"Lola" - WreckDiver1321's 2005 Frontier CC/SB Nismo Build and Adventure Thread
- Thread starter wreckdiver1321
- Start date
glamisdude72000
Desert Camper
I'd go with the Nisstec coilover over the OME. A buddy of mine got the comparable ToyTec (Nisstec's big brother company) coilover on his Tundra and they blew me away. Way outperformed my TJM coilovers. The ride was excellent as well. I'm also fairly certain that the 5100 series Bilstein can be factory rebuilt if needed. But then you also need to consider that your very close to the cost of true coilover at that point. The difference between $690 and $7xx for Radflos is not that much, I know you said you didn't want to be wanting on having things rebuilt but you can rebuild them yourself in a day and for under $100. Way cheaper than buying all new shocks.
Just some food for thought
Just some food for thought
wreckdiver1321
Overlander
That is encouraging. Mo4130 is considering adding in the PRG spacers on top of the OME kit to get a little more clearance. I drive like an old lady around town, so knowing speed bumps aren't a big problem at 2" is very encouraging. I wouldn't mind it a lot off road, since on the technical stuff it would be bumpy anyway, and I'd be installing UCA bumpstops to minimize the shock and noise from impact. Thanks for the info!
I'd go with the Nisstec coilover over the OME. A buddy of mine got the comparable ToyTec (Nisstec's big brother company) coilover on his Tundra and they blew me away. Way outperformed my TJM coilovers. The ride was excellent as well. I'm also fairly certain that the 5100 series Bilstein can be factory rebuilt if needed. But then you also need to consider that your very close to the cost of true coilover at that point. The difference between $690 and $7xx for Radflos is not that much, I know you said you didn't want to be wanting on having things rebuilt but you can rebuild them yourself in a day and for under $100. Way cheaper than buying all new shocks.
Just some food for thought
Glamis, thank you for the info! Everything helps.
Glad to hear you were impressed with the quality of the Toytec setup, even over your own TJM coilovers. That is a surprise actually. I know the cost at this point is going to be very similar between the Nisstec and Radflo. To be honest, I just don't want to rebuild my shocks later on. I'd rather just be able to take the assembly off, buy some new Bilsteins, have a shop put the springs on the new shock, and reassemble. I'm lazy.
Thanks again everyone for the info! I really appreciate all the help. Just got off the horn with Chris at Nisstec. I just have to say, what a super helpful guy. Very knowledgeable and very helpful. Anyway, I had a chat with him about what I'm looking to do. He gave me great info on the Nisstec coilover and ran through some technical things with me. Before I called him, I got the floor jack and HiLift out again and did some looking and measuring. I now have a pretty good idea about what my needs are and what direction I'm going to go with the front suspension.
Here's what I learned: The OME system comes with a 1 year warranty as far as I remember. The Nisstec coilover is literally a Bilstein 5100 with some CNC machined parts to add a coil spring to it. I'm a huge fan of Bilstein shocks, they are great quality for the price. They carry a limited lifetime warranty. The springs they use are Eibach springs, which is the same thing the Radflo coilovers come with. They are super high quality and carry a limited lifetime warranty. You can get either a 500lb or 600lb spring. The 600lb spring has pretty much the same spring rate as the Old Man Emu HD spring. As far as ride quality goes, the OME and Nisstec are very, very similar. And because the Nisstec uses the same springs as the Radflo, the difference there isn't that much either.
Your options for lifts that will work well with stock UCAs are Old Man Emu, Nisstec, and the OE Radflo. The OME front kit is $651 (assembled), the Nisstec is $690, and the OE Radflo is $748. So they're all right in the same ballpark as far as price.
-The beauty of the OME kit is you install it and forget about it. If you need a new shock, buy a new shock. The downside being that whatever lift you get is what you're stuck with unless you add a spacer. But the spacer options are only 1/2" or 1". That's where the Nisstec comes in.
-The Nisstec is a similar quality setup, with the same maintenance simplicity as the OME, but gives you the option to adjust the lift height anywhere between 0" and 2". You can adjust either side independently, so you can easily fix a side to side difference. In my opinion, the Bilstein shock in the Nisstec system would be better for a touring/overlanding truck than the Radflo, as the shock is designed for more day to day use as well as being easier to find if you need a replacement.
-The Radflo is fully adjustable, just like the Nisstec, but the shock is now a rebuildable one. This is a good thing for people who want that ability, and the Radflo shock will be a more race-oriented, high performance shock, so it will be happier than the Bilstein when you're bombing along those forest service roads.
