SleeperZ31

Okay i've always wondered why the z31 model in general has such a short warm up period and upon removal of the front facia to install an electric cooling fan i realized why, i mean seriously i've seen water-cooled motorcycles with bigger radiators! Does anyone know of a direct drop-in replacement for the stock radiator that would increase cooling efficency? Theres a add in my local trader for a aftermarket radiator for a KA24 engine, would that work or possibly a Nissan truck or maybe Maxima rad? Opinions please!

oh i forgot to mention its a VG30e, sorry

Okay ive got my heads completely dissassembled and sent to the machine shop (i was confused and suprised to see permament bearings for the cams, wtf?) anyways while their out im sending my cams to isky and getting a set of jwt springs and ive got a question or two on installing them, what is the best way to install the cams step-by-step to avoid ruining them before their even on the car and to avoid inevitable destruction upon start-up? just go by the books or is their a better more professional way? also, is their a "break-in" period with cams?

awesome, thatll save me some $$$ instead of spending 560 on jwt cams, oh and yes i meant 200hp at the fly not the rear...

yeah, ive heard alot about the vg33-vg34 being the way to go as far as N/A, im just looking for a little more guts as my current lifters and rockerarms are showing wear from 3 years of sitting with no starts or maintenence (previous bastard owner, typical highschooler..) as far as the vg33 i definently forsee it in the future as my coworker has a 3.3 villiger van *divorce settlement* with 98k on it he doesnt want so way down the road after the cars riding and looking the way i want ill def. consider a builup. Isky? i looked at their site and found no listings for vg30e or even nissan! contacted them and still no response...

Okay i know ive made like a million ridiculous posts but this ones serious, im not looking to do a turbo swap as i work to much and lack the knowledge ( but im willing to learn) but anyways i live in a military town and of course with that comes machine shops for the average and too-common mustangs and camaros BUT the benefit of this is that ive got a well experienced close friend who does professional flow-bench testing and porting/polishing on heads and whatever else you want, so ive decided this.. 1. ive alread dropped a little weight (the car, not me) with total removal of all of the AC system, CF hood and latch, along with aluminum rims and soon to come race seats ( i know i know, ricey ricey..) 2.electric fan conversion (dont know how much that counts for) along with full tube ceramic headers and a cat back exhaust, along with a gutted plenum. 3. im getting heads P/P by forementioned professional (hes 68 years old an has worked on everything from s30 Zs to big-block chevelles and porsche 928s) along with a street cam grind (either Isky or maybe if i save up in the next week Jim wolf tech) 4. newer clutch and a lightened flywheel. Think ill be able to break the 200hp barrier? thats really all im looking for (i know the CF has nothing to do with power i just like the looks..sorry) i just enjoy driving a nicely maintained Z of the same year i was born, i dont get into the club scene (local tuner club i mean) as most of the asshat members jock on anything that isnt twin turboed chrome polished ground wired carbon everything bodykitted hood pinned fart canned supposedly 400whp froma 1.8 vtec s**t (sorry i have a life and gf to spend *unfortunatly* my little bit of green on) lol and i only rarely participate in stoplight drags (gotta love messing with HS kids and their hondas..lol), im more into hitting the local abandoned ( but maintaned oddly enough) race track and enjoy the little bit of uuumph and great handling it has now but i cant resist modding anything.. so i basically just need advice to try and break the 200hp barrier step-by-step with a mildy low miles VG30e ..thanks for all the help! (no car can ever come as close to "sleeper" as the local guy in NC with a geo metro converted to RWD with a 420whp buick turbo 3.8 neatly tucked into the cabin..lols..7 seconds in the 1/4 mile in a throwaway car thats smurf blue)

wow, thanks for all the info, i forgot about isky completely so ill check them, i knew about the lifter info from my old LT1 350 when i cammed it, gotta get new lifters with new cams, but ill check the lash pad thing since im new to the whole OHC thing, if it helps any the cams i need are for the vg30e not the L series..sorry, but thanks all for the help!

one of the members(satan) said the grind was poor, so i just wanted to check b4 i send mine off, i figured they had to be good to be around for so long...but when you say the rocker wipe pattern what exactly do you mean? ive never worked on a OHC engine before always 90' chevy v6s and 350s so im not as knowledgable as the rest of you, would i be better off just having my heads professionaly assembled once the cams come back? ive got all new springs rockers etc for the heads i just want them to work right.

i dont know if this helps much but both Ford and GM used the m90 on 3.8 v6s, in the cougar xr7 and GrandPrix monte carlo, Riviera(which i have) and a few others, respectively..however the cougar xr7 by Ford ran much higher boost(like 12 compared to my Rivs 7) and had a intake manifold setup that allowed for a intercooler (sidemount air-air) now the supercharged cobra's and f-150s of latter years had the m112 if im not mistaken and they had sandwhich style water to air intercoolers..all in all ive had great luck with the m90, very durable and tons of relatively cheap upgrades..

