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VR30

2023 Nissan Z Test Drive | STILLEN

Jan 10, 2023

Kyle from STILLEN was able to test drive the new 2023 Nissan Z and he taught the Z was absolutely amazing. His done exactly what anybody with the keys to the new Z would do. He has taken the Nissan Z through a canyon road near his home and it was an absolute blast to drive.

It handles extremely well, just hugging every single turn. No tire squeal, no drama. It just soaks it up and it just goes. Point and shoot steering, you get on the throttle and the rear end starts to come around.

The Nissan Z has excellent power delivery from the VR30 V6 Twin Turbo 400 horsepower platform. It’s absolutely phenomenal to drive. You can definitely see the areas of enhancement that Nissan has made to the new Z.

STILLEN can’t wait to get there own Z and start to make some improvements. But again, these are improvements and modifications that are for the enthusiasts. They’re going to be for the enthusiasts who wants that extra power. The enthusiast that really wants to push it a little bit further and this car is going to respond so well to it. You can already tell that the new Z wants to go faster and wants to push harder.

From a styling perspective, Nissan has really hit a home run for the new Z. This is one of the best looking cars on the road. “I have to be honest, I didn’t love the original photos I saw. I didn’t think that the front end was really what I was looking for. As soon as I saw the Z in person for the first time, I knew I was wrong. The photos just don’t do it justice. This is a good looking car.” – Kyle.

The front end of the Z is designed to look like the older Datsun Z, similar to a 240 and a 260. Then you move around to the back of the Z and you get that 300ZX rear end immediately. The tail lights are a modern 300ZX tail lights, they’re absolutely fantastic. We can all agree that the rear tail lights are the best part of the design of the vehicle.

The katana down the roofline of the car is a very cool easter egg, but overall it’s just an amazing car. From a performance perspective, it handles incredibly well. You can tell that the power is there as soon as you put your foot down. It just scoots and gets going right away. This car wants to run, it wants to run hard, and you can already tell it’s going to be a lot of fun.

Steve Millen History

In 1989 our company founder, Steve Millen, started working with Nissan. Nissan hired Steve to be the lead driver for their new sports car program. They were bringing in the 300ZX at the time. They were going to bring in two race cars; number 75 and number 76. It was a twin turbo V6 VG30 based engine and they took those cars to dozens of race wins, dozens of pole positions, two world championships, wins in Asia, Europe and America.

Steve Millen & team with the No. 75 Nissan 300ZX & No. 76 Nissan 300ZX After Winning the 1994 24 Hours of Le Mans

To this day, I believe Steve Millen still holds the record of being the only driver to win the 24 hours of Daytona, the 12 hours of Sebring, and the 24 hours of Le Mans in the same year. They had a crazy amount of success with that 300ZX racing program.

Steve really translated that success on the track into STILLEN’s road car program. He also worked very closely with Nissan, refining the 300ZX and giving them more power and developing all these parts through STILLEN.

Towards the end of the 300ZX in 1995, Nissan celebrated his relationship with them as well as the culmination of the Z. They built a special limited edition SMZ 300ZX. It was a Steve Millen design 300ZX. This was a car that you could also buy through your local dealership. They only made a little over 100 cars in North America and these cars were sold through the dealer network.

2023 Nissan Z Test Drive | STILLEN SMZ 300ZX

The dealers would call up STILLEN, and they would place their order for the cars. All the SMZ packages were the same. It was just the color of the vehicle that was different. The SMZ package came with different wheels, brakes, body work, and a little bit more power through an intake and exhaust. I think there was a computer reprogram and some interior enhancements too.

The SMZ package was a 300ZX that you could buy from the dealership with the factory warranty. That’s the type of relationship STILLEN has with Nissan. Working with Z’s goes through our blood, all the way back to the late 80’s and early 90’s.

When the 350Z came out it was very much the same. We didn’t do a SMZ package, but we did a whole catalog of parts for the 350Z. That catalog of parts included exterior styling, sway bars, intakes, exhaust systems, oil coolers, transmission coolers, supercharger systems, you name it. At one point, STILLEN had about 30 different products for 350Z. That really speaks to the STILLEN’s philosophy when it comes to the Nissan Z’s. The relationship that STILLEN has with the Z is strong.

