I found this write up on another site and felt it would be nice to have it posted here. Copy and paste

The search for more power from one's engine is a never-ending search. Every once in a while a manufacturer changes things to their engines that are supposedly better than the previous model or generation. Nissan is no exception to this, and when they made their 300hp "Rev-up" motor in 2005, there were some new changes that had people baffled.

The new engine has less torque throughout the power curve, and a little less horsepower, until the higher RPM range, where it makes significantly more power than the previous 287hp engine. What changes did Nissan make to their new style engine to create such a power difference? Among a handful of other things, (including full variable valve timing), they changed the way air enters the motor through the lower plenum. On the newer version, this lower plenum has more airspace in front of the runners, which have been shortened significantly. This combined with a more "dished" inner surface allows for more air volume in the plenum chamber, drastically changing the dynamics of how the engine gets its air. The change in design is largely the cause for the difference in power and the different styled power bands between the two versions of the VQ35 engine.

For those who own a vehicle with the new "Rev-up" engine, Motordyne Engineering offers a new package "M-REV", that when installed helps the motor gain power and torque all throughout the power band up until just after 6000 rpm. We tested the Motordyne Engineering upgrade on Andy Kim's (an employee at Performance Nissan) 2005 350Z 35th Anniversary 6-speed, with the Rev-up engine. Andy also has UTR headers, Nismo exhaust, UR pulley, and Crawford high flow cats, and JWT pop-charger. We made sure that each pull on the dyno, were as close to the same conditions. We measured engine coolant and air intake temperatures by using the BLITZ R-VIT multi meter. All temperatures were relatively constant on each dyno pull, and the motor was allowed to cool back down to the same temperatures before starting the next pull.

The torque levels however are higher with the Motordyne upgrade, for a longer period of time, before dropping off at around 6300.

What do all these numbers mean? Well judging from the dyno sheet and from driving the car before and after, you can really feel the extra torque and power up until around 6500 RPMs.

A peak increase of about 16.5hp and 18.8 ft-lbs torque can be seen around the 4500-5000 RPM range. There is a small loss of power at the top of the RPM range from just before 6500rpm up to redline, however if you look on the dyno graph, you can see that the power drop for the most part levels off, and plateaus just under the factory power levels. The car has a lot of extra power, and pulls much stronger now, which makes real world driving much more pleasurable.

What was striking to us as well was how in the higher RPMs, where power drops off a little bit and plateaus, you cannot really tell a difference with the car driving it at that high RPM; it feels the same up top as it did before the Motordyne package was installed. Driving around town, the car has much more "kick" to it, and it's considerably easier to break the rear tires lose even on 19s. On a side note; the temperature of the upper plenum was surprising as well. After all our dyno runs were completed, and we were ready to finish our test, we touched the upper plenum to feel how hot it was. To our surprise, the plenum was warm, but not hot as it usually is. You can touch the plenum without it being too hot. You can feel by this alone how the iso-thermal gaskets and spacers really help to prevent the heat soak of the upper plenum.

The M-REV upgrade really stands out because of how it really does increase your power almost over the entire power range. For those who want more power and torque from their Rev-up engine, this package will make a noticeable difference. After driving the car, you can tell that a sacrifice of just a few horsepower from the top of the power band justifies the overall gains that you will notice in the rest of the power band.

Thanks to Tony Colette from Motordyne Engineering for helping with the modifications, Andy Kim from Performance Nissan for lending his car for this test, and R&D Dyno for their services and lending us their facilty

What is the M-REV modification package?
Motordyne has done a lot of research and put a lot of knowledge into this package. The kit consists of a 5/16 inch aluminum plenum spacer, an Iso-Thermal gasket for the lower plenum, a OEM Nissan lower plenum from a 287hp 350Z engine, strut bar spacers so that you can use the factory strut bar, Internal thermal bolt spacers for the plenum, and all the necessary hardware and new gaskets needed for the complete install of the package. Also included is a coolant bypass valve that is optional to install. (NOTE: We did not install this on Andy's car for our dyno test of the MREV package). The bypass valve can be adjusted so that hot coolant does not pass through the throttle body, and instead bypasses it, which helps keep the internal temperatures of the throttle body down. Again, this is not necessary to install, it is purely optional.


Installing Motordyne Engineerings M-REV Upgrade
Installing the Motordyne upgrade package is not too hard to accomplish, but we do recommend a second pair of hands to help you out. The package includes a 5/16-inch aluminum spacer, new plenum gasket and a modified plenum gasket for the spacer, an Iso Thermal lower plenum/manifold gasket, and a OEM Nissan lower plenum from the 287hp (non-rev-up) engine. This combination of parts allows the Motordyne upgrade to really help the 350z gain considerable torque and horsepower throughout most of the useable RPM range.

