Guest Will Snedigar Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 I am wondering if anyone has had any kind of luck with engine swaps to get more ground pounding out of an '87 manual SE. I am looking everywhere I can think of and there are just not a lot of options out there for these things. -study- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 You're right. There aren't many options unless you want to go one step at a time slowly, or just plain pull the stock engine and do a full, custom, performance rebuild of it. There are plenty of Nissan or NISMO performance parts out there, they just aren't cheap. Or you could pull the stock engine and stuff a Chevy 350 in there...hehehe. 1. Intake: K&N drop-in air cleaner. Nobody makes a cold air intake or conical filter adapter for Pathfinders from 87-89. The TBI unit is oval-shaped at the top and no other car I've seen has that particular shape. 1a. Throttle body injection unit porting and polishing: Lee from L&P Performance can port and polish your TBI for an additional 10 HP or so gain. You will have to sacrifice some cold running performance and idling issues with this option, but if it's not your daily driver, I wouldn't worry about it. After warmed up, it runs awesome. Again, not a cheap option, but a viable one nonetheless. Lee's website is: http://lpperformance.com . 2. Exhaust: Pacesetter and Thorley companies both make headers for Pathfinders, but the automatic transmission equipped vehicles will need the crossover pipe modified so it fits properly. The auto trans pan gets in the way of the exhaust. A nice high-flow catalytic converter and aftermarket high-flow muffler will also free up some horsepower. I have no reccommendations on muffler choice, that's up to you. Exhaust piping should be about 2" or 2 1/4" diameter. Don't use 3" because you'll lose low end power due to too little backpressure. 3. Computer: You can get your engine computer reprogrammed for more power and a higher RPM limit. Costs an arm and a leg. Adds about 10% more horsepower, maybe 15 total. Can anyone else think of anything for this subject? I'm open to suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Mule Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 Doesn't an electric fan help too? My understanding is that an electric fan saves the engine from turning the fan and thus decreases wasted horsepower. Probably doesn't help much though. You can also go buy a new Pathfinder. Everytime I get out of my 88 Pathy and get into my wife's 01 Pathy, I feel like I'm sitting in a rocket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MatterHorn Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 yeah ... electric fan not only saves horsepower, but lengthens the life of the water pump bearings too ... there is also the option of Camshafts ... you can go the full bore race cams, but your idle will be higher and emmisions will suffer ... they have a milder cam set available for a 10-15 percent increase in horsepower ... again ... those are expensive as hell and you will also need a new lifter and rocker arm for every valve ... that gets REALLY expensive quick ... also you can upgrade the ignition to a multi discharge type ... it wont increase power a whole lot, but it will keep things running at peak performance ... it basically allows the spark to be ignited several times within the 0-3000 RPM range instead of just once, and you can run a higher gap on your plugs for more complete burn ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 It basically all amounts to a bunch of expensive items that only add 1 or 2 horsepower each, which isn't much bang for your buck. Cheapest easiest way to add power is to add nitrous, but then you gotta refill the bottle if you get trigger-happy with it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepRescueService14 Posted June 3, 2004 Share Posted June 3, 2004 yea, really dissapointing.. the VG30 is a pitiful engine indeed.. weak and darn thirsty.. i got like 205 miles on a tank! well.. maybe a 350 would work well but, new trans, t case, diffs... :oops: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted June 3, 2004 Share Posted June 3, 2004 Nah, just new engine and transmission. You can get an adapter to mate a Chevy tranny to the Nissan t-case, but it'd be better to use a Chevy t-case also, just for match-up and power handling ability. The diffs should be OK to a degree. I wouldn't go neutral-dropping a built 350 on the stock Nissan diffs, but they'll handle some real abuse before dying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepRescueService14 Posted June 3, 2004 Share Posted June 3, 2004 yea a frenn of mine had a lifted 83 toypu with like 35s... he had a buick 231 V6 motor and 350 trans with a toy case... he got drunk and wrecked it... HAHAHA Neutral drops! YAY! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MatterHorn Posted June 3, 2004 Share Posted June 3, 2004 I think that more people would be happy if they just regeared their rigs instead of hunting for a ton of horsepower ... you basically acheive the same thing, for a fraction of the cost, and still get reliablitly ... . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted June 3, 2004 Share Posted June 3, 2004 Yeah but 5.13 ring and pinions are $400 a set...two sets required, plus professional setup. Owie. T-case gears are what, $600? OW! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepRescueService14 Posted June 3, 2004 Share Posted June 3, 2004 then you can really kiss your mileage goodbye! