in the "readers rides" section of Sport Compact Car..i saw a 3rd gen. from Phoenix with a 300ZX twin-turbo engine dropped in it......has anyone done this mod?......and how can u stick a RWD engine into a FWD car?.....gimme some info...thanx...peace

 

It's not a Twin turbo, it's the VG30E-T from a Z31 300Z. Single turbo. Custom job. I'll find pics of the car if you would like....

 

That's Vitaly's max.. It's a VG30ET like Lordrandall mentioned. Yes, people have done this swap before and let me just say that you'll be suprised at the potential these VG30E engines have.

 

i would like to see some pics of this.
also i would like to add, why are some of the people in here so secretive about their knowledge about how these turbo mods can be done(maximamike, etc). i always see these post like yeah mike knows how to do it but its not gettin out. im not tryin to get on your sh*t, but isnt the purpose of this forum to share knowledge and ideas with everyone. is it because your woried that people are gonna still your ideas and do it before you or something? i wouldnt worry about that; the knowledge that goes into a custom turbo is probably above about 95% of the readers here. i just always wondered about this when i read some of the previous posts.

 

Secrets?? Turbos?? I wouldn't know anything about that

 

You mean people actually mod Maximas? What a bunch of lamers! What I know is what I know. Its like the government, would you feel safe if other countries <b>really</b> knew what was going on here? LOL..

 

Part fo that is because they don't want their mailbox full of "can you help me turbo my max?" letters.

I constantly get stuff asking about 300ZX seats or rear disc conversion or some of the other stuff I've pioneered on my car.
Part of the reasons I do stuff like that to my car is because I want to be different.

how would you feel, if you spent weeks in the garage installing something totally original on your car, only to see 300 people copy you one week later.

(note clear tails and Kaminari body kits on hondas..)

those are my reasons for not telling a lot of the stuff I've done to my car.. yes, I tell a lot about it, but no I don't tell all of it, specifically for that reason.

 

like those new bimmer headlights you pioneered right matt? BITER! haha jk

 

yeah, i guess i understand. when there is this many people i guess there are those that would copy as soon as you do it. something like a custom turbo i doubt there are that many people that would be able to do it even if he gave in depth instructions. i dont think that many people would want to sink that much money into it either. i do see your piont though. if your going to shows and stuff you want to be original. i dont show my car...well i dont now at least. so it doesnt matter to me if people were to copy off me.

 

I noticed in your sig you are getting the 17" Enkei Fubuki rims. Did you buy them from Discount Tire? They were selling those rims for $80 each!! I wanted to buy a pair myself but then they stopped the special offer.

 

yeah i got them from there. they were $90 each. i saw that and i had to jump on it. the wheels are sweet looking and the stores by my house are still selling them for $200 a piece. i just couldnt resist it. now i guess ill see if i actually get them from this place. are they a pretty reliable store?

 

LOL... you waited too long. They used to be $80 each and then they raised the price to $90. Two of my team mates from my car club bought those rims from that special deal. My team mates already recieved the Fubuki's and the one guy installed the rims on his car. They are really nice looking rims. Discount Tire is a pretty reliable company. You'll love the way the look on your max. You are a smart man to get in on that deal.

Nevin

 

What I know is the VG30D-T motor alone is not that expensive. The really pricy part is the installation and tuning of the final creation. Not a project for the back-yard mechanic, or most shops. I have already talked to one shop that didn't want anything to do with such a swap.

Here are some pics I have collected:

 

That first pic isn't from Vitaly's max. That's a custom Turbo that someone made. VG30ET engines are expensive compared to VG30E engines.. and not only that, the VG30ET engine is HARD TO FIND! I was in that position and I've looked around and couldn't find a good engine so I ended up buying a complete car 88 300ZX Turbo and pulled the engine out.

 

Are you sure they are that much more? The couple people I have talked to said they are not. It would actually help alot to have a Z right there to pull parts from. I would think that would make the swap a ton easier.

I have never seen Vitalys' Max, but I wonder if he has a problem with torque steer. As much power as I have heard he puts down, with unequal drive shafts has to be a problem. There was a Z31-T w/ a smashed back end on the route I take to work everyday, I was going to see if the guy wanted to sell it, but it was gone pretty quickly.

 

The VG30ET engines cost more because they are rare and to find one in good condition is very hard. If you go to Z31.com you will see that people who blow their engines sometimes buy Maxima VG30E engines to swap in since it's cheaper and is easier to access. Vitaly's max does have alot of torque steer... He breaks loose in 3rd gear. Opps.. I think I spoke too much. That's enough out of me..

Nevin


[Edited by SkyMax on 02-07-2001 at 01:50 AM]

 

 

Vitaly has a Maxima? LOL..

 

I know there is a reliability problem with turbo engines but what are the positive impacts of putting a z31 engine in a max? Is it really worth it to get more horsepower and torque but have to spend tons ofmoney on maintaining it? I guess it depends on how much speed gain there actually is.

 

That Blue car on the grass is phat. i bet that sh*t is quick, anyone know a quarter time?

