R50 engine showdown

[alexrex20]

do the automatics not come with 4.6s? because i'm pretty sure the engine plate on my '00 VG says HG46...

 

i wouldn't say my R50 is quick, but it's definitely a gas guzzler

[vengeful]

Typically, the Automatics come with the 4.6s, and the Manuals come with the 4.3s. If you read Alex's post, it says he's got a 5-speed.

 

Read and use that thing between your ears!

[tekazgtr1984]

Typically, the Automatics come with the 4.6s, and the Manuals come with the 4.3s. If you read Alex's post, it says he's got a 5-speed.

 

Read and use that thing between your ears!

 

Sorry vengeful... My brain was shut off this morning.

So in that case, my auto has the 4.6 gears. Now that I know, I'll never speak of it again

As for the O/D off below 45mph, is that substantiated? I tried it on the drive home from work and things felt a bit different... A bit more spunk off the line without hammering the gas pedal. To be honest, I don't know what I'm supposed to expect...

[alexrex20]

Typically, the Automatics come with the 4.6s, and the Manuals come with the 4.3s. If you read Alex's post, it says he's got a 5-speed.

 

Read and use that thing between your ears!

 

who are you replying to? i'm alex and i never said i had a 5-speed, unless you meant 5-speed AOD... :roll:

 

my VG is an auto and has 4.6s. tekaz implied he had an auto with 4.3s, which is what i was replying to. perhaps you should follow your own advice before you call someone out and make an ass of yourself.

[BowTied]

Automatics with 4.6s = that must be a pre 2001? I understand my '02 auto to have 4.363:1 gears.

[systemf]

**Just a side note here, but in Japan, the R50 never came with the VQ35DE as engine variation. Aside from what Wikipedia alleges as legitimate info, the JDM version had three engine options. From 1996-2004, the only options were:

- gas (VG33E);

- and two diesel variations (QD32DTi '96-'99, ZD30DDTi '99-'04)

I've always wondered why these variations weren't available here, and why the VQ wasn't a variation over there...

 

 

 

The R50 was also available with the TD27T...at least in New Zealand, maybe OZ too

 

 

And once again, who has more than 150k miles on a VQ motor. How long are these lasting with an open deck and aluminum blocks? The VG maybe the grunt of the bunch but I would rather have it 50miles from the middle of no where when it comes to reliability.

Edited November 29, 2008 by systemf

[tekazgtr1984]

who are you replying to? i'm alex and i never said i had a 5-speed, unless you meant 5-speed AOD... :roll:

 

my VG is an auto and has 4.6s. tekaz implied he had an auto with 4.3s, which is what i was replying to. perhaps you should follow your own advice before you call someone out and make an ass of yourself.

 

That was my bad... sorry Alex.

[Thunderbolt]

The R50 was also available with the TD27T...at least in New Zealand, maybe OZ too

 

 

And once again, who has more than 150k miles on a VQ motor. How long are these lasting with an open deck and aluminum blocks? The VG maybe the grunt of the bunch but I would rather have it 50miles from the middle of no where when it comes to reliability.

 

As right now I've 138K, so what is another 14K, I'll let you know when she hits that mark in about 6 months or sooner. To bad that Nissan doesn't make badge that say 150k,200K and etc, like I use to see on Volvo. Hey that might be an idea.

[alexrex20]

That was my bad... sorry Alex.

 

why apologize? you did nothing wrong. vengeful, on the other hand...

[Geoff57]

One thing I and others on the PCOA forum here in Oz have noticed with the auto VG33 R50s when towing a van or some other heavy load. Is it takes the engine and the auto ECUs quite a few kilometers to figure out extra weight is being towed.

 

Initially the performance is poor with lots of full throttle required to get the thing moving. After a 100ks or so the Ecus seem to get there act together and learn to adjust to what is required and the vehicle performance improves markedly.

 

Fitting FWHs is one of the simplest and most effective ways to get extra performance from a VG33 R50

 

Still I thinK I would rather have a ZD30 diesel R50.

 

Love that diesel smell and the rattle rattle at idle Not to mention all that torque under 2000rpm

 

Geoff

Edited November 29, 2008 by Geoff57

[02silverpathy]

I think that gears and LSD's from the factory in general was all optioned out for the 96-99...I had an automagic 98 XE (with power options) had 0 real extras but did earn a 4.36 WITH the factory LSD, supposedly SE's came with 4.36 and LSD together. Shop car-part.com and look at bone yards near you to find that there are tons of different pathy's with and without higher gears and no real reason or ryhme.

 

My 2002 SE auto (with power options again) had 4.36 OPEN diff. As I was at 4 auctions looking for a sweet Pathy for cheap I noticed that most all the newer R50's had no LSD with exception of the ALL-MODEs which seemed to have a better chance of LSD---but not even all of them were equipped.

