RainGoat

PM@TowndawgR50 He &@hawairish are ramping up an aftermarket business for R50s. I’m not sure they’re up to full time production yet but you can put yourself on their list & start a conversation. I believe this is just the beginning of good things to come (SFD kits, bumper brackets, sliders or slider adapters, maybe eventually MOLLE panels & skids. You may decide against it now or later, or it may be just what you want. I already have a heavy duty set but I just figured better to be in the know & make a conscious decision rather than find out about it later.

AC has the poly sway bar bushings. I think there may be sway bar links with bushings back there as well. With regard to rear upper & lower control arms, be aware that this is something[mention=37543]TowndawgR50[/mention] is starting to produce. See@Jax99 build thread.

Hmmm, very interesting insights. It is these little things that often get overlooked & can have real impact on drivability & safety. Regardless of what we choose to do with them, better to understand the consequences than not. Sway bar deletes, CV angles, driveshaft lengths & missing links come to mind. I am very interested in having the group puzzle this out more.[mention=37543]TowndawgR50[/mention] observations definitely trouble me a little.@QuasarDecimari seems to have a fix & possibly something that should be recommended on all lifted R50s. I’d like to hear more of our knowledgeable members chime in!

Wow, that’s a lot of light. You’ve done a good job with aiming & the bars output angles look tight enough that I only really see hood reflection in that last picture.

Well, I only have reverse LEDs in so far but I have the bulbs to change over everything. I’ve learned my lesson on cheap LEDs so these are all at least “good”. I’ll probably get to it in the next couple months & will trial the cruise after each installed pair & report my final findings.

This response is exactly why I look forward to aftermarket products from@hawairish &@TowndawgR50. It’s the experience of doing it coupled with the attention to detail & the willingness to rework a problem until it’s done right.

Well, that’s all confusing as Hell. I know my interior bulbs didn’t cause any problems but I use my cruise almost never these days-literally might have been years. Nevertheless, losing cruise for LEDs doesn’t seem like a good trade. Thanks for the heads up to check for it as I go about replacing the exterior lights.

Those White SEs with the charcoal accents & SE grill always looked great to me. I’ve always wanted to replicate it with a slightly darker charcoal on my silver truck.

Bummer on the gas! That’s the first time I’ve heard of that problem in MX. Definitely gives one pause. Your concerns may be somewhat justified. When I had to replace my engine, the first JDM one was junk with rust in the cylinders & goop in the oil pan-it was inspected by the garage that did that work & rejected, which meant my truck had to occupy their bay another whole day so it must have been bad. The 2nd JDM was fine but we still swapped almost everything else from my original as it was otherwise in excellent condition.

VQ has 3 chains, not a belt

Just want to tag@ferrariowner123 as he and I are going to do this on my truck this spring. Thanks for the info!

Those links look great. They were unpainted when I last saw them.

I know, but aren’t you jealous of that sunshine & dry pavement?

I happened to stop by@TowndawgR50 garage when he was finishing your lower links. He can’t help but do great work. I watched him do the final detail work & they were beautiful.

Sunroof-Anytime you disconnect the battery the sunroof has to be fully opened & closed in 2” increments to “relearn” its track. If this is repeatedly happening I suspect the sunroof control unit is intermittently loosing power (I have no idea where that unit is located). This seems to fit some of your other electrical problems as well.

As per[mention=30891]slartibartfast[/mention] re Pros & Cons of CVT. I also remember reading in some auto forum that as far as CVT goes, Nissan nailed it & Honda’s is terrible. Unfortunately, it could be the other way around-I can’t be sure as my interest level was low, however, I think that’s the right way, as I believe I only remember it because I was surprised Nissan did something better than Honda but thought it fit given Nissan’s old reputation for performance powertrain & handling. As for Crossovers, they certainly have a time & place. We have a 2nd Gen MDX as our family car & it’s fantastic. We’ve put 100K on it & plan another 100K. We are waiting for another “sporty” Japanese (or S Korean if they get sporty down) crossover to replace it. MDXs went soft in 2014 & the Infiniti JX (now QX something) drove like a Toyota minivan. My money would be on the Mazda CX9 if we had to buy now-almost bought one in 2010 as it handled very nice & had a responsive powertrain. Our only hold back was long term reliability & then we stumbled on our MDX for a steal. Unfortunately, the CX9s are now 4 Cylinder so that probably disappoints. Frankly, other than a GTR or a Z, I don’t think I’d buy a modern Nissan. (I recognize the German’s make some very good crossovers but we’ll never buy German as we drive cars for decades & I can’t afford or tolerate the annoyance of keeping a German car on the road). Highlanders & Subaru’s new 3rd row crossover deserve a look. Toyota has nailed usability but I haven’t driven one in 8 years & their handling was very truck like back then. The Subaru has been getting good reviews as fun to drive but I’d always be cautious about buying the 1st version of anything.

For $30 you should bank it. You’ll be glad to have it if you decide to use it. If not, someone else will be glad to get it from you. Make sure to get the latching materials below the hatch.

@Slartibartfast Great post ! [emoji106]

+1 re drilled &/or slotted rotors on an off-road vehicle. I’ve had enough problems with the sharp volcanic rocks on my regular rotors when I lived in AZ. I don’t like the idea of a place for them to wedge & do more damage. Street car/truck, no problem (hey, my wife’s MDX has them) but not an offroad vehicle.

Nice job. Looks great!

Thanks for the info. Looks great!

I think you need a couple adapters. One for the antenna & another for the steering wheel controls if you intend to keep them.

Looks Good! I’ll be interested to see how your drawers go. When you get firmer on your scouting trip, post it. Myself or some of the other locals might join you.

Wow, my engine didn’t eat oil at all for 106K. It will be interesting to see if this “new” JDM engine is different

Please post your final wiring diagram & pointers. It’s a great project & I’m sure others would love to follow your lead (I know I’m interested). I like your multiple auto & manual options!