on ls1 vs rb's or specs on them and i havntbeen able to pull anything up

It's amazing how many people are needing a video to explain what is already written or just common sense.

Anyways, for illustration purposes only... the money spent to make a RB 800hp you could make a LS1 make 1300hp. Obviously there is a price difference in power between the two.

As well as all the other factors covered by the previous posts, it goes down to what you prefer and want out of your car.

Determine what your goals are, identify how much money you'll be willing and ABLE to spend, crank out some time to research on the motors that you consider as well as the basics of what makes one better than the other.

Educate yourself, get your hands dirty, and have fun.

GL

[Joe]

what is this s chasislike silvia or what?and dont you like have to cutt and move the fire walls to put these motors in?

s chassis is the 240sx. S13, S14, S15. S chassis.

and no. but there is a LOT of modification and work needed to the crossmember mostly, and the transmission tunnel. everything else is mounts, wiring, headers, exhausts, etc. its a VERY time consuming and expensive swap.

[240_hero13]

yea thats why i posted up here to get some good info like ive gotten today from guys like you

before i go out there and just go for a motor and blow my **** and wishi hadnt and make a very costly way to get my hands dirty haha

but yea you guys are alot of help and have really opened my eye's to alot of things so far

and yea it looks like the ls1 is more suitable for me

[Coolwhip]

I understand that but by knowing the fundimentals of engines which can be some what grasped by reading and toying around with them would have guided you initially.

The topic of concern here is, do you really know why one motor is better than the other? Due to shear $/HP or Boost/NA numbers we are throwing around and opinions and declaration of mechanical fact?

All I'm saying is make sure you know why you are making the decisions that will ultimately end up costing you in upwards and over $10,000 to do.

Prepare yourself anyway you can. I can show you a video on how to cut hair step by step, but it doesn't mean you're going to be comfortable cutting someone's hair and if you reach a point where the video did not cover, would you have the common sense or experience/know how to address it?

I feel that there lays what you need to now concern yourself with.

Sorry for the rant, and again, Good Luck with your plans.

[240_hero13]

Yea i understand the reasoning for posting this is for your guy's wisdomes and rants haha

i posted this for that exact reason so when i do start up my first project i have some knowlage to look back on and tips from experienced and well knowlaged people and getting some info that may help me out and probably will help me out down the line and when i get stuck in hard times with the project

and i do have some knowlage of motors but not much so i understand some of what you guys are throwing around so its all good

[S14-NEO]

if you ask me throwing a non-nissan powertrain in a nissan is just wrong..i know the LS1 is a very good engine but it should stay in a GM vehicle..thats just my opinion...

[Joe]

if you ask me throwing a non-nissan powertrain in a nissan is just wrong..i know the LS1 is a very good engine but it should stay in a GM vehicle..thats just my opinion...

why?

whats wrong with making a car better?

gm has **** for chassis, nissan has **** for motors.

[240z4u]

if you ask me throwing a non-nissan powertrain in a nissan is just wrong..i know the LS1 is a very good engine but it should stay in a GM vehicle..thats just my opinion...

Don't play the purist card... its tacky.

IMO, the OP is not in any sense ready for EITHER swap. Many projects never get finished because the owner was not properly prepared. I am also not so sure you know what your getting yourself into HP wise.. your two choices are going to leave you with a monster that can put an inexperienced driver in a cemetary.

One more LS swap tidbit. So few have done it, they will NOT enjoy you asking noobish questions. You will need to be able to wade through almost the entire swap without help.

Evan

[gawdzilla]

why?

whats wrong with making a car better?

gm has **** for chassis, nissan has **** for motors.

i agree there's nothing wrong, but there is something to be said about keeping the same manufacturer between engine and chassis, that's all. sometimes it even adds benefits for class assignments in drag racing for example, but probably beside the point.

how is gm **** for chassis? c5 and c6 vette bodies are trash? how is nissan **** for motors? the RB and VQ series are great motors. generalizing like that is just ignorant IMHO

[Yellow4g63]

if you ask me throwing a non-nissan powertrain in a nissan is just wrong..i know the LS1 is a very good engine but it should stay in a GM vehicle..thats just my opinion...

Yea no **** it's sacrilege when I see things like that. Nissan'ss for Nissan's and Toyota to Toyota .

[Neejay]

Another thing that determines cost differences: can you fab the parts yourself or do all the work yourself?

I was quoted about $10k for a WELL KNOWN shop around here that does quality work for them to souce my LS1 motorset + install + some aftermarket parts for the swap.

