Already posted something similar in the All-Motor column about the possibility of changing the layout of a east-west VQ30DE (1996 SMX) to north-south / longitudinal to alloy the install of a Harrop Engineering Eaton (modified roots style) blower supercharger. Any thoughts? Anyone done this?

PS. I read through the stickys and the first 2 pages of this column and couldn't find what I was after...heaps about the Stillen centrifugal SC but no positive displacement blowers.

Any help would be greatly appreciated - thanks PHAT6.

 

Converting to a Longitudinal/North-south drivetrain would not make it an easier to bolt on a SC nor would it be any small amount of money and time.

Craig Mack tried to do it before as someone has probably told you.

Jclaw is attempting it as well. http://spig.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=457915

 

Yeah, follow JClaw's thread. He and I both are somewhat interested (although I'm relatively uninvolved due to lack of funds) and the thread is quite interesting, just slow right now.

 

Thank you guys.

 

I'm a noob to the maxima world.. but not to boosting (via turbo OR supercharger) an east-west v6 in a tight engine bay.

i've dealth with two specific setups...

a remote mounted s/c with a drive shaft, requiring battery relocation, (and fusebox, in the caseof the first pic) such as:
http://www.supermotors.org/getfile/2...ture%20002.jpg
and
http://riceandwerthmann.com/pics/engine/scengine1.jpg (not one of my installs.. what a mess, in fact! lol. but the handiest pic i could find illustrating the design)

or mounted below, and requiring removal of the a/c compressor and relocating the oil filter (dunno where yours is located, so this may not be possible) as in: http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3.../sckit0260.jpg

lastly, is the direct on intake manifold design.. i haven't the skills to fab one up myself, but have seen more than one of this type on an e-w setup.
http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/1...arger265bb.jpg
http://i14.ebayimg.com/05/i/06/36/a0/63_12.JPG
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...84_18_full.jpg

all of these were from a mazda 2.5L v6, mounted similarly to the maxima's

 

Nice shots - glad to see someone's done it on an east-west FWD engine.

Goatcrapp - the second to last photo looks has the letters 'VG' stamped into the Intake Manifold - as in VG30DE, the 3rd-generation Maxima powerplant? That's the cleanest set-up of the lot, the photo with the extra long driveshaft from the blower to the cambelt just looks over-complicated and brutally inefficient and not to mention ugly...

 

the second set of pics is a Mazda too...and the 3rd gen came with the VG30E, single cam not the DE

 

nah thats the cutout for a removed "v6" emblem. still a 2.5L KL series mazda engine.

if you have room between the IM and firewall, thats the way to go IMO for a clean install (and assuming nothing like a PS pump, alternator, etc is in the way back there)

the driveshaft config was originally for a centrifugal s/c and there are some really really clean installs - that one was just a quick and dirty pic i found lol. I'll see what else i can dig up.. done right and with a "fan shield" used to cover it all, it can be quite a clean look.

I would only go that route if the back off the IM isnt feasible.

the a/c delete and oil filter relocation is for when neither of those is viable.. but IMO mounts the s/c too low.. too exposed to possible damage.

 

Poor b-stards.

 

Fully agree with you Goatcrapp on the behind the Intake Manifold install. Clean, Simple, Effective - the way everything great is...except the engine bay of a 4th Gen Max...LOL!

Underneath the engine is just crazy - single speed bump at speed and you're toast!

Keep those photos coming please - they're a great inspiration and encouragement bro.

 

Yeah, definitely no room for mounting near the firewall. We would also need to custom-fabricate an intake manifold like the ones on there (or hack up the stock one) which only adds to the cost.

The way for us to go, IMO, is to just toss the stock upper intake manifold altogether and sit the blower right in the valley of the engine (with some sort of adapter to mate it to the lower IM).

 

Kinda sounds like my '03 supercharged Frontier Crew Cab. I hear it's a baby blower, but it sits right on top, and is belt driven from the front of the motor.

Of course this is a 3.3 SOHC engine, but what else could be done with factory parts and a bigger blower on a VQ30 or VQ35 ???

 

What factory parts? No VQ came with a blower, so there's no factory parts for us to use. If I ever get the opportunity, I'll probably go with a Gen III M90 roots blower for cost, size, and simplicity reasons.

...and yeah, the Frontier's supercharger is an M62, quite small.

 

Yeah maybe true about the M62 but a 'small blower' is chalk and cheese compared with 'no blower'...

 

Actually in that case I'd almost be tempted to say no blower. They create a lot of heat, and if they make enough heat that it negates the small amount of power they're adding, then all you're doing is creating problems and not getting any of the benefits. Depends, though, I don't know a whole lot about the M62.

 

If you're going to put in the work, why go with something that would make a half-arsed setup when you can just do it the right way with no more effort? The M62 is like putting a T25 on a maxima, totally pointless. The thing is completely ill-suited to the maxima.

 

WTF....you want to change the motors orientation to bolt on a SC? You might as well just covert to RWD and throw in an LS1, would be just about as easy. You have any idea what it would take to do that and keep it a FWD car?

 

Man, I love how OT my comment went. Looking at their forums, the SC Frontier guys are using overdrive pulleys, raising boost pressures, dynoing, and in general getting more power from their superchargers - just like Maximas are doing, except there never was a factory SC Maxima.

I was just wondering out loud if any of the Frontier parts would adapt on a VQ30 for a top-mounted blower of any size - kinda like the Ford F-150 Lightning. Seems to work for them... And you would have to put a hood scoop on the Max - that will never work, either.

Oh, well.

 

Says who? I've taken measurements and done some test-fitting and I'm 99.9% sure a smaller blower like an M90 (which is what I test-fitted) would clear the hood so long as you weren't trying to throw an intercooler or something else thicker into the mix with it. You have to realize that the stock upper intake manifold has to be completely done away with, though. You're putting the blower in place of it.

 

I was wondering out loud about the re-orienting of the engine to N-S before goatcrapp showed me you could do E-W...I'm glad - I don't want to change my car TOO much.

Bonnet isn't a problem - have looked at a 2005 Ford BA-II Falcon GT-P bonnet (Ford Australia/NZ only) and taken the measurements and with only a little work it will fit my SMX and allow good air flow in for any blower mounted (hopefully) behind the IM.

 

Why "hopefully" behind the IM? What advantages do you see from having it there as opposed to right on top of the engine?

 

The hood cutout is sarcasm - been following the thread about vasily installing a 350Z manifold on his 3.5 in his car? That was really resisted by forum members until he actually made it work.

I mentioned the SC Frontier because it has a successful factory blower on it. That was meant to stir up some thinking among the technowizards that live here ( NO sarcasm intended - there's bright folk lurking here).

I don't pretend to know whether the concept would work, and don't care at the moment. However, if you can see a way to make it work for you, and can at least work out all the details to install one, then you have earned a wizard hat.

 

I will make it work at some point should I have the funds. However I'm having a hard enough time as it is just trying to get y-pipe and intake done right now.

 

Sure, on top of the block would be great if it fits under the bonnet but if it doesn't behind the IM would be best.

All theory until I try anyway.