GRM's opinion of the VQ35DE?

Looks like Nissan puts them in everything! What's the real-world experience with them in 2003-4?

Read everything from "they're unrefined, poor exhaust note, crappy timing chain sprocket" to "they're the best V6 in its class".

We had an '04 G35. Yes, the engine was a bit rough in the upper rpm range, but it was a very strong motor. Pulled hard, good throttle response. We never had an issue with ours, though we only put about 30k on it before trading the car in. They sure are thirsty though, 20mpg could only be done if you drove downhill a lot...and never had to go back up.

Never owned one but the few cars ive driven with them were very fun. Granted my favorite of them had a lightened flywheel and nice exhaust but it was very responsive and seemed revvy to me.

Drove one in a Maxima auto and was impressed with quickness and unimpressed with thirstiness. It swallowed a puddle (I guess it really was thirsty) and died (not in my hands).

How heavy?

I also had an '04 G35 sedan and put about 110k on it before I sold it. It was a great car, and I loved the motor. It fit the personality of the car pretty well with decent torque and I usually got 22mpg out it with mixed driving. Mine did end up with oil burning issues late in life, but other than that, it was bullet proof. I don't recall having a single failure of any kind. In my opinion, the motor was one of the best parts of the car.

At that time, by dad had both a 5 series BMW and 3 series, it would run away from either without any issues.

Klayfish wrote: We had an '04 G35. Yes, the engine was a bit rough in the upper rpm range, but it was a very strong motor. Pulled hard, good throttle response. We never had an issue with ours, though we only put about 30k on it before trading the car in. They sure are thirsty though, 20mpg could only be done if you drove downhill a lot...and never had to go back up.

Are you saying in mixed driving?

I routinely pulled 27-29 on the hwy in my 350Z, and low 20s in mixed driving, but I didn't beat on it too much.

I ditched it after 3 months, too GT-ish for me.

I personally know two people who have blown them up. That's all I've got.

That's 50% of the people I know who own them.

z31maniac wrote:

Klayfish wrote: We had an '04 G35. Yes, the engine was a bit rough in the upper rpm range, but it was a very strong motor. Pulled hard, good throttle response. We never had an issue with ours, though we only put about 30k on it before trading the car in. They sure are thirsty though, 20mpg could only be done if you drove downhill a lot...and never had to go back up.

Are you saying in mixed driving? I routinely pulled 27-29 on the hwy in my 350Z, and low 20s in mixed driving, but I didn't beat on it too much.

It was my wife's DD. She likes her sporty cars...she was the one that picked the G. Ours was also the x model with an auto, so those brought down mpgs. She did mostly suburban commuting with it. Clearly her right foot is an on/off switch, which tends to stay in the on position a bit much...

VQ's are not the same, model to model obviously, so it depends what vehicle you're talking about. I've currently got a 03 350Z with nearing 100k miles. I drive my car hard, I'm a bit of a hooligan when there's no one else around, and it sees the high end of the tach daily. It has never complained, and pulls hard (for a NA V6). Plenty of power to get sideways, and be entertaining. I doubt it's lost much if any power compared to new. Even with my shenanigans and mostly city driving I'm still hitting 21 mpg, with 28 mpg on a steady 75 highway cruise.

Oil consumption was a problem in the 05 or so years, especially with the rev up engines. Mine doesn't burn a drop, still at the full mark at 5,000 miles. So I guess that is hit or miss. Timing chain rattles of various causes are common, FWD layout used some failure prone chain guides. That causes bad sounds all the time, and needs to be addressed. Mine has a rattle at cold start for just a second till oil pressure is built. I think there's bulletins on the variable valve timing gears for this condition, could also be a secondary chain tensioner issue. My internets searching tells me this is not a big concern issue, and I've pounded over 30k miles with this cold start rattle.

Whatever it is, know that pulling the front cover is a pain in the ass. Personally I've settled on the idea IF it ever breaks, its a good excuse for a V8 swap. If not, I'll pull the engine and fix it when I need a clutch. If you're doing a swap, I'd pull the chain cover and replace tensioners and guides before install.

How they sound? I love the way my car sounds....outside of it. Aftermarket intakes, and exhausts make some brilliant sounds. Inside the car the engine sounds a bit coarse at high RPM.

