Development of a New-Generation Lightweight 3-Liter V6 Nissan Engine

This paper presents a new-generation, lightweight, 3-liter V6 engine that has been developed for use in the next Nissan Maxima.

The distinctive features of this new engine, VQ30DE, is its compact, lightweight design and excellent fuel economy. The basic construction of the engine is characterized by its 60-degree V6 configuration, chain-driven DOHC and high-pressure die cast aluminum cylinder block. A two-way cooling system was adopted with the aim of shortening the warm-up time of the cylinder liners.

The new engine has been designed to comply with the tougher emission standards, the OBD-II requirements and California's new evaporative emission standard.