‘ Those two turbos continued to work harder and harder and the power did increase’
‘ Those two turbos continued to work harder and harder and the power did increase’
The very first Skyline GT-R, known as the Hakosuka, set a high bar for any Nissan bearing those three letters
If there wasn’ t enough going on, because of the GT-R’ s four-wheel-drive system, the RB26DETT has a differential bolted onto its lower side. The aluminium casting for the sump includes a separate compartment for the front diff, plus there’ s a channel through the sump for the left-hand side front driveshaft to pass through.
A complex engine with a complex name, RB26DETT. But all those letters, once you know how to speak Nissan, help explain what this engine really is. RB, as mentioned before, is the engine family. Other Nissan engines include the SR and VQ. The numbers relate to the engine’ s capacity: 26 means 2.6-litre. The D denotes that the engine is dual cam, E indicates that it has electronic fuel injection, and the TT means it’ s twin-turboed.
When the RB26DETT-powered R32 Nissan Skyline GT-R was launched in 1989, it produced 280hp at 6800rpm and 353Nm of torque at 4400rpm. Not the wild numbers I warned you about at the start of this feature, I admit, but in the context of the late Eighties, quite remarkable. Ferrari’ s 328 had 270hp and its 348 TB 300hp, the Porsche 911 Turbo( 930) had 330hp. So the R32 GT-R was in the realms of supercar power.
Not only that, but it probably had more than 280hp. In the same year that the R32 GT-R was launched, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association( JAMA) imposed a 112mph( 180km / h) speed limit on all domestic cars, plus a 280hp power limit. This was to combat escalating road deaths, which were believed to be encouraged by Bosozoku gangs, the name translates as Running Wild and Driving Recklessly Tribes. Actual misbehavior, not just the modified cars the name is now associated with today.
The Nissan 300ZX was the first car to have its domestic market power limited; in the rest of the world it had 300hp. In Japan, it had just 280hp. And so did the Honda NSX, the first eight generations of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, most Subaru Impreza WRX STIs and the Nissan Skyline GT- Rs. But, of course, while 280hp was what was printed in the brochure, the GT-Rs’ engines all produced a lot more power. By 2004, road deaths had dropped thanks to improved car safety and the JAMA retracted the rule.
So while the RB26DETT was tweaked and improved, as were the different chassis it appeared in, it always produced 280hp. ECU upgrades and ball bearing Garett T28 turbochargers for the R34, the third RB26DETT GT-R, still did nothing to the on-paper power figure. But those two turbos continued to work harder and harder and the power did increase. Just look at the GT-R’ s Nürburgring Nordschleife times, a track with big straights and steep hills, and where power is extremely useful. The R32 GT-R set a time of 8 minutes 22 seconds, respectable for 1989 and really impressive considering it wasn’ t dry. Its replacement, the R33 Skyline GT-R, however, was the first mass-produced car to break the eight-minute barrier, with a time of 7 minutes 59 seconds. 23 seconds faster with no more power, apparently. The last iteration of the Skyline GT-R, the R34,
22 The Engine Rebuilder Issue 03