Well... I am at a crossroad. With most of the exhaust, styling and the suspension and rims done I am ready for something BIG. What do you guys think I should do first, drop in a manual with VLSD, or supercharge? By my estimates, they will cost about the same.

I know that many members have done the manual swap for about $1500, but I don't want to use a bunch of old junk. I want to do this thing right!! I plan on getting either a NEW tranny or a rebuilt one (resolve the bad bearing issue, new synchros) ($1500). Then lightweight flywheel ($300), maybe a stage 2 clutch ($300), rebuilt CV axles ($200), short shifter ($200), rebuilt clutch master and slave cylinders ($200), and finally buy used lines, pedals, shift rods, and other misc. junk ($300). The total would be around $3000.

Or, I could spend an extra $500 and get a supercharger, which will be faster than the 5-speed, and easier to install. But then again, is the extra power as much fun as being able to shift through the gears?? TUFFY.....

 

Being me - I would say go SC.


BUT


What about the strength of your auto tranny under boost? I don't know much about the strength of 4th gen auto transmissions, so it may be a moot point. But it sure would suck to lay out that money for the supercharger only to kill your trans the next week and have to repair that too...

...Maybe do the manual trans swap in preparation for boost...?

 

Look at it from the stand point that, when you sell your I30, you might sell it faster with a 5spd in it, and get like an extra $300, however a supercharger doesnt really lose its value. But shifting gears is fun. Id say s/c with all bolt ons and you will blow the doors off manuals. Plus there is a lot to be said about f'ing around in an auto without thinkin about shifting

 

5spd swap without a doubt

 

Auto WILL break so might as well go 5speed and save up for supercharger.

 

I think a stock 5speed is more fun than an auto with SC

 

Pull your mods, sell the I30 aut o and buy a 5MT. Reinstall mods. Buy an S/C in a few months.

5mt I30s are cheaper (on the open market) than are autos, so you might get a better car for the same price. I got my 97 I30 5mt for less money than I got when I sold my wrecked-and-rebuilt 96 Maxima GLE. Mileage was almost identical.

 

Supercharge..............

 

Mike car looks real nice, definitely shows the Luxury side of the I30. Unfortunatley nothing on the outside of my car says luxury :-)


UH......Manual swap ( just to stay on topic )

 

thanks

Did you ever polish up that paint of yours?

 

Well it looks like it is tied so far. Keep it comin'!!!

 

maybe try to find someone around you with a 5spd i30 and ask them to take you for a ride and maybe let you drive it, and if you can find someone with a supercharged auto relatively close, do the same. there are so many members here i'm sure you could find someone. i think that's the best way for you to decide on which you'd prefer. depending on how much you love your car, maybe you should sell it and buy a stock 5 spd and then play with that. goodluck with the decision!

 

I got an auto and i would say supercharge. a 5spd is like a dirty ****, there fun to play with now and then, but you dont really want to get stuck with one.

 

I would go with the SC, it would be a lot more fun to drive.
Just keep in mind that the tranny is not going to keep up.

 

yaa .. i too am a fan of 5 sp but it really sucks especially when you are stuck in traffic jams or if you are in a place like Colorado where it snows heavily. Some will definitely like to argue that you will have full control with a 5 sp while driving in snow or on ice but it still is a pain, no fun ... just my thought ...

 

Well thanks for the input guys. The final tally was SC-6, Manual-3. I have to say I am definitly leaning towards the SC, but this is gonna take some thinking. Either way by the end of next summer, the car will be BOTH manual and SC. Thanks again!

 

hahahahhaha sooo very true!

 

Let me explain the difference between a manual and an auto. Its like the difference of say a second or so off 0-60 time?! Its like being able to control your car and the car not controlling you. Its night and day. Its like pulling away from a V6 accord, or Leaving a V6 accord by like 4 cars....imo

 

Not quite... First off it is all about the 1/4 mile time! The difference between the two in the 1/4 is only about .5 sec. After I droped in the popcharger, y-pipe, and b-pipe, I raced a friend who is also a fellow member with an i30t 5-speed. He was stock, and I would have to unplug the DR and torque brake to about 2000 rpms, but I still would beat him with a .3 second average at the track. He now has those same mods, and still, he can only best me by about .3 seconds in the 1/4.

