dynomax Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 (edited) Well, after bothering many people here, and getting snubbed never, and getting great answers the rest of the time, I Think I have my package togather. Questions: Was this pathfinder originally raked a bit? Mine beasures 31.25" front to fender, and 30.5" in rear. What would this have been stock? Anyone else with Ironman springs? I have found one other R50 out there with them! Prelift state: Good shape for a snow belt vehicle, i've been undercoating it and driving for a couple years. 128k kms (80k mi) stock everything and original everything as I can tell 16x7 stock wheels are the ugly 5 spokes as seen below, with 6" (Uggh!) Backspacing Post-lift: Sticking with stock struts, stock shocks (until i see how it rides and tops out?) then may change as per group recomendations Ironman 35mm 1.5" Wheel spacers (Thanks Fleurys), giving stance, but allowing for the 31.6" tire (in case I go with my choice goodyear duratrac in the 265/75/16). Either way, if I fit a tire bigger than a 31.6 i'll need new wheels and i'll get the bigger BS then. I use this as a daily driver and traveling 1hr to my camp, so 31.7" should do that! Until then the Micky Thompson baja atz 245/75/16 (don't ever buy these tires) will stay on, until jumping to same size or bigger duratrac Cost is an issue, but I must deal with my sagging stock springs, which is why I'm keeping stock wheels, they're going to get a coat of the duplicolor wheel paint just before I mount the new duratracs which are required real soon to replace my worn out ATZ's. I am ordering this monday, it will be about $400 Canadian taxes in. OME Lift I could likely get here for about $450 Canadian, and the AC Lift will be closer to $600. So it came to a cost thing, and what am i going to be using this for? Not to its full potential, I hunt in the fall, and go to my camp and other camps in the summer. Went Ironman because the rear lift is the same as the front lift (as opposed to the OME). I am willing to live with a bit of rake, as I do haul my util trailer frequently and expect with the OME i would get some Sag down the road. if the Ironman sags to level, thats fine too... i'd rather start out a bit raked, rather than go try to fix the saggy ass syndrome again down the road. (Does this make sense, or am I off the mark??) So, I've never tackled coil springs, or springs in a strut (Anyone in New Brunswick wanna help ) but I think I can figure it out! From what I read, with OME theres no need to replace camber bolts, so i'll keep what i have. Ironman shouldnt be any different. Thanks again for all the help, and responses to my questions here. By far the best board out there, and has most available resource for an R50! I am open to all feedback, negative and positive, if I'm going wrong anywhere here! Prelift vehicle: I measured this when I had it in the garage buffing it last night, front to fender measured 31.25" and rear 30.5" on that side. Ugly Stock wheels that I'm keeping ($$$) Saggy Ass Stock Coils: Edited February 24, 2012 by dynomax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonianwalk Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Seems to me that you have everything in order. The R50's did come with rake. The rear springs aren't that difficult. The fronts will need to be compressed (I'd go with good ones, stay away from the "cheaper" tool) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snow4me Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Are you 100% certain that those wheels are 6" of backspace measured from whe inside mounting surface to the inside wheel lip? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dynomax Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 (edited) Are you 100% certain that those wheels are 6" of backspace measured from whe inside mounting surface to the inside wheel lip? Nope not 100%, I looked at a FAQ on measuring backspacing somewhere... http://www.vintagewheelworks.com/tech-backspace.php Here I think, and used that. I laid a piece of wood across the insude lip of the wheel (where you would mount a weight) and measured with my tape measure to the surface that would sit next to the rotor/drum.\ Am I Wrong? 6" almost doesn't make sense on a 7" wide wheel does it! These wheels sure sit in a lot more than the double tri spoke type, or the other 6 spoke type I see around Edited February 24, 2012 by dynomax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snow4me Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Gotta be wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dynomax Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 (edited) Gotta be wrong. Maybe Fleurys or silverypathy will chime in. I think i saw a pic of silverpathys beside a red one wearing 33's with the same stock wheels as mine. Do you have the same wheels as me? What do yours measure? I'm sure they are the same. I can't tell from your avatar pic. I might take them off after this next big snowstorm... i have the sled in the garage right now. Edited February 24, 2012 by dynomax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01silvapathy Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 This pic? I dont get what your question is...is it about the wheel backspace? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dynomax Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 This pic? I dont get what your question is...is it about the wheel backspace? Yeah, whats the original backspace of the wheels on the front of the red one, and what size spacer did he use? Whats the back also? I measure my wheel like your red buddys one and i get 6" (Maybe 5.75). