# '05 Frontier Engine Swap



## phillyguerrilla (May 11, 2005)

short & sweet, i want to swap out the motor in the 05 frontier with something more powerful and that has a huge aftermarket backing. this truck would be primarily used for street purposes as the occasional bike hauler and weekly grocery getter. must run on regular pump gas and be reliable. i know more about import cars then i do about trucks so this is something entirely new for me.

i was thinking maybe swapping in the likes of: vg30dett or rb25dett

an and all assistance/advice would be greatly appreciated
*not trying to do a ridiculous amount of fab work or second morgage the house*


thanks, phillyguerrilla


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## inanima (May 10, 2004)

did you buy an 05 with the 4 cyl? (sorry I don't know the engine codes you refernce for swapping)


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## kennmonster (Jun 17, 2004)

Referring back to swap questions about the Hardbody truck; The RB25DETT or the VG30DETT would definetely be a tight fit. The Hardbody and the Frontier are close to the same size aren't they? The swaps would definetely bepossible, just complicated, you should try www.nissanminis.com.


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## Reverendbiker (Jan 29, 2005)

phillyguerrilla said:


> short & sweet, i want to swap out the motor in the 05 frontier with something more powerful and that has a huge aftermarket backing. this truck would be primarily used for street purposes as the occasional bike hauler and weekly grocery getter. must run on regular pump gas and be reliable. i know more about import cars then i do about trucks so this is something entirely new for me.
> 
> i was thinking maybe swapping in the likes of: vg30dett or rb25dett
> 
> ...


I suppose we're just confused by the question. Why would you want to buy a brand new truck and change out the engine? The VQ40 engine found in the great majority of '05 Frontiers meets your criteria perfectly; the VQ engines are some of the best ever made, are rock-solid reliable, and the 4.0 will deliver an honest 265 horsepower on 87-octane fuel. That is almost as much as the turbo VC30dett and more than the RB25dett. If the 2005 Frontier has the 4.0 engine you'd gain little or nothing with either of those two, as fine as they are.


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## Yontrop (May 14, 2004)

kennmonster said:


> The Hardbody and the Frontier are close to the same size aren't they?


The first-gen Frontier and hardbodys are very close in size, but not the '05 he's talking about.


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## Jarek (Mar 29, 2005)

Yeah seriously.. the swap is a waste. That'd be like me swapping my QG18 in my sentra and downgrading to a GA16... doesnt make sense


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## phillyguerrilla (May 11, 2005)

i dont know a great deal about trucks, like i said i know more about cars and even that isnt a vast knowledge. i know there are a great deal more aftermarket performance products for the rb25dett & rb26dett (vg30 was just example, wouldnt actually swap in). i know the new vq engines are good engines, but what about aftermarket performance products? i dont see many in comparision to the rb engines. i can achieve upwards of 500 whp & tq using one of those two rb's previously stated. not sure if possible with the vq. i saw the twin turbo v8 that Top Secret put together in their Skyline/G35 and that looks cool, i'm just not sure about what engines will fit in the Frontier. and NO, keeping the stock engine isnt better then putting in a bigger engine.

get back at me, philly


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## Jarek (Mar 29, 2005)

phillyguerrilla said:


> i dont know a great deal about trucks, like i said i know more about cars and even that isnt a vast knowledge. i know there are a great deal more aftermarket performance products for the rb25dett & rb26dett (vg30 was just example, wouldnt actually swap in). i know the new vq engines are good engines, but what about aftermarket performance products? i dont see many in comparision to the rb engines. i can achieve upwards of 500 whp & tq using one of those two rb's previously stated. not sure if possible with the vq. i saw the twin turbo v8 that Top Secret put together in their Skyline/G35 and that looks cool, i'm just not sure about what engines will fit in the Frontier. and NO, keeping the stock engine isnt better then putting in a bigger engine.
> 
> get back at me, philly


Well IMO, you shouldnt have bought the truck if that engine isnt good enough... unless you got some serious cash and dont care what you do to your brand new truck.. its still a waste... Aftermarket on most vehicles takes sometime to develope... the rb25dett & rb26dett << have been around for awhile... unless the performance part makers forsee huge aftermarket appeal like in the Lancer EVO's or Subaru WRX's... it will be awhile before you see anything. Especially in a relatively new motor like the VQ40...


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## phillyguerrilla (May 11, 2005)

Jarek said:


> Well IMO, you shouldnt have bought the truck if that engine isnt good enough... unless you got some serious cash and dont care what you do to your brand new truck.. its still a waste... Aftermarket on most vehicles takes sometime to develope... the rb25dett & rb26dett << have been around for awhile... unless the performance part makers forsee huge aftermarket appeal like in the Lancer EVO's or Subaru WRX's... it will be awhile before you see anything. Especially in a relatively new motor like the VQ40...


one, i didnt buy the truck yet. two, i'm looking for a project truck that i will be buying used in a few years. three, i'm doing the research now so i know what i'm getting into instead of being like the rest of these jackazzes stuck with a truck i cant do anything to except airbags & propane/nitrious. four, if you hvent figured it out yet i'm trying to build a new age cyclone (a ram srt10 killer if you will). five, IMO it should be illegal and punishable by firing squad for some people to have opinions.


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## phillyguerrilla (May 11, 2005)

kennmonster said:


> Referring back to swap questions about the Hardbody truck; The RB25DETT or the VG30DETT would definetely be a tight fit. The Hardbody and the Frontier are close to the same size aren't they? The swaps would definetely bepossible, just complicated, you should try www.nissanminis.com.


thanks for the response, as your's was the only one close to helping me in any sort of way.



anyone that doesnt get what i'm trying to do because you rather go mud slinging, just dont respond. i'm looking for positive and informative FACTUAL replies. not what other people think i should do with the truck i may purchase.

thanks again to all that have replied helpfully


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## kennmonster (Jun 17, 2004)

phillyguerrilla said:


> thanks for the response, as your's was the only one close to helping me in any sort of way.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I don't post alot, but I try only to submit informative/factual replies.
No problem.


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## thx1158 (Apr 30, 2005)

phillyguerrilla said:


> thanks for the response, as your's was the only one close to helping me in any sort of way.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## phillyguerrilla (May 11, 2005)

> I think the issue is that the 05 V-6 is basically the 350 Z engine retuned for truck duty. stock 265 hp / 285 lb of torque. Your post made it sound as if you bought the truck and was going to trash the engine. If you want to build a cyclone killer....give the aftermarket some time...or research whats out there for the Z.


thanks thx1158, i'll look into whats available and keep my eyes open for new aftermarket products.
i must say though, the Top Secret TT v8 has me very interested!


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## joerc240sx (Jan 19, 2003)

Well I am personally very interested in the new Pathfinder. I believe by the time you would be looking to buy the truck there would be a good amount of aftermarket available for it. It is also based on the Titan pickup that we all know comes with a 5.6L V8 so that might be a possible (very expensive) swap. There are already a lot of SC and Turbo kits for the VQ35de engine which might be easy to adapt over to the new VQ40de engine. I would think that with a SC running around 7-10psi boot on that new VQ40de with full exhaust and a good tune you could see 400+hp easy.

Problems you might run into with swapping a RB2*det(t) is there lack of low end torque that is highly needed with any truck that will see normal truck duty. Plus the heavy stock weight of the new Pathfinder would be hard on those engines without having to pull or lug anything around.

If you must swap engines there is also the 4.5L v8 from infiniti that I believe was used in that top secrete g35. Stock that engine makes 320hp, and might fit better then say the 5.6L v8 from the titan.


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