RB26DETT 1,000-Plus Horsepower Block WorkOver the past five months, seven teams have waged a war in building the ultimate engine in a head-to-head battle. The challenge was based upon a points system (190 points total) consisting of the highest possible numbers in each category. Horsepower and torque (30 points), power under the curve (30 points), 30-minute drive cycle (100 points), and build quality (30 points). The Castrol Syntec Top Shop Challenge set the stage for eurotuner, Import Tuner, Lowrider, Modified, Sport Compact Car, Super Street, and Turbo & High-Tech Performance magazines to join forces with a tuner/engine builder while selecting an engine of their choice to build and compete. The highest combined points total will be declared the winner; this isn't a dyno competition based only on monster horsepower. Each team will build an engine to deliver horsepower and torque figures upon horsepower per liter. Larger displacement engines, like theNissan VQ35DE (3.5L), are known to develop bigger power figures but will be at a numerical disadvantage compared to the smaller-litered engines, like the Nissan SR20DET (2.0L).
The Castrol Syntec Top Shop Challenge is nearing its grand finale as all the teams, including Turbo & High-Tech Performance magazine/Sp Engineering will be sending each engine to Speedomotive in West Covina, Calif., to begin power testing using their engine dyno. Final tabulations will take place prior to this year's SEMA Show and the winner will be declared at the Source Interlink booth, along with the award's ceremony. You can bet we will be holding the coveted trophy along with whatever prize that is included for all the hard labor that was put into building this engine.
 The RB26DETT block and head...  The RB26DETT block and head were sent to Taylor's Engines in Whittier, Calif., for honing and decking before the build process was to commence. |  The block was bored from the...  The block was bored from the factory 86mm to 87mm size. An HKS Step 3 2.8L stroker kit was used for the build. The stroker kit, along with its forged internals help aid in improved torque and bottom end response. The HKS setup is ideal for the RB26 engine since we're looking to gain valuable points in the "power under the curve" category. The HKS kit comes with a set of forged pistons, H-beam rods, and billet full counterweight crankshaft to fortify the bottom end. |  Hiro of SP Engineering begins...  Hiro of SP Engineering begins valvetrain assembly using the HKS Step Pro L kit. The Pro L kit requires the use of a HKS Step 3 piston due to a higher lift and smaller base circle design. Also noted from HKS is the need to modify the cylinder head to clear the larger camshaft lobes because the new setup can spin to a maximum 10,000 rpm. Valve stem seal set, valve retainers, lifters, and valvesprings all comes with the Pro L kit. |
 Hiro points out a weakness...  Hiro points out a weakness found on the RB26 (05U) block. An engineering defect or perhaps a casting flaw causes the block to hemorrhage from the oil port located directly in the middle of the block when seeing high horsepower and boost. |  Taking the opportunity to...  Taking the opportunity to clean each part carefully before assembling is important to keep contaminants out from the engines internals. |  The RB26 block using the 2.8L...  The RB26 block using the 2.8L stroker now sees a 77.7mm stroke and 87mm bore, which brings the final displacement to 2,771ml. The factory RB26 uses a 73.7mm stroke with a displacement of 2,568ml. |