Hello! I am new to the forums, but i just wanted to stop in and say hello.
I am starting a project car that is gonna mash the Fiero's body with a Nissan Skyline RB26DETT twin turbo six cylinder engine.I am preferably going to use a GT Fiero chassis. The whole idea is to make a sickly fast track or straight line car (straight line until I get money together for suspension upgrades) But not to be cookie cutter, I opted for the Skyline engine rather than the V8 Northstar or LS1 engine that many Fiero customizers like to swap into the rear. I was thinking that if you can plop a nice sized V8 into the rear, a smaller 6 cylinder should do just fine as well. The Skyline, motor and all, weighs about 3600 lbs., and does 0-60 in 4.7 seconds. So, assuming the Fiero weighs much less, the car should be able to go 0-60 in about 4 flat or maybe less (with good grip) and do quarter miles in about 11- 12 seconds. I noted that Northstars did 0-60 in 5.4 in the Fiero, I attributed this to the engine being much heavier, or too powerful to get grip.
But I am going to need some help with certain specs, wiring, and other things I don't have a clue about in the Fiero, and am hoping that this community will be a great help to my future build.
I'll be posting quite soon again, after I aquire my Fiero (hopefully in a week or less) and start having questions.
Thanks, and have a good one everybody
~Cab
PS- thanks Moderator for hooking me up with my password and account
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10:24 PM
PFF
System Bot
lurker Member
Posts: 12355 From: salisbury nc usa Registered: Feb 2002
I was thinking that if you can plop a nice sized V8 into the rear, a smaller 6 cylinder should do just fine as well.
The first problem you will probably run into is the fact that the Fiero uses front wheel drive transmissions and the engine is transversely mounted, are there any Nissan FWD transmissions that will fit the I6? The second is that the Skyline motor is an inline six... which is precisely 2 cylinders longer than a V8. The first thing you will want to do is measure the engine from the flywheel to the pullies to see if it will fit in a transverse orientation or if you will need to go really custom and rotate the thing 90 degrees... who knows...
sorry bro but i am living in japan at the moment and am driving a skyline. unfortinatly its a really long engine and it wont fit sidways in a fiero trust me. but it your intrested in some thing really different i had an idea that might be fun, would require a lot of work. it uses nissan skyline parts, hit me up if your interested...
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01:08 AM
fastlane68 Member
Posts: 95 From: Wilmington Ohio Registered: May 2005
If you want to rice up a Fiero with an import tuner motor that would be a one off, try a Evo VIII motor. There are many tranny options for it and that engine is nothing to sneeze at with 270+HP bone stock. The Evo is in the 4.6 range 0-60 and it is in the 3400lb class. In a lightweight Fiero, you should see the 4 second range with the proper gear span. That would be one heck of a sleeper with the right exhaust. Shoot if you want to be really one off with your creation put the entire AWD drive train from an Evo in your project. That would be a really wicked car.
An RB26DETT in a Fiero? It would be an interesting combo, but I see it to be very hard. I have a '91 GTS-t with a RB20DET, and it is quite a long engine, a good engine. And bringing a skyline to the states wouldn't be worth it. there is one website that sells Skylines, and Holy Crap do they scalp on those prices! My car would cost me $18,000 to convert; and I paid $800 for the car! Not to mention you have to pay an importation tax that might be around $5,000. I didn't mean to hijack the thread, it's just that everytime someone says bring one over, it just burns me try this website www.motorex.net and click on auto sales and the pricing/conversions.
dude have to say it but no one can bring skylines to the U.S. motorex is'nt doing it any more some king of legal trouble. apperently they got cought not fully converting skylines to full U.S. specs.
Really? I heard they were in legal trouble, but i wasn't sure what it had to do with. I thought it had to do with the prices, not with regulations. Well the idea of bringing a Skyline now has definately gone away. Gotta decide on an american car
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06:40 AM
pollock Member
Posts: 424 From: denton, texas, usa Registered: Sep 1999
Dont do the I6, do the 3.5 V6. They even have the 6 speed tranny and can make 280+ HP stock. You can get the Maxima tranny and the 350Z engine or the Maxima engine tranny combo and upgrade the Maxima engine to 350Z specs.
Yea, i was actually worried about the Inline 6 being a problem, but I actually found another engine that will suffice....haha.Unfortunately it is not a Nissan (though i will still talk to you about your plans Japfiero, I'm only in planning stage, I'm open to ideas). These are my 3 best choices other than skyline motor:
1. Mitsubishi 6G72DETT Motor (most famous for being known as the 3000GT VR-4 engine. 300 Ponies 307 Lbs. torque V6 Twin Turbo 8.0:1 Compression All Wheel Drive tranny layout
2. Toyota 3SGTE MR2 Motor 260 Ponies 4 Cylinder Mid-Engine Drivetrainb layout
3. Subaru EJ25T Subaru Impreza STi motor 4 Cylinder Boxer 300 Ponies and Lbs. Torque AWD baby
I was thinking about the New Maxima 3.5 SE motor as well, but I wanted something Turbo cuz I've never had one before, and they have good tuning abilities.
