Z32 300ZX SR20DET Engine Mount question

[Guest ZX6R1033]

I searched and came up empty handed...

 

What kind of modification do I have to do to get an SR20DET engine mount to line up in a Z32 300ZX?

[auxilary]

one you make yourself using geometry, measurements, raw materials and a welder

[Guest ZX6R1033]

one you make yourself using geometry, measurements, raw materials and a welder

 

 

wow... that helped so much! I am so glad I wasted my time joining.

 

 

I think I could find better advice on Gaycheerleaders.org. My mistake for thinking this place might be helpful.

[SR240Z]

hey man dont take it personal there is lots of information on this site, but unless youve got the sr20 motor there with you to take every sort of dimension as far as oil pan clearance and everything theres not much you can do. On this site no one has done an sr20 300zx but there is a shop in florida that has.

[auxilary]

wow... that helped so much! I am so glad I wasted my time joining.

 

 

I think I could find better advice on Gaycheerleaders.org. My mistake for thinking this place might be helpful.

Maybe... if you couldn't find it by searching, and no one replied... it just may be possible that no one on THIS forum has done the swap? I've seen it done in pictures, but don't recall anyone here doing the swap.

 

That said, don't let the door hit you on the way out.

[Gollum]

spoken like a true bay areaite. Well, I havn't been on the board forever, but I can't recall anyone on this board doing a 300ZX swap. BUT, if you're patient and willing to learn there are plenty of people here willing to give thier knowledge at no cost.

 

Ok, so I'll take my swing at it. First off, you're probly going to want to put the motor as far back as possible. I don't think you'll find any mounts availble for the swap, so you'll be making your own mounts. You could probly forget the idea of lining up the mount points. Now, any swap is doable, so if you can just get your hands on a motor and start figuring out where the motor needs to go and what needs to be rearanged.

 

(although I might sound like an idiot to some of the smarter people here. :cough: auxilary :cough:)

[mtcookson]

Just curious, but what is your reason of putting the SR20 in a Z32?

 

I don't want to make it sound like its a stupid swap in any way, but, it seems like the SR20 in such a heavy car as the Z32 would be kind of counter-productive. Granted you'll lighten the front end a **** load (which will require a major change to the front suspension) but I don't believe it will lighten the car enough to make it as fun as say a S13/14 with a SR20 in it.

 

The VG-TT is such a torque beast that it can move those Z32's like they were nothing. The SR20 has a much higher end power output and on top of that has 2 less cylinder with 1 less liter... it just doesn't seem like it would have enough low and mid range grunt to move that type of weight (unless of course you're going to try getting the weight down of the Z32 a lot... nearly half a ton. You should be able to shave a few hundred pounds alone using the SR but I'm not quite sure what else would have to be done to make it lighter).

[lexshimmy]

So I guess im brining this thread back from the dead. Im going to do it in my Z32 2+0 for weight reduction and gas milage. Im making a touge monster:cool:

 

No one has done a write up on it yet on any forums and the only ones i have found are in japanese. heres a link : http://blog.so-net.ne.jp/grace555/ He has done the swap and I have been translating and taking notes for a few months now.

 

A nice thing that I've found is that the Sr20Det, with very minor modification, can bolt up to the Z32 transmission. Infact, it is frequently done in the Silvia world. This makes my job alot easier. As for now, I am waiting for some paychecks to get my project started. I am planning on using an S14 Notchtop Sr20det.

 

Hope to get this finished.

 

___________________________________

 

To answer "mtcookson"s question:

 

I am very happy with my VG30de engine. It is quite a monster, and have much respect for the VG engines. I am fimaliar with the SR20det engine though, and feel comfortable working with it. It is not veryt complex, and straight forward. The VGDE and DETT on the other hand is complex(for me) and is sort of a bitch to work on. Many things to worry about and maintain, plus its not my specialty.

 

Some reasons for my swap other then familiarity is the gas milage and weight.

 

With nice airflow bolt ons and some good at home rom burning and tuning, i can get about 27 to 39 mpg on the street. This is exciting to me. My Z is my daily, as well as my toy, and i will have 2 roms for the ECU, one that is set as economical(basically de-tuning), and one that is set to race(squeezing out lost power). Plus, it is not very hard to get 300hp out of an Sr.

