Project Pathfinder Part 10, How to Build the Nissan VG30E

By Mari Umekubo

We are getting quite excited as Project Pathfinders motor is now up and running. We are out to show that a solid and reliable naturally aspirated Nissan VG30E can be just as strong or stronger in the power department as the VG33R supercharged motor in the  Frontiers with vastly superior fuel economy.  We also want to show that we can get the pulling power of a small V8 out of the VG. Last month we covered some tricks that Dan Paramore of DPR used to make our heads flow.  This month we will dive into the shortblock of our super Pathfinder.

To read about our VG30E headwork click here!

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Nissan Titan Large Capacity Oil Pan, Cure for Transmission Overheating?

By Annie Sam

Without forcing you to read about our Nissan Titans transmission woes, basically the trucks major problem is that the transmission temperatures get very high when towing going up long steep grades such as the notorious Baker grade and the Grapevine, especially in the summer time.  We have experienced this transmission overheating even though our Titan has the factory tow package which has two oil coolers, one in the radiator and an oil to air unit in the front of the truck.

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HKS USA, Inc. Introduces its Large Front-Mount Intercooler Kit for the Nissan R35 GT-R

MotoIQ Staff Report

LOS ANGELES (January 29, 2010) – HKS USA, Inc., the premier manufacturer and supplier of premium automotive performance systems, introduces its large front-mount intercooler kit for the Nissan GT-R. 

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Project Racer - Part 7: Recipe for Racing

By Annie Sam

Being a fast road racer requires five main ingredients; 2 cups drivers skill, 1 cup killer suspension, ½ cup of grip, a dash of reliability, and of course, 2 tablespoons of horsepower. Now that you’ve learned the basics of racing, and driving through following the progress of Project Racer, let’s turn our attention to the next ingredient - horsepower. Though a detailed buildup of a Performance Touring race car could be found detailed in various other project vehicles on this site, what automotive project – project racer included - is complete without the mention of upgrading a racecar? After all, as project racer, I couldn’t race without building a racecar, now could I?

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Project Pathfinder Part 8, Cams, ECU, Headers

By Mari Umekubo

The stock VG cam shafts are very mild.  At the advice of the guys at Nissan Motorsports we added a set of their #2 off road cams to Project Pathfinder.  The cams have 264 degrees of duration and .430” lift with a 106 degree intake and 116 lobe center as opposed to the tiny stock 248 degrees duration and .374” lift with 114 lobe centers.  This is quite a difference and the cams really woke Project Pathfinder up.

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Jim Wolf Technology's Turbo Nissan QR25DE Powerhouse - Part 1

By Mike Kojima

Compared to the late great SR engine family, the early Nissan QR25DE has a spotted history as a performance engine.  In the performance world it has earned a reputation for being fragile and the many recalls that Nissan has had for serious problems from blowing head gaskets to blowing rods out the side of the block has furthered this reputation.  The engine's redeeming features are a cylinder head that flows extremely well, a light overall weight and a strongly supported crank and lower end. A fragile engine is not going to work for our time attack Spec-V so we are going to address the engine’s weak points and see if we can turn the QR into a solid performer capable of racing levels of performance and reliability.

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The Dog II

By Sarah Forst and Mike Kojima

Photography by Jeff Naeyaert & Steve Mitchell

Racing, performance, Nissan Sentra and basket case are not words that usually go together. This is a story of how a sophisticated race car was built from a pile of parts with a double dose of hard work and intestinal fortitude.

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Merry Christmas From Nissan!  New S16 Silvia?  Oh God We Hope Not!

MotoIQ Staff Report

It is rumored that the new S16 Silvia will be front engine and rear drive which is good but it will be powered by a 1.8 liter turbocharged engine with a class trailing power output of 200 hp.  Come on Nissan, with a turbo you gotta do better than that.  It has been our contention that Nissan has forgotten how to build a proper 4 cylinder engine ever since the demise of the SR20DE and its variants. 

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Fastbrakes Nissan 370Z Superlight Rotor Upgrade!

MotoIQ Staff Report

Big brake upgrade specialists, Fastbrakes is pleased to announce their upgraded high performance super light two-piece rotor for the Nissan 370Z Sport Models with the Akebono 4 piston caliper. Although the 370Z is blessed with great brakes, they can be made better.

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Project Pathfinder Part 7, External Shock Adjusters

By Mari Umekubo

In our previous installments of Project Pathfinder we corrected the sloppy handling and loose steering of our machine.  Our project is handling superbly, more like a sports sedan than an SUV.  Our next mod is one more for convenience than adding any additional performance.

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