Biwinning; Chronicles of the Xterra Lite

Started by VG33ERGazelle? · Mar 7, 2010 · 26postsInvision 2005–09SMF 2010–26

VG33ERGazelle?Mar 7, 2010, 11:26 am · #1

So the VG33ER Swap is pretty much a huge success. Still not done of course, but it runs and drives and makes people shit their pants, so it's pretty much doing everything I wanted it to. :laugh:

My Ongoing Mod List:
~~-VG33ER swap~~
-subframe swap/suspension overhaul, ~~poly bushings~~
-short throw shifter
~~-lighter flywheel~~
~~-new wheels and tires~~
-Z fender flares
-new paint
-custom front end swap/stationary headlights
-interior restore
~~-sound system upgrade~~
~~-make a custom hood~~
-make new hood to accommodate new front end, less bulgy
-general restoration

I have new ideas for this thing all the time. I'm sure it's going to change a whole lot, but I'm going to try to keep it tasteful.

http://s99.photobucket.com/albums/l297/Eternally_Defiant/s12%20stuff/

that's my entire s12 album, in case people wanted to look at the stuff.

ArroMar 7, 2010, 9:36 pm · #2

VG33ER should be a fun little toy, people have talked about doing it but nobody has yet, so if you do this it would be great if you could document it as detailed as you can on here, with plenty of pics and diagrams and such.

Good luck!

VG33ERGazelle?Mar 7, 2010, 10:31 pm · #3

will do! I happen to believe I can make it work, and I'll definitely record as much as I can to open the doorway for those who'd like to do the same.

thanks!

DraconisMar 8, 2010, 12:13 am · #4

Wait a sec... your name is Colin also? And you have an SE S12 to start off with? Interesting...

VG33ERGazelle?Mar 14, 2010, 11:32 pm · #5

Draconis
Wait a sec... your name is Colin also? And you have an SE S12 to start off with? Interesting...

kinda coincidental how things work out like that, eh?

just a quickie update, I'm going to get this motor this weekend, so I'll have pictures of the motor at least for you guys by Sunday.

for starters: it's a VG33ER from a 2001 Nissan Xterra, it has approximately 20,000 miles on it, and is completely unmolested

buyin it for 500 bucks. steal or what.

David BMar 15, 2010, 3:22 pm · #6

your sigs match colors too. ... ... .. ..

LonelyS12Mar 15, 2010, 3:57 pm · #7

i once saw a supercharged exterra lay down a solid amount of rubber in second gear, since that day ive been in love.

steal.

RedneckMar 15, 2010, 4:41 pm · #8

The vg33er is a cool idea but seems like a lot of extra work to me considering it only makes 5 more hp than an sr20det (though it does have about 50 more lbs of torque). On top of that you have to cut your hood for the supercharger which for daily driving practicality is not ideal. Still, I do wish you luck in being the first person to successfully complete a vg33er swap in an s12. It has been attempted by a few other members but all apparently ended in failure.

sam31183Mar 15, 2010, 8:37 pm · #9

you dont have to cut the hood...just get some long ass bolts and 4 deep sockets and space the eff out of the hood.

VG33ERGazelle?Mar 16, 2010, 1:24 am · #10

David B
your sigs match colors too. ... ... .. ..

LonelyS12
i once saw a supercharged exterra lay down a solid amount of rubber in second gear, since that day ive been in love.

steal.

yesss I love this motor hahaha

Redneck
The vg33er is a cool idea but seems like a lot of extra work to me considering it only makes 5 more hp than an sr20det (though it does have about 50 more lbs of torque). On top of that you have to cut your hood for the supercharger which for daily driving practicality is not ideal. Still, I do wish you luck in being the first person to successfully complete a vg33er swap in an s12. It has been attempted by a few other members but all apparently ended in failure.

uhhmm. well I dunno where yer gettin yer numbers but the most stock horses I've ever heard of comin out of an SR were from an S15 motor and that was only 183ish...and about 200 ft lbs of torque, most of the s13 SR20DETs make like 150 or so

the vg33er makes 210 horse and 246 ft lb of torque... that's kind of a big difference lol. but thanks for the vote of confidence.

sam31183
you dont have to cut the hood...just get some long ass bolts and 4 deep sockets and space the eff out of the hood.

I think I'll prolly use a combination of something like that...and cutting the hood, but fabricating a bit of a scoop to cover it, if you will. something reminiscent of a factory s12 turbo hood mayhaps.

