VG30E swap questions.

[thisisastickup]

So I have a lead on a motor, trans, ECU, and wiring harness for my swap.

 

What all will I need? and What modifications will I need to do to my car to make the swap work?

 

I have this list:

 

-Engine

-Tranny

-NA ECU

-Wiring Harness

-what else should I add here?

 

I know Experimental Engineering makes a swap kit, what all from their site do I need?

 

Thanks for all the help.

[bonvo]

follow this link it will be your best friend

http://www.vg30.com/510vg30parts.html

[thisisastickup]

Yeah, I've seen that, I should have mentioned that.

 

I'm wondering if I need to shorten my driveshaft or other shit like that to do the swap.

[bonvo]

the driveline will probibly need to have the spline end changed to match the vg trans and yes it will probibly need to be shortened

[Icehouse]

The DL splines will be fine unless your using a Z32 trans then it will need the z32 DL end... The Z31 nissan trans. I've never checked the Borg Warner trans. Someone needs to do an awesome writeup for every common engine swap!

[yellowdatsun]

The BW trans has a different spline altogether. You will have to shorten your normal driveshaft to use with the swap. Make your mounts first and get the position right, then measure for the driveshaft.

 

Go to some shows and take some detailed pics of VG swaps, they will answer a ton of questions for you, and be usefull as your swap progresses.

[thisisastickup]

Unfortunately, I don't know of any vg30 swapped dimes in my area. In fact, the only 510 I've ever seen in person is my own. I'll be getting the BW T5 tranny, can a driveline shop match the splines for me?

[yellowdatsun]

I doubt it, the BW splines are different than everything else on the planet. Get a driveshaft out of a BW equipped car. Almost nobody runs the BW box with a VG30 though, I don't on mine. If I was you I'd just run a standard box unless you already have the BW unit.

[cjr198car]

If you need pics I can snap some for you. I have team thump kit.

[Jesse C.]

I would not use the T-5 at all! It is too damn big and will require lots more work to get it in. Trust me, it is not worth it. A friend of mine had one in his conversion and did not like it at all!

 

From what I know so far, since I have not started bolting stuff up yet, the Z-31 spline should work with the 510 shaft but it will have to be shortened.

 

I believe there is a size specified for the driveshaft on VG30.com but it would be best to just measure it yourself and have it cut to your specs.

 

BTW, I have some 200SX exhaust manifolds if you are looking for some.

[thisisastickup]

If you need pics I can snap some for you. I have team thump kit.

 

That'd be awesome. I was actually hoping you'd chime in. Can I still get the team thump kit?

[cjr198car]

Not sure, drop Jeff a line @ jeff@teamthump.com. The main differences in the vg30.com kit and team thumps would be the engine mounts. Team thump uses the factory VG isolators. I think both are great kits. Im not an engineer so I cant tell you if the VG isolators are big improvement over the vg30.com setup. I can tell you that Ive never had any odd drivetrain noises and I have absolutely no vibration at idle. The kit has been in the 510 since 2003.

 

The only concern with the team thump kit is the lack of headers as an option. From what Ive read and pictures that Carter from vg30.com has sent me the vg30.com headers will fit the team thump kit without modification.

 

What pics would you like (firewall clearance, engine mounts, engine height, etc)?

 

-Colton

[Icehouse]

The DL splines will be fine unless your using a Z32 trans then it will need the z32 DL end... The Z31 nissan trans. I've never checked the Borg Warner trans. Someone needs to do an awesome writeup for every common engine swap!

 

I always thought the nissan vg30 trans was the same as a KA trans but Shawn has the nissan vg turbo trans and he said the splines were different than the 510 DL ones... Maybe the non turbo trans have the same DL spline size and count.....

