Tuning Feature: Nissan VG30ET Modified

"Comprehensive guide to tuning the Nissan VG30ET engine!"

We are regularly getting posts asking how to improve the VG30ET from people wanting to know what are the premier VG30ET mods that work. So let us look into Nissan VG30ET parts and outline the best mods that work on this great engine and point out some problems along the way.

The Nissan VG30ET are awesome to work on and with carefully picked motorsport modifications like remapping, turbo upgrades and camshafts you will enhance your driving fun.

This pages aim is detail the best approach to VG30ET tuning and report on the greatest modifications.

When talking about the top parts for your VG30ET engine, we are going to focus on the parts that give the best power gain for you spend.

Significant power hikes can be made on engines, and the VG30ET is no exception, with cam upgrades. Altering the cam profile alters the intake and exhaust durations on the engine and can dramatically change the power band and power output.

NB: Fast road cams usually boost the bhp across the rpm band, you may sacrifice a little low end torque but the higher rpm power will be better.

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

In a car driven daily one, ideally, need to match your power band to your typical driving style.

I'd be amazed if you find a VG30ET Motorsport and race cam is a pleasure to live with when driving in heavy traffic.

Some VG30ET engines respond better to different cam durations so set your engine up on a rolling road.

The ECU mapping and fuel pump and injectors also will make differences on the torque gains you'll get.

Extending exhaust or intake durations can alter the torque 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.

VG30ET Tuning Stages

Stage 1 VG30ET modifications: Intake headers, Panel air filters, Remaps/piggy back ECU, Fast road camshaft, Sports exhaust manifold, Drilled & smoothed airbox.

Stage 2 VG30ET modifications: Ported and polished head, induction kit, high flow fuel injectors, fuel pump upgrades, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust, Fast road cam.

Stage 3 VG30ET modifications: Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression, Twin charging conversions, Engine balancing & blueprinting, Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves), Competition cam.

ECU flashing will help to establish the full potential of all the tuning mods you've done to your VG30ET.

It will usually give around 30% more power on turbocharged vehicles and you can expect to see around 15% on NASP engines, but figures achieved may rely on the tuning mods you've carried out and the condition of your engine.

It is the whole point to any engine performance tuning project to get air into the VG30ET engine

Intake headers carry the air during the suck phase from the intake filter and allow it to be drawn into the engine cylinders with fuel for the squish phase.

The shape and flow characteristics of the Air Intake manifolds can make a noticeable change to fuel atomisation and engine efficiency on the VG30ET.

It's not uncommon that intake are in dire need of motorsport parts, although a few manufacturers provide reasonably good intake.

Fitting big valve kits, carrying out VG30ET port enlargement and head flowing will also boost performance, the fantastic side effect is it will allow you to get raising the performance increase on other modifications.

Turbo upgrades for the VG30ET

NASP engines need quite a lot of work when you add a turbo, so we have a separate guide to help you take into account the pros and cons of going this route on your VG30ET

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 an engine has a turbo already fitted tuning mods are giving better power gains and most turbo charged engines are built using more solid components.

There are practical limits for every engine, with some being over specified and some just sufficiently able to handle stock power

See where you'll find these limitations and upgrade to stronger pistons, crank and engine components to handle the power.

We've seen guys spending a lot of money on turbo upgrades on the VG30ET only to experience the whole thing catastrophically fail just after it's used on the roads.

Larger turbochargers tend to suffer low end lag, and little turbochargers spool up really quickly but do not have the peak rpm power band gains.

In the last 10 years the range of turbos is always increasing and we are seeing variable vane turbos, allowing the vane profile is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end power.

Twin scroll turbos divert the exhaust gases into two channels and push these at differently designed vanes in the turbocharger. They also help the scavenging effect of the engine.

It is common that there is a limit in the air flow sensor (AFM/MAF/MAP) on the VG30ET when considerably more air is being sucked into the engine.

Going up you'll find 4 bar air sensors coping with quite large power gains, whereas the OEM air sensor limited power at a much lower level.

Adding a supercharger or additional turbo will make large bhp and torque gains, although more challenging to get working. We have this feature on twinchargers if you want to read more.

Uprating VG30ET fuel injectors

When you increase the performance you will need to increase to the fuel system.

More performance needs more fuel. Don't forget to over specify your flow rate on the injectors.

The accepted safe increase is to add 20% when fitting an injector, this allows for injector deterioration and affords a little spare capacity should the engine require more fuel.

We think this one is common sense, but you'll need to match your fuel injector to the type of fuel your car uses as well.

Best VG30ET performance exhausts

Only look to boost your exhaust if your exhaust is actually creating a restriction in flow.

On most factory exhausts you should find that the flow rate is good even on modest power gains, but when you start pushing up the power levels you will need to get a better flowing exhaust.

Sports exhausts generally help improve air flow out of the engine but do not go too wide or you could reduce the flow rate. Stick to 1.5 to 2.5 inches as a rule of thumb.

Usual exhaust restrictions are in the filters installed, so adding a higher flowing sports alternative will help avoid this restriction.

Problems and issues to look out for on the VG30ET

The VG30ET engines, if regularly serviced and maintained, are generally very reliable and have few issues. {But if neglected they can cost a small fortune|When neglected they get very expensive to run|They can however be quite expensive if neglected| }

Regular oil changes are vital on the VG30ET, particularly when the engine has been modified and is putting down more power than the manufacturer intended.

For more information on Tuning your VG30ET engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our VG30ET owners. It would also be worth reading our unbiased tuning articles to get a full grasp of the benefits and drawbacks of each modification.

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This article is flagged for an update, so please pass on specific tips below that I can include. All articles, and content was written by me, Waynne Smith TorqueCars founder. Some outlines are just too general so I appreciate your feedback and suggestions. This entry was filed under Nissan. You can leave a response below or join our forum to discuss this article and car modification in detail with our members.

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