Vq Swap

[Irace86.2.0]

Originally Posted by PulsarBeeerz

The article also mentions and shows the front cross member had to lower 1.9in to get it to fit..Because its too tall otherwise for the engine bay.

Look how far back they moved the engine. They cut the firewall to recess it back. If they didn't lower the engine then they would have lost the top of the firewall. Also, the engine doesn't look to be centered over the subframe, which means the subframe would need to be lowered to avoid the oil pan.

It looks to me like they wanted to move the motor as far back as possible, so they needed to make accommodations for that reason, which is more about their choice creating problems and less about the engine height.

[PulsarBeeerz]

Originally Posted by Irace86.2.0

Look how far back they moved the engine. They cut the firewall to recess it back. If they didn't lower the engine then they would have lost the top of the firewall. Also, the engine doesn't look to be centered over the subframe, which means the subframe would need to be lowered to avoid the oil pan.

It looks to me like they wanted to move the motor as far back as possible, so they needed to make accommodations for that reason, which is more about their choice creating problems and less about the engine height.

Not really hard to imagine the clearance nightmare of having that engine 4" forward and without dropping the sub-frame.


For reference a 60 degree 3.6 v6 LFX in an 86 chassis. No sub-frame spacing. Nothing about the design of the VQ37 with its intake and TB locations leads me to believe it would more compact.

[NoHaveMSG]

They for sure did some work there to gain a more optimal weight bias for their purpose.

[Irace86.2.0]

Originally Posted by PulsarBeeerz

Not really hard to imagine the clearance nightmare of having that engine 4" forward and without dropping the sub-frame.

For reference a 60 degree 3.6 v6 LFX in an 86 chassis. No sub-frame spacing. Nothing about the design of the VQ37 with its intake and TB locations leads me to believe it would more compact.

It definitely isn't ideal. It might require a hood modification, custom oil pan or custom intake manifold. Sometimes hoods get cut for budget builds.

[PulsarBeeerz]

Originally Posted by Irace86.2.0

It definitely isn't ideal. It might require a hood modification, custom oil pan or custom intake manifold. Sometimes hoods get cut for budget builds.

Yes, I'm aware. That's what you do when the engine doesn't fit.

[Kodename47]

My tuner, who is historically a Nissan tuner before getting into the 86 reckons that the Merc V6 is a good shout over the VQ. More availability should make them cheap and should be able to take some abuse.

[Irace86.2.0]

If we are going to make shout outs for other potential V6s then I would say that I would choose the V6 in our Audi Q5. It is the 3.0 supercharged 90 degree V6 that is in the S models, as well as, other models. Power delivery is very smooth and the engine looks great. Plus, I have a similar Eaton TVS supercharger setup in my BRZ.

[gtpvette]

OK I'll chime in as well. Cadillac LF4, 450ish+ HP,, basically a twin turbo LFX. Packaging was done very well,,, and I think it would fit side to side. Exhaust would be tight I'd bet. It would stick through the hood more as the intercooler is on top. I've been following a few builds on and off,, electronics seem to be an issue.

Simple LSx swap probably still the way to go.. would of, could of, should of

[Irace86.2.0]

To circle things back on topic a bit...a VR30 has the same setup. These top-mount, water-to-air intercoolers can be easily relocated or switched to a front-mount, air-to-air intercooler:







I think another more obvious reason the VQ is not used in this chassis is because most might just buy a Z, which is heavier and different looking, but is much lighter than the pony cars where a LS is found or other larger displacement engines.

[Irace86.2.0]

Of course, the Camry V6 wouldn't be bad just to keep the engine in the family. A Lexus IS/RC 350 variant of the 3.5L V6 could be used, and I suppose a manual transmission from the Tacoma could be used. I suppose the advantage of this motor, the 2GR-FKS, is the D4S system, which means there are cheap port injector upgrades for boost.

[irax]

Originally Posted by PulsarBeeerz

VQ/VR are tall motors. The MCA had to run a dry sump to fit it under the hood same with the VR in that 86 photo. One of the reasons they aren't as popular in the S-chassis community despite the HP to cost ratio is that they are tall and don't fit under the hoods.lol

They can fit under the hood with light modification to the hood it self. Its not as big of a problem as you let on. Its not like trying to fit the factory superchargerd VG33ER under the hood of an s12/z31/f31. I had a vq35 S14.3 and it fit under the hood with 1/4 hood spacers. It also fit when I removed some of the skeleton bracing under the hood.

A big reason why people don't do VQ is reliability of early VQ's and oil consumption. Also S-chassis owners are so lazy that they are not willing to do the little work to make a VQ reliable.

If you want a VQ but don't want to cut up the hood. Swap in an EZ36D motor. It bolts on to the trans and crossmember no problem... except for the starter location but its actually an easy fix. All thats needed for an EZ36D Swap is
Exhaust routing (super simple too $)
Coolant routing (or custom radiator $$$)
Wiring $$$

I wonder how much the wiring could even be a plug n play or easy to do. I haven't looked into this yet.

[Irace86.2.0]

Originally Posted by irax

They can fit under the hood with light modification to the hood it self. Its not as big of a problem as you let on. Its not like trying to fit the factory superchargerd VG33ER under the hood of an s12/z31/f31. I had a vq35 S14.3 and it fit under the hood with 1/4 hood spacers. It also fit when I removed some of the skeleton bracing under the hood.

A big reason why people don't do VQ is reliability of early VQ's and oil consumption. Also S-chassis owners are so lazy that they are not willing to do the little work to make a VQ reliable.

If you want a VQ but don't want to cut up the hood. Swap in an EZ36D motor. It bolts on to the trans and crossmember no problem... except for the starter location but its actually an easy fix. All thats needed for an EZ36D Swap is
Exhaust routing (super simple too $)
Coolant routing (or custom radiator $$$)
Wiring $$$

I wonder how much the wiring could even be a plug n play or easy to do. I haven't looked into this yet.

I think the EZ30/36 would be cool. It has been done. The 86 is already compared to a Porsche, so this would bring the two cars that much closer, but unlike the VQ, the EZ isn't a performance motor as is. I don't know if it is easily tunable for more NA power or what type of potential it has for strength. The relatively low compression ratio suggests it would respond well to turbocharging on pump gas and E85.

[irax]

There isn't a big aftermarket for the EZ36 because it comes in a car that isn't really performance oriented.

However, it does take well to e85 and turbo very well. The guys of MCM have a turbo 36 in supergramps and there is a big 6cyl subaru community. Mostly guys that put EG33 into there bug eye, but a growing number of EZ guys doing swaps.

Haltech can run the EZ perfectly fine and they have plenty of support for our cars. The Haltech 1500 or 2500 ecus will work. I belive the MCM guys run a 1500

[irax]