OK so from what ive heard Motorsport auto N/A cams and schnieder N/A cams are one and the same and are of poor quality..is this true? if so where can i get my cams reground from a trustworthy source? and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Yeah my hopes have already been crushed, apparently (in his own words) theres a 311hp mill for 20,000+USD or a 265hp mill for around 9,000USD but theres a core charge for both the engine and ecu so basically youd have to send him both of yours (can you say shipping $ out the a$$) and wait until there completed (who knows how long) im not doubting his work but he didnt even give me a dyno sheet or sound/video clip of the vg30e so im guessing not many have plopped down 20 grand for the mill, oh well ill just work with what i got

awesome, thnx for all the help and let me know the results of your purchase

IVe been looking for a non turbo non supercharged way to make more power in my beloved 87 z31 for awhile now and stumbled upon hekieman racing motors 300hp@7000rpm 240lbft@55000rpm vg30e motor and WOW its exactly what i need, a practically new warrantied motor to make for a dependable and quick daily driver, BUT i need to know if anyone here has seen, heard OR is using either of his N/A or Turbo longblock motors and if theyre as good as i hear. Thanks and ill keep my fingers crossed, oh and PS how much do these f***kers cost? he didnt post a price so that sorta scares me...lol

Im looking for bigger cams than the ones that were previously installed by the old owner (stage 1s) and im looking at Motorsport auto regrinds of Stage 2:Lift(In/Ex): .427/.427. Duration(In/Ex): 270/270 OR Stage 3:Lift(In/Ex): .435/.435. Duration(In/Ex): 280/280. I want to know what would be best for a street driven car given the fact that im totally rebuildng a new (er) set of heads and a professional is doing the porting/polishing (except the intake runners as im told this helps atomize fuel/air mixture) also i have a gutted plenum and all new fuel injectors..also need to know the supporting mods for running bigger cams (new remapped ECU required? old cams were mild so i dont know) and if anyone knows where to get proper springs for the VG30e engine.. Thanks Also, are W code heads usable on pre 9/87 motors or are the water jackets setup differently?

Thanks, i didnt think anyone here would have thought of a remote-mount turbo z31 with access to factory turbo-parts so i didnt search the forum, ill look more into it but ive previously located a complete vg33er supercharged motor and i might just try and use the setup from that on the 30e ive got, well see how that goes but thanks...i guess on large displacement cars like the camaros and 'vettes that use sts setups remote mount issues might be less of a problem than a 3.liter v6 and a cramped under carriage. hopefully SOMEONE could answer my previous posts on using a xterra supercharger but noone seems to know or care so i might be on my own..lol

I was looking at StS a loooong while ago back when i had a Lt1 camaro (that engine SUCKS avoid it at all costs) but sts had a universal kit in 3 stages that was remote mount (their patented form of forced induction) and on a Horsepower TV episode they managed to use the kit to get a lt1 'bird from 220 at the wheels to 300, and it hit me that maybe this is what ive been looking for, I figure this, 1.the kit boosts at max of 7psi, the max of the old z31 turbos so maybe i could round up a old ecu (maybe) for the tune 2. remote mount is great in a way because its WAY easier to install, ive seen a 98 el-dorado ETC with said kit installed,(wow, close to 400whp) the fact that the intake tubing has to be run up to the bay means you get 40-50% intercooler effeciency with no boost loss AND underhood temps are kept minimal (plus ive got a awesome full-tube ceramic coat header setup i didnt want to trash for a vg30et swap) The bad, 1.kit is sorta pricy, lots o goodies yes like a remote mount oil pump(no oil pan drilling), but pricey... 2. remote mount might make building boost even laggier (im not a turbo expert so i wouldnt know, just a guess) 3. finding the right spot to mount the thing AND the air filter so as not to suck up 20yr old muck and road grime. all in all i like this idea alot, ive alread electric fanned, cammed, ported-polished,headered-cat-backed my car i cant think of much else to turn to for power, i just dont know how id wire the damn thing! my fuel system/pumps already upgraded BUT i dont know much about ECU's/piggybacking etc..so i NEED Z expert help on how to make my car recognize boost and compensate for it...IDEAS? its either this or i tryn fab up a way to use a xterra roots blower, but i want the upgradability and power output of the turbo...

