Applications Nissan VQ35DE
Draft. Trigger offset has not been confirmed on a running Race Core install. Pins marked TBD are unknown — do not guess them. A wrong decoder or firing order can destroy the engine.
Nissan VQ35DE
3.5 L V6 in the 350Z, G35 and later Altima. rusEFI has a named crank decoder, NISSAN_VQ35, and a cam mode VVT_NISSAN_VQ35. The public trigger list groups NISSAN_VQ35 with the 36-2-2-2 patterns. It is not a 36-1 and it is not the VQ37 note, though the crank family is related. Coil-on-plug, high-impedance injectors.
Recommended: Race Core F7. Six sequential injectors and six logic coils. Early DE is cable throttle; RevUp and many later cars are DBW and need the F7 H-bridges. This page is the DE, not the VQ37VHR.
Status: draft. Trigger offset has not been confirmed on a running Race Core install.
- Cylinders: 6
- Displacement: 3498 cc
- Firing order: 1-2-3-4-5-6
- Orientation: Firing order 1-2-3-4-5-6. Confirm cylinder 1 on the coil cover before you pin anything — Nissan V6 numbering is easy to mirror. Coils follow cylinder number, not firing order.
Variants
| Variant | Years | Trigger | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| VQ35DE early | 2001–2005 class | NISSAN_VQ35 | 350Z / G35. Cable throttle on the early DE. COP. High-Z. |
| VQ35DE RevUp | 2005–2007 class | NISSAN_VQ35 + VVT cam | Higher redline, DBW on many, still the VQ35 crank decoder. Not a VQ37. |
Recommended pin assignment (Race Core F7)
Pins below are the library default Race Core F7 map — the same AMPSEAL landings as the verified 1UZ-FE, 2JZ-GTE and LS1 notes. Core EFI V4 and Micro Core cavity numbers are TBD. If a pin is not in this table, it is TBD. Do not guess a spare.
| Pin | TunerStudio | Function |
|---|---|---|
| B10 | Digital 1 | Crank Hall |
| B1 | Digital 2 | Cam Hall |
| A3 | Lowside 1 | Injector cylinder 1 |
| A15 | Lowside 2 | Injector cylinder 2 |
| A4 | Lowside 3 | Injector cylinder 3 |
| A16 | Lowside 4 | Injector cylinder 4 |
| A5 | Lowside 5 | Injector cylinder 5 |
| A6 | Lowside 6 | Injector cylinder 6 |
| A35 | Ign 1 | Cyl 1 logic coil |
| A34 | Ign 2 | Cyl 2 logic coil |
| A22 | Ign 3 | Cyl 3 logic coil |
| A33 | Ign 4 | Cyl 4 logic coil |
| A32 | Ign 5 | Cyl 5 logic coil |
| A31 | Ign 6 | Cyl 6 logic coil |
| A2 | Highside 1 | Cam oil-control valve (PWM) |
| B7/B6 + B15/B8 | ETB 1 ± / ETB 2 ± | DBW motor. Not a stepper as well. Pedal and TPS tracks: follow the APP and ETB notes |
| C20 | Analog Temp 3 | CLT |
| C30 | Analog Temp 2 | IAT |
| C13 | Analog Volt 1 | MAP 0–5 V |
| C24 | Analog Volt 2 | TPS 1 |
| C34 / C35 | Knock 1 / Knock 2 | Knock, one per bank |
| A20 | Lowside 10 | Fuel-pump relay coil |
| A21 | Lowside 12 | Main-relay coil |
| A12 | Lowside 15 | Radiator-fan relay coil |
| B17 / B16 | CAN 1 H / L | Dash / wideband |
| B18 | Battery Sense | Ignition-switched 12 V (5 A fuse) |
| B23 | +12 V MR | Main-relay 12 V into ECU |
| A17 A18 A24 B14 B19 B20 | Power GND | Engine block → battery − |
| C9 / C21 / C32 | 5 V Sens 1 | MAP, TPS, pedal 1 |
| C1–C8, C29, C31 | Sensor GND | 0–5 V and thermistor returns |
Trigger
Select NISSAN_VQ35. Do not select a generic 36-1, and do not select the VQ30 cam-only mode. Confirm the composite actually shows the VQ35 pattern. The wiki grouping with 36-2-2-2 is a hint, not permission to pick Subaru 36-2-2-2 instead.
Crank
| Decoder | NISSAN_VQ35. Hall, 3-wire, Digital 1 (B10), 12 V as the sensor requires. |
| VR | Only if you have replaced the sensor with a 2-wire VR. OEM is Hall. |
Cam
| VVT | VVT_NISSAN_VQ35 when the cam wheel matches that mode. Digital 2. |
| Second bank | Input pin TBD. |
TunerStudio
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Trigger / wheel type | NISSAN_VQ35. Cam: VVT_NISSAN_VQ35 if the log matches |
| Use only rising edge | Hall: as logged |
| Invert primary | No — fix the sensor wiring first |
| Firing order | 1-2-3-4-5-6 |
Offset: Light on the plug you have proved is cylinder 1.
Injection
High-Z sequential six. DE is port injection. Do not mix in a direct-injected Nissan V6 and expect these drivers to cope.
| Impedance | High-Z. Meter. |
Ignition
Six logic COP. Ign 1–6 by cylinder number. Dwell 2.0–2.5 ms. If a coil is 2-wire it does not belong on a logic output.
| HR / VQ37 | Different note. Do not load this DE page onto a VHR and assume the cam mode is identical. |
Idle
Cable DE: idle valve, driver pin TBD. DBW RevUp: F7 H-bridges and the ETB / APP notes. Not both.
First start
- Load the matching variant configuration in TunerStudio before the harness is live — injectors and coils stay disconnected until the decoder is confirmed.
- Fuel pump fuse out. Coils unplugged or spark outputs disabled. Crank. Open Diagnostics → composite / high-speed logger.
- Confirm crank teeth are even, the missing-tooth (or named pattern) is a single clean gap, and cam is one pulse per two crank revolutions for sequential four-stroke.
- RPM during cranking should sit in the 150–350 rpm band. 0 rpm or 12,000 rpm means the decoder is lost — polarity or wheel type, not offset.
- Lock timing to a fixed 10° (idle control off). Timing light on cylinder 1. Change trigger offset until the damper agrees with 10°.
- Recheck at ~3,000 rpm. If timing walks with RPM, it is VR polarity, a delayed Hall, or the wrong decoder — not offset.
- Enable spark. Confirm a healthy burn (timing light or plug colour) with fuel still disabled.
- Enable fuel. Prime, then crank. Catch the first idle on a rich-safe VE, then lean toward stoich at idle.
- Only then enable closed-loop idle, VVT, boost and traction. A base map is a starting point, not a dyno tune.
A base map is a starting point, not a dyno tune.