 

The weight, as we all know of the Z32 is beasty. If i were running a 2+2 version i would not have thought about the Sr in the car though. That would have too much weight in strange areas to get a nice weight ratio. It has seemed to me that doing basic interior strip, fiberglass rear hatch with plexiglass, and swapping seats for racing seats has lossend up alot of weight. Some carbon fiber here and there with the engine mounted as far back as possible will, in my mind, give me a nice reduction of weight.

[Gollum]

the only thing wrong with your idea lexshimmy, is that you don't see many touge monsters over 3k pounds. I think the heaviest serious touge car i've seen is the S2000, wich after carbon mods isn't too heavy anymore.

 

If touge type driving is your goal then there's other problems, such as steering responce and feel. Much of how well a car does on the touge is about how well it can be tossed without being bothered. Light, responsive, and well setup are the things that make a touge car great.

 

I'm not saying it can't be done, I'm just saying don't get your hopes up on it being some great mountain racing car. Most people agree the 300ZX is well suited to touring, and there's nothing wrong with a good GT car.

[lexshimmy]

ive seen r34 touge monsters chaser touge monsters E-R34 touge monsters. those are all heavier then 32s man!

 

and i know theres more to building a car for this then simply weight and power

 

 

but my love for the Z32 and touge needs to have sex. I dont mind if im not the best in the world. But if you see a Z32 going insane on a mountain at the next touge meet, youll have respect and your pride for the Z cars will only get bigger. Thats what i see atleaste.

[dts300z]

I did this swap about 1 year ago in my 91 z. As far as the weight factor goes mine weighed in at 2750 lbs. If someone is interested I can post some pics of the swap I have. I had to make a new subframe so the oil pan would clear some motor mounts and a tranny mount. I would say that this is a pretty easy swap.

[dts300z]

Here are some pictures! Keep in mind that this is a work in progress. I have been cleaning it up since these pictures. I recently put it on a dyno and made 250 whp and 260 tq @ 12.5 psi.

[Clifton]

Some reasons for my swap other then familiarity is the gas milage and weight.

 

With nice airflow bolt ons and some good at home rom burning and tuning, i can get about 27 to 39 mpg on the street. This is exciting to me. My Z is my daily, as well as my toy, and i will have 2 roms for the ECU, one that is set as economical(basically de-tuning), and one that is set to race(squeezing out lost power). Plus, it is not very hard to get 300hp out of an Sr.

 

No way you'll be getting 27-39 on the street. Maybe 27 cruising on the highway at 65. I wouldn't let a few bucks in gas be one of the reasons behind a motor swap unless it was an econo car. By de tune, do you mean less timing, which in turn would give even less mileage. To me drivabilty is a big factor. It is also not just hp that makes a car fun to drive and fast. Torque is just as important and off boost torque even more important on a daily driver. I know alot of people may think I'm being hard but giving up 33% of discplacement for less power and torque (mod for mod) and saving 100 or so lbs on a street car is beyond my understanding. When you are all done I think you'll be happy as long as you never drive a Z32 turbo with a vg at the same boost you are running.

[dts300z]

No way you'll be getting 27-39 on the street. Maybe 27 cruising on the highway at 65. I wouldn't let a few bucks in gas be one of the reasons behind a motor swap unless it was an econo car. By de tune, do you mean less timing, which in turn would give even less mileage. To me drivabilty is a big factor. It is also not just hp that makes a car fun to drive and fast. Torque is just as important and off boost torque even more important on a daily driver. I know alot of people may think I'm being hard but giving up 33% of discplacement for less power and torque (mod for mod) and saving 100 or so lbs on a street car is beyond my understanding. When you are all done I think you'll be happy as long as you never drive a Z32 turbo with a vg at the same boost you are running.

 

I would have to agree! I have done the swap and I am lucky to get 27 to 28 mpg on the highway. I would also say that you can make more than sufficient power out of a SR. For example you can make roughly 400 to 420 whp on a stock sr bottom end before you have to upgrade the internals. The tt well you can shoot for about 450ish whp before you would need to upgrade the internals. The sr is alot more affordable considering I personally don't have TT money to dump in my car. The TT is a great engine and has tons of potential but I chose the cheap route.

