Tuning Feature: Nissan RB20DE Modified

"Comprehensive guide to tuning the Nissan RB20DE engine!"

We are always getting emails asking how to improve the RB20DE from people wanting to know what are the best RB20DE upgrades. So let us look into Nissan RB20DE parts and outline the best upgrades on this great engine and point out some potential pitfalls along the way.

This pages aim is look at RB20DE tuning and show the optimum mods that work. Nissan RB20DE are good project engines and with carefully chosen modified upgrades like remaps, turbo improvements and camshafts you will enhance the drivers experience of your car.

Just because particular mods are popular with RB20DE owners it doesn't mean it is good, we will concentrate on the optimum mods to provide your RB20DE with the best power gain for you spend.

Altering your RB20DE cam should make a dramatic difference to your engines bhp. Choosing a higher performance cam profile raises the bhp especially at the top end.

NB: Fast road camshafts tend to push up the power throughout the rpm range, you could drop a little low down power but your top end will be higher.

Motorsport and race camshafts, push up the top end band but as a result the car will not idle smoothly and low end power nearly always suffers.

In a typical daily driver one, ideally, must carefully try to optimize your power band to your driving style.

I'd be surprised if you have found a RB20DE Competition camshaft is a pleasure to live with when on the daily commute.

Different RB20DE engines respond better to mild camshaft durations check your engine on a rolling road.

The map and injectors and fuel pump also will say much on the torque gains you'll hit.

A longer valve duration can alter the torque band and on most engines the exhaust and intake durations do not need to match, although most cams and tuners use matched pairs there are some advantages to extending the intake or exhaust durations.

RB20DE Tuning Stages

Stage 1 RB20DE modifications: Intake headers, Sports exhaust manifold, Fast road camshaft, Drilled & smoothed airbox, Remaps/piggy back ECU, Panel air filters.

Stage 2 RB20DE modifications: high flow fuel injectors, induction kit, fuel pump upgrades, Fast road cam, Ported and polished head, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust.

Stage 3 RB20DE modifications: Twin charging conversions, Competition cam, Engine balancing & blueprinting, Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves), Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression.

A remap allows a tuner to unlock the full potential of all the parts you've done to your RB20DE.

It will usually give around 30% more power on turbocharged vehicles and you can expect to see around 15% on NASP engines, but power output often differs on the parts you've done and the condition of your engine.

It is the whole point to any engine upgrade project to force fuel and air into each cylinder

Headers flow the air from the intake filter and allow it to be fed into the engine and mixed with fuel.

Structure and flow characteristics of the Air Intake manifolds can make a large improvement to fuel atomisation on the RB20DE.

Many mass produced engine intake headers are crying out for performance upgrades, although a few manufacturers provide decently flowing intake headers.

Larger RB20DE valves, carrying out port matching and head flowing will also raise performance, and significantly will give you a better performance increase on other upgrades.

Turbo upgrades for the RB20DE

NASP engines need quite a lot of work when you add a turbo, so we have a separate guide to help you take into account the pros and cons of going this route on your RB20DE

The more air you can get into an engine, the more fuel it can burn and uprating the induction with a turbocharger upgrade makes major power gains.

If your car is turbo charged parts are simpler to install and we find turbo engines use harder and stronger components.

There are weak spots for every engine, with some being incredibly solid and some only just able to handle stock power

We recommend you find these limitations and upgrade to better quality components to handle the power.

There are many guys spending a a stack of money on turbocharger upgrades on the RB20DE only to suffer the indignity of watching the motor literally blow up on it's first outing after it's used in anger.

Larger upgraded turbo units commonly suffer low end lag, and low capacity turbo units spool up much more quickly but don't have the high rpm engines power gains.

Thankfully the choice of turbo units is always improving and we are seeing variable vane turbo units, allowing the vane profile is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end bhp and torque.

Twin scroll turbo units divert the exhaust flow into two channels and feed these at differently angled vanes in the turbo. They also boost the scavenging effect of the engine.

It is not unusual that there is a limit in the air flow sensor AFM/MAP on the RB20DE when a lot more air is being drawn into the engine.

Going up you'll find 4 bar air sensors coping with quite large power gains, whereas the OEM air sensor limited power at a much lower level.

Adding a supercharger or additional turbo will make large torque gains, although more challenging to get working. We have this in depth look at twinchargers if you want to read more.

Uprating RB20DE fuel injectors

When you raise the bhp you will need to uprate to the fuel system.

More bhp needs more fuel. We would recommend you to be generous with your flow rate on the injectors.

The accepted safe increase is to add 20% capacity when buying an injector, this takes into account injector deterioration and affords you some spare capacity should the engine need more fuel.

We think this one is common sense, but you'll need to match your fuel injector to the type of fuel your car uses as well.

Best RB20DE performance exhausts

You may need to uprate your exhaust if the current exhaust is actually creating a restriction.

On most factory exhausts you should find that your flow rate is still ok even on modest power gains, but when you start pushing up the power levels you will need to get a better flowing exhaust.

Sports exhausts can usually air flow from the engine but do not go too large or you will reduce the flow rate. Stick to 1.5 to 2.5 inches as a rule of thumb.

Common exhaust restrictions are traced to the emissions filters installed, so adding a faster flowing race alternative will help avoid this restriction.

Problems and issues to look out for on the RB20DE

The RB20DE engines, if regularly serviced and maintained, are generally very reliable and have few issues. {But if neglected they can cost a small fortune|When neglected they get very expensive to run|They can however be quite expensive if neglected| }

Regular oil changes are vital on the RB20DE, particularly when the engine has been modified and is putting down more power than the manufacturer intended.

For more information on Tuning your RB20DE engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our RB20DE owners. It would also be worth reading our unbiased tuning articles to get a full grasp of the benefits and drawbacks of each modification.

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We really like hearing from our readers, and hearing about which parts were the most effective for them, it helps us improve our recommendations and articles to reflect current trends in modifications and ensures that our RB20DE guides and tips are kept up to date.

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This article is flagged for an update, so please pass on specific tips below that I can include. All articles, and content was written by me, Waynne Smith TorqueCars founder. Some outlines are just too general so I appreciate your feedback and suggestions. This entry was filed under Nissan. You can leave a response below or join our forum to discuss this article and car modification in detail with our members.

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