Looking for info on talented VHR builders.
 

So, I've done a thorough search here and I haven't seen a thread discussing the various talented builders across the country for our VHR. Now, I'm looking at purchasing a built longblock for my 13 nismo and so far I've only talked to Mazworks, they quoted me 15k and I have to send them a virgin complete longblock core. This, with shipping and motor swap costs will push me over 20k after it's finally installed and all said and done.

My question is are there any manufacturers who make billet blocks who will build the motor into a longblock for me instead of using a stock block? And I'm almost scared to ask what that costs... but I want a proper race motor for what I do to this mf'er on a daily basis.

Also, if I'm going to use a stock block as a core, are there any builders that can come in with quality work like Mazworks at a better price? Dynosty seems to come in at 15.5k (something I read in another thread here), and I could be wrong, but I think I may have seen someone flaming dynosty in the boosted vq facebook group for doing him dirty in some way.

Thanks in advance guys.

Read this
http://www.the370z.com/forced-induct...7hr-block.html

Sure, we can have a billet VQ37vhr block made by Mazworx. We need 5 people to get it done at a cost of 10k a piece just for the block.

The real question you should be asking is when do you need one? It will need to be 1200whp or more for you to need it. At that level you will also need aluminum rods to keep the crank from breaking. That means way more maintenance and less use before rod replacements will be needed. As a Street car this is really not practical.

I forgot to add. To get to this level a standalone will be a must. That is another 10k for a Motec setup.

The only other folks to talk to would be SOHO. I think theirs starts around 18k.

That group is full of the pops 'n' bangs crowd that worship Admin Tuning to the detriment of their engine lifespan. You don't need to be paying attention to anything they have to say :twocents:

:iagree:

For any of the costs herein I'd lean toward an stock LS swap that will last forever and never have to wait for forced induction to spool.

FWIW lost all hope in Dynosty after finding out they don't calibrate their E85 % gauges with the sending units they source from others and admitted it to me. Mine always read 8% low when using Sunoco E85R in pails and comparing with 2 different test tube testers. Dynosty blamed the difference on the scale sticker on each of the NEW test tubes being off but their gauge never read the minimum Sunoco guarantees and is known to be accurate.

If they can't get that right, they touch no motor of mine. Can only imagine their box of excuses when their build goes awry. Good luck!

You probably never heard of 'em but DRZA Auto is amazing. Derek builds stuff like this:
https://www.enginebuildermag.com/202...-turbo-engine/

This is who currently services my Z when needed and who will be handling my build.

No disrespect to the guy but if he hasn't built a +1000whp Z he has no idea what will be needed. You can decompress it down to 9:1 and they will still lift the heads and cause destruction.

Ls ftw. :tup: Seeing what spooler et al keep going thru with big booost builds, I think the ls route is def the easier way to go for reliable big power. I get the wanting to keep it Nissan/JDM tho too.

(I’d still ls swap tho). :happydance:

This is excellent info, thank you! I'm looking at the 800-900whp level... anything beyond that isn't really necessary for my intents and purposes. I was thinking a billet block would be wise, as in, if you're going to do it, do it right the 1st time. Sort of relieved that a stock block will hold down what I want to make.


I'm already above stock LS power and wouldn't want to downgrade. If I were to go LS I'd also be looking to boost that. I'd rather stick with the VHR. Plus, I kinda find LS swaps kind of tacky.




With all this said, there aren't any other reputable builders but SOHO, Mazworks, and Dynosty?

Imo, $20k otd for a fully built to the hilt motor ain’t too bad. At this level you really gotta pay to play.

But, proper race motor and daily driver don’t belong in the same sentence. Isn’t it only around $7500 for a stock long block? Why not just slap a FI tt kit on it and run 500-600 whp relatively reliably and if or when you lose a motor, only be looking at around $7500 plus install instead. Your car will be helashiosly quick and it won’t be ******** the bed constantly or having little issues all the time. Race cars are high maintenance bitches.

That's where I'm at now. The builders and owner who had the build done initially decided to delete the passenger side pcv to make room for turbo piping, they were running it on pump gas at around 425whp. Since I've got it I've switched to e85, and as soon as we noticed the lack of a pcv on that side we fixed it... which took me machining up an elbow fitting at work by reverse engineering the pcv valve dimensions and then making a hose barb that threads into that to get a low enough profile fitting that would fit under the pipes. The problem is the damage is already done, and now that there's a pcv (feeding to the intake) I'm blowing big blue smoke at idle. So the answer is clear, swap another motor in for the time being and enjoy my 600, and build the one that's in it for more power and hopefully also reliability. The goal is to beat the CTS-Vs and the boosted mustangs with Coyotes and 10 speeds in the local late night racing scene... and so here I am looking for wisdom and advice.

