VK56 Swap becoming an attractive swap?
 

I wanted to know what people think about the VK56 swap and if it will turn into a good alternative to an LS motor? Seems like it could become a common swap very easily if someone had some good instructions on all what it would entail and if it would be an easier conversion than an LS since you could use the stock 350 trans.

go with the ls swap

It has been done, it does not fit nearly as well as an LS motor, there is NO aftermarket for the VK56, where the LS motors have one of the biggest. And there is no pre-made swap kit for the VK56, LS motors have some very nice ones. Just get an LS2 and a sikky swap kit and enjoy!

A VK swap will never be as favorable as the LS. I am bias, but a VK will never hold a stick to the LS.

how much power does the vk56 put out? is it just a bigger overall engine than the LS, making it harder to stuff into the Z's bay? i thought most low compression v8s could make some decent power with simple mods, regardless of the lack of many aftermarket parts...

Parts are more expensive for the VK, it's bigger in size but smaller displacement and aftermarket parts are fewer, more expensive and net lower results. Why waste the money on the VK?

THIS ^^^ Pretty much covers all bases right here. Unless you want a true DIY one-off project where you fab almost everything yourself it doesn't make much sense.

Think past the initial swap too. If you want to mod the engine itself, what parts and F/I alternatives are there for the VK?


Found it: https://my350z.com/forum/engine-and-...pped-350z.html

Looks like he spun a bearing in the VK... typical Nissan. He is selling the car now.
My understanding is that unless you are going F/I, you would want high compression, not low. As for fitment, many things play a factor, such as accessories and mounting points. Length is possibly more important than width with swaps into our cars. The LS sit plenty low and has much more room side to side than the VQ TT setup, but its 1-2" away from the radiator and thats the tightest point.

There is a build thread for the VK swap around here somewhere and it didn't look easy at all. I have average DIY skills and common tools and was able to do 90% of the LS2/T56 SIKKY swap in my garage on jack stands.

I know the build you are thinking about, he had to cut the metal away where the heater hoses hook up to make more room for the engine to fit, and he still had fitment issues at the radiator with the engine that far back. I have been seriously thinking about a V8 swap and I did my research and other than a few drift cars and the one guy on here (he drifted his too) it really isn't there... LS2, even an LS1 is better than a VK56. I will be doing a LS2 swap in a few years, haha

Let me clear up a few things here, I didn't have any fitment issues with the radiator. I ran a couple different radiator setups and still had a bunch of room. The motor did not spin a bearing, it suffered an oil pump failure, which subsequently destroyed two of the mains. That had nothing to do with me parting the car out, I decided to do that as I moved 7 hours away from where I was previously living (and my family was from) and decided that perhaps I should reinvest some of that money ;)

The VK swap is viable, and quite a lot of fun. However it does not make more power than the LS, costs more, and is more difficult. I will not deny that at all. There is SOME aftermarket for it though, you can make 500+ na, and 600+ with FI. But, you know how the costs are vs a typical gen III v8.

Personally if I was not concerned with "costs" I'd be building more NA V8 DOHC projects, but that's not in the cards for me right now.

+1 thanks Quamen & Cass for the explanation and link- interesting read. no matter what happened to that vk, that thread reminded me that dealing with the harsh, rough vq35 right now has put me off most nissan engines. i guess i'll just stick with ls2+sikky when my engine dies.

go with the ls swap
http://www.primeaffiliate.com/track/...0.creation.jpg

I want to see someone do the new 5.0 Stang motor in the Z (DOHC). Much more modern motor as compared to the LS. But the LS support is probably why everyone goes that route.

Just an idea....:icon44:

Here we go...
http://www.jegs.com/p/Ford-Racing/Fo...12509/10002/-1

https://my350z.com/forum/2003-2009-n...ce-lift-4.html

I am in the process of having the vk56 put into my car and trust me. It would have been much easier to go with the LS. everything is having to be made custom for the vk56 but I am doing it for origionality not ease. I know that this swap is going to stay less common. As we get further along I will continue to update it. McKinney Motorsports is working on a swap kit but I am not sure if it will go into production. It is very time consuming.

thanks for the input!

I feel like if someone came out with a swap kit it wouldnt be to bad of an option. The engine seems to make decent power. Unless you were looking to go insane it seems that it would be a decent swap.

Is 600-1000whp insane :dunno: For the guys swapping over from F/I... we have whp issues that must be met :cool:

i agree, so ill quote it and say it again myself.. haha.
LS swap is to get a powerplant in the car that responds much better than the VQ to more inexpensive mods...

and itd just be even worse w that VK.

Zero point to it.
The LS swap isnt for a guy who wants to leave the LS alone.

Fueled Racing > Sikky IMO.

But yeah, the LSx can't be beat in terms of reliable power. A stock LSx is way more reliable than an SR you'd buy from some guy, who got it from a guy, that got it from a guy, that got it from Japan. The VK has NO aftermarket, and likely never will.

When the SR breaks, you order parts online and wait. And wait. Or you hunt down used parts locally.
When the LSx breaks, you walk a 1/2 block to a parts store and buy everything you need. Walk home, fix your car, and go hooning again.
When the VK breaks, you cry... And order OEM parts that are just going to break again because the VK is not built to be hammered on.

100% Worthless post since Fueled Racing has never released their 350z kit nor shown any further progress on it other than a LS motor with some billet mounts on it.

Weird. I'll have to ask Todd about that. A friend of mine had his swap done at Fueled. Z33 w/ LS.

And the rest of my post wasn't worthless at all.