Man...I really wanna do this.I'm just sitting here at work thinking "I need to go ahead and build my VG33E"...

My next thought after that is "WTF am I still doing here... I should leave"

For those of you who don't know what the VG34E is, it's a VG33 with Q45 pistons and other supporting pieces, good for ~250hp N/A. I first learned about it here recently, but I thought. . what the hell. . maybe it needs its own thread.

Anyone know anyone who has done this?I'm curious because it seems maybe some custom work would need to be done...

This dude SEEMS to know his stuff: http://www.az-zbum.com/vg34.shtml

Carry on...

Wow thats some great info.... i'll have to take up such a project when I hit the lotto....

If you like that, you should definitely read this series:

http://www.nissanperformancema...r.php

I've read it a couple times all the way through already. Makes me hungry! I plan on doing about everything that guy did, just on a different time line. I don't have a garage to work in, so the bottom end will have to wait until I buy a new house in 5+ years.

I'm going to also try and shave some weight off my beast. I'd like to trim about 500 lbs off the curb weight. I want to find a pair of those Rays Volk TE37X's in black (though they don't make the X in black yet) as that'll save like 60-70 lbs right there.

I think if I can manage to do it I might eek another .5-1 mpg.

Anyone ever found a fiberglass hood for the QX4?

NM50 on the trucks forum did this engine build for his D21 Hardbody. He still has a few kinks to work on but stated he is quite pleased with the results.

SSl...you're right, Nissan Sport Mag did a really nice write up on this conversion. Even took into account the differences in head design from the 3.0 an 3.3, also took the time to compare rods from the VG30DETT engine. These are reportadly a little stonger than the stock 3.3L and they will drop right onto the VG33 crank. I am already thinking of doing this engine upgrade myself.

Just trying to locate a Frontier or Xterra 3.3 at the wrecker that I can get for a decent dollar.

Why don't you just build up what you got?

SnowSurfLax wrote:Why don't you just build up what you got?

That was my thinking...But a VG30DETT would be pretty cool. . how many twin turbo SUVs are out there? :o Actually, I wonder if the turbo bits from a VG30E would even fit anywhere under there. . a friend did something similar with a Sentra SE 2.0 and found det parts from a bluebird

I don't know if you want to turbo it. You'd have to get a stronger crank made as the VG crank is only cast. Looks like a really $$$$$$ project at that point.

I don't want to build up what I've got because my SUV is my daily driver. It's much easier to take an engine in to the shop and let them play with it. These engine builders like a challenge and this upgrade is certainly a challenge. You have the get the VQ45 pistons machined to match the VG33 pistons for proper valve clearnace. And you can swap out rods from a VG30DETT.

If you wanted to turbo the thing wouldn't you need to have a bit lower compression than what you get with this punchout. I know the VG30DET compression is lower than 10:1 but that single turbo makes the 3.0 come to life!

Yeah, I've heard that the rods from the DETT are stonger and take twice the amount of torque that the stock VG33E rods take. So it's definitely worth finding a used set (I hear Z owners are constantly swapping them out for racing rods) and you can find'em cheap.

I understand the daily driver... I have the same problem. I think you could turbo it at the compression of the Q45 pistons (yes you have to have them machined for valve clearance) you'd just have to limit the amount of boost and run nothing but 91 octane and run octane boost anytime you'd want to do any serious speeding. Come to think of it, you'd probably have to run octane boost all the time. But I'm not a turbo expert.

I actually bought my QX because I figured I wouldn't really care to mod it. . damnit. Truth is, I never did anything to my 240 so I probably will follow that trend and my QX will remain stock. I will have to eventually replace tires, and hopefully lift a bit... but engine? I'm mostly dreaming.

Has anyone here ever ported heads? How much does that cost? I'm afraid to think my little project car cost is starting to triple or quadruple...

Sorry to bump an old thread guys, but I need to fix some incorrect information in this thread... especially considering it is the first to come up in Google when you search for VG34E.

I will first start by saying that I have not done one of these yet but am planning on it and this info is based off of what I have been able to gather so far.

VG34E:- VG33E with a 1.5 mm overbore (~.059)- VH45DE pistons 90-96 - they need to have valve reliefs cut into the tops for the VG's head design. Bring your stock pistons in to your machinist and he should be able to figure it out from there- Cams - if you're looking for that 250 hp number floating around you're going to need some cams and possibly some head/port work. Personally I'd go with a custom grind from a company like Isky as most VG cams will be aimed more toward being turbo cams while companies like Isky can do a custom grind based on exactly what you want.- Stock rods with a custom small end bushing - VH45 pin is supposed to be 1mm larger in diameter

This should get you the VG34 setup with a ~9.7:1 compression ratio. The compression ratio based on stuff I've seen online though the claim on Zbum's site says 10.2:1... I don't believe that is correct though since the VG33 heads are supposed to have a larger combustion chamber for one... I could be wrong though.

