Trying to ride a little higher

[drunkentiger89]

Hey everyone I'm new to Nico- this is my first post.I have a 2002 Pathfinder 4x4. So far I have the 2 inch lift coils from AC, rancho shocks in the rear, the camber alignment kit, black pacer rims and 245/75/16 Hercules Durango tires. Right now I'm exploring my options as far installing a further lift and fitting bigger tires'I'd like to get some opinions on the prado subframe lift and coil spacers. Any other ideas would be appreciated as well.

I'll attach a picture of my ride once I figure out how.

[sicwitit]

to attach a pic, first you need to host it somewhere, image shack, photobucket, or what ever.

then, once its hosted, you need to cut and paste the url in between this



and it will pop up in the threads the way you want it. if you need help, email me, it gets addicting once you learn how.

[Pwnin O'Brien]

You would have to get a Prado lift custom made, since they aren't produced any longer. There was a member on NPORA that was producing some but there were a lot of issues and I don't think you can find anyone who is making it anymore.

I was thinking of just taking my Pathy to a machine shop (or fab shop) with pictures of the required parts and asking them to fab up a custom sub-frame drop. The actual materials would be cheap as hell.

I really want somewhere around 6" of lift, but this would also require manual hubs (and new wheels to fit the new manual hubs) and probably replacement of the CV boots every two years.

[alexf20c]

manual hubs will clear all OEM wheels. the only fitment issue is on the center caps of some wheels.

[drunkentiger89]

Here's a link to my the car domain I just made so you can see some pictures:http://www.cardomain.com/id/Drunkentiger89

I like being able to shift into four wheel drive without getting out of the car, so I'd like to avoid manual hubs if at all possible. I'm looking at .75" and 1.25" coil spacers from 4x4parts or the 1" coil spacers from NX4 to supplement the 2" inch coil lift I already have. Any suggestions?

I also need to get rims with -3.75 inches of backspacing. 4x4parts said they had a set made by Keystone. Another NPORA member I talked to said she used AR 767s. Anyone have advice on what rims to get?

Thanks guys
Modified by drunkentiger89 at 8:52 AM 11/30/2009

[Natedogg1701]

pwnin a 6 inch lift wound be bad a**, but id hate to see the price for the adjustable rear trak bar and all 4 trailing arms. and ya the cv boots wud get destroyed pretty quickly, if i were to do that much of a lift id convert the front to a solid axel, but thats me. and drunkentiger89 where did you find coil spacers on 4x4parts? i cant find them anywhere, i have the same idea as you,im gunna get the 2" life from 4x4parts than do 1" spacers, have you found any strut spacers too?

[Pwnin O'Brien]

pwnin a 6 inch lift wound be bad a**, but id hate to see the price for the adjustable rear trak bar and all 4 trailing arms. and ya the cv boots wud get destroyed pretty quickly, if i were to do that much of a lift id convert the front to a solid axel, but thats me. and drunkentiger89 where did you find coil spacers on 4x4parts? i cant find them anywhere, i have the same idea as you,im gunna get the 2" life from 4x4parts than do 1" spacers, have you found any strut spacers too?

Here's the strut spacers... http://www.nx4industries.com/r50susp.html

[alexf20c]

pwnin a 6 inch lift wound be bad a**, but id hate to see the price for the adjustable rear trak bar and all 4 trailing arms. and ya the cv boots wud get destroyed pretty quickly, if i were to do that much of a lift id convert the front to a solid axel, but thats me. and drunkentiger89 where did you find coil spacers on 4x4parts? i cant find them anywhere, i have the same idea as you,im gunna get the 2" life from 4x4parts than do 1" spacers, have you found any strut spacers too?

a SFD lift (prado) does not affect CV angle whatsoever. it puts no more stress on the CV boots than they already had before the SFD kit.

[drunkentiger89]

pwnin posted the link to the 1" inch strut/coil spacer by NX4. 4x4parts offers .75" ($125) and 1.25" ($155) coil spacers that are not listed on their website. You have to call them directly to order them - 954-971-3510. They are only for the front. When I contacted NX4, they said they also only carried them for the front, but would be making ones for the rear within a month.4x4parts also carry a 16x8 Keystone rim with -3.75 inch backspacing ($79 per wheel), and it is not listed on the website.

natedogg- are you getting manual hubs or doing anything to counter the strain put on the CV angles? Also, what type of wheel are you planning to use? I am in the process of getting new rims with the right negative backspacing so I can go up in tire size. I want to wait until I decide on coil spacers before getting the new tires though because the spacers may make enough room to go even bigger.
Modified by drunkentiger89 at 8:40 AM 11/30/2009

[Natedogg1701]

well the spacer for the front is a strut spacer, and actually pwnin which strut spacers should i get? they offer ones that are basically a plate that that goes on top of the strut, then there are ones that go under the spring in the whole strut/sping assembly, im not sure which ones are better.

as for me getting manual hubs, ive been thinking of it, not sure yet, the 2inch lift from 4x4 parts i guess can get some people 2 inches, some 2.5, and others have claimed 3. so ill get that lift in before i decide on the spacers. and as for the strain on the cv boots, not 2 converned about it, i dont think a 2 inch lift will starin them that bad, and if they break they break, ill replace them, the truks got 72000 on it so it wouldnt surprise me if they are a gettin worn out. ill get good ones if i have to replace them.

but rims, im actually getting spacers to begin with, i can get the ligit good spacers that bolt to the factory lug nut studs, then give me the studs to bolt the wheel to. and id only need a 1 inch spacer, because the factory rim for my truk has a -4.75 backspace. my reasons are money for one thing, those will only run me about 200 buks, maybe more, and im planning on goin wheelin but not anything real harch or extreme so the spacers will be fone for the time i have them.thos keystone rims your talking about, i hear keystone rims are very expensive, like 4 to 6 hundred per rim! i'd do more shopping around for rims. and when i lift it im lookin to get 31'sor 32's, which ever fit better and still leave the suspesion room to flex.

