Modding V37

[colin.ssc]

Hi all, so I bought a very low kms 2019 Q60s in Nov 2022 and have been driving it stock for 17 months. The power from the VR30DETT has been a little scary as these cars did not come with a LSD. Although the ECU does well with compensating the lack of LSD by using automatic braking on different wheels when there is lost of traction etc, it does not really give me much confidence to push the car harder. Further to that, the car feels quite boaty especially around sharper corners or roundabouts - it would seem like the wheels are lifting on one side. These engines are also very prone to heat soak as the heat exchanger is tiny. I felt this during the heat wave in WA over summer even in normal driving. Gear shifting in the Q60 is also something that I hated - it's quite harsh at low speeds especially in traffic. 

I recently purchased a set of f&r sway bars, rear diff brace and a heat exchanger from Z1 in US. Here are my thoughts

1) Rear diff brace - no more wheel hop when accelerating quickly. wheel spin still present but manageable comparing to before. Gear shifts are now smoother, you can still tell its shifting etc but you dont feel the harshness. I would highly recommend this mod, and it should still be on sale at Z1 at the moment.

2) Sway bar - there are 2 settings for this F - 114%/165% increase in stiffness over stock and R - 138%/214% increase in stiffness over stock. Currently I am on the stiffer settings. The car feels very planted. Due to the weather over here I have not been able to test if i need to reduce the stiffness. So far it's much more comfortable to drive over stock as you dont feel like your car is lifting up and in fast turns you can control the car a lot better while turning left and right in quick succession. 

3) HX - the Z1 HX has a much higher capacity and surface area (up to 200% or something). Again with the cooler weather it's a little hard to tell. I went with the Z1 HX due to the price, size and colour (black). You can't see the HX through the front bumper. There is a cheaper brand but it was smaller and the rest were more expensive which i didnt think was worth the extra since I won't track this car much at all.

All 3 mods were easy to install, all plug and play. Note of caution, the front bar needed to come off for the HX to be installed.

 

Edited May 6 by colin.ssc
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[sonicii]

Nice, they are pretty common mods in the US.  Have been considering sway bars for my Q50 Hybrid.  Given it is AWD, I don't really have any wheel hop issues on hard launches, so I am not sure the diff brace would help as much as it did for you.

I'm surprised the diff brace made any difference to shift feel, since it doesn't impact the auto transmission in any way, if anything I would have expected to feel shifts even more as there is less 'give' in the diff mountings to soak up the shift shock.  Are you sure this one isn't placebo?

[colin.ssc]

Yea I like you had the same thought that maybe it's placebo but I pick up two different people on my way to work on different days. I have not told them of the mods and they both said to me if I had done something as it's alot more comfortable in traffic without feeling the harshness of the gear change. Quite surprised. Before I forget, another reason to get the diff brace is that apparently the stock diff bushings are apparently crap and if its worn and needs replacement, the whole subframe needs to be replaced. This brace should help reduce the wear and tear. 

[sonicii]

Ah, yeah, the diff bushing in the rear subframe, this has been a problem since the start of the V35 in the early '00s and the only solution ever offered by Nissan is a whole new subframe.  Since they are fluid filled, as soon as they form the smallest crack, they leak brown fluid everywhere.  The aftermarket options for the v35 and V36 aren't suitable for the V37 either, Z1 has built an aftermarket option, but a few people have had issues with it.

The brace should reduce movement in that bushing, so should extend its life!

Did you notice any increase in noise from the driveline?  I know some have installed solid subframe collars and complain about the amount of noise it transmits through to the body, but not sure if the diff brace makes any noticeable difference?

[colin.ssc]

The diff brace did not increase NVR at all. And yea the whole reason I thought getting the rear diff brace was a no brainer was because of the reduction in wearing the bushings out + wheel hop. It's a cheap mod for a big cost mitigation in the long run. I bought it for $99 USD + shipping.

In regards to the sway bar - i had some over/understeer going on but i just checked my tires and they are pretty worn out. I wont be changing them til july since i'm away for work for a month or so. will sort it when i get back and do more testing. But its definitely still a big thumbs up from me given how planted the car feels now and me being able to go around corners quicker. Still puzzling to me why they never put a LSD into these cars....even the 400z.

I saw this mob selling LSD kits for a decent price though it's a little more involved on your part to get it installed:

https://www.tractionconcepts.com/Infiniti-Q60-R190-Limited-Slip-LSD-Rear-Conversion-p/tcxin9240.htm

 

Edited May 9 by colin.ssc

[GTSBoy]

On 5/6/2024 at 2:55 PM, colin.ssc said:

Currently I am on the stiffer settings.

If the photos of the bars are as per current, then you are not on the stiffer setting. You are on the softer setting.

Torsion bars are stiffer when the arm working on them is shorter.