E.J.'s Dirty Nismo 2005 Frontier CC Build Thread/Journal

[Dmski]

How are you liking these tires EJ? I'm considering them as my next set (who knows how far out that will be).

 

[E.J.]

So far so good, wearing pretty even and staying balanced after 10k miles. They are not exactly quiet going down the road but aren't getting any louder yet.

 

[E.J.]

The truck is about to hit 160k so I've decided to refresh the front end. Have done wheel bearings, lower ball joints, and tie rod ends so far. This weekend I'm going to install PRG delrin LCA spacers and these UCA's...


Somebody was asking about them on Club Frontier but no one has tried them yet, I liked the design so I'm giving them a shot. $360 for the pair, made in Taiwan. I saw plenty of positive feedback on them from the Toyota crowd but it looks like they are just now getting around to us. I'm on OME HD coils + 1/2" spacer, might try and go with 1 1/2" down the road but honestly I'm good with the height I have now for all practical purposes.

 

[E.J.]

Scratch that, these arms are problematic. They're going back, SPC's on the way.
Also on the way is a Dometic CFX40w fridge and associated slide, I'm one step closer to overland legitimacy lol.

 

[wreckdiver1321]

Scratch that, these arms are problematic. They're going back, SPC's on the way.
Also on the way is a Dometic CFX40w fridge and associated slide, I'm one step closer to overland legitimacy lol.

Nice buy on the fridge! I've heard great things about Dometic. Can't wait to see it and the slide you chose.

What was the problem with those UCAs by the way?

 

[E.J.]

What was the problem with those UCAs by the way?

The arm hits the coil bucket before the droop stop does :squint:. Bummer because they seemed nice. I liked that they didn't have the adjustability of the SPC's, figuring that if they aren't adjustable they cant become unadjusted.

 

[wreckdiver1321]

The arm hits the coil bucket before the droop stop does :squint:. Bummer because they seemed nice. I liked that they didn't have the adjustability of the SPC's, figuring that if they aren't adjustable they cant become unadjusted.

Haha that's a really silly problem to have. Oh well I guess. It was worth a shot. Did you let them know?

For what it's worth, I've had the SPC arms on my truck for several years now, and they've never come out of adjustment. Use a torque wrench to tighten the big nut on top of the arms and it will stay where you leave it. Plus they're greaseable. I really like mine.

 

[E.J.]

Yeah I sent them pictures, hopefully they don't give me a hard time with the return seeing how I've now done some R&D work for them lol. I know I'm overthinking the SPC's, I'm sure they will be great.

 

[E.J.]

Freedom Offroad UCA compared to SPC. Also confirmed that the Freedom Offroad arms were indeed had L/R missmarked and reversed. Apparently they don't view that as a defect.

 

[wreckdiver1321]

Freedom Offroad UCA compared to SPC. Also confirmed that the Freedom Offroad arms were indeed had L/R missmarked and reversed. Apparently they don't view that as a defect.

Holy cow that's bad. Those look like they'd be even worse than the OEM uppers.

That'll be one company to stay away from I guess.

 

[E.J.]

They sent me this pic, they are indeed worse that the stockers.

 

[martinskors]

a fantastic result

 

[E.J.]

About to add some junk to my trunk...

 

[Mo4130]

E.J. loving the pictures. I got a little one on the way. How was the fronty with the car seat?

 

[justbecause]

E.J. loving the pictures. I got a little one on the way. How was the fronty with the car seat?

It's not great. Infant click in base seat fits in the middle with no issue, but after 25lbs when they move out of infant into regular car seat it gets tight. We bought the most compact seat you can get and the reviews are right, it's a difficult seat to use. But it gave us back 3+ inches in the front seat. Our seat rides behind the passenger because if I'm in the truck I'm driving 90% of the time.