 

anyone know where i could order a grill like that?

 

the car looks to be a dark purple to me. anyways, the billet grilles are custom made. they do not sell them for our gen maximas.

 

Vitaly's max used to be black. No 1/4 mile times. No comment on how quick it is. Billet grille was made from a special shop. You can buy one too but it's quite expensive.

 

i thought that z31's only had like 190hp at the flywheel(i may be wrong about this). if that is the case why would you do the swap? you can get a boost controller and run higher boost, but why not just make a custom turbo for the VG30E?

 

Z31 Turbo's have 205hp with 227ft-lb of torque (the 87-89) have different hp #'s since they use different turbos. The Z31's also have different compression ratios compared to our max's.

 

Its all good guys we dont care if you let us in on the secret if you were real fanatics you would over come and adapt. When i started with my probe their was a guy by the name of mike sienjarecki who had a 89 probe turbo and was pushing 250 hp, but when me and my dad fininshed and our creation hit the 93 edition of fast fords he wanted to make his faster like mine and my hp and torque was confirmed by fast ford inc. but i didnt hate on the guy nothing is a secret, but to end this long as story i sold him my car finally 4 days ago for $16,000.00. Now i can go ahead and try and drop the VQ30DE in my 89 max se, if that dont work i still have this damn 93 rb25de skyline motor i've been holding on! i have the money now its time to make some people put up or shut up! We have nothing to gain or lose from coping your mods for heaven sakes half of us live 3 to 400 miles apart!

 

For some reason I don't buy your story... sorry
Show me some pics of your RB25DE Motor or your $16K probe and then I'll reconsider believing you.

 

There's another pic.
On thing for sure is that if this swap or a turbo project is even considered you should be 100% ready for absolutely ZERO information from some people on this board. I see where there coming from and i see where others arguements are coming from, but it's there choice to share the info or not, and if not, cool. Just figure it out yourself, it's not terribly difficult if you do research and know what your doing, and if you don't then you don't need to be trying it anyways. Take what little info they do give out and use it, or you can be nice and ask and maybe they'll give you a tiny more.
I'm still debating to do it this summer or just get me an AE max with S/C. But there's nothing like having a 3rd gen with VG-T breaking Dyno machines. oop, seems i suffer from the same slippage flu as Nevin.

 

im thinkin about gettin the VG30ET engine and rebuilding it this summer. then worry about how the swaps gonna happen. my uncle has been building race cars for about 30 years now so he can probably help me with the swap if i need any. how much should i expect to pay for the engine if i get lucky enough to find one?

 

how much horsepower was your Probe putting down?? I've seen those Turbo'd probes before, the first gen that is, and it sounded like a damn diesel truck, but it flew like a champ at the track! anyways, hmmmm......skyline and VQ's motors just lying around you crib, huh?? not to be too skeptical, but like Skymax said, some pics would be nice!!

 

Look to spend anywhere from 600 (really gooooooood deal) to 900. for a VG-T. Some places may even try to screw you and charge about a grand. Building it outside of the car is a good idea. If you can find like a junkyard with a max around you, see how much they'll part the components off it, and a 300zx if you can. If you have a 300zx readily available for parts it would help a great deal.

And as far as the Skyline engine goes, riight. I'm with Nevin and DA-Max on this one. The price to ship one ALLLLLL the way to america to sit in some1's house. I don't see it. But you never know. Good luck trying to get that into a 3rd gen. haha

 

hey....how can i get my engine to be chrome like the one in the pic?...is it paint ?

 

Take it to some1 that will chrome it, or polish it all.
$$$$$$$$$
lot of $$$$$$, depending on what all you want chromed. but Chroming is expensive

 

valve cover chroming is about $130 at a local place around my way in MD, but I'm not too sure! I think one of the DC guys got it doen on his 4th gen for that price...

 

Some pieces aren't to bad and some are. But if he's talking the custom piping for the intake off the TB, then it's going to start getting pricey.

 

That's the same engine as the first pic posted by Lordrandall earlier. That's the guy who dynoed over 250hp at Stillen Maxima Day and broke the dyno..haha. I've seen Vitaly's engine... it's a work of art in a way.. lol

 

To all those guys that are willing to swap engines go
right ahead and do it, just know that it's alot of work.
You guys don't know how much work,time,blood,and money
he's put into it.I have not seen a cleaner max than his,
or any other ride period.Everthing in his car is customized,the grill, leather, and of course the motor.To
me his car is one of a kind.By the way SkyMax his car was never BLACK, it's GRAY and it's always been.I should know,
I've known him for years, and we both have some of the best 3rd gen max's in phoenix..

 

Yo im going to pheonix february 17-23rd, you guys got a shop out there i can go check out for maxima's or even just imports? im stayin in a town called Cave Creek, got friend of my family out there. I know theres a couple shops in Scottsdale but i dunno where they are. haha, that would be cool if you could post a reply that way i wont be bored when i got nothing to do. thanks.

 

that grill is sweet.

 

THERE'S ONE THAT I GO TO, E-MAIL ME IF U WANT MORE INFO