whats the diff between 5.5gen vq and 350z
 

hey. Im Going to buy a 5.5 gen. I know that it runs on the same vq35de which is the Same motor as the 350z and g35. I looked under both hoods and it seems to me that the 350z has a bigger intake and throttle body.(im no expert) Is that the only thing that gives the 350z that extra 32 hp!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?????

Maybe nissan is just under rating the 5.5gens. And the reason for the slower times is the weight, heavy rims, and the lesser traction from a front wheel drive vehicle?

I want to fix it up, like the rest of the enthusist sp? here on the ORG. The maxima should be able to start out/get the same power/ gains as a 350z. What does it take to make the max 350z equivlant. IM not talkin about okay add ypip and cai. okay now we have about the same hp at the crank as a 350z, but what if u put ypip and cai on the 350z? now the 350z will still be ahead in power. I know the 5.5 gen can start out at that 287 or even 300 for that matter. since the new ae 350z will have that much. I Dont want to get started with less power than I have to.

Thanks again.

heads, headers, exhaust, intake manifold, ECU program. It is the same block, but they are fairly different.

www.my350Z.com for more info.. ask the same question and you're gonna be laughed at. See what those babies are running stock, I think Montes97&01 ran a flat 14s and he has an auto. One engine is designed for a RWD sports coupe, the other.. you know.

Im not a expert either, but I thought the 350z had a more aggresive cams profile on top of everything else.

90 degrees.

In addition to the obvious differences in the intake and headers/exhaust, the 350Z also has a different ECU program, and AJSince81 is right about the cams being different. You can't bolt 350Z headers on the engine in your Maxima, because the Maxima's VQ is turned 90 degrees (it's sideways, so the headers mount front and rear), while the 350Z's VQ is mounted so that the headers mount left and right. You can replace the stock exhaust manifolds with aftermarket headers that flow better, though. As for the ECU, JWT can reprogram it based on what mods you have. JWT can also help out with the cam situation, since they have aggressive cams that can be installed in almost any VQ from the Altima to the Z.

This is only a TINY bit of the stuff you can do to get your Maxima a little closer your 350 dream, but it won't get you all the way there. Remember that the launching and handling characteristics of your car will always be different. I'm not saying that you can't make your car handle well. I'm just saying that even if you get it handling superbly, it won't ever be exactly the same as a RWD coupe like the 350Z.

If you want some VQ modding tips on a car that is similar to your Maxima (at least... more similar than the 350), check out the Project Altima 3.5SE on www.nissanperformancemag.com.

so it is possible for the maxima in the 5.5 to have the same or end up close to the same amount of power as the 350 all modded out?

Thanks again

Yes everything is possible.. but Money wise I don't think so... you can update the cams.. and timming and everything but at the end you are better buying the Z. My .02

Depends on what your budget looks like, b/c most anything can be had for the right $$ amount $$

fastest NA 3.5s run pretty much same or even better times than the fastest NA 350s. Cams are the same on the 287HP 3.5L, the intake manifold and ECU program is the biggest difference between the 2 motors. 350s dyno at around 240WHP and its really hard to get power out of them, exhausts and headers don't gain as much power as Maximas or Altimas do. Most powerfull FWD 3.5s are in the 250s WHP. I recall seeing one 350 making 270WHP. They weight about the same vs 5th gen, so its practically a drivers race.

A lot of people are saying that "anything is possible with enough $$$," and that's true, but this particular project is a little more realistic than a lot of the hairbrained schemes I see on car forums. If you want to increase the power of your VQ to be competitive with the straight line performance of a 350, you can definitely do it with mods that are available. It won't be cheap, but it's possible.

I think the thing that you may be overlooking is handling. Even if you can match or beat a 350 in a drag race, your Maxima is going to need a lot of suspension work before you can keep up in the curves. If drag racing is all you care about, then I guess you don't need to worry about it that much (maybe stiffer springs and shocks for better launches). If you want your car to be able to handle effectively and safely as you increase its power, you should start tweaking its suspension.

Does it make a difference weather its a cattman, stillen, or a no name brand rsb and fstb?

nope ebay specials would be your best bet

:sprint: got my FSTB for $23... I don't think its much "worse" than any of the others....

but i think the otto is ugly, but so is the stillen.....

For the FSTB, most people agree that it doesn't really matter which one you get as long as it fits. It's just a bar that ties the front strut towers together. It's pretty much the same story for the RSB, but there's a little bit more to think about. With the RSB, some are heavier than others, and some offer adjustability while others don't. I haven't put one on my Maxima yet, but I have put one on my Sentra. For the Sentra, Progress makes a non-adjustable rear sway bar. I ended up buying a used Nismo RSB for the Sentra, because I wanted adjustability. In retrospect, I would say that it doesn't really matter which one you buy, because even though mine is "adjustable," I never adjust it. I just leave it on full stiffness all the time.

i chose the stillen adjustable rsb over the addco and other ones because i think i initially read peoples' posts saying if you do a sloppy job with the other ones you get clunking or something like that. either way i don't regret paying the extra $$ for the stillen, perfect fit, high quality, does what it's supposed to do

If you're that worried about flat out acceleration and 1/4 mile time, get an STI. I love my Maxima as much as anybody, but there's a lot more to owning a maxima than drag racing and hp numbers. It's a 3100lb sedan (with stripped trunk).