Same shop quoted me about $7500 for RB25 swap, be he was saying the LSx was hands down the better swap.

If I started with an s14, I'd have done the LSx swap. But since I've got an S13, I decided to go with a RB25. Personal preference.

S14 LSx FTW.

So far, it looks like my swap is going to be around $6k ($1k for installation of all my parts + motor - I don't have the resources to do the swap myself)

[Joe]

i agree there's nothing wrong, but there is something to be said about keeping the same manufacturer between engine and chassis, that's all. sometimes it even adds benefits for class assignments in drag racing for example, but probably beside the point.

how is gm **** for chassis? c5 and c6 vette bodies are trash? how is nissan **** for motors? the RB and VQ series are great motors. generalizing like that is just ignorant IMHO

i knew this argument was going to arise so let me elaborate on why i said that.

in terms of a budget build, a c5/c6 is completely out of the question. not only is the initial price enough to fully build a s13/LS swap performance shops see "corvette" and immediately add 20% to the price. and no nissan engine will EVER come close to the power per dollar output of the LS series nor will a lower budget RB/VQ come close to the reliability of a 500hp ls engine.

i know rb's and corvettes are awesome, im not that stupid. i was just generalizing for sake of argument with "purists" because i think they need to pull their heads out of their asses.

[OpeLok]

I can't even believe there is an "argument" about this. It should be painfully obvious. It's your money.. do with it as you wish. Your the one that has to live with it. Since this thread has to do with push rods.. I'll throw in some mullet speak. "Life's a garden, dig it!"

Just put in an SR20 like everyone else and be done with it.

[240_hero13]

I understand that but by knowing the fundimentals of engines .................................I feel that there lays what you need to now concern yourself with.........................................Sorry for the rant, and again, Good Luck with your plans.

Yea see thats the thing im getting a cheap car that i want to build upand keep up with the big boys and this is all a learning experience for meand i have all of the resources to work on it and do so

this is my first well hopefully first project car that i wont spend all this time and money on to get worked and spanked when i get it finished

it will actually be able to work on a semi cheap car and when finished not have to get smoked and have to buy a new more expencive over priced project just to be able to take it to the track to run some decent numbers

I can't even believe there is an "argument" about this. It should be painfully ............................................ "Life's a garden, dig it!"

Just put in an SR20 like everyone else and be done with it.

And most people dont just want what everyone else has some people want better to win at the track and get those eye poping ah's and oh'sAnd some people just want something a lil better to swap it in for and like the work and effort to swap more than "the basic everyone els's motor" just like everyone else

[lilskyline240]

i personally think if you dont know what an "S" chassis is you shouldnt even be doing a engine swap.

x2

[240_hero13]

i personally think if you dont know what an "S" chassis is you shouldnt even be doing a engine swap.

yea ok i admit i dont really hang out around alot of 240 peopleand dont really know the tech terms and all that like i dont even know half the **** you guys say on this forum OTF and all thatSo then i shouldnt be allowed to post here because i dont know the short for terms

thats like saying ok people dont know how english so they are not allowed to go to school to learn

thats the reason why im posting and reading forums here is to "Learn" and get to know these terms and get my hands dirty and know a lil more so when i do start my project i will have a little better knowlage

sorry i didnt come in here knowing everything like you guys did

[240z4u]

If you really want to do one of these swaps, you do need to know just about everything about your chassis. It will make your life 100x easier during the swap. You need to "hit the ground running".

When I bought my S14 I had only driven one and ridden in one car. Knew nothing. I didn't even know which side the ECU was on. 3 months of learning and prep later I knew that layout and wiring location chart better than many people who have had the car for years. The information you need to know to get started really isn't RB specific. Its general to all swaps.

Evan

[240_hero13]

Yea its going to be a while till i get into the motor and im going to have plenty of time to get to know my car

because im pretty much going to have to rebuild this car ground up with replacement parts but im just trying to see which one of the motors have the better power and specs on them from people who really know and real opinions not just the specs that the companies post up and say

but yea i have alot of stuff to do on this car before i get to the motor so ill know way more by the time i get to that step but in all this is really just something ive been twanting to do for a while not having to be the best but just getting in there and putting my time into something and say that is mine and i did that and be proud of it

[Kansei240sx]

Wait for a year, then decide what you want, because you're going to need alot more knowledge than you have already if you cant decide between the three of these.

[240z4u]

chances are u will swap your car, then it will break and u wont be able to fix it cuz u have no knowledge of the machine u built, then one of us on this board will buy it from u for a fraction of what u spent on it.

This is a disturbingly realistic statement.