Front struts-nothing available?

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skinny2
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Front struts-nothing available?

Postby skinny2 » Thu Apr 08, 2010 10:35 am

All I can find are Monroe Sensa-tracs (no thanks). Has anyone found anything else? I get a helluva jump out of the front suspension/steering over certain bumps and wanted to try new shocks/struts first. I get a lot more wallow than I care for as well so that seemed like a good place to start.

Anyone else get a "jump" from the front end? Certain bumps it feels like the entire truck jumps to the side and has done this since I bought it. I have a couple turns with pot-holes that damn-near send me off the road if I don't slow down to a crawl. Never had this happen before so I'm just not sure if it's a characteristic of this suspension or if there's something wrong with mine.


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pawjr74
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Postby pawjr74 » Thu Apr 08, 2010 11:47 am

I just purchased Bilsteins for my 05. I haven't installed them yet but they seem to get good reviews from other links on this forum. I chose the 5100 adjustable series but they also make a stock replacement strut as well. You can check out www.4x4parts.com for other options.

https://www.4x4parts.com/catalog/suspen ... 5_413.html

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GimmieSumMo72
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Postby GimmieSumMo72 » Thu Apr 08, 2010 12:12 pm

bilstiens are awesome!

Have you tried looking for Rancho shocks? they're stock on the SE-Off Road, and can come with VDC. They'll also give it a small lift!

skinny2
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Postby skinny2 » Thu Apr 08, 2010 2:35 pm

Thanks for the links. For some reason, Bilstein only has the rears listed on their application guide and none of my usual shock sources had anything either. I'm a big fan of Bilsteins. I forgot to mention above that I did find the Ranchos but I'm not looking for any lift. I'm basically rally-racing this thing on my daily-drive :lol:

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skywhr
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Postby skywhr » Thu Apr 08, 2010 2:47 pm

http://www.shockwarehouse.com/index.cfm ... _year=2005

for bilsteins I think the frontier shocks are the same for the front... F4-BE5-D743-H0 standard and F4-BE5-E653-H0 5100 racing...

http://www.shockwarehouse.com/index.cfm ... _year=2005

Otherwise they have a few different choices

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Tech
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Postby Tech » Sun Apr 11, 2010 12:48 pm

maybe you want stiffer springs and a performance alignment to minimize bump steer? The struts mount the springs and control spring oscillation, but if you really want to turn and not body roll/wallow - i'd do springs at the same time and beef up your anti-roll goodies. That way too, you could swap assemblies back to stock later if you sell or something. just a thought.

skinny2
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Postby skinny2 » Sun Apr 11, 2010 1:33 pm

I thought about the springs as well. Is the bump steer a "characteristic" of these? If so it would make sense for me to start from the ground up. Are you aware of a good spring for the R51? I don't want to destroy the ride or limit it's off-road reliability (i mainly run mining roads a couple times a week). I've noticed a deterioration of the handling after crossing the 20k mile mark so I'm sure the shocks/struts could stand to be replaced anyway.

What's this performance alignment?

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Tech
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Postby Tech » Sun Apr 11, 2010 10:25 pm

many alignments are "set the toe, let it go" (or take the dough) and are for tire life and pulling - the daily driving stuff. A "performance" alignment takes a real pro. You can alter steering wheel return and effort (with caster), play with caster to get the tire as flat as possible in turns (camber), even play with turning radius and bump steer. If you're rally racing the thing on the way to work - it might be more what you want. If you're going as far as springs, struts and anti-sway - paying for a well done 4 wheel alignment would be worth it (just put in all your new parts first). FYI - Nissan typically pays a tech 0.2-0.3 for a warranty alignment - about 12-18 minnutes or $12-15, it will take considerably more than that time to get the alignment you might be after. Maybe a local race/off-road shop?

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pawjr74
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Postby pawjr74 » Mon Apr 12, 2010 1:39 pm

It's no wonder you can't get a decent alignment these days. It's not worth the tecnicians time to go the extra mile for $12 to $15 dollars.

A nice $20 tip for the tech could go a long way to getting a better alignment.

piste
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Postby piste » Thu May 13, 2010 7:39 am

4x4parts.com has Rancho and KYB struts....anyone have any input on quality of Rancho vs. KYB? From what I've researched so far...KYB are alleged to be OE type ride maybe a bit better...I'm looking for something a bit stiffer so was considering Rancho...(have RS5000 shocks in the rear). But I also noticed that Rancho's web site no longer shows struts on there so maybe they are discontinuing?

Either way...anyone have a recommendation including a source on a "better than OE ride" strut??

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BMXPath
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Postby BMXPath » Thu May 13, 2010 7:56 am

piste wrote:4x4parts.com has Rancho and KYB struts....
Be aware that the KYB's are only available for up to '04 on the Pathy. I even emailed KYB about a year ago and asked them if there were plans for making shocks/struts for the 05 and up Pathys. At that time they had nothing on the "drawing board"
I wish KYB would get on the boat for the R51, I would have them already.

piste
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Postby piste » Thu May 13, 2010 11:10 am

BMXPath wrote:
piste wrote:4x4parts.com has Rancho and KYB struts....
Be aware that the KYB's are only available for up to '04 on the Pathy. I even emailed KYB about a year ago and asked them if there were plans for making shocks/struts for the 05 and up Pathys. At that time they had nothing on the "drawing board"
I wish KYB would get on the boat for the R51, I would have them already.
Thank you for that info. My Pathy is a '97 so I guess KYBs are an option for me. Curious as to any thoughts you have on KYBs vs any other strut brand? By your last statement I presume you are a fan of KYB struts? Seems there aren't a ton of options...maybe Rancho? Any input is much appreciated.


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