We don’t want to just do an intake or exhaust. A lot of the times when STILLEN brings other vehicles in for product development, that’s all we’re doing. We’re just doing an intake and an exhaust system, maybe a body kit.

On the Z’s we tackle the entire car. It becomes a passion project for STILLEN because of that relationship and that connection that STILLEN has to the Z and to Nissan. We really want to refine it as best we can. So we’ll go front to back, top to bottom.

The Z’s are so special to us that we just want to give them as much attention and as much love as we can. That basically comes out by all the parts and all the enhancements that we make for the Z’s.

2023 NISSAN Z

We continue to work and develop new parts for the 2023 Nissan Z. The new STILLEN products are nearing their completion. Make sure to have your social media notifications on to be the first to hear about the new products. Hopefully your as excited as we are to bring the new products for the 2023 Nissan Z.

Monochromatic Monster: Deryck G’s Infiniti Q60 RS with STILLEN Upgrades

Jun 27, 2018

STILLEN Front Splitter + Winglets / STILLEN Rear Diffuser
Vossen VSF2 20×9.5et25 / 20×10.5et25 with Yokohama ADVAN V105 245/35-20 / 275/30-20 on RS-R SuperDown Springs

Sporting the a smorgasboard of STILLEN Q60 mods, Deryck G’s 2017 Infiniti Q60 RS AWD is certainly a sight to behold. The Q60 is already a gorgeous vehicle, but the addition of STILLEN Aero and performance upgrades really makes this Infiniti Q60 RS especially slick. Starting with the ivory white exterior, Deryck has some great contrast going on between the matte black trim, aero and wheels against the crisp white of the body.

STILLEN Front Splitter + Winglets
Vossen VSF2 20×9.5et25 / 20×10.5et25 with Yokohama ADVAN V105 245/35-20 / 275/30-20 on RS-R SuperDown Springs

To give the Infiniti Q60RS the low slung stance a curvaceous coupe like it deserves, Deryck opted to drop the Q60 Suspension with a set of SuperDown Springs from RS-R. A more conservative option than a coilover, yet a better stance and better handling than stock. The blacked out grilles and fender trim really drives the theme home, creating a cohesive look – everything looks like it belongs, nothing jarring and out of place. It’s exquisite.

STILLEN Front Splitter + Winglets / STILLEN Intakes for Infiniti Q60 3.0tt

Bolstering the already impressive 400hp output of the Q60 RS VR30DDTT are a set of STILLEN Air Intakes, one feeding each bank of cylinders. While RedSport models don’t pick up near as much power as SilverSports with our intakes, response is sharper and the induction note is so much more satisfying. Featuring two high flow conical filters and custom-fabricated MAF tube sections mated to contoured high-temperature urethane heat shields.

STILLEN Intakes for Infiniti Q60 3.0tt

Whereas many competing aftermarket intake systems aren’t shielded at all, the ones that do are mostly using metal heat shields. Urethane offers superior thermal insulation, while metal is a thermal conductor and the heat shield itself will get hot, which can result in a heat-soaked condition on hot days. Well-insulated, closed-box or semi-sealed box intakes perform much more consistently in traffic and in hot weather, as it helps keep intake temperatures lower and more consistent. Some may argue that “intake temperature doesn’t matter because the intercooler will cool the aircharge anyway”, but that’s not true. The intercooler can get the air-charge colder if it starts with a colder incoming air-charge.

The TL;DR: is lower inlet air temperatures result in lower air charge temps at the throttle.

The interior is stock for the moment, but the color combination is stellar – and really, there isn’t much you can improve upon – it’s a nice place to be.

STILLEN Front Splitter + Winglets

The subtle aero and details add a splash of drama to the car’s somewhat sedate factory aesthetic – sleek and graceful yet aggressive, not unlike an F-22 Raptor fighter jet – whereas other combat aircraft that bristle with firepower have bulky hardpoints hanging off their wings and undercarriage, on the F-22, its impressive complement of missiles and such are stealthily tucked away for an extraordinarily clean profile in every regard – on radar, aesthetically and aerodynamically.

