Rb20det turbo on a 1.6
 

Has anyone ever attempted this? Im going through the building process at the moment and hitting snags as far as downpipes go (need custom work done as the flange is a 6 bolt off the turbo) and what not. Just wanted to see if anyone had any insight as I'm debating getting rid of the rb unit and getting a t28 instead.

Better yet, get a 2560. Dont use that piece of shit in your hands.

just dont

I've used a ball bearing basically upgrade version of what you have, an HKS2535 I believe it was.

Had to make custom mani and downpipe for it. Otherwise nothing different.

Whats so bad about that unit? it seems ok as far as design and I think they were ball bearing from the factory

why don't you actually post the full specs of the turbo instead of "seems" and "I think"

the reaserch I have done on the unit says that they were ball bearing from factory but I may be wrong. I obviously know less than others when it comes down to it so I'm asking for guidance not rudeness on others part

I don't care what you're asking. I'm telling you to post up specs and links/references to the info you researched so we know you actually did some research. Otherwise no one will care to help you and you can enjoy your worthless thread.

every other lazy n00b says "in the research I've done" when prefacing their random clueless question.

the ones that actually put in the time, we reward with tons of info and input. We are actually really nice here :)

MT is like my middle school math class.

You only get credit if you show all your work.

And when you copy off others and too stupid to change the name and copy that too, you get detention.

I'm pretty sure the rb20det turbos used a ceramic wheel that is known to explode. Probably not a good choice as far as reliability goes.

Fixed

We could start with the fact that even you stated, it is impossible to find a manifold and down-pipe for this turbo. Unless you are a pretty decent fabricator with a shop full of equipment, then using an oddball turbo will get really expensive, very fast.

Admitedly the time i put into research on this unit was in the hours area after I bought it but because i was usually aided by blue moon it made it not very good research. Im definetely considering another unit as I have tried to build the kit around the turbo and not put in proper hours on it. To tell the truth I was actually going to pick up another turbo (t3/t4) which probably wouldnt have been the best choice but saw this one and through because it was smaller it would better suit my power goals.

Youd have to start with the basic pipe layout and make it fit a flange (which i do have both of) but I goofed on buyin a manifold that was for a t2 becasue somewhere in my research I failed to note that its a t3 flange so I got a manifold for a t2 instead.

its gonna spool like poo on your 1.6 and is not a very good turbo overall.

Yeah cant even clock it properly because the damn wastgate actuator is bolted to the front. like into the compressor housing on the front. Waste of 60 bucks for sure

That's a pretty cheap way to learn that lesson especially since you can dump it now...

"All the research that i have done" = oh cool a $60 turbo. (chugs down the bluemoon), seems fairly decent size for a miata. >>>> clicks buy-it-now button,

Gets turbo in the mail, goes online, sees ZERO manifolds that would work and signs up for Miataturbo.net and here we are.

true story.

Sounds like you ended up with a T2 manifold though. That's good. That'll work well with an SR20 or GT2554.

Assuming it's a quality T2 manifold and not the $100 ebay special.

what specific T2 manifold do you have?
Do you have a matching T25 downpipe for the manifold?

well the guy i got it from lemme swap it out for a t3/t4 off of someones civic that i can either sell it and recoup my money or trade it for a t25 or 28 so a cheap lesson indeed

Basicly but it was a guy that lives 10 minutes from me so i swapped it out with a t3/t4 that could be either sold or traded.

Its one of the weld your own deals but i had a welder buddy go over it and he seems to think its ok (guy has ballistic armor welding certifications and is pretty thorough with what he does). got a matching dp too so we shall see where this goes

its a used weld your own manifold style but ive had my welder go over it and he seems to think its good. guys got a ballistic armor cert so hes not exactly inexperienced. came with a matching dp with no flange

thats good. get rid of the T3 turbo and find a cheap T25 from a Nissan s13 silvia (240sx). these are very popular turbos with miatas, perform well and are cheap.

Get a T25, above all.
Theres so much more knowlege to base your build off from with a T25. Its a popular turbo in the Miata world, so finding matching hardware is also easy.

if you dont mind the wait for shipping, i hear Kraken is pumping out a bunch of T2/3/4 manifold/downpipe combos

I'm so confused.

I vote throw it all out and start over.

Yep. this build is full of poo and it hasn't really even started. You need to step back and start over.

first things first- What is your budget?

What computer are you going to use? MS2, 3, 3x,3pro?

Figure out your power goal- this helps determine the best turbo and other bits (injectors etc.)

Figure out what manifold- or provide some pictures and specs of your current one. Just because a certifies welder says it looks good, does not mean that it is. material thickness is the kicker here. you dont want to go through all this only to have the mani crack in a month.

Figure out what turbo you are going to run. dont make a seat of the pants decision here. A 2560 garrett is a great turbo. Pretty easy to find on Nissan Silvia forums. I believe you want one with a 5 bolt downpipe.

lets start with this for now.

