I've been driving my mother's '99 SE for a while now since my tranny is dead. I have to say that I really like how the VQ engine picks up even if her car feels like a damn boat compared to mine. I now know that I want to make a lot more power in my car. What is the most cost effective choice? Find a turbo for my VG and rebuild the hell out of it (new pistons, cams, etc...)? Import a turbo engine from Japan and also do the 5sp conversion? What prices have you paid to get the power out of your VG's?

 

to get my turbo setup running i paid somewhere around 1500-1800 with some costs not being needed. i swapped in a jdm vg30et and did a lot of the work myself which kept costs real low along with searching around for a while to try finding the best deals possible.

 

Vg............ power... hu?
dude.. turbo, but its going to be alot of money
-mtcookson, does ur enigne run like new? or do u have problems.. coldstart-ups, power band, lag etc..

 

Cool. What power increase did you get from getting the JDM T engine? Did you have issues with the turbo being in the way of the hoses and the engine supports? About heat in the engine bay? I just want to be as informed as possible before I decide to order a new engine...

 

only problems i'm having right now is it running rich due to having my maf setup incorrectly. other than that the thing runs awesome. its very fun to drive.

i relocated the turbo to the driver's side of the engine since in the stock location the turbo sat right where the turbo was. i'm sure there's extra heat in the engine bay, but i haven't noticed any side effects of it.

as for power... i'm not really sure of an exact number but i do know that it should be around 215 hp with the stock jdm engine. with the mods i have it should be a bit higher but i'm not sure what its at yet. i should be going to a dyno and a 1/4 track in a couple weeks so i'll know how much better it performs then.

you can check out my cardomain site to see pictures and such of what i did. http://members.cardomain.com/mtcookson

 

u must love saying all that in ur posts...

 

what do you mean?

 

Also keep in mind, you can also use the VG30ET from the Z31. Though you will need to probably swap out the oil pan, lower intake manifold, and a few misc parts (or at least this is the case when putting a z31 VG30ET into a 2nd gen). In reality, mtcookson is right about the price. It should really cost all that much to do this with the basic swap. That will get you a boost from 160hp at the fly to about 200-215hp at the fly. Now if you want to start talking about other upgrades to make even more power (ie fuel delivery upgrades, full exhaust, turbo upgrades, wastegate upgrade, boost controller), then your gonna start spending money just to have that stuff. But 1000-1500 for a basic 40hp isn't a bad option at all.

S

 

yeah, you can use the Z31 engine and I'm pretty sure it has to be from the 87-89 since those have the longer crank snout. those engines are much easier to find than the jdm ones but tend to have more miles and they also have a T25 turbo setup which is pathetic. the jdm engine has 8.3:1 compression ratio compared to the 87-89 Z's compression ratio of 8.5:1 which means the jdm engine should be able to handle more boost but off boost power will be slightly less than the Z's engine and the turbo will spool just a bit slower (however with the 84-86 Z turbocharger there's minimal lag due to the small size). with either engine you'll have to swap the basics:

- oil pan
- alternator
- a/c
- bracket for the alt. and a/c
- i believe the power steering pump needs to be swapped
- coolant lines running under the intake manifold
- water pump
- sensors
- if using the Z31 engine you need to swap the intake manifold
- crank pulley
- its a good idea to swap the valve covers since the rear valve cover of the Z has the oil cap right on the covere whereas the Maxima has a raised tube and the front valve cover will need to be swapped if you want to use the Maxima's distributor (i did this since i wasn't sure if i could get the jdm vg30et's distributor cap and such here)
- need to also relocated the battery to the trunk if you set the turbo up like i did

