speedbuggy67

bigger piping isn't always better esp when your pipes "upstream" are only 1.75inch. the object with any exhaust is to flow and hot gases flow quickly and efficiently. Bigger piping sometimes can slow the flow and exhaust scavaging is an issue. Going up from 1.75in to 2in is a 1/4in differece plus a higher flowing muffler is already going to be a big help. i chose 2in muffler and 2.25in piping as muffler shops "crush bend" thepipes so the inner diameter is smaller so a 2.25in over our axle is really only around 2in internally. Good luck hope that helps. Its a known fact that using too big of piping will kill low end power and move it more upstairs in teh rpm range. We have a pathfinder not a 300zx so choose wisely. Scott

Just got my 2in dynomax super turbo muffler installed along wiht 2.25in piping due to the crush bends over the axle so its really 2in internally and the truck has great power all over the rpm range certainly woke the vf30 up. Im glad i went with the 2in muffler and 2.25in piping certainly kept my low rpm torque which was very important to me. the sound is slightly louder then stock esp at 2-3k rpm not loud at all near redline which is even better. Took roughly 2hrs to do and cost 120 cash for the piping and bout 50 bucks for the muffler from summitracing.com Scott

Im not quite sure why everyone recommends 3in piping or even 2.5in piping for that matter. Maybe my age is showing through again but exhaust velocity is what give you the horsepower and torque. A turbo car requires 2.5in or 3in piping since the turbo is creating backpressure enough for the engine. Why a NA car or truck would need anything that large is obsurd. A true stepped design exhaust will keep the exhaust gases hot which flow faster then cooler gases hence header wrap or HPC coating. IF you want to lose your low end power at 1500-2500rpm then go large if you choose to keep it don't go larger then 2.25in on the catback. If the header pipe is 2.5in a 2.25in catback will certainly flow plenty and won't be bottlenecked if you choose a proper exhaust. The factory piping on a pathfinder is 1.75in. Measure your broken tailpipe its true! This is a 150hp v6 mill 2in or 2.25in is plenty. Mine actually just broke off within the past week and i ordered a dynomax super turbo muffer which flows great cost 40bucks from summit racing and has fiberglass packing which bottom line has a deep ton thats not intrusive in the cabin or have a drone to it like some straight through mufflers like magnaflow. If a mom/pop exhaust shop bend the pipe remember they have crush bends not mandrel bends so if you choose 2.25in piping its really closer to 2in which should be fine if your just changing the catback. Stock mufflers are our #1 restriction. change that and it will flow a bunch better. PM me if you need more info. remember FLOW is key. Bigger piping makes gases cooler slowing the flow which is bad. good luck. Scott

my tailpipe just broke off my orig nissan muffler today guess it was due i have 213k miles on the rig, anyway on a naturally aspirated vehicle with such low HP a high flow cat doesn't make much of a butt dyno difference. If your doing headers back then def change the size of your piping and so forth. I measured the stock tailpipe and the OD of the pipe was a measly 1.75inch. That combined with a high restriction stock muffler and anything is an improvement. I love low end torque and adding a 2.5in pipe i feel is too large. I'd rather keep the power low inteh rpm range and i feel a 2in or 2.25in pipe would do the trick. I have my resonator removed and 2in pvc added to that so its getting more in just need t get it out. I plan on getting a dynomax super turbo muffler as they give off a Nice deep tone that doesn't resonate into the interior like most other mufflers and the fiberglass packing gives a deeper tone. maybe my age is showing in the fact i don't want something loud. I'll keep you posted after i have the 2in catback with 2in dynomax super turbo muffler installed. One important thing to remember is hot exhaust gas flows faster then cooler gases. Bigger isn't always better or you get the exhaust scavaging effect. Good luck. scott ps i do feel the case of a flowmaster is extrememly tough as far as banging off rocks as its been proven! Scott

i bought the PROCOMP 9000's they are nitro gas very similar to the bilstein specs and they ride GREAT not very stuff and bumps you really don't feel. If your looking for mega stuff got rancho 5000's or procomp 3000 with the cellular gas but i decided for 4 bucks more i'd go 9000's and im glad i did! 4 shocks shipped for 130$$ can't beat that it was a buy 3 get 1 free. Good luck. Scott

