engine swap

[red300zxtt90]

hey i was wondering if it was possibly to put the vg33TT motor in the 300zx?

[GAZ32]

Sure. As long as you have money in your pocket and some time.

[red300zxtt90]

do you know what would be needed for this to happen and any other advice?

[GAZ32]

I believe that the block and transmission is the same, only think missing is an ecu.

[red300zxtt90]

so then would the header for the turbos fit right on with out any modification?

[GAZ32]

You might have to do a little engineering there. Depends on how big the turbos are and how far the piping comes out.

[red300zxtt90]

well i just want to use the stock turbo, but i may be able to get my hands on gt37r.........but i was just wondering if the exhaust manifold and everything of that nature would bolt up?

[mtcookson]

The only 3.3 liter VG out there is the VG33E, which never came turbocharged. It did come supercharged (VG33ER) but was a roots supercharger that was way too small (Eaton M62) and wouldn't fit under the hood of most cars.

You could swap the VG33 in and twin turbo it, but it would require custom exhaust manifolds as the SOHC VG heads have a different spacing than the DOHC VG heads and are round port versus the oval port of the DE(TT).

ECU wise you might be able to use the earlier VG30E injection and ECU setup as those are very easy to tune (and I know there are a few Z31 guys that use the VG33 and I'm pretty sure that is the route they would take). 89-94 VG30E Maxima's can even use the Zemulator so that might be a good option.

You do lose the DOHC heads going to the VG33 but you do get a bit of a displacement increase and the VG series has always been a very strong engine. The VG30E(T)'s have proven time and time again to handle a lot of power, even on stock internals. The DETT will always be able to make more power than the ET simply due to being able to flow more air... but you're talking probably well over 1,000 hp before it become completely superior power production wise.

The DETT does have the benefit of having much better aftermarket support and of course already comes in the car... but the VG30/33 is a lighter, costs less, and is more compact which would make it easier to work on. Just really depends on what you want to accomplish. If you already have a DETT though, I probably wouldn't screw with it as you won't gain all that much. Low end torque would probably be better with the VG33 so, like I said... it just really depends on what you want to accomplish.

Before anyone asks... NO, you can not put DE(TT) DOHC heads onto a VG30/33 SOHC block. For one, the VG30/33 uses 13 head bolts per head to clamp to the block (DE(TT) uses 8) and oil and coolant passages are different between them. I believe the passages are also different between the VG30E(T) and VG33E(R) due to having a larger bore. They had to space the passages out a bit to allow for the larger bore, which means you can not bore out a VG30E(T) to 3.3 liters either.

[red300zxtt90]

alright thank you for the information!