things you'd need to buy/have made:
- jwt ecu or some sort of fuel management (i got the apex'i s-afc 2 and it seems to work fine)
- custom crossover pipe to make the install easier (check pictures on my cardomain site)
- custom intake and exhaust (can be done at your local exhaust shop for cheap or if you want to have a higher quality setup you can order mandrel bends and have someone weld it all together unless you can weld it yourself to save money)
- bov would be good to be safe. my engine didn't come with one
- aftermarket wastegate since when you move the turbo you'll have to turn the housings which won't allow you use the stock internal wastegate setup
- various flanges and gaskets as needed (t3 flange for the turbo)
- turbocharger if the one that comes with the engine is missing or bad. if you get the Z31 engine you'll definitely want to get a different turbo. the 87-89 has the T25 setup which is pathetic so i'd upgrade to, at the least, an 84-86 300ZX turbocharger
- 255 lph walbro fuel pump (very inexpensive)
- might pick up a rising rate fuel pressure regulator (1:1 increase) but it shouldn't be necessary
- various guages like boost/vacuum, egt, or just whatever you want and feel like you need

that's all that i can think of. if i think of more i'll post it up.

 

mmmm. Looks like this summer I'll be getting my hands dirty...

 

i forgot about one thing. you'll have to modify the front vg30et manifold so that it flows correctly to the crossover pipe if that's the route you're taking.

stock it looks something like this:



after cutting off the stock flange and taking out some material inside (you'll see exactly what i'm talking when you look at one) it will look something like this:

 

Thanks for all the info. I will def. research a lot before attempting the swap. But seeing the end results only makes want it more...

 

Did any of the Z31s use the T28?

 

Has anyone successfully swapped in a VG30DETT in a Maxi? Is it attemptable?

 

i don't believe any Z31's had T28's. all that i know of are the T3's on the 84-86 Z and T25's on the 87-89 Z's.

a vg30dett would probably be near impossible to fit in a maxima. i think the jdm vg30det might... but i'm not positive yet.

 

Has anyone attempted it yet? And furthermore, would I have to run an intercooler once the VG30ET goes in?

 

i don't believe anyone has attempted the vg30dett.

if you run low boost you can go without an intercooler. say if you have the t3 turbo from an 84-86 Z you can run up to 10 psi without an intercooler with that turbo. other turboes will be different. 5-7 psi is a safe bet for any turbo though.

 

So if I run the t25 and eventually want to upgrade to a more powerful turbo, I should look into an intercooler huh?

 

yeah, if you get the z with a t25 i'd get rid of that thing fast. you can't make much power with those tiny turboes. heck... even the t3 that comes on the earlier ones can't put out much power. i believe the a/r on it is only .46 which is too small for our engines. a good upgrade would be a t3/t4 with a .63 exhaust turbine. that'll give you good spool time and allow you to have some good power.

 

most likely with the T25 the car will be no more fatser than a 15 second pass...stock T25s are a joke! just look at the times the stock Z31 ran on stock boost...mid/low 15s...turbo upgrade is a must IMO.

 

Or I can call HKS and have them hook me up
That's a long term plan.

 

ehhh... i'm not really a fan of hks. they seem too overpriced to me. i'll just stick with a garret t3/60-1 personally

 

I've never really looked into Garrett's. I will see what they have to offer for the VG30ET. My goal is to get at least 280 hp. That's way out there...

 

280hp at the flywheel? Want my honest opinion? You have a VG auto. You want to swap rear discs, auto to manual and vg na to vg turbo. I'd just sell your car, buy a VE 5-sp(lsd, rear discs and 190hp to start) and just do a basic turbo swap. ie.. T3 *might* get you there. 280 hp is only about 220 at the wheels. I dyno'd at 175hp/185ft lbs torque at the wheels na. I'm 100% I could get another 45-60hp easy with a T3 and stock injectors. Would be almost at the limit but well within the capabilities of the VE.

 

At the beginning of this summer when I move to SC I am taking out a $5,000 loan so I can get a JDM engine and some other stuff.

 

That would be a very bad investment. One thing to save up and do this. Another to take out a loan with interest.

