I'm looking to do a RB swap on a s13 Hatch, and I'm looking for a little info (yes, I've searched) I know it's a hard swap, and I know everyone's first response is going to be "do something else" but I REALLY want to go for the 26 here. My end goal is to have a time attack weekend warrior, that's still daily driven (yeah, I know, that can be a lot to ask). Here's what I've gotten together so far as far as needs:
RB26DETT
Custom Downpipes to clear steering
Mount Kit
Transmission Mount
Crossmember
Oil Pan Solution
Driveshaft
RWD Transmission
LOTS of time for wiring
I know there's more, but my brain just failed, and I can't remember off the top of my head right now. Here are my questions, in order.
Engine- I'm thinking of ordering one from TigerJapanese. Anyone ever dealt with them? They offer the RB26DETT with the AWD tranny for roughly $3k plus shipping and that worries me, it seems a bit cheap, I don't want an engine with a hole in the block. I'm intending on doing some pretty serious rebuilding before I even start the swap, but I want to know what people think, and this is assuming they don't go defunct before I order the engine (thinking mid May on that one)
Downpipes- I want to go with the Touge downpipe set, I THINK the entire point of them is to clear the steering shaft, PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong. I would like to be able to steer my car, so this is a pretty big deal
Mount Kit, Trans Mount, and Crossmember- Again I'm thinking about going Mckinney here. They have a RB26 Master Install Kit that looks pretty appealing. I have read that their kit bolts to a stock crossmember, is this true? Syko also offers RB mounting kits, but they don't look as complete as the Master Kit, however I like their mounts, and they say that they put the engine as low and far back as possible. Anyone have any experience with the Syko mounts? I'm not above combining products if it will provide a better end result. The Mckinney kit has the trans mount included, and I know they offer the kit with the RB25 trans mount, which is probably the route I'll take. I'm not big on modifying the AWD trans, and with the power goals I have in mind, I shouldn't have a problem with the RB25DET trans.
Oil Pan- I'm kinda lost here. I've heard you can mount up a RB25 oil pan, I've heard that you need to modify an RB25 oil pan to get it to fit an RB26. What's the truth here? I'm thinking about going to a dry-sump setup, but that's even more expense than this swap is already gonna take. Any input on that? A dry sump setup might be safer for the engine while it's lapping, but as this is going to be a daily driver as well, and not a completely gutted track car, I don't think I'm going to be cornering hard enough to make the extra expense worth it without making some serious sacrifices to the street part of the car. Would it be feasible/smarter to look into having a custom oil pan made? I'm not even considering that AWD 240 bs, sorry to the guys that like the idea, but for that much more, I'd rather get a Skyline (and it would probably be easier anyway). Any advice would help.
Driveshaft- This seems pretty simple to me. Get a Mckinney shaft. They're proven, and they're not that expensive. $500 for a good driveshaft seems reasonable to me, considering I have nearly justified budgeting a grand for a carbon fiber driveshaft in another build. I'm looking for advice with these in the long term though, do they last? Are they serviceable? Would it be better to get a custom shaft (I'm not looking for a $150 cheapy here, I want what's best in the long run), what has worked for people that have done the swap, and how much do you drive your car?
RWD Tranny- I'm really thinking of going with an RB25DET Tranny here, it just makes sense to me. It seems like the simple solution in this mess of a complicated swap. I've come to the understanding that it's as simple as getting the tranny, and bolting it up to the RB26, but it can't be that simple, can it? There's got to be more to it than that... Someone enlighten me here. This is the part I'm really expecting a surprise from.
Wiring- I'm pretty much expecting this to rape me. What's the deal with all the ECU madness I've been reading about? What's wrong with using a RB ecu to run an RB? I imagine there could be an issue with other features the Skyline has that the S13 doesn't, but has anyone tried it? Would a standalone be better? I'm looking to preserve as many of the features of a factory built car as possible here, so what works? This is what's probably going to make the difference between the RB26 and the RB25 to me. I would like to retain use of the factory gauge cluster to keep it discrete, and avoid fabricating a new dash to make it look clean, and I kinda like having AC, I haven't found an answer either way as to if this has been done, or not. Any input from anyone? If you have used the factory gauge cluster at all, how many of the gauges were you able to use? Is it even possible to use the factory cluster with a standalone? AC? I'm really expecting everyone to take my AC and shove it, but if it's even slightly possible, I would like to do it, it would make the swap all the more transparent from the outside. What about power steering and such? I imagine since the steering rack from the 240 is used, power steering will still be possible, but I don't want to start this build making any assumptions, because assuming is just going to be making an ass of myself and everyone that helps.
I REALLY want to go with a RB26, but everything I've read so far makes me think a RB25 would preserve my sanity by the end of the project. Any help would be great, I'm really pushing for this, I want something different in the sense that I want to have a fully functional RB26 swapped S13 that my mom could drive without thinking it's some crazy POS with no creature comforts that is only capable of going fast and nothing else. Essentially, I'm looking to build something that seems fairly normal until you push it. Not a sleeper, every tuner wannabe will recognize the sound of an RB when it starts up, I just want it to be something that's a little more than just slightly tolerable off the track. Any help would be great, when, and if, this project actually gets off the ground, I'm planning on fully documenting and photographing the whole swap so that people can see what I'm doing as I go along, and learn from my mistakes/ tell me I'm dumb before I make them, and I'm in no rush to get this done. I want to do it myself, but I'm looking to get this done right the first time, and I'm not gonna take any shortcuts that have the potential to result in serious headache later. Thanks for reading! I'm looking forward to hearing from you folks, even the critics, because even I think I'm insane for trying to do this swap.
