I'm not sure anyone would dare to do it, but I did.

Original shocks were really bad, so I bought Bilsteins and had them on for about 15K.

I just couldn't accept the ride quality with them. Dampening too stiff for my taste and I would avoid certain roads/routes because of it.

Finished off the installation of the KYB front & rears with new ACD springs. Le Voila.

I would suggest that for anyone thinking of a suspension upgrade, perhaps try the springs first. I think this helps the truck recover better than stock springs. Age of the vehicle comes into play as well with this.

As a second step, regarding shocks, there are many options. For my personal experience, nothing wrong in just replacing the old shocks with KYBs.

0.02

A lot of people are starting to go with Moog rear springs for their stock suspension, as they are definitely and upgrade over the original equipment springs. Early on, that wasn't an option so many (including myself) went with Airlift 1000 air bags which helped a lot! It was probably more of the issue with the rear suspension than the factory shocks. That said, many like the Bilstein 4600's in the rear, which I have on my 2006, with also has KYB Excel-G/GR-2 replacement struts (essentially the same as the original KYB's that came from the factory) and Airlift 1000's. On my 2008, the 250K mile original struts and shocks were way overdue for replacement, so they got swapped out with Moog quick-strut assemblies in the front and KYB Gas-a-just shocks in the rear, a monotube-type shock and a slight improvement over the Excel-G's. I'm pretty happy with both, but the air bags have started leaking on my 06 and I am contemplating the Moog springs. I'm also pretty sure the camber/caster adjustment bolts are seized-up and I do have a brand new set of rear control arms and hardware taking-up space in my garage, so I might be making a project out of it, soon.

I'm thinking most or all of the non-Nissan springs out there now are coming from the same place. The AC Delco springs sure look a lot like the Moog springs in pictures.

I think the KYB's are underdamped, particularly in rebound. But that seems to fit a lot of people's preference as that's how a lot of OEM and OEM replacement shocks are made.

AC Delco rebrands a lot of parts, so there's a good chance they are Moog springs sold in AC Delco packaging. They also sell Stant thermostats, Gates tensioners/idler pulleys/belts and Raybestos brake parts under the AC Delco label.

smj999smj wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 10, 2020 2:20 am

A lot of people are starting to go with Moog rear springs for their stock suspension, as they are definitely and upgrade over the original equipment springs. Early on, that wasn't an option so many (including myself) went with Airlift 1000 air bags which helped a lot! It was probably more of the issue with the rear suspension than the factory shocks. That said, many like the Bilstein 4600's in the rear, which I have on my 2006, with also has KYB Excel-G/GR-2 replacement struts (essentially the same as the original KYB's that came from the factory) and Airlift 1000's. On my 2008, the 250K mile original struts and shocks were way overdue for replacement, so they got swapped out with Moog quick-strut assemblies in the front and KYB Gas-a-just shocks in the rear, a monotube-type shock and a slight improvement over the Excel-G's. I'm pretty happy with both, but the air bags have started leaking on my 06 and I am contemplating the Moog springs. I'm also pretty sure the camber/caster adjustment bolts are seized-up and I do have a brand new set of rear control arms and hardware taking-up space in my garage, so I might be making a project out of it, soon.

I put moog springs in the rear with the 1000 air bags. But I kept the stock shocks as I found them better than the new Bilstein that I bought.
Also cut out and replaced all the alignment cams and 2 control arms. Rear spring arms too. Coated all the cams with anti seize.
It is awesome now.

I am in the same boat, installed Bilstein cause everyone was recommending them and I hate the ride.

Shorckplus told me these were the softest: https://www.shocksurplus.com/products/k ... wd-rwd-awd

I am doing research into Fox 2.0 IFP as well.

Which Kyb did you go for? the same I linked?

Also what are the stock ones?


Cheers!

The stock shocks/struts from the factory are made by KYB and are the same as the Excel-G's they sell on the aftermarket. Same goes for the KYB Strut-plus, which is their quick-strut assembly for the front.

You guys really like floaty, bouncy rides. I like corners.

The Bilsteins could probably do with a little less high speed compression damping for stuff like square edged inputs, but the too-low rebound damping of the KYB's, Ranchos, etc. made me hate them. I recently rode behind my truck while someone else drove it...it's as unflappable as it feels when I drive it. Stock R51's are visibly saggy and bouncy, particularly at the back end. No wallowing through corners for me!

