Forums/Z31P/z31-basics basic-modifications-basic-questions-aka-the-newbie-forum/swapping a vg30et into a z32. have some questions

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fyneyoungstunna: (2010-03-13 18:53:26)

well the thought of doing this crossed my mind as i was working on the vg30de < Not fun sometimes.

anyways, one of the major issues it the clearence of the intake.

im trying to think of ideas to get the intake to clear, as its the only real thing standing in the way of the swap.

thanks in advance for the help guys.

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Chrisw_2003: (2010-03-13 18:55:49)

maybe a cowl hood?

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fyneyoungstunna: (2010-03-13 19:07:47)

i kinda want to avoid a cowl hood, i just hate the way they look.

if i cant find a solution then i might have to do that, but......

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MrFishHat: (2010-03-13 22:24:00)

Lower the engine with shorter motor mounts? Mill off some of the LIM and plenum you have? re angle the throttle body so that it comes down a bit lower? Im sure if you did all those you could get away with a little scoop instead of a crazy cowl.

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fyneyoungstunna: (2010-03-14 00:16:27)

The thought of shorteneing the plenum crossed my mind. has anyone tried this, or any thoughts on doing this?

also do any of the other gen maximas have a shorter LIM?

i know the s12( 200sx) one will help a bit.

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cltcmmder17: (2010-03-14 00:33:26)

Sheet metal intake? Can shorten LIM at the same time. and bring the throttle body down at a differern't angle.

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fyneyoungstunna: (2010-03-14 01:55:09)

I stumbled across some custom intakes on another site. Could be g good step in the right direction. I'm looking at how to shorten the lim atm as well, anyone done this?

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NissanXRMA: (2010-03-14 02:00:47)

I think by shorting they're talking about milling off the top?

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fyneyoungstunna: (2010-03-14 18:33:25)

^ yeah. I wonder if a snubbed lim would hinder performance significantly. I can see this is gonna take some brainpower.

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SATAN: (2010-03-14 18:37:52)

There was a member on NICO who did this. I can't remember his name though. I think it was about a year ago but could be wrong.

I would go wtih shortening the motor mounts. You can lower the engine 1.5" in a z31 by doing this.

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fyneyoungstunna: (2010-03-15 17:44:27)

im looking for info on nico now. but if you guys got anything id appreciate the help.

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fyneyoungstunna: (2010-03-31 20:31:54)

i read about the z32 trans swap onto the vg30e. The person(s) doing this used a tt trans, i have an na trans, I dont think there is much difference though.

another place i asked mentioned using the z32 tt crank in the vg30e(t) to help with the trans swap so that you could just use the tt clutch and flywheel.

i was reading on going from 30e to 30et. Im assuming since this is going in a z32 i wont need any of the body mounting parts associated with this, or more directly put, i just need the plumbing, manifolds, turbo, and associated hoses and that.

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Rick88ss: (2010-03-31 20:51:29)

try shorter motor mounts and a Z31 upper plenum/intake.

Are you using the Z32 or the Z31 transmission?

How does the shifter line up if you're using the z31 transmission?

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fyneyoungstunna: (2010-03-31 20:58:06)

z32 trans.

i dont have a z31 trans to testfit. into the car so.....

Ill have to research on who makes mounts that are shorter than stock.

someone mentioned to me using the 3rd gen maxima intake. I might go full custom if i cant find a solution though.

the buildup of the engine itself is gonna take a month or two. i think i have already found a bare block so let the games begin.

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Rick88ss: (2010-04-01 01:13:34)

there are some z32 motor mounts on ebay. The seller says he can make them whatever size you need

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fyneyoungstunna: (2010-04-01 02:01:04)

vg30de mounts work on the vg30e? is this confirmed? and does it lower the engine?

if so i have some z32 mounts in the garage.

we should make a "Z interchangeability" thread as for what parts from other cars work on a z, well aside from the standard m30,s12 yada yadyada.

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Rick88ss: (2010-04-01 02:46:14)

I've heard that they work but they're the same height as the the Z31 motor mounts. I was talking about solid motor mounts in my previous post but I'm sure you can get polyurethane motor mounts cut shorter than stock. Exactly how short you can go i don't know.

Are those pics of your Z32 with the VG30e in the engine bay? What mounts does it have in the pics?

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fyneyoungstunna: (2010-04-03 05:19:15)

ohhh, sorry rick i goofed that.

thats not my car in the pic, that is a guys car that i have been harassing for info. hes helped me alot in my decision to do this and he has a lot of good info.

the mounts that are in the pic are actually stock z31 mounts, he said he had to file just a little back and down from the female side of the crossmemeber to get the drivers side(?) to fit.

hes at the intake part now i guess, its been about a month since he has emailed me back.

after intake is done then wiring is next, i might get brave enough to do a plug and play harness and use a z32TT maff…but im getting way ahead of myself and outside of my scope of knowledge on that part.

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fyneyoungstunna: (2010-04-04 18:47:31)

no, i had actually assumed thats what was being used.

ill ask the guy just to make shure.

im going to talk to SATAN(so weird saying that) to see if he can help with the intake.

also to z1 to talk to them about their poly motor mounts and if they drop the engine a bit.

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New 2 Z: (2010-04-04 18:54:25)

Z32 VG30E FTW, i actually wanna do that one day.

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NissanXRMA: (2010-04-04 18:58:13)

I milled my z31 plenum to slope down. It looks like this has a chance of clearing. At least more of a chance than a maxi or a stock z31 one.