 

So in a 1992-1994 SE I can fit a VE30DET? I wasn't aware of that. Might look into that. This summer I will be making about a grand a week so that's the time to make the mods. If I can easily turbo a VE and do it while keeping its reliability then yeah, I'll just buy a later SE. I was afraid that since it was only around for 3 years, there weren't many performance parts available for the VE. I just got

 

there is no such thing as a VE30DET...Jeff simply meant turboing the buying a 92-94 SE and turboing the VE30DE in it. good luck with your project, theres a lot for you to learn before jumping into this...even the VGT swap isn't as easy as you think if you don't at least have some sort of mechanical knowledge or basic turbocharging knowledge

 

I am aware of that. That is why the project will take action this summer. Before then I will be studying a lot :reading and taking apart my 1988 Cordia Turbo to gain some additional knowledge and skill. I would never jump in this kind of a project blindfolded don't worry :-)

 

Serious question. I love my Maxima and I would hate to part with it. But what would be more cost efficient considering I'm a single college students who races at the track? Buying a VE or a 1992 MR2 Turbo?

 

let's see
Maxima-
4 door Luxury sports car
Front wheel drive
Front engine
5 passenger seating

MR2
2 door sports car
Rear wheel drive
Mid engine
2 person seating

The MR2 is a much better base to build an autox car with. but it will lack the comfort and convience of the max.

The MR2 will also be better on gas than the max and probably more fun to drive by yourself.

If I could I'd probably have both.


All of the above is my opinion and should be taken as such. it is not the gospel truth just my stinky opinion.

 

AH AH AH!
Yeah, I would love to have both and keep the Maxima as a long term project. I'll see when the summer comes and the cash is available. Hopefully by then I'll have enough experience to be able to deal with both cars mechanically and technically

 

man if you choose a Maxima over the MR2 as a project car than I hate to say it but there are a few screws loose... an MR2 turbo has GOBS of potential over any Maxima VE, VG whatever. and it'll most likely cost much less since the MR2 already has plenty aftermarket support and is ALREADY turbocharged...turbo maximas are all well and good, but there is soooooo much more out there that is both easier on the pockets and will yeild better end results..I've helped with 2 turbo Maximas(one 3rd gen and one 4th gen)...its fun but it can get tedious really fast, IMO if you are jut starting out in cars, keep it simple.

 

hmm... i'd personally stay away from mr2's. i've seen too many of them with tons of problems. when they work, they are fast as hell and handle really well. imo, the 2nd gens look awesome.

 

I know. I would def. work on the MR2 and make it a beast, but then I would be able to try somethign really crazy with the Maxima for its not my daily driver and trasher anymore.

 

personally if i were to get an MR2 i would swap out the turbo 4 cyl..and put in the 6 cyl from the camry or lexus es300..i think...the 6 quicker for auto-x from stories ive heard and read about...more torque than the turbo 4 cyl also...i used to know a lot more info about when i was lookin for an MR2 last year..but when i started havin to put money into my max i got away from MR2's cause i couldnt afford to have both cars

 

Naaah, I wouldn't swap in a 6 banger. I would just get a larger turbo for the 3SGE motor which is amazing... I don't want to get too uch power out of the MR2, just enough to have some fun with it. Then when I have the chance to dump some money and let the Maxima sit for a while without it affecting me, I can customize and tune just the way I want... turboeing the VG or whatever I decide at the time...

 

forgot another thing on the vg-t swap. you'll need to swap the maxima's oil pan and the oil pump tube over to the turbo engine. while the oil pan is out, you'll need to have a pipe or something welded in that will allow the oil to drain from the turbo back into the oil pan.

 

MT. You willing to write a faq for a VG30-T engine swap? Let me know. Although I'd prefer the article to be for the traditional manifold type vs the modified ones you did. Also the differences of the VG-T turbo engines would be nice. Let me know

 

Any one just try a cam swap??? everyone here is turbo crazy. what about a cam, port the heads and some exhaust work? call me old fashoned, but i like naturally asperated hp. seems a lot more simple. but maybe the vg doesn't lend itself to these kind of mods very well. what would i know, i'm a chevy nut. i just happen to have a max too. LOL!