VG30DETT in a Pathfinder

[nismostate]

I use to own a lifted 92 pathfinder and it always seemed like it lacked power. is it possible to put a vg30dett in a pathy? I've seen supra motors in a 4runner and still have 4wheel drive. Just thinking one day when i have a career, i might just try that if it's possible. will a vg30e transmission fit on a vg30dett motor?

[MinisterofDOOM]

It should be a fairly straight swapover...that is as long as the Pathy started with the vg33e. If it started with the KA24....I'm not sure where to go from there. The only difference between the VG30DE and the Vg30E is the DOHC vs SOHC, so that wouldn't necessitate any transmission/mounting mods. Although, you may want to step up to a new transmission with the added power of a VG30DETT, since the VG30E was a little lacking for power, as you said. I have a post in here about making a swap using just head changes from VG30E to VG30DE and it seems that its about as simple as it sounds. That might be the way to go. I'd track down an old Z32TT Fairlady at a salvage yard and steal the heads, turbos, intake, etc. Then you'd actually have a VG33DETT, which is, obviously, bigger--and therefore better. Plus, how many VG33DETT's have you ever heard of?

[andrave]

that doesn't take into account differences in timing chains/belts and such. are they the same on sohc to dohc? common sense would suggest otherwise, so it may not be that straightforward.Second, the vg30dett is substantially larger than the vg30e because of its twin turbo hardware. on my car (infiniti m30) I'm not certain that the extra hardware could easily be accomodated. A simpler swap would be the single turbo vg30ET from the z31 300zx. Cheaper and still able to put out 300 hp if you work at it. I hope to swap in at least the turbo hardware and the 5 sp transmission sometime.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Cheaper, yes. But the vg30ET would not get nearly the advantage from turbocharging that the DET would. Nothing SOHC is really worth turbocharging. You'll just end up with severe limits on the power you can make, regardless how much money you are willing to throw on it later. Besides, the Pathfinder has quite a lot of space under the hood. It's no M30, and its definitely no Fairlady. But as for the timing and valve-train stuff, I'm farily sure all VG's had belts. I say that because the VE having belts was a huge thing when it was introduced, and one of the reasons it was so much more popular than the VG. And if both versions had belts, it would be no more difficult than a swap of different sized belts if anything. The most drastic changes in timing/valvetrain would occur in the heads themselves, which would be swapped out anyhow. My biggest worry would be tracking down an ECU that wants to work for a VG33DE, which could be difficult, since that particular pathy and engine are pre-OBDII.

[andrave]

first off, your statement "anything sohc isn't worth turboing" is incorrect. You didn't give your justification for this assertment, but there have been many very powerful sohc turbocharged cars, and many tuners continue to make serious power on sohc drivetrains.

as far as the swap, you ARE swapping the heads and thats the whole reason that I am saying you may have problems with the timing. the timing belts or chain go from the crank to the heads. if the crank has a chain and the heads are made for belts... thats gonna take some workin out.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Yeah, ok, good point. Very good point. I guess I can't say SOHC is not worth it if a pushrod V8 is. And the 427 was definitely a sucker for forced induction. Come to think of it, the SRT-4 is SOHC.Well, now I have higher hopes for my VG30E powered Maxima. Perhaps I won't need to do an engine swap after all.

As for timing, well, yeah. As I said in my other post, I usually miss something important. As you can see, I'm wrong a lot. That's why I ask questions.