Got a spare N/A Engine...

[Mike951]

Well, instead of going into a crapload of detail about my car and all the BS that happened that caused me to have to pay someone to swap out my engine.. the point im making here is that I got a spare N/A engine.
I'm going to ship it back home to where im moving, put it on a engine stand, and have my by taking it apart and do whatever I want with it.

So basically I have the time to build a powerful N/A engine. I know there is not a WHOLE lot you can do to a N/A without taking the engine apart to give it the performance it deserves.

What I'm asking is, now that I got a N/A engine to basically do whatever I want to it, what should I do. This doesn't have to just be about performance, it can be about reliability, cosmetics, rerouting some things, deletes.. Give me some Idea's. I'll post tons of pictures.

The engine has 106000 miles on it. USDM
Reason for replacement was that a rod was knocking. So I'm assuming either the bearing is bad, or that part of the crankshaft where that rod is connected to is "warped" or BOTH. So either way, I'm gonna have to buy new bearings and a USED crankshaft. Sorry I won't pay 750 for a damn new crankshaft when i can get a used one in good condition thats already forged! And able to withstand much more HP than a N/A can make.

So far I was thinking of this:
Btw I have no estimate on prices so I'm just guessing right now

1. Strip the entire motor: COST.. FREEE
2. New Bearings: idk 200 $$ ?
3. USED crankshaft from a 96 model engine. (are those the one's with the # 1 rod connection re-strengthened for durability?)
COST: Hopefully 300 something..
4. Bore the block. (stock is 88mm? I would bore it out to 90mm) --Cost?? I have no idea 800$??
5. JWT Mild camshafts - 500$
6, Rebuild the heads with porting the intakes --- cost$$ ? Never paid a machine shop anything except to pull a wheel bearing LMAO we will say 800$ again
7. Port out the lower plenum to match the head intakes Can I use a dremel? lol Cost will either be FREE or maybe 400$??
8. Buy a new upper plenum PORTED from Z1 motorsports I don't remember exact price.. I think only 200 after Core charge.
9. Larger throttle bodies from Z1 motorsports to match the new plenum. 400$

So far i'm looking at... 3600$ ish SO FAR.


....hmmmm can't think of much else ATM but I think im onto a good start. LET ME KNOW!!!!!!

Oh yeah 11:1 cR pistons... 900$$???

[Mike951]

oh crap my bad rebuilding the head and porting would be about 2000$..?

[Mike951]

*Bump

[300ZXttZMAN]

Honestly I hate to be the one to burst the bubble but it's not even worth it. After all that money you still won't see 250whp. Your better off saving up and start gathering parts for a TT swap.

[Mike951]

Idk I think 280 who is very possible with internal modifications.
Honad made 220whp with his modifications and he still didn't have the bde electric water pump, z1 electric fan, direct ignition system, ported upper plenum, matched to ported plenum throttle bodies.
Those 5 extra mods will give u at the LEAST 20whp. Realistically I would count on 25 to 30.

So if you have a stock n/a engine with everything on the
market on that engine. Minus the crank pulley upgrade. You could definitely see around 245 at the wheels. The reason why nobody knows this is because nobody has tried it I'm assuming. I've been researching the z32 every single day since I got mine and "project slick top" is the most advanced n/a build thread I could find.
I'm all about the power on demand. All this talk about turboz having lag and boost problems just makes the whole thing sound so undesirable. Maybe a the same amount of cash would get me a tt z that's a faster car but a 280whp n/a z would be a 1 in a million.

[vulcanrush]

8. Buy a new upper plenum PORTED from Z1 motorsports I don't remember exact price.. I think only 200 after Core charge.
9. Larger throttle bodies from Z1 motorsports to match the new plenum. 400$

all of these items are a waste of money, but these two upgrades are the biggest waste of all.

[vulcanrush]

I'm all about the power on demand. All this talk about turboz having lag and boost problems just makes the whole thing sound so undesirable.

what lag? if you stick to reasonable street turbos, jwt530bb's, 550's, even 700's, there's no lag with supporting modifications.

Idk I think 280 who is very possible with internal modifications.
Honad made 220whp with his modifications and he still didn't have the bde electric water pump, z1 electric fan, direct ignition system, ported upper plenum, matched to ported plenum throttle bodies.
Those 5 extra mods will give u at the LEAST 20whp. Realistically I would count on 25 to 30.

you say nobody has tried these mods, but then you're quoting horsepower numbers, which would require somebody to have tried these mods and dyno his or her car. how do you KNOW it would give you "AT LEAST 20rwhp", do you have dynosheets to verify your claims? i would bet you 100 dollars, right here, right now, that these mods won't give you 20rwhp.