sucks i hope they win paragon rocks!!! no pun intended Scott

got it Scott

lol many of us with wd21's only have half our frames anyway, the rest have rotted away. Unless you plan on plowing, doing jumps, or bodylifts its not gonna make a world of difference with or without a frame. 2 words JEEP CHEROKEE- perfect example of a flexy unibody. I hear ya on not wanting luxury but heated seats...... I dunno about everyone else but my pathy heats up MEGA quick in the winter. I thought subaru flat 4's heated up quick but the pathy is unreal! scott

why not pickup a used infinity qx4? full of luxury if thats what your looking for. I prefer cloth seats as they wear better then leather that wasn't treated right and are generally warm up better in winter and are cooler in summer then leather. I think used infinity qx4's are a steal now a days. I see used 97's with low 100k mile odo's going or 6-7k. IIRC that was a 40k dollar truck! I believe they had a full time and part time 4wd on the transfer case IIRC. I could be wrong on that though. i fine that the 92 and older SE seats are def more soft and comfy then the 93newer SE clothes. good luck. Scott

wow thats terrible i thought mine was bad. I'd certainly question your safety with that truck. remember you can't put a price on your life. Whoever does the work make sure everything is reinforced. def get a price quote before having it all done. maybe buying a parts pathfinder and putting your stuff on that one might be cheaper in the long run. It Appears you'll need a total rear frame rebuild. How is the rest of the body? Scott

and 88pathy its appreciated very much but i'd love to hear what people have to say that have them or compared them to other shocks out there as well. I like the idea of the 9000's due to the gas design and i'd imagine they would be a harder riding shock similar to the rancho 5000's but more optimal offroad and like it says with extra weight. I know some guys run rough country shocks, monroe's, and some have bought one brand and changed it due to the fact that they didn't like it etc etc. Do you have any personal preferance from one to the next? Scott

I have the factory adj shocks and they def work but firm isn't THAT firm and i'd rather have something with some muscle to it when offroading like a gas shock. Im looking around at upgrades and read and searched like a madman and have seen the buy 3 get one free from procomp and seems they are pretty highly regarded for the price. I know kyb are great for street pathies but what about us street/trail guys. I see procomp has 3000's and 9000's and they darn near seem to be the same. I checked the site and isn't too specific. I'd like to hear what people that have new shocks what they have to say. ive been debating the rancho 5000's cause i know they work but procomps seem to be a good deal but which go get 3000 or 9000's? i'd like this post to have replies of what shock you have and how it compares to stock both on and offroad. I have JGC coils and cranked front bars. If someone has other options they recommend lets hear it..... Scott

i almost forgot FULLY LUBE WITH PB BLAST 24hrs in advance! Scott

you sure you have to reindex your bars not just adjust them up? I put JGC coils on my 92 pathfinder at 206k miles and just loosened the top nuts on the top of the torsen bars and spun the bottom nut on each maybe 8 full turns or so while the front of the truck was in the air with the jack. I kept taking measurements and i know one side got more turns then the other. I have a perfectly level truck now. My girlfriends brother has a 93 and we cranked his bars up as well to level his stock truck and plenty left of adjustment. So bottom line you sure you have to reindex? After you crank up the bars an alignment will be necessary. BTW with a full size spare on the rear and my highlift jack in the truck i yielded 1.5-2in(little less then 2inches) inches of lift and the front got cranked up 3 inches to match it. I guess my front really was sagging. I still have the factory adj shocks. I know guys on other truck forums were quite happy with shock upgrades as well so thats prolly next..... Scott

used trannies should only be a few hundred bucks. Lots of em have warrenty's good luck Scott

i can second that i have 31's when it was stock no rubbing no matter what. I have jeep grand cherokee v8 coils in the rear and front cranked bars lifted me 2-2.5in in the rear and 3in in the front to level the truck out. i did NOT have to reindex just crank the bars get an alignment and voila done! I'd recommend it much easier then a body lift and much cheaper. Scott ps truck sits like a stock 4runner now...

