Hi,

I have the 2/RWD version of the 99.5 Pathfinder XE, and it has been 99 Qx4 complete Body swapped(w/Q flares) and I'm tryig to locate the offsets and the resulting differences in the Pathy XE(no flares) 5 spoke wheels and the Q's 3 spoke wheel offset. Both set of wheels mount the same on the vehicle, and both use the exact same tires. the differences are visual as the Q wheels are set farther outboard(wider stance) to accommodate the depth of the flares, and the Pathy's wheels are farther in-board due to no flares. I assume the offset is the determining factor. Sadly I do not have the Q wheels anymore to see if they are stamped.

The reason I want the offset is because I want to go wide in the rear and slightly narrower in the front with a staggered setup and lower the vehicle like 2 or so inches... sort of the same way the BMW X5 is set up with wider rears and a lower stance. Probably 10" rear, 8.5 or 9" front, and lower profile tires to achieve the proper setup.

Has anyone ever done this or seen it done? I am searching for lowering springs(progressive rate) and the wheel offset details.. I appreciate any info or link to others doing same thing...

The wheel offset for both are the same +20mm.
https://www.wheel-size.com/size/nissan/pathfinder/1999/
https://www.wheel-size.com/size/infiniti/qx4/1999/
It's the track width that is different which makes the '99 QX4 wheels wider apart at 60.0" in the rear and 59.8" in the front compared to 58.5" rear and 58.3" front for the '99.5 Pathfinder.
https://www.iseecars.com/car/1999-nissa ... nder-specs
https://www.iseecars.com/car/1999-infiniti-qx4-specs

Well unfortunately that isnt true. I actually have one of the wheels from the 99 Q and it is a spare that was mounted under the truck but frozen in position due to the broken spare gear/chain contraption that is supposed to raise and lower it.. well I went ahead and broken it so the spare could drop out.

The wheel is in fact a different offset. I can't read any marking on the inside of it but when mounted on the vehicle it sits farther out than the Nissan wheel does.
I believe it has to do with the fact the 99,5 Pathy had a 5 spoke wheel that was unique to the XE model with no flares and no 4WD options. That trim pkg was discontinued after that year. But of course the car being 21 yrs old I cant say decisively why.. anyways the wheels are def different. And considering those sites don't offer the option of a trim selection..

Track width can't be almost 2" wider without a diff offset in the wheels. Otherwise, it would mean the solid rear axle or brake assemblies are larger, yet they are parts numbers identical. I have to assume those website specs aren't accurate across the range of trims(XE,SE,Sport) for that year. My dad bought this truck new that year and the wheels weren't available on any other trim pkg.

I guess I just need to go with the offset for the Q and go up or down 10 or 20 mm to keep the inner edge off the rear shock casing as the wheel gets wider.

Thanks for the links! I appreciate the info.. Still looking for progressive rate lowering springs..

That 5 spoke rim pattern was unique to the XE ('98-'01) and it was the same wheel available whether 2wd, 4wd, automatic, or manual. The iseecars links were specific for the 99.5 XE 2WD Auto and the QX4 package. The track width difference of 1.5" (front and rear) is of course only .75" difference at each wheel so that's really not much but you must have something else unique going on, given your spare QX4 wheel proves your point if it is indeed the same 3 spoke pattern wheel.

Another couple of web sources show the same 20mm offset for both as well for the QX4 ( https://www.wheelsmartrims.com/16-infin ... rim-73649/ ) and the Pathfinder ( https://www.stockwheels.com/Nissan-PATH ... -Wheel-Rim ) so I'll tap out on this one.

As for lowering, I haven't heard of anyone doing that. Because these R50 models have an unfortunate reputation of bottoming out onto the jounce bumpers, lifting springs are most common for any height modification.

Zymol75 wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 02, 2021 10:21 pm

Well unfortunately that isnt true.

You are correct: the axle widths are identical, as are the majority of parts used.

Nissan still publishes Owners Manuals for those vehicles through their TechInfo sites, and the offset is spec'd in the OM:
99 QX4: https://www.infiniti-techinfo.com/refgh ... ti-qx4.pdf. Page 10-24 (pg. 283) shows a 16x7 w/ 20mm offset
99 R50: https://www.nissan-techinfo.com/refgh0v ... finder.pdf. Page 10-10 (pg. 253) shows the configurations for both 4x2 and 4x4, where you'll notice a "Wide" designation...this means they had fender flares. There's a 16x7 on the XE (non-wide/non-flared) trucks that had a 50mm offset.

So, mdmellott isn't wrong in saying that they were both 20mm offset, but that's only true for fender-flared models.

Of course, since you have both the 5-spoke and 3-spoke wheels, you can determine the offsets and backspacing. Just need to measure the actual rim width, divide by 2, and find the difference between it and the depth of the mounting surface. If the tires are still mounted, just need some sort of straight edge to rest on the rim to measure backspacing from.

I can't help much with the lowering springs, aside from suggesting to look into importing lowering springs for an Elgrand E50. Practically identical front suspension as the R50. Rear suspension setup is different, though, but I'd imagine there's a suitable spring out there.

This is why this is THE best Nissan forum out there.. thank you so much.. all of you have helped..

I'll post pics and updates as we get the wheels, and get them mounted up.
Brian