no disrespect but I came acroos these gaskets on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/02-04...9816QQtcZphoto


how much better quality is yours compared to these. Is it just the thickness?

 

Humm those dont look to bad , but i dont know about buying something like that on ebay.

Anyone ever look thru the altima forums if anyone has these or anything similar .

Im just gona buy the ebay ones if this doesnt go through soon , cause I gotta change my plugs soon and im gona be takin my I.M. off so i wann get these done..

 

^ they dont even come with instructions....

 

Those look more like head gaskets, not IM gaskets.

 

those gaskets go under the lower IM, you will also want the ones which go between the upper and lower IM. www. Nipponpower.com may still sell them, They did a few months ago any way.

 

NisMax03 met me this past week in order for me to design the kit for the 3.5L. He has a set of these installed on his car right now.

They are made of 1/16" thick soft plastic (I believe Nylon 6) which is not rated for more than 230 degrees. My material is rated close to 300 degrees and is MUCH MUCH MUCH harder!

These spacers on the eBay auction are meant to be installed below the lower IM. They can't be any thicker than the stock gaskets b/c of the slant of the intake ports on the heads. It won't match up if it's a 1/4" thick.

Also, according to NisMax03, the gaskets were poorly matched to the intake ports on the heads. Most likely, they were just a scanned copy of the stock gasket. He said they didn't line up correctly to the ports and overhung the edge of the port, obstructing the airflow.

My spacers will be a perfect replica of the actual design of the intake manifold itself. I don't copy gaskets. Stock OEM intake gaskets are never port matched. My spacers are designed to line up with your intake ports perfectly for optimal airflow.

The VQ35DE Spacer kit should consist of two 1/16" thick lower IM spacers, a 1/4" upper IM spacer, 1/4" elbow spacer, and a 1/4" throttle body spacer.

Epacy, about the FSTB. That is something I noticed with NisMax03's car. He has a FSTB and it's already touching the top of his elbow collector where it meets the upper IM. He had to add some washers to raise the bar up.

So the only way to make it fit still would be to raise the bar up 1/4" somehow. I've determined with NisMax03's FSTB, it will still clear the hood if it's raised a 1/4". The only problem now is not being able to lengthen the strut studs that the bar mounts to. So maybe new ET style nuts will be needed along with the FSTB spacer for the nuts to be able to thread on. In the future, if there is demand for it, I can add this as an optional kit.

What do you guys think? Anybody got some other ideas to solve the FSTB issue?

 

I'v got a good inch or so between my bar and the elbow. I do have the ES motor mounts that lower the motor a bit though. There seems to be some room to grind the elbow down some to make it clear. It's not like it's a stressed part.

I'd just make it clear that it may interfere with some strut tower bars and let us figure it out as we go. We could grind a little and shim the STB with some washers to make it work. That's part of moding any way. Offering an optional kit to raise the bar seems like a good idea too.

 

I don't think raising the FSTB with washers is a great idea. Unless you want to screw up the threads on the bolts there. You should put nuts underneath then washers then use nuts on top again... IMHO

 

That's why ET style nuts would be needed. But they may be a little difficult to find. It's just an idea I'm throwing out.

Step one is to get these spacers developed!

Derrick, I looked closely at the elbow and I don't see how you can grind down more than an 1/8" of material without damaging the threads used to hold the elbow to the Upper IM. Regardless, grinding should be a last resort. Most people want to make their engine bay look pretty.

 

Sounds good. I'm definitely interested. I'll keep my eye to see when you start selling them or pm me.

 

Also, just grinding down, however far you can, while the car is sitting there turned off isn't going to exactly solve your problem, as the engine will move/shift during operation.
The idea about spacing up the FSTB has been mentioned before. I could see it working, don't know if there would be possible negative side-effects.
Not sure if aftermarket struts have longer studs than OEM. What kind of struts were you working with Aaron92SE?

 

Since these should be done soon, whats the estimated price ?

 

The struts that NisMax03 has are the adjustable Illimunas.

I still have not completed the design of these spacers. So at this time, I have not gotten CNC price quotes. The pricing will be solely dependant on the CNC pricing since they are 90% of the costs.

I have the parts I need on their way as we speak. As soon as I get the manifolds from another org member, I will develop the CAD drawings. Once that is complete, it shouldn't be more than 10-14 days to get the first run in my posession for testing. Then my very eager test vehicle volunteer will drive to my shop and we will do all the testing and dyno runs in one long day. Then within a day or two, the product should be available for sale if everything goes smoothly.

I hope you guys can hang on a little longer. I am working all day, every single day to get these made!

 

Oh yes i'm eager

 

VERY excited to get this up and going. Curious to see how these will work with nitrous. Should be fun!

 

Waiting, but hopeful! Thanks for the effort you are putting forth for the community, it doesn't go unnoticed.

