Need advice on possible pathy usage.. Lifts and such.

[Cabincar]

Hey all,

 

I have been shopping for an off road truck For my weekend cabin. I currently have a 2003 outlander - not an off road truck. I have 1500 ft of path through the forest with deep mud and rocks.. It's killing my car. And with the cost of making a road at around 10k - I rather just get a real off road truck.

 

The two main reasons for my upgrade - ground clearance and more cargo space. At first I wanted a 4runner but hard to find one that has a good price on it. The 2003-2004 pathfinder has the cargo I want but it sits at 8.3" while the runner is 9.8".. But if I can raise the clearance with bigger tires or lift + tires then I am good.

 

Questions -

 

1. Is it possible to lift the car and not hurt drive comfort? I read about how some lifts make it feel 'truck like'...

 

2. What is the tallest tires (don't need wide really - rather have fuel economy) I can run on stock?

 

3. Is the 4" krypton lift make the drive 'feel' much worse?

 

4. What will be my best strategy?

[Leo94]

Have you considered an xterra?

[Cabincar]

I have... Cargo space is much smaller per Edmunds.

[Rick13]

I realize you probably want a quick answer, but there are a lot of threads/topics here that can answer your lift/tire questions. Most of us could fill a page on each of your questions, but you might want to try multiple searches on key words your questions and see what you've narrowed down to for your given situation.

 

In short, about a 2" suspension lift with some 31" tires will give you decent lift - comparable to a stock 3rd gen 4Runner. I've heard the OME lift (about 1.75") is perhaps more ride friendly than the Automotive Customizers lift (2"). I put 29.5" tires on my stock Pathy within a month of buying her in 2004 and it ran well with them, not much additional clearance though.

 

Just my 2 cents.

Edited September 8, 2013 by Rick13

[patqx4]

best advise- get a 4runner. loads of cargo space and great performance out the box.

[Leo94]

best advise- get a 4runner. loads of cargo space and great performance out the box.

And better aftermarket support.

[bushnut]

nonsense! You can do lots with a stock Pathy! Good tyres and careful driving is always way more important than "lift". as far as off road performance vs ride quality I'd have to recommend the Iron Man springs with NX4 or 4x4 designs strut spacers.

 

The other solution is to spend a few hours with some cold beers "improving" your road. take out the high spots fill in the low ones. you can do plenty with a long pry bar, pick and a shovel. unfortunately it may be hot sweaty work. but way cheeper than a new truck.

[Leo94]

nonsense! You can do lots with a stock Pathy! Good tyres and careful driving is always way more important than "lift". as far as off road performance vs ride quality I'd have to recommend the Iron Man springs with NX4 or 4x4 designs strut spacers.

There's much more to aftermarket support than lifting such as: bar work, engine mods and body mods like flares to name a few. If you have the money and/or you aren't good with fabricating parts your better off getting something else rather than an r50 depending on how much you plan on modifying it. There are however a few vendors on this site that make some aftermarket components for the r50. How much money are you planning on spending in total for this offroad truck, I'm guessing you're not interested in the wd21? If you get something with better aftermarket support you can save heaps on second hand aftermarket parts also e.g If you got a truck with a dana 44, there would be heaps of ratio choices as well as locker choices that you could get for cheap.

[Rebelord]

Most of your questions have been answered already. I run 31" tires right now.

Lifts available: Old Man Emu (Firmer than stock; ~1.75" lift), Iron Man (Stock type ride; ~1.5" lift), AC Springs (Very firm ride; 2" lift). Krypton Subframe drop. Can use stock springs for stock ride, or combo with lift springs.

Aftermarket support? Limited, but the community is very supportive of homemade modifications and ideas.

 

The R50 as a whole? Nissan built these things pretty tough. 33 spline from transfer case all the way to rear tires, front hubs are 28 spline. Still very tough. 3.3L engine is tough and takes a beating. 3.5L is just as tough but has much more power.

 

There is a lot more, just check out the threads and stickies.

[Leo94]

The R50 as a whole? Nissan built these things pretty tough. 33 spline from transfer case all the way to rear tires, front hubs are 28 spline. Still very tough. 3.3L engine is tough and takes a beating. 3.5L is just as tough but has much more power.