And BTW Fastlane, Just cuz I'm using a Jap engine doesn't necessarily make it a ricer. My definition of a ricer is a Honda Civic hatchback with nasty Euro-lights, annoyingly tinny and gawd-awfully larg Muffler, and some underglow to top off the stew. I am a Nissan fan, I'm part of NICOclub.com, and we most assuredly hate ricers, and even more so, being called ricers cuz we have jap cars. It's all about the style....without tackiness lol.
and One more thing: Noone would happen to know of any really reliable engine Importers, would they? And Motorex is a rip-off, I'm almost glad they got in trouble, their prices are outrageous. I'll probably repost later tonight, I'm still trying to find a dirt cheap Fiero GT around my Area.
I say go with the subaru motor. Low center of gravity, low weight, good power. It's actually something I've been looking into. Doesn't look like too bad of a job as long as you don't need the trunk area.
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06:45 PM
tampalinc Member
Posts: 776 From: Waukesha, WI Registered: May 2001
If you want a turbo 4, I would recommend the Toyota 3SGTE or the Nissan SR20DET (fwd version). Even though I would love to see a 3.5 Maxima engine and 6-sp in the back of a Fiero. Between the Toyota, Nissan, and Fiero forums any of these swaps should be doable. All of the engine can be built to put down some serious horsepower.
[This message has been edited by tampalinc (edited 05-31-2005).]
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07:21 PM
Tugboat Member
Posts: 1669 From: Goodview, VA Registered: Jan 2004
it seems like you like dohc and high revs. Why not do a 3.4 dohc and turbo it? Even with lots of upgrades for the turbo system and etc you would still be money and time ahead of stuffing some other manufacturers motor in there im willing to bet. Plumbing and mounting will be easy, getting everything else to work is gonna be a pain in the rear.
Anyhow, im kinda like you i like the import engines and import scene and all that, i like revs and i like the "technology" of DOHC and whatnot and truely believe in thier benefit, thats why i have a 3.4 DOHC in my car
maby a nissan v6 from a 300zx or 350z. not sure about the mitsu engine/trans setup although i have thought about the idea of an awd fiero... yea that would be a blast. have a couple of ideas for that. if you have the time and really want to try for something different ill sling some ideas past you.
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02:56 AM
ovrkild Member
Posts: 140 From: Champion, Pa Registered: Jan 2005
The AWD Mitsu V6 wont work. It will have the drive shaft for the rear wheels sticking out of the rear bumper like a tracter PTO. ONLY the two wheel drive tranny will work. But why the Mitsu ? The Nissan makes 280hp+ without the extra heat and complexity of the turbos.
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02:00 PM
Unsafe At Any Speed Member
Posts: 2299 From: Cheyenne, WY Registered: Feb 2003
I'm shooting for the AWD Mitsu VR-4 engine for several reasons...
1. Its got gobs of Horses and Torque.... 2. Tons of tuning possibilities 3. V6 would fit in much nicer than the Inline 6, and should work if you can fit V8's in their. 4. It took a 4000 lb. car 0-60 in 5.4 seconds, what would it do with a 3,000lb (or less) car? 5. 6 speed.
And about the engine's rear driveaxle sitting out the rear bumper, Im either gonna use a modified tranny plate ( from someone called (V8Archie)) that would line up the engine, He uses this plate for the 5.7 Liter LT1, or I'm gonna turn the engine around completely and use the Front wheel drive outputs (with modified trans-axles to make up for offset).
I need to learn more about the Fiero's engine packages, and how they were in place before i can make A final decision on engine. But soo far, the V6 Mitsu engine or the 3Sgte (3rd Gen only) Toyota engine are the 2 choices, with the STi engine for backup.
As for the cost, minus some cheap fabrication and some ahrdware, im projecting the whole project to be less than 5K. A good Fiero goes for about 3K, plus all the mods and add-ons, it would probably come out to the same price, but the Mitsu engine, IMO, has more tuning capabiilites in the long run.
And what do you guys mean about the 'trunk' area? isnt that in the front of the car? I am only going to be using the rear compartment where the original engine is, plus any other extra room I'm gonna need to make. Is there a 'trunk' area in the rear near the engine i don't see in pictures?
