Ok, so I've been reading stickies and user experience and just random threads for a while now. I've finally just decided to make a topic to try and get answers specific to my situation.

My Z:
2003 Touring w/ 94k miles.

I'm wanting to (I think) go with the Vortech SC. But I'm having trouble figuring out what parts of my engine car I will need to check on / replace before doing so.

Or, at 94k miles what should I be MOST worried about going wrong with FI.

 

The thing you should be most worried about is the entire engine. Honestly, at nearly 100k miles it's been driven and probably hard. I'd think about getting a new clutch for sure. You should be fine as long as you're not running a ton of boost.

 

Yea I was thinking i was definitely going to want to get a new clutch. (looking at the JWT) though tbh, my clutch feels better than all the clutches in my friends cars. I'm not sure if it was replaced before I bought or what.

What all do I need to be researching if I wanted to say "renew/restore" my engine? Parts wise, etc.

I'm using my Z to learn about cars in general. Because I've only recently gotten to the point where that was a luxury I could afford (all prior cars have been 'a to b' cars) In hindsight, I do wish I'd been more patient and gotten less miles, but at the same time I don't mind working on it, upgrading, replacing or w/e. Its all part of the experience,and I'm trying to build a car I can keep and pass down. Being my 'first sports car' its already garnered a HUGE amount sentimental value.

 

That is your first mistake.

 

Unless you are very mechanical you should find a tuner and shop and have about $15000 at the ready.

You might consider a Miata to learn on. Its fun and cheap. Your G is the real deal.

And as far as tuners and shop good luck.

Dynosty is one of a very few in the country that is up to the job and did I mention have a second car (Miata) and lots of money.

 

heres a list
1) if your just learning get something cheap, miata, 240sx, 3rd gen f body(82-92 camaro and firebird), fox body(80s and very early 90s mustang)

2) if you only have one car dont modify period

3) you picked one of the most expensive cars to modify

4) before trying any modifications you need to get some books or look up engine rebuilding online, books are far more reliable since 90% of people online dont actually know jack

5)search seriously but ill be nice today a compression test and leakdown test should be done to determine if the engine is healthy enough for boost.

6)dont mind midz350 he blew his stock engine(remember what i said about if you only have one car dont modify? **** happens) then destroyed a built engine from a sub par builder and is die hard against the vq35 engine now despite them being the fastest engine architecture out there for a 6 cylinder(granted insanely modified but sleeved engines are doing the same as his coveted 2jz and rb26)

 

+1 to getting a new clutch…but if it's not slipping now than just replace it when it does start to slip…unless you're pulling your block already…

The leakdown and compression test will be a good place to start. If you are looking to stay under 400whp then find either a all inclusive turbo or sc kit and go with that(that'll cost you $8-$10k)…if you want 450whp+ than youre looking at a built block, cams, turbos, fuel/ignition setup, ECU mods, cooling mods, etc(that'll be the $15-25k)

You can use this as a 'learning' car but do it smart…have a dedicated garage where this can sit for days, weeks, months on end and have another car…because you will need a daily driver…get a reliable truck or suv, something opposite of the z. I have a f150 and it works perfectly as my daily driver and a winter-driver…also be prepared to fork something up and replace parts due to your inability and inexperience. It'd also be wise to find someone that has been down this road and can help you out when needed. If you don't want to do this than the alternative is a miata, S13, civic/integra-type car.

there are a handful of books out there to read up on … find them used on ebay, amazon, craigslist, mark them up and keep them for your reference.

 

Really appreciate the feedback guys. Like I said, I don't mind to much that its pricey to work on. I got the Z because I absolutely love the body stylings, and it helps that its a fun car completely stock. I obviously still have a lot of reading to do, and that's fine too because I don't want to dive into things without at least knowing how 'deep the water goes'

 

Major things to go when boosting high miles:
Rings
Rods
Bearings


The clutch is least of your worries.

 

^^^
And I wouldn't do it at that mileage.

 

I say F it. Go for broke. Go big or go home. Boost it and play.