You could also do what I'm doing. Just keep a spare low miles long block as a backup :tup:

If you want 800 to 900whp your only options are Mazworx or SOHO. I haven't seen a Dynansty build live at this HP. Read my whole thread and learn from it. If you don't, you will learn the hard way.

He wants 800 to 900whp, that won't cut it.

Another food for thought. How much WHP do you have now?

My response was to what FL Motion mentioned about buying new oem long blocks. My answer was an alternative to that.

700 to 750whp is most folks limit. Get up the 800 to 900whp it is a whole new ballgame. 900whp is an eye opener and a freaking handful. If you have limited experience, start at 700 to 750whp.

All the LS swaps I have seen were not that great.

Sitting at just over 500. We were waiting to for me to machine up the pcv elbow fitting to tune it up over 600... but again, that's when we found the damage was already done.

Sorry for the delayed responses guys, I'm at work making parts as we speak.

OK, then 700whp is what you should tune for first go around to get use to the power. If you would like to go to 800-900whp, then as I stated your choices are SOHO or Mazworx. That's it. Just go slow turning up the power.

I'm not just going to jump out the window, with a car I don't know yet, with power I'm not used to. I appreciate the advice, good looking out. I appreciate it, I do. If I'm going to go up from here though, it's going to be a full build, rather than spend 7 grand on a stock long block to stay at the 500-600 range. Truthfully I'm going to have to upgrade my turbo system at the same time, and go to twin fuel pumps... and look at axels and a dif. I am going to have a look at your thread with my free time at work here, and glean what I can there... but again, if I'm going to spend money like this, it's not going to be a lateral move... it's going to be spend the money once and do what I want for long term goals. I have a lot to learn about what "do it right the 1st time" means... besides lots of overtime at work... or cashing in on equity. The planning is happening now though, and you guys are an incredible resource of knowledge and experience to learn from.

Can you toss me a link to your build thread Spooler... I'm having problems finding it here.

http://www.the370z.com/forced-induct...torsports.html

That should be it. Long but extremely informative read.

Thank you very much!

Ok, swapping in a new to you stock long block and then using your old motor to build up w/o going thru as much downtime is a good idea. Also, then when you swap again, you’ll have a spare long block on deck just in case. Even a fully built motor done by the best shop around and tuned by the best tuner etc could still easily go boom just bc at those power levels, 800+ whp, there’s just no guarantees on anything. Be prepared to be chasing down little gremlins on a regular basis too, that’s part of the game at that level.

You’ll see in spooler’s thread, but your going to need to address your 6mt at some point, I’m assuming you’ve got a mt cause the at won’t cut it at that level afaik. You should look into Phunk’s thread about swapping in a bmw dct so you can put the power done better and w/o trans breakage. He’s CJ Motorsports btw, great guy and great company.

Alright, so you want to be hot sh1t at the local drags and do it in a 370z platform.

First, I’m going to assume all this will be taking place at the local drag strip.

Two, as others have already said, you need to grow your skills into the car. Master 500whp, then 550, then 600, etc. experiment with various tire setups, work on your 60 ft, work on your shifting, car control down the track. Work on improving not just your times but also your et’s. Get safety equipment professionally installed, like a cage etc.

Three, you’ll probably end up needing a reliable daily driver, cause you will break sh1t, even at 500whp once in a while.

There’s more but I’m kinda tired and I’ve got other sh1t to say…

That, and a rainy day fund in cash of at least the cost of a built motor if going that route or a stock motor if staying that route.

What about gbrettin’s…oh wait it’s still technically vapor ware until it moves under its own power right? :p

I feel you about easing into the power. I don't do dragstrips, but we don't need to go further into that convo... 40 or 50 rolls are better for axels anyway... at least until I hit big power I'm going to leave them for now. Roll cage and such are something I'll look into after I need the frame rigidity, and again, we're just in the planning stages... but I do understand that problem solving and chasing down issues is part of the game. Just so you know, I'm a 20+ year machinist with a fairly good grasp of the complexity and expenses we're discussing here, and I'm not taking any of this flippant. This money I'm going to spend is earned the old fashioned way, not inherited or anything, so I'm looking towards the solid group of people here to guide me. In the end I hope to have a machine that's solid, and an experience that was a challenge and a blast to do. A guy with no kids or wife needs something to keep him occupied... why not set a lofty goal to work hard for. Lastly, if I'm going to build, I'm going to try to do it as prudently as I can, and doing it in small steps only to go bigger later and throw more money at it at that time to upgrade what I just installed 2 seasons ago isn't a route I wish to follow.

