Fever Racing

 

 

In 2003, Nissan developed the 350Z. With it came a new engine format, the VQ35DE.

It is an all aluminum block V6 with aluminum heads. It has dual overhead cams and variable valve timing. This motor puts out 287hp at the flywheel at a max rpm of 7200. It has a completely linear power curve and propels the 350Z 0-60 in 5.4 seconds and turns the 0-1/4 mile in 14.1sec @ 101.0mph. Not bad for a car who’s curb weight is 3188-3347 lbs(coupe), 3445-3479 lbs(convertible).

 

Since its inception many tuners have had tweaked and tuned the 350Z into producing a lot more horsepower. Just adding a turbo kit to the VQ35 will increase horsepower by 150hp+. The VQ35 has proven itself to be one of the most popular engines for tuners to build because it is light, makes good horsepower, is very tunable, and sounds great under acceleration. This combination has led many people to try to utilize (swap) the VQ35DE engine in their car.

The 240SX is the most popular chassis currently being used by many who want to either drift, drag, or show. Many manufacturers have recognized the 240SX’s nimble yet stiff chassis and the combination or independent suspension and RWD make it ideal. There are many, many manufacturers that produce aftermarket performance upgrades for every part of the 240SX. Nearly every suspension component you can think of is available.

The VQ35DE motor fits nicely into the 240SX’s engine bay. It is about the same weight as the KA24DE 4cyl motor that came in the 240SX. The KA24DE uses a cast iron block which adds considerable weight. Here is a picture of the VQ35DE installed into a 240SX S13 chassis:

You can see how well it fits. We make a bolt-in kit to help you install the VQ35DE into either the 90-94 (S13) or the 96-98 (S14) 240SX chassis’. It consists of a remanufactured front X-member, a transmission mounting bracket, a shifter mounting bracket, and front sway bar spacers. With this kit the VQ35DE easily bolts into the 240SX like it was made for it. Here are some pics of these components:

 

This is the trans mounting bracket:  

 

 

This is the shifter mounting bracket:

 

This is the engine X-member:         

Installation of the engine will also require custom rubber motor mounts and a custom driveshaft. We can provide these for you also.

 

After the motor and trans are installed there are several challenges to overcome. You will need some sort of engine management system to operate the fuel system and the ignition system. The factory ECU that comes with the 350Z is very complex. I won’t spend a lot of time explaining all of it but in short, it is very difficult to use the factory ECU in a swap. The factory ECU works on a cannes system. It is linked to 4 different computers in the car as well as the ignition key itself. They all have to talk to each other in order for the car to run. If you were to “borrow” an ECU from a 350Z and install it into an IDENTICAL 350Z it would not start the car because the keys are all coded to that particular car and that ECU.

Also, the VQ35DE (like most cars today) use a “drive by wire” throttle assembly rather than a cable driven throttle body. It uses an electronic voltage signal from the throttle sender on the pedal assembly to send a signal through the ECU which then routes it to a step motor on the side of the throttle to open and close the throttle plate. We use a 75mm cable driven throttle body and make an adapter plate and pipe that bolt onto the upper plenum after removal of the OEM Nissan throttle body. You can then use the 240SX’s factory throttle cable. Here is a close up picture of our throttle pipe:

 

It utilizes a Ford Mustang Cobra TPS switch. You can buy those at you local auto parts store or direct from Ford. That’s where we buy the TPS pigtail harness.

 

Now for the toughest problem to tackle: how to get the engine to fire up and run. We have taken all the guess work out of it for you. We use a complete stand alone fuel management system. AEM makes one of the best FMU’s (Fuel Management Unit) on the market today. They are extremely comprehensive and tunable. You can do anything and run anything with the AEM FMU. It takes the place of the factory ECU. You won’t need it at all. It is completely stand alone. You will need the factory EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection) wiring harness from the donor car although you won’t need all of it. We convert the factory EFI harness to a plug-and-play harness that plugs right into the AEM and then plugs into all of the VQ35DE’s injectors and many of its sensors. We will then provide you with a start up fuel map to upload to the AEM FMU computer. With this fuel map the engine will fire up. You will then need to tune the car properly based on your particular application (normally aspirated, turbo charged, supercharged, size injectors, etc…). Expect to spend 6-8 hours on a dyno tuning the car properly. The AEM will require a few thing that the VQ35DE motor does not use or is at least different than stock. It needs a 3.5bar map sensor, a coolant temp sensor, an air temp sensor, and a Ford TPS. You will also need to upgrade the fuel pump. We use the Walbro 255 (255 LPH).

Here are some pics of the sensors and how we install them:

  

The coolant temp sensor:                

 

The Air Temp Sensor:            

 

 

We install the map sensor into the air pipe in front of the Throttle body but after the air filter.

The last couple things that need to be addressed are the steering shaft, the rack-n-pinion, the speedometer, and the clutch slave cylinder. The steering rack-n-pinion will have to be rotated slightly to clear the factory exhaust manifolds. The steering shaft U-joint will have to be ground away slightly to improve clearance. Here is a picture of the finished product:

 

The clutch slave cylinder will have to be moved to the driver’s side of the car in order to bolt onto the OEM position for eth 350Z. We wrap the line in heat wrap because it comes very close to the driver’s side exhaust manifold.

Here is a picture:

 

The speedometer is driven from a pinion gear on the 240SX’s transmission. The 350Z’s speedo is driven by a signal developed by the ABS brake system and goes through several ECU’s before making the needle move. What we do is buy the differential assembly from an S15 chassis. The S15 Silvia was only available in Japan. It is a bolt-in diff for the 240SX and it utilizes a speedo pinion to drive the speedo on the S15. Just wire it in and you have a speedometer.

From here you need to make some custom radiator hoses, a Y-Pipe to mate the twin exhaust manifolds to you single exhaust system, some heater hoses, electric cooling fans on you factory 240SX radiator, install the Walbro 255 fuel pump and wire up the relays that we can provide with our wiring harness service for the AEM and your EFI. And turn the key!

 

 

Approximate costs:

 

VQ35DE engine -used $2300

6-spd manual transmission –used $750

Bolt-in swap kit $1200 + $200 core fee (we need your X-member back)

AEM ECU w/ UEGO controller built in – new $2300

AEM 3.5 bar MAP sensor and harness $194

AEM air temp sensor $58

AEM coolant temp sensor $40

Ford TPS switch $65

Ford TPS switch harness $42

Custom driveshaft –new $450

Wiring harness service $500

Relays and wiring harnesses $65

Rubber engine mounts (2) - @ $60 each

75mm aluminum throttle body $250

Custom Throttle body pipe $125

FAL dual electric fans $349

SPEC stage 3 perf clutch $659 optional

SPEC aluminum flywheel $429 optional

Fever Racing N1 style stainless exhaust system $359

Fever Racing polished upper plenum $250

Professional installation provided by Z-Fever, Inc $1800 + $600 for tuning.