doublea

iTrader: (7)

Awesome work, I dont know how I missed this thread ? Maybe I was too buys searching for the X5 lol. Again great work & pics, this is going to be an incredible VQ35, what kind of power do you think this engine will output ?

grey99max

iTrader: (12)

You're just too busy building your dream car - and it's gonna be fantastic when you finish it.

Power? 500WHP should be easy - then I'll take it up slowly until I see signs of problems. The short block can handle at least 1000 crank HP - but I bet that the drive train won't. My personal goal is 600WHP on nitrous. At the moment my present engine is set for 405WHP and it seems to handle that with no problems, and that's a stock short block and heads - just eBay cams and 175-shot of nitrous.

There's a lot of engine builds going on right now - should be an exciting summer.

Aaron92SE

iTrader: (128)

I agree. And most of the awesome builds I'm hearing about are coming to MAXUS this summer! I also am hearing about a LOT of CRAZY secret projects going on that will be done in time for the MAXUS Drag Showdown. I'm talking about the 500-700whp range!

I hope you can find a truck and trailer and bring that car to MAXUS. I am pressed for time myself. I need to get this car running within the next couple months so I will have a little time to tune it with the UTEC. I may not have enough time to tune it for anything more than the 75 shot.

t6378tp

iTrader: (69)

guess I won't have a chance

harold are you making the trip down

grey99max

iTrader: (12)

I don't think so. Four days and 2400 miles of towing my car (7 1/2 MPG) just wouldn't be much fun - just really expensive - and with my usual luck it will either rain on track day or I'll only get one pass before someone scatters their engine down the track and the lines get so long that the track closes before I get in a second pass.

Sounds negative? this happens to me all the time on tracks around here. I tow 180 miles and get one pass, or the management decides to invent a new Bracket class of street cars, throws all the cars off the track, and tries for two hours to scrape up 16 cars to fill in the new formula and most trailered cars start leaving when this madness started - oh, wait, that was last weekend at KCIR.

I figure you'll have a few monsters show up and the rest of the 100-car field will be Y-pipe and CAI cars. But that's just me.... Besides, I've got an engine to build, axles and transmission to upgrade, and another nitrous stage to integrate.

Jime

iTrader: (10)

I'm with you Harold. I was planning on going when I heard initially it was being held on the 20-21 Jun weekend. However I have a big race on the 27-28 and its a pretty expensive long haul to Washington, especially having to trailer the car.

We will just have to be happy to see the pics and video.

Aaron92SE

iTrader: (128)

Oh that's too bad! Since we have the entire track rented out, we will only have about 100 cars racing that day. So expect to get as many runs as you want.

We will also be inviting select groups of Nissans to race. We are hoping to get some really fast Zs and Skylines out there to compete.

And we are also working on getting some bigger sponsors to actually have prize money for the winners.

But I'm sorry to hear about your scheduling conflict Jim. I was really looking forward to having you come out and show some of these Maximas how it's done!

grey99max

iTrader: (12)

Aaron, you're doing a heck of a job organizing this year's Maxus, but it's too far away for me to tow that far - then back home again. It's just me driving in the truck cab - nobody else in Kansas knows what a Maxima is.

So, have fun - enjoy the event - hope some monsters show up and set new records for everyone to see and envy, and I'll continue building up the Land Shark for my own amusement...

Aaron92SE

iTrader: (128)

Thank you. Maybe we'll meet up at another event one day.

grey99max

iTrader: (12)

Back to my build again...

I'm still waiting for parts, it seems, so I decided to open up the water ports into each bank, following the JWT recommendiation for how best to use the HR head gasket.

Both sides before:




http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...9/DSCN0791.jpg


Decided to use grandkid's modeling clay to fill in around the cylinder:

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...9/DSCN0796.jpg

Taped up each front cylinder and taped down shop cloths over the rear cylinders:

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...9/DSCN0794.jpg

I used those two small Dremel cutters to take out some of the wall.



http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...9/DSCN0805.jpg



Clay strips after cutting was done:

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...9/DSCN0802.jpg

Took a shop vac to everything before and after the clay strips were removed, peeled off the tape and rags, vacuumed some more..

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...9/DSCN0806.jpg

.

Aaron92SE

iTrader: (128)

Looks great! Thanks for posting pics. I see you posted this message in my 3rd gen swap thread.

I like the clay idea though. So you think you were able to keep all the shavings from getting in the coolant areas?

grey99max

iTrader: (12)

I cleaned out your swap thread entry - wrong thread. Oops.

The clay and Gorilla tape made it quite easy to keep shavings from going everywhere. Grind everything - vacuum, remove clay, vacuum, remove tape and rags, vacuum. Never know I did it, except for the larger water ports.

