Nissan RB vs BMW M52B

SeanDezart

SeanDezart

Well-Known Forum User
So, I'm looking at an engine swap and I need a 6inline DOHC with the intention of running carbs or EFi (of the MZR cars) - no turbo (s).

The choice first looks to be a no-brainer ; Nissan of course !

However, look again at for each engine size*, the BMW produces more power and torque at lower revs and are considerably less expensive to buy (engine, gearbox, accessories, ECU etc).
The only physical differences are that the BM engine slantes to the right and has the intake/exhaust reversed compared to the RB.

en.wikipedia.org

Nissan RB engine - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

en.wikipedia.org

BMW M52 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

*2.0
2.5
2.6
2.8
3.0

No, I don't want oodles of power so the S52 and turbos are not considered.

Your opinions, thoughts.....
 
If the engineering to fit both is about the same but total cost is an issue, go with the BMW. There are a lot of RB powered Z's and few (that i know of) with German power, so why not buck the trend and maybe save some coin too! ;)
 
If you want to do it cheap go for the BMW, what are the gearbox options ? looks like there are more options than RB and cheaper

How are you gonna mount the carbs or Jenveys on the RB ?

You could modify the manifold like I did (on my RB-L) weld on some flanges then you have a lot of options for carb's or ITB 's..
 
There is a very good build documented on ClassicZ forums with a BMW engine fitted. Well worth a read.

www.classiczcars.com

Thinking about installing an BMW M6 engine in my Z

I have a 1987 M6 that I have dumped thousand$ into but there is no market for them at the moment so instead of selling it for 30 cents on the dollar I was thinking about keeping the freshly restored S38 (inline six 24 valve, dohc) engine an 5spd and part the rest the car out.I've done the measure...
www.classiczcars.com www.classiczcars.com
 
Ian said:
For a non turbo application the M52B makes way more sense.
Click to expand...
Thx (to all of you). As previously said, I'm not looking for max-power, no turbo (s) and want to keep the costs down.

I see that I can pick up a complete M52 engine, ECU and gearbox for between £5-800 giving (depending upon the CCs, 2.0-2.8) between 150-190bhp which will be plenty in a lightweight Z with an R160 4.44 LSD.
 
For the 'cool' factor, I would have to agree with Robbie J's suggestion but if it's a cost conscious build then BMW looks to be the best bet.
RBs have become ridiculously expensive over the last few years, mirroring the price of Skylines.
You used to be able to buy a complete RB26 for around 2.5k GBP but nowadays you can barely get an RB25DE for that.
 
Thanks...but what is this 'cool' factor ? A swap is a swap whatever the engine make and anything less than an S20 isn't so cool in my mind.....
 
Alphabettispaghetti said:
If you want 150bhp why not stick with an L24? Doesn’t make any sense
Click to expand...
LOL, when does any passion 'need to make sense' ? This swap isn't about max power - I've repeatedly said so.

I have a stroked Z and track Z for that.....and even my wifes' 280Z has been dynoed at 160bhp.

Please read my very first sentence ;)

The M52B25 seems to be a good compromise between cost, power and availability on EFi......

125 kW (168 bhp)
at 5500 rpm		245 N⋅m (181 lb⋅ft)
at 3950 rpm		1995-1998

But am I missing another inline 6 DOHC option ?
 
Mark N said:
What about Toyota's 2JZ-GE?
Click to expand...
Yeeees, just can't find many with manual gearboxes.

Jaguar AJ6 3.6 ?
Mercedes M104 2.8, 3.0, 3.2 ?

But a lot more power and hunt for manual boxes ?
Plus, and this is just a guess, the parts will cost a whole lot more than the more common Beemers' ?
 
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