RedneckMar 16, 2010, 1:49 am · #11

VG33ERGazelle?uhhmm. well I dunno where yer gettin yer numbers but the most stock horses I've ever heard of comin out of an SR were from an S15 motor and that was only 183ish...and about 200 ft lbs of torque, most of the s13 SR20DETs make like 150 or so

the vg33er makes 210 horse and 246 ft lb of torque... that's kind of a big difference lol. but thanks for the vote of confidence.

How is it you got the vg33er's stock crank horsepower and torque numbers completely accurate but the stock crank sr20det horsepower figures completely wrong? How much crank horsepower do you think a stock ka24de makes hahaha.

VG33ERGazelle?Mar 16, 2010, 11:56 am · #12

I'm just tellin you what the dyno tells me...I had a friend who swapped a JDM SR20DET ripped straight from an s15 by his brother in japan and shipped here. it dynoed at 184 and 205.

My 240 had a KA24DE and it dynoed stock at 154 and 158.

RedneckMar 16, 2010, 1:58 pm · #13

VG33ERGazelle?
I'm just tellin you what the dyno tells me...I had a friend who swapped a JDM SR20DET ripped straight from an s15 by his brother in japan and shipped here. it dynoed at 184 and 205.

I think this is where some of the confusion is coming from. You quoted crank horsepower for the vg33er but seem to be quoting wheel horsepower for the sr20's. This is not an equal playing field at all as wheel horsepower is always quite a bit less then crank horsepower due to the drivetrain loss. Here are the official crank horsepower numbers from Nissan for the following completely stock engines:

vg33er: 210hp, 246lbs of torque
s13 redtop/blacktop sr20det: 202hp, 203 lbs of torque (sometimes rounded to 205hp)
s14 sr20det: 217hp, 203 lbs of torque (sometimes rounded to 220hp)
s15 sr20det: 247hp, 202 lbs of torque (sometimes rounded to 250hp)
s13/s14 ka24de: 155hp, 160lbs of torque

VG33ERGazelle?Mar 16, 2010, 2:58 pm · #14

ahhh yes I could see where your coming from then. well it makes more sense that way, but I still think the vg33er will be more fun. besides, I can use factory frontier/xterra parts to fix it and upgrade it...

and it's a sev6 car, I prefer to keep it a v6

RedneckMar 17, 2010, 4:09 pm · #15

VG33ERGazelle?
but I still think the vg33er will be more fun. besides, I can use factory frontier/xterra parts to fix it and upgrade it...and it's a sev6 car, I prefer to keep it a v6

Totally. There is nothing wrong with the vg33er. It is a great motor. It is just quite a bit more work compared to other engines that can make the same horsepower. This is probably why there hasn't been a completed vg33er swap yet (at least on cs12). As I said earlier I totally wish you luck in completing the swap. Sorry if I seemed a little abrasive in my previous posts as it was not my intention.

VG33ERGazelle?Mar 17, 2010, 4:33 pm · #16

ahh, of course, no hostility here just a little misunderstanding. it's all good.

besides, I like to do things the hard way...story of my life haha

VG33ERGazelle?Mar 20, 2010, 9:42 pm · #17

There she is! Just got back home today. Went from here to Gainesville and back in two days..lonngggg trip haha.

David BMar 20, 2010, 11:17 pm · #18

this was in gainsville!??!

thats likeee a mile away lol

sam31183Mar 21, 2010, 12:06 am · #19

i spy a supercharger...score!

VG33ERGazelle?Mar 21, 2010, 8:32 am · #20

yessir. a nice like 20K supercharger motor hidden in sunny florida just for me xD

it's gorgeous. I opened the oil cap and was blinded by the shiny silver interior of the valves...I handed the man his money immediately and bolted before he changed his mind.

sam31183Jul 24, 2010, 6:02 pm · #21

3 bars of win!

VG33ERGazelle?Jul 24, 2010, 7:27 pm · #22

yussss.

sam31183Jul 24, 2010, 8:26 pm · #23

progress so farz??????

Justin BannerJul 24, 2010, 8:29 pm · #24

Don't forget to PM me when you do get it running. I want to shoot video of it and interview you about it.

VG33ERGazelle?Jul 24, 2010, 8:46 pm · #25

hit a snag with the fuel pump wires, they is different...I'm workin on it though

it's taking a little while to match all the wires. I've been spending hours sitting at my table with the M30 FSM on my left and the S12 FSM on my right, matching them

should be just a matter of soldering tomorrow.

and I'll let you know Justin. when she gets on the road, the world will know. xD

This post has been edited by VG33ERGazelle?: Yesterday, 08:46 PM

sam31183Jul 24, 2010, 8:59 pm · #26

si, we need mass footage of this thing alive!!!