Why Nissan’s Turbo V6 Engines Are Too Powerful (GT-R and Z)😳| Explained Ep.31

if you want to build an engine of unfathomable power you have to start small really small not a fire breathing V12 nor a V10 not even a V8 it starts as a little V6 engine that's handbuilt in Yokohama Japan by four Craftsmen with a combined experience of over 100 years this relatively unassuming power plant over the last decade has become the preferred building block to develop quadruple digit horsepower and still be docile enough to commute to work if needed if you ask any car enthusiasts what is Nissan's best engine they will more than likely say the rb26 or the SR20 but I will argue that's false it's the little V6 called the vr38 nestled in the Nissan GTR that's Nissan's greatest accomplishment and arguably the best to ever come out of Japan on this episode of explaining we will dissect the most potent engine to ever come out of Japan and detail the engineering behind its unrelenting power potential welcome to [Music] [Applause] explain you can't have the rare and venerable vr38 engine without its more well-known and controversial cousin the VQ engine Nissan's VQ engine was a developmental leap from the iron block brutes of the 80s and 90s known as the VG V6 and the RB inline 6 made famous by the 300ZX and the Skyline GTR the VQ was developed around the concept of being as agile as a feather which ultimately gave birth to an aluminum block dual over a cam V6 with lightweight reciprocating components compared to its predecessors it was debuted in 1994 in the Nissan safiro which domestically we know as the Maxima with three different configurations a 2 L a 2.5 L and 3 l V6 where the displacement was enlarged using a bigger cylinder boore the VQ initially was never meant to be a high level performer but as the Japanese economy stagnated and the prior economic boom of the80s turned into a recession the VQ would have to fit more roles than initially planned even one that carried the GTR name plate chief engineer of the R34 GTR kazutoshi mauno wanted to replace the decade old rb26 D with a twin turbocharge variant of the newer Nissan VQ architecture since it would theoretically be lighter shorter and feature variable controlling of the intake valve timing but with development budgets paper thin the road goinging r34s would have to keep the tried and true rb26 but the G GT500 spec race cars in mid2 2002 would replace the rb26 with a special engine developed by Nismo and assembled by ACH under the designation vq30 D this engine is the spiritual father to the vr38 it was 30 kg lighter than the rp26 with a boor and Stroke of 93 mm X 73.3 mm which the board diameter being 7 mm larger allowed for larger valves than the RB it could produce an output of 485 metric horsepower at 5600 RPM and 735 Newt M at 4,000 RPM The Limited production vq30 D would Propel the number 23 zavi Nismo GTR to vict ictory in the 2003 Japanese Grand Touring Car Championship and it was the last time the R34 would compete in the [Music] jgtc the VQ was now proven in The Crucible auring car racing and with the launch of the fair lady z a year prior the VQ engine now had a sports role outside of the racetrack [Applause] the fair lady Z success and existence entirely can be attributed to the Rena executive turn Nissan CEO Carlos gone who gave the green light for a financially struggling Nissan to develop a sports car and the gamble paid off big time his gambling addiction wouldn't stop with a fair lady Z but also Reviving Nissan's former engineering Marvel the GTR develop El of the R35 was put in the hands of mauno son who initially wanted a V6 engine in the R34 and now could turn his dreams into reality by 2005 there were fully functional prototypes and test Mes cloaked in Infiniti G35 paneling to confuse the untrained eye but the wider stance the necad duct the quad exhaust and intercoolers were a dead giveaway to a GTR test Mule the new Power Plant was designated as the vr38 D an evolution of the vq35 with the same boore diameter boore spacing and Bank angle but Stark differences the vr38 has a taller deck height of 244 mm identical to the vq40 engine and uses a bed plate which splits the block at the crank center line and integrates all the main caps all into one cast piece for rigidity the VR unlike the VQ has a closed deck surface where there's more aluminum material surrounding the plasma line cylinders aiding in stability of the bore during High cylinder pressures the bore remained the same diameter but the stroke increased by 7 mm giving it 3.8 L in displacement and the cam shaft exhaust duration and lift are increased to evacuate spent gases and reduce pumping losses since its turbocharge the twin ihi turbochargers are a onepiece manifold and turbine design to prevent exhaust leaks and quickly spooled to8 bar of Boost developing 480 metric horsepower at 6,400 RP set I plant my foot on the there and then I go bloody [Music] hell that is spe I'm going to do that again Hang On by 2007 the production spec GTR would debut and boled a Nur Green nordch Life of time of 7 minutes and 38 seconds which was 2 seconds faster than its Benchmark the Porsche 911 Turbo the performance of the GTR was half attributed to the new engine but the other half was undoubtedly the very complex a Tesla ETS all drive system the Borg Warner gr6 dual clutch transaxle is located at the rear for better weight distribution and uses a carbon front torear drive shaft adjacent to a smaller steel rear to- front drive shaft the insane chassis rigidity of the R35 meant that there was no need for a torque tube to connect the drivetrain like you see on Corvettes and didn't need a strut Tower brace like the prior GTR models and with a brutal launch control strategy on the early r35s it could hit 60 mph in 3.2 [Music] seconds and pull 1.0 G of lateral acceleration on a skid pad as impressive as the R35 was in stock form it wouldn't hold a candle to what tuning companies would begin to achieve when they experimented with the new architecture the combination of free flowing down pipes and a midpipe to decrease the back pressure less restrictive intake pipes larger injectors and pump since the stock units tap out pretty quickly and 85% ethanol fuel can quickly reach north of 600 foot- PBS at the wheels which is the upper limits of the stock connecting rods the