Specialists from the Japanese company conducted endurance tests of the engine, forcing it to operate at maximum speed for 100 hours. During such extreme work, the engine becomes red hot. The most stringent test regime includes 300 hours of continuous operation of the motor on a stand. Nissan engineers claim that this is equivalent to 209 thousand kilometers.
The naturally aspirated V6 engines used in Frontier pickup trucks are subjected to extreme continuous operation testing at the Nissan engine plant in Tennessee, USA. Before carrying out endurance tests, workers simply walk up to the conveyor, randomly take one of the finished engines and mount it on a test bench in the laboratory.
“We start the engine, bring it to the red zone and keep it that way for hours. Then we completely disassemble it and see what’s broken,” explained Brandon McClain, quality control manager.
Hot Nissan engine converter
Nissan 
Nissan power unit undergoing life tests
Nissan 
Red hot exhaust manifold
Nissan 
Engine Nissan V6 3.8
Nissan
The heaviest test cycle lasts 300 hours, during which time the 3.8-liter naturally aspirated engine produces 310 hp. and 281 Nm, takes a load equivalent to a mileage of 130 thousand miles (more than 200 thousand km) during actual operation. Running for 100 hours at maximum speed with full load is the most spectacular part of the endurance test. The exhaust manifolds and surrounding surfaces become red hot.
In addition to working with extreme loads, engines at the Nissan engine plant are x-rayed using an X-ray machine. It scans finished cylinder blocks in 1.2mm thick slices. This allows you to look inside the cooling channels and check the wall thickness. Approximately every hundredth motor produced at the plant undergoes an X-ray scan.