 

There is a lot more, just check out the threads and stickies.

In trade for oil .

[AndyC]

Often the minimum clearance is measured at the lowest point. Considering the R50 has a much larger rear diff(good thing) and smaller tires, that could account for it. Dollars for donuts you get more for your money with a pathy than a runner.

[Cabincar]

Thank you for your honest advice. I guess I should just wait until a reasonably priced 4runner comes along

[bushnut]

good luck with that. Don't discount the R50, just prioritize your needs. Do you want a DD that is actually quite good off road in a stock configuration and even better with a few inexpensive mods? or do you want to build the meanest rock crawling, mud skipping, double jump flying, truck the world has ever seen? If you want loads of aftermarket do dads and "support" buy a jeep. If you want an outrageously over priced used 4x4 buy a Toyota. If you want an affordable dependable, easily serviceable, comfortable, and sometimes strangely engineered quality 4x4 by all means find a Nissan Pathfinder!

Edited September 9, 2013 by bushnut

[maikan]

damn, if a forum about Pathy love 4runners so much maybe I didn't do the right choice ? (for the second time)

 

No really you can't find better deal than a pathfinder, reliability, affordability, offroad capability, ride comfort, etc...

 

It is my second R50, 1999 and 2004 and I loved them.

 

Have 31in on the truck and about 10km to the cabin,

mud and hills summer and 24 inches of snow in winter and it is a great machine.

 

1 inches of extra grounf clearence won't change

much IMHO.

 

[Karmann]

Those years will fit 245/75r16s which correlate to a 30.5" tire. That's what I have in the Toyo Open Country ATIIs.

 

Off roading isn't solely about ground clearance, I used to think so, but so many trips at my now 9.1" of ground clearance have proved to me that it isn't. Just drive carefully with a brain and the Pathy will pull you through. They are very capable, reliable, comfortable, and a whole lot cheaper than the 4runner. Plus if you get an 01 or above you do earn the VQ which is quite a nice motor, and if I'm not mistaken has about 60hp over the Toyota's 3.4.... something to consider when you're merging on the freeway.

 

Hardware wise, yes they're at a disadvantage in terms of aftermarket support, BUT the factory components are quite solid, as previously said- 33 spline locking T-Case and rear diff with a 28 spline front axle. Factory equipped with 4.64 gears and a rear diff that's quite stout. Test drive the two and see what you like, what sold me on the Pathy was the motor and how much tighter it felt on the street vs the 4runner, FZJ80 land cruiser, Xterra, and Montero. And the price- I picked mine up for $5900 with 70k miles.

Edited September 10, 2013 by Karmann

[patqx4]

I definitely love my R50, Just saying that for the needs he described the 4runner sounds better. Both would be good choices though, I should have said look for both until you find that sweet deal.

[Leo94]

If you could upload a couple of shots of path in the forest you plan on taking it would help allot in the decision on what vehicle you plan on getting i.e What you might think is a hard trail might not be that hard at all and in that case maybe a r50 could be suitable for your needs, after all the r50 is a much better off-road machine than the outlander.

[theexbrit]

Those years will fit 245/75r16s which correlate to a 30.5" tire. That's what I have in the Toyo Open Country ATIIs.

 

Off roading isn't solely about ground clearance, I used to think so, but so many trips at my now 9.1" of ground clearance have proved to me that it isn't. Just drive carefully with a brain and the Pathy will pull you through. They are very capable, reliable, comfortable, and a whole lot cheaper than the 4runner. Plus if you get an 01 or above you do earn the VQ which is quite a nice motor, and if I'm not mistaken has about 60hp over the Toyota's 3.4.... something to consider when you're merging on the freeway.

 

Hardware wise, yes they're at a disadvantage in terms of aftermarket support, BUT the factory components are quite solid, as previously said- 33 spline locking T-Case and rear diff with a 28 spline front axle. Factory equipped with 4.64 gears and a rear diff that's quite stout. Test drive the two and see what you like, what sold me on the Pathy was the motor and how much tighter it felt on the street vs the 4runner, FZJ80 land cruiser, Xterra, and Montero. And the price- I picked mine up for $5900 with 70k miles.