Thanks for the help, support, and replys guys, I'm happy this forum is more helpful, The NICO forum isnt quite as enthusiastic, lol. I appreciate it
If I were doing an engine swap and was going to fab up new mounts, get custom driveshafts, and custom engine management (nissan style) I'd get the 3.0 V6 used in the maximas. They had one for the 300 ZX with twin turbos from the factory.
I've also heard from some nissan freaks I know that the manual transmission in the maximas was really really strong.
if money was no object I'd get the Subaru 3.0 H6 in the foresters. It's horizontally opposed which I like a lot. I'd destroke it and have some serious head work done, but my budget doesn't allow that.
Naw, I'd love to go Nissan, but I want TT engines upfront, and the Maximas have nice 6's, but no turbos. VG30Dett (300ZX engine) is a nice engine as well, but it is RWD set, and i need something with AWD, Mide-engine, or Front wheel drive so i can use the front wheel drive axles instead of fabbing up a whole bunch of custom parts to fit everything (though i know I'm gonna need to fab some custom stuff anyways)
I'm still worried about frying a tranny or losing power due To ECU thinking I'm slipping all the time with the AWD setup. I'm not sure about Mitsubishi's setup, but in Subaru's, you can pull a fuse that is used to sense the rear wheel drive-axles, which makes the ECU think it is only 2WD, and saves damage to Tranny/Power Divider/ECU when hauling the car. Maybe Mitsubishi has a similar function and I can eliminate that problem.
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09:41 PM
Will Member
Posts: 14300 From: Where you least expect me Registered: Jun 2000
How does the VG30's bellhousing pattern compare to that of FWD Nissans? IOW, could you use a FWD Nissan transmission (perhaps the 6 speed in the Altima/Maxima currently) with the VG30?
I'd still go for the VQ35 and build/turbo it. You never go wrong with newer more advanced engine technology. The fundamental improvements are in the block and head castings... the very foundation of the engine.
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10:33 PM
PFF
System Bot
Jun 2nd, 2005
aaronrus Member
Posts: 870 From: bradenton, FL USA Registered: Nov 2003
Dont do the I6, do the 3.5 V6. They even have the 6 speed tranny and can make 280+ HP stock. You can get the Maxima tranny and the 350Z engine or the Maxima engine tranny combo and upgrade the Maxima engine to 350Z specs.
i drive a 350z as a work car, and no offense to it, but it really has no balls.. sure, its 270 hp stock, but only in the top 1500 hp, the rest has no go.. th eonly reason it does ok is because the transmission is geared to comprensate.. stick with a Northstar bro.. they can be majorly built up for the same monmey you will spend trying to fit a nissan or some other engein in there, and it will fly liek a bat out of hell.. a stock vin 9 N* will break into the low 13's, if you use the right tranny combo with it,.. built up, im sure 11s are easily achieved
Where would you put the drive shaft for awd? wouldn't the fuel tank get in the way? All wheel drive would be nice, but i dont see it fitting, unless you lifted the car I have a picture of a fiero on huge wheels somewhere. I should post it. Sorry, I know that had nothing to do with the topic.
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02:48 AM
Will Member
Posts: 14300 From: Where you least expect me Registered: Jun 2000
Originally posted by aaronrus: a stock vin 9 N* will break into the low 13's, if you use the right tranny combo with it,.. built up, im sure 11s are easily achieved
12's, dude. Stock VIN 9 and 282 can get into the 12's.
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06:38 AM
pollock Member
Posts: 424 From: denton, texas, usa Registered: Sep 1999
And about the engine's rear driveaxle sitting out the rear bumper, Im either gonna use a modified tranny plate ( from someone called (V8Archie)) that would line up the engine, He uses this plate for the 5.7 Liter LT1, or I'm gonna turn the engine around completely and use the Front wheel drive outputs (with modified trans-axles to make up for offset).
As for the cost, minus some cheap fabrication and some ahrdware, im projecting the whole project to be less than 5K. A good Fiero goes for about 3K, plus all the mods and add-ons, it would probably come out to the same price, but the Mitsu engine, IMO, has more tuning capabiilites in the long run.
And what do you guys mean about the 'trunk' area? isnt that in the front of the car? I am only going to be using the rear compartment where the original engine is, plus any other extra room I'm gonna need to make. Is there a 'trunk' area in the rear near the engine i don't see in pictures?
I am glad to see that another new person is getting into Fieros, and I am not trying to be mean, but you should probably consider a less complex swap. There are some pretty impossible obstacles in the way of your plans:
-No adapter plate, especially not the Chevy one that V8 Archie makes, is going to "line up" the engine with an AWD transaxle in a way that will fit.
-If you turn the engine around, you are going to have one forward gear and six reverse.
