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350z


racerx

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You say no cam for the 3.7 VVEL motor, but Jim Wolf has a mod to the VVEL assembly itself to increase lift/duration of the intake event.

 

JWT has exhaust cam's (as does JUN) the VVEL mod is done through software like UpRev. We tune cars at Z1 and can make changes to VVEL. The only downside is that NO aftermarket cam can be used on the intake side.

 

Exhaust cams are honestly useless in the 3.7 VHR. Gains are negligible, and labor/parts cost is too high to justify.

 

Very informative metalmonkey, thank u for ur very detailed synopsis. Seems like 2007 is the way to go. But it also seems like it has issues not as bad as earlier models but an improvement.

IMO, the few issues it does have are not difficult to resolve. It's well worth the potential hassle. Also, a lot of cars on the market for sale have already had these resolved.

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Your issue wasn't oil pump, it was oil gallery gaskets. It's an internal leak from the oil gallery covers, fairly common. Sounds like the dealer wasn't familiar with VQ's. Your 370Z suffers the same fate eventually, if it ever starts to lose oil pressure, address the gallery gaskets asap.

 

These cars do produce low oil PSI at idle (600RPM idle is about 15PSI) but should never read near zero.

 

 

 

Except the '07+ VQ35HR's.

they replaced those parts I believe 

didnt fix the problem 

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I know a guy who takes care of EVERYTHING he has.

 

Has 28k (current) on his 04’ 350z

-entire transmission replaced with newer one at 14k ? I believe.

-oil pressure/bleed down at start up (tells me not every time , but it might as well be).

-oil consumption (I don’t remember how much)

-took it into 3 different dealers on several occasions.

-he swore he won’t be purchasing another 350z , and told me not to touch them.

 

I have *no* personal experience with them just relaying info from another customer. Looks like MM47 knows what’s going on.

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After hearing and reading on line and here, I think that engine design new or old with 350 z was bad. Maybe internal parts like rings and valve guides..who knows, nissan won't admit. Will try to talk some sense to my son.

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I think you're overthinking the issues. Every powertrain has its issues, the VQ platform is fantastic. I don't care for the early DE because of its oil consumption, but we've put well over 400hp behind these motors through turbo's and superchargers, and we run them all day long during time attack events.

 

Our Time Attack 370Z is tuned just shy of 600whp on E85 and it has been incredibly reliable, seeing far more abuse than the typical street car. We've pushed oil and coolant temps far beyond threshold on the track a few times now, and it's held every bit of it. 

 

 

^The white car in this video at the time it was recorded was making around 450whp on the stock un-opened high mileage engine. He had a built motor, and tried every day to break this thing. It simply wouldn't die. It now has a built 3.5 with cams, forged rotating assembly, etc and makes just shy of 600whp on low boost with a single turbo.

 

 

^^This car has taken astounding amounts of abuse for years, makes 666whp on pump gas.

 

The oil pressure issue is generally a non-issue. The cars idle low, about 550rpm with the A/C off. With oil temps up in normal range, oil pressure drops to about 15psi. Most people think that's low or indicates an issue, but that's normal spec for a VQ in those conditions. 

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Yep..not sure about that smoke. You said that every powertrain has issues? What issue does an L series have?

 

That's a twin turbo high compression car with stock PCV system and no catch can, if it didn't smoke on the dyno after an 8000rpm pull, I'd be concerned. I'm guessing many people here aren't familiar with cars making 400+HP

 

I don't think I'm the right person to speak about that, but I can tell you that although L-series engines are incredibly reliable this is due to their simplicity, not only their design. They wear out, just like any other car and can become issue-prone as they age.

 

VQ's are far more complex engines than the average commuter engine and they're absolutely phenomenal given their complexity. I've put 63,000 miles on my '07 since I bought it, I've had zero powertrain related failures besides radiator and thermostat in the many years. I track the car on road coarses, I put near 80 miles on the car daily commuting and it's done exceptionally.

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Read what u wrote, u said every power train has issues. Yes, I'm aware of cars making over 400 hp, was into muscle cars before Japanese cars and no they didn't consume oil like the 350z. My 73 grand torino did but had over 200k miles. For z engines to consume oil like the way they do is not normal, bad design and or parts.

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The engines you're talking about were used within 3 years of production. 2003-2006. That's why I suggested 2007+. Zero oil consumption.

 

Old GM SBC's drink more oil than early VQ's. Same for Ford 4.6's.

Actually, have a neat video of a SBC powered Miata misting oil from the exhaust across the front of a Z on a road coarse.

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