It is like Famemax said, a SC auto will blow the doors off an NA manual. It is $3000 for a QUALITY manual swap, and I don't think that is worth the .3 seconds I would save from a horsepower point of view. The REAL reason I am going to do the swap is the fact that it would enhance my driving experience with my car, and increase the sport factor of the VQ. In addition, a SC manual VQ would be oh so fun. That, imo, is worth the $3000.

SC on the other hand has extremly potent performance capabilities. Especially in my case, because I am at 6,000 ft. I get a lot more benifit from forced induction than the rest of you fellas near sea level. Instead of gaining a second on the 1/4 mile at sea level, I would gain maybe 2.5 seconds (with additional air/fuel tuning modification prior to the run). Up hear with the thin air, the all motor class, weather stick or auto, suffers the most. The Nissan 350Z 6MT for example, runs an even 15.5, and one with an intake and exhaust, would run maybe 15.0. A stock 4th gen Max with a 5MT runs a high 16. All of the turbo and SC cars that are properly tuned for high altitude conditions are running at sealevel times. Only turbocharged and supercharged cars cut the mustard around here. At a mile high, supercharging my friend, is the real difference between pulling away, and actually leaving someone by many, many car lengths.

 

An SC auto with a basic set up at about 6-8 psi, no MEVI, no 3" exhaust, no tuned ECU..., will only be a mid 14 sec car at best.

 

If I ran a 14.7 in Florida near sealevel (16.2 @ 6,000 ft.).... a SC will only give me .2 next time I run near sealevel?

My guess is that after I SC and do a little tuning to the engine to account for altitude and then do some practice runs, I will run in the high 13s @ 6000 ft. (this will require me to get something like e-manage). This should also be my sealevel time as well (I just have to retune for low elevation conditions).

 

So you ran a 14.7 or you corrected time is a 14.7? I know there are those correction factors, but they are not exact and I wouldn't say you ran a 14.7....you ran a 16.2 at 6K feet, which is good, but not the same as actually running a 14.7.

Take a look at the timeslip data base and look at what guys with Basicauto SC maximas have ran. Mostly mid 14's...and alot of high 14's as well. I have been to the track with a auto SC max, 14.9 is what he ran.

Your gonna have to replace the auto tranny anyhow or get a built one if you plan on running any more than 250 or so WHP.

 

The story of my car and track runs @ 6000 ft. goes like this:

First, I ran a 17.2, completly stock. No disconnecting the DR and no torque brake. Compare that to stock runs at sealevel which average in the high 15s, and it appears that there is about 1.5 sec. of difference due to altitude. The same friend that I mentioned above, with the i30 stick, ran a 16.7, and compared to stock stick runs at sealevel in the low 15s, it appears once again, that the time difference is about 1.5 sec.

Then, I ran after installing the mods, diconnecting the DR, and playing with different torque braking, I got a 16.4. My friend with the same modifcations later ran a 16.2. I noticed that I wrote that I got a 16.2, but that is a typo, that was his time. So perhaps a corrected time would result in high 14s.

The forced induction cars up here run much closer to sealevel forced induction cars, less than .5 difference, and with appropiate tuning, that .5 can be taken care of as well. I beilve you that a bone stock auto SC Max/i30 would run the 1/4 in mid to high 14s, hell, those are the numbers that Motor Trend got from their test on a stock auto SC Max, but I plan to do much more after the SC. So my guest is that when I am completly done with this car (SC, manual swap, clutch, flywheel, lsd, full exhaust, either a MEVI or extrude intake, cams, and ECU), I will be running well into the 13s, and putting out around 315 bhp. I have even been temped to see what options there are for changing gear ratios on a manual trans.

The issue here is what to do first, SC or drop in the manual. I am fully aware that manual WILL break, but I am temped to do the SC first, inorder to see what it feels like. You are correct when saying only a manual, or a built auto can handle that kind of hp.

 

I've driven a stock pullied auto maxima before. The gearing is terrible for this SC application. Right when the boost comes on, the auto switches gears. I'd do the 5-sp swap or buy a manual 5-sp I30 before doing anything else.