Here's what I have decided: I want my lift right at 1.75". This will give me the most ground clearance with the least chance of coil bucket contact. I think 1.5" is not quite enough, and 2" runs you the risk of making coil bucket contact happen often. Right in the middle is perfect. I cannot do this with the OME kit. I'm also really anal about side to side height differences, which would be impossible to adjust with the OME kit. So I will be getting the Nisstec coilovers. I really like Bilstein shocks, and I've never heard of problems with Eibach springs. The extra $49 gives me adjustability while still giving me parts I have experience with. Sounds worth it to me.
wreckdiver1321
Overlander
iron dingo
Observer
as good as the OME stuff is i think having the ability to adjust the height is important. I wish I had a better way to do that in the rear of my fronty but the shackles I got are a set height.
now as far as rebuilding, how often would you really need to do that? and with the warranty of the Bilsteins do you need to worry about that part?
now as far as rebuilding, how often would you really need to do that? and with the warranty of the Bilsteins do you need to worry about that part?
wreckdiver1321
Overlander
OME is great stuff, and I'd jump on it in a heartbeat if the lift was just a little more. But the ability to adjust it and make it exactly how I want it is a big win to me.
How far off is the rear end on your truck?
Rebuilding wouldn't need to be done super often, like every 5ish years. I'd just prefer to go down to O'Reilly, buy a couple shocks, and put it all back together. The warranty on Bilsteins won't cover worn out shocks, because it's a wear item. I'm okay with that.
Scott H Murray
Adventure Photog
Just been reading through your thread, and I must say great build and adventures. I already knew you could take the odd ok photo
iron dingo
Observer
sounds like you have to decide between OME equiptment and too short or
not OME and the right height.
I am not sure how far off my truck is.
when I was doing the lift last weekend I found I was missing the upper ball joints, so once I get them and get it finished with new tires i will determine if i need to make new shackles and bring it down.
not OME and the right height.
I am not sure how far off my truck is.
when I was doing the lift last weekend I found I was missing the upper ball joints, so once I get them and get it finished with new tires i will determine if i need to make new shackles and bring it down.
wreckdiver1321
Overlander
Just been reading through your thread, and I must say great build and adventures. I already knew you could take the odd ok photo
Haha thanks for the glowing recommendation Scott.
thanks for tagging along, there's much more to come!My decision is between OME and too short or not OME and load capacity, but I think I've got it figured out. I'm going with the Nisstec because it's totally adjustable and I can set it exactly how high I want it to be, which is a huge win for me. It also uses a Bilstein 5100 as a shock, which is awesome because I know I can get one at my local O'Reilly or AutoZone if I need to replace them.
The Nisstec uses a 600lb Eibach coil, so it's much heavier duty than stock, but a bit lighter than the OME HD. That's okay though, because of the coils it uses. The Eibach used on the Nisstec coilover is the same spring they use on the higher end Radflo coilovers, which can be had with 550, 600, 650, 700, or 750lb coils. That means I can track down a heavier Eibach that will go straight in if I need it later on. So basically I can get a coilover that is 100% customizable: if I need a stiffer spring rate, I can get one, and I can dial in the lift height to exactly what I want it to be. The only thing I can't change is the way the shock behaves, but the Bilstein has proven itself to be a great shock over time. I think it will be a perfect setup for what I need and what I do.
wreckdiver1321
Overlander
So, I'm up north at my parent's house in the mountains. Drove through a hell of a snowstorm to get here, and the new ARB bumper got to prove itself when it protected us from a deer that ran into the road. Sadly, I had to stop and end it's misery after it's legs were driven over and broken. That put a bit of a damper on the trip up, but it has been a good trip otherwise. Its beautiful up here. Pics to come.
wreckdiver1321
Overlander
Thanks stioc!
I'm okay though. I've got this to look at
I'm okay though. I've got this to look at
wreckdiver1321
Overlander
So, I just got off the horn with Nisstec again.
There was a theory I've been kicking around the past week or so with the Nisstec coilover system. They had told me that around 1.5" of lift was optimal. Going beyond that you'd run the risk of topping out the shock, which makes for a bad ride. Then I started thinking about it. The problem you'd have setting the Nisstec kit to 2" would be having the shock top out. You can set it below that, but then you're only getting 1.5-1.75" of lift. Then I thought, "what if I put a 1" spacer on top of the coilover?" If I add the spacer, I could set the coilover for 1" of lift, then have an extra 1" via the spacer. This would give me 2" of lift without the potential for topping out the shock on a regular basis. And, because the spacer lift would only be 1", I would have very minimal risk of coil bucket contact! I called up Nisstec today, and they confirmed this was the case.
