I have an extra motor laying around that came out of my 91 max that is now has a turbo. I was thinking of tearing it down boring out the block do a little to the heads and trying to get some more power out of it to put in my 86 300zx and build a turbo around that.
So far I have found out that the z32 rods and pistons and crank can be put in this motor with a little work or is there a better way to do this. looking to get a bore from 3.43 to 3.60ish maybe finding a good set of cams. Or do I just do a simple rebuild and boost the crap out of it about 25psi (I know it wouldn't hold). Any help will be great.

 

NISSAN VG30DE/VG30DETT


BORE-3.445/87.5mm
STROKE-3.270
ROD-6.071
COMP DIST-1.255
DOME VOL--4.1
COMP RATIO-9.0:1
PRICE-$487.22

 

I was wondering what kind of build specs folks were using on VG builds.

 

I'm building an all-motor vg30 right now. at best i'm hoping for 250 whp. here's the deal. the ports suck. right now my heads are at the shop being ported witha multi angle valve job to the tune of $750. I still need to buy cams and valve springs so a $1400 budget for heads is not out of line- including the price of my SS valves. the VG will make no power witout compression so plan on buying custom made pistons w/ at least 10:1 compression. the W rods and crank are fine i wouldn't waste money on the Z32 stuff + Z32 rods are 40 grams heavier per rod X 6 X 6000 rpm, do that math. you would need them if you want the domed z32 piston but i haven't tried a dry run with the set i have to see if there are clearance issues. my understanding is that they only yeild a .5 increase in static compression. in my opion, dolla per dolla a turbo will get you more power. but a least spend a little money on the heads as the ports are really bad to start off with. oh, and the intake manifold would need porting as well to support any kind of NA power, not to mention bigger injectors, tuning etc etc. good luck.

 

An all motor SOHC VG is hard to make good power. Its best to start with a VG33 since you can use VG30 heads and get the extra displacement. Your main choking points are head flow, intake manifold, exhaust manifold. If you port the heads, your IM and exh mani still suck and need to be replaced. There are a few choices in cams like isky, jwt, peaco, make sure you get springs matched to the cams. Also 10.0cr is too low, all motor needs at least 10.5-11.5cr considering the lack of flow from the heads.

With the head work and a custom IM you will need a custom header. Something off the shelf will make power but it won't match a custom designed version made with your compression and cam size. Once you pick your cam and springs then you need to design or have someone design the IM with the power band your looking for. Finally when that is done then have someone design your custom headers based on engine cr, cam size and power band.

 

from what little I know about VGs I wouldn't bother going into the bottom end - they are strong enough to hold a good bit of boost (like the 19psi maxmaxima91 is throwing at his). the head work would definitely be beneficial since VG30E heads are trash.

 

to make good power, yes. but it also depends on fuel availbility. out hear in Cali, 91 octane ****-water is all we get. I know a guy with a heavily modded vg33 that is running 10.5:1 will every supporting mod imaginable and he said that much more than 10.5:1 on our pump gas is too high. probably because the vg combusion chamber shape was designed by the guy in charge of the ports. I have the option of mixing race fuel so my engine will have around 11:1. very few people have built these engines up for street perf, but i would love to hear any input from some who have before i buy more parts.

 

Ok in cases like that the tune will be very important. 10.0 would be a good starting point, also if you can see if Z32 na pistons give you 10:1 or you can order VE30DE pistons which are 10:1 for cheap. Once you pick the cam you want, start on figuring what kind of IM and header you need to match your cam and power band needs. As for tuning I believe the VG ecu has full emulator ability so programs like live edit should work fine.

However if you could find a jwt ecu for your car cheap, you could drive to JWT HDQ and have them retune it for $100, which you can't beat for tuning. Otherwise things like mega squirt and other stand alones are advised.