psi999

So I’ve had my S15 for a couple of years now, and after viewing this site for a few years i finally got around to joining.

Purchased mechanically stock with typical retard mods of neons & clear tail lights - which were promptly removed/disabled (Not all bad however - came with a pretty decent $2000+ pro installed Alpine stereo).

Having modified a 200sx before (I had a S14a back in the 90’s) i had a fair idea of what i was after & how to achieve it – responsive usable power - so with this in mind i set about modifying.

Engine:

Camtech billet VCT Camshafts 260/260 10.5mm/10.5mm
Garrett GT28/71 52t - 400hp turbo
Speedflow oil / coolant lines
Sard 550cc Injectors
Z32 afm
Nistune ECU
Turbosmart plumb back BOV
Blitz Dual ID boost controller
3" exhaust
300x600x76 intercooler setup
Walbro fuel pump
wide band AFR meter
Oil catch can
k&N air filter

This combo ended up putting out 294rwhp / 220rwkw @ 16psi boost

Wheels:

Work Meister S1 3P - 18x8 & 18x9

Suspension:

HKS Hypermax III coil overs

Pics:

Bmxer300zx

why is this labeled vq30det s15 with a sr20det in it?

PoorMans180SX

I am so excited for this! I just purchased a VQ35, but the VQ30DET is an awesome engine that I wish we could get more easily in the states!

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Build: http://zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?t=643065

Friends don't let friends buy knock-offs.

future

So confused

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psi999

Sorry guys, new member here so my posts still need to be approved.

So the SR20 was fantastic for a while, almost zero lag and a good street setup.

But I got bored.

So in a moment of weakness I bought one of these:









VQ30DET Y33 Cima front cut with a genuine 26,000km on the clock.

And then the conversion started.

First of all I sorted out the ECU, decided to go for a Nistune setup, as the car is a streetcar with A/C, P/S decided that the stock ECU modified would be the best plan.

After around 12 hours work using multiple wiring diagrams (removing body loom, airbag loom etc) , wiring = sorted



Then had some of these made up so hold the engine and transmission in place:





Then SR20DET came out and real work started:

SR20DET and wiring loom came out and work started on installing new valve springs and 265 deg cams into the VQ30DET.

Anyways, pix of progress.

SR20 out - served me well, off to live a new life in a Datsun 200B coupe



On trailer returning from engine & wiring loom removal



Back home ready for work to commence





Drained motor of oil and cracked the sump, the motor was mint



So then I decided that I wanted to chuck a set of cams in it.

All covers and accessories off and cams out - so much crap to come off to get the sticks out



Jim Wolf spring compressor mocked up - fits up nicely.

psi999

Valve springs all installed, cams are in & engine completely back together:









Also received my modified wiring loom back from being merged with the S15 engine / ABS loom – 100% plug in (with ABS, A/C, P/S and parts of the S15 body loom run as per OEM (ie, front left indicator))



Then made a 350Z gearbox work with the VQ30DET

350Z gearshifter mounts way to far back to be used in an 'S' chassis car, to bring it back to a usable position I cut reshaped and rewelded the shifter base 80mm closer to the gearbox.

First job was to remove the gear shifter linkage and weld both ends together - basically removing the 80mm length as pictured in vice



Then started on the shifter bracket. Drilled a series of holes in around the position i wanted to move the shifter base to.





Then removed the shifter base, file finished both shifter base and bracket then positioned everything where it needed to be and took to OKE020 to weld (cheers Scott).

And now all finished (minus reverse lockout plate).





(and a pic for comparison of standard location)

psi999

Then engine went in:

Tighter than a nuns nasty lowering it in but once on the mounts sits quite nicely.

Clutch and flywheel installed and box bolted on - ready for deployment.



Early hours of engine installation



And final resting position







Rear of engine 80mm from firewall, front of engine 320mm to radiator support - with good clearance for all accessories around the engine

psi999

Then manifolds were made













Turbo support bracket.



Flange.







And exhaust:

psi999

Finished product:















As im intending on running the vehicle on E85 I decided new fuel rails to allow top feed injectors were in order (ID1000's) – this is how that all worked out.

psi999

Then thought id put some brakes on it:







Then fuel was sorted - Twin Walbro in tank fuel pump setup

psi999

And finally, assembly !!











Then made a box for the air filter:


















And finally, running!!

Idle, 14.7:1 on the meter - loving those cams, sounds infinitely different than a stock cam VQ30 (230 deg Vs 265 & about another 1mm lift)



So that’s it’ that’s where im up to – 10 months so far in the build.

Thanks for reading.

PoorMans180SX

Did you use mild steel for the exhaust manifolds? You're probably going to want to coat that with something, mild steel rusts SO fast.

__________________
Build: http://zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?t=643065

Friends don't let friends buy knock-offs.

psi999

Cast mild steel 'steam pipe' bends, super thick wall so dont think i'll have rusting problems (haven't in the past)



About as durable as you can get

Kryptik89

Holy balls, That thing is awesome!!!