[thisisastickup]

Not sure, drop Jeff a line @ jeff@teamthump.com. The main differences in the vg30.com kit and team thumps would be the engine mounts. Team thump uses the factory VG isolators. I think both are great kits. Im not an engineer so I cant tell you if the VG isolators are big improvement over the vg30.com setup. I can tell you that Ive never had any odd drivetrain noises and I have absolutely no vibration at idle. The kit has been in the 510 since 2003.

 

The only concern with the team thump kit is the lack of headers as an option. From what Ive read and pictures that Carter from vg30.com has sent me the vg30.com headers will fit the team thump kit without modification.

 

What pics would you like (firewall clearance, engine mounts, engine height, etc)?

 

-Colton

 

I don't really know what I want pictures of. I guess I'll be asking more questions when I start doing the swap, so I'll probably ask you.

 

Is the wiring hard to do, and are there any writeups on it anywhere?

[cjr198car]

I run a stand alone (tec3). I would get a manual and wiring a schematic.

[yellowdatsun]

If your using a stock efi setup the wiring is cake, there's only about 5 wires to connect between the VG30 efi harness and the 510 harness. But ask again later when you are to that point and someone can help you with it.

[thisisastickup]

If your using a stock efi setup the wiring is cake, there's only about 5 wires to connect between the VG30 efi harness and the 510 harness. But ask again later when you are to that point and someone can help you with it.

 

sweet, yeah I'll be keeping the motor bone stock for now.

[chumstone]

I bought a 2 door from Jeff that he had his Team thump (of course!) VG30 engine swap mounts and pan. I now have a wagon that has the VG30.com motor mounts and I cannot tell the difference. I also installed the VG30.com headers and that is the route to go or you will have to find 200 SX manifolds to be able to get the starter out and etc.

Since my wagon engine has Isky cams, polished and ported heads, the headers just compimented the the above and puts out way more power than stock.

I'd go VG30.com for ease of getting the mounts and the fact that you can always swap to SR20 or back to the 1600 engine.

What ECU and wiring harness will you be running?

[thisisastickup]

All stock for now. I can get an NA ecu and wiring harness. I'm going budget for now, I'm a broke highschool kid right now. I just want the car to run good and smooth, I'm not worried about performance although it should be plenty fast.

[thisisastickup]

K, new question. Will my scirocco radiator work for the swap?

[qwik510]

K, new question. Will my scirocco radiator work for the swap?

 

 

It might. Depends on the upper and lower inlets. Are they both on the same side? VG30 will want them both on the passenger side but if the upper is on the drivers side, I guess you could piece together the upper hose.

[yellowdatsun]

The radiator from a V6 Fiero works PERFECT with the VG30, been running that for years. On some cars you need to tilt the top back a couple inches to get the rad cap to clear the hood bracing, but that's easy to make mounts for. Plus the inlet/outlets are on the correct size, and it's already designed for relatively the same displacement.

[qwik510]

I will be running the radiator from a VW Jetta VR6 which also fits great and is designed for a 6 cylinder. The inlets/outlets are on the correct side and there is no radiator cap to get it the way. The VG30 has a filler cap built into the upper neck so you are good there.

 

You can see the VG upper neck with the fill cap in this picture.

 

 

 

As you can see in this picture, there is room to raise it up a bit. I plan to do this when I mount it and use the space below it to run the wiring harness to keep it hidden.

 

 

We trimmed some of the sheet metal to open up the hole to allow for more airflow but this didn't have to be done.

 

 

I know that the fiero one works well too but as Ryan said it needs to be mounted at an angle to get the cap to clear.

[yellowdatsun]

Actually, looking at your pic, that radiator may be a tab better, because of the angle of the neck. I haven't had a normal filler neck on my engine for so long that I forgot they originally pointed that way.

[Jesse C.]

Most of the VG conversions around here are running custom made Ron Davis radiators, a bit pricey, but they swear they work great!

 

As for me, I will most likely get the Scirrocco style aluminum drag racing radiator. Not as trick looking as the custom ones, but, it is aluminum and a lot less.