I dont think the only aspect to a car is engines. Everyones like if u want a v8 buy one. What if he LOVES the look of the Z and wants that look and loves the performence of a ls motor is it wrong to combine them because of who makes what? Would it be ok if he takes off the nissan badges?

 

Efficiency is cool.. But torque is cooler.

 

The LS1 is not really a high-end V8. The LS7 and LS9 are the high end V8s and yes, they are pretty advanced.

What's the big deal about DOHC anyway? Ford has been using DOHC since '93 with V6s and V8s and their V8 engines have been in no way superior to GM's pushrod engines.

 

But a few simple swaps in a LS series motor gives nice results. You have to sink a CRAP load of $ to get any gains out of a VQ.

 

Amen to that brother!

 

To sacrifice performance just to stay with a particular manufacturer makes no sense to me. If someone likes the look of their 350Z or G35 better than any of GM's vehicles, but they want the performance of a GM motor, they should think about putting the GM motor into the car, so long as they have enough money behind them to pay for the swap and any unanticipated problems that might pop up with any type of engine swap. (e.g., don't try do this on $8,000 unless you plan on doing all of the work yourself and you know what the h*ll you are doing).

I can't, however, understand why in the world anyone would want to put an RB engine in a 350Z??? Most of the RB engines produced less torque/hp than the VQ35 and, on average, weigh at least 200 lbs. more than the VQ35.
Adding a motor that weighs nearly 60% more than a VQ, just to get less horsepower. That makes a lot of sense.

You might say, however, that you meant the RB26DETT Z2, which was used in the Skyline GT-R Z-Tune. But it was a highly tuned twin turbo engine built with Nismo parts that still only put out 500 hp. With transmission, it weighed in somewhere around 675 lbs. In contrast, there are posts on here every week with built twin turbo VQ35's laying down way more horsepower than that using the VQ35 engine, saving at least 200 lbs. of weight in doing so, and saving the hassle of swapping over to a different type of motor.

Now, moving on to the GM V-8s (I'm using LS2 for reference because this was the data that I found), with the transmission the LS2 weighs around 575 lbs. It's about 100 lbs heavier than the VQ35, and about 100 lbs lighter than the RB. In it's naturally aspirated form, it lays down around 400 hp. Build the LS2 and slap a couple of turbos on it, and you will have a motor that puts out over 800 hp, with a huge torque band, and without really pushing it too hard. For that, it might be well worth the hassle of the engine swap, assuming that you have the cash to pay for it, as well as any unexpected obstacles that pop up.

It's fun to look at an engines power/displacement ratio, but for evaluating performance, the usable torque/weight ratio or power/weight ratio of an engine is far more important than power/displacement.

Remember, the LS2 weighs about 100 lbs. less than the RB motor (and about 100 lbs. more than the VQ), but puts out 437 lb-ft of torque (and 402 hp) in naturally aspirated form, and puts out over 400 lb-ft of torque from 3k - 6k rpm. That is a huge performance/weight ratio... Add twin turbos to the LS-2, and you will have one hell of alot of performance for its relatively light weight...

Hence, in my opinion, throwing in a Chevy V-8 makes a h*ll of alot more sense than throwing in an RB motor of any kind. You can save weight and get much more performance.

Finally, with respect to using the VK motor, from the prices I have seen, performance parts for GM V-8s typically cost less money than they do for Nissan motors, and there are more options out there to choose from. Thus, if I were to do an engine swap with anything other than another VQ-35, I would no doubt go to a GM V-8, probably a built LS3 with either twin turbos or a super charger.

 

^ +1

in any kind of race power per unit of displacement is completely useless. but power per unit of weight is quite significant, and thats where the ls-series shine. it may be a bit heavier than the vq, but it makes alot more power

 

And packaging. The LS series engines are light, powerful and SMALL. Hence it being a favorite amoung engine swappers out there.

Sure a Ford DOHC motor is nice. Ever measure one out? Good luck stuffing one of those in a G or FD

 

^forgot about that one, thats also an important one, thanks