Most of the highly tuned RB30s have forged rod and pistons and a crank now (usually RB25/26) so rev quite well but not usually above 8000.

Our forum member SLEEPER has the OS Giken motor which has the complete OS Giken bottom with an new N1 RB26 block that is bored and decked to 3 liter.

This is different to most other rb30 based engines, there is no modding just put an RB26 head on thats job done!

It also has a big valve head and stage 3 cams and is rated to a safe 1000bhp and unlike stock rb30s OS Giken engines have a recommended rev limit of 9000rpm although thats purely acedemic as even changing at 8000 keeps you in the sweet spot.

One thing re all the rb30s because the motor is taller lots of things need modding - belts chains and anything that bolts to the head directly or indirectly is a fair bit higher.

A stroker kit such as the 3.2 (Nitto), 3.3 (RIPS), 3.4 (Spool Imports) will help to make more power.

A remap will help fully realize the full potential of all the tuning mods you've fitted to your RB30.

It will usually give around 30% more power on turbocharged vehicles and you can expect to see around 15% on NASP engines, but figures achieved often vary depending on the tuning mods you've carried out and the condition of your engine.

It is vital to any car tuning project to pull air and fuel into your RB30

Intake take the air from the air cleaner and allow it to be fed into the engine cylinders with fuel for the squish phase.

The bore size, shape and rate of flow of the Intake can make a noticeable difference to to fuel mixing and power on the RB30.

On popular production engines plenum chambers are begging for an upgrade, although a few makers provide reasonably good plenum chambers.

Larger RB30 valves, doing a bit of RB30 port enlargement and head flowing will also lift bhp, and importantly will afford you an improved bhp increase on other parts.

Turbo upgrades

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 RB30

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

When a car has a turbo already fitted parts are going to net you a larger power gain and you'll see that turbo engines will have better components.

There are common areas of failure for every engine, with some being over specified and some just sufficiently able to handle stock power

See where you'll find these limitations and upgrade to better quality crank and pistons to survive the power.

We see many mechanics spending a fortune on turbo charger upgrades on the RB30 only to have the whole thing literally blow up just after it's finished.

Big upgraded turbos will usually suffer a bottom end lag, and small turbos spool up really quickly but do not have the high rpm engines power gains.

We are pleased that the world of turbo units is always improving and we commonly find variable vane turbo units, where the vane angle is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end bhp and torque.

Twin scroll turbo units divert the exhaust flow into a couple of channels and push these at differently angled vanes in the turbocharger. They also help the scavenging effect of the engine.

It is not unusual that there's a limit in the air flow sensor AFM/MAF on the RB30 when loads 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 sapped performance at a much lower level.

Adding a supercharger or additional turbo will make large bhp gains, although more complex to setup. We have this article on twincharging if you want to read more.

Fuelling upgrades and mods

You will need to ensure that the engine is not starved of fuel so must increase the fuelling when you start extending past 20% of a bhp increase.Don't forget to be generous with your flow rate on the injectors.

The rule of thumb is to add another 20% when buying an injector, helps cope with injector deterioration and affords 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.

Exhaust upgrades and mods

You only need to to upgrade your exhaust if your current exhaust is actually causing a restriction.

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

Don't go with the largest exhaust you can source you'll slow the exhaust rate - the best exhausts for power gains are usually between 1.5 to 2.5 inches. It is the shape and material more than the bore size.

Common exhaust restrictions are traced to the catalysts installed, so adding a freer flowing performance alternative will help avoid this restriction.

Weak spots, Issues & common problem areas on the RB30

The engines, if regularly serviced and maintained, are generally very reliable and have few issues.

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

History of the Engine

• RB30S - carb single-cam
  100 kW (134 hp; 136 PS) @4,800 rpm, 224 Nm (165 lbft) @3000 rpm
• RB30E - fuel-injected single-cam
  114 kW (153 hp; 155 PS) @5,200 rpm, 247 Nm (182 lbft) @3,600 rpm)
• RB30E - fuel-injected single-cam
  117 kW (157 hp; 159 PS) @5,200 rpm, 252 Nm (186 lbft) @3,600 rpm)
• RB30E  - fuel-injected single-cam
  130 kW (174 hp; 177 PS) @5,500 rpm, 255 Nm (188 lbft) @3,900 rpm)
• RB30E - fuel-injected single-cam
  140 kW (188 hp; 190 PS) @5,600 rpm, 270 Nm (200 lbft) @4,400 rpm)
• RB30ET - fuel-injected single-cam turbo
  150 kW (201 hp; 204 PS) @5,600 rpm, 296 Nm (218 lbft) @3,200 rpm)

Enterprising tuners created an RB30DET version also known as the RB25/30 or RB26/30

Typically created by using a RB30E bottom end and cylinder head from the RB25DE, RB25DET* or RB26DETT as the bore sizes match nicely.

It is usual to disable the variable valve timing on these hybrid engines.

*Oil feeds need altering.

For more information on Tuning your engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our 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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