parrish Posted July 2, 2009 Share Posted July 2, 2009 May name is Parrish and I'm the proud owner of a 2001 Pathfinder SE 4x4. I'm located in Southwestern Lower Michigan. I've owned this vehicle since June of 2000 (bought it new from Bill Frank Nissan) and have lovingly cared for it ever since. 159,000 or so miles later and it still looks and runs like new. I've done a few mods to it over the years- mostly for performance. Added a WeaponR cold air intake, remove the stock air box and other components and built a custom ram air system. I have a 3" hose connected to the drivers side cover next to the driving lights. I cut out notches in that cover so that air would flow through it (you would hardly notice it unless you look close). That hose runs up through the inner fender well and mounts to a bracket I built right below where the air filter sits for the CAI. Air is forced through that and directly to the air filter. I left a gap between the hose bracket and air filter on purpose- to prevent sucking water into the engine. This modification is almost impossible to see- unless you know what you are looking for. I'm rather anal about making things look and function "right". I changed out the factory plugs for a set of Denso Iridium, had a custom free-flow exhaust built with a nice big chrome tip (sounds amazing), installed oversized Bridgestone Dueler AT Revo's (on my third set now). Installed a set of Air-Lift air springs in the rear (got sick of the thing bottoming out every time I went over a bump!). Upgraded the shocks and struts to Rancho RSX17000's (which I need to change soon again- that was over 80,000 miles ago). Just recently (thanks to this forum!) I replaced the rear bushings with a set of polyurethane bushings and, just today, put loctite on my power valve screws (which were almost ready to fall out!). For the exterior I've added a bug guard and Weathertech window deflectors. This spring I had to remove the factory running boards because they rusted to pretty much nothing. Picked up a nice set of stainless steel bars from ebay. The rear windows are lettered with my company information (I own a computer store). Every spring I go through the whole vehicle looking for and repairing any rust that may be there (I live in the rust belt). I use POR15 on all the rust repairs- which stops the rust completely then I spray over that with automotive enamel that I get from the paint shop (matches perfectly). I don't do much off-roading though. I've gone up to Silver Lake and Manistee National Forest a few times- but not nearly as often as I'd like! At some point I'd like to "upgrade" to a new V8 Pathfinder- just can't get myself to go back to having car payments though! Anyway, there you go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beavis0076 Posted July 2, 2009 Share Posted July 2, 2009 Welcome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrish Posted July 2, 2009 Author Share Posted July 2, 2009 Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted July 2, 2009 Share Posted July 2, 2009 Welcome Parrish!! That intake sounds interesting; post up some pictures of it and your Pathy. I'm sure people will have questions... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrish Posted July 2, 2009 Author Share Posted July 2, 2009 Once it gets nice out I will. It's been a cold and nasty rainy sorta thing here the last few days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pezzy Posted July 2, 2009 Share Posted July 2, 2009 Welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted July 2, 2009 Share Posted July 2, 2009 hi there.. did anyone mention we'd like to see some pics of your ride? :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrish Posted July 2, 2009 Author Share Posted July 2, 2009 I'll definitely get some put up by the end of the weekend. I probably won't have time tomorrow- but will on Friday or Saturday. For now, here is a picture I took a few years ago after I had the vinyl put on the windows. The only visible difference between then and now would be the stainless steel stepbars and the custom exhaust (big chrome tip is visible now). You can tell by this photo the great effect the AirLift bags had on the stance. The factory stance seems to have the rear end sitting too low (in my opinion). The air bags pushed the rear up a good inch and a half or so. Makes the stance look a LOT better. But I did have to re-aim my headlights afterwords- as they were aiming too low. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyAliens Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 I'll definitely get some put up by the end of the weekend. I probably won't have time tomorrow- but will on Friday or Saturday.For now, here is a picture I took a few years ago after I had the vinyl put on the windows. The only visible difference between then and now would be the stainless steel stepbars and the custom exhaust (big chrome tip is visible now). You can tell by this photo the great effect the AirLift bags had on the stance. The factory stance seems to have the rear end sitting too low (in my opinion). The air bags pushed the rear up a good inch and a half or so. Makes the stance look a LOT better. But I did have to re-aim my headlights afterwords- as they were aiming too low. Nice ride! take some pics of the custom stuff you did too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 Nice ride, and welcome! Your truck looks almost exactly like another member's, Alexrex20, but he's got an ARB bumper on his and custom skid plates, as well as no rear bumper for a better approach/depart angle. Your intake sounds awesome! Like everyone else said, hope to see some pics of it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrish Posted July 3, 2009 Author Share Posted July 3, 2009 Nice ride, and welcome! Your truck looks almost exactly like another member's, Alexrex20, but he's got an ARB bumper on his and custom skid plates, as well as no rear bumper for a better approach/depart angle. Your intake sounds awesome! Like everyone else said, hope to see some pics of it! That's the plan. I'll try to take pics of the intake (the WeaponR system looks awesome- highly polished aluminum) and the ram air setup I have. I probably won't remove the inner fender well plastics though- but I think everyone will be able to tell how I did it without needing to see inside the fender. The exterior of my truck looks mostly stock (I like that sleeper sorta look). The only obvious changes are the side steps (although I wish I could have found a good rust-free set of the OEM ones- oh well) and the chrome exhaust tip. The rest is mechanical. I would love to have a set of good skid plates- that might yet happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pezzy Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 Not often we see a red R50. Nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSlowReliable Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 whereabouts in michigan? