shift220

I took a quick look and it looks like a good easy fix. The only thing I don't like is relocating the sensor to a different spot then the ECM is calibrated for. It will read slightly different then the stock position and may or may not be more or less sensitive to knocking. But if the stock one is mounted on the intake manifold somewhere (I'm not sure?) then this should be fine. Now if your engine wasn't naturally aspirated, then I'd be a little more cautious.

Here is the strut spacer flange Autocad file that I drafted up. To anyone that I sent the previous file to, this one is updated and fits a little better. I got 4 of these cut out of 1/4" mild steel and they will be welded to 4" ID 1/4" round steel tubing cut angled at 12 degrees I'm slowly accumulating all the parts I need to put together this lift. I have everything really except the rear spacers and the steering shaft (which I will probably have to do a design-build on) as well as some misc stuff. It would go a lot faster if this vehicle wasn't my winter DD! R50 Strut Spacer

I wouldn't worry about backpressure so much. Even if there was some value, it would be silly and time consuming to design around it. Just put as best you can with the least restriction and enjoy the extra power at all RPMs. Any loss of low end torque is going to be a mental thing unless you run open headers. I like going right out the back because sometimes dumping underneath resonances in the cab and can get annoying!

Well like I said before, the compression valves do the damping when the shock is compressing. Doesn't matter how you mount the shock, when the suspension compresses, so does the shock therefore only the compression valves are damping. Rebound is the exact opposite, it controls how fast the shock is extending (and ultimately the suspension itself). No matter how you mount the shock, it is going to rebound/extend and only the rebound valving is acting.

My picture does over-simplify the dynamics behind it but the overall idea is the same. When the suspension compresses, the compression valving is decelerating the motion (oil bypasses the rebound valving), then the exact opposite happens when the suspension extends. You say force #2 is a fixed point but what makes it any more fixed then the rear axle?

I'm not trying to start a fight either. Its just a discussion. Here's another look at it. When a shock is compressed, there is a axial compression force placed on the shock. In the engineering world, a free body diagram would look like this (attached). F is the axial force. The wheel hits a bump and transmits a force through the shock and that force is equal and opposite from the body mount. This free body diagram explains exactly how the forces transmit through the shock. Now since the forces applied are equal and opposite, it simply does not matter how the shock is mounted. It sees the same singular force "F". Now if we were to get technical, the only differences between mounting up or down is more/less unsprung weight and the weight of the oil in the shock either working against the compression or rebound valving. This is of course quite neglectable on vehicles like ours.

A little more on topic, I have the Bilstein HD's on all four corners of my Sonoma and they perform great. Handling, braking, heavy loads and towing all feel very solid and controlled. No compliants and I too have heard many great things about Bilsteins. Apparently lots of people have them outlast their vehicles

This is simply not correct. First of all, if it were true then you would think somewhere it would state that one end of the shock needs to be installed on the "wheel" side of the suspension and the other would have to be on the "body" side. Here is a picture of your 7100 shock. See where the compression valve stack and rebound valve stacks are? Ok, so when the shock compresses, it gets shorter right? Which means that the piston moves to the right (in relation to the picture) and oil is forced through the compression valve stack (pushed to the left). What you are telling me is that if I flip the shock around on the vehicle, that somehow when the shock is compressed, the oil flows the same direction? I hope not or you can kiss that shock goodbye. If I really am that blind then please use the picture to explain your point. Otherwise maybe I will stick with my generic shocks

When a shock compresses, it becomes shorter right? Doesn't matter if its upside down or rightside up, it still compresses and it still forces fluid through the same valving the same direction. Therefore the compression numbers and rebound numbers will stay the same. Using your logic, if I mounted the shock horizontally, it would have no compression or rebound damping

This isn't true. The shock will still have the same compression and the same rebound no matter how it is mounted. But the life of the shock and its characteristics over time will be altered and you are correct in it isn't recommended unless it specifically says so.

No I'm pretty sure the dump angle is not the same and that's what would need modifying. This is judging by the picture posted though

Are you sure the springs are seated correctly? I suppose it could be a bad shock or something in the suspension binding as well

That's very interesting. I didn't realize that the exhaust ports stayed the same between the 3.0 and 3.3. I was contemplating making my own set out of a universal kit and now that I might be able to buy some pre-cut exhaust flanges (for say a 300zx), it would make things much more easier. I even have a set of stock replacements to make a jig out of. Removing the cats would also greatly simplify things. As for the ones you posted, it looks like you would have to adjust it for sure but most of the work is already done anyway.

I have one drafted up. I can't guarantee fitment but I printed off a paper copy, cut it out and it fit good. It won't allow to me to attach it so if you send me a pm with your email, I can send it to you.

