The M30 Education

General discussion forum for J30 and M30 owners!
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hannibal
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Just wanted to add that the 5000 units produced may just be a rumor. This source says production was over 17000.http://www.nissannews.com/infi...s.pdf


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omgjacki
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I know this is a really old thread, but I have a new found love for M30s so I'm bumping thins hoping to learn more!

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kbflip02
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omgjacki wrote:I know this is a really old thread, but I have a new found love for M30s so I'm bumping thins hoping to learn more!
i have always had a fondness for this car...i know there was someone on this forum doing a vg30dett swap w/5speed...not sure what happened but last i heard hes almost finished....personally id love to do the same thing to a vert m30....im not sure what else you hope to learn but im sure if you post a topic w/ whatever questions you might have you will most likely get the answers you are looking for....good luck either way

chenmeister
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 10:58 am
Car: 1991 Infiniti M30

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how much did it cost to do all the suspension mods?

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crash n burn
Posts: 1340
Joined: Wed Oct 25, 2006 5:16 pm
Car: 91' le hatch, 93' UDSM silvia, 92' M30
Location: Pinehurst, NC
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to answer the question about verts not having digital climate controls..the answer is simple..condensation=#1 killer of electronics. and since the top would be down more than say, oh wait a coupe's haha. but just like Q45's, J30's, any other early/mid 90's nissans w/ digital climate controls; they all have the soldering in the display go bad.

these car's are killers on the road, ride really smooth(luckily my shocks/struts are still functional). only down side is the trailing arm rear end shared with the Z31. squat is ridiculous when accelerating or sliding. another aspect of them is its rumored that a few have vlsd equipped. i've personally seen ones that doo, but mine i believe does, but i'm guessing the plates are worn out because sometimes i'll get the pass. side going, others i'll been on the crown of a road and the car slides off to the side then stops..but after i peel out and come back i see two lines starting and only one leaving(depressing i know).

i've put a digital cluster from a z31 in mine; worked lovely now after a little fandangling. another drivetrain note, 6/88+ turbo clutch rear ends can go right in as long as you swap internals, then you'll have a bomb-proof rear end. the rear wheel wells can handle around an 10 inch wide tire with offsets in the single digits with just a roll. 240 coilovers(s13 only) fit but HAVE to be adjusted as high as they can go. it may not look like it, but these cars can not get much lower. M30 shares the same e-brake setup as a Z32, so Z brakes are a bolt on affair.

engine wise, going to an sr20 only helps with steering shaft clearance and general upgrade support. you thought 240's have bad clearance, you can't even get a paint stick between the exhaust mani and shaft on these cars. 240 crossmembers even bolt up w/ two bolts with drilling/sleeving for the rear two; then you have nearly 6 inches behind the head along with a mile in front of it. there's tons of room for a mid-mount IC setup too which i'd do. but personally i'd rather build the 3.0 block and supercharge it. also, late pathfinder 3.3litre motors just bolt right in, gives you more ponies, lower mileage and the intake its 100 times better. however just like z31 guys, the hood will need to be propped in the back.

and the VG30DET issue. i'd love to find one, i've got to ask a fellow member on CN thats living in japan to allocate on for me. at max boost that motor makes near 280hp; pretty impressive(same as auto 300TT). can find them in a Laurel, Leopard XS, and i think one more. the M30 even has a Clutch master cylinder block off plate, like it was MEANT to be 5 speed haha. the 240 provides EVERYTHING to swap the car over with. once i finish my sil-coupe, i'll probably sell it and dedicate what i get to this car. they have SOO much potential that its not funny; hell even strut bars from a 240 fit. such a shame that people just throw them away when they break down, little do they know it just requires parts from Z31's, early maximas, and a few from a J30. i bought mine for 900 bucks, and it just kicked over 181k today...runs better than anything i've ever owned. i have a t-5 z31 turbo trans, clutch lsd, 3.3litre motor, every replaceable body panel, and stock s13 shocks/springs and front conversion lined up for it(good for a 1 inch drop).




