what would be your recomendation for a street-legal
turbo in an 87?
could you install turbos from the vg30et? would that
be legal?

thanks

 

Well, every state has different laws. You can usually transplant any engine that you want. Most states just require that you inform them that you've changed your engine as well as your insurance company. The VG30ET won't have any problems passing emissions, after all, it was used in the Z. Now, if you start doing some heavy modifications to the engine, it may not pass emissions. You usually have some options though, depending on your state's laws. Here in PA for example, if you drive the car less than 5000 miles a year you're exempt from testing. Also, you can get a special collectors/customized license plate that will exempt you from testing, however you can't use the car as a daily driver. Also, if the car is 15 years old and looks really good, you can apply for a Classic license plate and the car will be exempt, however you can't use it as a daily driver.

Check around with some local car shops and maybe go to a local classic car show and ask the guys there, they'd know about what you can and can't do to the car.

 

can you convert a VG30E to a VG30ET, i guess by removing the turbos from the ET & putting em on the E.
if so, dang that would be cheap.

 

hi,

At a guess id say it would be a little bit more difficult than simply bolting on turbos. A difference in compression would be a problem, with the turbo motor obviously of lower compression (unless of course due to emmision laws your n/a motor runs a low compression). As ive said before i dont know much about ur model maximas but did they ever come out in twin turbo guise? Because personally a FWD V6 motor with twin turbos would really create a headache from a plumbing point of view. Then theres the intercooler should you wish to have one. I know in my car i have sweet f#*k all room to fit one. But hey anythings possible with enough money.
cheers
Matt

 

Twin turbo's are out of the question for the Max. There definitely is more involved than bolting on the turbo. At the least you have to get the exhaust manifold from the turbo engine as well as the ECU. There are also some other minor things involved and you may have to move some things around.

The compression of the VG30ET is a bit lower than the VG30E, but the VG30E should be able to handle it, if not, an octane boost should resolve any detination problems. Also, I don't think that the manual transmission of the Maxima can handle the power, but the automatic can.

If I were going to do the turbo project, I'd tear apart the whole engine and tranny and start from scratch. I'd take the tranny to Level 10 and have them build it up to handle the increased power. I'd have the engine completely rebuilt with high performance parts. I'd also use an aftermarket turbo like one from JWT. I don't know if there's room for an intercooler, but if so, I'd definitely put one in. Also, I'd add all of the gauges and controls in order to monitor the engine and the amount of boost that's going to the engine.

-C-

 

The two things that are holding me back from doing that are:

Money
& Street Legalness

(uuhh, if legalness is a word)

If i did all that crap you said (with the VG30ET ECU),
would that pass CA smog? i have a feeling not

a VG30ET is the cheapest solution for turbo, in my case at least,
cuz i can get one for a little over $1000

 

Just a quick question. Did the vg30et ever come out in fwd guise. If not then it is going to be ALOT harder than simply bolting in the engine. If your smog testing is similar to our emission testing then i am pretty sure you should safely be able to pass it with the vg30et ecu. Otherwise how did the vg30et engine get past the tests itself. A good tune in most cases will pass almost any car past our emission tests. If you were to do the engine swap your best bet would be to buy a front cut of the motor. If you get the engine out of a RWD car then you are going to have a few problems with engine mounts position of throttle body and intake manifold etc etc.
just a thought
Cheers
Matt

 

haha! how would a vg30dett twin turbo, quad-cam fwd engine fit in?
i know itll be tough.
i got buddies who are mechanics tho
i;d relocate everything to the trunk, and push back the engine walls.

 

There is a 300ZX turbo kit (incomplete) on eBay right now. I posted info on it under the classified section here and someone said that the 300ZX manifolds will bolt right up and work ok in the Maxima.

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....hreadid=155205

Maybe you won't need to relocate much. But if you do relocate the battery, that will give you a spot for some intake tubing and maybe part of the turbo.