 

Update: Who has an OEM lower IM gasket laying around that they can accurately measure the thickness of?

A vernier caliper will probably be needed to satisfy my perfectionist quality. If I can get this measurement, it will speed things up a bit since I won't have to order one from the dealership. Thank you!

 

3.00 mm or .118" measured with a micrometer because I'm a toolmaker who is pickier than you

 

Aaron, I found my old lower IM gaskets. I can send them to you if you still need them. Let me know.

 

If that is the case, then an 1/8" spacer could be used for this. 3mm seems VERY thick for this type of gasket, though. Were these the original OEM Nissan gasket? Or were they an aftermarket gasket from the parts store? Is it solid metal or is it metal with rubber inserts around each port like the upper IM gasket has?

NisMax03 is sending me his original OEM gaskets just so I can get my hands on a set in order to base my designs off of.

Thank you for the measurement!

 

Sorry I forgot to mention, the gasket I have is nextgear lower IM gasket. I figured if theirs fit no problem then 3mm is a good starting point. I don't see a problem with going 1/8"

 

keep us posted on everything youdo, im waiting around like a hawk

 

So you have the red Nextgear lower IM gaskets? Do they aline perfectly with the ports? Or are they just copies of the OEM gasket?

 

i have the white ones. Not installed obviously. (wouldn't have been able to measure them if I did) I haven't heard any complaints about fitment from anyone

 

Ok, thank you for your help.

 

pic removed

 

How much longer do you think till these are availible?

 

I am still waiting on manifolds from Puppetmaster. He is very busy right now he says. So things are going a little slower than I want. I have my hands on a lower IM already and I have already started on my drawings for the lower IM spacers. But in the next couple days, I will be stuck since I will be waiting on the upper IM and elbow to arrive.

I am sorry about this. If I have all the parts I need right now, I could have them ready and tested in less than 4 weeks as I estimated before. But I'm waiting on parts to come in still. I am doing everything I possibly can to get these made as fast as possible!

I can't really say an estimate. But if everything goes smoothly and I get these manifolds before this week is up, then I hope 4 more weeks. That is a FAST turnaround for CNC machining! Most CNC machine shops have a turnaround of 4-6 weeks! My guy can do it in less than 7 days on some occasions! He knows how important my deadlines are!

 

Well since you seem to have these getting down and what not; I will definitely be up for buying these from you once they are all said and done. Some sort of group buy in the for sale forum? since I will get these I might as well put in brand new spark plugs which would make sense. What do you think of copper gaskets instead of OEM? I used copper gaskets on my old car and they were great. Only slightly thicker than OEM but they were much better quality.

 

copper will transfer the heat which is what we are trying to avoid

 

With my spacers, you will be replacing your stock gaskets. All you need to use is a SMALL amount of RTV to help it seal since the material I use is as hard as the surrounding material. These spacers will last you for life and can be used over and over again!

Other companies go with softer material that doesn't last nearly as long and overtime, will take the shape of the surrounding material. I know first hand since I have experience with the softer plastics such as teflon and Nylon 6. My first prototype spacer was made out of teflon and I ran that in my car for over a year. When I pulled the spacer out, the teflon softened a LOT and took the shape of the intake manifold. So it can't be really used again without an excessive amount of RTV. Nylon 6 has a much lower impact strength than teflon too.

But I use a very high quality type of phenolic laminate that will outlast the motor and is rated at a much higher temp than Nylon 6, which is what most other companies use. The best nylon is good for up to 230 degrees. When compressed, the max temp is usually lowered. So after time, the material should soften and start to break down.

But my material is good for up to close to 300 degrees. If your motor gets that hot, you have bigger problems to worry about, like a cracked block!

 

what about a throttle body spacer?

I think the addition of a throttle body spacer would be very nice.

 

That will be included in my kit. Right now, I believe there will be 5 spacers in the 3.5L kit. Two phenolic lower IM gaskets, one phenolic upper IM spacer, one phenolic elbow collector spacer, and one phenolic throttle body spacer.

All those combined should yield a decent gain!

 

I can't wait! I've been looking for this for over a year now, especially the throttle body spacer. You have my business.

 

good deal... sounds like a nice kit. so in this situation it would definitely be wise to replace your spark plugs since all of these items are going to be removed for installation.

 

this may sound like a dumb question....Buy should i get my safc retunned after this modd??

it technicly does change air flow? kinda?

 

It doesn't change the amount of air flowing into your motor noticably. Therefore, fuel changes won't be needed just by installing these spacers.

 

Best bet would be to check your AFR before and after.


It might alter AFR, since technically, the air is denser, therefore there is more of it per unit of volume, so in affect, you are increasing airflow.

 

no need to re tune the car.. and I seriously doubt it effects the air flow. it is only changing the ambient temperature of the engine and air charge. at most it will change the airflow in the slightest amount.

 

While I agree, it would still be nice to see before and after AFR's.