 

Why not just manual shift the auto? You can take it all the way to 7k then. And with od off you get the full band in 3rd too.

 

Since the autos have one less forwar gear vs the manual, even manual shifting resulted in a slower spool of the SC. Just felt flat until it got into the upper rpm range.

 

I first want to say that I hope you do all these mods! I love to see more I30 owners going performance route rather than light bulb mods and other junk like that.

But....your "correction" logic is not valid at all. I see the line of thought that your following but that is so very innacurate. Different tracks, different cars, different set ups, different altitude, different weather, different everything.

If you really want to do an altitude correction look here
http://www.hardcore50.com/members/correctionfactors.htm

Your corrected time is a 15.2...but it is still a corrected time and is just a ballpark, not something I would claim.

Good luck with the project and keep us updated along the way

 

so would it also be worthless to turbo an auto? or would it be better since they spool faster.

 

Let me say that I am very very serious about this! I have had this car for about 2.5 years, and at first all I did was the cefiro grill, headlights, gauge rings, and kick plates... you know junk like that, all show and no go. However, last december I felt it was time to really change things up, stop beaing a cheap skate, and take it to the limit. In those past 8 months I have done a popcharger, FSTB, RSB, y pipe, b pipe, muffler, two tone leather, struts, springs, and rims. So far I have spent almost $2100, and I am past the point of no return. I have no problem going all the way....

As far as the corrected times go... I thank you for the NHRA conversion table. This is much easier than guessing what my ET would be at sealevel.

 

get the 5 speed swap or do what i did, sell your car and buy one w/a MT, its much less of a hassle. Don't get a supercharger.....you'll have much more fun with a 5 speed, i promise!

 

have not seen you around here in a while

 

Do the 5 speed MT swap, at least it's what I would do if I had an auto. I have a 5 speed MT myself and I am saving my bucks now for the PFI turbokit with ballbearing upgrade. Once I have that I will go for a Z32 MAF with some 370cc injectors and order a custom programmed JWT ECU for the fuel management so I can drop the 12:1 FMU, the whole setup will be designed for running 10 PSI and maybe nitrous. Just need to find a clutch that can co-up with all that power yet remaining drivable for the street, without unforgiving engagement.

PS: If your gonna swap in a 5 speed, make sure it has a VLSD! It's worth it!

 

When I SC I am going to do the 300zxtt 370cc injectors as well. I think the the 555cc injectors is too much. I was also thinking about running more than the standard 6psi. Perhaps 8 or 10 would be appropiate.

What is the benifit of the 300zxtt MAF?

When I do the swap it most definitely will be a VSLD. I won't settle for the crappy ol' maxima tranny!

 

A32 MAF tops out at 350 hp on the crank, Z32 MAF tops out at 425 hp on the crank, see the difference?

Also, the voltage output of the MAF's are different. When you go and use 370cc injectors on your stock ECU you would even need the Z32 MAF to make sure it doesn't run to rich, when you get a JWT ECU you can specifie you have a Z32 MAF and they will programm the ECU according to it, also specifie you have 370 injectors, and all the other mods.

Me myself is more a turbo fanatic, don't care to much for superchargers, takes to long to make serious power, no boost under 4000 rpm

 

Sounds like a worthy mod. However, with superchargers there is no spool lag, and they last loner because a turbo gets the **** baked out of it by the heat of exhaust gases.

 

with the type of SC available to us, you will not see full boost until redline. Opposed to a turbo that could see full boost at 4K. You might see boost a little earlier with the SC, although I don't even think that is a given, but in no way will you average as much boost over the rpm band. Now if we had a roots type blower made for our cars that would be different.

 

Is that because we have the centerfugal blower instead of an Eaton twin screw configuration like the one available for the 350Z/G35?

 

Yes....that is assuming that is what is available to the Z, that I don't know.

 

Yeah, it is the same as the stock Frontier and Xterra SC that Nissan uses. Except those are only single screw and the Stillen Z has two screws, but the basic design is the same by replacing the stock intake manifold.

 

what brand would be suggested for a solid sc?