Alright….. I am new to all of this engine building business, but now I am starting to seriously mod my car and I am looking at building a new engine to maximize my GReddy TT setup. I am interested in hearing what people think would be necessary to put together a complete 600 – 750 RWHP engine for our cars? I have been growing my mods every month since I got the turbo and at this point I want to rebuild my engine. I know my tendency to buy for now and upgrade later….. So figuring the cost of taking the engine out and putting it back in a couple of times I figure to build around ‘Amateur-Semi Professional Racer’ and grow into the role...

On my list of ‘To-Dos’ as part of this upgrade will be seats, harness and rollcage for safety purposes. This car will also be a street driven car. Sort of like a daily driver that only gets driven on Weekends during the spring/summer/fall. Oh, and a show car….

Installation next week is the Koyo Radiator and an Oil cooling kit. I assume I will need to change to a clutch-type differential when I am putting down this much HP. Anything else I should be looking at? Should I start worrying about drive shafts and axels at this point?

Anyone taken their cars above 650rwhp? Any suggestions or points to watch out for?

Thanks guys.

 

I would keep pushing the limits of the stock block until it blows. I've been reading these threads for awhile and i jumped right into rebuilding the short block. Well...I don't know much but 'they' say anything over 600hp you should sleeve the block... I guess the choices are AEBS and Darton. I've heard that the darton are better for daily driving, B/c of their design, but I really don't know. Then go for the forged internals.

 

talk to Sharif at Forged Internals. he is at the range you want to be at with his Greddy TT.

 

SGPracing.com offers engine packages. The one below will get you to your power goals.

Ultimate Long Block: $9800 + $2000 Core - Good to 1000+ Rwhp


Block oil passages cleaned
Block redecked
Block Bored and Honed using a Torque Plate
Crank balanced
Crank journals polished
*Darton MID Sleeves
New Main and Rod bearings w/ceramic coating
Pauter Rods
ARP Rod Bolts
CP Pistons/Arias Ultimate..your choice(8.5:1 or 11.5:1)
Ceramic coating on Piston skirts and tops
ARP Main Studs
ARP Head Studs
Heads oil passages cleaned
Heads redecked
Ported exhaust and intake runners
*Tomei Upgraded Cams
*Ferrera 1mm Over Valve Train
5 angle valve job
Valve Stem Heights set
Cold Clearance set
New Valve stem seals
New Nissan Head gaskets
New Nissan Oil Pump
New Nissan Cam seals

The ATS is popular with the guys who are pusing over 500whp. For your power goals I would recommend an ATS tripple disk. As far as drivetrain...Axles are not needed unless you are going to drag race at the strip or perform hard launches. I have not heard anyone having problems with the stock drivetrain at any power level.


sharif and Tim (t32gzz) are two of the top of my head that are close to those number. Sharif is at 622whp and Tim is at 615whp....both at 16.5psi. Tim's motor was built by SGP and Sharif's by Cprace I believe.

Contact Sharif at www.forgedinternals.com. He has the clutch, axles, and anything else you will need to get to 650whp.

 

For 650-750whp, get you cash/credit card ready, becuase it ain't gonna be cheap.
Everything needs to be replaced/modified, in your entire drivetrain, suspension, engine, fuel system..etc. You name it...you need to replace it. The Walbro 255 in your fuel system starts weakening at about 575-600whp. You will see a pressure drop at higher RPM.

Consider a set of Darton Sleeves manditory, as the stock sleevs/headgasket is going to start weakening it about 600whp. Performance Motorsports confirmed this when I spoke to them at SEMA. They are running that fastest drag Z in the world...around 6 second 1/4 mile, so they have more experience with this, than anyone else. The bottom end should include Pauter rods, and Arias Extreme Duty pistons. The ED pistons are, IMHO, the strongest forging and piston design currently on the market for the VQ35, and they are exlusive to FI.com, and the shops we sell them to. Here is a link: http://www.forgedinternals.com/store...cat=248&page=1


Are you planning on doing this in stages, or all at once.

Looking at your sig, unless you have the 1350kg pressure plate, you will need to upgrade that twin disc ATS to a triple. DriveShaftShoop Level2 axles for the street, or possibly Level5's for the track. I am running the Level2's on the track, and so far no problems, but they rated at 500whp vs. 800whp for the Level5's.

It looks like you already have the Greddy kit, standard fuel system upgrade, suspensions...etc...so off to a good start already.

We use a local machine shop on our engines, as does SGP. SGP makes great engines too.

Sorry for the stream of consciousness writing style...it was a long night.

 

350+ your going to have a full tank of gas and to rent a 500lb guy to sit in your trunk, so your car can hook up. im putting down 426 on low boost, and can only drive the car fast on the highway. On the street forget about it, i just touch second gear adn my car starts flying sideways!! the traction issue need to be fixed, some company needs to make longer gears for these Z's or im selling mine

 

If an OEM had plans to develope a 800crank car, they would never put these short gears in it. Once solution is to swap to the auto tranny differential, which should help lower the final drive to 3.3x

 

AAM Return Fuel System
Engine management system (TurboXS UTEC, GReddy eManage Ultimate, or a standalone)
Driveshaft Shop level 5 rear axles
Twin-plate carbon clutch (preferrably ATS) with carbon coating on flywheel or triple-plate carbon clutch
Camshafts
Port and polish heads
Ferrea valvetrain kit
Pistons (preferrably Arias extreme-duty)
Rods (preferrably Pauter or Carrillo H-Beam)
Darton sleeves
3.0"+ test pipes
3.0"+ exhaust
Another Walbro 255lph fuel pump (would have to be a custom twin fuel pump setup)
Another HKS SSQV BOV

May need to upgrade the GReddy turbochargers to 20G.
Might also want to think about getting this: http://www.racelogic.co.uk/?show=Traction_Control

All I can think of right now.

