2003 Pathfinder (R50) - weekend getaway build
- Thread starter pathguy
- Start date
pathguy
New member
Cost of just the springs? As I recall, with shipping and everything it came to around $300 CAD to my door.
Lecoq - I'm actually in Vancouver, just bought the truck in Victoria. More trails over here! The Island is cool though, definitely worth a visit.
Trying to keep the posts shorter and get to the good stuff...
Starting after work on a Friday night (man that was a long week of waiting), I figured I’d do the rear springs first since they’re relatively easier than the front suspension. I had borrowed a set of spring compressors from my local auto parts store (Canadian Tire), and having removed the lower shock mount nuts, I found it was easiest to raise and lower the entire axle with floor jack under the diff while the body rested on jackstands. With the spring compressors doing their job, I was able to pull the springs out by simply pushing down on the axle without removing the Panhard bar or over-extending the brake lines.
With the old springs out, it was really easy to see the quality and additional strength of the Ironmans. Not only do they have an extra coil or so (coil-and-a-half to my eye), but the gauge of the steel used for the spring is larger. They were way stiffer than the old worn out stockers when pushing down on them on the garage floor – I could push the old ones down an inch or two, whereas I could barely compress the Ironmans. This naturally made installing the new Ironman springs a bit trickier than removing the old ones as they took a lot more effort with the spring compressor, but they went in fairly easily. (Yes, I likely should have replaced my old bumpstops, but it’s not likely I’m going to bottom out with the Ironmans, and the base of them was still pretty decent.)
Once the back down on its wheels, it was really apparent the new springs would definitely change the stance and load carrying capability of the car. The rear end barely sagged as the jack was lowered completely, and it was a good 2-3” higher than the front! Backing it out into the driveway for the night, it had a bit of a funnycar look to it, but knew that the fix would come the next day...
Lecoq - I'm actually in Vancouver, just bought the truck in Victoria. More trails over here! The Island is cool though, definitely worth a visit.
Trying to keep the posts shorter and get to the good stuff...
Starting after work on a Friday night (man that was a long week of waiting), I figured I’d do the rear springs first since they’re relatively easier than the front suspension. I had borrowed a set of spring compressors from my local auto parts store (Canadian Tire), and having removed the lower shock mount nuts, I found it was easiest to raise and lower the entire axle with floor jack under the diff while the body rested on jackstands. With the spring compressors doing their job, I was able to pull the springs out by simply pushing down on the axle without removing the Panhard bar or over-extending the brake lines.
With the old springs out, it was really easy to see the quality and additional strength of the Ironmans. Not only do they have an extra coil or so (coil-and-a-half to my eye), but the gauge of the steel used for the spring is larger. They were way stiffer than the old worn out stockers when pushing down on them on the garage floor – I could push the old ones down an inch or two, whereas I could barely compress the Ironmans. This naturally made installing the new Ironman springs a bit trickier than removing the old ones as they took a lot more effort with the spring compressor, but they went in fairly easily. (Yes, I likely should have replaced my old bumpstops, but it’s not likely I’m going to bottom out with the Ironmans, and the base of them was still pretty decent.)
Once the back down on its wheels, it was really apparent the new springs would definitely change the stance and load carrying capability of the car. The rear end barely sagged as the jack was lowered completely, and it was a good 2-3” higher than the front! Backing it out into the driveway for the night, it had a bit of a funnycar look to it, but knew that the fix would come the next day...
stioc
Expedition Leader
pathguy
New member
Got a few bikes (bikes are even worse addiction-wise than off-road accessories, but it looks like you might know that already!), but the one you're looking at there is a Moto Guzzi 850 T3...old Italian funk machine. Fun to swing a leg over something 100% mechanical (well, mostly) every once in a while.
Although the rears had gone fairly smoothly, I figured tackling the fronts was going to make for a long day. In the end, it didn’t turn out to be too bad of a job, taking until mid-afternoon or so (with plenty of refreshment breaks along the way).
Removing the struts was fairly straightforward. The biggest pain was the swaybar end-links as its difficult to remove them without them spinning around, but eventually got them. The other trick was to get the strut assembly out while not undoing the entire lower suspension. Again, with enough persuasion, I found it was possible to drop the strut clear of the control arm without taking everything apart. Since I was going to re-use the strut “top hat” and bearings (mine were in good shape), I disassembled the old strut. The struts were in much better shape than the rear shocks had been, and still had a good amount of damping force. That said, for the extra $120/pair or whatever the new GR2s cost me, I was glad I was replacing them while I was at it. Don't want to to this job again if I can avoid it (not to mention incur the alignment cost again...which almost pays for the new struts).
