Displacement. It's a relative concept that you don't run across very often in compact cars. In a world where the latest Corvette Z06 pushes 7.0-liters and a Dodge Viper even more so, a 2.0-liter Honda engine barely registers on the displacement radar. Compact cars such as the Silvia and WRX use turbochargers and copious amounts of boost in order to push serious power, but big turbos don't translate into the sort of low-end torque that some car owners desire. This is just one of the reasons why Lexus stuffed the IS-F with a roaring 5.0-liter V8 engine.
And having a competent motor is always a good starting point for any project. The rear-drive configuration VQ35DE engine originally debuted in the 350Z and has had hordes of fans from day one. Beyond our own outstanding [pat on the back - JL] naturally aspirated build-up in the Top Shop Challenge, the VQ35DE has seen race duty in such series as Super GT and Grand-Am. Although superchargers and twin turbo setups commonly find their way onto G35s and 350Zs, George Chen had something different in mind for this particular 2004 G35 coupe.
Chen learned from his previous car, a G20 swapped with a front-drive SR20DET out of a Bluebird, about the strengths and drawbacks of forced induction. Although high horsepower was easy to achieve with a sizeable turbocharger, the car's torque curve and daily drivability suffered. "I wanted something that would be more livable day to day than my G20, while still being fast and fun to drive," Chen said.
Working as a service advisor at an Infiniti dealership only helped to expand Chen's options and having several highly skilled Infiniti technicians as friends didn't hurt either.
For his power goals, Chen finally settled on a Brian Crower stroker kit that would bump his displacement to a stout 4.1-liters. Since his technicians, Raul Meza, Greg Rucker, Earnie Weems, Mark Oates, and Eduardo Garcia, were already pulling the engine and doing work to the block, Chen figured that he might as well have the cylinder heads worked on as well. Brian Crower 272-degree Race camshafts, oversized valves, and valve springs were installed in order to help the naturally aspirated build breathe as much as possible.
After his VQ35 was re-assembled and back in its original resting place, Chen turned to the exterior induction elements. He swapped out the stock airbox setup with a simple K&N Typhoon intake system in order to free up as much air intake restriction as possible. Next to go was the exhaust, which was replaced with a Tanabe full header-back system to allow exhaust gases to exit freely through the Super Hyper Medallion system's muffler can.
One of the many benefits of staying naturally aspirated is the quick and responsive throttle delivery that can be had without having to wait for turbos to spool. "It's nice to know that I have power available when I want it," said Chen. "With my G20, it seemed like I was always waiting for boost to kick in."
Once the in and out flow of gasses had been improved, it was time to upgrade the fuel delivery. A Walbro 255lph fuel pump sends high-octane dinosaur juice through an AAM fuel rail and into six 550cc/min injectors. The AAM fuel return system, with its out-of-tank pressure regulator, allows for greater mechanical adjustability of the fuel delivery than stock. Compensating for the higher volume of air and fuel is an HKS F-Con V Pro standalone ECU.
But having an impressive motor is only half the battle when it comes to tuning an all-around street car; the rest of this G35 is equipped with performance parts that help keep this Infiniti planted enough to use all the extra power.
By Alex Nishimoto
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