Converting Nissan Xterra 3.3L V6 to Supercharged

Could someone take me through the differences between the naturally aspirated 3.3L and the Supercharged version? What would be involved in converting the 3.3L to Supercharged? Nissan says they can do it, but I don't like their price tag if you get what I'm sayin'.

Thanks,
Chad

Chad unless your time is not worth anything. it would probably be worth more in time and money to trade in the na on an sc. Although I do like working on the x i just have other things id like to do to it. Just my opinion

Understandable. Thanks for your reply. Oh yeah, I just purchased this Xterra like 2 days ago.

Just barely got mine too. loving every minute of it. i bought the 02' supercharged version and wasn't really impressed with it. i'm not sure what psi the sc is runnning now but i'm guessin it's only like 3 psi. i tried to research it but i couldn't find any factory specs anywhere. Than again I'm not much of a computer guy. I'd actually like to know what these sc's put out stock and what the 3.3 can take in supercharged psi gain. To make a long story short. I'm not impressed with the sc yey, but some guys on this site have been real helpful and i'm going to try some mods to see if I can meet my expectations. I'll let yo know how it goes

The cost of adding a SC to a NA truck is close to the cost of trading your truck for one with a sc..
The factory sc is covered under warrenty, aftermarket will void major parts of it..
You would need at minimum, sc, with all the pullies. Upper intake that sits under the sc.
Air intake plumming, (filter all the way to sc)..
There may be somthing special about the break booster, more of a brent question.. New computer.
May need new fuel pump / injectors.. (also a brent question)
The factory unit bumps power by 30 hp..

Drawbacks:
Premium fuel all the time, major cost, loosing big chunk of powertrain warrenty.. Only useful at (or very near to) WOT.. There are bypass mods out there, to run it at lower throttle settings, but the throttle being semi open kinda defeats the boost..

God knows if the internals are the same..
I would assume there may be Cam differences also.
(brent?)

And that is not even covering the fact that it wouldn't fit under the hood...

As many times as this has come up over the years I'm confused by one thing.

Toyota makes and sells aftermarket TRD superchargers that can be basically bolted on to their vehicles as well as providing the option to have one factory installed.

Why is there such an extensive parts list for slapping one onto an X while the Tundra and Tacoma and hell even the Camry guys can just bolt one on directly from Toyota?

I don't know either, but to further extend your anger. My friend has a 2000 Toyota Solara, bought a TRD supercharger, and put it on overnight (roughly 6 hours). Frustrating hu?

Yup, it sucks.

Just as a side note, if he doesn't know about them yet, there is a company, JPPerformance that has a header, exhaust and y-pipe package for the Solara and is getting huger raves.

It's owned by a frined of mine and they do great work.

So then is there any way to turbo charge an Xterra without selling it or having to use my college saving to do so?

Keep in mind in the ads,
The Xterra is listed at "rugged", not sporty..
Don't expect Nissan to do alot of aftermarked power stuff for it..
As a "rugged" truck, the engine is tuned for torque, hot peak hp..
The 3.3 is a really old design.. Not surprised there is not alot of money spent on hop up parts..
When the 4.0 comes out in a few months, (I am guessing) there will be alot of aftermarket support for power stuff.. look at the Titan..
how long has it been out, and already Toys!!

I tow a trailer with about 2000-3000lb's of Djing equipment and that is not including the trailer's weight, to get more power out of my Xterra I've put flowmaster muffler, Powerade T.B.S. and a K&N intake, but I still would like more power.
I know this has been brought up in weeks past but are the headers a good idea, and if so which one would be the best without cracks, fabrication of other parts (other than exaust tubing)etc.?
Thanks,

A Supercharger will physically bolt on, though you will need the correct lower manifold.

You don't HAVE TO change internals, if you don't want to. If you don't change internals (done to lower the static compression ratio) you will end up with more power than a stock S/C setup.

Computer changes...Cyclemut might know.
Injector changes...same
Camshaft changes...same
Thermostat...10 degrees cooler for S/C model (thanks for the info Mut).

Other than that have at it! Stock S/C only puts out ~7 PSI...it won't kill it too fast.

Will it ping??? Maybe.

Do the Toyota's have pinging problems with their TRD 'Chargers...absolutely.

Power isn't expensive...it will only cost however much ($$$) you've got

To quote Scotty "Ye canna change the laws of physics"...

If the engine doesn't have the internals to support the boost, it will blow

If the fuel injectors and/or computer don't provide enough fuel, you'll run lean and burn the valves or worse.

You run hot and predetonate (not using premium, etc) you blow the internals apart...

As someone else said, power isn't hard - just costs money and must be handled as a package or you will screw your engine up. Creating boost is the easy part. Managing it and ensuring longevity of the engine is another.

Factory power is the best - it's all warranted and engineered. Barring that, I would do aftermarket power on something cheap - like a depreciated out of warranty Miata - where I could get a new engine for under $1K if I blew it up. Dunno if I would mess with aftermarket forced induction on a 3 year old Xterra with a much more expensive crate engine... just not worth it. That and the X isn't a sports car and doesn't benifit from gobs of HP anyway. The factor SC provides a nice kick in the pants, but the drivetrain in the '05 is a much better way to get power (more efficient engine design).

Did not see it mentioned but you wouild also need a new hood. the SC will not fint under the sqaure headlight gereation hood.

A body lift would accomplish the same as well.

I thought somone mentioned a while back there was a cam change fron 01 to 02.. Or was the 10hp all in the computer?

the compression ratio of the N/A vs. S/C xterra is the same... And we already know that the block is the same. With this information, it is reasonable to assume that the engines are identical from N/A to S/C.

