MENUNissan VQ25DE Tuning
"All you need to know about tuning the Nissan VQ25DE engine!"
Now we shall review and look at VQ25DE tuning and provide tips on the best upgrades. Nissan VQ25DE make a good tuning project and with the right modified mods like a remap, turbo upgrades and camshafts you will dramatically maximize your driving enjoyment.
The VQ23DE had CVTC (Continuously Variable-valve Timing Control). When the RPM increases the valves open for longer durations.
History, Power & Specs of the VQ25DE Engine
- 173 PS (127 kW; 171 hp) at 6000 rpm and 166 lbft (225 Nm) at 4400 rpm.
VQ25DE's were fitted to quite a few models of car and power specs varied.
- 2003–2008 Nissan Teana 230JM-J31
- Nissan Cefiro (Neo VQ23)
- 2006–present Renault Samsung SM7 177 PS (130 kW; 175 hp) (Neo VQ23)
- 2008–present Renault Safrane 177 PS (130 kW; 175 hp) (Neo VQ23)
The VQ platform is V6 and capacity ranged from 2.0 to 4.0 and engines were adopted by Renault and even formed the basis for Nissan's race engines - the VQ30DETT
Tuning the Nissan VQ25DE and best VQ25DE performance parts.
Best VQ25DE upgrades
The best VQ25DE tuning mods on an engine are usually the ones that give the best value for money.
We won't be swayed by popular VQ25DE tuning mods, they need to be cost effective.
Altering your VQ25DE cam will make a dramatic difference to the engine engines power. Choosing a higher performance cam profile raises the engines power accordingly.
Fast road camshafts commonly boost the power throughout the rev range, you might lose a little low end torque but your top end will be better.
Race camshafts, boost the top end band but as a result the car will not idle smoothly and low end power nearly always suffers.
On a typical daily driver you'll need to optimize your power band to your typical driving style.
I'd be shocked if you'd have found a VQ25DE Race camshaft is a pleasure to live with when on the daily commute, because the lumpy idle will make the car prone to stall and smooth driving at low rpm becomes impossible. If you are developing a track car this doesn't matter as you are in the high end of your RPM range anyway and that is where you want the power to be.
Different VQ25DE engines respond better to more aggressive camshaft durations so view each engine as unique.
The ecu map and fuel pump and injectors also have an effect on the torque gains you'll make.
A longer valve duration can alter the torque band and on most engines the exhaust and intake durations do not need to match, although most cams and tuners use matched pairs there are some advantages to extending the intake or exhaust durations.
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Best Engine Mods for your car
- Engine Tunes - engine tuning/remapping provides the most advantage in terms of cost savings, aftermarket ECUs, and piggyback ECUs are all alternatives.
- Fast road cams are one of the most significant mechanical changes, but they must be installed by someone who knows what they're doing and they are not always easy to source but you might find a local firm to regrind a stock camshaft.
- Intake and Exhaust - Note that on their own these mods will NOT ADD POWER in most cases, but they can help enhance power after other mods by removing the restriction.
- Upgrades to turbochargers and superchargers - forced induction is the most efficient approach to increase air supply, allowing you to burn more fuel and make more power. It is one of the most costly upgrades but provides the best gains.
- Head work - The goals of porting and flowing the head are to get air flowing into the engine while removing flow restrictions and turbulence.
- 58 PSI 189cc/min 200hp
- 58 PSI 284cc/min 300hp
- 58 PSI 378cc/min 400hp
- 58 PSI 568cc/min 600hp
- 58 PSI 227cc/min 200hp
- 58 PSI 341cc/min 300hp
- 58 PSI 454cc/min 400hp
- 58 PSI 682cc/min 600hp
Typical stage 1 mods often include:
Panel air filters, Fast road camshaft, drilled & smoothed airbox, Intake manifolds, Remaps/piggy back ECU, Sports exhaust header/manifold.
Typical stage 2 mods often include:
Ported and polished head, induction kit, high flow fuel injectors, Fast road cam, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust, fuel pump upgrades.
Typical stage 3 mods often include:
Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression, Twin charging conversions, Competition cam, Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves), Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Engine balancing & blueprinting.
Mapping will help unlock the full potential of all the parts you've done to your VQ25DE.
(In some cases, as the factory ECU is locked flashing is not an option, so an aftermarket ECU is the route to take, and many of these will outperform factory ECU's but make sure it has knock protection and that you get it setup properly.)
It will usually give you around 30% more power on turbocharged vehicles and you can expect to see around 15% on NA (naturally aspirated) engines, but figures achieved often differs on the parts you've carried out and the condition of your engine.
