For the love of a tractor engine: The life and times of the 18R-G

[o_man_ra23]

jak,

I am currently building an 18R-GTE myself, and made the manifold myself using mandrels, flame cut flanges, bits of straight offcut pipe, a grinder and a mig. Although it isn't as cheap as finding a ready made manifold, I didn't have to try finding one either (which can be quite hard). If you aren't that good at lining up pipes etc, you could make yourself a log manifold without much difficulty. Alternately, if your willing to spend some coin, then Medwin could make a steam pipe manifold for you that will out last religion. Whatever you do, make sure it fits the turbo nice and tight to the block if you are going for a low mount, as they will get rather close to the subframe rails otherwise (took me a bit of marrying up to make my CT26 fit), and you are best off making some brackets to hold the turbo to the block otherwise you will likely crack any manifold you get unless it is a properly built steam pipe item (read expensive). Also pay thought to where your intake piping goes (mine runs between exhaust runners 2 and 3 )

Check out my RA28 thread if you want some inspiration. I should update it now that I have the head on. Oh, and Tricky, thanks for the specs, I needed the head bolt tightening torque specs myself (though I will probably over-torque them a bit to account for the boost)

[river]

Hi,

So would anyone happen to know roughly how strong these things are internally from the factory??? im probably looking at anywhere between 5-10psi so will i be seeing bits of rod out the side of the block or will it be pretty safe??

They are built like a brick shithouse, though Witlz managed to break a few.

You should be able to get 200-220rwKw from a good turbo'd 18R-G.

But you should put in forged pistons, rebuild the engine, new bearings, check the crank balance, etc before you want to pull that power without somehting going pear shaped. You also need a decent ECU to go with the system, as well as injectors and fuel pump.

I'm currently getting an 18R-GUE rebuilt from the ground up, with custom manifolds. Probably run the latest Wolf ECU. I want the turbo to start working around 1800rpm to suit the type of driving I will be doing, so I just need a smaller turbo - like a GT25R. This will get me around the 170kW range, which is plenty better than the 39kW of the current 18R-C engine.

seeyuzz
river

[machschnell]

Hi,



They are built like a brick shithouse, though Witlz managed to break a few.

You should be able to get 200-220rwKw from a good turbo'd 18R-G.

But you should put in forged pistons, rebuild the engine, new bearings, check the crank balance, etc before you want to pull that power without somehting going pear shaped. You also need a decent ECU to go with the system, as well as injectors and fuel pump.

I'm currently getting an 18R-GUE rebuilt from the ground up, with custom manifolds. Probably run the latest Wolf ECU. I want the turbo to start working around 1800rpm to suit the type of driving I will be doing, so I just need a smaller turbo - like a GT25R. This will get me around the 170kW range, which is plenty better than the 39kW of the current 18R-C engine.

seeyuzz
river

18rgeu I hear you say as my ears prik up!!!! I have 2 off them and would be most interested in hearing what you do with yours river, please keep me posted

[timbosaurus]

I like the sound of what your doing River, but I wouldn't want to expect the power your talking about if you're building a standard rebuilt 18RG. I think the "small" GT25R's would be stretching at 170rwkws, and if you're talking about the big GT2540, it won't make boost anywhere near 1800rpm

Although RG's are strong, and a VERY well built 18RG turbo *could* be capable of 200-220rwkw, you'd be doing a lot of work to get there on pump fuel... not just a simple rebuild with forgies and 15psi.

Even a SR20/1G/3S (with 4 valves/cyl,10 years more advanced chambers/ports, and a much greater ability to hold high rpm) wouldn't normally make that power on 15psi.

I'd imagine to get that sort of power (220rwkw) would take a lot of head/valve/chamber work, well designed manifolds, cams, a slightly comprimised turbo size and close to 20psi. Either that or a LOT of bottom end work to take 25+psi, 8k rpm, and strap on a much larger turbo

But hey... prove me wrong... it'll be cool

[river]

Hi,

My engine is not a standard rebuild.

As for 200Kw, well, we'll see what Witzl or Norbies engines do, as I think they are going the whole hog.

As far as 1G engines go, I'm not sure what boost Farkenell is using but he got about 220Kw and Rods, which I think is pretty standard issue, pulls 192Kw.. both of these at the rear wheels. So, 200-220 at the fly for a well built 18R-G turbo is not out of the question.

4 valves!!!! Bahhh, extra weight and extra momentum to over come.

