Thread: Common VQ Swap Questions

Hey guys I was wondering if you could answer a few questions for me about a VQ Swap. I'm mainly looking for replies from those who actually have done a VQ swap but all feedback is welcome.

1. Is the VQ fast? As in...SIGNIFICANTLY faster than a fully bolted spec like the one I own. I'm talking am I going to be like "woah" after its all said and done. I'm not looking for insane, but a significant gain in power. I already know the bhp specs, so just give me your personal reactions to your swap, not the hard facts.

2. Does it matter WHICH VQ you get? Will a 350z's VQ be any better than an altimas or maximas VQ? Or will they all be the same and should I just look for whatevers cheapest or available?

3. Where do most of you set the revlimter on your VQ Swap? And what is the redline on your VQ (Most are 7k I believe). Did you decide to get a new tach, or just enjoy watching your new engine easily breeze by the stock redline?

4. Does your car now sound like a 350z/G35?

5. Will you need a new aftermarket cat-back exhaust after the swap? Of course your going to need a new header...but I wonder if my AEM intake would still fit..hmm?

This should do it for now! Anyone else is welcome to post questions they have about a VQ swap. For instance "shuld i turbo r vq"

Thanks in advance!

yes the swap is faster than a bolted qr .when i had the qr it had I/H/E

you will have to get a FWD VQ the 350z an g35 ones wont work an if i was you i would look for a 04+ vqs cause the 02/03 has a oil burning problem

the car sounds more like a maxima than a 350 or a g35

your intake will reuse . get 3 inch piping from cat back or 2.5

sash basically answered it all lol.

evoeight? hmmm... lol. sash ftw.

Originally Posted by sash

yes the swap is faster than a bolted qr .when i had the qr it had I/H/E

you will have to get a FWD VQ the 350z an g35 ones wont work an if i was you i would look for a 04+ vqs cause the 02/03 has a oil burning problem

the car sounds more like a maxima than a 350 or a g35

your intake will reuse . get 3 inch piping from cat back or 2.5

Thanks for all the info. Does the infiniti FX have front wheel drive? Because those things sound like a G or Z and they have a VQ too (as far as I know).

I have 2.5 greddy exhaust so I think I'm good.

Lastly, does the VQ have less torque than what im accustomed to in the QR?

the reason the infiniti sounds different is because of the exhaust system. if you want your car to sound like a g or z then go buy a g or z, and fx does not come fwd.

Originally Posted by Scrapin

the reason the infiniti sounds different is because of the exhaust system. if you want your car to sound like a g or z then go buy a g or z, and fx does not come fwd.

+1 its all in the exhaust system you wont get that from a specvq

Originally Posted by Scrapin

the reason the infiniti sounds different is because of the exhaust system. if you want your car to sound like a g or z then go buy a g or z, and fx does not come fwd.

Oh ok. I think I'll just go buy a G then. thanks.

Originally Posted by evoeight04

Lastly, does the VQ have less torque than what im accustomed to in the QR?

Spec-V (QR25)
Torque: 180 ft-lbs.

Maxima (VQ35)
Torque: 255 ft-lbs.

No replacement for displacement.

The difference is like night and day.. The VQ has such a broad TQ curve, and just feels so much better than the QR. A basic swap, with a I/H/E, will produce 12.90's @ 105mph.. but, the "wow" factor comes on the street, where you will have tons of torque, to rocket out of corners/pass people, etc.. It just makes the car 100 times more fun to drive.. I've never had a customer pick a swapped Spec V up from me, and say "man.. this sucks".. The reaction is generally the same.. "Holy sh*t.."

Travis

Originally Posted by Trav4011

The difference is like night and day.. The VQ has such a broad TQ curve, and just feels so much better than the QR. A basic swap, with a I/H/E, will produce 12.90's @ 105mph.. but, the "wow" factor comes on the street, where you will have tons of torque, to rocket out of corners/pass people, etc.. It just makes the car 100 times more fun to drive.. I've never had a customer pick a swapped Spec V up from me, and say "man.. this sucks".. The reaction is generally the same.. "Holy sh*t.."

Travis

Thanks a lot man! That just got me really excited for the swap.

I have 2.5 catback and an AEM Intake for the QR, can you confirm that both of these can indeed be reused on the VQ? That way I will only need a header!

As for the midpipe, do you usually have to go to the junkyard and take them off Maximas? Or do people usually custom fabricate them for a VQ swap?

And do the stock headers generally come with a VQ when bought, or do you search for them separately?

actually you can get it to sound like a 350/g35 or close to it. I haven't heard what travis' equal length headers sound like, but if you googlevideo/youtube maxima w/ cattman headers. watch the vids and it'll sound nasty if you get equal length headers.

edit-i as well have a 3in exhaust. vrs full catback stainless steel. headers are travis' shorty headers to ypipe i believe its 2.5 then goes to my 3 in exhaust

I have a full 3" Exhaust from header back with 2.5" unnequal length Y pipe and Magnaflow Exhaust . A bunch of people i know thinks my car sounds alot like a 350z . Shrug .

Originally Posted by evoeight04

Thanks a lot man! That just got me really excited for the swap.

I have 2.5 catback and an AEM Intake for the QR, can you confirm that both of these can indeed be reused on the VQ? That way I will only need a header!

As for the midpipe, do you usually have to go to the junkyard and take them off Maximas? Or do people usually custom fabricate them for a VQ swap?

And do the stock headers generally come with a VQ when bought, or do you search for them separately?

The catback will work.. and your intake will work with some trimming, and longer silicone hose. If you don't trim the pipe, it looks ghetto, because the VQ's TB is on a slight angle, pointing towards the battery, whereas the QR's TB is pointed at the strut tower. The AEM CAI has a bend in the pipe, to match up to the QR's TB, so, if you cut it right at that bend, and put a slightly longer piece of silicone in place, it will work. I fab up my own CAI..



I also fab up my own equal length y-pipe.. I usually buy a set of headers/y-pipe off of Ebay, for a Altima or Maxima VQ35, but, I junk the y-pipe and build my own.



It's tough to get it exactly equal in length before the merge/collector, but, the pipe shown above is exactly equal in length. The difference in sound, and performance, is night and day.

This one isn't exactly equal in length, but, close, to within a few inches..



The shorty headers, and unequal pipe, sounds ok, but, if you want it to have that Z/G35 sound, equal length will make it happen.

Travis

Thanks for all the great info travis. I might have to order those from you when the swap begins.

Why is everyone recommending 3inch exhaust? Seeing as its still N/A, wouldnt 2.5in be fine?

3.5L. More displacement, bigger exhaust. Layman's explanation.

If you're ok with losin a tad bit of performance there's nothin wrong with the 2.5 inch of exhaust alsoYou already got it so it's cheaper, and you can always upgrade later also

So from what I've gathered on various sites, swapping a Spec V's engine with a 3.5l Maxima one is a fairly smooth process, with not many issues, like it fits pretty easily?

With a '06 Spec V, what model years of Maximas do you have to choose from, 02 - 06 or...?

^^Guys please search, all of these questions have been answered on here time and time again.

i got a Sentra gxe... great on gas... but low on fun... i want to get a vq swap but want to know if it is worth selling my car and buying a actual spec V. since i would have to swap most the components out anyways would it be more practical to just keep my car now? and buy the vq35de motor, sentra ser tranny, maxima ecu, look for bellhousing, mounts, and travis conversion kit?