[archived image: 0818091530-00.jpg]

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DeleriousZ: (2010-04-04 19:01:40)

Ah wonderful, that should really help the air starvation issue in the forwardmost cylinder.

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NissanXRMA: (2010-04-04 19:41:42)

Awww. Thanks DZ.

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zeefsranger: (2010-04-04 23:00:28)

what ever you do this isnt one of the solutions :nanan?re

[archived image: IMGP0619.jpg]

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TurboDreams: (2010-04-04 23:22:53)

That is a solution if you hide it with a hood scoop.

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Rick88ss: (2010-04-05 01:22:01)

Did you try the shorter motor mounts?

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fyneyoungstunna: (2010-04-05 14:47:00)

@nissan xrma. what did you use to mill it? that looks like a very good option. Are you doing this swap as well?

@ rick88s: i sent z1 an email about their mounts yesterday, but no response yet. im not going solid mounts but they have some poly mounts that seem like they are a good option.

im buying a bare block, should be a complete transaction in two weeks (payday).

Im shooting for a conservative 300hp to start with and im looking for a good Tq number. I have to source turbo parts as well but i gather that shouldnt be hard. I am doing some research on turbos and what will meet my turbo needs. i want a good even boost, not just a burst all at once. Holset has been the one suggested to me so far, but i think a stock turbo from another car will hold out just as well untill i get some of the other stuff like suspension and bushings worked out. also im doing a 1pc aluminum driveshaft and a lightweight flywheel.

I dont think ill do a short shifter but i dont know, that plays a back seat to performance.

my major concern right now is which cluch to go with(lol). I just put a clutch on the z32 and it doesnt have any miles on it but its a stock NA clutch so i doubght it will hold up, and i dont think i want to try and see.

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MachZ: (2010-04-06 14:27:43)

That's actually me that's swapping the VG30E into the Z32 :mrgreen:

The Z32 motor mounts do bolt up. One side bolts up directly, the other side required filing two holes slightly with a bastard file to get it mounted. I can't remember which two holes since its been a while though lol. As far as intake manifolds go, currently the only bolt on option is going to be the S12 VG intake manifold. The 2nd gen Maxima front is too high, like in the pictures, Pathfinder is way too high, Z31 manifold won't clear the firewall, 3rd gen Maxima would require the upper and lower plenum to be reversed on the engine to possibly work and even then might cause coolant line issues since you're reversing the lower plenum. Custom would definitely be the way to go but for a quick bolt on setup the S12 plenum will work.

On the motor mounts, I'm not sure how they compare to the Z31 mounts. They might be slightly different as the crossmember could be at a different angle, I'm not sure. If they would work in the Z31 they would be quite nice as they are aluminum.

For the transmission the N/A Z32 would be the way to go. A 3rd gen Maxima flywheel with a 240mm Z31 clutch would allow it to bolt right up (you can use a different clutch kit, usually the Z31 clutch kits are cheaper than the Maxima kits but whichever works best for you will work).

I'm actually working on a way to use the Z32 crank for various reasons. Would require some machining to the block with my current idea but that might change. Best way would be to just stick with the stock crank but if this works it will be another option.

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fyneyoungstunna: (2010-04-06 15:05:34)

haha, there you are you slippery devil.

thanks for cearing that up about the na trans.

ive decided to follow in your footsteps as you can see.

i got a block that im looking at buying in two weeks.

the biggest thing i want to do is make a plug and play wiring harness for this swap. and figure out wich ecu to use. the tt z has a decent ecu for what it is, from what i understand. i might just go piggyback and call it a day?

how far along on yours are you?

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Careless: (2010-04-07 09:32:32)

if electronics aren't your game, get a standalone to ditch the stock ECU and have someone wire it up for you.

Initial cost is high, but then you have less qualms with the stock EFI if that's what's troubling you.

Then you're set to make way more power with the DETT than with the ET simply due to it's improved design.

But I still think this is pretty cool. Everyone went tits over the SR20 350z. so what the hell.

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MachZ: (2010-04-07 13:58:51)

From all of the VG30E's I've dealt with I've not noticed near as many electrical problems versus the DE and DETT I've messed with. Something with going to COP ignition, among other things, just didn't seem to work out as well with age. The technology is better and it would be cool to have those goodies but for a reliable, powerful, easy to work on street car the VG30E is my choice.

I was actually originally going to swap in a VH45DE and after lots of thought… and working on a Q45 for a while… decided against it for the same reasons. :lol: Its just a nightmare to work on being so big and lets face it, when you're planning on making lots of power stuff is going to break. Might as well make it easy to work on.

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TurboDreams: (2010-04-07 14:04:10)

lol @ SR20 350Z

Like seriously why would you downgrade from a VQ to an SR? It makes no sense. I would take a VQ over any Nissan engine any day of the week. Might stick with a VQ30DE or something to avoid VVT though.

I know the VCT sucks on the VG30DE. Like why in gods name would you want 18 degrees of overlap at low RPM and 8 at high RPM? I'd rather just stick with an aggressive cam.

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fyneyoungstunna: (2010-04-12 14:54:16)

from whast i have read, the sr20z33 was actually highly competative.

as i have said before. the tq and hp numbers between the vg30de,sr20det and ka-t are very close. With the sr and ka-t making more torque. somepeople are actually just scared to think outside the box.

the vg30et powered z will be a beast!!!

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BlaZian311: (2018-03-05 07:13:46)

So was this swap ever completed?