-You're estimating cost to put a Mitsubishi engine and trans into a Fiero (something that I've never seen done on this forum) for $2000. To put any performance import engine into a Fiero, make it reliable enough to drive on the street, and be the first guy to do it - my guess is you're looking at no less than $5000, not including the price of the engine. If you are a master machinist, welder, AND automotive electronics tech, you could do it for less.
-The trunk is in the back, aft of the engine. There's not a trunk under the hood, just a spare tire, radiator, suspension, master cylinder, a/c stuff, etc.
Welcome to the forum. I recommend you stick around and read about many of the swaps that have already been done. There are many people here that will be happy to share what they've learned with you. Look for info on here regarding the following engines: 3.4, 3.4 TDC (or DOHC), 3800 (with or without supercharger), 4.9 pushrod Cadillac V8, small block Chevy ("SBC"), and Northstar.
Originally posted by NissanFieroProject: I'm still worried about frying a tranny or losing power due To ECU thinking I'm slipping all the time with the AWD setup. I'm not sure about Mitsubishi's setup, but in Subaru's, you can pull a fuse that is used to sense the rear wheel drive-axles, which makes the ECU think it is only 2WD, and saves damage to Tranny/Power Divider/ECU when hauling the car. Maybe Mitsubishi has a similar function and I can eliminate that problem.
dude thats only for the automatics
the manual subaru tranny is all mechanical
if you wanted to use a subaru engine you could get the FWD tranny from a pre 2000 L series - after 2000 they are all AWD a wrx powered fiero wouldn't be THAT difficult if you have someone that can program the computer
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10:46 AM
Tugboat Member
Posts: 1669 From: Goodview, VA Registered: Jan 2004
The length and width of the Subaru motor may be a problem. The firewall isn't real far from the axle C/L. You'd also lose a good bit of the trunk to the tranny. The rotary/ bug tranny runs into the same problems.
And BTW Fastlane, Just cuz I'm using a Jap engine doesn't necessarily make it a ricer. My definition of a ricer is a Honda Civic hatchback with nasty Euro-lights, annoyingly tinny and gawd-awfully larg Muffler, and some underglow to top off the stew. I am a Nissan fan, I'm part of NICOclub.com, and we most assuredly hate ricers, and even more so, being called ricers cuz we have jap cars. It's all about the style....without tackiness lol.
Dude, I was joking about the "ricer" thing. I am a fan of some of the import performance cars as well. And I don't mind some of the mods like Altezza lights but I hate the coffee cans with no performance mods to back them up.
You have selected some interesting engines for potentials but I still think the Evo engine would be a smart choice. Economical, easy to maintain, very responsive to mods, aftermarket availability, size and weight, tranny choices, etc. Bone stock 271hp/274 tq is nothing to sneeze at. With some inginuity and a few performance mods you could easily top 300/300 and get close to mid 300 #'s easily. IMO this would be a "simple" swap in comparison to your other choices.
Pollock, i concede, ur right about the tranny, I didnt give it enough thought. I would have 6 reverse.......sucks a$$. I REALLY REALLY wanted to use that engine.... but I'm thinking it won't happen now. I'll still look into it and see if there isn't any possible way to do it, though.
About the cost, I don't remember saying that i think i could do it for 2K or under, but if i did, I'm sorry, it was a typo. My estimated cost to get it up and running (assuming I use the Mitsu engine) would be 5K or a little more/less. I am good with electronics, I'm friends with an entire Fab shop, owner and all, and i have access to any metal I want. My concerns aren't about engine mounts, hardware, or even fitting the damn thing into the car, I can do that. It's the Tranny that is messing me up.
I ALSO know the work involved in these projects, and that I WILL run into problems I can't foresee, I helped my buddy build an LT1 RX-7, and was that a pain!
And i dont need a trunk! hell, i don't want the trunk! the less I have in the car, the better, It's not going to be a strret car, mostly for tracks, and maybe a night once a week i feel like embarrassing some Hondas......
But as far as me knowing what I'm getting into for the actual swap, I know it's gonna be atleast 8-12 months before she is running and have all the bugs worked out. I'm willing to take the time to make it work, all I have to know is.... can i get it to work?
Thanks for the info Pollock, I liked it. You helped me out by tellling me about the tranny, otherwise, i might have overlooked that
P.S. - Noone would happen to know of any beater Fiero's in the area? Possibly you may have one, or someone you know has one that they wanna get rid of...for cheap? As in, 700$ or less. I dont even need the engine to run, just a Title and tires on it, with preferably a 5-speed (or 4)
thanks, email me at speakingofevil@hotmail.com if you guys know of any cars in that range. Thanks again for all the help, It's appreciated.