IMHO, I beleive the VQ30DE-K motor in the 2000-2001 Maxima is the best damn V6 on the planet. The VQ30DE is a great motor, too, I have an affinity for it since I've owned a 98 Max SE. Add and MEVI to the VQ30DE and you make a great autobahn runner, not that the stock engine is bad, but the MEV makes it better. And it doesn't make it a VQ30DE-K, either. The Shame with the DE-K is, as Nissan seems to have acknowledged with the introduction of the 3.5 in the 2002-2003 Maximas, is that it was working too hard to push around the bigger 5th gen body, especially with
17" rims.With the introduction of the VQ35DE, Nissan seems to have taken their world class engine, and upped the displacement by incresing the stroke. Not only did power go up, but NVH went up. That's why I prefer the VQ30 series. The 3.5s can't touch the 3.0s in terms of NVH. Now, I've seen that the VQ35DE has steadily improved. I saw an article on Maxima.org showing that Nissan had actually made 3 versions of the VQ35DE. So I'm wondering, has the VQ35DE matured to a point where it is actually better than the VQ30 in every aspect? And can you fit that, or even a DE-K motor that came in the 2000-2001 Maxima in a 4th gen Maxima:)
CD