There was a theory I've been kicking around the past week or so with the Nisstec coilover system. They had told me that around 1.5" of lift was optimal. Going beyond that you'd run the risk of topping out the shock, which makes for a bad ride. Then I started thinking about it. The problem you'd have setting the Nisstec kit to 2" would be having the shock top out. You can set it below that, but then you're only getting 1.5-1.75" of lift. Then I thought, "what if I put a 1" spacer on top of the coilover?" If I add the spacer, I could set the coilover for 1" of lift, then have an extra 1" via the spacer. This would give me 2" of lift without the potential for topping out the shock on a regular basis. And, because the spacer lift would only be 1", I would have very minimal risk of coil bucket contact! I called up Nisstec today, and they confirmed this was the case.
wreckdiver1321
Overlander
So, a small update.
I went out for some exploring yesterday, and found myself in deep snow. Unfortunately, it was windblown and hard packed, which is a difficult situation for any tire to have to work though. I'm happy to say the Generals did very well, escpecially since I didn't take the time to air down. Had I done that, I expect they would have been even better. They were definitely better than the last set of BFG ATs I tried, but I can say with absolute certainty that they would be beaten by the Cooper AT3 in these conditions. That being said, the tires really did impress me, especially out on icy roads. They held their own and delivered traction very well. Still very happy with these tires. I did bust through a few drifts, and a couple of times I lost momentum and had to back out. Never once got stuck.
During my trip over Christmas, I got the chance to drive in soft snow that was much deeper than yesterdays. Even in 2WD, the tires were absolutely awesome. Held on without ever slipping and just plowed right through around 30" of snow.
The truck handled the ice and snow better than I expected it to actually, considering the power and torque numbers. With careful application of the throttle, the truck puts the power down gently and smoothly enough to not have to worry too much about slipping or breaking loose. I'm actually surpised at it when compared to my first gen with a supercharger. It's actually easier to control and spins less than the old truck did. I still really like the traction control system on it as well. Useful, but stays out of your way. It has helped me pull away from a stop sign on a hill quite a few times, and I like the way it feels. Helpful when you need it, but not intrusive when you want a little tire spin. When the snow gets deep and difficult, the locker makes a world of difference. I think a big reason I didn't get stuck yesterday was the locker. I am super impressed with it.
I went out for some exploring yesterday, and found myself in deep snow. Unfortunately, it was windblown and hard packed, which is a difficult situation for any tire to have to work though. I'm happy to say the Generals did very well, escpecially since I didn't take the time to air down. Had I done that, I expect they would have been even better. They were definitely better than the last set of BFG ATs I tried, but I can say with absolute certainty that they would be beaten by the Cooper AT3 in these conditions. That being said, the tires really did impress me, especially out on icy roads. They held their own and delivered traction very well. Still very happy with these tires. I did bust through a few drifts, and a couple of times I lost momentum and had to back out. Never once got stuck.
During my trip over Christmas, I got the chance to drive in soft snow that was much deeper than yesterdays. Even in 2WD, the tires were absolutely awesome. Held on without ever slipping and just plowed right through around 30" of snow.
The truck handled the ice and snow better than I expected it to actually, considering the power and torque numbers. With careful application of the throttle, the truck puts the power down gently and smoothly enough to not have to worry too much about slipping or breaking loose. I'm actually surpised at it when compared to my first gen with a supercharger. It's actually easier to control and spins less than the old truck did. I still really like the traction control system on it as well. Useful, but stays out of your way. It has helped me pull away from a stop sign on a hill quite a few times, and I like the way it feels. Helpful when you need it, but not intrusive when you want a little tire spin. When the snow gets deep and difficult, the locker makes a world of difference. I think a big reason I didn't get stuck yesterday was the locker. I am super impressed with it.
duckhunter71
Adventurer
We get maybe 1-2 snows per year in Arkansas. Usually 2-3" and gone the next day. We get ice more than snow. A few years ago, when I still had my Frontier, I got caught in a snowstorm heading home from Christmas. I was in the "mountains" of Arkansas with several steep/curvy/white-knuckle when dry passes. At least a foot of snow had fallen without any traffic going through ahead of me. I made it without a SINGLE issue when there were cars everywhere in the ditch. Those Frontiers are amazing in the snow and ice!