 

Amen brother!!!!

[Cabincar]

I'm back...

 

After your honest advise I tried to find a 4runner. I was ready to buy this 2001 with 77k miles on it but when the mechanic put it on the lift it had such bad rust (I'm in the North-East) that he said, and I quote, "Don't even think about it".... wow.

 

This is the third 4 runner, and the one with the least miles, I have seen and they all had rust issues which caused me to give them up. I then decided to raise my budget and look at newer models but a 2005-6 4runner can run me close to 13k around here.... quite hefty.

 

So I am now again thinking about getting a pathfinder. Specifically the 2004 model. As my original post mentioned: I have two things in mind - ground clearance and cargo space. 2004 pathfinder has a quite more cargo space than the 4runner (seems odd no?) per edmunds: 85 vs 75 CU

 

Then the only thing I need to find out is the ground clearance. A stock pathy might be good enough... I will know once I take it to my land and see if my belly scratches the ground like my funny 2003 outlander does.

 

In case it does, and I need to lift, I wanted to ask - in case some new things came out that my search won't pick up on...

 

What lift can I do that will maintain the best / most comfortable ride while allow me to put much bigger tires?

 

 

PS.

Sorry for my lack of knowledge but - what does it mean that the pathy has a lot less aftermarket support? what does ti mean and why is that not good?

Edited October 10, 2013 by Cabincar

[AndyC]

I'm pretty sure they measure clearance at the lowest point, rear diff cover. In that case, the only way to change it is larger tires. Pathy may have a lower advertised clearance due to it has a larger diff than comparable toyotas, or smaller stock tires.

[bushnut]

Aftermarket support...walk into any off road shop or online store and most lift kits, fender flares, body armour, bumpers, suspension upgrades, gearing upgrades, wheels, and what not will be for Jeeps, Toyotas, and then domestic SUV's and trucks. Nissan is always way down the list for finding fun stuff to make your truck better. (I think its because they are so good from factory)

 

Good off road driving will (most of the time) make ground clearance a non issue. Remember put the wheels on the rocks. if you are worried about damaging the underside of the vehicle I would look into quality skid plates, 4x4designs makes some great light weight aluminum ones.

the outlander is a highway machine with 4 wheel independent suspention and AWD for safety.

The R50 is a true off road vehicle it has a 2spd transfer case with low range and a live rear axle. even stock it has 2in more ground clearance than your outlander.

 

With good quality light truck type all terrain tires and good driving (remember tires on the high spots ) you will be fine.

dig around the R50 portion of the site to find what upgrades are possible. and there are plenty of videos on Youtube to watch of Pathfinders in action if you need proof.

 

If you want a really cool, very good off road slightly bigger nissan....find a Nissan Patrol.

Edited October 11, 2013 by bushnut

[Karmann]

Aftermarket support...walk into any off road shop or online store and most lift kits, fender flares, body armour, bumpers, suspension upgrades, gearing upgrades, wheels, and what not will be for Jeeps, Toyotas, and then domestic SUV's and trucks. Nissan is always way down the list for finding fun stuff to make your truck better. (I think its because they are so good from factory)

 

Good off road driving will (most of the time) make ground clearance a non issue. Remember put the wheels on the rocks. if you are worried about damaging the underside of the vehicle I would look into quality skid plates, 4x4designs makes some great light weight aluminum ones.

the outlander is a highway machine with 4 wheel independent suspention and AWD for safety.

The R50 is a true off road vehicle it has a 2spd transfer case with low range and a live rear axle. even stock it has 2in more ground clearance than your outlander.

 

With good quality light truck type all terrain tires and good driving (remember tires on the high spots ) you will be fine.

dig around the R50 portion of the site to find what upgrades are possible. and there are plenty of videos on Youtube to watch of Pathfinders in action if you need proof.

 

If you want a really cool, very good off road slightly bigger nissan....find a Nissan Patrol.

^This. And for god sakes, just test drive one! See what you think.