Some answers people give out on boards you must be careful of. Every tire is different some have bias ply some have radials some stiffer sidewall some softer. I havea beach buggy pass for NJ and drive the beaches quite frequently with my pathfinder. I have tried quite a few different combinations for the sand. My tires im running are 31x10.5 all terrains street i run em hard at 35psi trail harder then average at 20-22 and 18psi sand as i drive 2 blocks back to the house on the street before inflation. Ive tried 35 in the sand def makes the truck lug and work much harder same for 25. Big differnce running 16-18psi. ive tried 4lo and 4hi for sand and here in jersey 2wd will only get you stuck. My tires make funny sounds going through the sand and in 4hi 1st gear ( i have an auto) i'll get some pinging when going up and down some risesin the sand (sand takes power) so ive tried prem fuel and that stopped the pinging for straight sand driving. 4low in 2nd works fine ive found. We have a beach speed limit of 15mph. guys that run mikey thompsons seem to do the best. here's a link and some info on beach driving for jersey. http://www.njbba.org/access.html my bottom line is 16-18psi in 4lo to use the gearing advantage. (removing the stock fender silencer for a second airbox opening helped quite a bit!) let the truck sort of find the ruts don't try to fight the wheel all the time same with mud trucks trying to get the least resistance. Scott

got any pics of your truck with the thornbirds? I'd love to see em those are some bad lookin tires! I run my 31's around the 35 mark street 18psi sand and 20-22 offroad. good luck. Scott

any new pics? Scott

i have mine in the rear screwed into the speaker housing its the typical household extinguisher about 14in tall. Doesn't move and easily accessable even if the truck is full of cargo. Scott

yeah just removing the resonator box will do the same thing but i'd rather be sucking air farther back but for the lazy guy yeah just disconnecting the box will work..... Ive had it done for 2 weeks no ill effects and at wide open throttle sounds outstanding. Ive driven in plenty of rain. My next mod will be routing the front of the airbox to suck air twards the door hinges for those deep water crossings and the bow wake you might get. Scott

I didn't replace the facotory intake hose that comes out from the front of the intake box. I replaced the side hole which leads to a big plastic box with no exit so i guess its a resinator. I used the elbow that lead to that and attached 2in pvc to it so i am sucking air from 2 places the orig spot in front and this side location and best part is it can go back 100% stock if you don't like it NOTHING was altered. Yesterday i just bought a90 deg turndown so i won't hear the air sucking so much from the fender. Water won't get sucked in cause you have a fenderliner below this intake. Scott

Anyone ever put in a maxima ecu in a pathfinder? If they did was there any power gained (i would imagine a bump to 170hp) or any drawbacks? Scott

Here is a pic of the unmodified facotry elbow fits in the 2in pvc elbow purchased from lowes. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v308/spe...ff/PB100311.jpg Scott

I put up a post about the deckplate mod for toyota's and also did my homework on snorkels for our trucks. I really wanted to add more air coming in my airbox and adding a hole with a pvc cleanout plug was an answer but that didn't satisfy me as it woudl be sucking in hot engine bay air. On my last trip ot paragon i went though water deep enough that a few splashes of water managed to get inside the airbox but not enough to change the trucks performance. Anyway i looked at the snorkel post http://www.jimbennett.net/home_made_snorkel.htm and used stock components eliminating the oem silencer and making it another source of air coming into our airbox sucking air from inside the fenderliner near the door hinges. Throttle responce is better as its sucking air not just through the oem 2.5in hole but through the 2in hole in the fender. I didn't have to modify the factory airbox at all and used the stock elbow to attach to the pvc elbow and 2in pvs pipe that ran inside the fender. Here are 2 pics of the pipe and elbow that attaches to the airbox. I don't feel there is any negative effect and costs less then 5 dollars. Only side effects are when floored you get more of a v6 roar which most people on here would love and you hear the air at idle sucking when the drivers door is open. let me know what you think. The second part of this mod in th future will include rerouting the oem piping to the front of the airbox so when you enter a deep stream crossing and only the nose goes underwater or you have a big bow wake you won't suck in water. remember by adding this second opening your only have less sucking power through the oem opening so less chance of sucking water in is a plus. I don't feel putting a snorkel on is necessary as i don't want one visually (my point in having the pathfinder is to NOT draw attention to myself) but want less of a chance of sucking in water when the water is 3ft deep or so. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v308/spe...ff/PB100310.jpg in this pic you wil see the factory resonator next to the new elbow and 2in pvc which i bought in lowe's which everything slides together with a little umph. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v308/spe...ff/PB100312.jpg in this second pic is looking in from the bottom of the drivers fender with the fenderliner not yet reinstalled. Scott