Modified by crash n' burn at 12:12 AM 5/1/2009

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crash n burn
Posts: 1340
Joined: Wed Oct 25, 2006 5:16 pm
Car: 91' le hatch, 93' UDSM silvia, 92' M30
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oh and to the question of the blown shocks..go on F31 club, search the threads, and you can replace them with Porsche 944 struts; insanely inexpensive!

elmpomp
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Joined: Sun May 03, 2009 1:07 pm

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while i like your enthusiasm, most of the information you provided is slightly skewed.

for instance, to mount the s13 crossmember, the rear holes are the ones that line up, and the fronts have to be drilled. it also requires you to use s13 rack, and there really isnt anymore room behind the firewall then an s13 or s14.

etc etc.

s13 coilovers go in, with drilling holes in the rear and using full s13 front suspension.

they dont have to be adjusted all the way up, and m30's can go very low.

z brakes are not a bolt on affair. you have to space the calipers, and the backing plate has to be modified for the rotor to fit.

pathfinder engine does not "bolt right in" there is the issue of the m30 being front sump vrs rear sump in the trucks. the trucks use to split exhaust manifolds, not the crossover setup of the m30. the m30 manifold will not go right on though as the vg33 uses 10mm exhaust studs, not the 8mm of the 30. then you have all the accesories that youd have to figure out, either by making a custom crank pulley, using a 30 crank, or getting the 33 accesories to work with the m30 chassis.

the s13 does not provide EVERYTHING to conver the m30 to manual. the pedals are not a direct fit, and the clutch pedal will be higher off the floor then it should be. the z31 pedal also fits, but is closer to the floor. a middle ground has not been found yet.

you also will need a custom driveshaft, as of now there has been found a direct bolt in driveshaft from nissan.

strut bars from a 240 do not fit. the front is to wide for the m30 chassis, and the rear doesnt even come close.a acura bar does work as a c pillar bar though.

etc etc

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crash n burn
Posts: 1340
Joined: Wed Oct 25, 2006 5:16 pm
Car: 91' le hatch, 93' UDSM silvia, 92' M30
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oh 3.3 is definitely not a bolt in affair. i've already had my fair share of fabbing done to it. i'd really like to keep the intake but i'll probably end up swapping it for a maxima style intake, then rotating it 180 to face the front of the motor like i need. i ended up having to have custom manifolds made up and even a 2 piece style one for the driver's side as the 1st runner hooks around the steering shaft. i didn't know a damn thing about the bolt sizes being different, i just ended up having them done since i wanted a full exhuast anyways..

when i say bolt in, i mean basic "adjustment" of the parts are the only thing required. but i've never heard of having to space the calipers. the driveshaft i've seen some do a hybrid z31 front/m30 rear with the z31 shaft being slightly shortened; however that's not too big of a problem since i had a SS DSS shaft made for it. the front strut bar i made fit, i had to take out the little adjustment nuts and then screwed the end plates as far in as they go and it took a little muscling it in there but i have the front strut bar installed(cheap a** megan). along with the c-pillar bar as you mentioned.

this car is definitely unique in the fact that it uses all of these shared parts but that they've ben slightly modified to be specific to this chassis.

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driverdriver
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Because this thread has tons of pertinent M30 information, I've turned it into a "stuck" item.

elmpomp
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crash n’ burn wrote:oh 3.3 is definitely not a bolt in affair. i've already had my fair share of fabbing done to it. i'd really like to keep the intake but i'll probably end up swapping it for a maxima style intake, then rotating it 180 to face the front of the motor like i need. i ended up having to have custom manifolds made up and even a 2 piece style one for the driver's side as the 1st runner hooks around the steering shaft. i didn't know a damn thing about the bolt sizes being different, i just ended up having them done since i wanted a full exhuast anyways..

when i say bolt in, i mean basic "adjustment" of the parts are the only thing required. but i've never heard of having to space the calipers. the driveshaft i've seen some do a hybrid z31 front/m30 rear with the z31 shaft being slightly shortened; however that's not too big of a problem since i had a SS DSS shaft made for it. the front strut bar i made fit, i had to take out the little adjustment nuts and then screwed the end plates as far in as they go and it took a little muscling it in there but i have the front strut bar installed(cheap a** megan). along with the c-pillar bar as you mentioned.

this car is definitely unique in the fact that it uses all of these shared parts but that they've ben slightly modified to be specific to this chassis.
you stated in your other post that the 3.3 is bolt in, thats whay i was making some points.

the z31 hybrid driveshaft is not a bolt in deal, as you see in the pic, the m30 shaft has a carrier bearing on the front half, z31 does not.



what some have done is brought the driveshaft to a local shop and have the front yoke of the z31 shaft welded to the m30 shaft



personally, i would rather have a 1 piece, and i recomend the nico sponsor shaftmasters.com, i have worked with them before and they are very helpfull, and prices are much better then dss. (and they dont make them in ss, that would be really heavy)

i dont know what you mean about the first runner hitting the steering shaft and the 2 piece manifold deal. the first runner is at the front of the engine, and no where near the steering shaft. also the 3.3 exhaust ports are in the same location as the 3.0 so yeah, not sure what you mean, some pictures would help.

as for the z32 rear calipers, they have to be spaced in order to be centered on the rotor. every m30 that has them is setup like that, or the rotor will rub on the caliper and not allow the rotor to spin, or the pad to fit in.

this person has used shims



i used washers on mine to get the same end result.


