M35 manual trans swap

[Wigglez256]

First let me start by saying this is not intended to be an opinion thread and by that I mean I don't care AT ALL why YOU think why I shouldn't do this to MY car.

With that being said please refrain from explaining why you like Auto vs. Manual for one i don't care and two that seems to be the only thing anyone wants to chime in when this topic comes up. I need usable information not your reasoning of why not to

Now I have aquired a cd09 I wish to transplant Into my M35. I've done tons of other things similar in build challenge on many types of cars and I know my way around one. I've done alot of research (no thanks to forums) and have concluded there's no difference in a vq35de in a M35 vs one in a g35. That's based off what info I can find and logically it wouldn't make sense for them to make the block etc. Different than any other vq35. The only thing I can see really being a challenge is the ECU and finding something that will work without having to go full on computer nerd to fix it. Yes there's going to be other challenges and no it's not a deal breaker I just wanted to put this out there in hopes somebody shares my thoughts and has looked into this before.

Thanks in advance

[Ilya]

First off, with your first post ever on this forum starting out the way yours did, don't expect a warm reception.

That being said, the only swap remotely of this nature that was done in an M that I know of was an M45 being upgraded with a VK56 and a manual transmission. See this thread or contact Paul Dechent on the FB group "Infiniti M35 M45 M37 M56 Q70 Fuga Enthusiasts Group" (he's one of the admins, as am I):

titan-vk56de-swap-in-progress-06-infini ... 14391.html

Next time, do without the sass.

[Wigglez256]

No sass here just a strong annoyance to when people ask a simple question the thread goes on and on and nobody offers the solution to said question. I'm here for answers not a long discussion on why it's better off auto. I've been following this club for years and everyone seems a little sensitive towards straight forward posts

Appreciate the info though!

[Larz]

You say no sass intended so we will start from there, along with a friendly suggestion to perhaps be slightly more tactful in the way you express your point. Personally, I have started threads and some posts had naught to do with what I asked. This is, after all, a forum and all members (yourself included) should feel free to post even if they go slightly off-topic. I'm sure you understand that opinions are much like bottoms - everyone has one and likes theirs and you can glean some useful knowledge even from the least related posts.
I'm certain there have been gearbox swaps on the M series, but I have never seen a transition from auto to manual. That doesn't mean it can't or shouldn't be done.
I think this could be a very interesting project. You may just come up with a sedan that goes like an BMW M5. As far as getting round the computer laden V6, maybe do some research on the V6 used in the Nissan 350Z to see how they meshed that to a manual gearbox. Perhaps some of those adapters, connector, etc might be useful in your project. Manual gearboxes, in general, will perform better and can be much more reliable than automatics.
Speaking of the 350Z, maybe you can jury-rig their interior parts on the console so it looks 'factory' for the M35? Below is a video I found on youtube about swapping any automatic gearbox to manual.

[Wigglez256]

Yes thank you so much!! Looking back it did seem like I was shooting shots so I apologize to anyone who takes offense I'm just in a time crunch and trying to collect all the info and ideas I can. This is useful info though and exactly along the lines of what I'm hoping to learn from guys with alot of vq experience. This being the first one I've owned. I do understand this is a luxury platform car and alot of people shun the idea of what I want to do but for me it's something that nobody has done that I can find and for what I want to do with the car a manual is going to serve me alot better in the long run. Plus I have access to a same year g35 manual parts car assuming I get everything I can use in time. Which is why I posted this to see if anyone had done it and knew what all I could interchange with the parts car. I'm not an electrical guru so I didn't know if I would have to hack into it or if a manual cars ECU would run all the bells and whistles. I appreciate the reply ! I will keep up with the swap as soon as I round up all the parts I'll need to at least get it started!

[cruzad3r]

i just finished watching the wheeler dealer eps on the E49 SMG swapped to 6 shooters. from the look of it, the ECU will need to be re-program. I know it's a Beamer and not an Infiniti but i'm willing to bet my lunch money that swap requires an ECU flash.

it all comes down to time and money. if you have both, go for it.

P.S - SASS is not required, let's keep the forum clean. happy swapping!

[Ilya]

ECU might not be that bad of a challenge...could something like UpRev help in that department?

[CarGuy87]

OP, you are the man!

I have thought of this since I own a 06 350z and an 08 m35. I would like to keep the M for a while with the ultimate goal of converting it to manual. As far as I have found in my research on this project no one has done it. I know the V8 would be faster but I love the VQ35 I have owned it in a few cars by now and it carries all 3800lbs gracefully I will say. Not going for speed (unless I supercharge this engine) but before the M I will supercharge the 350z.

TBH, I don't know how much the engine and the transmission interact in this chassis (as far as the electonics are concerned). In my most likely guess for ECU you could run the M35 ECU with some assist from tuning it to disable any features that link it to the TCM. Or maybe you could run a G35 manual ECU (of the same year as electronics do vary thru the years).

Either way I hope your project gets under way and I would like to follow this! Please post any developments on it. If you complete this you would have a unicorn M35!

[MechanicMods]

haven't been on here in a while but i had to sign in to say this. i used to feel the same about starting a thread until i got onto the Toyota thread they are wayyyyy more toxic than these guys i like this forum way better. wish i still had my M i thought about a manual swap but never put in any deeper thoughts on it. keep us posted im interested. oh and on here more than likely you'll get some kind of support the other one im in they'll question everything you do.