I hear ya, but maybe where you live roads are better or you don't go off road as often. My type of off road are gravel roads with big potholes and in very bad condition...

I live in Vancuver island btw..

My girlfriend hates going off road cause of that... taking the tire pressure to 25 helps a lot though

I am thinking on going for bigger tires, I currently have stock size yokohama AT.

So here is the question: what is the biggest tire size I can fit no rubbing?

Someone posted 275/65 R18

Hey @Vegpower,

Same Island!!! Howdy!

Interesting to read. I put the Moog Springs and the Bilstein shocks in the back and it's a bit sharper going over big bumps but, I think it's starting to soften a bit. What I was really impressed with was, with 3 kids, 2 adults and all our gear it sat great and road awesome on the highway. So Loaded down just a little the MOOG's are fantastic and with the Bilstein control it's rock solid.

Where I'm at right now though, is the fronts. I haven't pulled the trigger on the front's. Figure I'll go with the Strut Assembly (shock-spring) setup. Just torn between KYB and MOOG. Part of me wants to just put the MOOG's on as that's whats in the back but, Don't want too much of a sharpness in the front. Bought New Sway bar bushings so, that's on the list too.

When it's all done, I'd like to get it in for an alignment and have my steering rack bushings looked at. My Pathfinder isn't quite solid on the highway, feels like a bit of a beast at higher speeds; and yes I know these vehicles aren't made for speed.

Will do a bit more digging in here to see what everybodies' opinion is on Front Struts!!! Keep'em going!

ShipFixer wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 21, 2020 8:55 am

You guys really like floaty, bouncy rides. I like corners.

The Bilsteins could probably do with a little less high speed compression damping for stuff like square edged inputs, but the too-low rebound damping of the KYB's, Ranchos, etc. made me hate them. I recently rode behind my truck while someone else drove it...it's as unflappable as it feels when I drive it. Stock R51's are visibly saggy and bouncy, particularly at the back end. No wallowing through corners for me!

The "saggy" R51 rear ends are because of the coil springs, not the shocks. Coil springs support the ride height; shocks dampen the impacts over bumps, but do nothing in regards to ride height unless they are air shocks or coilovers.

Just remember that most entry level Bilstein shocks have digressive valving.

smj999smj wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 07, 2020 5:03 pm

ShipFixer wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 21, 2020 8:55 am

You guys really like floaty, bouncy rides. I like corners.

The Bilsteins could probably do with a little less high speed compression damping for stuff like square edged inputs, but the too-low rebound damping of the KYB's, Ranchos, etc. made me hate them. I recently rode behind my truck while someone else drove it...it's as unflappable as it feels when I drive it. Stock R51's are visibly saggy and bouncy, particularly at the back end. No wallowing through corners for me!

The "saggy" R51 rear ends are because of the coil springs, not the shocks. Coil springs support the ride height; shocks dampen the impacts over bumps, but do nothing in regards to ride height unless they are air shocks or coilovers.

At static rest, yes. Once in motion, the excessive sway and swagger is a combination of soft springs and underdamping.

silverarrow27 wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 08, 2020 1:24 pm

Just remember that most entry level Bilstein shocks have digressive valving.

They are, but that by itself just tells us the shape of the curve, not the actual values. TBH a digressive shaped curve is what we want in most scenarios: lots of low speed damping and not so much, or less high speed damping. All of my high end motorcycle and bike stuff is like this, including the "ride downhill at Whistler like you're being chased by space aliens" shock Very cheap shocks that rely on orifices over shim stacks are "progressive" just like some very expensive shocks, but they provide too little low speed damping and way too much high speed damping.

The actual damping values is what we really care about though, because that affects frequency response of the system. It's true that an underdamped spring and damper will have a higher natural frequency and might react faster/feel smoother over some inputs. This is a valid optimization if that matters more and you can't change other things. But you can't get away from the underlying problem of being underdamped otherwise. I don't like my truck swaying through corners or bouncing much more than once on big square edge impacts on the highway, especially mid-corner.

It's probably true that the Bilstein could be more digressive and fall off more at higher velocities. But I personally wouldn't prefer an underdamped option across lower frequencies just for that. I'd look at de-stiffening or disconnecting my sway bar off road first to get some travel back, or higher priced options like the Fox shocks. The ideal for me would be separate tuning knobs for high and low speed damping circuits but I'm not gonna spend that kind of money on my Pathfinder