I know I've posted a question similar to this already, however, would installing an SR20DET from a FWD Bluebird be feasible? There's this Frontclip of a Bluebird, that is FWD or could be AWD if you decide to throw in the extra 200 for the rear axles. The engine on my max is already old, and the tranny was re-built wrong. (It works slightly, it gets stuck in gear, and doesn't shift into a higher gear, it'll rev like mad as if it was gonna haul ***, but I don't go faster than 25 MPH)

 

 

i think u have to be more specific in what ur talkin' about cuz even i don't understand what ur talkin' about??? and i know Jeff is gonna give u a hard time.

 

Bluebird's are the Altima's in Japan. Bluebird's were either FWD or AWD, depending on the model. I'd figure if I buy a Bluebird clip which is FWD, I could (with modifications of course) pop it into my 3rd gen. And I kinda figured Jeff would give me a hard time, rather than giving an eleborate answer, all he did was post emoticons. I don't know much about 3rd gens, and it's being handed down to me because my mom does not want it anymore. Since the engine is old, I'd figure I would do a few things to 'improve' it. If swapping a SR20DET from a Bluebird FWD isn't possible, just give me a solid answer so I can go on to improving with what I have already.

 

It's possible..............

 

interesting and unique. do u have pics of a Bluebird cuz i've never seen one before. and where in Miami r u???

 

I live in Hialeah. http://carpictures.duble.com/Nissan/Bluebird/1.jpg there's a Bluebird right there, basically an Altima in Japan. And Jeff, would ya know if there would be anything major I'd have to do to get the SR to fit?

 

not my type but maybe it would look nice on a 3rd gen but good luck on ur project.

 

Anytime you put a 4 cyl where a 6 cyl normally is, I'm going to guess that there would be alot of major things that needed to be done. I'm also going to guess that since you don't know much about either the car you have or the car you are getting the clip from, you are going to encounter some *slight* setbacks.

Is it possible? Probably. Can you do it without alot of help, $ or frustration? I'm going to say no. Why? Because you previously asked if a inline twin turbo 6 cylinder would fit in a maxima. Now anyone with any lick of common sense would at least think about asking that question before posting if an engine that's TWICE as long as the one that's originally there would fit into an engine bay that can BARELY accomodate a DOHC V6 version.

 

Imma just stick the engine and tranny in my 3rd gen =P Altima's are ugly in my eyes. If I do this, I might be the only 3rd genner in Miami with an SR20DET. =D

 

Thanks for all the help Jeff. I think this will be a project that me and my dad will handle. My dad knows more about the max, and he's done quite a few overhauls.

 

but r u makin' this into a project car or what???

 

do it and when its done post lots of pics

 

Well, seeing as that I'm only 16, I've still got a while til' I can even get this started. Imma just make it an daily driving car. I wanted make the 3rd gen a faster car, so I can get away with having a car with decent speed and paying less insurance for it. And I'll post picture's in hopefully the near future of the car when it has the SR in it. I've still got to go get it fixed though, my mom had gotten into a minor accident with a civic, gotta replace the front bumper.

 

Do you know my engine already has the same amount of hp as the stock engine you want to replace it with?

 

I'm not saying that the max doesn't have a bad engine, however, it's old and I've heard a lot of good things about the SR. Besides, I've always been the oddball. I wanna try something different.

 

How much $ do you have to spend on this "oddball" project?

 

Seeing as how much potential an SR20DET has, and the cost to fit the engine in the 3rd gen, it varies. Although I can't imagine how much it'll cost to get the SR to fit in the 3rd gen, so it'll all be dependent on how much the project will cost. The car itself is in awesome condition, inside and out, so all I would see myself spending money on is engine and suspension. I guess time will tell. =P

 

Usually did/does/etc....

 

Jeff how much hp does ur motor put out??

 

Assuming he's comparing it with the same number's as an S13 SR, 200-215 HP?

 

asuming you have a GXE or an 89-91 SE, it'd be 10x easier to swap in a VG30ET (single T no D)
then you can make even more power with fewer headaches.
There is NO replacement for displacement

 

But that's not different.

 

Sure it is. I used to put SR20DENs in my '92 SE-R all the time.

 

Hahaha...me too?

 

Dhunterx -- I can gaurantee you that you will not do this swap based on what you have said so far. Even if someone did the swap I would have to say it wouldn't even be worth the money and time involved. You would be MUCH better off putting the time and money into a VG30ET, I don't know of anyone so far who has turboed their Maxima VG and tapped out it's full potential. You can easily run 270+ WHP on the stock block with the stock fuel system and an intercooler, and there is guys who run 500+ horsepower on the motor. IMO if you are really serious about doing work and putting money into your car, the turbo VG setup would be your best bet.

BTW: I'm sure Jeff would be willing to provide you with info on your SR20DET swap if he thought you were capable of it, but if you have to ask the kind of questions that you are asking you most likely aren't capable of figuring it out.

 

with all the money in the world anything is possible.

 

If you have that much cash just lying around, why not just rebuild to motor thats in it, and use the rest of your money for other (sensible) mods instead. You can use the extra money to pay your insurance. I wouldn't embark on a project like that unless you have nothing to lose on the deal. Like my example. I have an old dodge pickup. Had a blown up 360 with a wore out 727 behind it. Allready rebuilt the motor twice before, didn't want to do it again. Long story short, Someone gave me a motor and tranny out of an old ford pickup. I put the Ford motor and tranny in my old dodge. It works. I would've not been out any money if it didn't work. Of course comparing an old dodge pickup to a newer car is like apples to oranges. You can make just about anything work on this old truck as long as you got a welder and a cutting torch. Next motor to go in the Dodge will be a 4-53 detroit diesel 2 stroke. hehehe

 

with so much money, why not just buy another car?