 

Keep telling yourself that

 

good job there we go again let me introduce you,
has run 6's since this race

https://my350z.com/forum/forced-indu...ld-2000hp.html

https://my350z.com/forum/forced-indu...an-ever-3.html

the 2jz's are destroying themselves up there in fact the E kenoo supra tryed it with a half filled block and cracked the block at its FIRST ever event(well first ever on that engine). the 2jz has **** flowing heads(which even supra owners ***** about) requiring full race ports to match what the vq does stock, AND because of the smaller displacement and shittier heads it has a shittier power band which ive proven and backed up in previous threads with dyno charts. we need to bring that back up to your delusional self?


you bought from a sub par builder and got pissed off at the engine when you should have been pissed at yourself, you where doomed to have issues be it 2jz, rb26, vq35, tb48, mod motor, lsx, or anything else. if the vq35 is so shitty please tell us why do all the big name shops who are big names in the supra world like vinny ten racing and sound performance now run 350z drag cars(well sound performance ran one as far as i know they dont run anything now)? everything ive said is facts ive backed up everything you say is talking out your *** and you havnt backed up a single thing you have ever said with ANY facts, charts or **** anything. good job helping me show the op how you need to be ignored with your "lolz 2jz and rb26 bestest ever even though im a checkbook tuner and never actually done anything myself, people who actually build carz must all be wrong cuz i say so"

you do realize your a joke to anyone on this forum who has actually built **** themselves right?

 

I think I'm going go put a 5.9L Cummings diesel in mine and super boost it.

 

If you think the VQ is a beast engine then where is your 9s time slip? Hell, i haven't seen a dyno sheet for your car!!! How many VQ in this forum is in the 9s?

Yeah, the VQ has nice flowing heads. So what? It doesn't mean it it can handle big power.

And FYI I tried three different builders and all of them failed.

And sound Performance run what in the Z? 9.3? A stock engine 2JZGTE can do that easy.

The cars above does not prove anything. They are shop cars. How many VQ has broken the 1000whp that is not owned or sponsored by a shop?

The VR38 did in four years what the VQ failed to do in 10 years. Reliable big power engine.

It's a known fact the VQ just like the RB, they are known to spun bearings stock and built.

 

It sounds like you don't know what you're talking about there pal.

First off Dynosty ran the 9.3.

Next the poor 1/4 mile times don't have anything to do with the engine, but the chassis. It's a well known fact that the z33 was not made to squat like a drag car.
Plenty of tube chassis vq35's have been RIPPING it up. Currently a vq35 based engine is powering the fastest nissan out there ( )
So if you really think that a 4 liter 1500hp vq35 is 'worse' than a 1500hp 3.4 liter 2jz, then hats off to you; your logic is broken.

So lets get to the actual technical details; why a vq35 has more potential than a 2j.

Heads; this is really where the power is made. The guys from RIPS (rb30 gods from NZ) said it the best; the low end is a pump, and the head is where you make your power. The vq35 can run up to 288 duration 11.59mm lift without machining. The max you'll see is like on my setup; 272's with 11.59 on a street car.
The 2jz maxes out at 280 and 10.4mm of lift. That's a pretty substantial difference.

But lets go on to the more important aspects of the head. VE and Combustion chamber design.

The vq35 shines partially because of it's intake angle. The runners shoot air into the valves at a much steeper angle, allowing for better flow through the ports. Where as the 2jz has runners that require the air to bend 90* and down before entering the combustion chamber. Combine that with a greater amount of lift, and adjustable cam timing and you have a motor that is far more capable on the street and in race trim.

Issues with the vq? Rod stroke ratio, and tons of bad bubble shops. The high rod stroke ratio makes the rods inherently weaker compared to that of the 2jz's, BUT it also helps the engine produce more torque later in the rev band. When you're drag racing, this is a good thing. Most drag cars launch on stall or nitrous anyway so low end torque is not very important.

Usually you'll find that rod stroke length just shifts where the torque is made; longer moves torque up, shorter moves torque down. It also changes how the engine is loaded/what gets loaded harder (cylinders, bearings etc).

