Explore VG30DE Modifications"

How to modify and upgrade the Nissan VG30DE

"Comprehensive guide to tuning the Nissan VG30DE engine!"

Our friends at TorqueCars are always getting messages requesting information on how to improve the VG30DE from people inquiring about getting more power from the VG30DE and wanting to know what are the ultimate VG30DE modifications. So let us look into Nissan VG30DE modifications and outline the best modifications on this great engine and point out some problems along the way.

The Nissan VG30DE offer good returns when tuned and with the optimum motorsport tuning mods like remapping, turbo upgrades and camshafts you will dramatically maximise your driving enjoyment.

Let us detail the best approach to VG30DE tuning and point out the greatest upgrades.

When talking about the greatest parts for your VG30DE engine, we are going to concentrate on the upgrades that give the biggest return for your cash.

Improving air intake on the VG30DE

You need air and fuel for an engine to work. If there is little supply of fuel then it will run lean, if there is not enough air it runs rich resulting in lost power . We'll pick up on fuelling later in this article but for now we shall look at air supply.

So Getting air and fuel into each cylinder is vital to any engine upgrade job.

It is common that there's a limit in the air flow sensor MAP/MAF/AFM on the VG30DE when considerably more air is being fed into the engine.

You'll see that 4 bar air sensors coping with quite large power gains, whereas the OEM air sensor was restricting torque at a much lower level.

Engines intake headers flow the during the engines suck phase from the air cleaner and allow it to be fed into the engine and mixed with fuel.

Shape and flow characteristics of the air Intake manifold can make a noticeable effect on to fuel delivery on the VG30DE.

I usually find air intake manifolds are begging for a performance upgrade, although some makers provide reasonably good air intake manifolds.

Big valve conversions on the VG30DE, doing some VG30DE port enlargement and head flowing will also increase torque, & more importantly will afford you a better torque increase on other upgrades.

VG30DE performance cam tips.

Different VG30DE engines respond better to different camshaft durations check your engine on a rolling road.

The ecu map and injectors and fuel pump also will make differences on the power gains you'll hit.

Extending exhaust or intake durations can alter the power band and on most engines the exhaust and intake durations do not need to match, although most cams and tuners use matched pairs there are some advantages to extending the intake or exhaust durations.

The cam profile plays a big part in the engines power output so cam upgrades make quite a large difference. The intake and exhaust durations will alter depending on the chosen cam profile, so large bhp gains are on offer for cam upgrades.

NB: Fast road cams commonly raise the torque over the rev range, you could sacrifice a little bottom end bhp but higher rpm power will be better.

Competition cams, raise the higher rpm power band but as a result the car will not idle smoothly and low end power nearly always suffers.

On a road car you should ideally to optimize your engines power to your typical driving style.

I would be surprised if you find a VG30DE Motorsport camshaft is a pleasure to live with when in heavy traffic.

Stage 1, 2 and 3 mods for the VG30DE

Before we break the best tuning upgrades down into stages of tune, let's list the most effective tuning upgrades for you.

1. Suspension Upgrades - always improve your cars handling
2. Brake Upgrades - Even before adding power improve those brakes
3. Intake - make sure the intake is not restricted, use filters and intake upgrades to improve this
4. Exhaust - as with 3 ensure there is not restriction in the exhaust, cats are the usual bottleneck
5. Tunes - remapping, piggyback ECU's and aftermarket ECU's can all make decent gains
6. Fuelling - when you've increased power you'll need to match this with more fuel
7. Turbo upgrades - Improving the intake with a large turbo and better flowing intercooler will be the biggest power gain you'll see (but one of the most complex).

This video guide to tuning cars is a great starting point to work from in your project.

Stage 1 VG30DE parts:

Drilled & smoothed airbox, Fast road camshaft, Remaps/piggy back ECU, Sports exhaust manifold, Panel air filters, Intake headers.

Stage 2 VG30DE parts:

high flow fuel injectors, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust, induction kit, Fast road cam, Ported and polished head, fuel pump upgrades.

Stage 3 VG30DE parts:

Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Twin charging conversions, Competition cam, Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression, Engine balancing & blueprinting, Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves).

ECU mapping should help to release the full potential of all the parts you've done to your VG30DE.

You will typically expect to see gains of approximately 20-30% more power on turbocharged vehicles and you can expect to see around 15% on NASP engines, but your results often differs on the parts you've carried out and the condition of your engine.

Turbo modifications on the VG30DE

To get a turbo working on a NASP engine there is a lot involved, from lowering compression ratio to improved fuel supply and mapping, so we have found a great guide to helpavoid the common pitfalls or end up with an unfinished project because you were not told what you were getting into by doing this on the VG30DE.

The more air you can get into an engine, the more fuel it can burn and uprating the induction with a turbocharger upgrade makes major power gains.

When your car is fitted with a turbocharger tuning mods are simpler to install and turbocharged engines will have many forged and stronger components.

However engines will have power limits

Research these restrictions and fit better quality crank and pistons to cope with the power.

It's not unheard of tuners spending a loads on turbocharger upgrades on the VG30DE only to watch the car literally blow up when it's completed.

Big turbochargers will usually suffer low end lag, and small turbochargers spool up really quickly but won't have the top end power band gains.

Thankfully the selection of turbo units is always moving on and we are seeing variable vane turbo units, allowing the vane profile is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end bhp.

Twin scroll turbo units divert the exhaust flow into two channels and feed these at differently designed vanes in the turbocharger. They also improve the scavenging effect of the engine.

Beefing up the air intake by adding a supercharger or additional turbo will help you achieve very large bhp gains, although harder to setup. We have this guide to twinchargers if you want to read more.

Tips about fuel supply on the VG30DE

Don't miss you'll need to raise the fuel delivery when you are increasing the power - it makes the car more thirsty. At this point we flag up the need to over specify your flow rate on the injectors.

The rule of thumb is to add 15% capacity when buying an injector, this takes into account injector deterioration and gives some spare capacity should the engine require more fuel.

Don't forget that different fuel grades will usually require different settings, a high octane fuel will burn more efficiently than lower octane fuel for example. A car will trim fuel supply to keep within the ideal air fuel mix but at the extreme ends you may need to adjust your injector capacity, or the mapping or you'll get flat spots and potential lean or rich fuel issues..

Recommended VG30DE performance exhaust upgrades

You only need to to increase your exhaust system with an upgraded one is if the existing exhaust is creating a flow problem.

On most factory exhausts you'll find your flow rate is still fine even on modest power gains, but on a serious tuning project with a big boost in power you will certainly need to get a better flowing exhaust.

Sports exhausts generally help improve air flow out of the engine but avoid an exhaust that is too big or you may end up will reduce the flow rate. Stick to one and a half to two and half inches as a rule of thumb.

Usual exhaust restrictions can be located the catalyst and filters installed, so adding a faster flowing race alternative will help avoid this restriction.

Decat pipes (NB:catalysts reduce harmful engine emissions) is illegal in most countries and regions.

Faults issues and things to look out for on the VG30DE

Like most engines an VG30DE, should have few issues if it gets properly serviced and looked after.

We cannot stress enough the need for oil changes with the correct grade of oil on the VG30DE, failure to do this will exacerbate engine wear, on a tuned VG30DE this is more important than ever and close attention should be paid to your maintenance schedule.

If you are interested in learning more or getting impartial tuning advice for your VG30DE why not pop over to the forums at TorqueCars where you can chat about VG30DE tuning options and read about others projects who may be planning to do similar modifications on their VG30DE.

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This entry was posted under Makes and Models. Tags: engine, nissan
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