As you can see, the front springs are slightly less aggressive than the rears, but still much more stout than the OEM items. They have one full coil more, and also are a noticeably thicker gauge. Still, the overall height isn’t that much greater, so I was hopeful they’d be fairly easy to assemble using the spring compressors. It did take a bit of work, but I was able to get the top mounts on without too much hassle (after having popped out the old hardware with a hammer and replacing them with the new bolts provided in the NX4 kit).
Getting the whole assembly back into the strut tower proved to be a bit of a pain in the ***. With the new NX4 spacers sitting on top (though not cinched down obviously), much of the free space between the lower control arm and the strut tower was taken up. I tried a few different approaches – from the front, from the back, etc. – and eventually got them into place from the front. Once in, I confirmed the strut orientation with the alignment marks – take “before” pictures to remind yourself how they’re oriented. Tightening the new longer bolts also proved a bit of a challenge as it was difficult to get a wrench on the end of them to prevent them from spinning when tightening the nut, but it's possible with a short, thin wrench. Once in place, you’re pretty much done... it’s just a matter doing everything over again other side! Sometimes I hate working on cars.
Before too long though, it was all together. Backing it out on the driveway, I was pretty excited. It barely seemed like the same truck. Not that it was THAT much higher, just that it seemed…more stout. However, a quick spin around the block revealed some serious clonking noises when extending over bumps. Damn – was this the dreaded topping out? Bringing it back into the driveway for a closer look, I double-checked all the fasteners, only to realize I had forgotten to fully tighten the top nuts on both strut shafts! Wow. My bad. I figured I’d to them when they were in place mounted on the truck and well…just forgot. Lesson learned – always double-check your fasteners. A few spins of the wrench later, and a quick drive over the same bumps revealed all was well. No topping out!
Lift pics and impressions next.
Although the rears had gone fairly smoothly, I figured tackling the fronts was going to make for a long day. In the end, it didn’t turn out to be too bad of a job, taking until mid-afternoon or so (with plenty of refreshment breaks along the way).
Removing the struts was fairly straightforward. The biggest pain was the swaybar end-links as its difficult to remove them without them spinning around, but eventually got them. The other trick was to get the strut assembly out while not undoing the entire lower suspension. Again, with enough persuasion, I found it was possible to drop the strut clear of the control arm without taking everything apart. Since I was going to re-use the strut “top hat” and bearings (mine were in good shape), I disassembled the old strut. The struts were in much better shape than the rear shocks had been, and still had a good amount of damping force. That said, for the extra $120/pair or whatever the new GR2s cost me, I was glad I was replacing them while I was at it. Don't want to to this job again if I can avoid it (not to mention incur the alignment cost again...which almost pays for the new struts).
As you can see, the front springs are slightly less aggressive than the rears, but still much more stout than the OEM items. They have one full coil more, and also are a noticeably thicker gauge. Still, the overall height isn’t that much greater, so I was hopeful they’d be fairly easy to assemble using the spring compressors. It did take a bit of work, but I was able to get the top mounts on without too much hassle (after having popped out the old hardware with a hammer and replacing them with the new bolts provided in the NX4 kit).
Getting the whole assembly back into the strut tower proved to be a bit of a pain in the ***. With the new NX4 spacers sitting on top (though not cinched down obviously), much of the free space between the lower control arm and the strut tower was taken up. I tried a few different approaches – from the front, from the back, etc. – and eventually got them into place from the front. Once in, I confirmed the strut orientation with the alignment marks – take “before” pictures to remind yourself how they’re oriented. Tightening the new longer bolts also proved a bit of a challenge as it was difficult to get a wrench on the end of them to prevent them from spinning when tightening the nut, but it's possible with a short, thin wrench. Once in place, you’re pretty much done... it’s just a matter doing everything over again other side! Sometimes I hate working on cars.
Before too long though, it was all together. Backing it out on the driveway, I was pretty excited. It barely seemed like the same truck. Not that it was THAT much higher, just that it seemed…more stout. However, a quick spin around the block revealed some serious clonking noises when extending over bumps. Damn – was this the dreaded topping out? Bringing it back into the driveway for a closer look, I double-checked all the fasteners, only to realize I had forgotten to fully tighten the top nuts on both strut shafts! Wow. My bad. I figured I’d to them when they were in place mounted on the truck and well…just forgot. Lesson learned – always double-check your fasteners. A few spins of the wrench later, and a quick drive over the same bumps revealed all was well. No topping out!
