Nissan 350Z with FX45 V8 Engine

[Starbucks]

Looking at the photos of both cars engine bays, I think it might be possible to fit the VQ45 into the 350Z. I'm assuming that this engine is 140lbs heavier, just by subrtacting the FX35 weight from the FX45.

The 140lbs of added weight shouldn't be such a big deal. I'm sure it can be made up for (not totally, of course) with a CF hood, CF fenders...

VQ35 engine bay


VQ45 engine bay


If the added weight doesnt affect handling too much then I might consider doing it. If its possible.

[turbo2nr]

you will have to measure the dimentions of the 350z engin bay and see it the vq45 will fit its fat self into there, i mean its pretty cramped their isnt much space for even the greddy turbo kit soo good luck
1

[89Turbo944]

Well i think it will fit width wise. But the tranny tunnel will most likley have to be opened up a bit, and some serious fabrication of mounts. But please dont go and put a V8 in the 350Z and turn it into a 450Z. The car is almost perfect the way it is. Dont mess with it, unless you have turbocharging in mind

[Starbucks]

haha 450Z good one. God, I don't even think you can even fit 1 turbo let alone 2. A man can dream...a man can dream.

Hey how about we bore and stroke it to 5.0 litres and place the turbos somewhere below, close to the radiator. That actually might work. We could even TT it. My god imagine the possibilities! 5.0 TT 1800HP 2000LB LOL. The only person with a Nissan 500Z

[89Turbo944]

my 500Z TT does 8second 1/4miles. Its ok, only 1800hpLOL

The only problem with putting the turbos near the rad would be the excess heat to the cooling system. It would make it very hard to run at high speeds. I would suges tou wount them more near the top of the engine bay. And make holes in the hood for the air to get the the front wheel of the turbo. I have seen it done on some supra drag cars. The make a hole in the hood right where the turbo intake pipe would be , essentialy eliminating the pipe and raming the air in. That would work better for cooling as well.

O no, now i need ALOT of money

[Starbucks]

Turbos sticking out of the hood? Nah. I didn't mean behind the radiator, more like to the side. I think it's fesable with a wider air duct (Gotta get a body kit that has a wider air inlet, thus allowing the turbos to breathe easier) Then there wouldn't be "pull me over" written all over it. The VQ is already one of the best engines in the world, how about a bigger version of it? Toyota was scared of the VQ's presence in JGTC, so they put in a V8 in the Supra. Considering how heavy that old V8 must be, I'm no longer afraid of the weight gains. With the VQ45 in place, it would still be 436lbs lighter than an SVT Cobra. Not to mention strong NA numbers. Right now the VQ45 uses a crappy intake system, limiting it's performance but I'm sure we can fix that.

The only imported sports car with a V8 and 330+ TQ NA...

[Starbucks]

It seems that I have made a miscalculation. The VQ45 is only 89lbs heavier than the VQ35! That's very good news!! The 140lbs I got earlier was from subtracting the AWD version from the RWD version.

[rizzspeed]

Would the 6speed tranny fit the larger motor though?

[Richard 350z]

Why don't you try it? A new FX45 V8 engine shouldn't cost any more than maybe $12,000 from Nissan (I know of someone who paid $9,000 for a new 350Z V6 engine from Nissan in Japan). And you can take the V6 out and sell it to someone who blew their engine with a procharger. LOL

If it fits, you might just have yourself a cottage industry converting cars into 450Z's.

[Starbucks]

Hmm Ok you know what, I will try it, as soon as I get more money. Right now I am living alone, and I have to pay rent So it might be a while before we start the purchases. Wish me luck.

[VQuick]

The engine should fit, with some work. Since the FX and the 350Z are both based on the FM platform, the engine bays are probably similar in size. There may be some issue with the suspension, since the FX uses a different front suspension.

Impul in Japan supposedly makes a stroker kit for the V8 that takes it up to either 5 or 5.5 liters. I can't remember which.

If there isn't room for turbos, how about a supercharger? There is one available for the Q45(same engine) from Keuylian Motorcars, good for 450hp, a gain of roughly 100hp, at only 7.5psi. That power comes from the blower and the air/water intercooler, and everything else is stock. On Freshalloy forums, it's been suggested that the stock exhaust is very restrictive. An aftermarket unit could free up a lot of additional power. Unfortunately, the blower costs about $10k.

Oh, and by the way...The V8 is a whole different family(though still related to the VQ), called the VK, not the VQ. The 'Endurance' engine found in the Nissan Titan pickup and Armada SUV is basically a VK as well, albeit stripped of the CVTC and expanded to 5.6L.

Although it isn't a V8, there is also the option of the VQ40DE, once it debuts in the '05 Frontier and Pathfinder. Both it and the Endurance offer lots of torque, and would be an interesting powerplant for the 350Z.

[Starbucks]

Wow a stroker kit for the V8 already. I've got to see this. Sorry gotta go with the legendary "twin turbos".

[VQuick]

Keep in mind the VK45DE V8 isn't that new. It made it's US debut in late 2001 with the '02 Q45. It may have been in Japan for even longer.

The VK does have some potential, but you might need to work for it. To start with, it is an undersquare design(stroke > bore), so it doesn't have a revvy character.
Reduce the stroke a bit, add hotter cams, more compression, bring displacement down to around 4L, and you'd probably have a sporty 400hp+ V8 worthy of placement in the GT-R. At least that's what I was hoping Nissan would have done, anyway.

Infiniti's Indy Racing League motor is made from a VK block. It is reduced to 3.5L, turbocharged, and runs on methanol, producing 650hp.

[VH45DETTwithNOS]

I don't know why it shouldn't fit into a 350z engine bay since the new GT-R is based off the 350z and has the 300kw V8 in it....

[Starbucks]

Do you guys know of any publicly available VK parts? I really do not have time to develop my own internal parts. Fabricating an Intake, headers, and exhaust maybe, but internals could prove a bit difficult.