Tuning Feature: Nissan RB28DETT Modified

"Comprehensive guide to performance tuning the Nissan RB28DETT engine!"

We are frequently getting posts about the things we are recommending when it comes to RB28DETT mods that work. So let us look into Nissan RB28DETT mods and outline the best mods that work on this great engine and point out some common pitfalls along the way.

The Nissan RB28DETT really good project engines and with the right sports mods like a remap, turbo improvements and camshafts you will definitely maximise your driving opportunities.

In this article we review RB28DETT tuning and outline the premier upgrades.

When talking about the best parts for your RB28DETT engine, we are going to concentrate on the upgrades that give the biggest return for your cash.

Significant power gains can be made on engines, and the RB28DETT is no exception, with cam upgrades. Altering the cam profile alters the intake and exhaust durations on the engine and can dramatically change the torque and power output.

NB: Fast road camshafts commonly push up the power across the rev band, you might lose a little bottom end bhp but your higher rpm power will improve.

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

A Race cam will just annoy you whilst driving around busy urban areas.

You should ideally optimize your bhp range to your driving style so for a typical daily driver stick with a shorter duration RB28DETT cam

Some RB28DETT engines respond better to more aggressive camshaft durations than others.

The map and injectors and fuel pump also will make differences on the bhp gains you'll hit.

Extending exhaust or intake durations can alter the bhp 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.

RB28DETT Tuning Stages

Stage 1 RB28DETT modifications: Fast road camshaft, Sports exhaust manifold, Remaps/piggy back ECU, Intake headers, Panel air filters, Drilled & smoothed airbox.

Stage 2 RB28DETT modifications: Ported and polished head, fuel pump upgrades, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust, high flow fuel injectors, induction kit, Fast road cam.

Stage 3 RB28DETT modifications: Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves), Engine balancing & blueprinting, Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Twin charging conversions, Competition cam, Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression.

Mapping should help to fully realize the full potential of all the parts you've done to your RB28DETT.

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

It is the main goal to any engine performance tuning project to push air and fuel into each cylinder

Intake headers flow the air from the filter and allow it to be drawn into the engine cylinders.

Structure and flow rate of the Plenum can make a noticeable change to fuel atomisation and engine efficiency on the RB28DETT.

Many mass produced engine intake are ripe for aftermarket parts, although a few manufacturers provide well optimised intake.

Big valve conversions on the RB28DETT, doing some 3 or 5 angle valve jobs and porting and head flowing will also increase bhp and torque, this will raise potential for increasing the bhp and torque increase on other mods.

Turbo upgrades for the RB28DETT

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 RB28DETT

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

When the engine is fitted with a turbo mods are giving better power gains and you'll see that turbo charged engines will have many forged and stronger components.

However you'll find engines will need better parts at higher power limits

Discover these limitations and fit better quality crank and pistons to utilize the power.

There are many drivers spending a lot of money on turbo upgrades on the RB28DETT only to see the whole thing throw a rod on it's first outing after it's been finished.

Bigger capacity turbos tend to experience no power at low rpm, and small turbos spool up quickly but do not have the top end power band gains.

Thanks to new tech the range of turbo units is always developing and we commonly find variable vane turbo units, where the vane angle is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end performance.

Twin scroll turbo units divert the exhaust gases into 2 channels and push these at differently designed vanes in the turbo. They also boost the scavenging effect of the engine.

It is common that there's a limit in the air flow sensor (AFM/MAF/MAP) on the RB28DETT when loads more air is being sucked into the engine.

We see 4 bar air sensors coping with quite large power gains, whereas the OEM air sensor was restricting performance at a much lower level.

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

Uprating RB28DETT fuel injectors

When you lift the bhp you will need to increase to the fuel system.

More bhp needs more fuel. We strongly recommend you to over specify your injector capacity.

The accepted safe increase is to add 20% to the flow rate when fitting an injector, this allows for injector deterioration and provides 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 RB28DETT performance exhausts

You only need to to uprate your exhaust if your exhaust is creating a restriction.

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

Do not go with the widest exhaust you can find this will slow up the exhaust flow 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 in the filters installed, so adding a freer flowing sports alternative will help avoid this restriction.

Problems and issues to look out for on the RB28DETT

The RB28DETT 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 RB28DETT, particularly when the engine has been modified and is putting down more power than the manufacturer intended.

For more information on Tuning your RB28DETT engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our RB28DETT 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 upgrades were the most effective for them, it helps us improve our recommendations and articles to reflect current trends in modifications and ensures that our RB28DETT 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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