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted June 3, 2004 Share Posted June 3, 2004 So drive slower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted June 3, 2004 Share Posted June 3, 2004 Or somebody get creative at repurposing some surplus superchargers, STAT. I know there are a lot of leftovers laying around from *gag* Ford Tbird SuperCoupes and such. Very, very fun car, by the way. Kills Mustangs and even old Vettes. Until it breaks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepRescueService14 Posted June 3, 2004 Share Posted June 3, 2004 oh no... are you saying... NO! no forditis near my Nissan! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted June 3, 2004 Share Posted June 3, 2004 Not Forditis. The superchargers are not make by Ford, but made by Eaton if I remember right. Check this out. They were 3.8 Fords, in Tbirds, cheap Mustangs, etc. Wonder what it would take to fit a Pathy... Tons of work, I'm sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted June 3, 2004 Share Posted June 3, 2004 There's gotta be a way to do that, because the VG33 XTerra's have an optional supercharger. The VG33, and the VG30 are basically the same engine if I'm not mistaken, with the 3.3L being bored out (obviously). So there must be a way to fit a supercharger on a VG30. Anyone know what make of Supercharger is on the X? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MatterHorn Posted June 3, 2004 Share Posted June 3, 2004 Yeah but 5.13 ring and pinions are $400 a set...two sets required, plus professional setup. Owie. T-case gears are what, $600? OW! yeah ... but how much would a 350 swap cost to do it right? ... a lot more than that ... for sure - I do agree though that NOS would be the better way to get power fast for cheap ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MatterHorn Posted June 3, 2004 Share Posted June 3, 2004 There's gotta be a way to do that, because the VG33 XTerra's have an optional supercharger. The VG33, and the VG30 are basically the same engine if I'm not mistaken, with the 3.3L being bored out (obviously). So there must be a way to fit a supercharger on a VG30. Anyone know what make of Supercharger is on the X? I thought I heard somewhere that it was an eaton ... but that is uncomfirmed ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted June 3, 2004 Share Posted June 3, 2004 yeah ... but how much would a 350 swap cost to do it right? ... a lot more than that ... for sure - I do agree though that NOS would be the better way to get power fast for cheap ... With most of the NOS systems, isn't it true that they only kick in at wide open throttle? That would mean it would be used about what, 1% of the time, when you're street racing your Pathy against a Mustang? Wonder what, if anything, it would do to the electronics and tuning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted June 3, 2004 Share Posted June 3, 2004 It's an Eaton, yes. The intake setup, pulley setup and everything would have to be swapped over, but I think the heads on the VG33 are slightly different from the heads on a VG30, so it won't directly fit. There was a guy on the AC board that was trying to get one to fit from a SC Frontier...never did hear if that worked out. I've seen a guy bolt an M90 from a Thunderbird SC onto his RX-7 with few additional accessories...built an SC system for about $300, including the cost of the M90 off Ebay. Wish I knew where the link to that one went. I've lost it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted June 3, 2004 Share Posted June 3, 2004 With most of the NOS systems, isn't it true that they only kick in at wide open throttle? That would mean it would be used about what, 1% of the time, when you're street racing your Pathy against a Mustang? Wonder what, if anything, it would do to the electronics and tuning. Yes, NOS should only be used at WOT. That way it doesn't have a chance of leaning out the cylinders and possibly causing detonation. Using NOS shouldn't have any adverse effects if installed properly and used sensibly... just don't install a 200HP shot on your 3.0L and hit the switch. It won't do anything to your electronics, but it's recommended that you reduce overall timing by about 2 degrees per 50 HP of NOS added just as a safeguard against detonation. I hit WOT all the time trying to accelerate on the freeway, between stoplights, etc. My auto Pathy sucks at accelerating. I'm seriously considering a 50 or 75 HP setup for my Pathy. I think it'd be fun. Maybe I could find a Cheater or Zex setup for cheap on Ebay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MatterHorn Posted June 3, 2004 Share Posted June 3, 2004 yeah that would be sweet ... would that be a fogger type system? ... or would you try and patch one into the manifold? dont they have a system available for the vg30e's? ... I thought I saw that on Summit or something ... that would definately be cool ... mine does ok accelerating untill about half way through 3rd gear ... then it sucks ... I hardly ever use fifth at all unless I am cruising a long distance ... of course that is with my 35's too ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mile_High_Pathy Posted June 3, 2004 Share Posted June 3, 2004 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...&category=33646 This has to be good for 10-20 HP increase, don't you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdub Posted June 3, 2004 Share Posted June 3, 2004 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...&category=33646 This has to be good for 10-20 HP increase, don't you think? You know it. (sarcasm) Especially if you turned it into a functional scoop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted June 3, 2004 Share Posted June 3, 2004 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...&category=33646 This has to be good for 10-20 HP increase, don't you think? That and a fake carbon fiber rear wing, and you'd be set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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