[300ZXttZMAN]

Amen VR.

Mike keep in mind I'm not hating or anything I'm just putting the facts on the table.

Your talking about paying an upwards of 4k by time everything is said and done, you wont see 245whp (because your budget is obviously less than Z1's).

Z1 built a NA Z32 just to see what they could get it up to and by the time it was said and done less than 250whp was what they achieved. IIRC

As far as turbo lag (see the post by Vulcanrush). I would also like to add that after you spend 5k on upgrading the NA a stock TT will handle you.

If for some weird reason your one of those "anti boost guys" then I suggest you look into a VH45 swap.

[vulcanrush]

http://specialtyz.com/blog/?p=783
Factory 120+k Miles Engine
Stillen Headers
SZ Hi-Flow Cat Pipes
SZ Single Oval Catback
Regrind Cams
Tomei Adj Exhaust Cam Gears
SZ Flywheel & Sport Street Clutch
Electric Cooling Fans
Selin Dual POP & Translator
UD Underdrive Pulley
SZ Tuning

all that and only 225rwhp+

mark, if you disagree with somebody and offer reasons for why you disagree, it's not hating. nobody's hating, i feel like the ricer crowds always resort to that, whenever people tell them their offsets just don't fit, etc.

[mrmoose]

geez man for 4k you can get a jdm tt motor popped in there, just did a buddy of mines jdm swap. of course i didnt charge him for the work and i think he spent 2k for the engine and supporting mods...

[Ziggy1621]

I'd have to agree that building an NA motor for $4k seems a little pointless. I mean I'm building a TT motor to 400hp with everything but the intercooler piping getting swapped out and I will barely break $3k (stock turbos). Just curious why you would want 150 less hp for $1k less?

[Mike951]

I'd have to agree that building an NA motor for $4k seems a little pointless. I mean I'm building a TT motor to 400hp with everything but the intercooler piping getting swapped out and I will barely break $3k (stock turbos). Just curious why you would want 150 less hp for $1k less?

Cuz man.. Just Cuz.. lol nah

Idk I just like ALL types of sports cars, and a faster engine, is a bigger dic*. I can live with an average dic* if I know how to use it and still have fun with it. I'm sure there aren't many ladies here, and i'm pretty certain most of us are grown men who wouldnt be offended by subjective analogies. If thats what you want to call it.

ANYWAYS, yea Im not the one to get butthurt over somebody dissing my car or trying to throw some positive criticizm and reinforcement my way. I'm in the army, been to iraq and kuwait (kuwait SUCKED), and when everyone comes back they all by these nice fancy shamncy cars then try and diss mine. But who's the one forking 500$ a month out of there pocket to pay for that "bad a**" new G35 with kids s***-stained diapers in the back seat. Not ME! Sorry but i'll take care of my baby that blood, sweat, and tears have gone into while you take your car to jiffy lube and get over charged for a freaking oil change. Plus, guess who fixes your precious five hundred dollar a month piece of crap? People like me that know a little thing or two about maintenance and engine "science". Lol, im definitely not referring all of the above to anybody here. Just venting about some of the idiots i've unfortunately have crossed paths with.

But yea I didn't know you couldn't beef up a NA motor at the time I bought the engine and agreed to have it swapped in. I thought VG's would be able to see some sufficient gains, being a v6 and all. I was wrong. So being wrong, I was and still am in the never ending search to finding a answer to my solution to make at least 250rwhp. I may never find it. And I might. I know in 4.5 years I will when I walk outa UNM with a mechanical engineering degree under my belt. HA!
Technology advances everyday and plus not everyone who owns a Z is on these forums or the aus300zx forums or any forums at all. There is no limit if you have patience and knowledge.