I had an '04 G35 automatic from new to 100K. The thing had great midrange power that tapered off toward redline. Later years they changed the heads/intake to put out another 20 HP on top at the expense of midrange.

Put 25-ish track days on it and boiled every fluid in the thing repeatedly in the process. Never broke after that severe duty so it was apparently both bullet & idiotproof.

It used a quart of oil every 3,500 Mi when I sold it.

My dad has an fx35, that if I remember right is a 2005. I'd say the VQ sounds pretty decent, but it doesn't seem all that happy near redline, and it doesn't have a lot of midrange to pull around the heavy FX. Only gets about 17 mpg, too. Ours doesn't use any oil, at least not that I've ever noticed. He's never had any mechanical issues with the engine, though there have been some little things with the rest of the package.

Powar wrote: I personally know two people who have blown them up. That's all I've got. That's 50% of the people I know who own them.

The oil starvation issue is pretty well known in the motorsports world yet one of those people heard about it too late. They made a metric E36 M3 ton of them and the failures seem limited to the sustained cornering oil starvation issue which is easily remedied with the pan and pickup spacer kit.

I currently daily drive a 2005 g35 6 speed manual sedan. It does have the "rev-up" motor and it does use about a quart of oil between oil changes. It is also super fun to drive and pretty quick. It is not as harsh in the upper revs as people make it out to be. I take it to redline all the time. Like i said...it is fun, and super reliable.

My friend has one that he beats the crap out of. I'm talking about a 350z, but that car has been flogged half to death, and it still pulls like a demon out of hell, and does it willingly.

I've been tempted to pick up a Z a few times. I absolutely love the engine note on those things once they're straight piped or what have you.

My girlfriend's G35 coupe just hit 200k. No problems with the car whatsoever mechanically other than a failed drive-by-wire throttle body while it was still under warranty.

Did Nissan stick the VQ35 in the Murano? My mom has 2005 S in merlot. It's fun the spank the Scion kids in a purple soccer mom-mobile I keep telling her that we need to put an aftermarket exhaust on it. She doesn't understand why LOL

stanger_missle wrote: Did Nissan stick the VQ35 in the Murano? My mom has 2005 S in merlot. It's fun the spank the Scion kids in a purple soccer mom-mobile I keep telling her that we need to put an aftermarket exhaust on it. She doesn't understand why LOL

Yep. Pretty much any Nissan/Infiniti in the last 10-15 years with a V6 has a VQ motor. It's what came after the VG (cast iron V6). Lot's of FWD vehicles got the VQ30/35 and the RWD vehicles got the VQ35/37.

My father had an '01 Pathfinder with a VQ35. It was a good motor. Nice powerband, E36 M3ty mileage. But its a Pathfinder, so what do you expect? I could see how it would be a blast in a sporty car.

I understand they are very light for the power they produce as well.

My opinion of the VQ family is very high.

I often think about buying a 5spd 4th gen maxima just to do a vq35 swap.

I like the engine quite a bit in the 350z. The exhaust note never particularly bothered me even driving from Pennsylvania to Florida. Just seems to be something that the "should have a v8" crowd seems to pick at. I like the way rotaries sound though so that probably invalidates my opinion.

That said I'm told by people who have built both supercharged and twin turbo motors that with decent quantities of boost they become less than reliable shall we say.

In the "homeland" they offer an OEM VQ30DET (turbo) in a few vehicles. They pop up on Flea-bay occasionally. hmmmm.....,

I like the VQ series a great deal. My experience of owning one for six years was nothing but positive.

My maxima burned oil and smoked when I got it, the timing chain was also noisy around 1800rpm. BUT, after 10-20k miles of Mobil1 0w-30, premium gas, and me driving like a complete asshol, both of those problems faded away. By the time I sold it at 160k miles it was burning maybe half a quart of oil every 5000 miles, and ran like new.

I did notice a measurable fuel economy bump by running the recommended premium fuel.

I had the 4.0 L in a frontier. That motor was fantastic. The only issue with it was the timing chain tensioner issues described above. I traded it in instead of fixing it. I did put 165K on it in the 4 years I had it.

There's a guy in Canada with a VQ-powered Locost with a custom intake and throttle bodies. I'd be hard pressed to think of something more fun than that. As a quad-cammer, they're fairly big, but they're very light - less than an iron-block Miata motor if I recall correctly.