STILLEN Rear Diffuser / Armore Design Rear Carbon Fiber Duckbill Spoiler / Vibrant Exhaust for Q60

It’s all the smaller details that make the finished package look as good as it does. Dressing up the tail of the car is an Armore Design CF Duckbill spoiler, paired with the STILLEN rear diffuser. Polished oversized tips of a custom-fabricated Vibrant catback exhaust for Q60 fill out the openings in the rear fascia, framed by the STILLEN Rear Diffuser for Q60.

STILLEN Front Splitter + Winglets / STILLEN Rear Diffuser
Vossen VSF2 20×9.5et25 / 20×10.5et25 with Yokohama ADVAN V105 245/35-20 / 275/30-20 on RS-R SuperDown Springs

Somehow, this car just oozes charisma and manages to make the Q60’s already supple curves that much more enticing, and the play of light across each surface that much more beautiful.

STILLEN Front Splitter + Winglets

The trifecta of the matte black grille, the matte black STILLEN Q60 Front Splitter and STILLEN Q60 Winglets with the blacked out front grille works together brilliantly, pairing like a great red wine and artisan-made cheese.

STILLEN Front Splitter + Winglets / STILLEN Rear Diffuser
Vossen VSF2 20×9.5et25 / 20×10.5et25 with Yokohama ADVAN V105 245/35-20 / 275/30-20 on RS-R SuperDown Springs

There’s only so much we can say, because these photos do an excellent job speaking for themselves. Check out a few more incredible photos of this crisp-linen colored beauty.

STILLEN Rear Diffuser / Armore Design Rear Carbon Fiber Duckbill Spoiler / Vibrant Exhaust for Q60
Vossen VSF2 20×9.5et25 / 20×10.5et25 with Yokohama ADVAN V105 245/35-20 / 275/30-20 on RS-R SuperDown Springs

STILLEN Rear Diffuser / Armore Design Rear Carbon Fiber Duckbill Spoiler / Vibrant Exhaust for Q60

Giving the Q60 a unique exhaust note and even greater authority when you stomp the go pedal, the custom-fabricated Vibrant Performance Exhaust and Vibrant Performance High Performance downpipes wakes up the VR30DDTT like getting a bucket of water dumped on you while napping, offering snappier response and further enhanced horsepower and torque to all four wheels.

Deryck has put together an Infiniti Q60RS that’s sure to turn heads everywhere – this is the kind of car that gets the valet to park your car prominently in the front row, and with a tasteful suite of modifications, this is a package that looks, sounds and performs better than stock without any of the ‘racecar compromises’ that degrade the car’s streetability, making it an incredibly satisfying drive.

Thank you to Deryck for making STILLEN a part of his build; shoutout to Arthur Malczewski for shooting and sharing these incredible photos with us. Thank you for reading, we hope you enjoyed this feature!

Feeling inspired? Want your car to look like this? Give our team of experts a call at 1-866-250-5542 or shop online and even chat live with the team at STILLEN.com. Thanks for joining us, and for those interested, check out the full mod list below.

Photos By

Arthur Malczewski

Full Mod List

Exterior

Stillen Q60 Front Lip (Matte Black)
Stillen Q60 Front Winglets (Painted Matte Black)
Stillen Q60 Rear Diffuser (Matte Black)
Vossen VSF2 Wheels – 20×9.5F ET25 / 20×10.5R ET25
Yokohama Advan V105 Tires – 245 / 35-20 / 275 / 30-20”
Blacked out chrome grille, window trim, fog light, side gills, blacked out roof
Armore Design Rear Carbon Fiber Duckbill Q60 Trunk spoiler

Performance

Stillen High Flow Intakes for Q60 3.0TT
Custom-fabricated Vibrant Performance Cat-back Exhaust System
Custom-fabricated Vibrant Performance GESI Ultra High Converters Down-Pipes
(note: car/owner not in USA, USA E P A/A R B regulations do not apply.)

Suspension

RS-R Super Down Springs

TO INFINITI & BEYOND – ANALYZING THE VR30DDTT TURBOS

Dec 23, 2016

The VR30DDTT is an impressive motor. It is underrated from the factory as we have seen with dyno testing. The Hi-Output version is rated at 400 hp and 350 ft-lbs at the crank and the Low-Output version is rated at 300 hp and 300 ft-lbs at the crank. We have consistently seen ~375 whp and ~350 wtq from the Red Sport Q50’s and Q60’s and ~300 whp and ~290 wtq from the “300 hp” versions.