Plus the homies that did the 225 rwhp build didn't do everything. They didn't have all the proven HP performance parts thats some others have. Aluminum drive shaft and light weight flywheel for example. They didn't have that and thats about twenty something lbs less parasitic loss by itself right? It may only show on a dyno about 10hp + (which btw is 10 hp more on the 225 build so that would make 235whp on they're build) but users definitely have reported that their car "feels" a lot more "responsive" and more fun to drive after doing some mods like that. It's like finally taking that fatchik you picked up at the bar two weeks ago out of your trunk. haha wow.
Kinda starting to talk out of my arse now, but I completely get the whole NA will never be faster than a TT idea. I just gotta try it to try it. Never done a dyno before TBH, but I am used to spending a lot of money for minimal gains. (honda owner) over time you forget about that money lol and the numbers start to rack up little by little.
I guess what I would like to start is a discussion about possibilities and possible resources to make an N/A not a speed racer but just a overall better performing car. More time and discussion is put into TT models for sure, so if you compare the difference in discussion and builds of each model to Time.. the N/A is for sure lacking a few good years of discussion development. There may be a perfect build for the N/A that nobody has really done before or even tried too.
Regardless, I decided to sell the spare motor and just throw money on the one I already have. Hopefully in a year I can throw a dyno chart showing 235hp. still is gonna be 1 in a million.

[vulcanrush]

mike, nobody is discouraging you btw, just trying to save you some money that's all.

[Mike951]

yea man, I know that. I don't feel discouraged, I would do the TT swap if I didn't already put another NA motor in it. If I did the TT swap now, already after I put a new N/A motor in my car, then I would be wasting even more money. My car is almost completely stock right now as it stands. Pop charger and stillen headers.. 178 horses to the ground baby! And thats with a good motor.
So if i did the TT swap now, I'd be throwing 3000$ of labor and engine away.. plus at the least 2500$ for a front clip. That puts me at 5500$ in the hole, and not even an aftermarket exhaust.

[vulcanrush]

try not to get parts from z1 or conceptzperformance if you can help it, they stink, shady business practices.

[300ZXttZMAN]

mark, if you disagree with somebody and offer reasons for why you disagree, it's not hating. nobody's hating, i feel like the ricer crowds always resort to that, whenever people tell them their offsets just don't fit, etc.

Truth. But I would rather make sure he realizes were not just hating on his idea.

[300ZXttZMAN]

Mike trust us when we say that everything has been tried to make an fast. Simply put; Cost out weights the reward. Just save your money and enjoy the crap out of your NA engine until it breaks then once it does buy a TT clip and don't look back.

[t.mcginley.jr]

You could be like that one guy on YouTube and drop a Chevy 350 in it...

Then you can easily see over 300hp without spending too much cash and it would be all motor (no turbos)

Plus the engine bay would get 75% simpler haha

It looks like this more or less:

http://videoclipsimage.agaclip.com/0Y8n ... 0zx-en.jpg

[Ziggy1621]

Then you can do like a guy in town has done with his Bronco, and bolt one of these to the top of the hood

http://performanceparts.com/performance ... t_6658.jpg

[NolimitZ32]

Mike, you want NA power, you want no lag, you want Nissan engine in Nissan car go for a VH or VK swap, you can do almost all of those mods to the VH/VK (excluding cams, don't even know if they make cams for the VH/VK) that you wish to do to the VG but you WILL make over 300whp. Or if you really want to build the VG, build it with either torque or high revs in mind and stuff it into something tiny like a hardbody. Make it a purpose-built vehicle because you will very quickly realize that you wasted lots of money if you do all that work and stick the VG back in your Z.

[t.mcginley.jr]

Then you can do like a guy in town has done with his Bronco, and bolt one of these to the top of the hood

http://performanceparts.com/performance ... t_6658.jpg

They'll never know man.. they'll never know

[Ziggy1621]

Mike, you want NA power, you want no lag, you want Nissan engine in Nissan car go for a VH or VK swap, you can do almost all of those mods to the VH/VK (excluding cams, don't even know if they make cams for the VH/VK) that you wish to do to the VG but you WILL make over 300whp. Or if you really want to build the VG, build it with either torque or high revs in mind and stuff it into something tiny like a hardbody. Make it a purpose-built vehicle because you will very quickly realize that you wasted lots of money if you do all that work and stick the VG back in your Z.

Or drop in a diesel! I've got the itch to do it one day... Put a Cummins 4bt in something. HP isn't super, but high torque and ridiculous mpg

[sdhsbaseball]

I'm all about the power on demand. All this talk about turboz having lag and boost problems just makes the whole thing sound so undesirable.

Just to point this out, the car I have right now has jwt700's, and most of the breather mods and keeps up with the v8's on the road today on tip in, but once i get full boost then its

Also this isn’t a discouragement statement this is me just saying be sure you have all your facts straight before you dive into what you are considering