"Twankies" and tow package

[*Night_Ryda*]

Hello everybody, I just joined your forum yesterday as of buying myself a wrecked 1990 pathy from a salvage auction. I've got a couple questions and I was wondering if any of you could help me out here. 1. I’ve been checking bolt patters for my truck to see what sort of rims I could fit on my ride and I realized that lots of GM's have the same 6x139.7 bolt pattern. I just wanted to know if any of you have tried fitting a pair of GM rims onto your pathfinders and weather or not this is a possibility. (I really want to slap on a set of 20"s that come with the newer Silverado SS. BTW yes I'm aware this is an off roading forum and yes I indeed plan to lift my truck and throw on some 31x10.5's and take her path finding on a regular basis, the 20" will just be for Sunday night cruzen. 2. I picked up a class 3 tow hitch for my rig to tow around a small trailer, I think I read someplace that the towing capacity of my truck is 3300lbs correct me if I'm wrong here. Anyway I was wondering what if I wanted to tow my buddy’s boat around? (Its about 4500lbs with the trailer) what could be some of the ramifications if I were to tow that baby up to the lake? I hear guys say all the time that the rating on your tow capacity is only what your manufacturer "Suggests" your truck can always tow more. Is this true? And would my pathy be capable of towing such a load?

 

Thank you for reading my unbearably long post. :type:

 

Kyle

[hardwaretoad]

While Chevys use the same 6 on 5.5 bolt pattern as us, there's a problem with the center hub diameter on the front with many manufacturer's wheels. Most will have to be enlarged to fit over your center hubs. Easier to buy some for a Nissan ~ it'd be tough to get them reamed right to where they would balance correctly, etc. Toyota and Isuzu also use the 6 on 5.5... :secret:

 

Sorry I can't answer your towing question, never towed anything with mine at all ~ no hitch. Somebody had a post here awhile back regarding moving & towing a U-Haul with theirs, if I remember right it performed well with quite a load behind it, and a lot further than "up to the lake". You might try a search re: towing. Most manufacturers suggestions suck IMHO, especially MSRP's... :contract:

 

 

 

 

 

BTW, I love to read... -study- Welcome to the forums...

and kudos for getting me to 600... -bounce-

Edited March 24, 2005 by hardwaretoad

[*Night_Ryda*]

LOL, congratulations on your post count, and thank you for the warm welcome. You’re defiantly right, buying rims that would already fit my finder would be the simpler choice, but the thing is I wasn’t planning on paying for them. Here's the deal my buddy is ditching his stock 20"s for some 22"s and since our bolt pattern's are the same he promised them to me after he makes the switch. So I'm not going to argue with the prospect of free rims. I know what you’re talking about saying that I would have to enlarge them to get them to fit over my hubs. A few years back this same buddy and I attempted to mill out a set of protégé rims he purchased for his 95 SC2. What a nightmare that was, since all we had available to do the milling was a cordless drill. -thnkboutit- We eventually gave up and returned the rims and got his money back, thankfully that guy never even noticed what we had done. Lol Anyway do you have any suggestions on a better way to mill out the rims to get them to fit?

[Mr. Pickles]

LOL, congratulations on your post count, and thank you for the warm welcome. You’re defiantly right, buying rims that would already fit my finder would be the simpler choice, but the thing is I wasn’t planning on paying for them. Here's the deal my buddy is ditching his stock 20"s for some 22"s and since our bolt pattern's are the same he promised them to me after he makes the switch. So I'm not going to argue with the prospect of free rims. I know what you’re talking about saying that I would have to enlarge them to get them to fit over my hubs. A few years back this same buddy and I attempted to mill out a set of protégé rims he purchased for his 95 SC2. What a nightmare that was, since all we had available to do the milling was a cordless drill. -thnkboutit- We eventually gave up and returned the rims and got his money back, thankfully that guy never even noticed what we had done. Lol Anyway do you have any suggestions on a better way to mill out the rims to get them to fit?

Maybe a ______ company (no idea what kind of co. has the equipment) would be willing to do so. Somebody fill in the blanks! Somebody with a big enough lathe or similar machine tool that could ensure a straight and true bore. If they're free to you, and you could slip somebody $100 or something for the work, you'd still come out ahead. At this point its time to talk to your friends, your local 4wd shop, ricer shop, etc. and start brainstorming, cause you obviously can't walk to the corner garage on this one.