[Clifton]

The tt well you can shoot for about 450ish whp before you would need to upgrade the internals. The sr is alot more affordable considering I personally don't have TT money to dump in my car. The TT is a great engine and has tons of potential but I chose the cheap route.

 

Getting over 450 hp from a tt long block is easy and nowhere near the limit of the stock internals. It's not just the HP though a 3.0 will have about 30% more torque at the same hp level. A quick ebay search and the vg30dett was cheaper by a few $100.

[dts300z]

Getting over 450 hp from a tt long block is easy and nowhere near the limit of the stock internals. It's not just the HP though a 3.0 will have about 30% more torque at the same hp level. A quick ebay search and the vg30dett was cheaper by a few $100.

 

I have personally seen a one go around 450whp. I actually built the engine that went back in the the car and it was a beast, it made a little over 550whp with forged internals. I am not trying to say 450 is the limit but it was for this one. I am sure you can make 550 or even 600whp on stock internals but the question is how long will it last? You are right the tt will definately make more torque. I knew this going into the swap I just wanted something different at the same time. The cost factor in the long run was what I was refering too.

[Gollum]

I am sure you can make 550 or even 600whp on stock internals but th question is how long will it last?

 

A big part of it depends on how aggressive of a tune you're running, and other variables such as what modifications you've made to the EFI if it's a stock ECU setup, what kinda intake mods have been done, if there's been any head porting.

 

I could go on but you should catch the drift.

 

The VG is definitely cheaper, and the VG can get respectable power numbers with more torque and less RPM which means a broader power band. Main limitations are weight and economy. But a good tune should still net over 20 mpg on an aftermarket ecu and a smart driver.

[David K]

wow... that helped so much! I am so glad I wasted my time joining.

 

 

I think I could find better advice on Gaycheerleaders.org. My mistake for thinking this place might be helpful.

 

The site is the EPITOME of Z Car Tech. Going anywhere else would be foolish. Once you lose that attitude, people might be willing to help. Youve also gotta watch out and be prepared for sarcasm on this site. We are all adults, and we get sarcasm and we dont get offended like you do. It just works that way here.

 

EDIT: wow 2 years ago, whats up with that?

[lexshimmy]

Everyones saying you can make higher HP with the VG wich i agree with, but whats 300hp when your cars weighs 3200lbs? we can all agree that there is a SIGNIFICANT difference with 300hp when your car weights in at 2700lbs. Thats what im all about, im not about making 900hp street car, or making a huge ass american drag car, or getting on th dyno and wow'ing everyone. Im making a car for the touge and the swap is only common sense.

[Gollum]

I've seen quick road racing S30 Z's with VG motors. But they're SOHC and NA.

 

Also remember that weight placement is almost more important than how much of it you have.

 

And you jumped from 2700 to 3200... the VG is NOT 500 pounds heavier than the SR. IF a VG30DET puts a Z32 at 3200 then a SR swap shouldn't even put you down to 3k. And to put the record straight the Z32 2 door hard top was spec'ed at 3299.

 

I'd really like to find out what DTS300Z's car looks like in the other areas that got his weight down so low. I can guarentee that it wasn't just the motor. That would either mean nissan grossly added weight to the specs, or the VG weighs nearly a thousand pounds.

 

Personally, because you're going to be battling a heavier car no matter what, I'd want torque. I've raced a wide variety of cars, and in a light car torque doesn't matter as much as long as your gearing matches the motor, but the heavier the car you get into the more you miss torque. If it were me I'd stick a super light V8 in the car. Something all aluminum that can make 500+ hp.

 

And LS1 weights about 390 out of the box. That's not much more weight than a complete SR20+turbo+FMIC+piping ect. Plus it's weight isn't going to stick out farther, both motors are 4 cylinders long. It's going to be a shorter weight, which is important as well. It's got a wider variety of tranny options. It makes more HP out of the box, and has lots available with affordable mods.

 

I just read an article by sport compact car and they removed a red top SR and engine+manifolds+turbo+tranny weighed in at 490, so you're looking at around a tick over 500 once you add FMIC and piping.

 

And to say "this is the only swap that makes common sense" shows how little you know about motors. There's TONS of motors out there, and you sound like the person that only knows of the popular ones. I'm not bashing you, I just ask for you to think before you speak.