Maybe I'll explain myself a little better. First of all, our struts sit an angle of 12 degrees side to side and 5 degrees front to back (with suspension at full droop). Now I measured this on my driveway so it might be off a little bit due to the angle it was sitting at on the ground. Now, if the 5 degrees is changed, it will not have a great effect on the vehicle. But if we change the 12 degrees, then we are messing with the alignment and the tires will wear unevenly. I think most of us knew this already, that's why it was agreed that we need angled strut spacers to maintain alignment. So while making angled spacers isn't that big of a deal, it puts unnecessary forces on the strut mounts and ultimately the body. What I mean by this is that the stresses are no longer axial, but a torque is applied to the mounts as well. Basically, I'm trying to avoid making angled strut mounts to keep the stresses near stock. Anybody know how much in and out play I have in the CV axles?

I'm talking about adding a spacer on the bottom of the strut in my previous post. It will mess up the steering geometry unless fixed by the items I suggested (or similar).

All right so strut spacers it is. After drafting up our strut suspension in Autocad, it occurred to me that we would need at least a 5" suspension lift and the steering axis would be thrown off requiring us to either relocate the strut upper mount or make longer a-arms. Although longer A-arms would be ideal, but i'm not quite ready to produce a set of those yet, unless I had a donor arm to make a jig with

Coilovers would be nice but unfortunately can't be used in place of struts. Struts act as an upper control arm which is why they have a much thicker piston shaft among other things. Plus they are really expensive. I may pursue making a lower strut mount extension, I just have to check the minimum amount I'll have to lift to do it. The angle really depends on the condition of your struts and I didn't remove the wheel or anything so I just got an average over a couple measurements. If you design it around the angle when the system is fully dropped, it should be within spec at all ranges and it will be consistent.

The reason for rapid rusting after parking inside is because of the heat. The chemical reaction of rusting is almost stopped at below freezing temperatures. As soon as it gets warm enough, the rusting can happen really quickly. This is why if you live where they salt the roads in the winter, the spring time slushy crap is the worst to leave sitting on your car. I'm not even sure I want to take my fender flares off...

My blocks are all 2.5" x 3.5" with the 3.5" becoming the lift. All blocks are also 6" long. The struts sit at an average angle of 12 degrees off the vertical axis (going from side to side of the vehicle). I'm going to fab the strut spacers so the strut stays at the same degree. On another thought, although alot harder to design and fabricate, a much better solution would be to put the spacer at the bottom of the strut where it bolts to the spindle. Has anyone seen something like this before? It would provide ample tire clearance as well!

So... what do 96-97 have?

Great reply MichiganAve! That really helps with the process. I didn't even think about half the stuff you posted. Brake lines: Any performance shop carries generic SS braided brake lines. It would be as simple as getting lines the amount of drop longer then stock and buying the correct fittings. The only consequence is improved braking from the stiffer lines. Sounds like most of the other stuff will have to be fabbed up. I'll try to do some figuring on the strut spacers.

Can you elaborate on why its so much work? Believe me, I know what its like to do a project where there is no going back to stock but its hard to see why it would be like this for the SFD. I got my Pathfinder up on the ramps today and took most of my measurements to start making blocks. Just have to pick up some material. Can we use the "Calmini - H.D. 3" Rear Coil Springs" for our R50s? I found them on the Rugged Rocks website but it doesn't specify year.

Did you have problems with the blocks moving around because of loose holes for the bolts? The reason I like the other style blocks is because of the multi-direction supports in the blocks. What I mean by this is that if the subframe experiences a hit from the side then the blocks could possibly collapse on themselves (or bend into a "parallelogram" shape). I think I have a simple solution that will still be easy to produce and let me sleep at night. I also noticed that this person simply added a block to the steering shaft. I would be inclined to try this first and see if the joint will bind or not. I don't like the idea of welding anything purely for purposes of going back to stock if needed. Anybody know the minimum ID of the strut spacers? I'd like to design and manufacture much of this lift before actually taking apart my own Pathfinder so any help is appreciated! Its currently my only DD

Thanks for the excellent replies guys. The problem I see with using F250 coils is even though they might be the right length, they are probably way to stiff for our application. Jeep coils would seem more appropriate if they came in the right length. I hate to go big on the rear coil spacer but 2" wouldn't be to bad either. Do they make these for our application? As for the style of blocks, I like the way they made them in this picture. But using rectangular metal tubing would make fabrication much simpler. Alex, I think you made them with just the tubing. Was it hard to get to the top bolts to tighten them? Also I just thought of this looking at the picture, does the front driveshaft need to be extended in any way or does it extend enough?