Stolenheron's 2013 Frontier CC PRO4X

[stolenheron]

Well I traded some reptiles today for a set of 1.5" spacers (aka 3" of lift) still on factory struts and a factory cargo box.

I plan on cutting up the cargo box to fit an AR15 pistol, not for long term storage, but for road trips and when appropriate.

However, I know I cannot use the 1.5" spacers on my truck. PRG products and other sites specifically state to not use spacers of that thickness on 4x4 trucks with factory control arms. nor do I want 3" of lift (especially from a spacer). Now the question is, do I get the spacers machined down to a height I can use for a temporary front end lift (Something small 1/2" to 1" of lift) until I can afford a legitimate lift? OR do I trade them for spacers I can use? OR do I trade them/sell them for parts to put towards a legitimate suspension lift?

 

[zukrider]

uh, that doesnt equate into 3" lift. just 1.5".

 

[mortonm]

uh, that doesnt equate into 3" lift. just 1.5".

Should be just 1.5" lift.

1.5" longer shackles give 3" of lift

 

[stolenheron]

From what I've read, it will not be 3 but closer to 2.25 to 2.5" of lift. Rule of thumb, as i was told, is to divide the final lift desired by .6. No company sells actually aluminum spacers that are 3" thick, if you look online, everything is much thinner than that. a 1.5" spacer = more than a 1.5" lift with this type of suspension.

I've never tried, or thought about going the spacer route before. I am not used to IFS or a leaf sprung rear lol. Everything I've done in the past has been straight forward coil suspension upgrades onto solid axles.

 

[wreckdiver1321]

I know of a lot of people with 2nd gen Frontiers that have spacers in the front. It's not the best lift option, especially for somebody who wheels their truck, but it can be done as far as I know. But I'm no expert.

 

[Dwill817]

The 1.5" spacer will bring something close to what Chris predicts so ~2.5". It has to do with the location of the coil and the geometry of the UCAs and LCAs. I have no idea why it would hit the UCA though, must be some Nissan engineering that I'm not familiar with. We had no problem with that on my buddy's Tacoma and he put it on a few weeks ago.


We get get it cut down thought. We have two lathes, a big and a small, and my brother is a machinist/welder. He's pretty dang good with a lathe so us trimming it would be no problem. And you can watch because it always makes me nervous too, maybe its because he's my brother. Lol We also have a mill and several other things like that. (My pawpaw has all this & he's also been a machinist for the past idk probably 40 years).

 

[Dwill817]

And who made those sharpie marks on that tape measure? eepwall:

 

[Strizzo]

From what I've read, it will not be 3 but closer to 2.25 to 2.5" of lift. Rule of thumb, as i was told, is to divide the final lift desired by .6. No company sells actually aluminum spacers that are 3" thick, if you look online, everything is much thinner than that. a 1.5" spacer = more than a 1.5" lift with this type of suspension.

I've never tried, or thought about going the spacer route before. I am not used to IFS or a leaf sprung rear lol. Everything I've done in the past has been straight forward coil suspension upgrades onto solid axles.

My PRG spacers that gave 2" of lift were about 1 1/4" thick. 2" is about as much lift as you'll want to put on the stock front end, and its only really a temporary fix. The geometry of the front end is such that the factory upper control arms will contact the coil bucket where the strut bolts to. some people have modified their stock arms by cutting and adding a bump stop to stop the metal on metal contact, but what you really want to do is upgrade to aftermarket upper control arms.

The most cost effective method is going to be the light racing arms at around 450 bucks. they have an adjustable upper ball joint mounting that allows you to keep close to factory caster and camber while avoiding the coil bucket contact. PRG and total chaos also make arms, but you'll end up with zero camber and less than ideal caster with the TC arms (i have them) and the heim joints on the PRG arms turned me off from them. they make urethane bushed arms now i think but that wasn't an option when i did mine.

here is where i'm going to warn you that there are no cheap lifts for nissan trucks. yes, you can do spacers and shackles for like 150 bucks, but then you'll need to do something about the coil bucket contact, and then you need longer front swaybar endlinks (or just remove the front swaybar) and then you need the cam bolts for the lower control arms so you can adjust your alignment after all that. the stock rear leafs have a habit of sagging over time so what you'll really want to do is at least do an add-a-leaf lift in the rear if not replace the whole leaf pack if you want to do it right. then, of course, you'll need extended rear brake lines, modify the abs sensor wire mountings, longer shocks (bilstein 5100s or radflow emulsion) and pretty soon you're talking real money.

You might not remember me, but i remember wheeling with you a bit at hidden falls when you came through Texas on a road trip, so from seeing your LR back then i have a feeling you'd rather do things right the first time rather than chasing your tail with each step like I did.

If you want to go with more than 2" of lift, you'd probably want to go to the titan front suspension. you can swap right in the stronger M205 front diff from a titan, along with longer upper and lower control arms, cv shafts and tie rod ends to add more travel and a bit wider stance to the truck.

you can do quite a bit with just the 2" spacer and AAL though, here's my truck at hidden falls with the 2" spacer/AAL, TC UCAs, and the front sway removed:

for reference, the white fronty in this pic is titan swapped with skids and sliders plus a bunch of other goodies:

 

[stolenheron]

My PRG spacers that gave 2" of lift were about 1 1/4" thick. 2" is about as much lift as you'll want to put on the stock front end, and its only really a temporary fix. The geometry of the front end is such that the factory upper control arms will contact the coil bucket where the strut bolts to. some people have modified their stock arms by cutting and adding a bump stop to stop the metal on metal contact, but what you really want to do is upgrade to aftermarket upper control arms.