That being said, everyone is still excited to see what these motors can do. With factory forced induction there is often a ton of room for gains when you simply tune the car and crank the boost up. Now there is a lot to consider before assuming power gains by simply increasing boost and tuning. So strap on your thinking caps and prepare for the math!

The factory turbos on the VR30 are produced by Honeywell-Garrett. The model of the turbo is MGT14446LKSZ. We could talk technical specifications*, but in the end let us just say the turbos are small. What is more important is we have the turbo map for the MGT1446 turbo. This has allowed us to see what efficiency range the turbos are operating under stock boost, as well as the limits of the turbos when it comes to boost levels and power gains.

We can see the VR30 Red Sport (400) boost curve looks something like this. With this knowledge, we can run a series of calculations to see the efficiency of the turbos throughout the RPM range.

For everyone who would like to do the math themselves the basic formulas are as follows.
Cubic Feet/Min:

Corrected Air Flow (CAF) lbs/min:

Pressure Ratio (PR):

So for stock boost our table will look like this:
*we use 1.5 liters as displacement as only half the motor feeds each turbo.

Q50 Red Sport – Stock (14.5 PSI)

Utilizing the same formula and increasing boost, we made a graph then overlaid onto the Turbo Map. We included the Low-Output graph for reference as well.

You can see that even at stock boost (for the Red Sport) the turbos are off the efficiency island (below 60%) post 5750 RPM. So what happens as you move off the island? As turbo efficiency goes down you begin to generate more and more heat for the given boost pressure.

If you look at the stock dyno sheet, you can see where the horsepower curve begins to flatten out at around 5000 RPM. We have also seen with an aftermarket exhaust and secondary cat deletes the gains past the 5000 RPM area are far less significant. This can pretty much all be attributed to the turbos.

2017 Q50 Red Sport 3.0tt Stock Dyno Sheet

We went ahead and also did graphs of increased boost pressure following the factory curve up to max pressure. We assume the lower boost pressure below 4000 RPM is to keep the torque under control for driveability’s sake.

Looking at the chart, one can see that as you increase the maximum boost levels you move out of the efficiency island very quickly. At 17 PSI you move below 60% efficiency at 5500 RPM which is not much worse than stock. However, once we get into the 19 PSI Range you can see us leave efficiency by 5250 RPM. On top of that we are moving over 23.6 lbs/min (or 342 CFM) at 6250 RPM very far outside of the efficiency island. This puts a lot of stress on both the engine and turbos.

So aside from changing the turbos (which there are no upgrades available at this time), what can we do to safely increase power? We believe it is unwise to spin these turbos much past 17 psi in search of a lot more power (at least above 5000 RPM). So with a moderate increase in boost pressure, the name of the power game will be EFFICIENCY (yes I’m sure you’re tired of reading that word).

Restrictions:

With any factory setup, there are going to be restrictions. Some are cost related, some are emissions related, and some are Noise/Vibration/Harshness (NVH) related.

We already know the first restriction point lies in the intakes. Factory intake systems are the first point of emissions and sound control on a car. The STILLEN intakes have already shown impressive gains in the mid-range powerband. This makes sense as the highest efficiency range of the turbo at factory boost levels (and even elevated boost levels) will be in the 3250-5000 RPM range.

The factory exhaust system on the VR30 powered cars is definitely a bottleneck as well. We know the secondary catalytic converters narrow down to 1.5 inches (diameter) just before the cat-back. On top of that the factory cat-back exhaust is a mere 1.75 inches (diameter). Now removing the factory catalytic converters is frowned upon by the EPA, so we can’t recommend changing those out. However, a cat-back exhaust is perfectly legal and voids no warranties (which we are sure most of you know). On top of giving the Q50 & Q60 the exhaust note it deserves, the cat-back greatly increases the efficiency of the turbos by reducing back pressure. This reduction in back pressure reduces the resistance on the turbines and in turn allows them to spool faster and easier. This means for the same given turbine speed, you are able to create more boost (or the same boost) with less heat.