Oh, you ever mention a Datsun engine again in this thread and I'll have to ban you!!!!

seeyuzz
river

[GT1978]

You might want to take a poke through this thread also. 18R-GTEU Reference manual

Glen

hey all.

not often in here. Ive got 3 ra28's, one with 18rc. one shitbox shell and one decent shell that i put back together with spare parts last weekend.

among those spare parts was a good cond 18rg and a w40 box and twin dellorto carbies so i though hmmm maybe if i put 2 and 2 together this thing might go alright. but me being used to a 10 second 1jz i thought nah thats not going to do at all so i came to the conclusion that if i can find a manifold cheap enough or get one bodgeyed up i'll throw a spare ct12a on the side to really make it go.

so im just seeing if anyone knows of a 18rg turbo manifold which is cheap or and old clunker of a thing i dont really care because where ever the turbo ends up sitting the dump pipe will probably be coming out the bonnet anyway so i dont care what car its for or what flange its got. so if someone knows somone wlse who is trying to get rid of one..... pm me asap.

also on the topic of 18rg's. i bought one with a shell for 300 bux about 6 months ago and its been sitting in my shed ever since and i dont really know much about it except its a shitload better than the 18r-c. So would anyone happen to know roughly how strong these things are internally from the factory??? im probably looking at anywhere between 5-10psi so will i be seeing bits of rod out the side of the block or will it be pretty safe??

Cheers for you help in advance guys..

Jak

[timbosaurus]

ahahaa... Why don't you just go put an L20 turbo into your '25

Oh, if you're talking about at the fly, then those power figures sound pretty spot on. Just sounded about 20% more than what i would have expected to see at the wheels.

I can't wait till some of these guys get their 18RG turbo's going... they'll be sex on wheels

[Steve M]

My turbo engine will be running NA for a while I reckon. I'm running out of money fast. No real work for six months and an addiction to buying new parts for the 23 is not serving me well.
My brother's engine is in getting balanced, clearances all spec'd and possibly head job and then it's off to be bored. I do like progress.

[o_man_ra23]

River, your first post said 200-220rwkw, so that probably confused a few people. Perhaps the GT28R with a .64A/R exhaust housing might be another option worth considering?? Although a properly setup GT25R will spool quicker.

I am going for about 200rwhp, but will settle for less in the name of longevity.

Glen, yes that is a great thread to be pointing to.

[jak]

thanks for the help guys.

The reason im doing this is because a few weekends ago me and my mate were sitting inside bored shitless so we decided to have a geez around and see what we could do.

It appeared we had enough to build a whole ra28 with a turbo 18r. all except the manifold.

so the budget for this thing is next to nothing. i have a mate that can throw me one together and i know a bloke who can do the flanges for nothing.

so was it really 200kw on a standard motor? that seems pretty steep for a 20yo plus 4cyl engine.

i also have an efi setup of a 2tg but im reluctant to adapt that at the moment due to my lack of patience when it comes to wiring.

i got the gearbox in yesterday and with a bit of luck i might get the thing to go by the end of the week natuarally aspirated. illl start a members ride thread when it goes so i dont waste to much space in here.

ahh and oman. i dont really know how to weld so that would be a little hard. lingin pipes up is no worries. but i dont have the gear either otherwise i would do it myself.

Cheers
Jak

[river]

Hi,

so was it really 200kw on a standard motor? that seems pretty steep for a 20yo plus 4cyl engine.

Actually, it's closer to 30 years old and over.

Yes it is steep and yes, it is possible, but I base that upon a well rebuilt engine with forgies, custom manifolds, and top range ECU, etc.

Whether your engine makes those figures, or blows up within 10 seconds of giving it some boost, depends entirely upon the state of the engine and how well you designed and fitted the turbo etc.

seeyuzz
river

[MnToyGuy]

Still around $1200 - $1300 shipped (fucking exchange rate)... look good though.

Anyone else?

Thanks hosking

Contact Arias or Venolia. They will make them custom to your specs for about $600 US. Good luck!

[o_man_ra23]

ahh and oman. i dont really know how to weld so that would be a little hard. lingin pipes up is no worries. but i dont have the gear either otherwise i would do it myself.

Cheers
Jak

Get it all lining up and find somebody who can weld it for you. A log will be a lot easier to weld, and will cost a lot less to make. But I wouldn't expect anywhere near 200kw on your budget... should give a bucketload of torque though and be a lot of fun (plus you might learn a few things)

Adapting a 2T-GUE manifold is a bad idea, as the port spacings are all wrong. It's a lot easier to get an 18R-GUE manifold and go from there. Wiring isn't all that hard if you buy something like a MegaSquirt as they have a loom for about $70 which is very self explainatory and already neatly bundled together.

Good luck with the build.

[jak]

yeah i wasnt expecting anywhere near 200kw. what kind of power do these put out stock?

Cheers
Jak

[timbosaurus]

yeah i wasnt expecting anywhere near 200kw. what kind of power do these put out stock?

Cheers
Jak

Anywhere around 100-150hp at the motor, depending on which version you have.

Therefore around 60-80rwkws is common for the 18RG. I wouldn't expect anymore than double this power without going to extremes on the build... but that's just me.