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crash n burn
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Joined: Wed Oct 25, 2006 5:16 pm
Car: 91' le hatch, 93' UDSM silvia, 92' M30
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yea sorry, bout "bolting right in". i used a nose cut off a junkyard M30 to mock this exhaust up when i first got my motor together. i've been looking into modifying Z31 cross members to make this motor fit. on the header note, i wanted wanted long tube headers so in doing so we ran into some issues. larger primaries and so it ended up just being a simple enough design like a later v8 mustang. i played with extrude honing the cast manifolds but ditched that one when my friend said he could run headers for me for a very good deal.

i've seen that picture before i never knew you had to space the rears; good to know though. i have soo much for this car and soo much i want to do to this car that it sucks to be my daily driver while finishing my 240

wow i don't even know where my head was, my drive shaft isn't SS; that would be hellacious, its alum. see where my mind wander off to during finals, i can't even keep straight head.

elmpomp
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Joined: Sun May 03, 2009 1:07 pm

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post up some pics, id like to see your setup.

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speeddocsson
Posts: 149
Joined: Thu Jul 07, 2005 12:44 pm
Car: 2006 NIssan Titan,1991 Infiniti M30 vert. TURBO,1969 Datsun 1600 roadster, 1975 Honda CB550 cafe
Location: Oviedo FL

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HashiriyaS14 wrote:
Before someone says it, I KNOW this is an ancient thread.

But how about a plain 'ol garden-variety VG30ET, like out of a Z31 Turbo? Why go JDM when the simplest engine to swap in was sold here in the first place? It has to be a simple-as-cake swap.

Granted, the DET might be capable of a *bit* more power, but being able to just find VG30ET's lying around for super-cheap here in the states would more than make up for that, IMO.

I only ask because I've always thought it a 5spd VG30ET-powered M30 coupe would make a beastly ride. Wondering how feasible it is.


Its a pretty easy swap....My dad and I did the swap in my M30..the only problem after that is the rear Diff

HowlerMonkey
Posts: 101
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Car: 1991 Infiniti M30 wi/ L28ET
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The VG30et into a M30 is not as easy as people are saying.

Number one, the M30 is a front sump engine while the VG30et is rear sump.

Not only that but the stock VG30et manifolding puts the turbo right where the steering rack input shaft and steering shaft sit.

Sure you can lay the rack down like in a Z31 but the steering shaft u-joints will bind and that is not safe.

The distance from the rack to firewall is a lot shorter than in a Z31 which causes this problem and the steering shaft angles are already pretty critical angles from the factory so any increase in angle will give you notchy steering feel or could even stick adding to danger.

Fitting a Z31 crossmember is a lot more involved than bolting it in since the bolt holes and......more importantly......the bolt hole bosses inside the frame rails won't be where you drill new holes causing the forces of the front suspension to start crushing the frame rail tube.........unless........you cut open the frame rail and weld them in.

Since the engine bay is identical to the R31 (other than driver side), then a RB engine would be a better fit though you will need the R31 crossmember.


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rb25det f31
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Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2009 1:50 pm
Car: 1990 f31 with rb25det , 85 z31 turbo

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well there is a wright up for turbocharging n/a vg on f31 club, and it sounds not to hard

but im going with a rb25det swap in my m30 that im working on right now

over all like any car they have there flaws, but m30/f31 leopards are real bad a**

1991q45
Posts: 145
Joined: Sun Feb 22, 2009 6:21 pm
Car: 1991 infiniti q45

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i seen the m30 motor. the distributor looks smaller...or is it the same saize as the maxima vg30e?

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rb25det f31
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Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2009 1:50 pm
Car: 1990 f31 with rb25det , 85 z31 turbo

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well the maxima is fwd so lots of parts are different, you can't even use the maf sensor from a maxima on outher vg's, but then again rwd is always better

rwd is way cool

bobbarker
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Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2009 6:22 pm

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please dont spread false information.

many of the m30 engine parts are the same as maxima, and they both use the same n60 mafs.

just depends on what year maxima.

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rb25det f31
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Car: 1990 f31 with rb25det , 85 z31 turbo

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maxims have 3, 4, and 5 pin mafs and m30 are what 5 or 6 and z31s have 6 for sure and that's on a vg also and what maxims are as fast as a m30 stock , without a 5 speed

and rwd is still way cooler

bobbarker
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Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2009 6:22 pm

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the differences have more to do with age then anything.

its the same engine.

there are plenty of maximas faster then m30, m30s are slow as balls. they are heavy boats.

