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10-21-2007, 12:16 AM
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1st Gen FAQ...PLEASE READ. ADD INPUT
WELCOME to ClubFrontier....
1998-2004 Nissan Frontiers are typically refered to as "1st generation frontiers" or "1st gens" These trucks have a torsion bar front suspension, and a leaf spring rear suspension.... Some of the most common questions are... 1) How to lift my truck 2) What lifts are available 3) What size tires can i run 4) What Axle's do i have I hope to answer MOST of these basic questions in this thread. But feel free to start additional threads with deeper questions... WEBSITES TO KNOW.... www.4x4parts.com www.calmini.com www.spencerlowracing.com FRONT SUSPENSION The 1st gen frontier has the ability to adjust ride height via "pre-loading" the torsion bars... or as its better known as.... adjusting or cranking them.... Basically the torsion bar is a spring... It is connected to the LCA (lower control arm) in the front of your truck, and connected to a crossmember and adjuster in the central area of your truck. If you look under the truck, you will see on each side, just inside of the frame rails, a long bar that extends back from the LCA.. thats your torsion bar... ALL LIFTS with the exception of very high dollar SAS or Coil Over conversion lift your truck via a torsion bar crank... Some kits have the option of upgrading to aftermarket torsion bars, but this is NOT needed.. some prefer, some prefer stock bars... The stock torsion bars have more than enough ability to give you well over the maximum 3+" of lift. LIFT OPTIONS... 0" to 2" - You can simply adjust your torsion bars... 2.5" to 3" - You can either purchase a complete lift kit, or purchase aftermarket UCA's To adjust your torsion bars... You simply jack up the front end of your truck, secure it with the wheels slightly off the ground, to remove any tension on the front suspension, and tighten the adjuster bolts.. There are two 19mm nuts on the top of the adjuster bolt... the top being a lock nut... simply loosen the top nut, then tightned the adjuster bolt to adjust ride height... lower truck, measure... and repeat untill you have desired height.... REMEMBER.... you want a minimum of 1/2" of room between the bottom of your UCA, and the bump stop which is below it..... or click here for some detailed instructions with pictures...TorsionBarWriteUp It is said to always get an alighnment after adjusting torsion bars, however in MOST cases, it will not effect your alignmnt, however this is YOUR CHOICE... if it needs the alignment, GET IT DONE. You always have the option of purchasing a lift "kit" that is complete with all that is needed... However there are lots of people who do the lifts in steps... Lots of people start off with a simple torsion bar adjustment, then decide they want more.... Here are your options... 1) Add aftermarket UCA's. Basically as you adjust the height of your truck with your stock UCA's, the angle that they sit changes, which also changes the ball joint angle and slightly changes your camber. Aftermarket UCA's DO NOT ACTUALLY LIFT YOUR TRUCK... The torsion bars do... The aftermarket UCA's are simply designed at a differant angle, so that when the truck is adjusted by 2.5-3", the ball joint angles, and your camber are at the correct points... There are several options, and most of them are in the $350.00 range. AS I UNDERSTAND IT... Now keep in mind, because we use torsion bars, there is the ability to adjust... but... the lift amounts below are what I've come to understand the aftermarket UCA's to be designed to provide... AC (4x4parts) and Rancho - 2.5"... both of these are almost identical. Calmini and SLR Econ's - 3"... both of these are almost the same exact design. SLR Stage series - 3" plus added down travel.... STOCK TORSION BARS VS. AFTERMARKET Aftermarket torsion bars are basically the same thing, except they have a higher spring rate... Basically they are stiffer... Some like this, as they feel them to be stronger, some don't because its said that the stock bars will flex better... This is 100% a matter of personal preferance...They are NOT needed to achieve the lfit.. RE-INDEX - In the even that you are adjusting your torsion bars, and the adjuster bolts run out of adjusting room.. (the brackets they go through have no more movement available)... you can reindex the stock bars... Basically the ends of the bars are splined... you simply remove the adjuster bolt, back the bars out of the ends... rotate them by 1 or 2 splines, which will give you the extra ability to adjust higher... SHOCKS... With a simple torsion bar adjustment, its not requried to upgrade shocks, but lots of people do.... If you are lifting to the 2.5 to 3" range... you will need to upgrade... Now... There are wide spread comments on the good/bad effects of adjusting your torsion bars.... As most of us have found... There really is no DOWN side to doing this.... Will your truck's ride get stiffer due to adjusting the torsion bars? NO!.. however people do tend to say it does... And the reason has little to do with the torsion bars, but more in the fact that they are adjusting to much. When you adjust your torsion bars for more lift, you are changing the angles that your control arms sit. Just under your UCA (upper control arm) there is a little black rubber bump stop. This is there so that when the front end goes up, and the wheels "droop" or drop down, it prevents the suspension from drooping to far, and causing your CV's (axles) to bind, and possibly brake. Normally when you go over a bump, your front suspension has plenty of room to travel before that bump stop, so it never actually contacts it. But by lifting more than 1.5-2" this way, you are causing the front end to contact those stops more than regular, resulting in what seems to be a stiff ride. Worn out shocks can also play a part in this, however the simple answer, is distance between UCA and bump stop... You can purchase "low profile" bump stops from www.4x4parts.com which can help with some of this. REAR SUSPENSION.... you have 3 basic options.... 