Since this is showing up on Google search I'm going to go ahead and throw in ideas for VG34E swaps like into the Z31 300ZX or even the 3rd gen Maxima:

To make the swap easier in vehicles with the VG30E... simply swap the crank from the VG30 to the VG33, then go with the VH45 pistons. This will allow you to then use the oil pump, oil pickup tube, oil pan, timing belt gears (cam gears needed as well), crank pulley, and the accessories and their brackets. The accessories are the big reason to do the crank swap, it will make the swap a lot easier. From there just go ahead and also swap all of the sensors and all external bits like intake and exhaust manifolds, motor mounts, etc. and that should allow you drop the engine right in.

Please note that if you do a swap like that you will need to get some bits for the standard VG30E oil filter location. The VG33 has a plate that covers the standard filter spot and I believe the check valve needs to be installed there: http://www.courtesyparts.com/M..._Code=

I haven't seen it mentioned, even though it should really be a given since you're messing with the internals... but, regardless of what route you take, I would get the rotating assembly balanced. Most definitely if going with a VG30E crank but even swapping pistons changes the balance and I wouldn't trust revving the engine very high without a good balance. You may not notice it but your bearings definitely will.

Now, on to some corrections!

SnowSurfLax wrote:I don't know if you want to turbo it. You'd have to get a stronger crank made as the VG crank is only cast. Looks like a really $$$$$$ project at that point.

Definitely, definitely, definitely... NOT the case. The crank is actually "nodular" iron which they say generally puts the strength between cast and forged... however, no one that I know of to this date has EVER broke a "cast" VG crank from too much power. That 350 hp limit you might find online around various places is no where near correct. There are many pushing 300+ whp, others pushing 400+ whp, and even some making 500+. I hear there has even been a VG30 pushed to 700 hp on stock internals, though I bet the pistons were very short lived. The pistons will be the absolute weakest link in any stock VG.

Quote »Yeah, I've heard that the rods from the DETT are stonger and take twice the amount of torque that the stock VG33E rods take.[/quote]Unless Nissan used substantially smaller rods in the VG33 than they did in the VG30E, I would say this is likely incorrect. They will be forged and, if like the VG30E rods, only marginally smaller than DETT rods. If rod strength is of any concern, I would probably just skip past the DETT rods and go straight to aftermarket forged rods with ARP or similar fasteners. Not only do you get more strength, of course, but you also usually get a good reduction of weight which is very important. The stock rods will be plenty for most daily driven vehicles looking for a very decent increase in power.

Great info cookson! Its always fun to see nico come up in the search rankings Vg33 VG33e VG34 vg34e Nissan engine swap information

Mark -- Thanks!! Yeah, VG34E isn't a real designation... I think I started doing that from my 240sx days (e.g. ka24det ).

Cool that we come up first though.

Thanks for adding all the info!

Not a problem. If you guys need any other VG info let me know, they're my favorite engine so I've studied them quite a bit. Currently working on a VG34E-TT project right now.

I'll be sure to check in here more often and help with VG engine stuff where I can.

just to add some info, a friend is in the middle of a vg34 build and the q45 pistons are not a simple solution. After some trial and error with a very reputable local engine builder he scrapped the q pistons and had custom ones made. It would probably cost less and yield better results to just swap a 2001-2002 vq35 into your R50.

Interesting... what issues did they have with the pistons?

Also have some new info to add. Supposedly... now I haven not seen proof of this yet but supposedly... the crank of the VG33 is said to be weaker than the other VG30 cranks out there. I'm planning on building up a VG33 so maybe I'll be able to find this out the hard way.

mtcookson wrote:Interesting... what issues did they have with the pistons?

I'm curious as well. The build I read about, they used the q45 pistons from the '91-'93 era. All that was needed was to bore out the block ever so slightly (Ithink .080") and then to have a machine shop notch the q pistons exactly the same as the notches on the VG for valve clearance.

So please, don't hold back on the details! There are a few of us that are planning on doing this sometime in the future and any information would be great.

The problem with the pistons is cutting the valve reliefs. It requires assembling and disassembling the heads from the block over and over to check clearances. The piston tops are not thick enough to just cut super deep reliefs that are guaranteed to clear, so you have to slowly make the cuts deeper and check to see if they clear. This is even more of a PITA if using higher lift cams. The shop that built Nissan Performance Mags vg34 (I think it was JWT) would not give out the specs they used either. If the hight from the wrist pin to the piston flat were the same on vg33 and vh45 were the same you could just make them the same as stock but they are not. Overall for the time and effort you have to invest there just isnt enough power gained. Mite as well just slap a a supercharger from an ER on.

Yeah, my experience with JWT is they don't want to even talk to you until you're throwing money at them.

As far as the notches go for Q45 pistons, I believe Mike Kojima (who was a nissan engineer) mimiced the notches that are on the VG pistons. He did use performance cams for his build and did not mention any differences. I have a complete copy of the build up (the site is no longer working) as well as the discussions he led on their forums.

But, I plan on doing the VG34 sometime, when I have a garage and it's not my DD. I'm doing that with a LPG conversion with a supercharger. It's going to be a monster if I can do it and do it legally!