Z32 300ZX Limits of stock Trans, Driveshaft, Diff and Axles?
 

Hi guys. Haven't posted yet but I have some questions as to the power limits of the drive train. I was originally just going to do a Twin Turbo swap and call it a day but got the bug for much more power. I am going to be building my N/A motor into a twin turbo motor (complete bottom end rebuild and so on) making around 500hp or more. I'd like to know what the trans, driveshaft, diff and rear axles are capable of holding in terms of power. I'd also like to know if it is recommended to upgrade the oil pump and pan and the rear diff mounts. Pic of my car for attention.

What twin turbo swap?

Nice first post

VG30DETT typical thing but with all the stuff I want to change out it's probably not worth using an original TT engine and instead modifying the engine in the car.

The trans, driveshaft, and rear end will hold more than that easily. The problem that you may run into is around the 800 horse mark you start twisting axle stubs at the drag strip. The R200 is capable of more power than you could think to throw at it. You may need to shim your VLSD or find a clutch LSD alternative, which I believe requires new axles.

You're in for a rude awakening, i hope you have deep pockets. with that said, the N/A and TT trans is exactly the same only difference is the flywheel housing. haven't heard anyone breaking rear differentials. Axles are usually good for right around 500-550whp if you plan to drift on 265/275 R-compounds or Drag with lots of boost and slicks then it will not hold i'd say more than maybe 400whp

the prop-shaft is pretty much useless after 450-500 the center bushing goes so you'll want a nice one piece unit. transmission will probably start to grind 3rd adn 4th gear after some hard driving. 1st gear might explode with enough boost and slicks. people seem to be holding 450ish whp fine. anything after that you're counting your days. (depending on the amount of grip and how hard you launch / beat your clutch)

I think the weight of the vehicle and trq play a larger role in the destruction of driveline components than HP. I'm not going to blow my Z-trans at 500whp w/ 400ftlbs of trq. However a VG may at 500whp and 600ftlbs trq. These transmissions have been behind some fast drag cars, so I highly doubt (especially without documentation or references) it'll blow on a 275 drag radial at xxx wil grenade the trans.

Now, with that said, Z transmissions have super soft syncros and baulk ring clips that tend to break and fall down into the bottom of the case. This is what actually causes the grinding issues experienced in most older/abused transmissions. It has nothing to do with the strength of the gears.

Yes and No.

Torque, Grip & Shock is what breaks the drive-line. I've seen plenty of Z32 / R33 gearboxes give on drift cars with 400+ tq that have decent grip. i can honestly say 99% of Z32 guys make 600hp with 500+tw and never see a track event. All they do is rolling burnouts on summer tires racing other cars on the street. nothing that comes close to the abuse of a real race / abusive situation. Drag racing is abusive but not as bad as drifting. Launch control hits the driveline once, drifting hits the driveline multiple times per run. so it's comparing apples to oranges.

This is true, but VG torque production also means less clutch kicks if you can adapt your driving style. A VG making 500hp is going to have a very fat powerband and a relatively low-rpm torque peak.

30A box behind an SR or RB is going to see more abuse than behind a VG.

There are a couple Z32 drift cars with stock drivelines that haven't had issues. Most dudes with VH45 swaps don't have issues with the Z32 box either.

Alex Milward (Amreboot) has been running a Z32 trans for a few years at 627whp/602lbft on his last setup in a Z31 with a VG33. The Z31 is a fair bit lighter at close to 3000 lb and his car is fully loaded and not stripped. The issue on the R200 is axle stubs. Once you can get into the 1.6-60 ft in the 1/4 you start to twist them.

@Poormans180SX
The 30A behind an SR or KA may see more "abuse" at high RPM but generally not as much low end torque. The single and dual cam VG's tend to make huge amounts at low RPM. Especially the single cams. Seeing 400 lbft by 4000 RPM is pretty common on a stock internal motor with either a modified stock turbo, new turbo, injectors and tuning.

Yes, I have 4 VG's, I know of their torque, haha. I was replying to bardabe and his talk of drifting with the transmission. With it behind an SR or RB, clutch kicks are probably going to be the norm, and are very hard on a transmission. There won't be so many necessary when you have the torque of the mighty VG! :naughty::2f2f:

interesting, never heard, or seen any baulk rings or anything weird in my gearbox though.

It's not the baulk ring itself, it's the clips/springs that fail.