horsepower measurement is almost irrelevant since horsepower is a derivative of torque the torque is what k the rods not the horsepower measurement which is based on RPM what tuners do to avoid bending and breaking these connecting rods is purposely reduce ignition timing below 5,000 RPM which decreases the cylinder pressure and mitigates torque at the lower RPMs but above 5,000 RPM the peak horsepower will remain ideal around that same wheel torque figure the gr6 Dual clutch transmission will reach the limitations of its wet clutch packs six clutches in each pack transferring torque to the even gears in the 246 clutch a and the 135 and reverse in clutch B in the gr6 and all DCT Transmissions the next gear is pre-selected or primed so if you're currently in second gear third gear will be pre-selected but not engaged by clutch B when you pull the paddle to go into third gear the a clutch will disengage simultaneously as the B clutch engages known as a crossover and now you're in third gear which happens within hundreds of a second seamlessly changing gear ratios if you're making high torque levels that transfer won't be seamless as the clutches will slip and wreak havoc on the internals of the transmission since the connecting rods and transmission both have near the same torque limitations most GTR builds will stop here at the bolt-on stage if money is No Object the ceiling of potential on the vr38 is very high with a simple but not cheap piston and Rod combination the factory crank and block can push into the 1300 wheel horsepower range given you have the turbochargers cooling efficiency and fuel system to supply it at that point the DCT transmission would need to be upgraded with the whole kitchen sink from a Billet input shaft PPG gear set Billet clutch baskets 20 plate carbon clutch and for the service alone to build it will be around $6,000 not including the transmission while these power figures aren't unheard of what gives the vr38 a unique quality amongst other legendary engines is a 1200 horsepower vr38 build can drive as docile as a factory car idling just like stock nice Road manners and completely unassuming just slightly louder from the unrestricted exhaust that is just not capable with the 2JZ the rb26 and LSX builds with the exception of the 5 L coyote and 5.2 L Voodoo and Predator the key to this like the coyote 50 and the 5.2 Voodoo is the vr38 excellent cylinder head flow and not needing radical cam shafts to make north of 1200 horsepower which is an absolute necessity for the 2JZ and RB this doesn't make one superior to the other it's just the byproduct of a well-engineered engine beyond the 1200 horsepower Mark the prices just get as eye watering as the power potential there's a capability of 2,000 horsepower with sleeved blocks with Billet internals and 3,000 horsepower with Billet blocks that cost $2,000 alone just for the block itself at that point the built transmission warrant warres become non-existent and the turbos are so large they can't fit in the standard location anymore and if you pay a shop to do the work it'll cost the same as the GDP of some countries the limits of the vr38 is simply how big a check you can write the DNA of the r35's potent drivetrain would trickled down into more attainable cars from Nissan most notably the vr30 ddtt there's more variance between the vr30 and vr38 than there is of the vq35hr and the vr38 as they were developed almost a decade apart the vr30 is a square born stroke configuration unlike the over square vr38 and it sits at a happy medium between torque and high RPM capability the block of the vr30 is an open deck block design similar to the vq35 and while not ideal for extreme stresses they really don't tend to crack the advancements of the VR R 30 is in the direct injection fuel system that allows for higher static compression the liquid charger intercooling and the integrated exhaust manifolds to decrease the heat loss from the turbocharger which help them spool quicker what a race oh he let off similar to the vr38 they respond extremely well to bolt-on modifications free flowing down pipes with full exhaust intakes and upgraded low pressure and high pressure fuel pump and tuning away from matching the factory output of a new GTR with upgraded injectors and turbos like the vrx 70s from Z1 Motorsports the vr30 can touch 700 wheel horsepower which is astounding for this relatively small 3 l [Music] displacement the vr30 is latest task by Nissan is powering the new Z sports car where it remains identical mechanically to the Q50 and Q60 red sport the Nismo Z's vr30 engine gets a 20 horsepower and 34 ft-lb increase with over boosting the [Music] engine while it doesn't have some exclusive architecture like the vr38 is to the R35 GTR the development of the vr30 in the aftermarket since 2016 has made the Z instantly [Music] modable not not long after its release AMS performance ran a 99sec qu Mile with the Z using all the years of Q50 and Q60 experience to get the job done while the vr30 is no replacement for the venerable vr38 and as of making this video you can still buy a brand new R35 GTR a car that literally was developed at the same time of the C6 Corvette and George Bush was still president it's an affordable alternative with great upwards capabilities when it comes to leg legendary Japanese engines the VR family isn't mentioned enough but what can't be denied is the craftsmanship of the vr38 and the engineering behind the vr30 both great engines that deserve more recognition it's not everyday a company that balances on the verge of bankruptcy can still put out amazing products and when not if these engines go away for good it's safe to say they'll never be forgotten

Channel: 337 SPEED

Views: 1,334,063

Keywords: camaro, corvette, ls2, ls1, drag, race, lsx, ls7, z06, zl1, ss, chevy, hellcat, dodge, horsepower, supercharged, turbo, nitrous, fast, vs, Ford, Mustang, gt350, gt350r, racing, coyote, manifold, headers, tune, tuning, voodoo, tires, wheels, car wash, tutorial, touchless, tips, how to, diy, challenger, srt, 426, hemi, coronet, dart, charger, 1970, cuda, suzuki, hayabusa, gsxr, 1000, 600, 250, zx12, ninja, lamborghini, huracan, gallardo, lp560, lp640, svj, nissan, vr38, vr30, q50, q60, ams

Id: o-lp8H7XnzM

Length: 16min 6sec (966 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 30 2023