2001 R50 Pathfinder Build-up.

[Allof75]

^Well said. :sombrero:

 

[wreckdiver1321]

A brake upgrade is always worthwhile, especially on an expo rig. If I were to continue with the Frontier, a brake upgrade would be happening very soon.

Congrats on the wheel/tire purchase! I like the Cragars, I think they will look awesome on your rig, especially with the color you have. The Grabbers are fantastic tires, you will not regret them. Their performance (I've found) is very slightly better than the BFG AT in most conditions, and noticeably better in the mud. Great size choice too! 235/85 is great for almost anything.

 

[SpongeX]

One of these days I'll meet up with all the guys coming into Moab.

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[Weekender41]

I feel brakes are the most overlooked mechanism on any rig. Most OEM brakes are only halfway decent but the rest are junk. Definitely make an upgrade.

Slotted allows for better de-gassing and cleaning of the pad to remove debris if caught in between the pad and rotor. Tends to be the better choice among the three if you're looking for bite. Cross-drilled lightens the rotor and gives you slightly better bite in wet conditions. I tend to like slotted if given a choice. Look at the rotor vane as well. There are straight vaned, which can be found on standard OE rotors, and directional vaned which can be found in aftermarket. Directional would be the best to dissipate heat as it gives you a better evacuation of heat which is the braking system's worst nightmare. The most effective choice would be to get better pads with more bite. That should help the best along with an upgrade to SS braided lines. Do watch out for cheap rotors that are cross drilled and slotted. They tend to crack between the drilled portions.

As far as the SS brake lines are concerned, they will only benefit you if added. The SS braids allow for minimal expansion of the lines when using the brakes, which in turn gives you better braking response and less of a "mushy" feel. They are more expensive, but in the long run, you'll thank them.

One of the best sites in regard to brakes: http://www.zeckhausen.com/technical.htm

uh huh.... yes I am going to save this to a word document if you don't mind, that way I can go searching looking out for this stuff. So 150 bucks for front rotors and pads would be a good price for slotted ones? I may end up just piecing together a kit... Thank you for all that information.. Truly

 

[Weekender41]

A brake upgrade is always worthwhile, especially on an expo rig. If I were to continue with the Frontier, a brake upgrade would be happening very soon.

Congrats on the wheel/tire purchase! I like the Cragars, I think they will look awesome on your rig, especially with the color you have. The Grabbers are fantastic tires, you will not regret them. Their performance (I've found) is very slightly better than the BFG AT in most conditions, and noticeably better in the mud. Great size choice too! 235/85 is great for almost anything.

I have some black steel rims on the truck.. The holes are that D shape and they have this annoying pair of blue and red stripe along the rim.. Problem is from a distance that stripe pair looks purple, so I am staying far away from those. I wont have the center cap on the front rims because of the hubs but the rear one will still be there.. Im looking at making those black as the chrome wouldn't look good. As for the tires, those are not purchased yet but I have reserved pricing at 140 bucks a tire unless I find something cheaper. It was either the 235 or the 265 size and Im trying to prevent the tires from sticking out too much so the 235 was the obvious choice.

 

[Weekender41]

One of these days I'll meet up with all the guys coming into Moab.

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One of these days I am moving to Moab to work for Beeman Drilling. That's my plan haha. It is so nice there.

 

[SpongeX]

How aggressive a tire are you looking for?

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[DetroitDarin]

Very Cool! I've always liked Pathys.

 

[Weekender41]

How aggressive a tire are you looking for?

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Honestly not really that aggressive. I have discoverer M+S right now which is not aggressive at all and I am able to go anywhere I have pointed it. The issue with these current tires are just how weak they are. The tread blocks have chipped extremely bad around the outside edge and there is slight cracking in between them. That's why I am staying with the BFG AT / General Grabber AT2 style of tread. Not too crazy but very good performance wise for my needs.

 

[Weekender41]

Very Cool! I've always liked Pathys.

Thanks for stopping by! They are stout little machines! I was constantly told about how a unibody is practically the end of the world for any type of off road scenario... That must be old thinking because I have had zero issues. The only thing I really really wish I had the beauty of experiencing would be coil overs and UCA's. The strut system is not good for this type of vehicle (or any solid rear axle SUV). It feels super comfortable on the road but I wouldn't be surprised if my front travel was a combined 3" haha. There are many times my front tires cant even travel enough to fill in for gaps in the road or large bumps. Oh well, you cant win everything I guess. The other downside is the lack of aftermarket for anything but that isn't something I hold against it as it gave me the opportunity to learn to weld.

