How ready would you be to swap in a VQ if more info was public, and cheap kits.

[simmode1]

the motor will have competition with the vh45 swap, and the advantged of the vq35 will be its age and weight. and not having to pull apart the transmission.

Yeah... when I heard about the VH45 motor + transmission weight, that idea went right out the window...

new standalones out there can take advantage of 100% stock componants. It is kind of silly to modify the VQ30DE-K ecu to think its a VQ35DE ecu. Its like using your Super NES to emulate your Wii games..

Thats great too hear. Not just two weeks ago, another user shared the info I stated above when we were discussing vq35/vq40 frankenstien swaps. So, I'm glad to hear there are now options available...

i agree, the possibilities are there, but really if you have to buy the motor, plus a swap kit, the market is very limited

i mean, i cant rationailise buying a motor, swap kit, and wiring serivce....i personally would stick with the sr, for ease of swap, ease of power etc...

That's easy for someone to say if they already have a running SR and live in a country where they are legal. I don't really see very many ppl pulling out running SR's, RB's, etc to run a VQ. But for those who have only known the KA or they have a defunct motor, I think this is gonna be a very realistic option. Especially since there are so many available stateside and the prices are dropping...

[FAST-DATSUN]

I'm not sure that even a VQ can be made 100% legal in California, due to the purg system and other parts of the Smog package. it would be worth a trip to State REF to see how hard the inspection will be. I know that aftermarket parts are really hard to get by the BAR and EPA...It can be a sweet swap and fun to drive, but get it legal is not that easy...

[irax]

I have spoken to the ref about this multiple times last year. One problem was he didn't believe me that the 02/03 maximas did not have an EGR even on california models. OR that Z/G doesn't have one either.

[S14toRPS13]

Depending on how much the final cost would be and whether I'd know for sure that it'd be legal or not. Plus my car's not solely for the track and I like my car extremely low as with most other 240 owners. So it'd have to have good ground and hood clearance.

[impact240sx]

Wow I haven't heard of this mysterious "People getting in trouble wit sr's" well good thing I live in a little town and cops are to stupid to know its not the stock motor. But since driving a 350z I have thought about how awesome that motor would be in an s chassis, but to tell you the truth I would have to drive a vq s chassis before I put the money into the swap.

[wantz87]

its friggin ridiculous here in cali. my buddy got his car crushed cus they said because was running a sr that he "must" be a street racer. the really s***ty part is he just finished the swap two days before. lucky people living where they don't care/know better...

[SR24DET]

People act like the info to do a VQ swap isn't out there, but it is. If you have the money you can go to VQswaps.com. If you dont, you can rig it together yourself. I figured it all out just by searching. It is true that 99% of the people that try the swap never finish it, but it has been done. Getting the motor in there isn't the problem, its wiring it up. There are a couple ways of doing it.

The cheapest way that is simple is going with MSII. The reason why this isnt the best way to go is because this wont control the VTC. So the car will run fine, it will just be underpowered.

Way #2 is trying to use the 350z or maxima stock wiring harness and ECU. This can be done, but it takes alot of work and isnt that easy for a number of reasons: Theres tons of wiring and sensors, you need the key that came with the maxima or Z... the list goes on.

Option 3. You can get a nice standalone. This works just fine, it's just really, really expensive.

and last but not least is number 4. You can call up Jim Wolf tech and have them custom make you an ecu that is easy to wire up and install. It comes with a fair price and runs everything, including the VTC. In my opinion the best option

All the info people need is to do alot of searching and the information is out there.

[simmode1]

VQSwaps.com is one of my main deterrents from this swap. I have not heard one good thing about these guys, but they are the premier source for swap materials and info.

Every thread I read about someone using their kits devolves into complaining about horrible customer service and even worse fitment. It seems like you have to do so much work with this kit, you might as well have done it from scratch.

I just want to see a kit that allows the swap to go smoothly, w/o having to modify stuff you just spent good money on. Can anyone show me a thread of a VQSwap.com user installing a motor with little difficulty?

[hungryjoseph]

The second problem you are going to have with the vq swap is that the price of sr20's are dropping. you can now pick up a redtop motorset for an average of 1700 to 1800$. there is a good reason why the sr20 is the most commonly swapped engine for the 240.

I wouldn't trust the polls you put up here on nico, as alot of people like to vote and talk out of their asses here. what will most likely happen is people will say they are going to ditch whatever they have and go for this, but when the time comes around, only a quarter of those people will even consider it, and a fraction of that quarter are going to be the people who actually go through with it.

[wings_s13]

Im sorry no matter the price i would stick with the KA it is a great motor and well has alot of power if done right and well more tourk then the sr20's so screw the swap and take the money and dump it in to the ka and smoke the "VQ" lol

Wings

[irax]

but to tell you the truth I would have to drive a vq s chassis before I put the money into the swap.

did you drive an SR 240 before putting an SR into yours?

