A few Frontier Questions.

[limey]

Hi all! I'm new to the forum and have a few questions. I'm currently driving a Land Rover Discovery Series I. I put on and OME lift added some bigger BFG AT's and a few lights, but I am tired paying for premium at the pump and getting gallons to the mile, and it seems like every time I turn around I am fixing something with parts that cost a fortune. So, I am looking into getting a frontier. I am looking to put a 31/32in AT or MT. Do larger tires/modest lifts seriously affect the gas mileage on these trucks? I know some detrimental effect is inevitable, but it seems different trucks respond a little differently. Have you felt the need to regear? I was suprised how low the stock gearing is on the trucks compared to the 3.5ish of the disco. It seems as if aftermarks parts for the nissans are a little harder to come by than some of the other makes. The '04 and earlier models better fit my budget, but I am leery of torsion bars et al. Would it be worth it to spend the extra money on an '05 to get the coils? I have very little experience with IFS (other than my wife's Honda!). How have you guys found it holds up to expedition travel? I go to places like Uwharrie when I can but I mostly enjoy expedition style trips. Anyway, any insight you have would be appreciated! This is an awesome site.Thanks in advance...Mat

 

[LaOutbackTrail]

Mat,
I had a 2001 Frontier and loved it. I now drive a 2001 Xterra. Basically the same type suspension setup.

There are plenty of people using them as a expedition vehicles. I'm sure the BN Guy on here will chime in eventually.

As far as gas mileage. On my Xterra, it only affected my city driving putting 31s. Hwy it actually increased in economy.

If you plan on getting a truck, be sure to get one with lower miles. At 100k miles you will have to change the timing belt and water pump assembly, some seals, and the like. But durability is top notch other than basic maint. Nothing like the Disco from what I understand.
Accessories 4x4 Parts.com - Your #1 Resource for Nissan Aftermarket Parts! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - will be your main source.

You may want to look into getting a used Tacoma, but for the price of them, you could get an almost brand new Frontier.

I'm a Nissan fan, however, and my next vehicle will be a new body style NISMO Frontier.

 

[JoshuaTest]

Hey bro... first of all, welcome to the site...

Now lets get to answering questions here... I have a 01 Frontier Crew Cab, 4x4, V6 Supercharged... 32's, 3+" suspension lift, and plenty of extra tows...

So....

First off... What year frontier are you looking at??? They are kinda broken into two generations... 98-04 (1st gen) and 05-current (2nd gen)...

My 01 came with a 29.5' tire stock.. The 2nd gens come with the equal sized tire to a 31" to 32" tire stock... So with a newer one, that wouldn't really be considered a larger tire honestly....

Do larger tires/modest lifts seriously affect the gas mileage on these trucks?Well.... Not really... The size of the tire or lift really doesn't change you gas millage, what does change is your odo readings... The lift itself, as far as i've seen doesn't change the gas millage at all.. The only way i could see a lift changing the gas millage would be the fact that if the alignment is no longer within stock specs, you may loose some fuel economy... Now for tires... what effects your millage is the combined weight of the rim/tire... For instance... if your stock rim/tire combo when aired up properly weights 50lbs... thats 200lbs of tire to move while driving... If you go with a larger, and more aggressive tire, the weight could be higher.. So if your going to a set up that is 100lbs per tire/rim... your now moving 400lbs, instead of 200lbs... which means your vehicle works slightly harder to turn them, meaning a slightly higher RPM for the same speed, and a slight change in fuel economy... Now when going to oversized tires, the fuel economy loss can be misleading as your odo reads off... My truck used to get aprox 285 miles on a tank of gas... Now with a 32" tire vs. a 29" tire... I get 255, but because the tire diameter is larger, the truck travels more ground with one turn of the wheel... (for example, if you cut two tires, layed the tread flat on the ground, the 32" tire would travel 3" farther than the 29" tire would with the same wheel turn"... whis ends up being that I only read .9 miles per 1 mile i actually travel... So when my odo reads 255 at fill up, I actually went 283.3 miles.. So essentially the differance in weight is costing me aprox 2 miles per tank... (This info is purely my experience)

Gearing This all depends on the year of the truck, and package.. But i don't have any need to regear at this point...

Would it be worth it to spend the extra money on an '05 to get the coils? At this point in time.. There seems to be far more aftermarket support for the 98-04 trucks... But this is changing everyday, as more and more people are modifying the newer rigs... I can tell you for sure though, the torsion bar thing vs. coils is an ongoing yes/no thing... I constantly hear people with 2nd gen's on forums say they WISH they had torsion bars for the easy adjustment... However plenty with them wish they had coils... I personally am very happy with my suspension set up.. Outside of the limitations that the IFS system has... But am happy enough to not SAS it.... Also, the suspension components on the 1st gens are fairly cheap price wise... so modifying is not hard...

