I've been considering a few different engines for a swap into my zed, and one interesting option is the VQ30DET.

And yes....that's VQ, not VG.

It's from the Nissan Cedric's and Cima's AFAIK.

209 kW (280 hp) at 6000 rpm and 387 N•m (285 lb•ft) at 3600 rpm on a 9.0:1 compression ratio

Being and all alloy V6 I'd imagine it would have the weight advantage over the RB's and VG's, and would give a better weight distribution than a straight 6.

So has anyone heard of this swap being done into an early zed, or any other comments on the idea?

Edit: They are quite well priced too..... AUS$2700 for a front cut.

The us never saw any cars with the VQ series engine. I might be wrong but I sure I know I've never seen an American spec VQ30det

Is that a single turbo engine? I remember a 2+2 that was a V engine not sure if this was the one but it wasn't a VG30DETT because it was only single turbo from the factory.

closest thing I could find to it was this....

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1286

might be better off asking this questions at www.hybridz.org

lordbiotree: Pretty sure the US never saw them, nor did we over here in Australia. It's only now that they are starting to come into the country, and as such they are still quite cheap. I can see that changing over the next few years though.

Gav240z: Yeah they're single turbo. What you've probably seen was a VG30DET, the single turbo version of the VG from the Z31 300ZX.

The VQ's are far smaller and alot lighter than the VG. Make the same power and more torque than a VG30DETT in standard form too.

I've had a look over on hybrid Z as well.....nothing there at all on the VQ.

The Gloria/Cima & Leopard ran the VQ30DET.

I reckon it'd be a good call, less real-estate required than the VG30DETT but just as much power.

And for only $2700 - BARGAIN!

Other thing I really like is having less weight than an L6, RB, or VG, and the weight being so much further back.

I'd imagine engine would be almost completely behind the front axles.

Apparently, being an alloy block (not as stiff) they aren't capable of as much power as the VG........but seriously, I'm never gonna be pushing the motor to that level.

The japs seem to comfortanly and reliably pull 550+HP for the VQ's.

Sounds good in theory, would help the Z to understeer a little less on hard cornering but so would good suspension setup I guess.

Not sure if I'll ever swap away from the L series but If I did I think it would an RB personally still not a bad idea you have there.

Ultimately, I'm still a very big fan of straight 6's, and especially the RB's. Realistically though, I'm more likely to do an RB20 swap as it's still cheaper, I know exactly what's involved and I'd be quite happy with it's performance.

Still....the VQ idea is really starting to grow on me.

Originally posted by Datto-Zed

I've been considering a few different engines for a swap into my zed, and one interesting option is the VQ30DET.

And yes....that's VQ, not VG.

It's from the Nissan Cedric's and Cima's AFAIK.

Being and all alloy V6 I'd imagine it would have the weight advantage over the RB's and VG's, and would give a better weight distribution than a straight 6.

So has anyone heard of this swap being done into an early zed, or any other comments on the idea?

Edit: They are quite well priced too..... AUS$2700 for a front cut.

Hi, Im new to this board and I saw your post.

If I ever had the money I was thinking about getting a 70s Z car and doing the same swap. Here in the states non turbo 190 hp VQ30 engines can be had for less than $500 dollars or someone could get a JDM VQ30DET for a couple grand. With some dedicated fabrication I think it would be a great swap. I dont know alot about Z cars but I know about the VQ series engine. Theres a few Maximas with turboed VQs on stock internals that push 350~500 WHP on pump gas and are daily drivers. So the motor definitly has potential.

G'day joe!

Hmm been a while since I've thought about the VQ idea, still love to do it though. I have heard though that the piping for the turbo on the VQ30DET would clear the strut tower on the zeds. This requires either the manifolds or piping to be modified...... or to modify the strut tower.

Maybe one day when I have some $$$ to build up a nice zed I'll go the VQ.

I don't know how similar the VG engines are to the VQ engines but here's a shot of a twin turbo VG30 in a 1st generation S30. This car was built by Too Intense Restorations.