Tuning Feature: Nissan RB30DE Modified

"Comprehensive guide to performance parts and tuning the Nissan RB30DE engine!"

We are always getting messages requesting information on the greatest RB30DE modifications. So let us look into Nissan RB30DE parts and outline the best mods that work on this great engine and point out some frequent tuning mistakes along the way.

The Nissan RB30DE have loads of potential and with carefully picked motorsport upgrades like ECU maps, turbo upgrades and camshafts you will substantially maximize your driving opportunities.

In this article we look at RB30DE tuning and show the optimum upgrades.

When talking about the ultimate parts for your RB30DE engine, we are going to focus on the tuning parts that give the best power gain for you spend.

Significant power increases can be made on engines, and the RB30DE is no exception, from cam upgrades. Altering the cam profile alters the intake and exhaust durations on the engine and can dramatically change the engines power and power output.

NB: Fast road camshafts commonly raise the bhp across the rev band, you might lose a little low down torque but your top end will be higher.

Race camshafts, raise the top end band but as a result the car will not idle smoothly and low end power nearly always suffers.

A Motorsport and race camshaft won't do well if driving around busy urban areas.

You should ideally match your torque band to your usage of the car so for a road car stick with a shorter duration RB30DE camshaft

Each engine responds better to extreme cam durations so view each engine as unique.

The ECU mapping and fuel pump and injectors also have an effect on the power gains you'll make.

Altering valve durations can alter the power 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.

RB30DE Tuning Stages

Stage 1 RB30DE modifications: Panel air filters, Fast road camshaft, Sports exhaust manifold, Intake headers, Drilled & smoothed airbox, Remaps/piggy back ECU.

Stage 2 RB30DE modifications: fuel pump upgrades, high flow fuel injectors, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust, Ported and polished head, induction kit, Fast road cam.

Stage 3 RB30DE modifications: Competition cam, Twin charging conversions, Engine balancing & blueprinting, Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves), Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression, Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger).

ECU mapping helps unlock the full potential of all the parts you've done to your RB30DE.

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

It is the main goal to any engine upgrade job to pull air into your RB30DE

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

The size of bore and shape and rate of flow of the Plenum can make a large improvement to fuel atomisation and engine efficiency on the RB30DE.

It's not uncommon that air intake manifolds are in dire need of performance upgrades, although some OEM provide decently flowing air intake manifolds.

Increasing the RB30DE valve size, getting port work and head flowing will also boost performance, and more importantly will give you increasing the performance increase on other tuning parts.

Turbo upgrades for the RB30DE

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 RB30DE

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 your car has forced induction upgrades are giving better power gains and we find turbo engines are made with harder and stronger components.

There are practical limits for every engine, with some being over specified and some just sufficiently able to handle stock power

Discover these limitations and fit forged components to survive the power.

We've seen people spending a loads of money on turbo upgrades on the RB30DE only to experience the engine throw a rod just after it's finished.

Large turbochargers tend to suffer low end lag, and small turbochargers spool up much more quickly but don't have the high rpm engines power gains.

Thanks to progress the market of turbos is always increasing and we are seeing variable vane turbos, where the vane profile is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end bhp.

Twin scroll turbos divert the exhaust gases into two channels and push these at differently profiled vanes in the turbo. They also help the scavenging effect of the engine.

It is not unusual that there's a limit in the air flow sensor MAP/MAF/AFM on the RB30DE when a lot more air is being pulled into the engine.

You'll see that 4 bar air sensors coping with quite large power gains, whereas the OEM air sensor sapped power at a much lower level.

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

Uprating RB30DE fuel injectors

You will need to ensure that the engine is not starved of fuel so will have to uprate the fuelling when you start extending past 20% of a bhp increase.Don't forget to be generous with your injector capacity.

The rule of thumb is to add 20% when buying an injector, this accounts for injector deterioration and allows a bit of 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 RB30DE performance exhausts

Only look to replace your exhaust if the current exhaust is actually causing a restriction.

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

Please dont run with the largest exhaust you can get this will 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.

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

Problems and issues to look out for on the RB30DE

The RB30DE 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 RB30DE, particularly when the engine has been modified and is putting down more power than the manufacturer intended.

For more information on Tuning your RB30DE engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our RB30DE 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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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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