Shaving the head down like that might run you into t-belt slack and cam timing problems.

 

i thought about that as well, there seams to be enough adjustment in the tentioner but i will be using z31 cam adjusters.

 

IMHO if your going to do work on a VG, start with a VG33. Head work does wonders for our cars as well as cams. With the right IM and custom headers the vg33 should make near 210-230hp. I believe I read that VH45 pistons can be used which will increase the cr to like 9.7cr. Here is the info from a reliable source, this guy has built 400-500whp z32tt and sr20dets.

.

 

is the VG33 just a bored out VG30 or it is it a bigger engine block?

 

the vg33 is the same block with bigger sleeves. im trying to avoid uping the cubic inches. there are some differences in the heads mostly cooling passages.

 

i think an over bore would be better. if u think about it, a larger bore compresses more air/fuel volume .. no ????

 

over bore only adds cubic inches- which increases demand for air through the head. what the VG really needs is heads and cams that can breathe enough air for the engine to pump in and out.

head work, proper cams, and equal-length headers would add an ungodly amount of power to these engines.

 

stage 1 i've never heard issues about but are stage 2 cams aggressive enough to flub up the idle or will it still idle fine on stage 2's?

 

Read the info on JWT's site..
basicalyl stage 2 is not a 'streetable' cam. don't even think about trying to pass emissions with it if you have to deal with a sniffer.

 

that's right... i was on their site a while back. Hmm. So i guess I'll do the stage1 and some of that other stuff.

 

I'm using a Isky 256 cam ( .425"/256*) from Nissan Motorsport thru Courtesy Nissan. It's more of a torque/tow camshaft with excellent idle vacuum, and great low, mid range hp/torque. Should be awesome with the additional mods I've completed in the intake and exhaust tract!

 

so if i have this right, the best option would be to swap vg30 to vg33 and do the work in the sticky?

second would be the piston swap from the ve30de to get the higher cr? How much of a hp increase would that make?

 

Magic 8 ball says: Unable to determine. Too many variables.

 

Problem with the VE30DE pistons, Valve clearence. Hp gains on a VG33 swap are low for the amount of work unless a turbo was being used.

Also, talking to the guy that flow tested my heads, he said he will try to find piston blanks for a VG30DE, he said he can cut the releifs that are needed and with a little more clearence for the stage 2 Cam

 

The VE30DE/VG30DE pistons are NOT going to fit in the VG33.

 

i think they meant to put modded VE30DE pistons (and whatever else would be needed) into the VG30E.

aren't VH45DE pistons the common up-compression choice tho?

 

Actualy it is just the opposite. I see NO reason to swap to the 3.3 for turbo. You can make 500hp+ on a stock 3L and your trans cant handle 400, so why would you go through the work of swapping in a 3.3L?

Now if you are building an NA engine, swapping the 3.3 makes a lot more sense, since it makes more than power and torque than a cammed 3.0

If by "piston blanks" you mean new pistons, you are wasting your money. Have reliefs cut into used VG30DE or VE pistons (if needed, how did you determine clearance?)

 

VH45DE pistons are IDEAL. They not only bump the compression up over 10:1, but the increase displacement to 3.4 and reduce friction with moly coated skirts. This is alleged to make 250hp, but Ive never seen any dyno proof. However, I know for a fact that its enough to blow an auto trans out of a pathfinder. The pistons are hard to find though.

 

then i'm going to the JY this weekend and nabbing the pistons out of the Q that's in there i hope it's still there.

edit: so it is as smiple as it sounds? just.... take apart bottom end and put the pistons on the stock VG everything-else, put it back together and go?

 

also the VH pistons go into the VG30 block or the VG33 block?

 

33... n00b

 

Not exactly, the pistons will not just drop into either block. First you have to bore the engine out to 3.4L (6mm overbore on the 3.0 or 1.5mm on the 3.3) The VH45DE pistons will not fit on the stock rods for either engine, so you either need them machined to accept the larger wrist pin, or better yet just use rods out of a vg30de (beefier and no machining required)

Other than tuning, thats it.

 

I thought the VG fwd and VG rwd blocks and cranks were different. the mounts were in different locations when compared to each other.....

 

wow... is 6mm overbore on a VG30 block safe? I've got a spare block that the tbelt broke on but I dunno if the crank and stuff are any good anymore. I can get some more VG max heads, and there's a J and a 1stgen Q at the JY so i can take the pistons from the Q, rods from the J, get a set of bearings and seals and rings, have everything machined appropriately, put in stage1 cams, and have a pretty nice engine, huh?

what about the other option of just putting in the J's pistons/rods? or would that be too messed-up when trying to get the valve recesses re-machined for the 12v vs 24v?

 

Here is the deal, back in the day (99-00) I went the NA route on my old 2nd gen max. I had ported heads, isky 262 cams, protorque TC, udp, exhaust, 60mm TB. By far the head work and cams made the most difference, normally the VG would die off around 5300rpm. After head work it pulled to the rev limiter (6400), and that is how I floated my valves (stock 222k mile oe springs) and destroyed my engine. Take it from me if you do get cams spend the money and get new valve springs, also check your lifters because if they are high in mileage they will "pump down" and you will lose some of the lift/duration from the cam resulting in a power loss.

Once the heads are ported and cams are installed the only things holding the power down are the OEM intake/exhaust manifold. The best flowing VG IM is the one on the VG30DE period! Now the Z32 IM probably won't fit but there is a VG30DET single TB IM that would be easier to fab a lower IM to work on a sohc VG. On the exhaust side the oem exh mani will cut your power, where as a properly designed header will make great power. Finally you will need to tune the engine, lucky there are several ways to do this without great expense. I've seen a dyno of a modded NA VG33 make ~210whp years ago, so I know it can be done. Hell modded NA VG30's with I-H-E-cams-ported heads have done 170-180whp.

 

Nice post. For reference, my high miler, mildly modded VE made about 175 whp.

 

I've covered all that except the springs still OEM....plus my ECU been (JWT) recalibrated....

 

Then get you some good valve springs before you break something. paired with increased rev limit from the JWT and one missed shift, you can float valves and beat up pistons because of the old springs...

 

Whatcha mean by "high miler"?

 

200k+ i'd say

 

Whatcha mean by "high miler"?
Edit Whoa? Double post??

 

My old stock engine was putting down ~172 whp on stock ECU and exhaust with over 200k miles.
with the JWT ECU and 2.5" exhaust, it's noticeably faster. main thing it needs now is a good header and some cams. those are the two things holding back the VE...

 

I won't miss any shifts buddy! It's an auto!

 

iirc your TCU will shift at 5800 on a VG at WOT.... but even so... it's still just a good idea to put in better springs for that. just for peace-of-mind sake, plus your auto will probably die from the extra power of upgraded cams, thus making you consider a 5spd swap.... at which point you'll wish you had upgraded springs.