[nick1716]

well it depends if you have a stick or automatic.. i know in my 96 stick its rated up to 3,500 pounds and the automatics are 4,000 pounds... i know my buddys towed a 4,500 pound boat with his 95 se automatic he said it sucked on the hills and over the pass but it did it

[Mr. Pickles]

Oh yeah, on the towing issue, I don't know about long term abuse issues as I rarely tow with the Pathy, but I towed a round trip of approx. 500 miles with a 16' boat with a 120hp outboard (not sure of the weight- its my brother's redneck special -alcohol- ) loaded with 3 coolers of food and drinks on ice along with excessive camping gear for 4 for a 3 day weekend, more crap in the Pathy along with said 4 people. The old girl tracked fine and pulled no problemo over 2 passes (Snoqualmie and Ryegrass in WA). Not only did we get along fine, but over the course of the trip I only lost about 2mpg! I think if you push it occassionally but within reason, you'll be ok. But mainly it would depend on load, terrain travelled, frequency, speed, etc. Common sense stuff really. If you keep things within reason, probably your main area for concern would be braking.

 

Sorry for the postjack, but you say you have a salvage truck. You don't have a post in the newbie section, so I'll ask here. Do you have any pics of the wreckage and or thoughts of what needs to be replaced? Somebody somewhere always seems to have parts laying around for cheap, and the rest of us like some carnage shots. If so, post in a new thread please!

Edited March 24, 2005 by Mr. Pickles

[*Night_Ryda*]

Hey, thanks to everybody for your comments on towing capacity. I was kind of worried that my pathy wasn’t going to be able to tow worth a darn since its only got a 3.0 liter but hearing your story Mr. Pickles ahs inspired some confidence in me as I recall my friend with a 94 V8 JGC telling me a story with very similar circumstance only in his story, his jeep was struggling terribly and sucking back the gas as if it were a freight liner. Now as for your questions about my truck, nope, I don't have any pictures just yet, but you can look forward to seeing some within the next few days.

[TrailChaser]

I had to tow a 16' flatbed trailer from Houston to Memphis empty, then loaded down to the max with all my families stuff from Memphis, TN to Houston, TX... The whole trip was 1,100 miles of rolling hills. We had beds, frig, washer, drier, dressers, comp desk, and everything else... I wanted to roll it up on one of those big rig scales in the truckstop, but the wife wouldn't let me. They only cost $7.00 for the weight ticket, and you get front wheels, back wheels, trailer, and gross wieght... We did have a little bit of problems with the trailer trying to push us down the hills making us look like drunk drivers.

 

I had a helluva drop in MPG, but I ran 60-65 without O/D in an automatic. 3.5-4 grand on the tac.

 

That's one thing you'll want to remember is NO O/D while towing anything bigger than like a dirtbike, or single jetski. I'd also like to recommend installing a trans cooler... If you plan on towing alot you'll be glad you bought one.

 

Welcome to the board...

[TrailChaser]

LOL, congratulations on your post count, and thank you for the warm welcome. You’re defiantly right, buying rims that would already fit my finder would be the simpler choice, but the thing is I wasn’t planning on paying for them. Here's the deal my buddy is ditching his stock 20"s for some 22"s and since our bolt pattern's are the same he promised them to me after he makes the switch. So I'm not going to argue with the prospect of free rims. I know what you’re talking about saying that I would have to enlarge them to get them to fit over my hubs. A few years back this same buddy and I attempted to mill out a set of protégé rims he purchased for his 95 SC2. What a nightmare that was, since all we had available to do the milling was a cordless drill. -thnkboutit-  We eventually gave up and returned the rims and got his money back, thankfully that guy never even noticed what we had done. Lol Anyway do you have any suggestions on a better way to mill out the rims to get them to fit?

Maybe a ______ company (no idea what kind of co. has the equipment) would be willing to do so. Somebody fill in the blanks! Somebody with a big enough lathe or similar machine tool that could ensure a straight and true bore. If they're free to you, and you could slip somebody $100 or something for the work, you'd still come out ahead. At this point its time to talk to your friends, your local 4wd shop, ricer shop, etc. and start brainstorming, cause you obviously can't walk to the corner garage on this one.