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrish Posted July 3, 2009 Author Share Posted July 3, 2009 Not often we see a red R50. Nice! The story behind how I bought this is a little crazy. I had been visiting Nissans website for a few months (or maybe more) building my "dream" Pathfinder. One day I stopped at the local Nissan dealer and they had just received that day the exact Pathfinder I had been building on Nissans website. Right down to the color, options, everything. So I bought it. I figured it was fate. It's fully loaded- has the charcoal leather package, sunroof package, all the exterior stuff like sun roof deflector, rear wind deflector, and side molding, fog lights, LSD, Bose 6 disc changer with steering wheel controls, transmission cooler, etc. The only options it didn't have were the DVD entertainment/navigation system, automatic climate control, and trailer hitch. But I didn't want those anyway (I preferred to install my own hitch and save about $600!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrish Posted July 3, 2009 Author Share Posted July 3, 2009 whereabouts in michigan? I'm about 15 miles North East of Niles. My computer store is in Niles so I could get that South Bend traffic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSlowReliable Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 You should make your way up to harrison tomorrow and saturday! Niles is a ways away from me, im in midland/saginaw/baycity area Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrish Posted July 3, 2009 Author Share Posted July 3, 2009 (edited) You should make your way up to harrison tomorrow and saturday! Niles is a ways away from me, im in midland/saginaw/baycity area Oh, up there by the thumb. I don't make it that way too often. Most of my treks take me up the Western side of the state. I haven't even been to the Detroit area in about 5 years now. Ever get over to Silver Lake? That's a great place to hang out! But I've got a dune buggy I prefer to take on the dunes instead of the Pathy (don't want to sandblast all my nice shiny paint!). Oh, and what's going on in Harrison? Edited July 3, 2009 by parrish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSlowReliable Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 (edited) Oh, up there by the thumb. I don't make it that way too often. Most of my treks take me up the Western side of the state. I haven't even been to the Detroit area in about 5 years now. Ever get over to Silver Lake? That's a great place to hang out! But I've got a dune buggy I prefer to take on the dunes instead of the Pathy (don't want to sandblast all my nice shiny paint!). Oh, and what's going on in Harrison? Theres a new(er) offroad park just south of harrison, Rocks and Valleys....its like 40 minute drive for me, so i frequent it, and im taking a two day camping trip up there tomorrow... I actually just got back from a 4 day camping excursion to silver lake! wish you woulda joined sooner, someone coulda gotten some pics/vid of my water crossings! You, me, and DOA should go on an offroad trip one of these days! and incase you don't already know bout it, gl4x4.com is a great regional forum...kinda jeep-bias but I find some of the guys cool to chill with Idk if your religous, and I'm personally not, but here is a group of guys whom I met @ my silver lake trip, and they are really fun to chill with...I think they are mostly located in your corner... 4given4x4.com Edited July 3, 2009 by OldSlowReliable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerranoNZ Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 Welcome to the family Parrish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 But I've got a dune buggy I prefer to take on the dunes instead of the Pathy PICTURES!!! *Air cooled VW/dune buggy fan* B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrish Posted July 3, 2009 Author Share Posted July 3, 2009 (edited) PICTURES!!! *Air cooled VW/dune buggy fan* B Here is one And more are here- but these are about 6 years old (still looks the same though- just runs better now) Silver Lake 2003 Good lord I'm brain dead today! Took me like 5 tries to get that link and image right! I need to go home... BTW, that's my godson in most of the photos, not me. (he's 20 now! yikes!) Edited July 3, 2009 by parrish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 Cool!! I had a 65 Bug baja convertible that I drove around for years (no pictures, before digital cameras). It looked more like something out of Mad Max, but was tough as hell with side rails, front and rear cages, 4 point roll cage, 1776 motor, etc. I called it a street legal go-cart... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrish Posted July 4, 2009 Author Share Posted July 4, 2009 Ok, here are some photos I took today. You'll see what I'm talking about for the custom ram air mod. I removed the entire air box and air box parts located inside the drivers side fender well (what's with all that plastic and doo dads anyway?? must be to muffle sound or something?) That 3" hose you see goes straight from behind the piece next to the driving light up inside the fender well to the bracket you can see in the photo. You can't see anything at all from the outside- it's all hidden. The photo I took of the modification to the piece next to the driving lamp (what is that piece called anyway?) had a flash when I took the photo- it makes the cuts look a LOT more noticeable than they are with your naked eye. You would never know they are there unless you got down on your hands and knees and looked closely at it. The bracket where the hose mounts to at the inner fender well is made out of galvanized steel and uses the same bolts that held on all that plastic garbage that Nissan used. I laid a bead of RTV on the bracket before bolting it to the fender well. The rest is fairly self explanatory. The exhaust is a cat back (well the stock pipes were cut at about the stock muffler and welded from there). The muffler is a Flowmaster 2in 1out. The outlet pipe is 2.5" with no resonator. Sounds sick. Definitely NOT a rice burner sound. Sounds more like a V8- actually quite a lot like the Infiniti QX50 only louder. But not an obnoxious loud- just enough that people turn around to look and see what it is. The side steps are some generic brand I got off of Ebay for $150- but they fit and look great. The only thing I don't like about them is the mounting bracket. While they mount to the stock bracket locations the brackets hang down way too low. Definitely not something conducive to crawling over rocks! I kept the stock side steps in the hopes of some day cutting off the factory brackets and welding them to these aftermarket ones so they will mount just like the factory. On with the images. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoPathyGo Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 Ah, clever mod on the air intake. The standard cold air kits force you to put the intake down in the wheel well. This is an interesting alternative approach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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