MY N/A 87' z31 seems to be idling high at 1,100 rpms at all times (sometimes up to 1,500) and when i turn on the fans (heat/air) it jumps to 1,500, i dont know why its doing this unless the fact that i removed the entire A/C system has something to do with it, the throttle position sensor has been changed and the idle controll solenoid is on the way so hopefully this would cure it but could there be other issues? do the climate controlls use so much voltage that the car has to idle up?

Okay, im not new to Z cars of the 80s OR to roots style superchargers (eatons especially) BUT ive always worked on factory-boosted engines and heres my dilemma i hope somebody can solve... Ive got a pristine shape 87 NA ZX with a heavily upgraded cooling system, ported/polished heads and stage 1 cams along with full-tube headers/cat-back and im looking into the supercharger off of a xterra..from what ive seen and been told it WILL bolt up with the xterra lower plenum BUT the xterra has a serpentine sytem so what would i need other than the crank pulley to make this blower even turn? Also, as previously stated, ive never boosted a NA engine, i know knock is a issue but 93 octane should help with that, ive already got a better fuel system i just dont know how to make the ECU recognize boost or even run with the blower attached! any ideas on what id need to make this setup work?! knock sensors, MAP sensors, maybe a different ECU (the xterras?) getting it hooked up shouldnt be to much hassle im just envisoning myself lost in a rats-nest of wiring and something blowing up/catching on fire.. im open to any and all constructive critiscism BUT im not interested at all in turbos, the vg30et or suggestions to drop in such a motor, ive always stuck with roots and always will i just need some Z expert help!

Im currently working on my 87 NA 300zx and have a neighboor willing to sell me a vg33er supercharged motor (with 30k on it) with harness and fuel pump for 1500 from his wrecked exterra and im really up on the idea of this motor in my beloved car. This is where i need some Z expert help because im relatively new to this brand...as far as i know the vg33er is pretty much similar to the vg30e i now have but oil filter mounting is different and the exhaust ports and studs are different too, but its a distributor motor and the exterras had a 5-speed option so the tach and speedo shouldnt pose too much of a problem, and physically mounting the motor shouldnt (hopefully) be too much of a hassle, but im lost as to what would be involved with wiring it! ive alread got a well-upgraded cooling system and a CF cowl hood so overheating and clearance issues are nil but i dont know where id start with the wiring process and whether or not the stock temp, oil press and voltmeter guages would be applicable or if id need xterra ones too and i dont know how id wire (or if id even need) the warning lights etc, I know theres alot of you who have dropped in different nissan (or datsun) mills into your cars or even dropped in F/I 350sbc's so hopefully you guys can assist me in making my dream car run like it should, ive always loved roots-blown motors and have experience in tuning roots blowers (eaton specificaly) so this is absolutely perfect i just have never had to wire a differnt motor into a car before and dont know where to start, whats needed and what NOT to do so please HELP! also, would my msa headers be compatable too?

Im new to this forum and would like to start by saying thanks to all who read and answer my post, i know my questions may have been previously answered but my situation may be different so im hoping you guys can make an exception for the greenhorn.. mildy worked 87 NA in need of a new mill and i know everyone loves the VG30ET BUT... What i want is to drop a VG33E® and i know that its a distributor engine (so the tach wouldnt be and issue) and relatively the same as my VG30e so mounting wouldnt be an issue and the CF cowl hood ive got would solve clearance issues..the transmissions the same right? i know xterra se-scs had 5 speeds too and im hoping that the oil,temp and voltmeter senders are similar, so would dropping this motor in be a big deal? I know ill need a new higher rate fuel pump, but what else? Hopefully my MSA headers would work with it and keep EGR function, and yes, i know turbos are somewhat more efficent and offer much better HP per dollar but its not what i want,i love roots-blown mills and all i would like is a little more than 200hp 200ftlb tq and ive got experience with roots style (eatons specificaly) blowers so this is in a sense my dream motor:-P my biggest problem is how to wire it! ive torn and built motors before BUT never wired a new mill into a car, would it be as simple as dropping in a ECU from the XTerra se-sc and wiring the senders and connecting the fuel lines?(doubtful) or am i already in over my head!? ive located a 30k motor and harness+ECU for 1500 and dont know if i should jump on it or just take a new path, please help! Does the ECU have anything to do with cockpit controlls or is there an entirely different ecu for climate controls, interior lights, warning lights, ect...? Im open to any and all constructive criticism BUT dont be offended when i say i have absolutley NO interest whatsoever in turbo motors and the only mill beside the E® i would like is the vq35de but that would require entirely to much $$$$ and fab work beyond my skill level so i wont kid myself..but again thanks for ignoring my ignorance