Aaron92SE

iTrader: (128)

Good job. Did you bother tilting the engine and sitting on the floor while doing the work?

streetzlegend

iTrader: (8)

Nice work, i'll be doing the same thing, i just gotta wait till they re-deck the block and make sure ill be using HR headgasket, because if they take off to much material i'll have to get a thicker gasket (hope not cuz i already got the HR one lol), how much did you cut off? 11mm?

Aaron92SE

iTrader: (128)

BTW, here's the JWT article Grey mentioned for anybody reading on:

http://www.jimwolftechnology.com/wol...HEAD_BOLTS.pdf

It says to cut 11-12mm.

streetzlegend

iTrader: (8)

yea i got that thing memorized already lol. good that you posted it for anyone's future reference. I thought it was already up somewhere on here.

grey99max

iTrader: (12)

Nope - as usual, I do a stand-up job. Tape over the front two cylinders, lay a wet T-shirt over the rear four, apply modeling clay, bend over and cut aluminum.

.

grey99max

iTrader: (12)

Sure - exactly 11mm or something like that - those small Dremel cutters let you cut at a sharp angle downwards. I would have a problem if the cutter was much larger - there's not a lot of room in that well.

.

maximariceboi

iTrader: (32)

wow...that is some crazy build...makes me think twice now since I'm doing another 3.5 build...

from your pix i see on this thread..your making me want to sell my maxima and slap on a fully built motor on my Z!

grey99max

iTrader: (12)

I got the test set of HR valve lifters Friday night. Today I put a "820" lifter in one of the exhaust valves on Cyl #3 and mounted that cam, then checked the valve clearance and it was .011 - within the .011-.015 spec for the exhaust. Whew.. that's a good sign.

Looking closely at the valve stems in the Cosworth heads, you can see where all the valve stems have been cut off - hopefully to a predetermined length so lifter selection won't be impossible and won't require grinding down the valve stems some more.

I also ordered a set of the "spark plug tubes" since the heads came without any. I thought I could scavenge these tubes from one of the older sets of heads here, but in looking at the FSM tonight I see that they are sealed in place with RTV. Good luck on ripping out one of those tubes.

This week the heads and cams will go to the machine shop for final measurements, then I can order 24 lifters of the right height for this engine - at $17.00+ each - Maybe some of the five I just received can be used...

Aaron92SE

iTrader: (128)

Very nice.

What kind of spark plugs do you like using in your 3.5? I just found out recently that LFR7A-11 NGK Vpower Coppers don't exist or are very rare. So I just got some LFR5A-11's in the meantime to get the car started.

streetzlegend

iTrader: (8)

Thats odd, I was able to find the 7's, at napa. I did have to drive to their main warehouse few miles from here, but they had it in stock.

grey99max

iTrader: (12)

I've been using the LFR6A-11 NGK copper plugs with the shortened grounds and side-gapped for luck. These are available - I get them from sparkplug.com

Interesting what streetz said about LFR7A-11s - I'll have to check with NAPA locally. As long as I don't go lean like I was doing with fuel-feed problems, the LFR6A-11s worked and looked good. No plug lasts for long with 18:1 A/F and nitrous.

Aaron92SE

iTrader: (128)

Are you sure it was LFR7A-11? Or are you talking about BKRs? I can't find any record on the NGK website of an LFR7A-11 ever being made.

Yeah. I found the one step colder LFR6A-11's at my local parts store and on www.ngksparkplugs.com. But I am having trouble finding coppers in 2 steps colder. I found the Iridium 7s though and will probably start using those. But while I tune, I want to use coppers and keep an eye on them. Once I feel confident with my spark plug setup, I will get the iridiums and have them last a tad longer unless I can find an easy way to change the rear plugs on the 3.5 without pulling the intake manifold or elbow. It MAY be possible to do it. I'll find out quickly after the engine is installed.

Deckdout2

iTrader: (151)

I've got both the 1-step and 2-step colder Iridiums awaiting the new motor. Still trying to decide on how cold I should go, but I bought both on a good deal so I picked them up to have on hand. To spray or not to spray, is the question.

grey99max

iTrader: (12)

Good luck with that - I won't use Iridium plugs - the center electrodes don't remove heat like the copper center electrode does, and I have melted a few, or they have bent because of overheating.

Copper centers pull the heat away from the combustion chamber much better than iridium electrodes - in my experience.

Deckdout2

iTrader: (151)

Really? That's good to know. I'm going to have to look into that further. I've always used Iridiums when spraying and have thought them to be beneficial. I'll have to check out the copper ones out and see what I find. Thanks.

Aaron92SE

iTrader: (128)

The iridiums work great with nitrous if your EGTs and AFR numbers are ok. If you go lean like you said you are, then you'll melt any plug and cause major engine damage.