[irax]

The second problem you are going to have with the vq swap is that the price of sr20's are dropping. you can now pick up a redtop motorset for an average of 1700 to 1800$. there is a good reason why the sr20 is the most commonly swapped engine for the 240.

thats not the reason why its the most common swap in a 240. its stock from japan is why. And what quality motor sets are you finding for 1700-1800? Even then before the end user is happy with it, how much more money will they spend? at that point how much power will it really put out? a fwd vq35 motor set is at most 1k, parts to make it rwd is at most another 500, and my swap kit? i dont know initial group buy maybe 700. Then? its up to you do the wiring but once it runs you will be at 260whpish, for about 3k running on 87 and unmolested. Ya ya ya, you can just up the boost on an SR but does a 260whp sr still get 28mpg?

I wouldn't trust the polls you put up here on nico, as alot of people like to vote and talk out of their asses here. what will most likely happen is people will say they are going to ditch whatever they have and go for this, but when the time comes around, only a quarter of those people will even consider it, and a fraction of that quarter are going to be the people who actually go through with it.

I know, I figure if 100 people vote they would do it, 30 people were honest. Of those 30 people maybe 10-15 would buy my product. 10-15 people on 3 different main 240sx forums. Maybe a good 20 people over all buy my product is it worth it for me to develop a solid business plan or should i just run it like a mom and pop shop and do things by order. With the economy right now will i go under before i even break ground or will i end up just struggling along the way?

[hungryjoseph]

I know, I figure if 100 people vote they would do it, 30 people were honest. Of those 30 people maybe 10-15 would buy my product. 10-15 people on 3 different main 240sx forums. Maybe a good 20 people over all buy my product is it worth it for me to develop a solid business plan or should i just run it like a mom and pop shop and do things by order. With the economy right now will i go under before i even break ground or will i end up just struggling along the way?

If I were in your position trying to develop a swap kit, I would wait a couple years for the economy to jump back up. motor swaps in general, not only for 240's, have been on the decline and offering a 3grand swap isn't going to change anything. however, if you're only expecting to sell 20 units during a one year time interval, then I think you could make it happen with the economy we have right now without too much issue.

also, I could argue with you about why the sr20 is so popular, but that isn't the point of this thread and I'm not going to venture into that area. the fact is that it is popular and it has been popular for a long time. if the sr was offered in the states and the KA was offered in JDM market, I highly doubt people would swap ka's into their 240's, putting aside the oddballs. however, people would still swap v8,s v6's, rb26's, etc. I don't t hink the vq would replace the sr, or even come close to it. but i do think you will sell enough to make profit

I personally wouldn't swap a VQ into my car to replace my SR. mainly because I already have the SR and the horsepower I want out of it. I am going with a v8, but if you were able to make the swap all add up towards the 3 - 4 grand area, and if I had a bone stock s13, then it would definitely be on my options list, as it would for any 240 owner. I think the make or break point is getting information out to enough people for them to understand what a VQ is and how cheap it would be to swap it with your kit. you need to convince people why it is better and cheaper than an SR and ka-t. and it's going to take more than "its 250whp na and lighter and comes in a nissan" because even with those arguements, there will be reasoning against it. I guess it all depends on what you're trying to do exactly

[Onizuka]

thats not the reason why its the most common swap in a 240. its stock from japan is why. And what quality motor sets are you finding for 1700-1800? Even then before the end user is happy with it, how much more money will they spend? at that point how much power will it really put out? a fwd vq35 motor set is at most 1k, parts to make it rwd is at most another 500, and my swap kit? i dont know initial group buy maybe 700. Then? its up to you do the wiring but once it runs you will be at 260whpish, for about 3k running on 87 and unmolested. Ya ya ya, you can just up the boost on an SR but does a 260whp sr still get 28mpg?

I've been to two seperate importers in the last month that each have 5+ redtop motorsets in stock for $1800. I know they are in good shape because they let me spend an hour climbing all over their racks inspecting. And I personally have a SR20DET that was dyno tuned to 257whp and got 31mpg on the highway (although premium gas).

I'm not trying to knock you by anymeans, this is just the reality of the options out there for 240sx drivers. But despite that, If you make the kit, people WILL buy it. I wont make any sort of personal commitment, but eventually I would love to do a vq35de swap on a s14. The interest is definately out there.

[SullivanRacing06]

keep the rb.
Modified by SullivanRacing06 at 1:43 PM 2/26/2009

[Onizuka]

yes, race bread, sure...