Lift pics and impressions next.
stioc
Expedition Leader
quaintbucket
Observer
Looking sharp! How much more off a lift did you end up achieving? I'm looking to lift mine but dismissed the OME for the same reason as you but felt the frrab lift would be too much work (don't have a garage space for the work). If this proves to be worthwhile then I'm going to be struggling between the ironman and the AC.
Looking forward to the pictures!
Looking forward to the pictures!
pathguy
New member
Sorry for dropping off with a "to be continued" post. Always hated when they did that on weekly TV shows! Just seems like typing out these posts takes longer than anticipated.
Anyways, here are the results.
First, a “before” shot.
Now, after. In hindsight, I wish I had rattle-canned the rear springs/shocks and front springs black. I’m really after the “OEM plus” look.
Front suspension angles still fine (didn't quite get low enough to get a shot of the axles - doh). Ignore the crazy positive camber too – it hadn’t been aligned yet.
Height wise, I gained ~1.75” in the front and ~2.5” in the back. I like this slight rake as it levels out perfectly when I put a bunch of gear or a bunch of buddies in the back. I can also put my dirtbike on the back (using a hitch mount) without problem (~400 lbs total) – it drops it back to about stock height or slightly higher, whereas it used to ride around on the bump stops.
Keep in mind though, without the NX4 spacers, this would have been more like 0.75” in the front, which in my opinion would be too much rake unless you’re regularly carrying LARGE loads in the back. To my eyes, the NX4 spacers are the perfect compliment to the Ironman springs.
Subjectively, the biggest surprise was the improvement (or regression, depending on your perspective) in ride quality. In short, it’s quite soft. Not quite 80’s Buick soft, but softer than stock. I suspect this will be a love/hate thing depending on your personal opinion. I know lots of people like the firmer ride of the OME and AC lifts. These Ironman’s are not firm by any means.
At first, I was somewhat disappointed with that. I’ve always thought of myself as a sportier driver, and didn’t like the idea of soft suspension.
Having now driven on them for the better part of a year, I’ve come around. The softness of the springs really allows the suspension to “breathe” with the road, soaking up bumps with hardly any notice, and not affecting the other corners of the car. It makes it seem like each wheel is doing it’s job independently, keeping all wheels on the ground (no small feat with a solid rear axle). The springs seem to be more progressive, filtering out the small, sharp impacts while still withstanding the bigger hits in stride. I can drive down logging roads now at an easy 50-60 mph without getting too out of shape, whereas I used to back off at 40 or so. I have yet to bottom out either, whereas it used to be a daily occurrence.
The springs seem to be a good match for the KYB dampers as well. The ride is well-controlled, and it actually handles fairly well considering it’s a lifted 4500 lb truck with 60+ lbs of wheel/tire per corner. In that sense, it reminds me of my dual-sport bikes – the soft-ish long-travel suspension means they’ll never be the fastest things around the track, but they perform surprisingly well on twisty backroads.
I don’t have many good off-roading shots, but the moderate increase in ground clearance has made a remarkable difference. Like I said earlier, I’m certainly not a rock crawler, but the lift has meant I can go much more places without worrying about scraping the nose, underside, or (especially) the tail. I used to drag the trailer hitch everywhere, but now it’s not an issue (keeping in mind these are fairly mellow trails). Articulation seems decent, though I still have both sway bars on (on-road handling is more important to me).
Finally, I should also mention I took the truck to a specialty frame/alignment shop following the install. I didn’t get the data from them on how far out they were (as you can see above, they were pretty far out!), but talking to the guy, it sounds like it was a bit of work to get them into spec. Still the total bill was just a couple hours labor, so I don’t think any major modifications were required. From what I understand, once you go over about 1” lift on the front of these trucks, you’re going to need to do something, be it camber bolts or what have you.
All in all, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. The savings on the springs mean that even with the NX4 spacers, I still come out at about the same cost as the OME or AC spring sets. Yes, I can see why other people will still go with OME (mild lift means they’re still compatible with the rest of the truck, no topping out, good handling) or AC (biggest non-subframe-drop lift, firm ride), but the Ironman/NX4 combo was the right choice for me.
