Break n Fix's Armada Mid Offroader Build

[Break n Fix]

This is my 2019 Nissan Armada SV 4x4. Nothing is ever done, but here is what it has right now:

Black rhino stadium wheels (18x9)
Falken wildpeak AT3 tires (295/70R18) w/ fullsize spare in factory location
Icon ext travel coil overs (81005)
Dirt king ball joint/urethane front UCA
Rear Y62 King springs (KDRS-303)
Rear Fox 2.0 Y62 shocks (985-24-253)
Dash front bumper from Nisstec
Dash steel skid plates
Home made Alum. radiator skid plate
Hella black magic 20" lightbar
No name 3" led fog lights
Stegodon 13k lb winch
ARB CKMA12 air compressor
JLT oil separator

It is sitting at 2" of lift right now and it rides fantastic. I had OME shocks before this and there is no comparison with how much better the coil overs and fox rear shock ride. They are worth every penny.

 

[Break n Fix]

Here are some pics of everything. The dash bumper is good, but far from complete out of the box. It needed headlight supports, the radar cut out with an aluminum box I made to mount it and I still need to install the sonar sensors.

 

[Wdimick]

Wow that looks awesome! I just picked up a 2017 Armada and was starting to research lift options for it. Man its slim picking. But what you put together looks great. How did everything go together for you. Did you run into any alignment issues with the rear?

 

[Break n Fix]

Wow that looks awesome! I just picked up a 2017 Armada and was starting to research lift options for it. Man its slim picking. But what you put together looks great. How did everything go together for you. Did you run into any alignment issues with the rear?

Rear is fine, I had the king +30mm springs in it at first and they were 3" of lift. It still aligned fine, but the camber was positive and couldn't be adjusted out. It felt way oversprung with those in it. It feels perfect with the standard height king springs it has now at 2" of lift. The camber is now in spec too.

 

[Wdimick]

Thanks for getting back. What did you do with the air compressor for the rear? Did you run into any issues with the front?

 

[Break n Fix]

Thanks for getting back. What did you do with the air compressor for the rear? Did you run into any issues with the front?

Air compressor and lines were all removed. It has no function with the new springs and shocks.

Front had issues when I was at 3" of lift in that CV's wouldn't last 10k miles. I dropped it to 2" now and hope that improves their life. Otherwise the front end is fine.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

 

[Wdimick]

Do you have the part number for the uca? Did you use the ones for the titan? Thanks

 

[Wdimick]

Sorry to keep asking you all these questions. With the dirtking uca did you need to notch the strut tower. I was comparing them to the spc uca but seems like those require notching.

 

[JGrobe]

Awesome setup! Where did you ordered the king spring from?

 

[Break n Fix]

Awesome setup! Where did you ordered the king spring from?

I got the springs ordered from pecaustralia on ebay.

 

[Break n Fix]

Sorry to keep asking you all these questions. With the dirtking uca did you need to notch the strut tower. I was comparing them to the spc uca but seems like those require notching.

I dont know the part #, but it is the titan front uca. I opted for the urethane bushings because with regular greasing they outlast heim joints in my experience.

I did notch the bucket just to be safe, but it cleared by a very small margin before I notched it. I think the clearance was around 1/16". I wanted more than than incase something bent offroad and I get binding.

 

[JGrobe]

I got the springs ordered from pecaustralia on ebay.

Awesome, thank you.

 

[e61]

Great build. Welcome to the club!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[WU7X]

I intend to follow your build. The Armada seems terribly underrated here in the States.

What has been your experience using this vehicle for typical "overlanding" activities. I'm not interested in rock crawling. More into BDRs, etc.

Dale

 

[Break n Fix]

I intend to follow your build. The Armada seems terribly underrated here in the States.

What has been your experience using this vehicle for typical "overlanding" activities. I'm not interested in rock crawling. More into BDRs, etc.

Dale

Mechanically it has been solid for me. Some people report brake switch issues, charging issues, and fan clutch issues, but mine has had none of those in the 55k miles on the odometer. Still on OEM battery after 4 years (and I live in Phoenix where the heat is not kind to lead acid batteries).

The downside is you have no way to lock it unless you import R230 gears from a diesel pathfinder from overseas in order to get the ring and pinion needed to fit the ARB rear locker (RD137). The front diff is the smaller one (r180) they used on the frontier, not the Titan ones (m205) the 1st gen armadas got. So if you want a strong drivetrain, this doesn't have it and it isn't worth trying to improve it IMO.

The engine and trans are great. The stock suspension sucks and is meant for driving to soccer practice, not off roading. It tows great (if you get firestone airbags) and I take an off road pop up trailer everywhere I go with it.

I actually just removed all the suspension I had on it because I got a trailer and it was all valved too soft for towing IMO. Nobody in the states has airbags for lift springs. I am running stock UCAs now with bilstein 5100's with moog springs on the bottom position and am getting 1" of lift in the front. Rear is moog springs with firestone airbags and a 1" aluminum lift spacer I found on ebay. It tows a lot better now and is still better riding than stock, but not as plush as the coil overs were. Trade-offs must be made. It is sitting at 3/4-1" of lift currently.

So if you are hitting fire roads, staying out of mud and are looking to explore I think it is a very overlooked vehicle. I'll let the people with $ pay $90k for a 3 year old land cruiser while these can be had for under $40k at only a year old.