You'll be looking for a Machine Shop for that kind of work. Shop around... This kind of work can have a big price difference... If you want a good deal go in wearing work clothes, sounds dumb but these kinda people make more money off "preps" ...Kinda the same reason you don't send your wife to a mechanic shop with no idea what's wrong with her car. -thnkboutit-

[Precise1]

It's quite simple to enlarge the center hole in a rim... It can be done on a lathe (but a fairly large one) or the way I would do it is on a verticle mill. Clamp it to the table, indicate in the through bore, put in a boring head, and open it up... Anyone with a verticle mill could do it with ease.... Ask around and bring beer !!

 

Bernard

[Slick]

Hello everybody, I just joined your forum yesterday as of buying myself a wrecked 1990 pathy from a salvage auction. I've got a couple questions and I was wondering if any of you could help me out here. 1. I’ve been checking bolt patters for my truck to see what sort of rims I could fit on my ride and I realized that lots of GM's have the same 6x139.7 bolt pattern. I just wanted to know if any of you have tried fitting a pair of GM rims onto your pathfinders and weather or not this is a possibility. (I really want to slap on a set of 20"s that come with the newer Silverado SS. BTW yes I'm aware this is an off roading forum and yes I indeed plan to lift my truck and throw on some 31x10.5's and take her path finding on a regular basis, the 20" will just be for Sunday night

20's are..um....no.

I have a set of 15x8 Chevy 6 lug rims on my Pathy, with 31/10.5/15's..and a set of 245/70/15's...work great.

[Mr. Pickles]

On the towing note, does anybody else have mileage experiences while towing? I have a 5speed and was quite suprised at the mpg, as it only lost a minimal amount. Around town she drinks a bit, but on the highway she doesn't seem to care much what the load is. I also drove the same trip with the roof rack loaded with tall Rubbermaid storage containers full of camping gear, plus tents, etc. at 75mph and didn't notice much of a drop at all because of the drag. Maybe its a 5speed thang.

[*Night_Ryda*]

20's are..um....no.

I have a set of 15x8 Chevy 6 lug rims on my Pathy, with 31/10.5/15's..and a set of 245/70/15's...work great.

 

So you didn't have to modify the rims in any way to get them to fit?

BTW what’s wrong with slapping on some 20's to go Sunday night cruzen?

It may not be your cup of tea but I love to head out on Sunday nights and cruze the strip rollin on 20+ inches of glistening chrome. There's no doubt about it, flashy rims get's the girls’ attention every time. Although your probably not all the interested in picking chicks up since you are one. Don't get me wrong here I love getting out on those trails and mudding it up too! As for myself I like the off roading look better, but unfortunately it’s not so fly with the ladies.

[wheelmanLS1]

Hello everybody,    I just joined your forum yesterday as of buying myself a wrecked 1990 pathy from a salvage auction. I've got a couple questions and I was wondering if any of you could help me out here. 1. I’ve been checking bolt patters for my truck to see what sort of rims I could fit on my ride and I realized that lots of GM's have the same 6x139.7 bolt pattern. I just wanted to know if any of you have tried fitting a pair of GM rims onto your pathfinders and weather or not this is a possibility. (I really want to slap on a set of 20"s that come with the newer Silverado SS. BTW yes I'm aware this is an off roading forum and yes I indeed plan to lift my truck and throw on some 31x10.5's and take her path finding on a regular basis, the 20" will just be for Sunday night

20's are..um....no.

I have a set of 15x8 Chevy 6 lug rims on my Pathy, with 31/10.5/15's..and a set of 245/70/15's...work great.

You know what gets me? People who brag that their truck is 4x4, yet insist that the 20" rims are stylish and do not hinder off-road capability whatsoever.

[statikuz]

So you're gonna swap out your regular wheels and put on 20s every time you want to go "cruzen"? =D Sounds like too much work for me... but hey, what you could do, is have 20" rims on 44" tires and then you'd have the "offroading look", but the flashy rims and bling bling to pick up the fly ladies.

