Help me choose a lift !!! (with insight and photos)

[fueler]

OK Please take into consideration my thoughts on this: Basically I upsized to a 265/75/16 tires, equates to 31.6" and they rub a lot!! It would be nice to lift but my problem is, I don't want the suspension lift due to increased wear on CV joints. I do not want to break any of those. I can not use Warn hubs on my QX4 for mechanical reasons.

How much wear is increased on the CV's with a 2" AC lift? I am leaning towards Prado subframe lift but it is not available yet... Pics for reference:



"Minor trimming" It is possible to make these tires not rub, it would involve a little bit of heat gun up front and more trimming in rear. Thoughts, ideas, advice? Thanks in advance guys. Please do not make fun of my car.

[AZhitman]

THAT is simply AWESOME!!!!

I'd go with the lowest lift that will help with tire clearance...

[nissandoms47]

humm fueler, for the things that you have said you have done, i would go with the OME lift and a 1" front spacer. it'll keep the road manors and will make your tire rubbing go away, so i say

front end:KYB GR-2 struts w/standard shock bootOME Heavy Duty lift coils1" front strut spacer installed ontop of the flange (i say this because someone installed it on the bottom and it wasnt good)

Rear end:Pro Comp ES-9000 Shocks approx 2" longer then stock, id estimate 16" collapsed and 26"/27" extendedOME Heavy Duty lift coils

[KoukiS14]

THAT is simply AWESOME!!!!

I'd go with the lowest lift that will help with tire clearance...

I concur with all said here.Nothing like a black QX4

Looks great without a lift -- I also believe you've done fine off the pavement as-is. . . so I, too, would recommend the min.

[fueler]

i want to know how the heck this got to the top of the forum??

[KoukiS14]

Weird. . I dunno. . maybe someone posted a comment but then deleted it?

[amgvr4]

This is the same tire set up I am thinking about running. Im really glad you posted pics of you truck cause Im not so sure now. I did some comparing at costco today and found the 245-75-16 to be an almost perfect match to a 31-10.5-15 in height and width, and they should have less fitment issues. I might run those just because It will be a while before I can get a lift but need tires soon. My pathfinder is my wife’s daily and I dont want a tire that is going to rub like crazy on her. I plan on running the ac lift at some point. I wouldn’t worry about the cvs too much, IFS toyota guys lift their trucks all the time and i haven’t heard of excessive wear issues. Granted many of the larger lifts are sub frame type, but under 3" should be fine. Brad

[fueler]

You dont want those tires on a R50 pathfinder. Our brakes and engine arent strong enough to spin/stop those tires. I even got into an accident which would have been avoided had my brakes been able to lock up. I have since sold those tires and went back to a 245/75/16 which fits much better and the brakes actually behave normally

[fueler]

but the bfg's do great offroad.... i have to give them that...

[jimmyzzer]

i just put the 2 inch lift from ac on mine.if i was you and you didnt want to worry about going to high get the 1/2 inch springs from ac.i did end up putting the warn hubs on mine.

[jimmyzzer]

[jimmyzzer]

here is what cv joints are going to look like with the 2 inch ac lift.there springs are alot stiffer that the stock ones.you can always send me your tires i can try them out for ya.

[fueler]

WOW that is TALL!!! thats just the springs? No spacers up front right?

[jimmyzzer]

just springs.

[fueler]

youre ridin high bro!

[pixel41]

i just put the 2 inch lift from ac on mine.if i was you and you didnt want to worry about going to high get the 1/2 inch springs from ac.i did end up putting the warn hubs on mine.

That's pretty sweet Jimmyzzer!So, have a favor to ask...can you or someone else help me out a bit, trying to lift my '03 Pathfinder.

So, I know you got the 2" AC lift, but help me with everything else.

- Did you get one of the AC suspension packages listed at the bottom of their page? For around $715? Includes the Rancho front struts and rear shocks? - What are the 1/2" springs? The coils that are in the package? Are there different sizes? The 1/2" are just stiffer and jack it up higher? - Why do you need the Warn hubs? The originals don't work well with this? - Did you get the "Camber Alignment Kit" they talk about for that lift? - Do the tires wear evenly as far as you can tell so far? - Do the struts top/bottom out on bumps? (I've read the Old Man Emu struts for Pathfinders bottom out) - Why does that suspension kit w/ the Rancho struts not need the strut tower mounts that are included in the other kits? - What are the "spacers" that fueler asks about...spacers for the rims to push out further for no rubbing? I know you didn't get any, just curious. - Have you put larger tires on? Those look stock? It'd allow 31's with no rubbing now don't you think?

Some newbie questions i know, but any help would be greatly appreciated!