Sent from Parallel Universe

drscooper

wow this thing was sweet

psi999

Oh yes the driveshaft, forgot about that -I had it made in Texas and shipped to Australia

Next piece of the puzzle complete - the tailshaft.

What a pain. Turns out an aftermarket 350Z slip yoke is almost unobtainum, even in the US - so an aftermarket tailshaft was going to be an interesting proposition.

Most guys solve this lack of aftermarket support by cutting the staked uni slip joint off a standard 350Z tailshaft - and try and find someone who will put it back together on a new shaft (which they shouldnt - one time use part).

Not particularly keen on this idea i went hunting....

After spending a number of weeks trawling the net for a better solution i stumbled across a drivshaft supplier in San Antonio Texas that claimed to build a aluminum tailshaft suit 350Z using all new parts.

We exchanged quite a few emails and they were happy to send me parts to have it all made here - but in the end decided to have it all made there as even with shipping included (which the driveshaft store organised, at a fairly substantial discount over retail) the shaft worked out at just over half the price of what it would cost to have made here, which seems freaking crazy being made half a world away ....but it still gets better.

I ordered and paid for the Driveshaft 8:30am Friday morning (Brisbane time) and arrived 9am this morning (wednesday) - 3 business days to be custom made to my specs, balanced, packaged and sent half a world away - i dont think i could even have a drive shaft made locally and shipped in that kind of time.

So from San Antonio to Dallas then Kentucky, Honolulu, Tokyo, Sydney and finally onto Brisbane - it arrived, and here it is.







Spec wise:

3.5" 6061 heavy duty aluminium tube (aluminium was selected due to length and critical RPM considerations)
32 spline 350Z slip yoke
Nissan R200 rear flange
spicer 1350 front uni
spicer 1310 rear uni

future

This build went from confused to bad ass

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jdmlivin

Amazing.!!!!!

s13rhdhatch

badasssssssssssss

jdizzy204

Amazing build. Looking forward to more video. Is this a street car or will it see track time (grip/drift)?

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Tokyo, JP

Bmxer300zx

lol awesome man now it makes perfect sense lol.
good job suupppeeer clean install. when i had my z32 i looked for a vg30det but hard to find in states lol

psi999

Cheers guys, really happy with how it turned out.

About 2 years in the planning before the SR was pulled just working out where i was going to put everything (and not hack the car up in the process).

Anyways, a little more progress - i've just installed a header tank.

Top of the motor sits above the top of radiator so hoping to prevent cracked heads i fitted up a small header tank (which sits around 3 inches higher than the radiator).



Now holds a perfect 88C (190F)

Street car but it'll see a bit of time at the strip and i'm rather keen to take it for a go at our local raceway (Queensland Raceway).

Built the car to be a bit of an all rounder, street legal (DOT engineered, blue plate in above pic) but still do OK at the track.

CefiroA31

Hi psi999,

I am also in process of swapping a vq30det, but in to an A31 Cefiro as an all round fun car, streetable still with air con, but will enter drift, grip, and drag events so will have a 4 seater roll cage (like Chris Forsberg Infiniti M56). Your very nicely done built really inspired me to continue with my build. Have some questions for you :
What cams and springs do you use? Jim Wolf?
Is your turbo a Master Power T70? Journal of ball bearing? what a/r? when dos it start spooling?

Thanks,

Rian

psi999

Cheers Rian, sounds like you have similar aims as i do (Indonesia - you need A/C too!!)

Have you any pics of your setup?...

Springs - Yes - Jim wolf VQ30DE springs, if you want to rev your VQ30 these are mandatory. VQ30DET's are known to drop valves at 8000rpm due to soft 'luxo car' springs.

In pics, these are the springs (and compressor, which dosen't fit a VQ30DET perfectly - you need to run a little tape over the supplied bucket as the VQ35 buckets are larger).



And JWT spring (and retainer) Vs Stock Nissan



Cams

Brian Crower 264 deg 10.82mm lift cams



But these are not a bolt in affair - you need to have adaptors made to space the cams out, basically VQ35 cams are slightly shorter so to make all the timing gear line up you need to space it out





And i think this was the correct drawing, if you get these made up please check the measurements!!



Turbo, Well spotted indeed it is a MP-T70 (with ported cover)

Journal bearing and 0.68 (T4) housing.





As for spool, i'm unsure yet as the car has yet to be driven. But on other setups i have seen this turbo used in Australia on a 3L im not expecting it to be too laggy at all

shiftdrift

very very clean, the manifolds may be a bit overkill but it's amazing all as one.

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SW Fab

Imarvin240

very well done, looks really clean

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cnile51

Great build, just awesome!

tricky_ab

This is a proper swap my man! I can't wait to see some videos...

killer240

holy crap, such a short build thread, but a lot is going on. VQ30.. thats titz
If only we get it here in US.. I wound't have no doubts doing this swap.

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REVIEW

psi999

Cheers guys,

VQ30DET isn't available locally in Australia either, my engine came in a front cut from Japan.

I can't understand why more people dont use them, make so much mose sense than either a rb or jz cast iron engine.