Cooling:

While heat is necessary for an engine to run properly, too much is definitely a bad thing. While on a naturally aspirated motor, a cooler intake charge can greatly improve performance. Forced induction doesn’t yeild as impressive of results. Why is this? The air pulled through the intakes enters the turbo which compresses the air. The compression of air causes an increase in air temperature (see Boyle’s Law and Charles’ Law) which is problematic for internal combustion engines. With most forced induction setups there is an intercooler (or aftercooler) which is located between the turbo and the lower intake manifold. Said intercooler can be either an Air-to-Air or Air-to-Water system. The VR30 uses a pair of Air-to-Water intercoolers. The heat exchanger for the intercoolers (how the heat is removed from the system) is located in front of the radiator behind the grille.

The Red Sport version of the Q50 and Q60 both come with two waterpumps (push-pull) to increase cooling for the intercoolers. This makes sense as the Red Sport boost levels create a lot more heat at higher RPM than the 300 hp version. Knowing that many people will be increasing the boost of both models, everyone could definitely benefit from more cooling. While the intercooler units themselves would be difficult to upgrade since space in the engine bay is quite limited, the heat exchanger up front has some room to grow. Increasing the size of the heat exchanger does two things: allows for more heat to be extracted from the hot fluid, and increases the volume of fluid which increases the overall thermal capacity of the system. While this isn’t the ultimate solution, it would make running higher boost levels (17-18 psi) safer as well as reducing potential heat soak after prolonged aggressive driving.

Tuning:

While there is still a lot of exploring to do when it comes to tuning, there are several things we can see just by looking at the turbo map and dyno sheets. Your biggest gains will all be in the mid-range (2500-5000 RPM) with the stock turbos.

Based on the turbo map, tuning to 18 PSI from 4000-5000 RPM puts you in a very ideal efficiency range for the turbos. Now dropping the boost after 5000 RPM is important as holding too much boost is not ideal for the motor or turbos, but also won’t gain much additional power. This fine tuning of boost pressure adjustment is made easier by the factory electronically controlled wastegate actuators.

While we are still waiting on the tuning companies we work with to release official software, we are confident it won’t be much longer. You can bet we are just as anxious to start tuning these cars as you are, but with any new platform the best products take a little time to develop.

Although we probably won’t be seeing any 600 whp Q50’s or Q60’s without bigger turbos, there is still a lot of potential even on the factory units. Needless to say, we are all working on more ways to make power with this platform. STILLEN is about to release our new intake system for the 3.0t Q50 & Q60 along with our Cat-Back Exhaust for the 3.0t Q50! Our engineering department has done a lot of work on these products and designed them with the factory setup in mind as well as future upgrades. Stay tuned (pun intended)!

___________________________________________
*From the information we could find from Garrett:
Compressor side: TRIM 55 – A/R 0.46
Turbine side: TRIM 76 – A/R 0.40
Cooling: Oil and Water

600HP VR30 engine: fact or fantasy?

Apr 26, 2016

The Infiniti VR30 twin turbo might be one of the most hotly debated and anticipated engine design in years. All the comments flying around the forums and blogs about a “cheap 600+ whp car” might make you wonder: is it wishful thinking, or an attainable goal?

For starters, the VR30 is not the same animal as the VG30 or a similar bulletproof iron block monsters of the 90’s. It’s also not a hand-built GTR motor already making 500+ hp. Still, it’s all conjecture, and up until now Infiniti hasn’t released enough information to help separate fact from fantasy.

You may recall a few months ago we looked at the new VR30 Twin Turbo motor from an aftermarket perspective based on the information given at the time (An Aftermarket perspective on the new Nissan/Infiniti VR 3.0 Twin Turbo V6). Recently Infiniti released some “Technical Cinemagraphs” offering a closer look at this new engine. These Cinemagraphs give us a lot more information about the motor design and what we might be able to improve upon.

Twin Turbos and Two Outputs

As we already know, the VR30 will be a 3.0-liter V6 Twin-Turbo Engine with two output variations: one producing 300hp and the other a whopping 400hp. We covered the differences in the last blog post, so armed with fresh information we can look at areas we feel might yield results.

