Forums » Grassroots Motorsports » Dead VQ stories 1 2 3

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  Oct. 28, 2009 7:18 a.m. belteshazzar SuperDork

  In light of my recent Maxima fanboy-ism, it occurred to me I've never in all my time around cars seen or even heard of a dead Nissan VQ. For a motor that's been around 15 years now I thought that was fairly remarkable.
  

  Somebody throw me a contradictory anecdote.

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  Oct. 28, 2009 9:09 a.m. tuna55 Reader

  My buddy had one in a Maxima (VQ30) with some shiny blingy cold air intake on it. It sat too low, and sucked in a bunch of water one day while driving through a puddle and hydrauliced it.

  He also had the transmission weld shut - that was the cars fault.

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  Oct. 28, 2009 9:23 a.m. splitime Reader

  VQ35s have had some reoccurring warranty issues regarding oil ring issues.

  But the engine has been very highly magazine rated for years now.

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  Oct. 28, 2009 9:36 a.m. scardeal New Reader

  I love my VQ35HR... but it's only 2 years old right now.

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  Oct. 28, 2009 9:41 a.m. andrave HalfDork

  my pathfinder 3.5 is still running like a total beast after 90,000 miles. I don't understand why this engine isn't in everything. I love it.

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  Oct. 28, 2009 9:50 a.m. tuna55 Reader

  The Maxima got 17 mpg - that's probably why it isn't in everything.

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  Oct. 28, 2009 10:11 a.m. andrave HalfDork

  I find that hard to believe since my 4000 lb 4wd automatic pathfinder gets 18.5.

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  Oct. 28, 2009 10:23 a.m. spitfirebill Dork

  tuna55 wrote: The Maxima got 17 mpg - that's probably why it isn't in everything.

  Mine did 29 on the road

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  Oct. 28, 2009 11:44 a.m. belteshazzar SuperDork

  mine gets 27-29 on the road. never worse than 19 in town. typically 20.

  I have the 3.5. It used a quart between changes when I first bought it. switched to mobil1. over the period of a year it slowly stopped burning oil. now it doesn't use any.

  spending money I don't have to buy parts I don't need to impress people I don't know

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  Oct. 28, 2009 11:52 a.m. belteshazzar SuperDork

  if you search for a '95-'99 maxima engine on car-part.com, there are 92 pages worth of listing. 50 listings per page. In case your math sucks, there are 4600 VQ's for sale on that site alone. prices start at $150.

  spending money I don't have to buy parts I don't need to impress people I don't know

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  Oct. 28, 2009 12:15 p.m. tuna55 Reader

  I promise, I made him show me receipts. He drove harshly, though.

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  Oct. 28, 2009 12:41 p.m. Joe Gearin Associate Publisher

  I was at a tuning shop a while ago, and they had a few VQs that had failed after an supercharger was installed. If you don't mess with them they seem to be pretty bulletproof though. The 4.0 in the GRM/ CMS Pathfinder has been a beast.

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  Oct. 28, 2009 12:43 p.m. andrave HalfDork

  did he mistake "1" for "D"?

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  Oct. 28, 2009 2:09 p.m. belteshazzar SuperDork

  I haven't been on the maxima forums in literally years but I remember some people crying about really poor fuel economy. I never stuck around long enough to hear what exactly goes wrong to cause that.

  spending money I don't have to buy parts I don't need to impress people I don't know

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  Oct. 28, 2009 2:35 p.m. Nitroracer Dork

  andrave wrote: my pathfinder 3.5 is still running like a total beast after 90,000 miles. I don't understand why this engine isn't in everything. I love it.

  It is in nearly everything; frontier, pathfinder, xterra, minivan, altima, maxima, z, etc.

  And it'll fit in the sentra too. Quite quick as well.

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  Oct. 28, 2009 2:37 p.m. andrave HalfDork

  I always thought it was a shame it never made it into the 240sx.

  Its lots easier to work on than the older 3.0 too.

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  Oct. 28, 2009 2:41 p.m. kreb Dork

  Are there RWD manual trannys factory issued with anything besides the 350Z or is everything FWD or automatic?

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  Oct. 28, 2009 3:56 p.m. andrave HalfDork

  350z, G35, xterra, frontier, all available with manual trans in RWD.

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  Oct. 28, 2009 4:07 p.m. Datsun1500 Dork

  belteshazzar wrote: if you search for a '95-'99 maxima engine on car-part.com, there are 92 pages worth of listing. 50 listings per page. In case your math sucks, there are 4600 VQ's for sale on that site alone. prices start at $150.

  That does not mean it is a bad motor, just the cars around it got hurt.

  Deja Moo: The feeling that you've heard this bull before

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  Oct. 28, 2009 4:20 p.m. xci_ed6 Reader

  kreb wrote: Are there RWD manual trannys factory issued with anything besides the 350Z or is everything FWD or automatic?

  I think you might be thinking what I'm thinking. VQ powered Locost?

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  Oct. 28, 2009 4:44 p.m. kreb Dork

  In reply to xci_ed6:

  absolutemente'!

  The VQ won't weigh much more than a turbo-miata motor, and make power accross a much larger band, while still not overwhelming my '95 donor LSD.

  I'm surprised that more people haven't gone this way.

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  Oct. 28, 2009 5:43 p.m. SupraWes Dork

  They are reliable and good on fuel but only 190hp in the 3.0 version. Besides the typical packaging faults of an east-west drivetrain layout they are well designed and put together.

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  Oct. 28, 2009 6:19 p.m. splitime Reader

  kreb wrote: In reply to xci_ed6: absolutemente'! The VQ won't weigh much more than a turbo-miata motor, and make power accross a much larger band, while still not overwhelming my '95 donor LSD. I'm surprised that more people haven't gone this way.

  VQ longblock weighs a hair over 300... guess what the Miata motor weighs :) (don't even think about turbo extra weight)

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  Oct. 28, 2009 7:01 p.m. Toyman01 HalfDork

  That's on the short list for the RX-7 if I ever get rid of the 12A.

  "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. So is a lot." — Albert Einstein

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  Oct. 28, 2009 7:09 p.m. Nitroracer Dork

  I know they make swap kits for the second gen rx7 to run a VQ, I prefer the body style of the first though.

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