Hello all. The car in question is a '97 SE 5-spd with 110K. It runs perfectly, had the transmission rebuilt by Nissan 5K miles ago and needs nothing, however, I'd like more power (substantially more). The only modifications so far are a pop charger and a 2.5" exhaust from the headers back. I'm simply looking for advice on which way to proceed. Incidentally, I've set my budget at roughly $4K. If I swap to a 3.5, can I use my stock tranny? Also, where would be a good place to find a very low mileage engine? Thanks in advance.

 

I say swap to a 3.5 then S/C
u can find 3.5's fairly cheap now. check ur local junkyards

 

be ready to drop ALOT of money on a 3.5 with instalation

 

u can do 00vi and S/C...but 3.5 is the best way 2 go.

 

Depends how much you want to spend, if you turbo really you should get a
3" y-pipe, cat, and catback if you do. I would think a NA 3.5 would be the cheapest because you don't need to buy as many extras to make it perform the way you want.

 

not true. 3.5 is the cheapest option.

 

Tavarish im trying to send it out this week my bad for the delay!!!!


btw 3.5 is the cheapest/ultimate option.... boost is nice..but expensive and alot more maintenance especially a turbo..

Unlike a turbo charger, the 3.5 you can drop in and dont have to worry about it

 

if its the cheapest how much would you spend just getting the motor and for installation roughly? cuz i want to get another max and i also want to go 3.5...

 

3.5 swap. not only its the cheapest, but u also get a brand new engine which u can work on later on.... you have less miles and .5 more displacement to work with !

 

are you doing any work yourself? If you dont know that much about workin on ur own car...its gonna cost a couple g's either way. I know tilleys does the 3.5 swap for 3g's and with mattys kit you can probably s/c for just over 2g's but if you cant do any of the work youself, you will pay a lot in laybor. with 4 g's I would check ebay out for a 3.5 motor with a tranny(5spd not 6 because its just easier) u can come across something for about a grand but then again it all depends on if u can do the work or not..

 

3.5 swap. You just can't get the low end torque of the 3.5 by adding a T/C or S/C. And the extra TQ down low is extremely nice when flowing with traffic. I usually shift from 1st to 2nd to 4th

 

you can use your stock tranny BTW

 

if you're me, 600 for the engine, 300 for clutch. I do the work myself, because i'm crazy like that. The whole swap for a little over 1k, with little knick knacks that you need (hoses, fpr, cam adapters)

Turbos tend to be the most expensive option, and S/C are the second most expensive. I'll just boost the 3.5, or better yet, have a decent amount of spray.

You can make a 13 second car (dare I say 12) on a budget, and also have it look good for the girlies.


If everything goes good with my install, after a few weeks, if no major problems arise, i'll do the swaps for other org members for a fair price.

 

Turbo/VI'd 3.0

 

i will suggest to go with the 3.5 swap, cheapest and yet effective! i will be doing it with my 96 next month

 

3.5 end of thread

 

i just bought a 00vi that is waiting to be installed, but this thread is seriously making me think about the 3.5 swap... u guys can be so persuasive!

 

many way to look at this.

If I had $4k, I would like to to Turbo with VI. a nice turbo setup and ability to turn up the boost to yeild more power. The Sexy sound of a BOV, and an intercooler nicely placed to suck up air, debree, and small children and animals.

In terms of reliability, the 3.5 would be the best bet, with a good and proper installation, it should last as long another 10 years like more DE's. With a good tune you've got some nice power to enjoy.

End of the day I'd go with a 3.5 swap and a good tune, cheapest and most reliable setup.

 

If money was no object, which it doesn't seem like you're hurting for cash, I would personally rock a turbo/VI setup. I'm not sure how much it took for guys to get a reliable turbo going in a Maxima, so $4k may not cover it.

A 3.5 would be cheaper and more reliable, except for the posts that I keep seeing about hard starting, etc.