[Harbinger]

but hey, what you could do, is have 20" rims on 44" tires and then you'd have the "offroading look",

hehe, Has anyone put something like that on a pathy? I can't imagine my Pathy with much more than 33's, let alone having the 3.0l push 44's :-)

 

Then again, I haven't even done the JGC lift yet ;-)

[*Night_Ryda*]

You know what gets me? People who brag that their truck is 4x4, yet insist that the 20" rims are stylish and do not hinder off-road capability whatsoever.

I don't know about you, but luckily I've never met anybody dumb enough to hold the opinion you stated above. Who would even want to take their 20's off road and get them scratched up and dented to hell? Let alone believe that they would not hinder off road capability whatsoever? You seem to have quoted me without even reading my post. If you read it you would have realized that I will be lifting my truck and getting 31X10.5's for off roading and have no intentions of using the 20's for anything other then Sunday night cruzin.

 

BTW :cool2: videos! Do you plan on making any more? I also liked your choice in music for the videos. Would you mind telling me who they are? I didn’t recognize them.

[statikuz]

Man if I hear 'Sunday night cruzen' one more time I'm gonna have to Sunday night cruze you. So are you gonna have 20" rims and lowpro tires? That might look funny on a lifted truck... just a thought?

[*Night_Ryda*]

The rims that my buddy is handing down to me are stock off of his Silverado. I'm unsure of the size of the tire but their not so low pro I figure I might actually need a bit of a lift to fit them anyway.

[statikuz]

Ah I didn't know you were getting the tires too, not just the wheels.

[*Night_Ryda*]

Oh no, If I weren’t getting the tires as well, I wouldn’t have even asked for the rims. 20" tires are too expensive for me to even bother with for as little as I plan to use these.

[oilman]

why yall pickin on this guy and his dubs?

i think its a great idea, off road tires, and on road tires.

I have two sets of tires and rims on my pathy, 33s for off road, and 31's for daily drivin.

 

as for the rims fitting, nissans have some of the smallest center hubs out there, so chevy 6 lugs should fit fine if the are for a 4x4 vehicle. toyota rims would work too.

the center hole size becomes a problem when you try to put Nissan rims on a toy or chevy, cause the Nissan hole is too small.

 

as for towing, I think you would be ok.

if its an auto, add a tranny cooler, and add lucas tranny oil stabilizer (really controls heat). if its a stick, be reall careful of your clutch especially on a boat ramp, dont slip it. in fact use 4lo when pulling up the ramp, makes it so much easier, and your truck will thank you. of course get out of 4lo before you go anywhere.

also if you do any towing in hlly areas, I would look into some trailer brakes, and a controller.

 

oh and to who ever: I have seen a pathy on 44s

[jj big shoe]

Don't get me wrong here I love getting out on those trails and mudding it up too! As for myself I like the off roading look better, but unfortunately it’s not so fly with the ladies.

 

Night Ryda,

Here's an idea. With a 3" body lift and a 3" suspension lift, you can fit 33" tires on your ride. BF Goodrich makes their Mud Terrains in 285/70R17, which is the metric equivalent of a 33" tire.

I bet the ladies will holla just as loud for a rugged set of tires on really agressive 17" chrome rims like the ones Pro Comp makes as they would for a truck with dubs and street tires. Plus you won't look like every other SUV rollin' the strip. Maybe get your friends rims and tires then sell 'em to raise the money while he's not looking.

[oilman]

cxhrome rims off road just yells out "I am a NOOB"

besides black steelies would look better on the street than rock rashed chomes

[sarguy]

Here's an idea. With a 3" body lift and a 3" suspension lift, you can fit 33" tires on your ride. BF Goodrich makes their Mud Terrains in 285/70R17, which is the metric equivalent of a 33" tire.

I bet the ladies will holla just as loud for a rugged set of tires on really agressive 17" chrome rims like the ones Pro Comp makes as they would for a truck with dubs and street tires.

 

I thought of doing the same kind of thing when I first got my pathy. I actually found a set of 18" Enkie rims and a set of Perrelli Scorpion Zero tires that would work well for about $1500. Then I thought F' it I'll do a killer stereo instead. It would have been a sweet look though.