I’m going to go out on a limb that you’re a young guy, correct? Pls, pls if you hear nothing else, hear this, NEVER cash out equity, (home or investments, or retirement savings), to “invest” into a depreciating asset that will actually loose value the more $$ and mods you dump into it.

It’s no accident that the vast majority of us folks on here with heavily modded z’s or higher end fast cars and toys are middle aged or older. We took care of the student loans, the house, the cars etc and now have a bit of bit of disposable income to play.

I know that’s probably the last thing you want to hear but unless you’re a trust fund baby, (nothing wrong with that btw’), then you need to live in the real world.

Next topic, why a z?

If your goal is drag racing superstar, your way way better off looking at a different platform.

If it’s bc you love the z, and appreciate the heritage etc, I get that but just know this is the wrong tool for the task you’ve set out to conquer.

Unless your sponsored and getting paid, making a living to race then at the end of the day beating other people is just for your ego, and maybe a quick lay with a girl you definitely don’t wanna bring home to momma.

It’s easy to lose sigh5 of what really matters in life especially when you’re reading this forum and seeing all the IG hero builds etc, but you need to create a list of life goals and milestones you want to achieve both personally and professionally and I’m here to tell you, you’re 1/4 mile time and beating those stangs and camaros shouldn’t make the cut, that’s just entertainment and hobby. Making $$, becoming financially independent, owning your own house etc, that’s what makes a successful life and the playtime stuff will come naturally.

Alright, I know I sound like a old fuddyduddy killjoy but I’m not wrong. :tiphat:

I'm 43, have about 100k of equity, 23 years into the machining trade and making good money; no wife or kids to provide for, no debts, and a solid daily driver. Super appreciate what you're laying down here, but machines are my career and hobby. Yes, I know I'm going to piss money, and I'm ok with that... I don't go to drag strips though. Please also know that I'm not into the whole dying in a fiery wreck thing, so I'll be very respectful of the machine I'm trying to build... respecting powerful and dangerous machines has lead me to the success I have in this trade. Again, thank you for the wisdom.

That roll cage isn’t just for chassis rigidity, it’ll help there obviously, but it’s to keep you alive in the event of god forbid, the worst case scenario. If you’re roll racing in Mexico hypothetically, thats just as important as for the drag strip.

Congrats on 20+ years as a machinist, that’s awesome, we need more folks like that here. :tup:

Ok, I get wanting a fun hobby and not being tied down, just watch your spend cause builds like this tend to spiral outta control, all of use here have seen this movie many times over many years on this and other forums and in real life and some of us have even gone down this road. Bring a trailer is littered with 1/2 finished and 3/4 finished builds that the seller got too deep down the rabbit hole and then cut bait at a massive financial hit. Just wanted to try to help you not end up as that guy.

:tiphat:

Sounds like you’re doing well for yourself, that’s great. Best advise I can give then is spend a lot of time researching, making calls to shops, getting quotes for various parts, labor if you need help on something, and write it all down. Hen before you start, post that plan here so the guys who’ve already gone down this road can help fill in any blanks, get a ballpark $$ figure, and then let snowball start rolling down the hill. You’re gonna be building your car for about 2 years or so my best guess and that’s assuming a relatively smooth build.

Yeah, this is a very significant undertaking, and I'm taking a good hard look at what it's all going to entail. My assumption is probably 30k and a lot of nights swearing in my garage. Even after it's all finished, drivetrain-wise there's the big investment in a widebody kit and suspension work I'll need to accomodate wider tires than the 305's I'm running now. But the motor is the biggest bite to chew... the rest will be smaller bites in comparison. As I see it if I run 800-900whp on a motor capable of 1000+ I should be in a good position to have her be dependable. Please correct me if I'm wrong on that.

It's gonna cost more than that. Double it, that will put you in the ballpark if you get it right the first time. Starting with a high quality turbo kit will make your life easy. I would suggest you scrap whatever you have for a turbo kit and go with a Fast Intention kit. Do you want to fight to make 900whp or do you want to make it easy. What you do now will make it easy or harder for you to meet your goals.

You don't need a wide body kit to run a wider rear tire, you just need the correct wheel offset and suspension set up. One member on here is running 345's. I'm running 315's and I believe Spooler is running 325's