[jimmyzzer]

http://www.4x4parts.com/public...97f68thats the kit i bought.2 inch springs.they do have springs that only have a 1/2 inch lift also, but not package.the manual hubs stop the cv axles from turning all the time cause of the angle.with the hubs unlocked i do get a little better fuel mpg.i dont get alot of the topping out from the struts unless you really hit a hard bump.the strut tower mounts bolt to the top of the strut and hold the spring to the strut,they turn with the strut.mine were still like new so i used mine but if yours are old you should replace them.the spacers go on top of the struts to give more lift but it puts the cv at more of an angle.i do still have the stock wheels on i wanted to let the springs settle down some.to put 31 on you have to change the rims cause the tires wont clear the strut.you do need the camber bolts for the alignment.it did take the tire shop here about an hour to do the alignment.i dont see any tire wear yet.

[jimmyzzer]

[KoukiS14]

I'm still a 4x4 noob, and I understand the problems with putting manual hubs on a vehicle with all-mode -- so I won't do it. . but my question is:

Can you go into 4wd and leave the hubs unlocked? What happens? I'm not clear on the exact function.

edit: I decided to google instead

I found this bit "Also, certain vehicles enable you to select a 2WD-Lo mode by unlocking the manual hubs and shifting the transfer case into 4WD low-range. "

Would an R50 be able to run in 2-lo with manual hubs? That'd be pretty cool.

So I guess the answer is, unlocked hub + 4hi = 2hi, am I right?

[jimmyzzer]

if you put it in 4 wheel with the hubs unlocked it will just spin the front drive train not the tires so its still like 2wd.the full time hubs spin the front drive train all the time even with the transfer case in 2wd.but now in 2wd and the hubs unlocked nothing is turning in the front saves the cv joints plus like i said i do get just a little better mpg.

[jimmyzzer]

yes i can run in 2 low when i had my chevy it did do great burn outs like that.

[KoukiS14]

if you put it in 4 wheel with the hubs unlocked it will just spin the front drive train not the tires so its still like 2wd.the full time hubs spin the front drive train all the time even with the transfer case in 2wd.but now in 2wd and the hubs unlocked nothing is turning in the front saves the cv joints plus like i said i do get just a little better mpg.

I know it's something I should've known -- thanks for going easy on me

[KoukiS14]

yes i can run in 2 low when i had my chevy it did do great burn outs like that.[ig]http://links.pictures.aol.com/pic/6aa07 ... 3Ig=_l.jpg[/img]

NICE. . I dig older Chevy trucks. That's actually why I wish I could do it . . for the sole purpose of screwing around in 2lo. . hahaI'd personally have no practical reasoning behind it.

[timmack]

how hard is it to swap just the hubs to lockers in an r50? my gas mileage blows. its pointless, imo, to keep the whole front drivetrain spinning for 8-9 months out of the year.

[pixel41]

thats the kit i bought.2 inch springs.they do have springs that only have a 1/2 inch lift also, but not package.the manual hubs stop the cv axles from turning all the time cause of the angle.with the hubs unlocked i do get a little better fuel mpg.i dont get alot of the topping out from the struts unless you really hit a hard bump.the strut tower mounts bolt to the top of the strut and hold the spring to the strut,they turn with the strut.mine were still like new so i used mine but if yours are old you should replace them.the spacers go on top of the struts to give more lift but it puts the cv at more of an angle.i do still have the stock wheels on i wanted to let the springs settle down some.to put 31 on you have to change the rims cause the tires wont clear the strut.you do need the camber bolts for the alignment.it did take the tire shop here about an hour to do the alignment.i dont see any tire wear yet.

Muchas gracias jimmyzzer! That helps me out a lot. Looks like i'm leaning towards that AC lift. I guess now i just gotta be sure I want to do manual hubs. I live in Colorado so auto locking comes in handy when i'm in a snowstorm.

[pixel41]

to put 31 on you have to change the rims cause the tires wont clear the strut.

Jimmyzzer, sounds like you (or anyone else?) may know about this...how much of an offset would the new rims need to let the 31" tires avoid hitting the strut (on an 03 Pathy with a 2" AC lift)?

[ubpsanity]

I found this bit "Also, certain vehicles enable you to select a 2WD-Lo mode by unlocking the manual hubs and shifting the transfer case into 4WD low-range. "

We used to do this all the time in a Suzuki Samurai, we'd get a bit of weight in the back, and put it in 4-lo, unlock the front hubs, then pop the clutch.. We'd usually get a fair sized wheelie out of it. Wouldn't last long (and who knows how long the drivetrain would last doing that anyway), and we'd run out of steam fairly fast anyway.
Modified by ubpsanity at 8:41 PM 2/1/2008

[jimmyzzer]

im not sure on the rims but i think 3.75 offset clears with tire.as you can see in the pic of my chevy i had fun in the snow in pa.i miss the snow only sand here to play in.
Modified by jimmyzzer at 4:24 PM 2/1/2008

[jimmyzzer]

you can still lock the hubs on days when you think your going to get snow

[jimmyzzer]

its east to put the hubs on.maybe an hour at tops.