[BowTied]

I think that gears and LSD's from the factory in general was all optioned out for the 96-99...I had an automagic 98 XE (with power options) had 0 real extras but did earn a 4.36 WITH the factory LSD, supposedly SE's came with 4.36 and LSD together. Shop car-part.com and look at bone yards near you to find that there are tons of different pathy's with and without higher gears and no real reason or ryhme.

 

My 2002 SE auto (with power options again) had 4.36 OPEN diff. As I was at 4 auctions looking for a sweet Pathy for cheap I noticed that most all the newer R50's had no LSD with exception of the ALL-MODEs which seemed to have a better chance of LSD---but not even all of them were equipped.

 

 

Very interesting. My 02 allmode LE has LSD which supports your theory.

 

FWIW, towing a pop-up tent trailer with my VQ (not too heavy, 2-2500lbs?) was a breeze, barely knew it was there. Mind you I never use OD when towing anything of consequence.

[tekazgtr1984]

why apologize? you did nothing wrong. vengeful, on the other hand...

 

My lack of knowledge led to a misunderstanding, so that's why I apologized

[nissandoms47]

All VQ powered R50s came with 4.3 gears. I'm alex........

[tekazgtr1984]

All VQ powered R50s came with 4.3 gears. I'm alex........

 

Werd Alex... so the VG's came with 4.6's in the auto?

[vengeful]

who are you replying to? i'm alex and i never said i had a 5-speed, unless you meant 5-speed AOD... :roll:

 

my VG is an auto and has 4.6s. tekaz implied he had an auto with 4.3s, which is what i was replying to. perhaps you should follow your own advice before you call someone out and make an ass of yourself.

 

 

The other Alex...

[laxman0324]

MY 97 SE auto has 4.6's, my 01 5 speed has 4.3's

[dhardison]

You know I'm a newbie to Pathfinders and this site but I've owned tons of Nissans with both engines and here are my thoughts. I really always wanted a WD21 Path so that's what I bought when the time came and didn't really think about the VQ VG part. I almost got buyers remorse over the VG though because I quickly realized it was a chore to keep up with normal fast paced traffic. Over the last month though I've massaged my truck with new NGK plugs, a high flow cat, K&N filter, fresh synthetic fluids front to back and the results have been outstanding. I can keep up with all the fast moving traffic and effortlessly run 80 on the slab when I have to. Plus I'm getting a consistent 18 mpg in mixed driving with selective use of the AC compressor.

 

Now I don't pretend to know what VQ Pathfinders get but 3 VQ Maximas I've owned and my Z rarely ever get, or got, over 20 mpg in mixed driving and the norm is closer to 19. The VQ just seems like a thirsty engine. My friend with an 05 Vette gets better mileage than my Z. In all fairness though I've always run those cars with the climate control set to auto year round and let the compressor cycle all the time.

 

Still my vote goes for the VQ just for not having to worry about the timing belt and it seems to be the power champ too. But the VG seems to be less thirsty. For the record none of my VQs ever used more than a shot glass of oil between changes but I must be lucky because this forum and my favorite Z forum have countless horror stories about VQs with oil consumption issues.

[denvern]

**Just a side note here, but in Japan, the R50 never came with the VQ35DE as engine variation. Aside from what Wikipedia alleges as legitimate info, the JDM version had three engine options. From 1996-2004, the only options were:

- gas (VG33E);

- and two diesel variations (QD32DTi '96-'99, ZD30DDTi '99-'04)

I've always wondered why these variations weren't available here, and why the VQ wasn't a variation over there...

 

I think it has to do with competition in North America. Imagine a 270hp GMC Envoy vs 170hp Pathfinder.

 

Having owned both a VG and now a VQ, I must admit the added power is awesome!! It really changes the personality of the truck. The VG is a solid, tried and true engine and has aged very well. However I would choose the VQ if given the choice.

[zonianbrat]

I owned a 97R50 with the VG 3.3 and 31" tires. When you factor in your mileage you have to factor in the terrain you drive. I live in Colorado and when I used to commute to Denver (120miles round trip) I would never get more than 16. The drive from Ft. Collins to Denver is mostly flat. Granted in order to keep from being run over by semi's in I-25 you have to do atleast 70 if not 75. When I got my current job it involved alot of highway driving either south down Colorado or East across Wyoming. Both drives included alot of steep sometimes gradual inclines. My gas mileage would really suffer because I would have to make that VG scream to get up some of those hills without being run over. It was pathetic at times as driving east across Wyoming sometimes I could barely keep up with Semi's going up gradual hills with my foot to the floor. After having that truck then totalling it, I have come to the conclusion that I will not own another pathfinder (as a DD that has to run on the highway's up here) unless it has the VQ. So when deciding if it is worth it to own a VG I think you have to look at your driving habits and the terrain. On flat land the VG handles things and can keep up without much problem while actually getting "par" fuel mileage. On hilly/gradually elevating terrain or quick steep hills the VG is just not really up to it unless you keep your foot buried and the rev's high therefore getting sub par mileage. Perhaps a re-gear would have "helped" but I just do not think the VG has the power to keep up with the terrain and the increasing maximum speed limits up here. Now if the speed limit was still 55 then you would have no problems with the VG.

