Please when you finish, WRITEUP!!!

 

^i agree/56789

 

whoa hey, hadn't seen this thread. very impressive

 

Writing a writeup for this would be like writing a novel

I will atempt to do a write-up. Most likely in a powerpoint presentation.

 

weird...there's a guy locally that ran a 13.4 in a stock sti, this would agree with you saying mid 13's but he did this at a track that almost 5000ft above sea level. Ive seen reports of them running low 13's stock. Pretty fast to me.

 

Doesn't say much. Elevation changes don't really affect turbo cars. The air's thinner so the turbo just spins faster to maintain the preset level of boost. N/A and supercharged are more affected by that.

 

I wouldn't say I would be as fast as an STI, but I would be right on its @$$ A supercharger should change that though.

 

wow...a s/c? on a 3.5? in a 4th gen? holy crap. i was considering doing the 3.5 to my auto, until coming to the conclusion i'd need to do the 5 spd swap. I'm happy you already did the swap Nismo, you're one step ahead. I wish my car was stock 5 spd, then i could just do the motor. Oh well, we'll see if i can have the fastest N/A auto 3.0 by the end of summer. congrats on your install so far man, you'll have to bring that bish to another midwest meet im sure we'll be having

 

is it done yet is it done yet take a vid when its time for start-up that would be sweet

 

damn i saw a maxima with a 3.5 swap here for 6k i wish i would of bought it .but i didnt have enough money. it was clean thuogh and just had passed a smog inspection.

 

try telling than to my talon....

 

Hahahaha, your best is 15.2 and sleeper's was 14.2. How are you planning on gaining a second or more Davey?

 

I'm not sure if this has been considered since I didn't read the entire thread from start.

Is there a difference in weight between the VQ30 and VQ35? I would say there is but how much difference? The reason I ask is because with the increase in weight, naturally you'd have to also upgrade your suspension and brakes. Would a 4th gen aftermarket suspension upgrade be sufficient to sustain the added weight? I don't see the same problem with the braking system as one can opt for a big brake kit.

So question for those who've done the swap, did you feel any difference in the way your car handles? Stopping distance? Etc.?

Forgot to ask also:

With the VQ35 and 4th gen 5 speed, hows the gearing ratio affected?

It's nice that everything bolts up, but there's more to just bolting things up.

 

you saw it on craiglist.com? 6k is cheap.

 

Actually, the 3.5 is lighter by a few pounds. The gearing ratio is not affected whatsoever.

 

Thanks for clarifying that. Perhaps one of you guys can do a nice write up and parts list on the conversion.

BTW, where did you guys find your VQ35? Did it come with a warranty?

 

wow, super duper!

 

junkyards.....

 

Guess no warranties there.

 

Mine came with a 6 month.

 

There's a big japanese engine/transmission place nearby me. They import used engines from Japan. I'll find out how much a VQ35 would cost from them. They have very low mileage as Japanese don't drive their cars up to high mileage like we do.

 

I would hope not, given that the area of Japan is 145,883 square miles wheras the US is 3,718,712 square miles! But come on, it's probably cheaper to have a low-mileage VQ35 shipped from a US salvage yard off of car-part than paying to ship one overseas and deal with customs and ****.

 

The VQ30 weights 210 pounds, full, and the VQ35 weights 175 pounds, full. It's incredibly light. This improves handling (along with removing A/C, PS and getting a CF hood; less weight in front, better weight distribution. I also have RSB, helps too).

The only "downside" of a 3.5 in a 4th gen is slightly poorer gas mileage, but that is somewhat counterbalanced because the 4th gen is lighter. The lighter the car, the better the gas mileage. Krismax' car is crazy light and gets like 33mpg on his 3.0. So mid/high 20's (highway) with a 3.5 would probably be reasonable.

I removed about 100 pounds in the front of the car due to this swap and things done at the same time (lighter engine, removed A/C, PS and headers are lighter than stock manifolds), and added 20 pounds in the rear (Rear Sway Bar). FWD cars are normally front heavy (60 front/40 rear, instead of 50/50, which is perfect), so my car will handle and brake better than stock because of this.

Basically: Much better acceleration, better handling, and more reliable (30k miles instead of 115).


As for comparing to a STI. I don't know since my car is not running yet, but STIs are not all that after the launch. They launch incredibly hard because of AWD, which is why they run 13.2 at only 104 mph. But on the highway, or in any kind of rolling start, that will be different. When my car was stock last year, I could hang with stock WRX's on the highway, so I assume STI's won't be far off with the 3.5 and all those mods.

 

wow, this is crazy....anyways....how much do you think it'll cost to get it done somewhere?

 

complete 3.5 swap or this tupe of swap? ask tilley, he does them at his shop and i am guessing he gets a nice amount of money from them.

 

You guys are making me spend money. You suck :P Congrats to anyone who has done this!

 

Yeah before you dismantled it

 

who was the first one to try this out?

 

ME

 

Remantle it then?

 

True but these engines and transmissions are already in the warehouse. Their warehouse is located a mile away from me.......so no shipping! They do come with a warranty, just don't remember for how long. I got my used transmission from them a few years back. It was for another old car that I used to have.

 

How much they want for a VQ35? Anything above a grand is a rip-off.

 

I have to find out....if it comes with a good warranty, maybe it would be worth it.

 

The fundamental problem with a FWD car is that, the closer you get to ideal 50/50 weight distribution for handling, the worse your traction for acceleration gets. The stock Maxima weight distribution is 62%/38% with MT and that's already bad enough for wheel spin under VQ power. So yes, your car will be more balanced with front-end weight reduction but it's a bittersweet change due to this fundamental problem with FWD. This is why all true sport sedans and sports cars are RWD (or AWD). With front-engine RWD, the more weight you put on the back of the car, the closer you get to 50/50 and better handling AND you get better acceleration traction. It's really the only sensible setup.

Sometimes I question why I'm putting so much money into a FWD boat.

Also, what's your source for those engine weights?

 

What's the newest VQ35 that can go into our cars? I assume the engines from the newest Altima, Maxima, and Pathfinder won't match up properly or fit...

 

Pathfinder, no. Altima and Maxima engines should work fine as they're FWD.

~THT

 

so whats the latest?

 

I'm going to install the water outlet piping, hoses tongiht, other than that, i'm waiting for my friend's clutch to come in so I can use his alignment tool and install the clutch, and bolt the tranny on. Figure in maybe one more week!!

 

looks like a fun project

 

By no means is it fun.. But the aftermath will be