Pushing air and fuel into your VQ25DE is vital to any engine modification task.
Your intake manifold will direct the air during the suck phase from the air filter and allow it to be pulled into the engine and mixed with fuel.
The shape and flow rate of the Intake manifold can make a large effect on to fuel delivery on the VQ25DE.
We often see plenum chambers are in dire need of aftermarket parts, although a few manufacturers provide well optimised plenum chambers.
Larger VQ25DE valves, carrying out VQ25DE port enlargement and head flowing will also raise power, and importantly will make space for a greater power increase on other mods.
VQ25DE Turbo upgrades
NA (naturally aspirated) engines need quite a lot of work when you add a turbo, so we have a separate guide to help you take into account the pros and cons of going this route on your VQ25DE
The more air you can get into an engine, the more fuel it can burn and uprating the induction with a turbocharger upgrade makes impressive power gains.
When an engine is fitted with a turbocharger parts are going to make more power and most turbocharged engines are made using many forged and stronger components.
There are reliable limits for every engine, with some being over specified and some just sufficiently able to handle stock powerIt is important to find these restrictions and upgrade to better pistons and crank to survive the power.
We see many mechanics spending a lot of money on turbo upgrades on the VQ25DE only to suffer the indignity of watching the motor explode on it's first outing after it's completed.
Larger upgraded turbos often suffer low end lag, and smaller turbos spool up really quickly but don't have the peak rpm power band gains.
Over the last 20 years the market of turbos is always increasing and we commonly find variable vane turbos, where the vane profile is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end performance.
Twin scroll turbos divert the exhaust flow into 2 channels and flow these at differently designed vanes in the turbo. They also increase the scavenging effect of the engine.
It is not unusual that there's a limit in the air flow sensor (AFM/MAF/MAP) on the VQ25DE when loads more air is being drawn into the engine.
We see 4 bar air sensors coping with quite large power gains, whereas the OEM air sensor sapped performance at a much lower level.
Adding a supercharger or additional turbo will make large bhp gains, although more challenging to configure. We have this in depth look at twinchargers if you want to read more.
Fuelling
Don't overlook the need to improve the fuel system when you are increasing the bhp and torque - it makes the car more thirsty. 
We strongly recommend you to be generous with your injector capacity.
As a rule of thumb add 20% to the flow rate when specifying an injector, this takes into account injector deterioration and allows some spare capacity should the engine require more fuel.
We think this one is common sense, but you'll need to match your fuel injector to the type of fuel your car uses as well.
All the following flywheel power targets will assume an injector duty cycle of 80% and a base of 58psi of fuel pressure at idle.
6 Cylinder NA (naturally aspirated) engines
6 Cylinder turbocharged engines
VQ25DE Performance Exhausts
You only need to improve your exhaust if the existing exhaust is creating a restriction in flow.
On most factory exhausts you'll see your flow rate is still good even on modest power gains, but when you start pushing up the power levels you will need to get a better flowing exhaust.
Do not go with the largest exhaust you can find this will slow the exhaust rate - the best for power gains are usually between 1.5 to 2.5 inches. It is the shape and material more than the bore size.
Common exhaust restrictions can be located the catalyst installed, so adding a better flowing sports alternative is the answer. This keeps the car road legal and will flow much better due to it's higher internal surface area and design, so has the added benefit of keeping your car road legal. The alternative decat should be considered an off road only mod, as removing a catalyst is illegal in most territories and regions for road registered cars..
Weak spots, Issues & problem areas on the VQ25DE
The VQ25DE engines are generally reliable and solid units, as long as you follow the manufacturers service schedules, and use a good quality oil to ensure longevity. Few problems should happen as long as they are regularly serviced and maintained.
Carbon build up in the head, particularly around the valves which will sap power or create flat spots, this is a larger issue on direct injection engines but should be looked out for on all engines. We have tips on removing carbon build up.
Some of our members have had issues with flat spots or glitches after applying mods and upgrades or tuning, this is not usually related to this engines design, so instead see our article on diagnosing flat spots and problems after tuning which should help you get the bottom of this issue.
Regular oil changes are vital on the VQ25DE, especially when tuned and will help extend the life and reliability of the engine.
If you would like to know more, or just get some friendly advice on Tuning your VQ25DE engine please join us in our car forums where you can discuss VQ25DE tuning options in more detail with our VQ25DE owners. It would also be worth reading our unbiased Nissan tuning articles to get insights into each modification and how effective they will be for your car.
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