My P10 VE Blog

[thefultonhow]

It's happening, guys. I am going up to NJ to pick up the VE on Thursday, Aug. 7, and the swap will take place the weekend of Aug. 16-17 (I would do it on the 9-10th, but my cousin is getting married on the 9th and I think my family would be annoyed if I skipped the wedding to do a swap).

Until I can get pictures of the motor, here is my shopping list. I will mark off what I buy as I buy it.

Shopping List

SR20VE motor from JDM Engine Depot in Kearny, NJ -- $1150 (cash discount)
Alternator, AC compressor, and PS pump are included with new motor. I will use the alternator and compressor for sure and may use the PS pump as well. I will also use the stock plastic intake piping. (EDIT: used alternator and AC compressor from old engine. The AC compressor lines did not bolt up at all.)

Summit 830452 RPM switches to trigger cam solenoids -- $50
Calum Basic ECU with Consult functionality -- $155 (EDIT: got regular Calum Basic for $105)
Nissan Key Value clutch -- $have (re-using old one at recommendation of G20-Budo)
Fidanza flywheel from boommer -- $88.49
SSAC knockoff header from eBay -- $75 (purchased but have to pick up)
Lowport throttle body and throttle cable bracket from SR20forum sellers -- $28
These will allow me to keep cruise control.

SSAC primary-to-secondary gasket from Summit -- $8.95
4x NGK BKR6E-N spark plugs, catalytic converter gasket, accessory belts, big RR oil filter, and NeoVVL emblem for trunk from EverythingG20 -- ~$72

1/2" to 5/8" heater hose adapters, heater hose, fluids, misc other expenses -- estimated $60

TOTAL -- $1687.44 (EDIT: final total was probably closer to $1560, not including flywheel)

Next summer, I will walk into an exhaust shop and say "give me the highest-quality exhaust you can, that will make good power but sound close to stock." I figure $500-750 should handle that well enough...

Progress:

Aug. 3: Pre-swap performance testing
Aug. 5: OEM parts ordered from EverythingG20
Aug. 5: Found/bought a cheap Fidanza
Aug. 5: AutoZone run; picked up fluids and hose adapter/clamps
Aug. 7: Picked up SR20VE and SSAC header in NJ
Aug. 8: Flywheel delivered; pics of header
Aug. 9: Ordered Summit RPM window switch and copper header gasket
Aug. 10: Prep work (harness removal, SSAC install, etc.); ordered lowport throttle body and cable bracket
Aug. 12: Attempted Fidanza prep
Aug. 13: Summit window switch arrived
Aug. 14: More attempted Fidanza prep; EverythingG20 order arrived; packed up parts to bring to shop
Aug. 15: Axle and copper SSAC gasket arrive; lowport throttle body and cable bracket delayed; Day 1 of swap! (dropping engine)
Aug. 16: Day 2 of swap (harness transfer and routing; transmission/clutch/flywheel transfer, accessory/hose/etc. transfer)
Aug. 17: Day 3 of swap (engine back in, but no start )
Aug. 18: Lowport throttle body and cable bracket arrive
Aug. 19: Description of problems and troubleshooting steps
Aug. 20: It lives!
Aug. 22: First attempt to set timing; AC recharged, cruise control (and lowport throttle body) installed
Aug. 23: Fixed header bolts
Aug. 24: Set up VVL
Sep. 4: Sent ECU off to Calum
Nov. 6: Installed Calum ECU
Dec. 18: Post-swap performance testing

Instrumented performance testing

Before:

1/4 mi: 16.25 sec @ 84.3 mph
1/8 mi: 10.42 sec @ 67.9 mph
60 ft: 2.37 sec

125 hp (141pk)

0-80: 14.30 sec
0-70: 10.87 sec
0-60: 8.17 sec
0-50: 6.05 sec
0-40: 4.33 sec
0-30: 2.57 sec
0-20: 1.50 sec
0-10: 0.55 sec

After:

1/4 mi: 14.90 sec @ 96.5 mph
1/8 mi: 9.77 sec @ 76.6 mph
60 ft: 2.52 sec

177 hp (198pk)

0-90: 12.90 sec
0-80: 10.25 sec
0-70: 8.18 sec
0-60: 6.55 sec
0-50: 5.02 sec
0-40: 3.65 sec
0-30: 2.62 sec
0-20: 1.70 sec
0-10: 0.70 sec

[thefultonhow]

Pictures!!!





More pics from SR20VE pickup in NJ









More flywheel and header pics







More pics of motor prep





More pics from first day of swap









More pics from second day of swap





More pics of completed swap

More to come...

[mh64]

looks good best of luck, are you doing the swap urself? in a shop/with a lift?

[thefultonhow]

Also reserved for updates...

[thefultonhow]

Yet another placeholder for updates!

[thefultonhow]

There, that should be enough placeholders.

Originally Posted by mh64

looks good best of luck, are you doing the swap urself? in a shop/with a lift?

I found a new member on here who works at a shop about 15 minutes away from my house. He says that the shop closes on Saturday at noon and doesn't open again until Monday morning, and he has free reign of the shop for his own projects while it's closed. He says he has to make sure his boss won't be around, but that otherwise I can use one of the bays. He may be helping me out, and I've roped my brother in again too (he helped with my first swap).

The idea is to drop the motor with all accessories still attached to speed up the process. The shop has a professional AC evac/recharge system, so this should be easy. My first swap took three and a half weeks, but I had literally no idea what I was doing; this one should go much faster now that I know my way around the engine bay.

