VQ37VHR swap into 97 maxima. conversion to RWD

[Blazingwolf]

OK SO I AM EXTREMELY EXCITED!!!! my maxima cruising bud has decided to try and swap a VQ37VHR (370z) into his 97 maxima!! i am going to assist as well as some Advance Auto parts boys. I will be posting pictures news and updates has to how this might or might not be possible!!

[tigersharkdude]

if your boy can do this, he has WAY, WAY TO MUCH MONEY. would be cool, but definitely not worth it, IMHO

[nismo1219]

I agree 110%...cool, but definately NOT worth the time and money!!

[Blazingwolf]

well its going to be a group project...WAY COOL and wouldn't it be nice to put some mods on it and go smoke some 370's with their own motors?? MUWAHAHAHA it would freak some guys out if u opened ur hood and u had the same motor

oh this is from another post but nismo... where did u get ur intake?? its beautiful!

[tigersharkdude]

if you are talking about his actual manifold, it is the OEM part and it has been professionally polished to look like chrome

[nismo1219]

if you are talking about his actual manifold, it is the OEM part and it has been professionally polished to look like chrome

Thank you, Brad...for answering the question.

The intake manifold is a core I got off a junked Maxima. I took it and had it polished by a local company here called "S&H Chrome." They do good work!! However, the intake itself is just the regular Injen intake.

[allensteiner]

dude...you guys are lame. instead swap in the vq35 and you'll have similar power without the work or...the vh45 or vq45! for some real power.

[Blazingwolf]

well the whole point was to make it RWD.... i can't imagine there are many maxima's that are rwd out there... its more for the challenge and just to say that we did it

[allensteiner]

vq and vh45 are rwd but...4.5L V8

[Blazingwolf]

true but much larger...

[tigersharkdude]

screw the vq and vh, do like everyone else in the world does.....

SWAP AN LSX IN AND CALL IT A DAY

note that it can be swapped to be FWD

[Blazingwolf]

aww bummer..... i can't do american motors... there are a select few that i like, but that is not one of them.. sorry

[nismo1219]

I think Brad has a fetish about domestic cars....

[jltibbs]

I think Brad has a fetish about domestic cars....

Hence the Vette sig lol.

[ABNRML4U]

This may sound Dumb! But how in the HELL can you make a FWD Maxima into a RWD????????? Never seeen that before. I have a Maxima That Im thinking of Trading for a G35 Coupe because the G35 is RWD. If you can give me some Info or a web site that will tell you how to do it.

[nismo1219]

But how in the HELL can you make a FWD Maxima into a RWD?????

With enough time and money, ANYTHING is possible...but, therein lies the problem! LOL.

[Nrw]

So how is your rear end going to be set up? If you do actually follow thru with this swap I wish you the best of luck.

[benderintl]

With enough time and money, ANYTHING is possible...but, therein lies the problem! LOL.

I once saw a a Corvair with the motor under the hood, so you're right ANYTHING is possible

[MinisterofDOOM]

true but much larger...

Honestly, I doubt the VH is that much bigger. A little longer, sure, but otherwise they should be close.

I once saw a a Corvair with the motor under the hood, so you're right ANYTHING is possible

Man...why would anyone want to do that? What's the point of having a corvair if it's got a normal motor in it?

[Blazingwolf]

i think we are going to try a corvette setup where the transmission is in the back.. we can use it as a differential.the problems are1. power conversion2. creating a housing around the flywheel3. getting a custom tranny4. getting a custom driveshaft

we feel its easier to take space frm the trunk rather than the interior of the car.

we are trying to leave the interior as clean and untouched as possible

[MinisterofDOOM]

'Vette rear end is probably the best approach I've ever heard suggested. They're very compact. Are you going to reuse the transverse leaf suspension from the 'Vette, too? It seems ideal considering the 4th gen's solid axle packaging. You also get around the problem of clearing space for the transmission up front that way. There should be ample space in the back once you relocate the fuel tank.

[Blazingwolf]

not sure yet.. everything is in the drawing stage right now.. that sounds like something that will be figured out when we go to put things together

we are also considering a custom transmission.. Highly considering one.we have a shop in our area that builds drag transmissions and we are talking to them about creating a more track feeling car with a 6 or 7 speed transmission just for the acclaim (7 speed) we are hoping for a top out of only 160 but impressive 0-60 and 0-100 times we are aiming more for 0-100 times since it will hopefully become either a track car or a highway killer.

on an extremely important side note... Nissan has decided to sponsor us and provide us with Nismo tuning for the motor for free and pay for e-manage and full dyno tuning

PROPS TO NISSAN!!!!!!!!
Modified by Blazingwolf at 9:04 PM 4/28/2009

[ABNRML4U]

well the whole point was to make it RWD.... i can't imagine there are many maxima's that are rwd out there... its more for the challenge and just to say that we did it

Just throwing this out here: how much is this FWD-RWD going to cost?Do you have #'s of how much it's going to be? You make it sound simple.