 

I thought you don't have to worry about sleeving until over 1000whp. None of the SGP engines are sleeved below 1000whp.
Just wondering

I was looking at the SGP Upgraded Long Block II rated up to 750whp.

What else other than the clutch and Axles needs to be upgraded and to what on the drivetrain level and what on suspension level.?

I'm planing on going that route early next year and the money saving has begun...

 

Anything over 600-650+ RWHP will require sleeving if this will be used frequently. Liners and sleeve pinning are other solutions, but I wouldn't recommend these unless the car will be track-only.

 

interesting.

I have another somewhat related question: Will a build engine pass a sniffer test or does it affect emissions ?

 

Sharif,

Tony Wld350Z - has a Spare set of 3.911 gears in a pumpkin.. He may put it into the Wld350Z car. Just for Sport. I told him the shifts are too close together as the car goes sideway's with stock gearing.. But you know tony...
Maybe the car can burn rubber on command for the Movie Curcuit.. 3.3's are what I think would lay down some fast 1/4 mile times..

What is your objective opinion?

Cheers Amy -

 

Building an engine to produce 750whp is one thing, but keeping the engine together for an extended periord of time is another thing. I havent seen any 750whp+ 350Z's anywhere yet...except on race cars. I can only rely on the experience of the race teams, since there are so few....if any...700-800whp_ 350Z's on the road.

In addition to the sleeving, I would suggest Level 5 Drive Shaft Shop axles, a triple disc ATS carbon clutch with 1350kg pressure plate, and the widest rear tires you can tuck back there.

 

Hey, sorry for taking so long to get back into the discussion. Been trying to wrap up work before the holidays and sort out all of my other mods going in over the next couple of months. (Interior, Doors and Engine stuff).

My thoughts for this engine build up were to take the car/engine to the next level and at the same time give me something that will knock their socks off on the street and in the shows. I am going to try to learn more about Dragging and definitely hope to get in the 11’s at some point. But unless I get REAL good at launching and keeping the wheels on the ground, this is not going to be any type of competitive racer. Test & Tune days for fun only…

Sharif & Brandon, to answer some of your questions. I would say I am “in for a penny, in for a pound”…. If I am going to do this I would like to do it right the first time and not have to either tear it all apart again later to add stuff, OR have it picked up off the side of a road somewhere and fix a busted engine/drivetrain. So my plan was to have it all done at one time starting in January, and ready for the first regional show in Feb/March.

My ATS twin disk carbon clutch is rated for 1350kg. I thought the current CF driveshaft would sustain normal street driving at this power range? Do I need to change that too..? With the BBK I have I can not use tires less then 19’ and that pretty much rules out drag slicks. I am looking for DOT versions now. Otherwise I will have to stick to street tires anyway and they will not bite as much and therefore not cause as much snap torque on the driveshaft right?

I would also think my suspension would be OK as I have the TEIN CS coilover system w/EDFC. While this is not a racing setup, combined with the Hotchkis adjustable sways stiffens the ride by 50 - 100% and should be fine for anything outside of autocross. Is there something I am missing?

I am looking at upgrading the fuel pump, considering a true dual 3’ exhaust setup to reduce backpressure and reviewing getting a clutch-type differential and changing the setup to 1.5 as I expect that much HP and torque would shear the gel in the current LSD.

I will definitely be building the short block up with some heavy duty stuff. Thanks for your recommendations I will check them out. Am I correct in understanding the VQ already comes with half sleeves? What does if used frequently mean, as I use it as a daily street car but will occasionally drag it too. So you think these need to be replaced with full Darton sleeves?

Thanks again for your thoughts, ideas and suggestions. I am figuring to make a decision soon on all of this and hope by Spring to have a pretty good balance between show/go and reliability.

--Brent

 

'tagging so I can get info when my stuff gets ready to be done.'

 

Hope this helps.

 

Brandon hit it on the head. The driveshaft is very strong, and doesnt need any modifications in the sub 1000whp level...according to those that have run this much power. The axles are the weak area that defiantely need upgrading if you intend to drag race the car..even once.

I run 19's on the street, and you are correct, that there is no drag radial or DOT race tire in 19. What I did, instead, was mount a set of BFG Drag Radials on a set of 18X10.5inch Volke TE37's, and I use those for the drag events.

If you have the ATS twin disc right now, with the 1350kg pressure plate, you should be good for 650-700whp. You can always upgrade that later, if you feel the clutch starting to slip. If you have the 1100kg pressure plate, you should upgrade right away,becuase it wont hold 600whp for long.

Liners are good for 800-900whp...according to Vinny Tan, but for the money, and labor effort involved, I would build the block to bulletproof status right off the bat, and use the Darton Sleeves.

 

Considering the level that he wants the car to be at (hp wise), what shops could handle such a request?

 

We can do this project. Just find a reputable operation that has experience building and tuning high whp 350Z's.

 

Sharif, Brandon,

Thanks again for the replies.
I think I am leaning towards the full sleeves and looking into the axels by DriveShaft Shop. Still not sure if I should go the whole level 5 or if I can stick with the level 2’s for daily driving and occasional dragging.

I am guessing this is going to run in the realm of 10 – 15 for the right parts and install and hopefully can be done in around 1- 1 ½ months with a replacement block.

Thanks again guys.

--Brent