 

3.5 by a mile. No question about it. Cheaper, more reliable, more fuel efficient.

If that's not enough power for you, then you can FI that.

 

dude....lol...yeah!
after seeing jime's 12 second time at the track with the 3.5 im like dead set on it. hopefully this summer...i mean just having the 3.5 will make my ***** swell to the point where its weighin me down and im back to 15 second in the 1/4
so i'll have come full circle...no winning with this shiznit

 

3.5 hands down. Swap to a far superior platform first, then start the FI later. It's much harder to do it the other way around.

...fixed...

 

Thanks A TON for the help, guys. Looks like it'll be the 3.5 swap for me (then I may FI it down the road). Now...who's the "goto" for the engine, and what else am I going to need? Also...which clutch should I use? Mine's OEM with only 4K miles on it. Could I/should I just leave it until I wear it out? Thx again.

 

your car runs perfect?

buy the VAFC, intake, exhaust, and a whole lot of spray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

cheapest power on earth

 

Unless you want to drop your tranny again to have your clutch replaced very soon down the road, you should really just jump for the upgraded clutch now. I would think you would need at least a stage 2 clutch.
Goto guy for the engine...well...I guess you can call Tilley up and have him prep your engine, and send it to you (i think he does or used to do that). Or, you can send him the cams for the swap so he could modify those for you. Or you can buy his cam adapters.

 

I drove a 3.5 4th gen today. . . its a beast. I dont think a S/C setup could have low end torqe like this.


go with the 3.5 its a beast!

 

Swap in the 3.5 and then go from there.

 

It's the cheapest option if you know your way around an engine and its components. Thus, you can save $$$ on labor and do it yourself. However, if you are not, it can cost a lot because this job is very labor/customization intense. If you haven't done so, here's a link to the FAQ/how-to of the 3.5swap: http://test.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=430880&page=4 .

Go thru it and decide for yourself. As for me, a DE-K swap N/A with a full exhaust system is enough. But everyone's taste and goals are different.

 

If your want a boosted car, sell your add the money to the $4k you have saved and buy i30miket's car. already boosted!

 

Thx, however, I'd rather keep my car (as I know the maintenance history from day 1 and it's in excellent condition). Are all the VQ35's (from I35's/Maxima's at least) the same in terms of compatability and power output, or should I look for a specific year? I just posted a WTB thread in the 4th gen section for those who may have what I need/want. Thx.

 

all the vq35s are pretty much the same, they may have different power rating, but its pretty much the same.

 

where can you get a vq35 for 600?

 

car-part.com


Some might say not working, but I question there ability and knolege of the engine to actually get it running. Maybe they tried cranking the wrecked car and were surprised it wouldnt start.

 

In one word, Yes Do Both

 

start off with a 3.5 swap, then you can choose to turbo or sc. build a bigger potential first, then add on...

 

...............

 

The only thing I'd be skeptical about getting a used engine thru the internet is that you don't really know the reputation of the seller and you really don't know the real condition of the engine until the money and engine have exchanged hands. Any tips from you seasoned engine hunters out there?

 

you can check the vin, find out what happened to the vechile, and more.

milage on the motor can tell a lot. Avergage milage per year is ~15k. So a 2004 engine with 60k on the clock was driven heavily.

plus a place that offeres a decent warantee is a big plus.

 

I got mine from LKQ. Free shipping, and only one of the largest parts chains across the U.S. Usually they will know the mileage of the engine. And if you ask them to do a compression test beforehand, i'm sure they would be glad to do so.

LKQ offers a 6 month warrenty, but if you will be doing a swap and removing the timing equipment etc, it will most likely be void.

The only issue I had before disassembling the motor was I had oil in the spark plug chambers. This is a known issue for VQ35's. Fixed it by getting an 04+ rear valve cover.

 

I would recommend a 3.5 swap, seems more reasonable and not really killing your gas mileage by using a turbo or a SC which sometimes needs bigger fuel injectors.

3.5 all the way.