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WOT Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 A nice rattle can paint job would make you not hate your wheels. It only takes 2 hours at most to finish the job ( I like to leave them a few days atleast before installing, but Im sure you could be careful and put them back on same day) and would probably only run you $25-$35 for the project. Krylon Fusion paint is by far the best Ive found, for most all plastics/metals, and comes in almost any colour. Or if you want EXTREME durability, Tremclad Rust paint can take a might beating, but comes in very limited colours, and takes a full day to dry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01silvapathy Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Im not sure of the backspacing on those wheels but I know he only had to run a 1.5in spacer in the FRONT ONLY to clear a metric 33 (285 75 16) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dynomax Posted March 23, 2012 Author Share Posted March 23, 2012 Im not sure of the backspacing on those wheels but I know he only had to run a 1.5in spacer in the FRONT ONLY to clear a metric 33 (285 75 16) This isn't really directed at you, this was just the last post in the thread... Well the backspacing is 6". I measured it and took a picture, because nobody ever believes me. So, my wheel spacers and IronMan 1.5" coil springs are in Houlton. Provided they let me cross the border in to the USA, I am going to pick them up Saturday March 24. I have one pair of spring compressors, other than that, all the tools I have are regular wrenches and sockets. I have 2 axle stands and my own floor jack and a borrowed jack. I don't have a good 3.5TON jack, but rather the smaller $40 variety... I hope that will be enough. I haven't found many good how-to's but it seems pretty straight forward on the rear... raise the rear, support it with axle stand support rear end with a jack? (one side at a time, or both at a time???) disconnect bottom of shock (any need to take top off, or just to get it out of the way??) disconnect axle end of panhard bar, and disconnect the 2 bolts holding up the upper sway bar bracket (look like 2x 12 or 14mm??) drop the springs out, compressing a bit with spring compressor if necessary?? Mine look pretty saggy looks like they might fall out anytime! \Front struts, I found a good vid on youtube of an old guy changing the whole unit, looks pretty easy (he didn't hsow the compressor and spring change, but rather the removal of the strut assembly...) I am an average backyard mechanic mostly only done basic stuff brakes, plugs, change all my own fluids, oil & tranny pans a couple times... I have never done any springs before strut or rear coil... Any reason I should not attempt this swap myself? My mechanic tells me he'd charge me 3hrs to do it if he did it.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonianwalk Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 (edited) Three hours labor is not too rediculous. I only did my lift myself because my buddy has a nice little shop at his house and we just spent the afternoon drinking beer and listening to music while doing the job. It easily took us half a day with both of us working to install the springs, struts, shocks, manual hubs, and wheels (the tires were already mounted to my wheels). Unless you just want the personal satisfaction of doing the lift yourself, I'd recommend letting the mechanic do the job safely for just three hours of labor. Edited March 24, 2012 by devonianwalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dynomax Posted March 31, 2012 Author Share Posted March 31, 2012 (edited) So everything finally came in to my PO Box in Maine (I live in Canada). I am still figuring on doing this myself, for cost, and the satisfaction... Not sure theres any immediate danger... I am generally pretty safe... and i'll try to stay on the safe side of the springs when compressing and removing nuts etc... Got the springs home, and want to know if theres anything that strikes anyone about these springs. Front is on the left, rear on right. Is there a top and bottom to the rears, as they look the same, the front one has one end smaller, i'm assuming thats the top??? Ironman mentioned some springs are marked NS and DS (near side and drivers side) if there is a difference, but nothing is marked on either of these... front or rear to indicate side. First thing I noticed, is the extra coil compared to stock, but thats common to the AC and OME from the other pics you guys have posted. (And the obvious yellow color) Also, another pic that was sitting on the camera of me measuring my backspace, an unbelievable 6" factory wheel. Edited April 1, 2012 by dynomax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snow4me Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 Dynomax, I would have never believed it without seeing it with my own eyes. I am really surprised at that backspace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dynomax Posted April 1, 2012 Author Share Posted April 1, 2012 Dynomax, I would have never believed it without seeing it with my own eyes. I am really surprised at that backspace. Yeah, immagine how they look! The 1.5" spacers will fix that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snow4me Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 I've got to get my spacers ordered. My pathy is completely disassembled in the garage right now. I'm waiting on parts and powdercoating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluewulf73 Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 (edited) I believe ya. My 98 LE's mesh wheels' offset was also around 6". My new used wheels are at around 3.75" Can't wait to see and hear how the lift went. Edited April 3, 2012 by Bluewulf73 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now