My 2001 Pathfinder (R50 ) mild/budget build

[mortonm]

AC Coils + NX4 + wheel spacers = 33" tires

I didn't think so myself but it's been done, 01silverPathy over on NPORA even had a write up about it. Fluery/Steve now has 255/85/16s with this setup but he said he had to trim quite a bit.

33s or 32s I would keep em nice and skinny. 235 85 or 255 85. Helps avoid rubbing etc and in my opninion looks better.

 

[mortonm]

Also helps to keep the weight down. Although most if not all 235 85 and 255 85s are E rated

I have hard 0 issues with E rated on my Xterra. But I also came from a lowered VW with 40 series tires so I was used to a harsh ride.

 

[Co-opski]

Also helps to keep the weight down. Although most if not all 235 85 and 255 85s are E rated

I have hard 0 issues with E rated on my Xterra. But I also came from a lowered VW with 40 series tires so I was used to a harsh ride.

Same here but mine was a e28 gray market euro spec m5. OME heavies and e tires are not half as harsh as that old ride, made it from WI to AK in 2.5 days. What a road trip, Canada was a blur. :elkgrin:

 

[Slicky72]

If you are rubbing now a lift is only going to fix you for street driving. Once the going gets rough you are still going to rub. I am running 33s on my Xterra and it barely touched at all when I first drove it around with spacers . I strarted flexing the truck out in my driveway and turning the wheel right to left. There was going to be serious fender triming to keep the spacers so sadly they came off and I only had to trim some plastic on the mud flaps. These Nissans are real sensitive to wheel backspacing.

 

[Allof75]

Could be an excellent time to upgrade wheels to something with the backspacing you need without having to use spacers. I know Toyota Tacoma, FJ, 4runner, Nissan xterra/frontier, and most GM truck wheels fit as well. Or there's aftermarket. Some expo steelies would look really nice on your white rig I think. :elkgrin:

And you should really be sure that the strut itself won't rub, because the extra tire size won't mean anything if it hits them, maybe another reason for the tall and skinny 33".

 

[stioc]

Well as I said the 32 or 33 will have to wait until the 31s are either sold or worn out

I love the 245 width, I wish the tire was a little bit taller like 33 but I don't want to have to lose the fender flares and trim sheet metal if I can avoid it so it may be 32s and possibly 235/85/16s even though I really don't want the E tires due to the weight and stiffness. Washboard roads are killer with E load tires. Also, the 255/85/16s are harder to fit the Pathys than the 285/75/16 due to the diameter believe it or not.

New wheels would be nice but it atually looks pretty sweet the way it sits now- in fact, I'm actually afraid the up coming taller AC springs will make these 31s look disproportionate:

As for the rubbing issue, it's only hitting about an inch of the front bumper trim. The front end of these trucks doesn't flex a lot due to IFS, the rear does quite a bit. So I tried to flex it out this evening (excuse the dark iphone pics) to see if the rear tires will rub but I was pleasantly surprised that my skinny 245s just about tucked themselves under the rear flares- I'd have to flex it more to see if they will rub under extreme conditions but I didn't have too much time to play with it tonight.

About 1.5" left and the angle of the tire makes me believe they'll just about clear the fender.

 

[mortonm]

if you are willing to go to 17 inch rims 245/75R17 is about the same height as 265/75R16 and 235/85R16

 

[Allof75]

Is that rubbing just on the very tip of the bumper? If it is, then you can do what I did, and just push the splash guard back and cut the angle of the bumper and it goes away entirely.

And I agree with you on the E rated tires, that was my primary reason for avoiding the new Falken Wildpeaks, as in our 245 size they're only available in E.

Oh and it's not the end of the world keeping the 245s for a bit, you can get some excellent flex, and they tuck into the fenders extremely well:

Plus the Duratracs are excellent tires, so it's not like you're stuck with some junk Michelin M/S tires (what mine had when I got it, complete POSs).

Perhaps it's like the new Power Wagon, which is only sold with 33s even though 35s would easily fit, just because you can get the maximum flex with smaller tires. It is a balance between ground clearance and flex I suppose, at least the new lift will get the front end, which is what seems to me to be what scrapes the most, a little higher.

Looking great as usual.

 

[Co-opski]

if you are willing to go to 17 inch rims 245/75R17 is about the same height as 265/75R16 and 235/85R16

Some of these would look good! :elkgrin:

New wheels would be nice but it atually looks pretty sweet the way it sits now- in fact, I'm actually afraid the up coming taller AC springs will make these 31s look disproportionate:

I agree Stoic it does look sweet, and I don't think the 31 will look disporortionate with your new lift.

 

[Matto]

in fact, I'm actually afraid the up coming taller AC springs will make these 31s look disproportionate

I agree Stoic it does look sweet, and I don't think the 31 will look disporortionate with your new lift.