[nissandoms47]

K heres the run down with the VG powered R50s. XE and LE models came with 4.3s if they had the auto. SE's came with 4.6s all around because they had the bigger tire size. Manual trans VG pathys depending on if it was an XE or SE came with either 4.3s or 4.6s. Pretty much if it came with the stock tire size of a 265/70R15 it had 4.6s and if it came with a stock tire size of 235/70R15 then it came with 4.3s. Its 3 am and im tired.

[adamzan]

I owned a 97R50 with the VG 3.3 and 31" tires. When you factor in your mileage you have to factor in the terrain you drive. I live in Colorado and when I used to commute to Denver (120miles round trip) I would never get more than 16. The drive from Ft. Collins to Denver is mostly flat. Granted in order to keep from being run over by semi's in I-25 you have to do atleast 70 if not 75. When I got my current job it involved alot of highway driving either south down Colorado or East across Wyoming. Both drives included alot of steep sometimes gradual inclines. My gas mileage would really suffer because I would have to make that VG scream to get up some of those hills without being run over. It was pathetic at times as driving east across Wyoming sometimes I could barely keep up with Semi's going up gradual hills with my foot to the floor. After having that truck then totalling it, I have come to the conclusion that I will not own another pathfinder (as a DD that has to run on the highway's up here) unless it has the VQ. So when deciding if it is worth it to own a VG I think you have to look at your driving habits and the terrain. On flat land the VG handles things and can keep up without much problem while actually getting "par" fuel mileage. On hilly/gradually elevating terrain or quick steep hills the VG is just not really up to it unless you keep your foot buried and the rev's high therefore getting sub par mileage. Perhaps a re-gear would have "helped" but I just do not think the VG has the power to keep up with the terrain and the increasing maximum speed limits up here. Now if the speed limit was still 55 then you would have no problems with the VG.

With my wd21 VG, I usually get about 21 mpg on the highway, around here you can do the speed limit without getting run down. This summer I made two trips, both that had a lot of hills. On the steepest one, the truck downshifted to 2nd gear at 70km/h and SCREAMED up the hill, just to hold speed. I learned, it was best just to go really really fast down the previous hills and then coast up the other side...I got 20 mpg on that trip with the a/c on most of the time

 

K heres the run down with the VG powered R50s. XE and LE models came with 4.3s if they had the auto. SE's came with 4.6s all around because they had the bigger tire size. Manual trans VG pathys depending on if it was an XE or SE came with either 4.3s or 4.6s. Pretty much if it came with the stock tire size of a 265/70R15 it had 4.6s and if it came with a stock tire size of 235/70R15 then it came with 4.3s. Its 3 am and im tired.

our r50 came with 245 70 r16 stock. It's a 5 spd 2000.

[laxman0324]

Alex is referring to 96-99, not the 99.5-00...

[tekazgtr1984]

So mine's got the 4.6 gears. Does that make it a SE model?

[systemf]

Still my vote goes for the VQ just for not having to worry about the timing belt and it seems to be the power champ too. But the VG seems to be less thirsty

 

I used to be a timing chain person, until I replaced the timing belt on a VG motor. It was without a doubt one of the easiest in depth repairs I have ever done to any automobile. Nissan's way of doing the timing belt even made changing timing belts on my Honda much easier. I have done the timing belt on my Q in about 3 hours with beer breaks. Now, I have also done a timing chain on a Z24 and let me tell you once that VQ motor chain starts slapping, assuming anyone owns one long enough (200k miles), then the VG doesn't seem like such a bad motor. It is a much easier motor to work on in my opinion.

 

As for the VQ being thirsty? My friends own a Murano AWD with the VQ and got an average of 22mpg on their vacation including some dirt road trips into the mountains. That is much better than my stock Q with a VG would get.

 

 

I'm not saying the VQ isn't a great motor, it is, but it is also much more disposable giving people the power they think they need while reducing the ease of maintenance and longevity. I have 207k miles on the caR50 and 140k miles on my Q. Both pull compression numbers at what the FSM says a healthy motor should with deviations of less than 14psi per cylinder. (172-184psi) I challenge any VQ owner to run the same test.

Edited December 1, 2008 by systemf