My First Stagea

[chad bob]

Hiya all,

about 5 months ago I bought my first stagea. it's a 2001 M35 300RX (VQ30DD) with 70,000Km down, as I understand it you still can't get this model through compliance in Australia, too bad really it makes a great middle ground between the 250RS and the VQ25 turbo model.

I'm a design engineer by trade based in Auckland so I'm the sort of guy who likes to pull things appart and fix my own problems before I take anything to a mechanic.

So far I've found one or two issues with my wagon and managed to fix them in the shed. I'm keen on learning more about these wagons and sharing my own experiences of living with and maintaining my ride.

Edited July 5, 2009 by chad bob

[Bis-e Bee]

It's my long lost twin!!!!!

I'm the black sheep of the family, I've got the 250t RS

Give me the option between the 3L and the 2.5L turbo and I'll take the turbo everytime, can't wait to high-flow!!

[zei20l]

hey look its another pink one!! hahah

just kidding, nice ride chad. and im all for attempting a fix before you take it to anyone. best way to learn!

[chad bob]

It's my long lost twin!!!!!

I'm the black sheep of the family, I've got the 250t RS

Give me the option between the 3L and the 2.5L turbo and I'll take the turbo everytime, can't wait to high-flow!!

Heh, yours does look like the evil twin with that body kit.

[iamhe77]

Looks good Chad, welcome!

hmm, must be the aero kit that makes it look a bit... erm... feminine.

[scotty nm35]

Are you jealous Cam? Aero kit rules.

Chad, I bet its cheaper to run than our turbos.

[zei20l]

+1 on aero kits ruling. i think he is jealous

[chad bob]

Are you jealous Cam? Aero kit rules.

Chad, I bet its cheaper to run than our turbos.

It might be.

-On long cruises with only a couple of hills and me in 'cruise mode' it gets 8-9L/100km

-This weekend I drove up north, I was in 'lets just f***ing get there' mode and there were a lot of slow buggers around on steep windy roads so a lot of foot flat up hill passing (these VQ30's actually get up and go rather nicely) fuel usage = 12-13L/100km

-Around town commuting to work etc I get 10-11L/100km

Compared to a stock 250TRS the seat of the pants meter tells me that the VQ30DD isn't really that far behind on the performance scale they get to 100KPH in about 7.5Seconds, what does the VQ25DET do the ton in?

[zei20l]

i think craig (jetwreck) was getting around the 6.3-6.5sec 0-100km/h

[chad bob]

I timed mine with the I phone

6.5 sec is rather impressive for a big wagon,

my major gripe with the VQ30DD is that it has little torque below 3000RPM, the VVT kicks things up at 3000RPm and then you start going, but I found that the VQ25DET has balls from early in the rev range, big bonus.

[zei20l]

forced induction FTW

is yours auto or manual? AWD or RWD?

id love to see how the 350S goes....... hmm tasty

[iamhe77]

Are you jealous Cam? Aero kit rules.

+1 on aero kits ruling. i think he is jealous

Hahaha! No, not jealous guys... Just thought that Stephen might bite first...

Compared to a stock 250TRS the seat of the pants meter tells me that the VQ30DD isn't really that far behind on the performance scale they get to 100KPH in about 7.5Seconds, what does the VQ25DET do the ton in?

On a good day - 6 flat.

On a not-so-good day - nearly 7.

I really have to get my intake & dump sorted

Edited July 6, 2009 by iamhe77

[scotty nm35]

350 turbo sounds better. Will the block just bolt in using the same heads?

[chad bob]

I think VQ30 and VQ35's are only differentiated by the Direct Injection heads on the VQ30 and the extra stroke length of the VQ35. The bore dimensions are the same on both motors.

I think the VQ25 has a smaller bore and stroke than the larger motors.

In the future I want to put a VQ35 intake on my motor and also some aftermarket VQ35 headers.

[zei20l]

i saw your post about the Di motors and lacking performance. i should suggest something in that thread. i had a thought!

[iamhe77]

350 turbo sounds better. Will the block just bolt in using the same heads?

Nope.

VQ25 - Bore 85mm Stroke 73.3mm

VQ30 - Bore 93mm Stroke 73.3mm

VQ35 - Bore 95.5mm Stroke 81.4mm

Edited July 6, 2009 by iamhe77

[chad bob]

i saw your post about the Di motors and lacking performance. i should suggest something in that thread. i had a thought!

Sounds good, write it up in my Di motor thread, I'd be glad for any thoughts.

Nope.

VQ25 - Bore 85mm Stroke 73.3mm

VQ30 - Bore 93mm Stroke 73.3mm

VQ35 - Bore 95.5mm Stroke 81.4mm

Crap! I thought that the 30 and 35 had the same bore with a longer stroke, ah well not that it matters.

Edited July 6, 2009 by chad bob

[zei20l]

externally the motors are the same yes? the blocks i mean, the intake on the VQ25DET is quite different to the DE varieties

[pixel8r]

I timed mine with the I phone

6.5 sec is rather impressive for a big wagon,

my major gripe with the VQ30DD is that it has little torque below 3000RPM, the VVT kicks things up at 3000RPm and then you start going, but I found that the VQ25DET has balls from early in the rev range, big bonus.

the VQ25DET starts building boost at around 2000rpm (well thats when its noticeable - ie. when you feel it) and from there it accelerates pretty rapidly. The revs would also build up slightly quicker at that point. I like to describe the power delivery of the VQ25DET as "ferocious" although that may be overstating it just a little

Even though there is a small difference in reported power between the two engines (191kw vs 206? kw) the difference in peak torque is much greater (325N-m vs 407N-m). Interestingly the VQ30DD almost has as much power and torque as the RB25DET NEO - just shows you how far technology has progressed in just a few years.