Tuning Feature: Nissan VG30E Modified

"Comprehensive guide to tuning the Nissan VG30E engine!"

We often are getting posts requesting information on the things we recommend when it comes to VG30E mods that work. So let us look into Nissan VG30E upgrades and outline the best upgrades on this great engine and point out some problems along the way.

The Nissan VG30E have loads of potential and with the ultimate uprated upgrades like a remap, turbo upgrades and camshafts you will noticeably maximise your driving enjoyment.

This pages aim is look at VG30E tuning and summarise the premier modifications.

The optimum VG30E tuning parts on an engine are sensibly the ones that give the best power gain for you spend.

We won't be swayed by popular VG30E tuning parts, they need to be cost effective.

Altering your VG30E camshaft will usually make a dramatic difference to your engines power band. Choosing a higher performance camshaft profile raises the power band .

NB: Fast road camshafts tend to boost the bhp throughout the rev range, you might lose a little low end bhp but the higher rpm power will be lifted.

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

For a car used daily one, ideally, must carefully try to optimize your bhp range to your typical driving style.

You will never have ever thought a VG30E Motorsport camshaft is a pleasure to live with when driving around busy urban areas.

Some VG30E engines respond better to different camshaft durations check your engine on a rolling road.

The engine timing and fuel pump and injectors also have a large bearing on the power gains you'll get.

Longer valve 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.

VG30E Tuning Stages

Stage 1 VG30E modifications: Sports exhaust manifold, Intake headers, Fast road camshaft, Remaps/piggy back ECU, Drilled & smoothed airbox, Panel air filters.

Stage 2 VG30E modifications: Fast road cam, induction kit, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust, high flow fuel injectors, Ported and polished head, fuel pump upgrades.

Stage 3 VG30E modifications: Twin charging conversions, Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Competition cam, Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression, Engine balancing & blueprinting, Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves).

A remap should help to release the full potential of all the tuning mods you've done to your VG30E.

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

It is the whole point to any engine modification task to feed air and fuel into the VG30E engine

Headers take the air during the suck phase from the air filter and allow it to be drawn into the engine and mixed with fuel.

The size of bore and shape and flow characteristics of the Intake manifold can make a noticeable difference to to fuel mixing and power on the VG30E.

Commonly we find the headers are crying out for motorsport parts, although a few car makers provide fairly well optimized headers.

Big valve conversions on the VG30E, doing some port work and head flowing will also raise torque, and more importantly will permit an improved torque increase on other tuning parts.

Turbo upgrades for the VG30E

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 VG30E

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

If the engine has forced induction upgrades are relatively easy and you'll see that turbo charged engines use stronger components.

However engines will need better parts at higher power limits

We recommend you find these limitations and upgrade to higher quality components to survive the power.

It's not unheard of people spending a loads on turbocharger upgrades on the VG30E only to suffer the indignity of watching the whole thing literally blow up soon after it's been finished.

Big turbochargers often suffer a bottom end lag, and small turbochargers spool up much more quickly but do not have the peak rpm torque gains.

Thankfully the world of turbochargers is always increasing and we are seeing variable vane turbochargers, permitting the vane profile is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end power.

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

It is common that there's a limitation in the air flow sensor MAF/MAP on the VG30E when considerably more air is being drawn into the engine.

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

Adding a supercharger or additional turbo will make large performance gains, although more difficult to setup. We have this feature on twinchargers if you want to read more.

Uprating VG30E fuel injectors

You will need to ensure that the engine is not starved of fuel so need to pay attention to the fuelling when you start exceeding 20% of a bhp increase.Don't forget to over specify your injectors flow rate.

As a rule of thumb add 20% capacity when specifying an injector, this takes into account injector deterioration and allows a bit of spare capacity should the engine need 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 VG30E performance exhausts

You should look to upgrade your exhaust if your exhaust is actually causing a restriction in flow.

On most factory exhausts you should find that the flow rate is fine 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 can help equal out the flow of gases through the engine.

But if the exhaust pipe is too large, ie: over 2.5 inches bore, you will lose much of your flow rate and end up losing power and torque.

Usual exhaust restrictions can be traced to the catalysts installed, so adding a faster flowing sports alternative will help avoid this restriction.

Problems and issues to look out for on the VG30E

The VG30E 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 VG30E, particularly when the engine has been modified and is putting down more power than the manufacturer intended.

For more information on Tuning your VG30E engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our VG30E 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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We really like hearing from our readers, and hearing about which upgrades were the most effective for them, it helps us improve our recommendations and articles to reflect current trends in modifications and ensures that our VG30E guides and tips are kept up to date.

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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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