[hungryjoseph]

don't turn this thread into a which motor is better thread. it's not about that. it's about who and how many will buy a swap kit for the vq. keep it at that for irax.

[simmode1]

a fwd vq35 motor set is at most 1k, parts to make it rwd is at most another 500, and my swap kit? i dont know initial group buy maybe 700. Then? its up to you do the wiring but once it runs you will be at 260whpish, for about 3k running on 87 and unmolested.

I'm getting excited...

[dan14sweeney]

irax man im willing to buy especially if your prices beat someone elses that have floated around nico and a few other forums...I already have my vq35 and transmission and harness and maf and rearend i have it all it just needs to go from sitting in the garage to sitting in my s14 let me know man ive posted several spots trying to get ahold of you

[irax]

dude hit me up on aim

nismos134

or email me

ibsemailis AT gmail DOT com

right now the kit im putting together is based off the FWD engine, I will offer a kit for the RWD engine after the first one is done.

[Onizuka]

don't turn this thread into a which motor is better thread. it's not about that. it's about who and how many will buy a swap kit for the vq. keep it at that for irax.

No prob, I love RB's, I just have a chuckle anytime someone suggests engine code designations mean anything. So I posted a picture of the turd that is the RB20E, 130 tasty race bread horsepower.

[Space Monkey]

Personally i do not care for brand to brand swaps. I like nissan with nissan, honda with honda, chevy with chevy. That being said, i can still respect the time, money, and effort put into projects such as them.

I have never seen a VQ in a 240(that actually runs)..... so i don't what to expect nor know how cool or not cool it may be.

Starting up a business right now is going to be hard, best of luck.

One Love,

Ghasty

From a Niconaut - zerothread?id=207033

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...lated http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwBMxm7tmoQ

[irax]

there has also been tons of vq35 swaps in maximas that had the vq30 and believe me the wiring is just as dificult but they seem to be able to do it just fine. so its not like the vq swap with factory ecu has not been done before.

[hungryjoseph]

will you offer all the parts necesary for the FWD motor to be installed into the 240? or will the buyer have to source them out?

[irax]

i can source the parts for you and they would be new from the dealership. i have more than a hand full of friends that work at the parts counter at nissan but i will have a full list of part numbers for the parts so you can source it your self. I feel that it would make it a lot less of a hassle for everyone. that way we don't have to deal with me getting the wrong part to ship the wrong part to have the end user have a bad experience

[simmode1]

From a Niconaut - zerothread?id=207033

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...lated http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwBMxm7tmoQ

This thread is 22 pages long. Can I get the Cliff's Notes plz?

[impact240sx]

did you drive an SR 240 before putting an SR into yours?

Are you tryin to be a jerk? or bein honest? Because Actually I did, I thought sr's were overrated untill I drove my friends, and I imediately Loved it, and 2 months later I actually bought the motor off that person. I was just saying that a motor swap is a big commitment and before investing my time, money and effort I'd like to drive it to make sure I like it. Because I believe that all motors are personal preferance, some people prefer sr some ka, and hell some people prefer an H22 in their s13 lol

Im sorry no matter the price i would stick with the KA it is a great motor and well has alot of power if done right and well more tourk then the sr20's so screw the swap and take the money and dump it in to the ka and smoke the "VQ" lol

Wings

I'm sorry but that was a dumb comment, give me a break. Your not gonna be running 13s flat on an na ka short of 50k.

There is a guy running 13s flat on an na 350z, now imagine the same setup in an s13, I can easily imagine and s13 with a vq na running mid 12's if done right.

[shimizu_17]

just to throw in my 2 cents, Id buy a Vq swap if it was possible to pass ref without that much hassle, but then again, I would also buy a ls1 if someone can bar and ref it without to much hassle either haha.

[irax]

Are you tryin to be a jerk? or bein honest? Because Actually I did, I thought sr's were overrated untill I drove my friends, and I imediately Loved it, and 2 months later I actually bought the motor off that person. I was just saying that a motor swap is a big commitment and before investing my time, money and effort I'd like to drive it to make sure I like it. Because I believe that all motors are personal preferance, some people prefer sr some ka, and hell some people prefer an H22 in their s13 lol

No no, not trying to be a jerk I was just curious that is all. I mean all I am looking is for fair and honest response and I just wanted to know if you were biased or not since I don't know you and you didn't share your story about your SR. If you said something about it in your original post I would not have needed to ask. I actually like that you took the mature response instead of assuming I was trying to be an a**. And that I like that you actually drove an SR car before actually buying one without knowing how it would be different. Out here kids just get 240's and before they even do anything else they drop SR's into them. Though grant it that 90% of all S chassis are over 150k in miles and its nice knowing you have a lower miles engine.

[ViolentRunning13]

Isn't your car already at Juan's house getting it done?