 

first the z-31 engine swaps, now this. I would go with what people say about saving up money to buy something better if you want a fast car to drive(yeah right, race is the word), I'm not flaming anyone, but I think you're better off using your "free" ride as a learning experience and invest in yourself, i.e. try to repair the stuff yourself, rather than plunging money down the drain only to be about 10% sure that it will work.

 

Yeah, that's what I was thinking, but I guess he wants to be "different" and have a maxima with a SR20DET because no one else does. I have a better question...with so much money, why not just buy a house? I had to decide a while ago if I wanted to save money and buy a house or dump alot of $ into a money pit maxima, I decided to get the house now and spend money on cars later, but that's just me.

JW

 

not only would the turbo VG be easier, it would be a torque monster compared to the SR. not that the SR is bad or anything, its just a bit overhyped imo.

a SR would be unique but there's more to it than just throwing in the engine, wiring harness, tranny, etc. etc. you have to deal with the suspension as well. the SR is substantially lighter than a VG since its a 2 liter 4 cylinder that is all aluminum. the front end will probably raise up a few inches with the weight decrease on the front end... and i don't believe the springs availble for the max will even help... you might be lucky to get the stock height back.

the only way i could see you fixing that issue without custom made springs or some springs from some other car that just happen to fit would be to cut them.... and we all know how that goes. not only does it make the ride all screwy and mess things up most of the time, its also very dangerous. heating up spring metal with a torch is usually not the greatest idea.

so basically in the end, unless you're ready for a much larger task that just putting an engine in, i would stick with building up a VG.

 

what are you thinking? Ok do you know how much money a sr20det clip is going to cost you. IIRC it would be around 3500. And thats just for parts. Ok I dont think you could could get it work yourself. SO about another 4000 to get it in. Ok for about half of that I could build you a vg that would make about 375 to 400 to the wheels. BUt oh im sorry you want sr20det that make about 230 to the crank. MOds please lock this thread

 

If you really want an sr20det, get a cheap s13 240sx or a cheap b13 sentra se-r shell and put one in it.

I'm actually thinking about getting a cheap s13 and building the stock KA24DE to put a turbo on it.

 

The swap was one thing i considered long time ago. Its is doable, as long as you have a complete front clip, including tranny, wire loom and ecu's.

The maxima is too heavy to make it "quick".
If you are happy with 14's in the quarter, then stick with the stock motor and build IT up, otherwise, if you wanna hit 13's and quicker, best bet is the sr20. Cheaper and easier to make lots of hp out of that motor.
The v6's that came with the maxima, well, its not worth it dumping money into those motors.

Why do manny aussies swap in sr20's into the 350z???? Cuz that 3.5 is maxed out, Just like the vdubs vr6's.

But like someone else mentioned it, if you build a fast car, you are better off to start with one that is already fast to begin with, or at the least, lighter in weight.
Maximas weigh in just under 3300lbs with full trim.

sr20, easy to get 300-350hp, maximas, not soo easy.
But you are 16, so what is the rush?

 

This is EXACTLY how I feel about the swap.

 

actually... that's quite untrue. for the 2000 or more that you'll spend to just buy the front clip (not including shipping, fabrication, labor, and whatever else to get it in) you can turbo the stock engine.

the VG is a very, very strong motor. there are guys running 400+ hp on the stock internals, others pushing even more with stronger rods and pistons.

this is going to be a long post and i have a phone call so i'll finish it just a second

 

I'd have to disagree with you there, the VG has potential to reach 300-350 hp just as easily, AND it will put out even more torque, which is what is needed to get a heavy 3rd gen moving. Here's the basics of modding a VG in a 300zx, most of it applies to a turboed max:
http://z31.com/tfaq/

The VG is a very capable motor, although not as widely used as the SR20DET I think it has similar potential and will even come out ahead in torque. I plan on having near 250WHP in my Z this summer with just a stock Nissan T3, intercooler, and boost controller, and it has been done many times before.

JW

 

alright... continuing on.

if i were to turbo a maxima again i could probably do it for less than 1,000 dollars (actually, someone has already done it for much less than that... probably around 500 to get it running).

with that basic setup alone, as rosamax said, you could probably get about 250 whp (and **** load more torque than that) with no trouble at all... i believe probably even more as the maxima engine has 9:1 pistons and such.

upgrade to 370 cc injectors, bigger turbo, and a nice intercooler and you could easily push 350 whp or more.

intercooler - ~300 dollars
turbo - ~300-400 for a very nice turbo that is capable of over 600 hp
370 cc injectors - easily less than 200

so say 900 dollars for those on top of the 1,000 at most for the turbo setup gets you a 300+ whp maxima for less than the front clip alone...

upgrade the internals to TT rods and whatever forged pistons you want and you'll probably be able to push that kind of power quite reliably. the only thing that wouldn't handle the power, never does, and can't even handle stock power is the transmission.

by the sounds of it, import performance, transmission's input shaft bearing modification would most likely solve the issue for quite some time. i'll find out soon enough to be able to tell everyone