BLOZ UP Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 Here it is. I guess I'm an official hybridz owner now. Or something. It moved back a little from the ride on the flatbed... need to weld those things in. But think of the possibilities with adjustable engine position. The mounts are pretty much identical. Since I did the passenger side second, think of it as the driver's side v2.0. The box on the entire side of it was a much better idea. Oh, and on the driver's side I changed my mind on it 3 different times after hacking at it with the bandsaw, so it's a little lopsided and in 3 parts. It works for now, though. I have plenty of steel to to it over again if I find the motivation next summer. Anyway, I put together some of the dash and electronics and I think everything will be something really close to the following images. The first pic is more-or-less the driver's eye view of it. The second pic includes the stock S30 fuse box (glass fuses FTW!), that I'll be using for the stock items on the car (exterior lights, dome light, horn, etc). However, while I sat there and contemplated for a while, I decided to ditch the MS Relay Board. It's really redundant in my situation, since I have only a need for the relays. I will have fuses on the switch panel I have. I will just make another DB37 (with smaller gauge wire this time), and a lot of weatherpaks. With a big enough hole I can disconnect it from MS, and pull it out through the firewall and not have to mess with the individual wires until I actually start disassembling the motor. Did you notice my sweet transmission "mount"? I would have stolen a dyno strap for a little bit, but they were all in use at the time. (it was a beautiful '69 Camaro with a 402... making a whopping 340hp and tq... oh noesss). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators BRAAP Posted July 13, 2007 Administrators Share Posted July 13, 2007 There is room for at least two of those stacked inline, maybe even three.. Hmmm a Nissan V-18, VG90E... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
260DET Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 Love the compactness of the VG30E, the only real reason I went for the extra bulk and complexity of a VG30DET is it will rev to 8K. Have you got any idea BU of what the car's weight distribution will be with that setup? Because you may end up arse heavy the way it is. Anyway ita a great project, keep us informed eh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZR8ED Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 It looks pretty good so far! I'm curious as to how/where you will end up running the turbo? Ya got me a bit curious now, I'll have to go home tonight and try and compare your engine position to mine. Front to back in the pics look about the same. BTW don't forget to put some type of heat sheilding for your brake lines, as the crossover pipe gets pretty close with that setback position. As for weight distribution, I'd be happy to check mine out, if anyone has a good idea how I can measure the front/back separately? Mine feels very neutral on the track, (how neutral is purely a matter of seat of the pants feel from several drivers who have driven it on the track. Keep up the good work! Can't wait to see more pics! Scott. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernardd Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 There is room for at least two of those stacked inline, maybe even three.. Hmmm a Nissan V-18, VG90E... that's the first thing that popped into my head lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLOZ UP Posted July 13, 2007 Author Share Posted July 13, 2007 Love the compactness of the VG30E, the only real reason I went for the extra bulk and complexity of a VG30DET is it will rev to 8K. Have you got any idea BU of what the car's weight distribution will be with that setup? Because you may end up arse heavy the way it is. Anyway ita a great project, keep us informed eh. Yeah, I'm really happy with where it sits. I have no idea how the distro. is going to be. I can only hope that it will be optimal. From my guesswork, it will be more neutral than before, but only more work and time will tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLOZ UP Posted July 13, 2007 Author Share Posted July 13, 2007 It looks pretty good so far! I'm curious as to how/where you will end up running the turbo? Well... I have all this space in the front.... so it will be much like my last VG30E: Ya got me a bit curious now, I'll have to go home tonight and try and compare your engine position to mine. Front to back in the pics look about the same. BTW don't forget to put some type of heat sheilding for your brake lines, as the crossover pipe gets pretty close with that setback position.In the position I had planned it, the engine is pretty close to the firewall on the driver's side head. There will be no rear crossover pipe. Also, I had to cut the coolant pipes that come out from the back of the lower intake, and from under the lower intake... well, here's a pic: BOTH of those had to be cut though, and someday I will route them together (no heater). That's an old pic, the driver's side head, which is only partly visible (and out of focus) on the bottom of the pic, sits about 1/2" from the firewall. As for weight distribution, I'd be happy to check mine out, if anyone has a good idea how I can measure the front/back separately? Mine feels very neutral on the track, (how neutral is purely a matter of seat of the pants feel from several drivers who have driven it on the track. As long as it's better than my civic daily driver, I'll be happy. I'm tired of that thing. I hate FWD with a passion. On the other hand, though, it gets 30mpg.... Keep up the good work! Can't wait to see more pics! Scott. Thanks a lot! It was kind of relieving to get over this hurdle. The next "custom" part I need to make is the tranny, and then I imagine it goes downhill from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
