Rear end bottoming out with rear passengers.

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fidgy
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Rear end bottoming out with rear passengers.

Postby fidgy » Sun Jan 28, 2007 8:38 pm

I've got a 2006 Pathy SE 2wd. I had my dad in the back seat, hit a rather small bump. BANG! Holy cow, I thought the rear axle was coming though the floor. :x Anyone replaced the factory shocks? Suggestions? :?

Thanks


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RacerZX
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Postby RacerZX » Sun Jan 28, 2007 9:58 pm

Um, not to be rude, but dude, how much does your dad weigh? :wink: Sure the rear end sags, but not THAT bad. I once towed for about 350 miles with 500 lbs on the tow hitch, and while it squatted a bit the suspension was happy enough, and yes this was before I added the additional air bags.

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blink32
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Postby blink32 » Mon Jan 29, 2007 4:58 am

Was your dad in the middle row or the 3rd? Either way I highly doubt what ever you heard was only caused by the additional weight of one passenger. Unless you have some seriously defective suspension components that is.

I've hauled a trailer filled with junk plus inside the Pathy a welder, scrap steel, all my personal belongings, tools, etc over some crappy roads between S Jersey and Central CT and never got it to bottom out. I was even running oversized tires and they never rubbed once. But I am ditching my OEM suspension as soon as my OME one gets here.

bender031
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Postby bender031 » Mon Jan 29, 2007 7:00 am

blink- do you have an OME on order? do you have any information on this? please share.

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blink32
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Postby blink32 » Mon Jan 29, 2007 7:42 am

I don't want to hijack but yes, I have it on order, should be here anywhere from today through early this week. I just didn't want to make a post about it until I had the kit in my hands.

bender031
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Postby bender031 » Mon Jan 29, 2007 9:04 am

fidgy- since i hijacked i will add my input, i just installed the airlift springs on friday, i did not have bottoming out issues, but with some cargo, it did sag a little, i think the rear coils are very soft (prob for comfort) the air springs help a ton, give it a nice tight stance and i am sure they would help in your case, however, i think someone with 2wd looked into them and found out they would not work, if they do, its a cheap effective solution.

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blink32
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Postby blink32 » Mon Jan 29, 2007 11:01 am

Bender, you don't happen to remember/know how tall the airsprings are do you? (for my purposes it doesn't matter if aired to operating pressure or 10psi just to fill out the bags).

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rragpaoa
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Postby rragpaoa » Mon Jan 29, 2007 11:55 am

blink32 wrote:I don't want to hijack but yes, I have it on order, should be here anywhere from today through early this week. I just didn't want to make a post about it until I had the kit in my hands.
blink,
I am ready to order the OME setup as well. Supposed to give a 1" lift and a much better, controlled ride on and off-road.
Few questions: Can you verify that the OME shocks are a bit longer than the originals? I would like to see a little more articulation all around. Also, did you order the medium or heavy-duty? Lastly, is your spare tire also the 285/70R and does it fit underneath like the original?
Thanks.

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blink32
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Postby blink32 » Mon Jan 29, 2007 12:12 pm

We'll see on the amount of lift. I've got documents that contradict one another. The official spec sheets list 30 and 40mm heights front to back respectively I believe. But then a letter from ARB AU lists it at 2" & 2.25-2.5" F to R. I should have pictures up of the kit tomorrow evening or wednsday barring UPS' information on my projected arrival date of tomorrow is correct. :-/

If I get to actually remove the stock shocks as soon as I would like I'll post a side by side. I would imagine they will be longer to better match the spring height going only by OME's previous suspension kits. But I could be surprised.

I opted for the medium duty springs. If it is anything like in my Chevy world the medium duty will be much more forgiving and actually give better articulation than the heavies would, at-least in my configuration. The heavy duty springs would be spectacular if I had the 100L auxilliary fuel tank installed out back and/or heavy gauge bumpers with a winch, things of that nature. Only time will tell. At $60ish a spring I figure if the med's are a mistake I can pony up and buy 4 heavies later on.