Coppers are a small step better though, but of course won't last nearly as long as the iridiums.

The iridium plug isn't to blame though. They are proven to work great with nitrous. It's the platinums you want to stay far away from when spraying. But if you are looking for a plug that will last a whole lot longer while spraying, iridiums are the way to go, especially since the plugs are tough to access on the 3.5 engine.

On my VE, I only used coppers since they were cheap and I inspected them VERY often, after every single 1/4 mile nitrous pass.

Deckdout2

iTrader: (151)

That was my main reason behind using the iridiums, was for their slightly better lifespan. If you figure out how to change the rears without removing the manifold, let me know. That would be a great trick.

grey99max

iTrader: (12)

It takes me 15 minutes to change plugs. The intake comes off by removing the three bolts and two nuts on the LIM and pulling out one bolt on the rear brace, taking loose the rubber hose between the TB and intake tube, and lifting up the whole assembly and moving it over toward the driver's side. Three coils off in the back, three plugs out, reverse the process, then put things back together.

The front plugs are much simpler. I carry a bag of tools just for this purpose to the track, and have another nylon bag for nitrous jets and two wrenches.



I now have a stable fuel system which stays at 12:1 throughout the RPM range when WOT, nitrous or no nitrous - and all the plugs look the same now.

.

Aaron92SE

iTrader: (128)

Have you tried to replace the spark plugs without removing the intake manifold? I briefly looked at the clearance when I first got my engine and it looked like the coil packs would clear.

grey99max

iTrader: (12)

Not on my car - no way to get to them until the UIM is removed.

grey99max

iTrader: (12)

Since my test of one of the 2007+ HR lifters was a success, I took all the Cosworth cams and their heads to my machine shop this morning, and they will begin measuring for the correct size of HR lifter for each cam lobe - all 24 of them.

I paid $17.09 each for the five test lifters - maybe the machinist can find a better price for the group of 24 lifters I'll need. I sure hope so.

I sent off a set of 3.0 gears to StephenMax last night, to be machined for cam timing using just a longer pin to locate the cams. This makes up for the gears "lost in the mail"...

I also bought a pair of cyroed VLSD axles "NEW VLSD 500+hp capacity Axles (new 500 miles) " from an ORG member who is selling off all of his built car parts. It's kinda sad, seeing how much went into his car, and he's parting it out now.

And I also have a new set of spark plug tubes ordered - FedEx and UPS are wearing out my front door step!

"it's always something"
.

streetzlegend

iTrader: (8)

Harold, I know the answer is yes, but just making sure. With the new power your going to be putting down are you still going to keep the tranny stock? I know I am.

grey99max

iTrader: (12)

I'm going to change the transmission out at the same time I replace the engine (and axles and TC) with my spare '01 AE VLSD trans. This way I can break in all 4,000 new parts at the same time... Actually, my present VLSD tranny continues to work just fine - except that it doesn't like to shift until it's warmed up - heck, I don't work anymore until I'm warmed up...

I found out something new today - it seems you can cyro your transmission as a complete unit - without disassembling anything! There is a container where the tranny is placed, then it's dipped in liquid nitrogen until about -350*F then slowly warmed up. My machinist builds for a Pro Stock nut that builds world-record-class cars for people, and this guy does it - a lot. I'm going to get more details, but dippings things in liquid nitrogen seems to be getting more common - there's a place in this town that does it, even. I might try it if it sounds sane - and not too expensive.

kzoosho

iTrader: (16)

I wonder if this will work for 6sp also? Let me know. I need to find a way to make it a little stronger.

grey99max

iTrader: (12)

OK - I'll check sometime this week. You know, if you can "cyro in a can" then could you do an entire engine that way? I have no idea how the transmissions are done - or what they are - but this beats tearing down a tranny to a bucket of parts, cyroing it, and re-assembling it later. Man, this could be really useful for a lot of things.

Has anyone else heard of this practice - "cyro in a can" ???

95BLKMAX

iTrader: (10)

this sounds super interesting! Maybe I can cryo my differential on the Camaro. That stock 8.5" GM diff is a weak POS LOL

Harold the build is looking great keep up updated! I still say you boost it

mtrai760

iTrader: (19)

My big concern would be what it would do to the seals? If you have to pull the whole thing apart to replace the input shaft and striker rod seal (5&6spds) afterwards, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to do it as a whole assembly. I'd also be curious on the auto as to how it might affect the clutches and bands. Not everything benefits from cyro treatment, and it can have some 'interesting' side effects.

accordingtou

iTrader: (41)

If this cryo dipping proved to be "cost effective" / beneficial I would do it.It would only set you back 2hrs in labor & $30 in parts to replace the seals on a 5 spd manual.(if needed).