[Blazingwolf]

VERY EXPENSIVE

a brand new 370 motor at my price is 5 g'svette rear end hasn't been priced out yet, or a custom transmisionthe custom transmission we a re looking at around 6-10k(we will use the vette transmission if it gives us the performance we are looking for)custom flywheel housing and driveshaft we are looking around 2kmotormounts and wiring are expensivewiring harnesses are about 1200 a piece at my price and we need 3 of them that's 3600 for some wires unless we make our own.its up to nissan if they want to give us a full schematic of the wiring

[DaveVQ]

I've done this already, its been completed for months.

I even wrote a how-to:

1. Sell the Maxima2. Buy something RWD3. Profit???

I'm being totally serial!

Preferably LS1 would be your best choice.Easier and cheaper engine to modify, spend about 3-4k and have about 500whp bolt-on and running 10s all day long. 'nough said.

[DaveVQ]

But in serialness

You'll get the engine to fit....but then you have to remove the entire interior to hack up the floor frame to fit a RWD transmission. Then you have to hack up more of the frame to fit the rear diff. then the suspension....but wait there is more lets not forget how this baby will handle, with all that extra weight and the front struts now tucked behind the center balance of the engine. And if your rear suspension is off in just the slightest...you will burn through tires like no tomorrow.

BUT WAIT THERE IS MORE!

The rebuild of the interior and nothing fitting, rerunning all the brake lines, fuel lines, and an exhaust that now hangs too low for you to eliminate the 4x4 stance of the maxima.

So what do you end up with?

A Hack up frame that no longer has the structural integrity of the original car, a car with the wrong kind of suspension setup for a RWD car and its wheelbase is completely wrong for RWD. An interior that can not be put back together, and a car as worthless as a geo metro running on 2 cylinders.

Honestly converting a FWD car to RWD with a completely wrong kind of fram setup (there is no support in the rear for this kind of platiform) so now you have a car if ever in an accident that will kill you.

And if you think RWD means you can drift...guess again.

My maxima was 225whp on a 3.0 and I did just fine out on the autox course and had alot of fun picking off miata's with my times, even beating a porsche or two....(granted they were boxsters).

SO Leave the car alone....

[nisinfguy]

^nicely said

[DaveVQ]

Anything is possible....like this...look at the cutting and hacking on the frame they had to do....and that was with using a car that is caparable to the altima (I guess...240 isn't that similar LOL)

http://www.locustom.com/rwd_altima.htm

[DaveVQ]

Quote »Off the top of my head you will need...

Fabricate new front suspension, the current one will not work for a RWD car.Fabricate a subframe to mount the engine to, as well as support the new front suspensionSteering, You will also need to fabricate a new steering rack, as the current position will prevent any rwd engine setup from being installedProvide enough clearance to mount the new engineFind some way to route the exhaust, since the exhaust tunnel will be filled with a driveshaftFabricate a new rear suspensionFabricate a rear subframe to hold and support a rear differentialHave custom axle shafts made, unless you can find a diff/axle/hub setup that will fit correctly under the rear of the max, and work with your custom suspensionChassis bracing - The maxima was not designed to handle the torque on the rear of the chassis, you will need to brace as required to prevent the rear from tearing itself apartNew driveshaft - You will have to determine the proper length and pinion angle, you will need to have the rear diff or axle housing offset properly, as well as the engine, otherwise your driveshaft will vibrate and/or tear itself out or the U-joints will fail prematurely. Driveshaft will have to be custom made.Wiring, must find a way to integrate the V8 wiring into the car, your also going to have to find a way of reading a new speedo and tach signalTransmission - You will need to find a transmission that will fit in the tunnel space, which was never designed to hold a transmission. You will also need to align everything so that the shifter will come out at the proper point, unless you plan on going automatic, which will be an even larger transmission, along with additional wiring. You will also need to find a way of supporting the rear of the transmission, as nothing under the car is provided, other than the thin sheetmetal of the floor.[/quote]From someone much wiser then I.