Who's got some performance mods?

[DORLEYII]

Who on here has some performance mods? I'm thinking about picking up a 98 QX4 soon and I think I'd like to supercharge it, etc. Who's done this kind of work? Where'd you find the parts? How easy or difficult are these engines to work on? Any suggestions or tips are appreciated. Thanks

[fueler]

powerdyne supercharger ona VG33 QX4:

causes problems.... doesn't run right....

[KoukiS14]

causes problems.... doesn't run right....

I got moist -- until I read this bit.

Buy the 98 though. . the VG33 isn't going to win many races (I did take out an Explorer of roughly the same vintage tho. . haha)But it's a VERY usable engine. . 90% of the 200ft lb is available low (I believe under 2k rpm) and it's seemingly bulletproof.

Another note: the VG33ER supercharger (OEM supercharger from 2002+ Xterra) will fit, I understand, but the hood def. won't clear it -- you can cut the hood, or have some dude make you a new hood

[DORLEYII]

What kind of problems does the powerdyne cause? If you need a new hood or a hole in your existing one for the 2002+ exterra s/c to fit, couldn't you just buy an aftermarket cowl hood or something? Or do they not make those.

[pathfinder_se_black]

yea i wish i could supercharge my pathy its just to much work

[KoukiS14]

What kind of problems does the powerdyne cause? If you need a new hood or a hole in your existing one for the 2002+ exterra s/c to fit, couldn't you just buy an aftermarket cowl hood or something? Or do they not make those.

Probably could. . not enough performance gain for me. I'd just feel like "hey, I could have spent this money on a VQ powered vehicle instead and got a bit more power"

[DORLEYII]

You gotta be patient with me...I'm learning...What vehicles have a VQ series engine? And what kind of gains could you potentially get with an s/c?

[KoukiS14]

You gotta be patient with me...I'm learning...What vehicles have a VQ series engine? And what kind of gains could you potentially get with an s/c?

Sorry if I came off too harsh. . I wasn't intending that at all. Hey, I was the guy that thought maybe I could swap on VG30DETT parts and twin turbo it, or VG30ET parts and single turbo it. . . haha I dunno about that.

The 01+ has the VQ35DE (3.5, 240 hp) -- I've heard the gains from the stock S/C are like 220 hp -- I'm sure more with a pulley, but it seems like a lot of expense. . just my 2 cents.

[tmorgan4]

Fortunately for you, the one company that makes a S/C kit for the 3.3s is less than 2 hours from you. Look up Alpine Developments. Not a ton of info on it since it wasn't released very long ago, but they're seeing some substantial power gains, to me anyway.

This dyno is at the wheels, in Colorado (5200ft. elevation), before final tuning was finished.

[DORLEYII]

Those gains look a bit more like what I was wanting. The s/c kit's like $3300, how much can you typically find a VQ35DE for? Also, any recommendations for a CAI or exhaust?

I realize it might be a little weird to want to make this SUV fast, but I just traded in a pretty heavily modded 98 GTP and having an SUV with less horsepower that weighs a ton more is a bit of a shock to me.

[SnowSurfLax]

Yeah, I want to mod my '99 QX4. It runs like a tank. Anyone ever gotten any mpg improvements on an exhaust upgrade? I put the K&N air filter in and got about 1.5 mpg increase. Seems small, but I drive the thing everywhere and having the 2nd most expenesive gas in the country, it adds up.