Intake Manifold and Intercoolers

Starting at the top with the most obvious (however not the cheapest) potential upgrade: the intake manifold. As you can see, the design of the intake manifold looks ideal for “packaging”. Looking at the diagram below you can see some of the restriction points as well as areas that are susceptible to turbulence. While this will work fine and is great for a the stock setup, it leaves room for potential improvement.

Take a look at the Nissan GTR Intake Manifold Design below. A larger plenum (which the OEM design doesn’t really have) helps take care of air starvation issue before the boost fully kicks in. The shape of the plenum creates less turbulence and feeds more directly into the runners. With this type of manifold, the runner lengths could also be optimized for performance. Coupled with the possibility of switching from an Air to Water to an Air to Air Intercooler setup (which would free up the space on top of the motor), a GTR-esque Intake Manifold would potentially yield serious gains.

Intercooler Conundrum

We discussed an Air to Air Intercooler setup in the last article. There are potentially limitations to the factory intercoolers as they were designed for a specific amount of power and boost. Also, with an increase in boost the almost 90° turn the air has to make could create another restriction point. If we can fit a front mount Air to Air Intercooler it could allow for a safer increase in boost and squeeze a lot more juice out of this new 3 liter.

You might say: “But STILLEN, what about the turbo lag from the increased distance between the turbo and throttle body?” While greater distance between the turbo and throttle bodies can increase the time it takes for the pressure to build, the effect is so negligible it’s not worth worrying about. The real difficulty lies with fitting all the plumbing in. We know what the Q50 engine bay looks like and an Air to Air Intercooler setup will prove very challenging. We hope that the Q60 gives us a little more space to work with. If not it should still be possible to upgrade the pump and heat exchanger for the Air to Water Setup, and/or upgrade the intercoolers themselves. However, because of the space restrictions, upgrading the actual intercoolers may be difficult.

High Flow Intakes

The next power grab opportunity is the intakes (everything pre-turbo). A visual analysis of the OEM design reveals an air flow path that can definitely be smoothed out. Understanding that Nissan/Infiniti had the parameters of the EPA to follow and NVH (Noise, Vibration, and Harshness) standards to meet, we know why they went with this design. Fortunately for us this leaves some room for improvement.

The air coming through the air boxes is forced through the restrictive panel filter, then takes a hard 90° turn over the Mass Air Flow Sensor (MAF) which is not ideal because of turbulence created by this design. It then executes yet another 90° turn before reaching the turbos. Simply reducing the number of turns in the system and creating a smoother path for the air as it passes over the MAF will allow for more accurate readings (helpful in tuning) as well as less restriction. The restriction can also contribute to a significant power loss. On other modern turbo powerplants, we have observed notable power gains by simply adding a high flow intake which can increase the boost (boost can be limited by restrictions on the intake side of both Turbo’s and Superchargers).

Exhaust & Turbos

Exhaust system modifications on turbo cars always generate power gains. Down pipes and cat-backs are already a given for the VR30 and will be available from STILLEN. Now we finally got a look at the cylinder head to turbo interface so we can see what might be done about turbo upgrades.

Looking at the design of the turbo flange, it appears that fabricating an adapter for aftermarket turbos should be pretty simple. Though we don’t know specs on the turbos yet, it won’t be difficult to sort out good upgrade options for those looking to make a lot more power. The only limiting factor might be space, but most upgrades shouldn’t pose an issue.

We still need more information about the engine internals before we can be more specific about turbo upgrades and increased boost. However, most Nissan/Infiniti Motors tend to be pretty hearty. The old VG30’s were capable of 550-600 whp with a healthy block and the VQ37’s held up to about 500 whp on stock internals (with Turbo Kits). It seems fairly safe to assume we be able to get this motor close to the 500 whp mark without reliability issues. The 600 whp mark that everyone is hoping for might be a possibility, but it will depend on the strength of the internals.

We will be getting a few VR30 equipped test vehicles delivered to STILLEN in the next few months. We can’t wait to get our hands on them and start doing some real world testing. Stay tuned for more articles and info on the VR30 as we continue to learn more about this motor!

STILLEN combines best in class automotive parts and accessories with expert service to deliver personalized lifestyle solutions for automotive enthusiasts seeking power, performance and style.

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