I agree with Co-opski. I run 245/75r16 KM2s on a 2" spring lift, and it looks reasonably level. It works well, it just doesn't look lifted at all. It works well, articulates well, and doesn't rub. I *did* chew the front inner guard liners out with the big tyres when I first had them fitted, because I hadn't pulled them back. But you'd have already had that problem if you were going to hit it - adding extra clearance will only help. There's an R50 near me with a 4" SFD running the OEM 29" tyres, and it looks top-heavy. With teh tyres and the suspension you're running, you'll be fine.

What mine looks like (pre winch) - you'll end up with another 1" or so of lift with the spacers, which I think would set it off nicely.

Cheers,
Matto

 

[stioc]

Is that rubbing just on the very tip of the bumper? If it is, then you can do what I did, and just push the splash guard back and cut the angle of the bumper and it goes away entirely.

And I agree with you on the E rated tires, that was my primary reason for avoiding the new Falken Wildpeaks, as in our 245 size they're only available in E.

Oh and it's not the end of the world keeping the 245s for a bit, you can get some excellent flex, and they tuck into the fenders extremely well:

Plus the Duratracs are excellent tires, so it's not like you're stuck with some junk Michelin M/S tires (what mine had when I got it, complete POSs).

Perhaps it's like the new Power Wagon, which is only sold with 33s even though 35s would easily fit, just because you can get the maximum flex with smaller tires. It is a balance between ground clearance and flex I suppose, at least the new lift will get the front end, which is what seems to me to be what scrapes the most, a little higher.

Looking great as usual.

Well said about the 245s! They really are a great multipurpose tire size and suits 90% of my needs. There was only one time (last time when we were out) that I couldn't follow the PowerWagon and the FJ60 (though the FJ60 needed some help, also because it was on 31s). More because of the ground clearance but the larger tires definitely help with that and to get over large boulders more easily and without putting more stress on the suspension components.

Yes it the very tip of the front bumper that the front tires are now rubbing because of the spacers and only happens in reverse (odd) or if the suspension moves. I'm waiting to see if the new suspension will help before I take a Dremel to it. Worst case I'll remove the spacer from the back if I do decide to run larger tires.

Some of these would look good! :elkgrin:

I agree Stoic it does look sweet, and I don't think the 31 will look disporortionate with your new lift.

I agree with Co-opski. I run 245/75r16 KM2s on a 2" spring lift, and it looks reasonably level. It works well, it just doesn't look lifted at all. It works well, articulates well, and doesn't rub. I *did* chew the front inner guard liners out with the big tyres when I first had them fitted, because I hadn't pulled them back. But you'd have already had that problem if you were going to hit it - adding extra clearance will only help. There's an R50 near me with a 4" SFD running the OEM 29" tyres, and it looks top-heavy. With teh tyres and the suspension you're running, you'll be fine.

What mine looks like (pre winch) - you'll end up with another 1" or so of lift with the spacers, which I think would set it off nicely.

Cheers,
Matto

Thanks guys. If I get the darn strut spacer from Canada by Fri I'll be tearing into it this weekend. However, I'm thinking I may run just the AC springs for a litlte while and let the suspension settle before putting the spacer on. I still need the spacer's hardware so I don't have to disassemble the AC springs again.

Matto, I know what you mean by the top-heavy lift, I see big lifted trucks running around on lawn-mower tires...

 

[stioc]

The AC lift is done!!!

I didn't get the NX4 spacers in time so I went ahead and used the OME spacers (3/8") in the front. I was really hoping the NX4 spacers would get here in time that way I could use the longer bolts that come with them and be prepared to install the spacers down the road but it wasn't meant to be. I couldn't wait because I have a Death Valley trip coming up at the end of the month and between now and then I won't have much time to do this. Since we'll also be passing through a couple of tougher sections of DV and loaded down with 4-5 days of supplies a little extra ground clearance would be helpful.

I must say that after having done this job twice in 6 mos I don't think I'll be ready to do it again anytime soon- hopefully I'll never have to at least on this truck!

Measurements wise, as soon as I took it off the lift it was sitting at about 37" ground to the edge of the flares! After driving it a bit (and gently bouncing it several times using brakes and the dip in my driveway lol) it's sitting at 36" in the front and 35.5" in the back. This is how it should sit so I'm hoping it doesn't settle more than .5" over time. The OMEs were approx 34" all the way around after settling.

 

[mortonm]

looks good, I like the extra clearance

and further away side on pictures?

 

[stioc]

Thanks. Here's one from further away. I didn't get a chance to take many pics as it was getting dark. I'll take some more later.

 

[Slicky72]

Looks great! I never did understand the need to get the truck leveled though , they are usually raked from the factory . My Xterra is nearly an inch higher in the rear when unlaiden but hauls a lot of weight really well and headlights aren't pointed at the sky every time I go camping .