[mh64]

very cool, i may be interested in watching/helping if that dates work out/its cool with u

[thefultonhow]

That's definitely fine with me -- the more hands the better. I'm also going to want someone to take photos of the process, so maybe I'll make my brother do that. I believe the shop is in the northern part of Baltimore City, right off Interstate 83. We can work out more details closer to the date if you're still interested.

[Mxer683]

Nice! Cant wait to see how it turns out. But if your gonna go calum I'd say get together enough for the realtime, definitely worth it since it has limitless applications unless you for some reason get an obd2 car.

[thefultonhow]

Originally Posted by Mxer683

Nice! Cant wait to see how it turns out. But if your gonna go calum I'd say get together enough for the realtime, definitely worth it since it has limitless applications unless you for some reason get an obd2 car.

I'm not sure I can justify the cost, though. The one reason I would get it is if I was planning to do a lot of upgrades after the swap. The only upgrade I will be doing for a while after I send in the ECU is a catback exhaust system, and I'll just get the ECU programmed for that and have slightly less than optimum performance until I get the catback. Considering the Realtime is over twice as expensive as the Basic with Consult ($350 vs. $155), it's just not worth it for me to get flexibility that I won't use.

[Mxer683]

True but depending on how much your time is worth that will also be a factor. Plus that too, not all setups are the same. So the bin file that calum gives you wont be spot on but if you have the ability to reflash at home you can use tuner pro to modify the bin. Just my 2 cents, I had one and it was no doubt a worthwile investment.

[thefultonhow]

Originally Posted by Mxer683

True but depending on how much your time is worth that will also be a factor.

What do you mean by this?

I'm pretty sure the Basic bin will be close enough to what I need on my setup that there won't be an issue. If I was going turbo I would definitely go for the Realtime, but on a VE, there just aren't quite as many variables and it's not quite as important to have the fuel maps spot-on.

[Mxer683]

Fair enough haha . I just meant that it takes awhile to send your ECU in everytime you need a new bin, whereas with the realtime you can do it at home.

[thefultonhow]

Originally Posted by Mxer683

Fair enough haha . I just meant that it takes awhile to send your ECU in everytime you need a new bin, whereas with the realtime you can do it at home.

Yep, there are some real advantages to Realtime if you do a lot of upgrades. But considering my car has been bone stock for the two years I've owned it, I'm not going to be doing many more engine upgrades after this. Suspension is next.

[G20-Budo]

On the Calum basic ECU setup, you can still do tuning, just get another set of EPROMS and get access to a burner, and you can use RT-TunerPro and update your BIN and burn it.. then install the chips in your ECU, and take out the old ones.. and then you can burn those.

So the Calum Basic ECU can still be updated by you David.. it's just more time to do it, but doable. And the consult option is a smart way to go.

David, we'll talk more about the hose adapters and the brackets for your throttle cable as you get closer to doing this.

[thefultonhow]

Originally Posted by G20-Budo

David, we'll talk more about the hose adapters and the brackets for your throttle cable as you get closer to doing this.

I'm thinking I might hit up Lowe's sometime this weekend and look around a bit for the hose clamps/adaptors. As for the throttle cable and throttle body, I'm investigating options on SR20forum... of course, now that G20.net is back up, I can do some investigating on here too.

[thefultonhow]

A friend lent me a performance meter tonight for me to do a baseline test. I will re-run the test on the same road after the swap but before I send my ECU off to Calum, and then again when I get the ECU back. Here are the results:

1/4 mi: 16.25 sec @ 84.3 mph
1/8 mi: 10.42 sec @ 67.9 mph
60 ft: 2.37 sec

125 hp (141pk?)

0-80: 14.30 sec
0-70: 10.87 sec
0-60: 8.17 sec
0-50: 6.05 sec
0-40: 4.33 sec
0-30: 2.57 sec
0-20: 1.50 sec
0-10: 0.55 sec

Looks like the numbers are pretty much spot-on for a stock P10 (they are a bit slower than the factory numbers, but I had a sucky launch, so it's the nut behind the wheel that needs to be swapped out to fix that... ).

BTW... don't waste your money on Dynolicious for exact quantitative testing. I borrowed my friend's iPhone as well to test it out. The 1/4 mile time was a full second slower according to Dynolicious. The G-meter graph is pretty awesome, but I wouldn't put much stock in anything else it says.

[schwen]

Hey, VE?? Great mod.

If you finally install the engine by yourself and it works...I´ll send you a complete album of Anna Falchi, LOL

[thefultonhow]

Just put in an order with Justin at EverythingG20 for my spark plugs, cat gasket, belts, and oil filter. I'll put in my order with Summit as soon as the visitor to my co-worker's cube (right across from mine) leaves. I am going to call because I want to see if they might have the hose adapters.

I'm all set to pick up the motor and the SSAC in North Jersey on Thursday (day after tomorrow!!! ), and I'm reviving all sorts of part-out threads to get the throttle body and throttle cable bracket to keep cruise control. I'll get some fluids at Autozone closer to the 16th, and I'm making sure I have access to the shop that weekend. After that, I'll just need to send my ECU off to Calum and I'll be all set for the year.

Originally Posted by schwen

If you finally install the engine by yourself and it works...I´ll send you a complete album of Anna Falchi, LOL

HAHAHAHA.

Just put in the NSFW sponsor's forum. Don't worry, I'll look. Just gotta share the love.

[thefultonhow]

http://www.g20.net/forum/showthread.php?t=82919

Wasn't planning on doing that, but I couldn't pass that kind of deal up. The ones I was seeing on SR20forum were either twice the price, or $80 and needed new friction plates.