The biggest two weaknesses of the vq35 are the cylinder walls, and the head lift. Head lift is now considered a joke with the advent of the l19 studs, so to argue this is a moot point. The sleeving deal has been done for years, on numerous engines. And when you compare the cost of sleeving (roughly 3k), to the cost of a 12k+ 3.4 liter stroker bottom end... it seems a bit stupid.

The biggest weakness of the 2jz is headflow and overall displacement. Believe it or not, but building a 1000+hp drag engine would actually cheaper with a vq. You don't even need a stroker kit... Nice set of rods (1,500), nice pistons (1k or less), sleeve kit (3k), 288's (1k), Valvesprings (500), dry sump (3-4k depending, could easily make your own for cheaper), sleeves (3k) and you're sitting at about 13k without assembly. That engine would rev to 9k easily and could very easily be (For a few hundred more) more than a 3.5 liter (oversized pistons). Would be an easy 1200whp+engine. That is forgetting the HG and headstuds/mainstuds and a few other things.

To have an engine that could spool the same turbo/make the same level power band would be somewhere along these lines:
3.5 liter stroker (titan spec-only one I would run if I was serious) (9k), gsc s3's (850+$ for machining heads+cam gears+shimless buckets), billet mains, valves, porting/polishing, dry sump... You're easily looking at over 13k for the stroker and head work alone. Not to forget, you'll still have more lift and duration in the vq35, and those heads won't even be touched!

Don't forget valve size differences too: the vq35 has a 36mm/31mm intake and exhaust valve size (respectively) stock. The 2jz has a 33mm/29mm valve size respectively. Oversize 2j valves go up to 34/31 from what I've seen.


The vq35 is a newer engine. The 2j is tried and true. But ultimately the vq35 has more displacement, pretty stout design, and better flowing heads. Just because more shops can successfully put together a 2jz DOESN'T mean it's a better engine. Everyone has their own individual wants/needs. Every build/application has it's own drawbacks and benefits. To say one is better than the other is really stupid.


EDIT:

Don't forget the issues on the 2jz with belt based timing... breaking timing parts and all that is a pita

 

you will never get through to that looser, in his eyes all the successful sleeved vq's are a myth and even though we are posting videos of them the scott porter car STILL runs that time and is going strong yet to this day only ONE 2jz car has run that, thats the E kanoo supra that did it ONCE and broke the block and ran in the 7's the rest of the event. no 2jz has ever ran faster then that 6.34

of course he will never acknowledge that he will keep going on about how the 2jz is better despite the vq engines have faster cars running them and have better power bands. a 288 vq car will easily have a better power band then a 272 2jz.

 

well this got a bit...off topic. Does anyone have a list (or even an abbreviated list) of the above mentioned books that I should hop to reading? Or better if some kind soul would be willing to hop on some messenger and have a short (or lengthy) conversation with me about the subject that would be awesome too.

 

the bible of turbocharging
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...=5336118848-20

the bible of engine assembly, dont let anyone fool you a piston engine is a piston engine. you apply the same concepts and you will be successful, the issues arise when people try to build a engine like stock but are tripling or more the stock power.
http://rehermorrison.com/engine-book/

and finally this will help explain interactions between parts, its for v8's but again everything works the same basic way and follows the same basic principles. more then likely it will be useless for you unless you are looking to go for custom intakes, cams and such though.

 

Engine Management Advanced Tuning by Greg Banish - pretty basic information and a good read.

Maximum Boost by Corky Bell - more in depth on turbos/FI, pretty technical but a good read

Designing and Tuning High Performance Fuel Injections Systems also by Greg Banish - havent read this one yet but its on my list

Turbo: Real World High Performance Turbo Charging Systems by Jay Miller - havent ready it but its on my list to pickup

also download the tuning manual for what ECU you are looking to tune with - I can only assume Uprev or Haltech - download their literature and read up on it. There is also a tuning 101 thread floating around here that has great information...