EDIT: Answered my own question by reading the OP... Don't mind me. Move along folks.

Long day but got everything done, a few pics to share...


First off the Bilstein HD shocks. The rears are easy as pie, just a little tight getting to the top bolt but besides that it's cake.


Here's the front struts in a mid-state of disassembly. One pita was just getting the lower bolt undone to get it off the truck. Air tools didn't even help, it took dual breaker bars plus another couple feet of pipe to extend the breaker bar handle. Nissan Spec says 155ft-lbs, yikes, that's a bolt!


The last time I did this swap a year ago or so, one weird thing was that the Bilstein front dust boot had a weird thick washer on it. After driving around on it for a day the washer SHATTERED leaving the dust boot and upper spring perch to flop around. Uncool!!! Here's a pic of the offending part, they're still making it this way...you got me why. Use the OEM boot!


After the shocks, then on to the brakes, Goodridge SS lines, Stillen Metal Matrix pads, and TireRack.com red G2 Brake Caliper paint. Only special thing of note is that the SS lines in the rear are BARELY long enough, like really barely, takes some games to make it reach and it IS somewhat stressed. I need to talk to Goodridge/Stillen about that... Here's the pics with things masked before painting, I didn't get any decent shots afterwards but maybe I can get something tomorrow...



Lastly a shout out to my buddy Michael, thanks for the lift time bro!!!


(ps, no air springs yet, I have them, but I have an evil plan... What if I took a higher rate spring, and cut it short to correct the ride height back to stock? Would the free-length of the cut spring be too short to stay safely captivated by the spring perches? Also, what if I write Eibach and try to talk them into making a custom progressive rate rear spring that would be the awesomesauce solution...hmmmm )

Looking good...real good.

what's the mpg on that beast.

The computer says I'm getting 16+ on the highway doing 75 and 13+ around town. However the computer does not correct for the increase in distance traveled with the larger tires, so it's numbers will be off (low). In a few weeks I'll post back with more solid data...

Also, I don't know what I was whining about, the Bilstein HDs feel fantastic. Maybe the set on my old SE were unusually stiff out of the box, they did soften up a lot after the first few hundred miles.

Also also, there IS some vibration transmission going on with the rock sliders, which as I mentioned above directly connect the frame to the body. It's not a large change, but the lower frequency notes of the exhaust system seem to come through more. However that being said I'm not complaining at all, gives a WOT charge more snarl and that's not a bad thing. No annoying drone from the exhaust or tires when just cruising.

sooooo, any thoughts of getting your V8 supercharged?

t

No!

Let me expand on that...

The supercharger from Stillen was awesome, and having one on my new V8 Pathie with AWD would be stinking incredible. It didn't cause me any problems in 60K miles of use, it was ultimately Nissan's cheap CATs that caused me so much trama. However, when something goes funky, I just don't have time to get under the hood and debug stuff anymore, nor do I have a good Nissan performance shop local to me to support a heavily modified vehicle. So from a power perspective I'm going to leave my new truck totally stock, so I can always just take it to the dealer and say "fix it!".

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The stance is perfect! I have an 08' SE in the same color and a set of LE wheels in the garage waiting for tires. Were the Bilsteins the height adjustable type or did the tire side alone give you that stance?

The tires alone. The shocks I put in are the normal non-height changing version.

Wow, that is impressive, I did not think you could fit such a large tire without a lift. How does it feel on the highway?

Feels and handles fine, just a bit slower from the extra diameter (which makes the gearing taller) and weight (20lbs per tire). There's a tiny bit of rubbing at full lock up front, and some day when I get bored I'll attack it with a heat-gun and push the fender liner out of the way.

-c

Hey Carl,

Welcome to the V8 Pathie Club!

2012 is the last year of the true, truck based, Pathfinder. The V8 will even be more valuable and rare soon. 70K on mine now, without any problems, no transmission problems (no by-pass, all looks good), no leaks. You know I beat my truck up!

The only thing I did/do: Changed to all Amsoil at 45K (best $300 warranty I spent), engine, tranny, xfercase, diffs. Change coolant at 60K, and change engine oil every 10K (Amsoil is 15K but I do 10K to be safe).

Now you can lock the rear with an ARB, and in 2013, lock the front when the locker for the M205 comes out!

Let's go wheelin!

RacerZX wrote:First thing I want to research is the "Auto" mode of the transfer case...from what I could google it looks like the truck is continuously RWD, and there is an electrically actuated clutch pack that can send a portion of the power to the front wheels as needed, which can also then be locked completely for real 4x4 action. As best I can tell then, no reason to ever NOT have it on Auto, unless you are in the dirt or on a smog-dyno, and it sure launches nice out of corners that way, no damn traction control trying to ruin the fun.

Did some research on the Auto mode as well. My cousin is a mechanic at a Nissan dealer in LA and what he tells me is that the mechanics of our tcase is very similar to the one found in the GTR AWD. It's an electromechanical clutch system (no cluch plates, which is good) based on a variable hydrualic pump that applies pressure to the plates controlled by the ECU being fed my numerous sensors from accelartator, braking, wheel sensors, to the on board gyro that measures yaw and pitch. This happens very fast and the tcase can send power to the front instantaniously. Too bad it's not a standard system on all 4x4 models.

In terms of leaving it on, you can, but you can save a little fuel in the long run by turning it off. When in Auto, the system can still send power to the front at takeoff and turning whereas 2wd turns it off completely.

rragpaoa my friend! Good to hear from you, been a long time since our big group trip around Death Valley.

When the auto transfer case is locked in 4-hi, does that mean the AWD system is just working full-time, or is there a physical gear that engages to lock it for real? I hope and expect the latter...

I bet there's no MPG difference, I'll have to test that...

I saw your other thread on changing the gearing, very interesting, I'll think about doing that in due course...and I love your bumper and air locker setup, fantastic stuff. BTW how did you do the air pump for the locker?

Don't worry, our R51's have a physical locking gear for 4WD, unlike those POS 2013 "pathfinder" (<--- roadfinder is more accurate)