Anyone know of differences with the ECUs? I've got a Tacoma S/C'd and it's not as easy as "bolt-on" as some of you make it seem. Having gone through it, I can elaborate: Yes, the S/C is basically a bolt-on... And you will get boost. However, you will also get horrible detonation. In order to have the system work worth a damn you must get either the 7th injector kit, or something like the URD kit (I went with the URD kit). After installing that (new injectors, fuel pump, wideband O2, and controller) and spending some time with a passenger and a laptop for tuning you're in business.

Overall cost was $2200 for the S/C and neccessary parts for that, and $900 for the fuel upgrades.

I see no reason that something could not be done similarly with the Xterra. However, one must ask why you bought a N/A xterra only to want a s/c 2 days later?

I don't know where you got your information, but you are dead wrong.

The S/C engine does not have the same compression as the N/A engine.

A S/C can be added, but a lot of stuff has to be changed over. A secondary air/fuel ratio computer, boost controller and an adjustable fuel pressure regulator are just the start. The different coolant, pressure and vacuum tubes all have to changed as well. A different bracket for the A/C, and a different crank pulley also have to found and swapped. Throttle body brackets, lower intake manifold, all the braces and hoses as well as wiring that would accomodate the differences. Including different plug wires! How far do you want to go?

If you found a totalled one, then pulled everything off, then it'd be feasable. But otherwise, it'd be so cost prohibitive.

I happen to have a SuperCharger for sale, if'n anyone has the gumption to go for it.

I got my information direct from Nissan... Here is my primary source for that fact:

http://www.nissannews.com/nissan/2004vehicles/xterra/specs.shtml

According to that official Nissan Document, the 3.3L V6 engine found in both N/A and S/C versions share the same compression ratio of 8.9

[/QUOTE]I got my information direct from Nissan... Here is my primary source for that fact:

http://www.nissannews.com/nissan/2004vehicles/xterra/specs.shtml

According to that official Nissan Document, the 3.3L V6 engine found in both N/A and S/C versions share the same compression ratio of 8.9[/QUOTE]

Who would you believe, someone who works on them or someone who writes about them?

Well, I do not know you personally, so I hope you do not take offense when I say that I would trust the Nissan doucmentation over you...

Of course, I have seen many instances where a piece of marketing material is quite inaccurate, so I am not saying you're wrong...

However, I do find it somewhat rude the way you said I was wrong. My information comes from reputable sources, and it wasn't something I pulled out of a hat.

But anyway, it does not matter.

Out of curiosity, if the compression ratio is not the same, then which engine has a CR of 8.9:1 (which would be rather low for a N/A engine of this class, imho) and then what is the CR of the other engine?

The S/C engine has about 8.5:1 compression (although they actually spec it out to 8.9:1).

The N/A engine has about 9.2:1 (although as spec'd out, still 8.9:1).

The Supercharged engine has lower compression. The N/A engine has higher compression.

It's standard procedure for almost every manufacturer to lower the compression ratio for any forced induction engines. Especially for the turbo applications, but as well as the SuperCharged units. Anywhere the customer has a reasonable expectation to mess with things themselves, Nissan will err on the side of safety.

Trust me or don't trust me. Not like I'll kill myself if you don't.

And for a note, I believe Butterbean was talking about me. Thanks Butterbean! I think you have a red Xterra now.

I know that manufacturers will lower CR on FI engines... I've been building up my volvo (turbo) before I start messing with the truck...

But it's also been my experience that manufacturers publish the fact that the CR is different -- and that they don't claim that it's not.

If the S/C'ed VG33 REALLY does only run at 7 psi, how could there POSSIBLY be ONLY a 30 HP difference (given that 1 psi ~20ish HP) if the CR was the same? This is common sense...

However, I agree with potroast in that 8.5:1 is a bit low in my opinion. The VG30DE runs at 10.5:1 and this might explain the 222 N/A HP. Given, timing is affected as well as quality of fuel has to be reconsidered, but I do believe Nissan could have reworked the VG33 for a bit more power N/A if the CR was raised slightly...

How do you get the 20 hp per lb of boost?
there is ~15 psi at sea level for 180 hp.
This puts the na motor at 12hp / lb.
The sc adds heat to the mix, so timing has to be retarded and premium burned..
Keep in mind, it takes hp to compress that much air / flow rate..
~5hp / lb isn't that bad for a 3.3 after the losses.
The heads are not designed for high hp, not smooth enough flow. The cams are designed more for torque then HP. Get a 5.0 mustang with other goodies, and you may make 30hp/lb..

I guess I didn't take in into account that the HP/lb of boost varies on several other things.

However, the 300ZXTT has a compression ratio of 8.5:1 and runs 9.5 psi and produces 300 HP and 284 lb/tq. The N/A version makes 222 HP at 10.5:1 so we know the TT version makes CONSIDERABLE less all motor at 8.5:1.

I think this is a bit closer to my estimate of ~20 HP/ lb of boost but not 100% accurate.

Compare the torque curves.. The vg33 is almost flat. Good for towing a heavy truck around.
A small peak torque is almost useless for offroading.. look at the rps's for the peaks also. at 1200 the xterra is pulling quite hard (butt dino), by contrast my ninja doesn't do squat till 4k, around 6 to 7k you better be holding on tight, and don't forget to shift at around 11k.. that bike makes almost the same horsepower as my truck, (ok a little less, but still).Put that motor in the truck, and you will be chewing chutches like mad. Lots of horsepower, not really any useable torque at the low end.