Someone over one the Z31 forums did a lot of work on the internals of the VG and has found out for a fact that the rods of the VG (and the majority of Nissan engines after something like 1970) all have forged rods.

The crank is cast but the rods are definitely forged. The crank is not likely to break until some major power is made (i.e. that magic 350 hp number a lot of people claim is the limit of the cast crank in the VG is actually not true.)

There are quite a few guys making over 300 hp to the wheels reliably and others making over 400 hp to the wheels reliably.

Just some new info I found that some of you guys might like to hear.

cool. ill get right on that

yeah, someone previously posted about taking a ve engine to class and opening the bottom and finding out the crankshaft and rods are made of forged steel.

good info

yeah great new mark it just means I can push more power on my motor through higher boost and nitrous. And make my weak pos tranny die after one shot

so how much power do you think the rods will stand and the crack. I have a built top end So I wonder about the pistons too.

That would be me.........Yep the VE has a forged crank AND rods.............put that in your mouth VG guys.....chew on that, its very tastey....haha j/k

I thought all VGs had a forged crank, maybe I was wrong.

vtc clack clack clack clack ha ha

what about swapping a VE crank and the required 8 bolt flywheel on the boosted VG guys...if you destroy or need the reliability. Wonder the weight diffrences?

~Alex

twoche 93turbo......twoooche haha

ok what does that mean?

ok we dont need the ve crank as their are guy on the z31 board running in the 600 to 700whp range on sthe stock vg crank.

yeah, we knew for sure that the VE30DE had a forged crank and rods but most people were under the assumption that all VG30E(T)'s had cast everything (crank, rods, pistons). The crank and pistons are cast but rods are not.

the pistons are the weak link, most notably around the ring lands. please note that even if you put in stronger pistons they won't be the solve all if you don't have your fuel system in check. no piston will take the abuse of pre-ignition and severe detonation unless someone came up with adamantium and made the whole engine out of it. (so basically what i mean is make absolutely sure that you're tuning is right or else, no matter how well the engine is built its going to die).

but yeah, there are quite a few Z31 guys making very good numbers on the stock internals. the rods can be upgraded to some lighter units that are stronger as well but they are definitely not the weak link. the crank is, for absolutely sure, not a weak link. if you break one with the power levels most maxima's could barely handle (i.e. a lot) you'll probably go into the record books for breaking it.

be gentle with the pistons though. they will handle a decent amount of power so as long as everything is tuned right, but if you're looking for high power reliably, an upgrade isn't a bad idea.

as for the ve crank, i'm not sure how easy it would be to put in. depends on the snout design. the vg30de(tt) crank has been done but requires machining to make it work (the snout is what needs machined so that the oil pump gear, timing gear, and crank pulley all fit on the snout). a lot of the Z31 guys say to leave the stock crank alone. you simply aren't going to have trouble with it. if you absolutely can't stand the idea of running a lot of power on a cast crank, get it shot peened, cryoed, yada yada etc. etc. and it will handle more than enough power to break everything in the thing next to the engine they want to call a tranny (to me its just a power and speed inhibitor. )


i think he meant touché

thats my shisty spelling effort......its supposed to read as (two-shay).....

Haha. I was going to correct the spelling but decided against it.

Hey, its the thought that counts

VE crank snout is too long.

I have been in quite a few VGs and don't ever recall seeing a cast crank in one. The VG engine family has alway had a reputation of having a very high quality cast piston in terms of it being cast so I don't consider it a weak link. Obviously a cast aluminum piston will give before a forged steel rod or crank but I don't consider it a weak link. The stock pistons in VGs (and SR20s for that matter) have seen moderate levels of boost or spray and held up fine as long as engine management was kept in check.

which is stronger the vg or the ve? and what would the pro's n cons be to each?

the VG has 160 Hp and 182 Lb/Torque the VE has 190 HP and 190 LB/Torque

i'd say most likely the ve would be a bit stronger being that it has a forged crank to begin with but i don't believe anyone really knows the limit of the ve.

stock for stock, the ve would have more power output potential being that it is a dual overhead cam engine (i.e. able to flow better). it would definitely have much more top end power compared to the vg due to that.

i'd love to see a heavily built up ve to see what it can do. i wouldn't be surprised if it could produce some numbers that the vg30dett could. they're nearly the same engine.

i need to get another Z and put a ve into it to see what it can do... anyone have any good ve's they want to get rid of?

i have a VE that is locked up..... good for a rebuild maybe???

tear it down and find out. worst case if the engine isnt worth rebuilding at least you'll have some extra parts lying around

and for the record vg's have forged cranks

unless they changed them when the maxima came out... our VG's do not have forged cranks.

the VG30DE(TT) does have a forged crank.

Ive got a very healthy VE just sitting on a crate. Pulled it out of a totaled car we bought.. ran perfect with a 100k on it... if i can figure out a good way to tune VE ecu, maybe by using a VG30dett ecu. We may just someday find out how much power a stock VE can push.

this discussion might be one to make me think about putting a turbo in my max.... but I realized, rather painfully I might add, that I am an automatic, and I don't deserve a turbo. Or at least it won't do me much good

a turbo would definitely do you good, especially with an auto. the downside is it (it being the tranny) really needs to be built up to handle the higher power output of the boosted VG. it can definitely be done but will cost quite a bit more as auto tranny buildups tend to cost a bit more.

i can guaranty you'd have a blast with a turbo maxima, auto or 5-speed. it just unleashes a side of the maxima that not many people know about.

I cant agree more.. There just somthing about spining the tires at 60 mph.

I always miss out on the begining of the good threads...Anyway, I always couldn't understand why the smaller nissan motors had a better after market then the VG and other large disspalcement motors (comperatively speaking). Eventhough the supra from the same erra as the Z had a little more punch. The 2Jz's aftermarket RAPES that of the VG's and the VG's are the bigger motors WTF is that about ? Now after fiding out this are you telling me there are tuners out there who still don't know this ?

that turbo would tear that tranny a new hole i guarantee it

Ask DanNY about his tranny. He might say otherwise.

that's why i said it would need to be built before the engine was boosted.