First, you must remove the stock strut bar and engine cover, to allow clearance for the plenum. Second, remove the air intake tube and unbolt the upper plenum, and move it out of the way. NOTE: DO NOT UNPLUG THE SENSOR ON THE THROTTLE BODY UNLESS THE BATTERY NEGATIVE CABLE IS DISCONNECTED FROM THE BATTERY TERMINAL (run this by your tech for a sanity check), if you do so, you will more than likely have to have it re-calibrated by a Nissan/Infiniti Dealer. Once this is done, remove the hose from the front of the lower plenum, move it out of the way, then unbolt and remove the lower plenum. Now you are ready to begin installing the Motordyne Upgrade.

Before you install anything, Motordyne recommends that you pour a little motor oil into the bag that contains the lower Iso Thermal gasket, and generously lubricate the gasket evenly. Motordyne says that the material this gasket is made of will absorb a little bit of the oil causing it to slightly swell. When the gasket is installed, and sandwiched between the lower plenum and the lower manifold, the gasket swelling will help to seal better, incase there are any factory casting imperfections. Don't worry about the excess oil, it will not affect the motor. When everything is installed, and the engine warms up, the gasket will eventually harden for a good hermetic seal. The Iso Thermal gasket will help to lower intake air temperatures due to it's heat blocking properties.

To install the Motordyne upgrade, first install the lower manifold-to-lower plenum gasket (the long, thin one that you oiled). Install the new OEM 287hp version lower intake manifold, put on the new OEM gasket on top of the lower plenum, and re-install using the brass oil block plate in the center. Re-attach the front hose to the lower plenum, and double check all bolts and nuts to be sure it is secured.

Next, take the aluminum spacer, and place it on top of the OEM lower plenum and gasket, and on top of the spacer, place the modified OEM gasket (this is the one that has the center cut out). Slide the supplied new bolts into the center holes of the upper plenum, and from underneath, slide the bolt spacers onto the bolts, they will slide on, and stay in place as you do this. Once this is done, mount the upper plenum onto the spacer and sandwich the modified gasket between the spacer and the upper plenum, then with the supplies hardware, bolt down the upper plenum.
This is where a second pair of hands can come in handy again, as you will have to make sure that the plenum and spacer line up properly, and that you do not pinch any gaskets. Once everything is installed, double check all your bolts and nuts to make sure they are all tightened, and re-install the air-intake tube. It is recommended to not install the strut bar and engine cover just yet, as it is bet to run the car or drive the car as a quick test, to check for leaks.

Once you check for leaks, re-install the engine cover and strut bar. For the strut bar, you will need to use the supplied metal spacers to shim the strut bar up, to clear the new height of the plenum. Both the engine cover and Factory strut bar are retained if installed correctly. Now drive, and enjoy! Driving around town, you will notice that the car really feels stronger in the lower to upper mid-range of the RPM range. The overall fitment, quality, and performance gained from the Motordyne package is very impressive, and is a fairly simple modification to perform.

 

nice find but its quite long

 

Umm its a detailed write up. Its not a half as.s review that doesn't explain much or get into any detail. Pasta, thanks for the post.

 

Man this is a good article. I read this somewhere... I'm thinking maybe it was from Fresh Alloy.com or somewhere. Moreover, it's helped my decission in just going with the Motordyne 5/16" or 1/2" spacer.

Out of curiosity, will the 1/2" spacer allow the OEM engine cover to stay on or will there be irregularities where the cover will have to be modified?

 

The 1/2" plenum spacer will not allow to use the engine cover. With MREV (5/16" spacer) installed, I now only plan to use the engine cover when I go back to the dealer for service.

Dennis, great fine! I am glad to see all of the positive feedback for MREV.

 

IM personally running the 1/2" spacer and my cover fits with no problems.
Many run there cars with them off for heat reasons.

 

Many thanks Andy for clearing that up for me.

 

Hmmm . . . Perhaps not, Pasta, says he has no problems with his 1/2" spacer and cover and I'll take his word for it. I wonder if there is a difference between coupes and sedans.

 

Did you remove the rubber spacers on the cover to aid cover fitments to upper intake manifold?

 

Nope. I remember Tony telling me some fit and others do not.
I will be keeping mine off after my next set of mods.

 

Pasta,

You can actually fit the cover on top of your 1/2" spacer?... You must have a rare tolerance stackup.

That's cool.

 

Yep it fits with no mods to it.

 

For all interested in this incredible NA mod, we are working closely with Motordyne to offer a holiday sale of 8% off. ALL of the Motordyne Engineering products are in our online catalog with updated pricing. Vendor classified ad has been updated too!

 

Thanks Pasta. This is the most detailed review yet. Even though mine will be here Monday, it's still nice to know a little more of what to expect. I was on-the-fence for about a week before ordering and this would have helped me decide which side to come down on a little faster. The mid-range feeling weak recently also helped.

 

where would I get it installed if i buy the Motordyne M-Rev??

would Performance Nissan in Duarte, CA be able to do it?