RB26DETT
Custom Downpipes to clear steering
Mount Kit
Transmission Mount
Crossmember
Oil Pan Solution
Driveshaft
RWD Transmission
LOTS of time for wiring
I know there's more, but my brain just failed, and I can't remember off the top of my head right now. Here are my questions, in order.
Engine- I'm thinking of ordering one from TigerJapanese. Anyone ever dealt with them? They offer the RB26DETT with the AWD tranny for roughly $3k plus shipping and that worries me, it seems a bit cheap, I don't want an engine with a hole in the block. I'm intending on doing some pretty serious rebuilding before I even start the swap, but I want to know what people think, and this is assuming they don't go defunct before I order the engine (thinking mid May on that one)
Downpipes- I want to go with the Touge downpipe set, I THINK the entire point of them is to clear the steering shaft, PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong. I would like to be able to steer my car, so this is a pretty big deal
Mount Kit, Trans Mount, and Crossmember- Again I'm thinking about going Mckinney here. They have a RB26 Master Install Kit that looks pretty appealing. I have read that their kit bolts to a stock crossmember, is this true? Syko also offers RB mounting kits, but they don't look as complete as the Master Kit, however I like their mounts, and they say that they put the engine as low and far back as possible. Anyone have any experience with the Syko mounts? I'm not above combining products if it will provide a better end result. The Mckinney kit has the trans mount included, and I know they offer the kit with the RB25 trans mount, which is probably the route I'll take. I'm not big on modifying the AWD trans, and with the power goals I have in mind, I shouldn't have a problem with the RB25DET trans.
Oil Pan- I'm kinda lost here. I've heard you can mount up a RB25 oil pan, I've heard that you need to modify an RB25 oil pan to get it to fit an RB26. What's the truth here? I'm thinking about going to a dry-sump setup, but that's even more expense than this swap is already gonna take. Any input on that? A dry sump setup might be safer for the engine while it's lapping, but as this is going to be a daily driver as well, and not a completely gutted track car, I don't think I'm going to be cornering hard enough to make the extra expense worth it without making some serious sacrifices to the street part of the car. Would it be feasible/smarter to look into having a custom oil pan made? I'm not even considering that AWD 240 bs, sorry to the guys that like the idea, but for that much more, I'd rather get a Skyline (and it would probably be easier anyway). Any advice would help.
Driveshaft- This seems pretty simple to me. Get a Mckinney shaft. They're proven, and they're not that expensive. $500 for a good driveshaft seems reasonable to me, considering I have nearly justified budgeting a grand for a carbon fiber driveshaft in another build. I'm looking for advice with these in the long term though, do they last? Are they serviceable? Would it be better to get a custom shaft (I'm not looking for a $150 cheapy here, I want what's best in the long run), what has worked for people that have done the swap, and how much do you drive your car?
RWD Tranny- I'm really thinking of going with an RB25DET Tranny here, it just makes sense to me. It seems like the simple solution in this mess of a complicated swap. I've come to the understanding that it's as simple as getting the tranny, and bolting it up to the RB26, but it can't be that simple, can it? There's got to be more to it than that... Someone enlighten me here. This is the part I'm really expecting a surprise from.
Wiring- I'm pretty much expecting this to rape me. What's the deal with all the ECU madness I've been reading about? What's wrong with using a RB ecu to run an RB? I imagine there could be an issue with other features the Skyline has that the S13 doesn't, but has anyone tried it? Would a standalone be better? I'm looking to preserve as many of the features of a factory built car as possible here, so what works? This is what's probably going to make the difference between the RB26 and the RB25 to me. I would like to retain use of the factory gauge cluster to keep it discrete, and avoid fabricating a new dash to make it look clean, and I kinda like having AC, I haven't found an answer either way as to if this has been done, or not. Any input from anyone? If you have used the factory gauge cluster at all, how many of the gauges were you able to use? Is it even possible to use the factory cluster with a standalone? AC? I'm really expecting everyone to take my AC and shove it, but if it's even slightly possible, I would like to do it, it would make the swap all the more transparent from the outside. What about power steering and such? I imagine since the steering rack from the 240 is used, power steering will still be possible, but I don't want to start this build making any assumptions, because assuming is just going to be making an ass of myself and everyone that helps.
I REALLY want to go with a RB26, but everything I've read so far makes me think a RB25 would preserve my sanity by the end of the project. Any help would be great, I'm really pushing for this, I want something different in the sense that I want to have a fully functional RB26 swapped S13 that my mom could drive without thinking it's some crazy POS with no creature comforts that is only capable of going fast and nothing else. Essentially, I'm looking to build something that seems fairly normal until you push it. Not a sleeper, every tuner wannabe will recognize the sound of an RB when it starts up, I just want it to be something that's a little more than just slightly tolerable off the track. Any help would be great, when, and if, this project actually gets off the ground, I'm planning on fully documenting and photographing the whole swap so that people can see what I'm doing as I go along, and learn from my mistakes/ tell me I'm dumb before I make them, and I'm in no rush to get this done. I want to do it myself, but I'm looking to get this done right the first time, and I'm not gonna take any shortcuts that have the potential to result in serious headache later. Thanks for reading! I'm looking forward to hearing from you folks, even the critics, because even I think I'm insane for trying to do this swap.