How IFS holds up... That is a conversation that could go on for days.... The factory stearing system on the 1st gens is week for running anything more than a 31-32" tire.... Outside of that, its great... The front ground clearance with IFS is AWESOME compared to the solid axles, but technically there is more to break.. However CV's are not that exspensive, nor are ball joints... And i can honestly say, I wheel the living piiiiiissss out of my truck, and have been VERY happy...

I do have the supercharged model, which gives a little more power, but at the cost of premium fuel... So that is something you would have to weight out yourself... The 2nd gen has more HP, is faster on road, and is roomier inside with the crew cab vs 1st gen crew cab... I have a first gen, and would say first gen all day long.. but all in all, they are both great rigs...

I can honestly say, you will LOVE the frontier....

OH YEA... almost forgot.. Since you wheel, if you go 2nd gen, get the NISMO package which comes with a factory installed locker..... If you go first gen, check the rear diff for the LSD sticker... not all 1st gens where available with a factory LSD, but unless you plan to install the ARB air locker, i strongly suggest the LSD rear end...

let us know what you decide...

 

[The BN Guy]

Wow, very nice and accurate explaination. I agree with it 100%.

My two cents...

If you upgrade tire size probably ought to stay 31 or 32 and you'll be fine. If those tires can't get you out of (or into) trouble then a good bullbar with winch can help.

I'd definitely consider a snorkle and not a CAI especially with expedition travel. Mine seemed to help throttle response.

I feel the Frontier can make a great expedition rig. Yes the aftermarket accessories aren't as widely available as the Taco but it's a growing market for sure. As a matter of fact, IMO anything done to a Taco can be done to a Fronty - SAS, sliders, snorkel, etc.

I have broken one torsion bar but I think there was a flaw in it to begin with. Yes the steering sucks for anything over 32's or if you're going to be doing some extreme trails.

Now as far as first gen or second...I'm biased...I love my 2000!

 

[limey]

Thanks for the considered and in depth replies. The Disco is up for sale and I been checking out several '04 crew cab frontiers. I have 235/85/16 on the Disco now, but I am thinking about going to 31/10.5 on the truck, although AC seems to have a nice 3" suspension kit and some 32" MT's might work nicely! Has anyone here mounted an engel in the bed of their truck? I'd be interested to know how it held up. I wish it were easier to find a manual tranny though!

 

[JoshuaTest]

04 is a good choice.... newest of the available 1st gens....

The suspension lifts are a must... You have a few choices...

4x4parts.com (AC) 3" suspension lift
calmini.com 3" suspension lift
spencerlowracing.com (SLR) 3" suspension lift
Rancho 2.5" suspension lift

and of course AC sells a 2" or 3" body lift....

Now... SLR offers two differant models of the control arms for the suspension lift... econ series, and stage series... the stage series is probably the best option of all that are made, in the fact that they are designed to give you 9" of travel, where the econ's, or the calmini's are designed to give you 7" of travel... I've been told that the AC control arms are only designed for a 2.5" lift, which is the same as the rancho's...

Now because they use torsion bars, even the 2.5" lifts can be lifted to 3", but the point is to have nissan specs alignments at that level of lift...

SLR also sells a 3/4" diff drop kit for $150.00 that corrects some of the CV angles that you get with the suspension lifts....

AC also sells super low profile UCA bump stops for about $10.00 to increase travel....

Tires.... In my opinion, a 32x10.50 pr 32x11.50 is the ideal sized tire for a 1st gen frontier with a suspension lift. you can go a little bigger, but the 32's will give you a larger tire, but will still stuff well when needed.

....

Since your new to the torsion bar front suspension... I'll give you some insight... There is what is called a PML (poor mans lift) for them... which just involves cranking the torsion bars, so if you cain't get the UCA's or complete suspension lift right away, this will gain you some lift with stock parts.... All that is really needed to lift the front end is the control arms themselves, as stock torsion bars will support just fine... So buying a complete suspension lift kit is not really needed... Shackles are cheap for the rear end, and work best in my opinion for small lifts... or AAL's for larger lifts...

Now go buy something.. lol


good luck

 

[articulate]

Has anyone here mounted an engel in the bed of their truck? I'd be interested to know how it held up.

Soon and very soon, I'll have an article up about mounting an Engel in the bed of a truck. A Frontier nonetheless:

 

[dennisuello]

I never owned previous gen Frontiers, but I have an 06. I would say that having a larger/wider cab of a mid size truck adds a lot to the comfort vs. any compact truck. Spacer lift is easy on the D40s. That's what I run.