Initial Z Posted December 7, 2007 Share Posted December 7, 2007 So I have been tossing this idea around in my head for a while and decided to start doing some research on it. I plan on using a VQ35de to power my Z and I know that there is a bit of trickery involved in this because of the electronically controlled throttle body. From what I have gathered you have to replace it with a pathfinder T/B and use an after market ECU. There is a good chunk of change in doing that witch is why I'm looking into using carbs. The first issue I see with this is that there is little space left between the engine and hood. My first inclination towards this would be to use a setup that would fit under the stock hood. If not than alter the hood or replace it with a suitable one. Secondly, I'm not sure if the distributor is reliant on the FI system and if it is I'll need to figure out a way around that. Thirdly I'd have to fabricate a manifold to mount the carbs to. Are there any other considerations I've left out? Do you guys think this would be any cheaper than the standard procedure for this swap? I'm guessing it's not going to be much cheaper if at all but part of me just wants to do it for "cool" factor. Just to do something different. If a vq35 powered 240Z wasn't enough. Thanks, Nate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nismopick Posted December 7, 2007 Share Posted December 7, 2007 yeah... carbs are really efficient. That's why all car makers still use them today... [/sarcasm] Why would you have to delete the "drive by wire?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete84 Posted December 7, 2007 Share Posted December 7, 2007 http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=124985 This thread has a pretty good idea of what it'll take to swap a VG into a Z, and the guy has plans for a standalone ECM can control the valvetronic/whatever nissan calls their version. Don't know how much it would cost to put on a carb, but it would cost a good bit I imagine. Plus, you'll lose some power due to the loss of the variable valve timing. Bet it would sound awesome though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Initial Z Posted December 7, 2007 Author Share Posted December 7, 2007 My understanding of the drive by wire issue is that its so integrated into the rest of the car that it's easier to replace the TB and go with an after market ECU. As for the efficiency of a carb setup on the VQ, it's something I would have to take into consideration. Although I doubt anyone els has done this so it may be difficult to tell exactly how big of a difference a carb setup would be from FI. -Nate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nismopick Posted December 7, 2007 Share Posted December 7, 2007 My understanding of the drive by wire issue is that its so integrated into the rest of the car that it's easier to replace the TB and go with an after market ECU. Where are you getting your "understanding" from? I'm not saying it's wrong, but I'd like to research that more... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240hoke Posted December 7, 2007 Share Posted December 7, 2007 TO use the the stock system you'll need the entire dash harness and pedal to sort out the security and DBW setup... and ALOT of electronic knowhow. I have found only a few people that have got it to work and they advised heavily AGAINST it. Ive pretty much decided to bite the bullet and go stand alone which best suits me anyway since you can only go so far on the stock electronics. Many standalone computers are capable of running DBW but they will not say this due to liability. Most people just convert to a manual throttle body (this is what im doing). Its pretty cheap, not to hard.. and I don't know about you but I like having direct control over the throttle. Id hate to have some electronic glitch and go off the side of a mountain when my car decided to go WOT in a turn just my 2 cents Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Initial Z Posted December 7, 2007 Author Share Posted December 7, 2007 Where are you getting your "understanding" from? I'm not saying it's wrong, but I'd like to research that more... My information is coming from an article in an Sport Compact Car magazine. This was from an issue from about 2 summers ago. They did a vq35 swap into a 240sx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240hoke Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 check out http://www.vqswap.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240hoke Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 Also there is no distributor (those were like uh SOOO two decades ago.... j/k) it is a coil on plug setup that you will need a computer to run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Initial Z Posted December 8, 2007 Author Share Posted December 8, 2007 Also there is no distributor (those were like uh SOOO two decades ago.... j/k) it is a coil on plug setup that you will need a computer to run. Well if I have to have a computer for that then there rely is no point to try a carb setup other than personal appeal (right?). So do you know what control unit your going to use with your swap? I haven't looked too much into them as it'll be a while before I'm ready for one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skatekov Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 http://www.speedhunters.com/2012/12/building-the-ultimate-grip-n-drift-datsun/ Go down to middle of the page or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pharaohabq Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 Good thing we understand these engines so much better now... Wow this was an old thread you dug up. I'm not sure a carb'd VQ would even be feasible considering coilpacks and all. Much easier to use the stock electronics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fast-datsun Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 The real question is why???????? Is it worth the expense to convert???????? It could be done if there is a good reason... but alot of work for no power gain, but would be different... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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