260DET Posted July 14, 2007 Share Posted July 14, 2007 Front/rear weight can be done on drive on scales, did mine at a quarry where they weighed trucks, a six pack was all it took Just drive the car half on/half off to measure each end. Of course corner scales are better. Stock S30 is ~50:50 weight distribution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLOZ UP Posted July 14, 2007 Author Share Posted July 14, 2007 Front/rear weight can be done on drive on scales, did mine at a quarry where they weighed trucks, a six pack was all it took Just drive the car half on/half off to measure each end. Of course corner scales are better. Stock S30 is ~50:50 weight distribution. I was about to suggest going to the local racetrack if they had one of those, and doing that! I know San Antonio Raceway has one, surely other tracks do. We also have a few quarries too... hmm.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZR8ED Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 I just took some casual measurement of my fore/aft placement. The 300zxt intake manifold is a very different shape than the pathfinder intake. My intake sits approx 1" from the firewall, and that places the back of the drivers side valve cover a good 3-4" away! You must have a very setback position for the gear shifter. I had to modify mine to curve slightly aft to get it to come up centred in my console. You may have to do the reverse! hehe Hmm never thought about pulling halfway on a scale. I'll have to give it a try sometime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comrade_Charlie Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 sweet! Is that going to be turbo or non? vg30s own. that engine bay makes that look small... you can fit in there with it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VG33TT Posted August 11, 2007 Share Posted August 11, 2007 I Have the vg33e in my 280zx. Now the front end is about 3" higher off the ground than the rear. I hope it will even out when I add the turbo and stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtcookson Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 Love the compactness of the VG30E, the only real reason I went for the extra bulk and complexity of a VG30DET is it will rev to 8K. Just so there's no confusion, the VG30E(T) can be made to rev to 8k as well. With proper head porting, maybe some bottom end balancing, and definitely cams made for it you could do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete84 Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 Given how far back the engine sits, would it be possible to put in an AWD front diff and axle? Yes, it would take a huge amount of work, but is the space there? Crazy, I know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtcookson Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 Generally, most AWD transmissions I've seen push the engine forward unless you do something like offset to the side, go through the oil pan, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete84 Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 Yes, I was thinking of the drive shaft going through the oil pan. There was a 4wd transmission on the hardbody truck with the VG engine. Anyone know how that transmission was set up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtcookson Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 That will use a regular transfer case that likely bolts to the transmission and runs a small driveshaft to the front differential. With no center differential though it won't work like the AWD system. Here's an Audi transaxle. This particular one is FWD but the AWD version will basically be the same with a rear output shaft. This would set the engine pretty far forward but would be one of the better AWD setups as far as keeping everything symmetrical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
260DET Posted August 15, 2007 Share Posted August 15, 2007 Just so there's no confusion, the VG30E(T) can be made to rev to 8k as well. With proper head porting, maybe some bottom end balancing, and definitely cams made for it you could do it. The DE(T) should have a better spread of power though shouldn't it. Not knocking the E(T), just trying to justify my decision Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtcookson Posted August 15, 2007 Share Posted August 15, 2007 With the variable valve timing it should. If you were to build a race engine that technically only needed to run within a certain RPM range, either engine would do really. In the end, the VG30D should be good for more power as it should be able to flow a lot more air with the DOHC heads. Oddly enough though, so far the most powerful N.A. VG I've seen is a VG30E... but it costs more than $10k to get a hold of. The DET is definitely not a bad choice, especially since they're probably a dime a dozen down under. Very rarely you'll find a good deal on one in the U.S. and even if you do, it won't include an ECU and wiring harness. I got incredibly lucky on two counts when I found a DET for $500 and picked up a Tomei tuned ECU for $50 or so. Wiring harness I could probably get from a Z32 but I have so many VG30E's laying around that I just like using those. A little more compact and a little lighter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
260DET Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 Compare the width of the twin and single cam engines, twin pictured below. Knowing what I know now the single cam would have been first choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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