1991q45
Posts: 145
Joined: Sun Feb 22, 2009 6:21 pm
Car: 1991 infiniti q45

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umm...lets see if a ve30de (engine which is pretty diffrent from a vg30e) maf can run off a vg30e i'm pretty sure a rwd vg30 can run off of it.

and yea i happen to own a vg which is decently quick (can give some of these new cars a run for their money and then some).

according to the M30 0-60...the vg maxima is quicker.

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rb25det f31
Posts: 16
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2009 1:50 pm
Car: 1990 f31 with rb25det , 85 z31 turbo

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i have a m30 they are not that slow, faster than every maxima that i have seen, and my z31 vg30et is much faster , when you get going sideways in a maxima , "if you can", then you wont have much controll with the frount weels pulling and trying to stear at the same time , also can you put a rb in a maxima beacuse when my silly m30/f31 leapord is done with the rb25det swap then all maximas will be left in a big cloud of burning rubber smoke

oh ya and i have had lots cars some fwd some rwd

and rwd is way better

rwd fwd

1991q45
Posts: 145
Joined: Sun Feb 22, 2009 6:21 pm
Car: 1991 infiniti q45

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i'm sorry i beg to differ. so your telling me (assuming your m30 is stock) it's quicker than the vq30 thats used in the 00-02 maxima?

noticed i said 5th gen.becuause my vg can outrun a 95-99 auto maxima.and i used to own a ve30de (dohc 92 maxima) and a buddy of mine has a vg maxima and my front bumper was by his front wheel.

some people are entitled to there own opinion.you say rwd is better i did'nt say anything against rwd.only time i hate it is when i did'nt have the q45.when i bough her and we had that big snow storm i thought damn i'm gonna get stuck but to my surprise the vlsd worked.


jerseymike68
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Joined: Tue Sep 15, 2009 11:18 am
Car: mac2005black

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Great cars here

entice
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Joined: Tue Oct 13, 2009 12:57 pm
Car: 1991 infiniti m30

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i have a 1991 infiniti m30 its has some issues. Whenm i start it it hesitates to start then itll idle high n drop. i have to give it gas to keep it running. when put into drive it jumps and the idle drops. when driving itll bog down i have to play wit the gas pedal to build up speed and rpms again. i noticed the ecu hasa self diagnosis on it how do u use this?

Drift_attictx321
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Joined: Tue Dec 01, 2009 9:03 am
Car: 1990 nissn 240sx

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Hey i was just wondering what 5speed you used and what you took it out of? i just bough one of these cars and its awesome except its an auto ha so i need a 5speed.

1991m30
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Joined: Sat Jul 31, 2010 11:55 am
Car: 1991 infiniti m30

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I have a 91 m30 and am in the process of setting it up. Taking care of the driveability stuff first. Right now i have no dash lights at all when the headlights are on. Any ideas or know issues with these?

HowlerMonkey
Posts: 101
Joined: Thu Jun 04, 2009 6:47 am
Car: 1991 Infiniti M30 wi/ L28ET
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The Z31 300zx manual tranny will be the one you need.

Having no dash lights is usually because someone installed an aftermarket radio and the factory lighting harnessing and bulbs are probably grounding out somewhere in there because they are now lonely and have no purpose but to blow the fuse.

Matina210
Posts: 26
Joined: Fri Oct 17, 2008 9:38 am
Car: 1980 Datsun 210, 1992 Nissan 240SX, 2008 Lancer Evolution X
Former car: 1996 240SX SE
Location: SE Virginia

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HowlerMonkey wrote:The VG30et into a M30 is not as easy as people are saying.

Since the engine bay is identical to the R31 (other than driver side), then a RB engine would be a better fit though you will need the R31 crossmember.
Indeed...I just found out today that the F31 Leopard shared the chassis with the R31 Skyline and C32 Laurel. It made me wonder if anyone had tried an RB swap yet. That would be bad-@$$

It also occured to me that perhaps one could lower the compression of the VG30E and add a little turbo on either side. GT20s might be about right.

It must be MUCH easier to find performance parts for this car in Japan.

Matina210
Posts: 26
Joined: Fri Oct 17, 2008 9:38 am
Car: 1980 Datsun 210, 1992 Nissan 240SX, 2008 Lancer Evolution X
Former car: 1996 240SX SE
Location: SE Virginia

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I may have found my answer. According to the link below, there's an F31 from Pennsylvania with an RB20DET.

http://www.motormavens.com/2010/03/webm ... as-pro-am/

Any chance the owner is on this forum and could talk about the install?


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