Which I think would be a sweet set up for a cold air intake, ala injen?

 

It look to me like it would be 90 degrees counter clockwise . The 350Z's pulleys are facing the front bumper so that would be counterr clockwise I think. BTW do you have a ETA for your manifold?

 

Ok, picture the Z engine in your Maxima. The Z TB is in the same spot as ours. You would have to turn the Z motor 90° clockwise to make it fit in the Max. You would have to turn the Max motor 90° counter clockwise to make it fit in the Z.
No ETA promises on the manifold. Just know that it's being worked on.

 

That still seems backwords to me dude The crank pulley on the Z is aiming towards the front bumper correct? On the maxima the crank pulley is pointing towards the power sterring resovoir(AKA the left side of the engine bay). Now by using this logic I beleive the Z's engine would have to be turned 90 degrees clock wise to fit into the maxima. Just think about, however I may very well be wrong. BTW I replied to your email

 

Ok I just noticed my reply aggreed with your reply, hmm..
Nevermind, LOL! Like ChinkZilla said this may make a excellent CAI! We may have to relocate our battery and fuse box though. I am going to be looking into this a lot further.

 

I talked to DAVEB(thanks Dave!) yesterday and he found out our Throttle body is the same as the one on the Z. He was also kind enough to fax me(repeatadly) a caption of the Z's manifold and it looks like it is a 3 piece intake manifold.

I have been also talking to the G35 guys and I have aquired a few photos of there intake manifold with the engine cover removed. The 350Z's manifold and the G35's manifold look identical, infact I think they are the exact same. They are both single runner intake manifolds and they look identical. Now the question comes..so where does the Z get 27 more HP then the G35? I can't amagine the ecu would be so screwed up it would make the G loose 27 HP. So the thought came to me..hmm.. maybe the G35 is just underated? Or better yet the 350Z is over rated? I personaly think the G may have the same amount of power as the Z minus maybe 10 HP from a un-tuned ECU.

One of the guys on the G35 board at freshalloy.com is going to dyno his car tomarrow so this should clear a few things up.

Just FYI from the pictures and research I have been doing on the Z's manifold it appears as though it will fit! Luckily we have a drive by wire system now and not a throttle cable. This will make it very easy to just plug the wire into the new postion of the TB. I also checked for slack on the thottle wire and it looks as though it will have enough play to it to fit into the relocated TB(it's on a few inches away actually). My biggest concern right now is if the hood will clear the intake manifold, i'm pretty sure it will though.

Let me know what you guys think!

 

If there is some fibbing, it will be the G35 that's under-rated. Overrating a car's HP is a dangerous game, as Mazda and Ford found out.

Let us know how the manifold works out.

 

Nissan had no problem overating the maxima, but they underated the tq so it's all good

 

If that becomes a problem. We ccould always go to a cowl induction hodd. Maybe a 1 - 1 1/2 inch rise. I had one on my Stang, to clear more room. Not some HUGE rise. This will allow for more room to clear anything you want to put in. We would just have to find someone to make it.

 

Good idea I don't think it will be a problem but it is a possibility.

 

From reading all 9 pages of this thread it seems there are a few things we can be certain about.

1) There is no difference in Maxima or 350Z cams (thanks DaveB).
2) The Maxima engine is restricted in the high end because...
A) It CANNOT breathe effectively up there (intake manifold)
B) It DOES NOT want to breathe effectively up there (ECU)
3) To further narrow the difference, only Maximas with an intake of some type (preferably CAI because of the equivalent length) should be compared to G35 and 350Z dynos. The stock Maxima intake has all sorts of kinks and resonators....take a look at the 350Z or G35 intake, its a VERY straight forward unit that is in of itself already optimally designed. So a Maxima with a CAI should be more 350Z-esque than a stock Maxima.

So in theory, the differences lie in the ECU and intake manifold. That being said, the real questions now are...
1) Will the 350Z or G35 intake manifold fit directly on our FWD/engine turned cars?
2) Will the 350Z ECU be a direct swap?

If the answers to those questions are 'yes', than I think some of us may be making a MASSIVE power increase when those parts become available. The more I read about the VQ35s application in the G35, the more my mouth begins to water. All of the mags (yeah, I'm a mag racer.....) seem to be getting darned near mid 14 second/94-95 mph times for it. Those times are corrected as well. All of this while 'burdened' with a 5spd automatic. Those times, uncorrected similar to how we post straight from the track, would probably equal 14.3-14.4 times. Thats what Steve and I run stock!!!!!!!! If we could get the high end they have, great things would happen, i.e. 13s.

 

I haven't heard anyone mention the exhaust manifolds. They can be a source of another 10 hp (conservative). Also the exhuast system, I'm sure, contributes at least another 10. So there is 275hp accounted for. Now for the other 15hp, an ECU tweak, higher compression pistons (haven't heard that mentioned either)and the intake manifold on the 350Z would certainly make 15 hp. In reality the same pistons are probably used as in the Altima and Maxima, since the revised intake manifold and intake ducting in reality would make at least 15hp.
From what I gather the Z motor doesn't have a variable intake manifold...is this true?

Jesse

 

The Z's exhaust is probably nothing special. Our exhaust is not bad either, are headers are fine. The maxima gains most of it's performance by removing the cats and the Z has 3 cats I think too. I don't think the exhaust is the key here, it may be good from 5-10 HP though.

There intake manifold is indeed a single stage one and not a VIM.

 

So would it be safe to say, contrary to Nissans PR, that a single stand intake manifold is better than the variable dual runner manifold?

