2.6-liter turbo engine Nissan RB26DETT was produced by the company from 1989 to 2002 and was installed in three generations of the Skyline model, as well as the station wagon Steija in the 34th body. In parallel, an improved version of this power unit was produced, known to all as N1.
Characteristics of the Nissan RB26DETT engine
| Engine Specifications | Data |
|---|---|
| Manufacturing | Yokohama plant |
| Engine make | RB26DETT |
| Years of manufacture | 1989-2002 |
| Cylinder block material | cast iron |
| Power system | injector |
| Type | row |
| Number of cylinders | 6 |
| Valves per cylinder | 4 |
| Piston stroke, mm | 73.7 |
| Cylinder diameter, mm | 86 |
| Compression ratio | 8.5 |
| Engine displacement, cc | 2568 |
| Engine power, hp/rpm | 280/6800 |
| Torque, Nm/rpm | 353/4400, 368/4400, 392/4400 |
| Fuel | 98 |
| Environmental regulations | – |
| Engine weight, kg | ~260 |
| Fuel consumption, l/100 km (for Skyline GT-R) | – |
| – city | – |
| – highway | – |
| – mixed | 12.3 |
| Oil consumption, gr./1000 km | up to 500 |
| Engine oil | 5W-30, 5W-40, 10W-30, 10W-40 |
| How much oil in the engine | 4.6 |
| Oil change is carried out, km | 15000 (better 7500) |
| Engine operating temperature, deg. | ~90 |
| Engine life, thousand kilometers | – according to the factory data: -, in practice: 200+ |
| Tuning, hp | potential: 700+, without loss of resource: – |
| Motor installed | Skyline GT-R R32 (1989 – 1994), Skyline GT-R R33 (1993 – 1998), Skyline GT-R R34 (1999 – 2002), Stagea 260RS WC34 (1996 – 2001) |
Troubleshooting and repair of RB26DETT engine
The legendary Japanese RB26DETT engine, the eternal competitor of the 2JZ-GTE, was released in 1989, especially for the new, at that time, the car Nissan Skyline GT-R R32, the main purpose of which was to win the JTC (Group A). The RB26DETT engine slightly resembles the younger RB25DET, but differs from it by a cylinder block without oil passage, a crankshaft with 73.7 mm stroke, its own connecting rods (used on the RB25DET NEO), new pistons (1 mm lower), compression ratio of 8.5. The block is covered with aluminum cylinder-head with 24 valves, there is no timing system on RB26DETT, camshafts are used as follows: phase 240/236, lift 8.58/8.28 mm. There are no hydrocompensators on this engine, instead there are rigid tappets. Diameter of inlet valves is 34.5 mm, exhaust valves 30 mm. On the inlet there are 6 throttle valves with a diameter of 45 mm. Turbocharging is realized with two Garrett M24 turbochargers with ceramic impeller, operating at a pressure of 0.7 bar. The injectors are used with a capacity of 444 cc.
All these changes allowed to remove 280 hp at 6800 rpm, torque of 353 Nm at 4400 rpm. These are the motors on the GTR R32 and GTR R33, usually referred to as the RB26DETT Black top.
The Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 used Garrett M24 ball bearing turbochargers. These engines are referred to as RB26DETT Red top.
The timing drive on RB26 is belt-driven, timing belt replacement is required every 80-100 thousand kilometers.
The RB26DETT engine was removed from production in 2002, its successor was released in 2007 on Nissan GTR R35 and was called VR38DETT.
There was also produced a sport version RB26DETT N1, with an improved cylinder block (cooling system was improved) with marking 24U. These engines were characterized by reinforced connecting rods, pistons, Garrett M24 turbochargers with steel impeller, turbo manifold. Here the problem with the oil pump was solved, a new pump was used. This motor was used on Skyline GTR R34 Nur spec cars and is called RB26DETT Gold top.
In 2002, the RB26DETT N1 engine was replaced by another purely sporty VQ30DETT engine.
Nissan RB26 engine problems and disadvantages
Like the RB20/RB25, the most powerful representative of the series is quite reliable and durable. On the first RB26DETT, from Nissan Skyline GT-R R32, is used oil pump performance is insufficient and at high speeds begins oil starvation. The optimal oil pump is used on the RB26DETT N1. As on other RBs, the ignition coils on the 26 occasionally fail, and the engine starts to trottle.
- This powertrain is very reliable and also has a huge safety margin
- The first years of production used an oil pump of insufficient capacity
- Only individual ignition coils have a short life in the engine
- The timing belt requires replacement every 80 – 100 thousand kilometers, and in case of breakage the valves bend
- The engine does not like bad fuel, injectors and filters clog very quickly
Regular maintenance, the use of only quality oil and gasoline, the absence of tuning, leads to a long and trouble-free operation, in this case the resource can be considerable. Of course, RB26 is bought for tuning and fast driving, so the question of resource is not worth it.
Tuning of Nissan RB26DETT engine
RB26DETT Boost Up
To increase the power of RB26 on stock turbos you need to buy a Tomei oil pump, oil cooler, 3 layer radiator, Apexi power intake (or other), NGK 9 plugs, N1 pump, fuel regulator, Bosch 044 pump, fuel rail, 550 cc injectors, boost controller, exhaust system on 76mm pipe, Apexi Power FC. Once tuned, at 1 bar of boost you’ll get about 330hp at the wheels, that’s enough to go an average of 12 seconds on the quater.
The stock turbos don’t hold pressure well above 0.9 bar, so it’s worth replacing them with turbochargers from the GTR N1 R34, and adding a large intercooler and a metal cylinder-head gasket to the configuration. After that, you can inflate 1.1-1.2 bar and get about 400 hp at the wheels.
To take 450 hp from wheels on 1 bar of supercharger you can buy ACL liners, HKS GT2530 turbo, 264/264 camshafts, cut gears, Z32 mafs, Splitfire coils, NGK 10 plugs, 750 cc injectors, tuning bluoff, HKS timing belt, 90 mm exhaust system. By increasing the boost pressure, you can get 500-550-600 hp from the wheels.
Stock piston reliably holds 600-650 hp (sometimes 750-900 hp), after that you need to buy forged pistons, connecting rods, ATI pulley, enlarged oil pan, ARP studs, do porting of the cylinder head, buy large valves, with springs, guides, change the intake manifold, buy HKS 3037 turbo, 282/282 camshafts, cut gears, large injectors, two Bosch 044, etc. Along the way you can buy a stroker kit 2.8 liter, blow 2 bar on sport fuel in there and get 800+ hp at the wheels.
Using cylinder block from 3-liter RB30E and cylinder head from RB26DETT you can build turbocharged RB26/30 (RB30DETT). But such motors are more grassroots. For high performance, either 87mm forged pistons or a 2.8L stroker kit will suffice.
MOTOR RATING: 5