Spare tire is stock size. I chose to stay with that for cost reasons. I now have 5 of the stock sized tires and don't really see a market for them (at-least around me) on in the resale world. Plus I've only ever gotten 1 flat in 15 years. Not to say it won't happen I just wouldn't spend $200+ on a tire I may never use other than rotating it into use. Even if it happened on a trail I won't be using this for anything over a low to mid blue rated trail. I'll be able to limp out on the stocker.

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Postby rragpaoa » Mon Jan 29, 2007 12:43 pm

thanks. Can't wait for the review! Let us know about the shock lengths. I think I will be getting the Mediums as well.

As for me, I am still debating about getting 285/70R or stick with 265/70R.
Would you go with 285/70R again? Gas mileage, power issues? I do plan on off-roading a bit more rugged terrain. Possibly even the Rubicon once I can get a rear locker and some undercarriage armor.

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blink32
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Postby blink32 » Mon Jan 29, 2007 1:03 pm

Gas mileage info from me is like a fart. You chuckle when you hear and boy does it stink. The only thing I haven't said before is I think the trans tends to hunt more then I would imagine it would with the stock sized tires in hilly conditions. But I don't have stockers to slap on and compare. I would have expected the power of the engine to hold a bit better on some hills but I was towing at the same time plus with the change in gear ratio of the tires it was all stacked up against it. But all that said I would definitely go with this size or possibly one size smaller (if I wasn't lifting it). I plan on using it off-road but more so for on-road severe weather traveling. The in-laws live down a 1/3 of a mile dirt "driveway" that doesn't get plowed, parents live in a portion of lower eastern Oregon that get rediculous amounts of snow and I like to travel whether blizzard or not when I take my vacations.

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Postby bender031 » Mon Jan 29, 2007 1:31 pm

Can you guys share where you are getting this OME kit from in the US? i can only find UK and AU vendors selling the kits. are you having it shipped over? also pricing i have seen was 60 in UK dollars, 60 US dollars per coil sounds good.

i can see if i can track down the measurement of the bags tonight when i get home.

Keep us posted with any updates!

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blink32
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Postby blink32 » Mon Jan 29, 2007 3:12 pm

The kit (really its pieces and parts that you order together) is available from ARB AU and US. 100% of the distributors I have found of ARB stuff either don't/won't carry suspension components or definitely don't even have the part numbers in their computer inventories. I ended up googling Nissan Suspension and going from ARB's own dealer network and finding a place in VA or NC that deals with OME stuff. I got all my part numbers via e-mail correspondence with ARB AU. And when I placed my order via phone the guys called ARB in washington to verify the part numbers I was giving them and that the parts were infact in stock. Everything checked out good. I highly recommend http://www.4x4connection.com for ordering the parts. Prices were cheaper than the nearest shop that could order arb stuff for me even after shipping. Good bunch of guys (I think only 2, John in the morning and Chris in the afternoon) and very polite/customer service orientated unlike others I've dealt with. Plus shipping them saves me a horrendous drive to get them.

IIRC it was like $63 per coil. I know the whole kit came out to be $737.76 shipped. I believe teh struts were 120 and the shocks were 80 each. I just can't find my notes right now on prices.

***edit***
Just found the prices. $62.95 per coil, $84 per shock, $120 per strut & $77.96 for shipping the 84lbs of love.
Last edited by blink32 on Mon Jan 29, 2007 3:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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rragpaoa
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Postby rragpaoa » Mon Jan 29, 2007 3:13 pm

bender031 wrote:Can you guys share where you are getting this OME kit from in the US? ...
Go to the ARB USA website, and click 'Accessorize you rig' on the left hand side and choose Nissan Pathfinder. This will give you the part numbers. Go to your local ARB dealer and give them the part# to order.

I'm going with the medium all the way around. Once I get the ARB bumper later on, I may get HD up front.

Good luck.

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blink32
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Postby blink32 » Mon Jan 29, 2007 3:17 pm

Good to see they finally updated the website.


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