New off-roading, 3 year Frontier Owner

[Neight]

Hey! I've owned a 2002 Nissan Frontier Crew V6 4x4 for about 3 years now and always wanted to take it off-roading but never had the money for upgrades until now. I just made an appointment to get a 3" suspension lift, 33" tires, 17" black rock crawler wheels. Should be great! Wanted to join this community to find out about trails and how tos and such so thanks in advance for any input. I live in Boulder, Colorado.

[Alpine Spirit]

Welcome!!! :wave:

What kit did you get? Calmini, 4x4parts, SLR?

Just FYI if you get smaller wheels (15,16) you can get 33" tires cheaper.

[CurleyMan]

Not only will they be cheaper but the tire will have more room to flex when aired down. Therefore your rim will be less likely to bend, dent or pucture the sidewall. However if you are dead set on this combo i'm sure you will enjoy it And I'm sure it will look sweeet.
As far as trails and such go buy the guide to Northern Colorado Backroads & 4-Wheel Drive Trails. The book is great and discribes about 70% of all the trails in our area. It can be found at most 4x4 shops and Barns and Noble. Here is a link so you know what it looks like.... and it costs 20 bucks anywhere you buy it...
http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Colorado-Backroads-4-Wheel-Trails/dp/0966497600

[Peter Hoffman]

Howdy! :wave:


Not only will they be cheaper but the tire will have more room to flex when aired down. Therefore your rim will be less likely to bend, dent or pucture the sidewall. However if you are dead set on this combo i'm sure you will enjoy it And I'm sure it will look sweeet.
As far as trails and such go buy the guide to Northern Colorado Backroads & 4-Wheel Drive Trails. The book is great and discribes about 70% of all the trails in our area. It can be found at most 4x4 shops and Barns and Noble. Here is a link so you know what it looks like.... and it costs 20 bucks anywhere you buy it...
http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Colorado-Backroads-4-Wheel-Trails/dp/0966497600

Buy the spiral bound ones! You won't regret it. ;)

[Neight]

Alright thanks for the link to the book, I'll pick that up. I wish I would've gotten some advice before making an appointment because they've already ordered everything. It's a Calmini set: http://www.purenissan.com/3_suspension_4wd.htm


Also I only know one other person with a lifted a vehicle (a Wrangler :rolleyes: ) so if anyone's bored enough to show a new guy some ropes let me know.

[GarrettE]

Welcome to the club! Its nice to see more people on here that are from Boulder!

:wave:

[Alpine Spirit]

The only thing that lift needs is zerks installed in the UCA's. After that is done its a great lift.

[Neight]

Any opinion on those Calmini shocks? The thing most people had been telling me was to use that kit but different shocks, but the guy at the shop said I'd have to buy the kit as is, then buy different shocks as well. Sounded like a pain in the ass so I passed for now.

[Alpine Spirit]

You will need to replace the shocks eventually. Every one of the Calmini Shocks I have had last 9-12months. But that also depends on the roads you drive.

So Zerks (to stop the squekin) and shocks if you get into rough stuff.

[Neight]

9-12 months sounds better than what I heard. And I'll just throw out that I'm completely new to all of this so...zerks?:)

[ChefTyler]

A zerk is a fitting that allows you to grease bolts/bushings with a grease gun so that you don't need to remove components to do so. One of the most fantastic inventions ever! :D
I would call the shop and see if you can change the wheel and tire combo before you go in for the work.
:wave:

[Neight]

I'll call and see what I can do. I think we were gonna do 16s but they were more expensive, and I'm not loaded by any means. I know I could easily change the tires, I don't remember the brand/type of tires but I have it out in the truck somewhere. I'll edit this post or add to a newer one once I get out there. I don't think I mentioned this before but this is also the only car I own and I'm constanly driving to Longmont, Denver, Ft. Collins, etc.. so I told the guy I still wanted to get decent gas milage and have long lasting tire wear...and the 17"s with 33"s is what he worked out.....

[ChefTyler]

That's really strange, as 33's on 15's *should* be cheaper :toast:

[Alpine Spirit]

Here are some examples.