[Pwnin O'Brien]

You should go with a top mount strut spacer. If you get the AC lift and put middle mount spacers, then you could top out your struts which is really more of an annoyance than anything but could eventually cause strut failure.

[drunkentiger89]

hey i just edited my previous post and corrected some things and included details and prices.

also, does anyone know if I use the coil/strut spacers in conjunction with my 2" lift if I'll be able to fit bigger tires than I can with the lift by itself?
Modified by drunkentiger89 at 8:50 AM 11/30/2009

[Natedogg1701]

the coil spacers are only for the front? so their strut spacers not spring spacers then.i hear theres a company called mr. gasket tht has rear 1" coil spacers for R50's. and they have keystone rims that cheap?! wholey s***, any idea wut they look like?

[drunkentiger89]

i'm not sure what the difference is between a coil spacer and a strut spacer. all i know is 4x4parts and NX4 only carry them for the front. A guy from NX4 said he would have them for the rear before Christmas.

just looked at a mr gasket website. I didn't see any products for pathfinders. could u post a link??

as far as the keystone rim goes- the guy at 4x4parts told me the wheel was a standard black steel wheel. i don't have a picture sorry

[Natedogg1701]

heres the mr. gasket link. its in their online catalogue.http://www.mr-gasket.com/pdf/S...s.pdf

and a strut spacer is like a plate that either goes on top of the strut topush it down more, or on the bottom of the coil spring that sits in the strut and extends the shock out more. (those ones suck and cn top out struts as pwnin said).a rear coil spring spacer is just a rubber spacer that goes on top or below the coil spring and pushes it down to increase ride hight. and thats a dam good price on wheels, but i dont want a plain ugly black steel wheel, ill have to try 2 look em up.

[drunkentiger89]

I found some spacers similiar to the ones by Mr. Gasket, but they are made by Dynachrome or something like that. I spent $40 at Advance Auto Parts, buying a set of spacers for the rear and two different kinds of spacers for the front. I was able to put one of the front ones on myself, but the other front set and rear ones will require a tool that pulls the coil a little farther apart.

I'll try to post pictures after I find a place that can install the spacers.

-Tom

[KyooX4]

I think I heard that you can borrow that coil tool from advance auto. Could be wrong though.

[Natedogg1701]

no your right you can, alot of auto parts stores offer to rent that tool, only pronlem is they suck. lol

and at advanced really? no offence but monkeys work at advanced and autozone, i go to c.a.p. and carquest, those stores adtually test their employees on product knowledge and dont just let them follow the computer directions. ill have to go to advanced tho and see what they got, for 40 buks idk if i trust the parts

[safetyguy74]

drunkentiger - I think we've talked about this on NPORA and I can't wait to see how it works out for you...I'll probably copy-cat it when I get my new tires next fall. My ProComp Xtreme Crawlers (steel 16x8 w/3.75" backspace) were only about $85/each (4Wheel Parts). I didn't think that was totally out of whack, but I definitely was NOT looking for good looks - only the backspacing so I would stop ripping my front splash guard loose (will have to get some armor up front some day).

Cheers.

[Daddy Rim]

One caveat of the Mr. Gasket type spacer is that you are increasing the likelihood of strut top-out. The spacer they provide goes in between your spring and spring perch, which pushes the strut further towards its extended length. If you combine this with lifted OME or AC springs, you run the risk of topping out your struts excessively.

[KyooX4]

What if they're on stock springs/struts?

[Daddy Rim]

The strut itself should not matter. They should all have the same travel dimensions as they are OEM replacements. If you have stock springs and are adding the Mr. Gasket spacers, you should not have a problem as you are simply moving 1" further into the uptravel as you would with a lift spring anyway.

[KyooX4]

Ok thanks!

[Natedogg1701]

the mr. gasket spacers i was talking about i planned on using as spacers for the rear springs, the nx4 spacers are what i want to get for the front, and id get the top mount ones, idont see why anyone would get a mid mount spacer, they are harder to put in and like several people have said, increse chance of strut top out.

[drunkentiger89]

After trying the Dynachrome spacers I learned that you get what you pay for. I should have known that getting an extra inch for only $40 was too good to be true. I returned the rubber spacers a couple days ago. They really made no difference in my ride height at all whatsoever.

Anyone have any luck with the Mr. Gasket spacers?

[Natedogg1701]

lol that figures, 40 sounded way 2 good to be true, but hey if they let you return them then guess its not a huge loss. the mr. gasket website has a feature that searches retailers that can get their products, you should check and see if theres a retailer near you.

[KyooX4]

Where exactly on the spring do those rubber spacers go?

[Natedogg1701]

i believe the spring apcers for the rear would go on the top of the spring, where it contacts the frame or body.

[KyooX4]

What about the front?

[Natedogg1701]

in the front you would use a top mount strut spacer, not a rubber spring spacer. the spacer bolts to tht topof the trut then bolts to the body, or the spacer is a plate with longerbolts, either way it pushes the strut down giving more ride height. they make mid mount strut spacers, but those stretch the strut out more, and increase the chances of strut top out, and not to take credit for that several others have said that on this thread. the nx4 strut spacers run like 150 i believe, and not sure about the rear spring spacers.