WreZ Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Ok i know this subject has been beat to hell and back. I've extensively searched both the s130 and s30 forums for an answer to my question but have only found fragments. So my question is, what head swap is the most effective for swapping into an 81zx with MINIMAL mods? I've heard people say that an n47 for a nissan maxima works really well but that it might also require the use of aftermarket fuel management or at least a z31 ECU in addition to basically a new valvetrain. I've heard that the e88 swap is easier because it can still use the stock cam, valves etc. Please don't dismiss this question, i've searched so much on this and zdriver and can only find info in regards to s30's and minimal info on s130's. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rolling Parts Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Go here: http://datsunzgarage.com/heads/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax240z Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 E31 E88 N42 P90 P90A Would all swap with what I would call minimal mods. I would along the lines of putting an N42 on your 81 N/A engine, which should give you a nice bump in compression ratio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreZ Posted July 17, 2009 Author Share Posted July 17, 2009 thanks for the link rolling that helps a lot actually. As for drax, what would you consider minimal mods? minimal as in I can work with the parts from just the head on the car and the one being swapped in or what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax240z Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Closing in on zero mods. You may want bigger valves in some of the earlier (E31, E88) heads, otherwise it's a straight swap with the others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreZ Posted July 17, 2009 Author Share Posted July 17, 2009 Thanks for the info and quick response drax, now i just need to find a pick n' pull Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rolling Parts Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 (edited) thanks for the link rolling that helps a lot actually. As for drax, what would you consider minimal mods? minimal as in I can work with the parts from just the head on the car and the one being swapped in or what? All the L6 heads are interchangeable so no "mods" at all are needed. The 81-83 ZX was the pinnacle of L6 design in the Z. It has the max power output of any L6 in the Z series in it's stock form. That's the reason you see all the info in the S30 forum because they SWAP IN THESE ENGINES into the earlier cars (and not the other way around). You have a good base engine in the ZX. Swapping heads will mean that you will need to plan the "why" for changing the design. That's not simple and it's up to where you want to end up. Edited July 17, 2009 by Drax240z N42 vs. P90 head debate starting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreZ Posted July 18, 2009 Author Share Posted July 18, 2009 All the L6 heads are interchangeable so no "mods" at all are needed.The 81-83 ZX was the pinnacle of L6 design in the Z. It has the max power output of any L6 in the Z series in it's stock form. That's the reason you see all the info in the S30 forum because they SWAP IN THESE ENGINES into the earlier cars (and not the other way around). You have a good base engine in the ZX. Swapping heads will mean that you will need to plan the "why" for changing the design. That's not simple and it's up to where you want to end up. Well my eventual goal is to reach a compression ratio of about 10.5-1 with an N42 head swap (may have already sourced one) a 1mm head gasket and maybe a slight overbore. This isn't going to be happening now, seeing as how my engine has about 115,xxx miles on it but eventually i'll piece together the beast little by little. Thats the plan anyways. I knew that the L6 heads were interchangeable to a certain degree, but i guess the guys who usually swap heads either poorly document it or go for big horsepower numbers and swap in massive valves and cams. My Z is my main source of transport so I just want a daily driver that can get me from a-b with a little gusto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlatBlack Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 I started a thread about putting a N42 on my Flat Top 81 ZX Motor and got told to search There are people successfully running this setup and said they really like them, but most are running hotter cams, and the "general consensus" [trying not to get in trouble] on here is that the stock EFI won't play well with cammed L28s. You are looking at around $1000 from what I saw to pump the CR up properly. [Valvetrain and MegaSquirt or something like that] Please disregard my newbish comments in this thread I was quite a punk: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=139635 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rolling Parts Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 "My Z is my main source of transport so I just want a daily driver that can get me from a-b with a little gusto" Well, probably then you DON'T want to pay for 93 octane and high compression! You can drive with gusto on cat piss 87 octane with what you have. If you increase compression then you need to fill that 21 gallon tank with high price gas. If that's what you wanna do in a daily driver, go for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woldson Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 "My Z is my main source of transport so I just want a daily driver that can get me from a-b with a little gusto" Well, probably then you DON'T want to pay for 93 octane and high compression! You can drive with gusto on cat piss 87 octane with what you have. If you increase compression then you need to fill that 21 gallon tank with high price gas. If that's what you wanna do in a daily driver, go for it! Meth injection, it will pay for its self in no time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreZ Posted July 18, 2009 Author Share Posted July 18, 2009 "My Z is my main source of transport so I just want a daily driver that can get me from a-b with a little gusto" Well, probably then you DON'T want to pay for 93 octane and high compression! You can drive with gusto on cat piss 87 octane with what you have. If you increase compression then you need to fill that 21 gallon tank with high price gas. If that's what you wanna do in a daily driver, go for it! ok i missread the data off of the engine calculator (http://www.ozdat.com/ozdatonline/enginedesign/ here) and put in the wrong head (facepalm). So according to this calculator (BTW can someone confirm its accuracy?) an n42 head on my block with flat top pistons and a 1mm gakset with no overbore will yield 9.678:1 compression, which should be able to run on 91 octane and maybe even 89, correct? Thanks for pointing out the major flaw in my question rolling, I forgot that my state sucks and has crappy gas in its pumps. I only drive maybe 20-30 miles a day so i'm perfectly willing to pay the extra money for higher octane fuel (even if it is diluted cat piss out here). Also sorry for the mistakes and inability to calculate for fuel octane, all the engines that i've modified were also worked on by my dad so i'm kind of a newb when it comes to this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.