Hi, stemians and all the car's community, continuing this Engine series, today I'm going to talk about the powerful RB26DETT.

Let's begin.

RB26DETT appeared in 1989 and was a design by NISMO, It was the most powerful engine of its time built by Nissan. This is a 2.6 Litre L6 Twin Turbo with a power output of 276bhp, although many say that its bench power was much higher than the one marked on the token (approximately 323bhp). And why not declare its real power? You see, many of you will have played the Gran Turismo saga, where the majority of Japanese cars did not exceed 276hp (standard)... and why? Well, the reason is simple, a Japanese standard had just come out that said that cars could not exceed 276hp for safety reasons.

The first car chosen to carry this "super heart" was the Skyline GTR R32 (BNR32), nicknamed from a very young age as GODZILLA for its superiority over the Ford V8 and Holden in Australia. The reason for the nickname is obvious 3 times campionship in the Japanese JGTC races, now called Super GT, crushing his rivals and breaking records on all circuits. And it's no wonder, if we squeeze the RB26DETT engine it is possible to get a lot of juice, the best preparations are around 1000cv and even more!

Wikimedia commons
Pubic Domain

Specific Data

Displacement	2.6L / 2568cc
Horsepower	276 hp @ 6800 rpm
Torque	293 lb-ft @ 4400 rpm
Valvetrain	DOHC Belt Drive
Bore	3.386 in
Stroke	2.902 in
Compression Ratio	8.5:1
Compression Pressure	171 psi / 300 rpm
Dimensions (L x H x W)	34.25in x 26.18in x 26.57in
Idle Speed	950rpm
Ignition Timing	20 deg BTDC / 950rpm
Engine Oil	7.5W – 30 or similar
Oil Pan Capacity	4.5 L, 4 imp qt
Engine Coolant Capacity	Approx. 9.0 L, 7 7/8 imp qt

Originally, the idea was to create an RB24DETT and compete with the 4.0L class (the rules said that if the engine is turbocharged, the base displacement would be multiplied by 2 for a balance of performance). All this while Nismo was processing the design of the GTR R32 to be a Group A racing car, but by integrating the all-wheel drive, the car gained weight and decided to make a 2.6-liter engine and compete with the 4.5L class.

The Nissan GTR R32 was put into production on May 22, 1989, and came equipped with a four-wheel-drive system (ATTESA E-TS) and a HICAS system to improve its stability. After seeing the results of the car, it was obvious that the demand for the car was going to be great, a total of 43,394 units were sold. In 1995, the Skyline GTR R33 (BCN33) was introduced as the successor to the legendary R32. This new model continues to use the same 2.6L twin turbo RB26DETT engine and shares the same five-speed gearbox, although Nissan reinforced the Syncros. The oil pump was also modified, leaving a wider neck to solve the problems of lubrication of the crankshaft, fixing a possible failure at high revolutions and the camshaft was improved, thus increasing the torque of the R33.

Japanese law continued to limit cars to 276hp. Although the R33 was a better car, being heavier, it was slightly slower than the R32.

Wikimedia Commons
Public Domain

And finally we entered the Skyline GTR R34 (BNR34), one of the best known and desired by the public despite being a car exclusive to Japan, this is due to its prominence in sagas such as "Fast & Furious", video games such as "Need for Speed", "Gran Turismo", "Forza"
If we look for the performance of this machine, it continues to equip the RB26DETT with two sophisticated T28 turbos and in this latest version a new six-speed gearbox has been coupled, with a limitation to 250 km/h and an acceleration from 0 to 100 in 5.2 seconds. It features ventilated disc brakes with four-wheel ABS and 18-inch 245/18 wheels in stock. The final weight of the car is 1666 kilograms (1540 empty) and achieves a weight/power ratio of 6.04kg/cv.

Pixabay
CC0

In short, the RB26DETT engine is a highly prized engine for those of us who would like to swap (change engines), just like the car itself, we would say, for all the fame it has received. Large companies such as HKS, Tomei are dedicated to selling improved parts, including engines that increase the displacement to 2.8 or 3.0, such as the RB28DETT or RB30DETT for a price of approximately €25,000 ($34,000) new and that can generate power exceeding 600 hp.

Cool Facts,

• 50% of GTR units sold were white, have you noticed that many Japanese sports cars were white? That's because white is the color of Japanese racing.
• One of the best moments of glory for the R33 was when it set the lap record at the Nurburgring circuit in Germany, with a time of 7 minutes and 59 seconds.