 

For top end/racing, yes. For day to day driving with the luxury of extra low end TQ, no. At least this is how I think this manifold will compare.

 

Yes I failed to mention the exhaust manifolds that do look like they flow a wee bit better. The pistons were mentioned as being the same part number as the Maxima (DAVEB). C&D listed the tech data on the Z @ 10.3:1 which is exactly the same as the Maxima so that gets ruled out.
I do not believe the Z has a dual stage intake based on what I have seen. There is another intake that everyone is forgetting about; 2001 and 2002 Pathfinder. I believe it has the same basic intake as the Z / G35 but I haven't seen a good look at one to know for sure.

 

The pathfinder only has 240 HP though (in auto).

 

I think the overall gain would be positive. With a displacement of 3.5L, the car already has an abundance of torque. I'd be more than willing to give a little torque to gain alot of high end (with the ECU tuning as well).

 

The Pathy has a 'rated' 240hp in auto, and 'rated' 250hp in manual. Hey, Nissan has BS'ed alot of HP numbers lately. I don't believe any number they advertise anymore. I do believe the dyno sheets though.

 

The overall gain would most certainly be positive. Be advised that the variable intake on the Maxima adds about 15 to 20 lb. ft. or more of tourque on the low end. Tuning of the ECU wouldn't remove any tq or hp unless done wrong. Because it can control ignition and cam timing maps you would only gain in all places. I am still unsure if there is anything to be gained from the ECU other than that. And I doubt the Z is running more than the standard 15° of ignition timing.

 

Wow, the variable intake adds a good bit of low end torque. With pulleys, CAI, and maybe a Y-pipe you'ld at least gain all that back plus whatever hp they added....now add the intake manifold and voila, instant hp burst with no downside. I assume this part is available from Infiniti since the car has been out for a couple of months already. Anyone know the cost, if its not insane (thousands of dollars), I'll pick one up if it can be installed and due some dyno testing with it when I get the Y-pipe.

 

I'm going to contact infinitiparts.com on monday and get a price for the intake. The intake is made up of 3 seperate pieces and the price should be in the $400-600 dollar range for the whole setup. DAVEB told me our lower intake manifold looks the same as the one on the Z but it carries a different part #. If this is different tack on another $100 to the price tag probably.

 

Great, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know what the price is as soon as you find out. I'm beyond interested in this swap with all the info I've read. Oh yeah, would this include a G35 throttle body?

On a somewhat related note, with the G35 intake manifold, would the OEM G35 intake tract work in the 2002 Maxima as well. It is a beautifully designed piece and retains the stock look so no worries about MAF sensor failures and possible hydrolock.

 

On a somewhat related note, with the G35 intake manifold, would the OEM G35 intake tract work in the 2002 Maxima as well. It is a beautifully designed piece and retains the stock look so no worries about MAF sensor failures and possible hydrolock. [/B][/QUOTE]

I just check an engine pic and it seems that the frontal part *may* work, but some additional custom fabrication to go the extra length to the location of our TB would be needed. Seems like an interesting project though.

 

I will respond to this thread as soon as I find out the info .

The Throttle body on the Z is the same one on the maxima so I probably won't be buying another TB unless it is included with one of the other parts. As for for intake track, you kind of lost me there I plan on using my MAFS and franken intake with the G manifold.

 

And just how long do you plan on using this G Manifold eh?

 

For as long as I keep the car probabaly, are you allready in the market for a used one?

 

I was referring to the OEM air intake on the G35, its one of the most efficiently designed OEM intakes I've ever seen. It seems to provide all benefits and no cons. It recieves a direct charge of air from the hood opening and places the filter within inches of the air inlet, from there its a straight shot back to the throttle body. From my G35 test drives it provided a nice sporty engine growl, but remained more docile than the frankencar intake.

 

It won't work because our engine is turned 90 clockwise compared to the G35. This means the intake manifold will be a lot closer to the front of our engine bay(just picture the G manifold turned 90 degrees). Fitting a franken intake is going to be a challenge, I may have to use my shorter stillen intake.

 

Even if a single, dual or tri stage intake pops up out of nowhere that makes more power?

 

It would really depend on how much more power it makes

 

I'm not really sure what you mean by the intake being in a different spot. I realize it is on the G35 (right side of engine), but wouldn't it be installed on the back side of the engine where the standard Maxima engine is? Would it just be easier to extrude hone the OEM one and eliminate the dual intake runners?

 

No, just read what I have said.

 

I just emailed John at infiniparts.com about the pricing for all the parts required. Hopefully I will have a nice reply when I get up in the morning . I will update this thread when I hear back from him.

 

 

We'll all be here.....anxiously awaiting.

 

Ethan I think the lower may be a different part number. Judging from those G35 pictures; the bolt pattern seems to be different that secures the upper to the lower. You'll also need those bolts.

Just a thought. I guess just get one and we'll see.

 

The guy replied to me and he said he would try to look up exactly what I need and try to get back to me with a price today.

Matt if thats the case I will have to remove my fuel injectors and get all new gaskets, that stinks.

 

Check this link out. Seems the bore & stroke is different too.


http://carpoint.msn.com/compare/choo...0135&pt=compet

 

Also what is the difference betwwen SEFI & MPFI fuel systems.
And why would it differ from the Altima to the Maxima. The Altima is the only VQ35 w/ Mpfi fueling system.

The Pathfinder has the bore & stroke as the 350z....

http://carpoint.msn.com/compare/choo...0135&pt=compet