 

[DetroitDarin]

You're talking to a guy who chose an Expedition - Lots of thoughts about them generally being regulated to shopping mall parking lots and what-not.

I too see the lack of aftermarket - completely on the fence between buying something WITH support (Fj/4R/LC/Jeep, etc), or putting that $ towards getting my Expy rubicon-ready.

Good luck, Kyle - keep us posted.

 

[SpongeX]

Check out the cooper ATPs. Mine have been very good for a good price.

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[Weekender41]

Fighting the Urge (Not my Pics)

Okay so many of us have seen the vehicles like the fzj80 from AdventureDuo and others that have a rear tire carrier with all kinds of goodies attached, we are also subject to seeing beautiful roof racks with all kinds of accessories attached to them as well. After building my rear tire carrier I have since thought about getting a Trasharoo (because everyone has one right and so they MUST be amazing), I have also looked at attaching TREDs or MAXTRAX behind the trasharoo like they do in overland expedition. I have looked at fold down tables to fit on the inside of the swing arm.. all this stuff. I don't carry around a hi-lift but now I have a cool place to mount one so maybe I should. I am finding myself looking at all the ExPo bling (whether it be used frequently or not) and always fighting off the urge to make these purchases.
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All these bumper are filled with a bunch of cool stuff.. It is hard not to walk down this road. If I had the money to buy those without hesitation, then yes I would most likely have them even though Wyoming doesn't really need them. As it stands though, I can usually feel good about purchasing one of these things per paycheck but any more then that I see my college savings moving more slowly and school is dumb expensive. What I will probably end up with is more along these lines and If MAXTRAX or a trasharoo comes, it more than likely was a gift.
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I will be making the fuel can holder a single can like this unless I can convince myself two of the tall RotoPax would be better (because then one could be fuel and one could be water, or maybe storage can, maybe 4 small ones and mix and match... you see where it goes). So I will probably end up with the metal cans from Murdochs and fit one on and if I feel like fitting 2 would be better (I have no idea why, that would be ten gallons of extra fuel) then I can go that route. I like the flatness of the rotopax for keeping the weight centered over the bumper would be a huge benefit to them over the metal ones, the other benefit being weight. Front runner makes a water storage tank that is very flat which would but up nicely against my drawers if I could find a way to secure it (what am I talking about I have a 2 Gallon Jug that cost 4 bucks that works)...
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Anyways back on the bumper, I like the simplicity of that Frontier bumper but I would be making a fuel can holder much more secure then that. The benefit of the RotoPax is again, I can weld a flat plate vertically running along my swing arm and put one of their large mounting kits on that then I would be able to lock the rotopax. Time will tell I suppose.
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As for the shovel and axe that everyone is showing off and letting them get weathered.. I have the shovel on top of my drawers with the quickfist and next to it was always 2 large quickfist, which I had plans of putting a CO2 tank in but that never happened. So I will be switching the large clamps for small ones then buying an axe at Walmart or Murdochs and attaching it the same way as I did the shovel. Now the axe has already passed the mental check. I am tired of trying to chop firewood with the little hatchet I have. I will be getting one of the axes (maybe its a maul) that has a hammer-like head on the opposite side of the blade so I can take the mini-sledge and hatchet out of the drawers. I want to find one that has some sort of blade sheath.
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Cheers

 

[Weekender41]

You're talking to a guy who chose an Expedition - Lots of thoughts about them generally being regulated to shopping mall parking lots and what-not.

I too see the lack of aftermarket - completely on the fence between buying something WITH support (Fj/4R/LC/Jeep, etc), or putting that $ towards getting my Expy rubicon-ready.

Good luck, Kyle - keep us posted.

The benefit we get is, at the end of the trail when we are at the same place the other have gotten there with their tricked out jeeps of Toyotas.. the look on their faces :elkgrin: Seriously though having a less-than common off-road capable vehicle makes it fun, and is usually starts up some good conversation.
There are those that will always be negative towards anything different and they can eat their socks. Noone should put people on blast for being different, its the journey and enjoyment of travel off-roaders share that should be making people more connected. Around here in Wyoming, if you don't have a lifted diesel, then you must have a grocery getter. But while the diesel heads are proving to everyone they don't have a proper air intake system by "rolling coal" I am out camping in places that truck could never dream of getting.

 

[Weekender41]

Check out the cooper ATPs. Mine have been very good for a good price.

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I did look at those because of the great experience I have had with cooper.. but the local shops couldn't get them in the 235 width for whatever reason. I love the look of those and the AT3's.