The VH series consists of engines built from 1989 to 2001 by the Nissan Motor Corporation.
The design consists of a 90-degree
V8 with an aluminium cylinder block that features a closed upper deck and a deep skirt. The cylinder heads are also aluminium with a
DOHC
An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine in which the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combus ...
4 valves design and pentroof
combustion chamber
A combustion chamber is part of an internal combustion engine in which the air–fuel ratio, fuel/air mix is burned. For steam engines, the term has also been used for an extension of the Firebox (steam engine), firebox which is used to allow a mo ...
s. The production blocks and production head castings were used successfully in various forms of racing including the
IRL.
VH45DE
The VH45DE is a V8 developed by
Nissan
is a Japanese multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and ''Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house ...
for use in the
Infiniti Q45 sport luxury sedan (G50 platform) which was released in November 1989. The engine was also used in the
Japanese market Nissan President
The is a Japanese luxury car, luxury Sedan (automobile), sedan that was manufactured and marketed by Nissan from 1965 until 2010 as the flagship of Nissan's range, available only at its ''Nissan Motor Company#Japan, Nissan Store'' dealerships th ...
limousine (JG50 platform) which debuted in late 1990. The VH45DE typically generates at 6000 rpm and at 4,000 rpm with a redline of 6900 rpm.
Some of the pertinent features of the VH45DE are
forged steel crankshaft
A crankshaft is a mechanical component used in a reciprocating engine, piston engine to convert the reciprocating motion into rotational motion. The crankshaft is a rotating Shaft (mechanical engineering), shaft containing one or more crankpins, ...
, forged steel
connecting rod
A connecting rod, also called a 'con rod', is the part of a reciprocating engine, piston engine which connects the piston to the crankshaft. Together with the crank (mechanism), crank, the connecting rod converts the reciprocating motion of the p ...
s, 6 Bolt
main bearing
A main bearing is a bearing in a piston engine which holds the crankshaft in place and allows it to rotate within the engine block.
The number of main bearings per engine varies between engines, often in accordance with the forces produced b ...
caps with studs, full-length main bearing girdle, lightweight, floating pistons with
molybdenum
Molybdenum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mo (from Neo-Latin ''molybdaenum'') and atomic number 42. The name derived from Ancient Greek ', meaning lead, since its ores were confused with lead ores. Molybdenum minerals hav ...
coating, sodium-filled exhaust valves, cross-flow cooling system, hydraulic lash adjusters, single-row silent timing chain, coil-on-plug ignition system, lifter buckets ride directly on cams to reduce friction, redline of 6900 rpm, compression ratio of 10.2:1, bore and stroke of , dimensions: (L) x (W) x (H).
The VH45DE featured
variable valve timing
Variable valve timing (VVT) is the process of altering the timing of a Poppet valve, valve lift event in an internal combustion engine, and is often used to improve performance, fuel economy or emissions. It is increasingly being used in combina ...
, also known as VTC, from 1990 until 1995. This was during the time that the "Gentleman's Agreement" between Japan's automotive manufacturers was in effect, requiring all cars sold in their home market to (on paper, at least) produce no more than 280 PS. Due to tightening emissions regulations in the
US market, the VTC feature was dropped from the 1996
Infiniti Q45. In the following year, the VH45DE was no longer available in any US market vehicles. The engine continued on in the Japanese market until 2002 in the
Nissan President
The is a Japanese luxury car, luxury Sedan (automobile), sedan that was manufactured and marketed by Nissan from 1965 until 2010 as the flagship of Nissan's range, available only at its ''Nissan Motor Company#Japan, Nissan Store'' dealerships th ...
limousine; power was somewhat lower in the President to make it quieter and smoother.
VH45DEs made before 1994 used plastic timing chain guides, and over time these have been known to fail. This results in a noisy valve-train and parts of the plastic guides can end up in the sump and oil pickup, resulting in engine damage. Nissan changed to metal backed chain guides from 1994 onwards.
This engine was used in the following vehicle(s):
* 1990-1996
Infiniti Q45, at 6,000 rpm, at 4,000 rpm
* 1990-2002
Nissan President
The is a Japanese luxury car, luxury Sedan (automobile), sedan that was manufactured and marketed by Nissan from 1965 until 2010 as the flagship of Nissan's range, available only at its ''Nissan Motor Company#Japan, Nissan Store'' dealerships th ...
, at 5,600 rpm, at 4,000 rpm
The VH45DE became a relatively popular engine swap for other platforms due to being low cost to source and also able to be adapted to a Nissan
manual transmission
A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canadian English, Canada, British English, the United Kingdom and American English, the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed ...
when using an aftermarket adapter plate. The VH45DE is also used in a variety of motorsports ranging from drifting to
drag racing
Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, mos ...
, boat racing, and dirt track sprint cars (Australia and New Zealand).
VH41DE
The VH41DE is a V8 that was based on the VH45DE. The bore of remained but the stroke was shortened to . Power output for this smaller engine is at 5600 rpm and at 4000 rpm.
The VH41DE also used a double row timing chain, compared to the VH45DE that used a single row timing chain. Its
alternator
An alternator (or synchronous generator) is an electrical generator that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the form of alternating current. For reasons of cost and simplicity, most alternators use a rotating magnetic field wit ...
is also located at the top of the engine which creates an overall narrower engine package which can be handy in engine conversions where it may otherwise foul on the chassis rails.
The VH41DE was used in the following vehicles:
* 1997-2001
Infiniti Q45 ,
* 1992-1996
Nissan Leopard, ,
* 1991-1996
Nissan Cima FY32, ,
* 1996-2001
Nissan Cima FY33, ,
See also
*
Nissan VRH Racing Engines
*
List of Nissan engines
This is a list of piston engines developed by Nissan Motors.
Engine naming convention
Nissan uses a straightforward method of naming their automobile engines.
The first few letters identify the engine family. The following digits are the displ ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nissan Vh Engine
VH
V8 engines
Gasoline engines by model