33" Tires - Dick Cepek Radial F-C II
Click Here (http://www.4wheelparts.com/PPT2880T100031.aspx)

15" Rim 33" Tire 12.50 Wide - $171/ea
16" Rim 33" Tire 12.50 Wide - $174/ea
17" Rim 33" Tire 12.50 Wide - $209/ea


Series 97 Steel Wheel - Click Here (http://www.4wheelparts.com/PPT3369T100021.aspx)

15" Rim 8" Wide 6 on 5.5" Bolt Pattern - $52.99/ea
16" Rim 8" Wide 6 on 5.5" Bolt Pattern - $75.99/ea
17" Rim 8" Wide 6 on 5.5" Bolt Pattern - $86.99/ea

So to say the least I am trying to figure out why they said its cheaper?? And well.... honestly .... is it High Country?

[Neight]

All Phase Off-Road in Longmont. I think, if I remeber correctly, that the wheel that we were gonna do in a 16" was more expensive than a different wheel we did in a 17". And I guess the wheel we did in a 17" wasn't available in a 16". But don't quote me on that. The final price of everything after installation was basically what I expected, so I wasn't complaining. I have the money to do a little more expensive stuff right now so I'm not really worried about the prices, I just wanna go about everything the right way.



Edit: Ok so the wheels are Series 51 Rock Crawlers 17x8. Tires 33x12.5x17 PC AT. And everything is free shipping....

[Alpine Spirit]

OH well different wheels styles in different sizes vary HUGE!!! That makes sense then.

[Neight]

So am I good to go or am I getting a little screwed?

[Alpine Spirit]

The way I read it originally is that they were trying to charge your more for a smaller diameter wheel/tire combo of the same style.... that would be totally fucked up.

Different styles have different prices. So you cant really compare it like apples to apples.

I think the one thing you need to keep in mind is that with larger wheels 17" and bigger the tires your buying and all your replacement tires will cost more (it is the same for ALL brands of tires, larger wheels more $$ for th tire). I actually dropped my 17" wheels just to get cheaper tires. Just something to keep in mind.

[Neight]

Ok well thanks for the heads up but I'm not too terribly worried about that. I knew that'd be the case. Since this is my daily driver anyway I don't intend to climb up walls with it so I'll probably take it pretty easy as far as abuse so hopefully the tires last more than your average Ronin Wheeler's.

Alright well this should be happening soon so I'll post some pictures and details when it does!

[DamnHippie]

I've been running on the Calmini shocks for about 18 months now, and they're not shot, they were just not very good from day one, IMO. I much preferred my old KYB Monomax. Bilsteins are good too.

If you aftermarket add a zerk to Calmini UCAs, it's a good idea to use a grinder or something and mill about 1/16" off the inside end of each of the vecton bushings, so that there's a 1/8" channel between the two bushings inside the UCA for the grease to go into. I've heard of people exploding the bushings because their grease gun was able to deliver enough PSI to break the bushing when the grease had nowhere to go.

[Lance T]

Welcome!

[Alpine Spirit]

Yep that is what I did to mine. Here is a general diagram. Stops the squeaking, makes the UCA bushings last longer & you will be happier in the long run. I will be up at All Phase before too long if you want I can show Dave or Vaughn or you in person what I mean.

http://img75.imageshack.us/img75/2457/calminiucabushingmodcopzv4.jpg

[Neight]

Ok yea Vaughn is the one that set my deal all up so if you let him know that'd be great. Then he could show me when I go down there to get everything installed. If you think I should come down when you're there give me a call. This week I work Tuesday 3p - 1a (So yea I'm currently at work), tomorrow I have off but I'm gonna be at B-Dubs from 7p - 10p, Thursday and Friday work 3p - 1a, and Saturday off. PM me if you want my number, I'm not real into posting it on a public forum.

[Neight]

Ok so I wouldn't tell Vaughn anything because apparently he quit....something about his wife wanting him to get a real job....:D

[ChefTyler]

How did Vaughn quit? He's one of the owners...that's weird.

[Alpine Spirit]

He is still a part owner just a great job opportunity jumped up and I dont think anyone would say no to $$$$$$$$$$$.

[ChefTyler]

He is still a part owner just a great job opportunity jumped up and I dont think anyone would say no to $$$$$$$$$$$.

Ah, figured he wouldn't sell :D

[Neight]

Yea I don't know anything about it really. The guy I talked to admitted he didn't know shit either.