Feel free to ask if you have any questions. I haven't ridden in an OME or AC equipped Pathfinder, but hopefully the description of the Ironmans helps people make their decisions (one way or another).
Anyways, here are the results.
First, a “before” shot.
Now, after. In hindsight, I wish I had rattle-canned the rear springs/shocks and front springs black. I’m really after the “OEM plus” look.
Front suspension angles still fine (didn't quite get low enough to get a shot of the axles - doh). Ignore the crazy positive camber too – it hadn’t been aligned yet.
Height wise, I gained ~1.75” in the front and ~2.5” in the back. I like this slight rake as it levels out perfectly when I put a bunch of gear or a bunch of buddies in the back. I can also put my dirtbike on the back (using a hitch mount) without problem (~400 lbs total) – it drops it back to about stock height or slightly higher, whereas it used to ride around on the bump stops.
Keep in mind though, without the NX4 spacers, this would have been more like 0.75” in the front, which in my opinion would be too much rake unless you’re regularly carrying LARGE loads in the back. To my eyes, the NX4 spacers are the perfect compliment to the Ironman springs.
Subjectively, the biggest surprise was the improvement (or regression, depending on your perspective) in ride quality. In short, it’s quite soft. Not quite 80’s Buick soft, but softer than stock. I suspect this will be a love/hate thing depending on your personal opinion. I know lots of people like the firmer ride of the OME and AC lifts. These Ironman’s are not firm by any means.
At first, I was somewhat disappointed with that. I’ve always thought of myself as a sportier driver, and didn’t like the idea of soft suspension.
Having now driven on them for the better part of a year, I’ve come around. The softness of the springs really allows the suspension to “breathe” with the road, soaking up bumps with hardly any notice, and not affecting the other corners of the car. It makes it seem like each wheel is doing it’s job independently, keeping all wheels on the ground (no small feat with a solid rear axle). The springs seem to be more progressive, filtering out the small, sharp impacts while still withstanding the bigger hits in stride. I can drive down logging roads now at an easy 50-60 mph without getting too out of shape, whereas I used to back off at 40 or so. I have yet to bottom out either, whereas it used to be a daily occurrence.
The springs seem to be a good match for the KYB dampers as well. The ride is well-controlled, and it actually handles fairly well considering it’s a lifted 4500 lb truck with 60+ lbs of wheel/tire per corner. In that sense, it reminds me of my dual-sport bikes – the soft-ish long-travel suspension means they’ll never be the fastest things around the track, but they perform surprisingly well on twisty backroads.
I don’t have many good off-roading shots, but the moderate increase in ground clearance has made a remarkable difference. Like I said earlier, I’m certainly not a rock crawler, but the lift has meant I can go much more places without worrying about scraping the nose, underside, or (especially) the tail. I used to drag the trailer hitch everywhere, but now it’s not an issue (keeping in mind these are fairly mellow trails). Articulation seems decent, though I still have both sway bars on (on-road handling is more important to me).
Finally, I should also mention I took the truck to a specialty frame/alignment shop following the install. I didn’t get the data from them on how far out they were (as you can see above, they were pretty far out!), but talking to the guy, it sounds like it was a bit of work to get them into spec. Still the total bill was just a couple hours labor, so I don’t think any major modifications were required. From what I understand, once you go over about 1” lift on the front of these trucks, you’re going to need to do something, be it camber bolts or what have you.
All in all, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. The savings on the springs mean that even with the NX4 spacers, I still come out at about the same cost as the OME or AC spring sets. Yes, I can see why other people will still go with OME (mild lift means they’re still compatible with the rest of the truck, no topping out, good handling) or AC (biggest non-subframe-drop lift, firm ride), but the Ironman/NX4 combo was the right choice for me.
Feel free to ask if you have any questions. I haven't ridden in an OME or AC equipped Pathfinder, but hopefully the description of the Ironmans helps people make their decisions (one way or another).
stioc
Expedition Leader
That turned out real nice and the best part was reading how satisfied you are with your mods- that really should be the end goal of our builds i.e. making it work for *you*.
I must say though that I liked the ride quality of the OME springs much better than the AC springs and I may go back to the OME HDs if the ride doesn't improve which I suspect it won't by much.
So what's the next week's episode?
I must say though that I liked the ride quality of the OME springs much better than the AC springs and I may go back to the OME HDs if the ride doesn't improve which I suspect it won't by much.
So what's the next week's episode?