The most cost effective method is going to be the light racing arms at around 450 bucks. they have an adjustable upper ball joint mounting that allows you to keep close to factory caster and camber while avoiding the coil bucket contact. PRG and total chaos also make arms, but you'll end up with zero camber and less than ideal caster with the TC arms (i have them) and the heim joints on the PRG arms turned me off from them. they make urethane bushed arms now i think but that wasn't an option when i did mine.

here is where i'm going to warn you that there are no cheap lifts for nissan trucks. yes, you can do spacers and shackles for like 150 bucks, but then you'll need to do something about the coil bucket contact, and then you need longer front swaybar endlinks (or just remove the front swaybar) and then you need the cam bolts for the lower control arms so you can adjust your alignment after all that. the stock rear leafs have a habit of sagging over time so what you'll really want to do is at least do an add-a-leaf lift in the rear if not replace the whole leaf pack if you want to do it right. then, of course, you'll need extended rear brake lines, modify the abs sensor wire mountings, longer shocks (bilstein 5100s or radflow emulsion) and pretty soon you're talking real money.

You might not remember me, but i remember wheeling with you a bit at hidden falls when you came through Texas on a road trip, so from seeing your LR back then i have a feeling you'd rather do things right the first time rather than chasing your tail with each step like I did.

If you want to go with more than 2" of lift, you'd probably want to go to the titan front suspension. you can swap right in the stronger M205 front diff from a titan, along with longer upper and lower control arms, cv shafts and tie rod ends to add more travel and a bit wider stance to the truck.

you can do quite a bit with just the 2" spacer and AAL though, here's my truck at hidden falls with the 2" spacer/AAL, TC UCAs, and the front sway removed:

for reference, the white fronty in this pic is titan swapped with skids and sliders plus a bunch of other goodies:

yep, i complete agree. spacers are not worth it, ill sell them and put the money towards my end goal of a basic coilover setup.

which rover were you in? or were you in a nissan?

i do not like taking shortcuts, they end up costing more in the end. ill just do it right the first time like you said

 

[wreckdiver1321]

That's a good decision in my opinion. I hate doing anything halfway. Spacers are sort of a band aid.

 

[Strizzo]

yep, i complete agree. spacers are not worth it, ill sell them and put the money towards my end goal of a basic coilover setup.

which rover were you in? or were you in a nissan?

i do not like taking shortcuts, they end up costing more in the end. ill just do it right the first time like you said

I was in that nissan, we were camping with Mr. Leary and another guy with a rover whose name escapes me now, this was the rest of the group:
this was our group, i think you were wheeling with some other rovers and we met up for a bit on sunday before taking off.


and this is the katydid(right?) that bit the hell out of you.


don't get me wrong, the strut spacers work just fine for my needs, you just have to know that there is no "trouble free" $150 2" lift. there are other things that will need to be added/modified in order to make everything work as a system. there are strut spacers now that just give 1" of lift and don't give you the coil bucket contact and can be paired with a single add-a-leaf in the rear for a mild lift. you can check out prgproducts or nissteclifts websites to see all of the options.

fwiw, i'm still running my spacers, just last month i upgraded the stock bilsteins to 5100 series front and rear, which ride a bit better than the stock bils, a bit firmer ride but not as harsh over sharp bumps. YMMV, as they say.

 

[stolenheron]

I was in that nissan, we were camping with Mr. Leary and another guy with a rover whose name escapes me now, this was the rest of the group:
this was our group, i think you were wheeling with some other rovers and we met up for a bit on sunday before taking off.


and this is the katydid(right?) that bit the hell out of you.


don't get me wrong, the strut spacers work just fine for my needs, you just have to know that there is no "trouble free" $150 2" lift. there are other things that will need to be added/modified in order to make everything work as a system. there are strut spacers now that just give 1" of lift and don't give you the coil bucket contact and can be paired with a single add-a-leaf in the rear for a mild lift. you can check out prgproducts or nissteclifts websites to see all of the options.

fwiw, i'm still running my spacers, just last month i upgraded the stock bilsteins to 5100 series front and rear, which ride a bit better than the stock bils, a bit firmer ride but not as harsh over sharp bumps. YMMV, as they say.

i rememberyou now. the other rover is chris dukes rover. i know spacers are not bad, spacers this large arent worth it though for my purposes like you said

 

[Dwill817]

Buy once, cry once!

Chris, did I tell you I started ordering the OME stuff for my truck? The front leafs should be here this week. It may be the beginning summer before I've got it all together but piecing it together a little at a time is turning out to be fun! Lol it just sucks I have to drop the money for gears!

 

[richard310]

I'm more interested in the AR pistol storage container...

 

[stolenheron]

I'm more interested in the AR pistol storage container...

the AR pistol build isnt complete yet, still needs some Back up sights, a weapon light, and a nice trigger... but here is a teaser of what i've done so far to a factory storage box. I'll add foam, cut it to fit (like a pelican case), and paint/plastidip the plastic to match the interior. I'm not planning to leave the pistol in the truck at all times, or even close to that, but the box is 3 push pins to install/uninstall, which will make it handy for road trips, camping, or whenever I feel like heading to the range or national forest.

teaser

my 10.5" seems to be just the right size.