I dont really have a set budget, originally it was going to be a greg peters kinda build but then i ordered mspnp2 from 949 and so far thats been the most expensive thing. I was looking for somewhere in the neighborhood of 200ish hp, wasnt even really concerned with the numbers tbh just to make the car a bit more fun than it is now. Ive been piecing this together over the course of a month as far as the misc parts go, ordered some denso injectors from the rx8, a universal charge pipe kit (2.5), the manifold and DP, Innovate Lc2 and DB AFR Meter... Still waiting for the MS to come in but most all of everything is here except the turbo

What manifold and downpipe do you have?

One of those homebrew manifolds that you weld up yourself and the downpipe that came with it bought it off the classifieds in here.

Why is this so hard? Nobody knows what you're talking about.

Point us to the manifold and downpipe, to show us what manifold and downpipe you have. If you can't do that, then post pictures.

I see the trend now: make terrible choices based on absolutely zero research. By cheap crap. Try to piece it all together after the fact and somehow "make it work".

In which case, carry on :)

https://www.miataturbo.net/miata-par...t-gauge-94868/

Heres what I bought

your injectors are junk too, scrap them. This is the wrath of buying first and learning second.

manifold looks ok, downpipe will need a bit of work obviously.

DUDE, just buy an MK Turbo kit and be done. you absolutely cannot beat his price with your current knowledge.

Even Greg Peters isn't doing a "greg peters build" anymore.

Can't say i recognize that downpipe flange. GL fam.

the lack therof wasnt a concern at the time, still isnt really I had bought a flange to weld to a downpipe anyway

I'm aware. Like I was saying though I was gonna copy the broke and boosted build but MS sounded much better than trying to fool the stock ecu to take boost.

Well at least you got that part right :)
That's a good start. Now stop wasting money on junk parts and you'll have a properly boosted Miata in the future

It is almost impossible to be broke and boosted for more than a month. Band-aids over scabs, that's how broke and boosted ends.

Obviously a standalone ECU is the way to go for any type of engine management but thats not to say that a FMU setup cannot be reliable as I had a FMU on my old miata build for YEARS and it was really good for what it was. Im not saying to do that, but it can be done.

He bought a Megasquirt.

Right, I was just saying this for anyone else that wanted to go down the "broke and boosted" lifestyle.

Sounds awful.

I dunno. Brain's commented recently saying that for the truly low boost builds, it's a good way to keep shit simple. The big issues start the second you try pushing the limits on the band aids.

No. That's nonsense. Don't spread it.

The only part about it working well is the fact that most of the time the car will start and run. That's it.
Everything else sucks

So derailing a little bit, has anyone ever had any super long wait times ordering things from 949 racing? Ordered the ecu plus afm delete and serial cable and I haven't seen any update on the shipping. Called an Friday bit do response back

They were at SLB. Of the vendors i've ordered from 949 Racing is consistently the fastest, every time.

they were racing on sunday, to sell on monday

Update, got my hands on an sr20 t25 in ok shape, will obviously need rebuilding but I'm currently stuck on the exhaust side. Cant get to the 4 bolts that hold the retainers on (clearance issues between oil drain bung, water passesges) and searching for a bracket to relocate the wastegate actuator so I can re clock it.

GL fam.

I have built my car with some of the same parts you are using. The RX7 injectors I have are the 440s. They are a cheap option and work but they don't offer much in terms of overhead. You are limited by them pretty early on at stock fuel pressures. Not a huge deal if you are happy with ~200hp. I probably wouldn't be on a full weight car but mine is only ~1850lbs so 200hp works for me. I am going to link you my build thread. You should look how the turbo is clocked and what was done for the wastegate actuator. It's not perfect but functional. Get an electronic boost controller. I have some videos on how to set these things up. I had spark blow out issues around 13psi and .028 spark gap. I have gone to D585 coils and had great success with them. Listen to some of the people on here but don't take all of it for gospel. Some have had better luck than others with equipment and vendors. You are going to make mistakes, kinda comes with the territory when adding an entire system to a car that wasn't engineered or designed for it. Good luck bud. It's addictive and fun if you enjoy the process.

https://www.miataturbo.net/build-thr...s-build-86933/

I like what you did with mounting the WGA on the stud on the intake neck, Ill of course have to modify the stock rod to give it a bit more length but other than that I'm for sure plagiarizing that idea thank you. absolutely will be happy in the 200 whp range but I'm not looking for all out speed yet, just to get my foot in the door in regards to putting it all together and making it all work. Did you have any issues making the LC2 talk to the DIY ecu?

Honestly I have had zero issues with my LC2. I did run MS2 with the LC2 on an NA setup for about 6 months before I put the turbo on the car. I would highly suggest that method since blowing up an NA BP takes some well placed ignorance.