Supercharging the Nissan VQ35DE with Vortech!
The Nissan VQ35DE in all of its variations is one of the best six cylinders on the market, light compact and smooth it has a lot of potential for modification. The VQ35DE and its variants in the VQ family is found in the G35 and 350Z. Although the VQ is a nice performance engine, in the US market it is only available in naturally aspirated form. Naturally aspirated limits your power, especially when you are talking about a streetable engine on pump gas. You can see the results with our naturally aspirated VQ35DE engine build here.
In our search for more power we decided to try another direction: supercharging. For our test mule we used a G35 coupe which already had a lot of the basic bolt ons. To this we applied Vortech’s bolt on intercooled VQ35DE kit. The Vortech kit is a relatively easy bolt on and has the advantage that if installed exactly as is, it is a CARB approved 50 state legal system with an EO number. This is a huge advantage if you live in California or any area that requires smog testing for registration.
Another cool feature is that the Vortech kit has a one year limited warranty that can be extended to three years for a small fee of $50.
Vortech’s VQ35DE system uses the V3 SCi supercharger, the “i” stands for improved. The V3 SCi is a centrifugal supercharger, imagine the compressor side of a turbo driven by the crankshaft instead of a turbine and you got the idea. A centrifugal compressor has more efficient internal compression compared to thermally inefficient external compression like a typical roots type blower. Thus the V3 SCi compressor has a whopping turbo like adiabatic efficiency of 75% across a wide operating range. Higher efficiency means less intake charge heating and lower power requirements for less parasitic power loss at the crank. The supercharger has its own internal oil supply which makes installation easier. The kit comes with some proprietary synthetic lube from Vortech and a cogged secondary drive belt.
The Vortech transmission has a 3.6:1 step up ratio and can flow enough air at its 53,000 maximum rpm for up to 725 hp if the need arises. The transmission has helical gears for quiet operation and internal baffling for oil control under hard acceleration, braking and cornering. The transmission has its own dipstick and remote drain for easy servicing. Oil distribution to the gears and bearings of the transmission are handled by a simple and reliable slinger that flings oil to all of the critical parts.
The kit comes with a large bar and plate front mount intercooler, heat resistant silicone couplers and mounting brackets for an easy installation.
The charge pipes are all mandrel bendt for smooth flow. Some of the pipes have complicated shapes because of space limitations in the tight engine bay.
16 comments
This was the best G35 Supercharge article. I wish you had a YouTube video channel.
Out of curiosity. I have a 2003 G35 Auto. If I supercharged my car (as it’s an auto transmission), do you think that I would have any issues with the rev limiter?
We do have a you tube channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRP6Ct5PePdhHa7sot9G8iw
Your automatic will work with a supercharger.
I know this is a crazy question, but I have a 2001 Nissan Pathfinder with the same engine in it that I would love to give more power and a supercharger would be perfect as it would also help with the normal power loss of running a NA engine at altitude (I live in Colorado between 6000-9500 ft) would this kit work on a Pathfinder? Is it available? Do you know of anyone who could do this install? Thanks! Tim
Hi Tim,
Please contact me on whatsapp phone number +968 92228188 will discuss about the supercharer for pathfinder
I am looking to buy a 2013 Nissan Pathfinder with 3.5 V6. Is there a supercharger that will fit this model ?
I also have a 2014 Pathfinder and am curious about installing this kit.
I have a 2004 Infiniti g35 coupe 6sm. I have Jdm engine in it now. But my first engine got to 270 whp and it broke. So I’m surprised how much power that car is making. I was turbocharged before and this time I’m looking to go supercharger. I have stock internals and would like to replicate what you guys did. Can I get a list of all the items you guys used? How long will the car last with 400 whp?
Hola buenas soy de chile, necesito ayuda porfavor, tengo un 350z con un kit vortech v2 , necesito subir mas potencia, mi mecanico hace tuning osea sube potencia alos veiculos el tema que su sofware no reconose o no lee o pide algun codigo algo de la ecu que trae el kit vortech v2 necesito orientacion en ese tema esa ecu es para hacer repro o subir parametros, subir potencia ? Necesito porfavor respuesta alguien que me oriente en ese problema que tengo porfavor michas gracias
Hola, mi español es malo, por favor, comprenda. Es casi imposible ayudar con problemas de ajuste de forma remota. Para obtener más rendimiento, generalmente está limitado a lo que puede hacer por la fuerza del motor y el octanaje del combustible. El VQ no es un motor muy potente en stock, por lo que no recomendamos exceder lo recomendado por el fabricante.
Im trying to supercharge my altima 3.5 its very hard to find a kit for it it any links would be ton of help thanks guys…
Thanks for your time to put all of your work on here guys! Really does help to realise that these engines can be successfully tuned to good figures 🙂👍
I have an 08 E51 Elgrand, which I know is a detuned version of the engine you guys have tuned… I am looking to do the same to my engine, and details are quite far and few between here in the UK.
Any advice would be much appreciated 🙂👍
Planning to installe some added HP to my stock VQ35DE 03 Nissan Pathfinder. Can I ask for parts and product number also brands
Thank you for this very helpful post
Vortech is getting out of the kit market and more or less supplies superchargers to second-market kit makers. I would say google is your friend. If anyone makes a kit for older Pathfinders it would be Stillen I would guess.
With this work with a 07 altima 3.5
It is not made for that car, I would contact Stillen to see if they have a kit.
How much do you want, I have a 2003 g35 and I need a turbo kit