1) Blocks 2) Shackles 3) AAL's (add a leaf) or custom leaf packs. I personally don't like blocks.. but they work... but i won't go into details on the SHACKLES... You have several options... the aftermarket parts places listed do sell them... OR... AutoZone and several other places do sell universal ones that can be used for aprox $14.00... The aftermarket ones available are stronger, but the universal ones are usable... Shackles will provide the most flex of all these options... AAL's.. they sell Add A Leafs that range from cheaper 1pc to more exspensive 3pc sets... This is the BEST way.. however they don't flex as good as shackles, so lots of people combine shackes and aal's.. BODY LIFTS... 4x4parts.com sells a 2" and a 3" body lift... The 2" is less work to install, however both work great.. A body lift ONLY raises the body of the truck... giving it the lifted look, however the suspension and frame are still at the EXACT same height.... The one MAJOR advangate with a body lift is the fact that it allows for bigger tires, because it raises the wheel well higher above the tire, which creates more room for larger tires... Body lifts are typically less money to purchase, but way more work to install... TIRE SIZES.... FLAT OUT... there is NO answer for the biggest tire you can run... With minimal change, a 31" tire is usually never a problem... With a body lift, or 2" or better suspesion lift, a 32" tire is IDEAL... YES... you can make larger tires fit... NO... there is no way to tell you what you can fit... The size tire you can fit all comes down to what rim your using... and what the backspacing is... the wider the stance, the smaller the tire, because as you move to a wider offset, at full turn, your tire is no longer tucked inside the fender, and will rub with a smaller tire than with stock rims... Larger tires are simply trial and error... Sorry, the simple answer just doesn't exist.... AXLES... What do I have??? This link should just about cover it..... http://nissan4wheelers.com/eve/ubb.x.../m/88310151411 Thanks to all who have contributed to this thread. As other things get posted in this thread, I will update the original post with most of this information, and/or links to the information. We are attempting to stay as factual as possible with everything posted here, however based on the type of suspension we have, and differant offsets of rims people use, it is intirely possible for two people to have completely differant results in regards to several things covered in this thread...
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01 Frontier - Crew Cab - 4x4 - SuperCharged - 285/55/16 Bighorns - TJM - ShrockWorks - Skid Row - Calmini - AC Off Topic Talk about everything that doesn't relate to the Nissan Frontier. This section is pretty much a free for all. Have fun here. Last edited by JoshuaTest : 11-21-2007 at 07:20 PM. 
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10-21-2007, 03:59 AM
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thats just about right, although i think i nshould mention the flattening of my leaves wiht the shackles, nad how much i love AAL's better.
and 33 is about the bigggest you can go on suspension
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Richie, i love mozilla ************ ************* www.linxc.com 2001 silver SC CC 
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10-21-2007, 12:34 PM
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Quote:
as for shackles.... Lots of the blame doesn't go to the shackles, but more so the weak leaf packs our trucks come with... I think more of it comes from the fact that once we lift, we also start wheeling, and start trying to flex our trucks out as often as we can.... and that in itself is more likely to be the reason they flatten out... because at that point, we are stressing the already weak leaf packs even more...... I think i hit on the AAL's are the best, but shackles create more flex thing though... which is true.... WHERE ARE MY BODY LIFT GUYS????????? Houdini, NismoGone... somebody... anybody want to add anything, or help me out on the technical side of anything???? Also a vote? are you guys happy with me choosing the 31-32" tire as the suggested top end tire size? based on the reasoning i gave? I want to make sure this is not only MY OPINION, but truthful info....
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01 Frontier - Crew Cab - 4x4 - SuperCharged - 285/55/16 Bighorns - TJM - ShrockWorks - Skid Row - Calmini - AC Off Topic Talk about everything that doesn't relate to the Nissan Frontier. This section is pretty much a free for all. Have fun here.
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10-21-2007, 01:20 PM
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Is this FAQ going to contain questions that are solely lift/off-roading oriented?
I read the first sentence and a few topics that I've seen repeatedly asked came to mind like audio (speaker sizes, subwoofer options especially for CC guys, HU install), intake/exhaust/header options, various bulb types/numbers, wheels. Then read the rest and felt I needed to ask the question above to contribute some info. Personally, I know nothing about lift, suspension, and tires for this truck so I would gain benefit from reading the FAQ. 
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 2003 SE CC SB V6 Auto 4X2 in Solar Yellow NGK Wires w/ Champion Ir - Bomz SRI - Gibson single exhaust - Custom Y-pipe w/ no secondary cats- 350Z antenna - - Alpine 9831 - Infinity speakers - Bazooka tube - Wagner trueview headlights - Wagner lazerblue foglights - Philips clear front 194's - foglight mod
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10-21-2007, 02:46 PM
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For those of you Crew Cab owners that want to put a sub box behind your rear seats:
 -These are Outside Dimensions (Gross)-   ------------------------------------------------- If you plan on doing this, please be aware that you will have to cut out the jack support bracket which is located behind the rear seats. If you don't want to do that you can split the box in half and put in one sub. I cut the bracket off and put the jack under my seat. My amp is located under the passanger side seat so make sure you get one that will fit under there or else you will have to find another place. With this setup there is no room left behind the rear seats and the seat closes against the enclosure making it a great massage seat  (There is no need to strip the seats to make it fit). There is approximately 50.5" behind the seats so you can make your box fit in perfect or make it smaller like I did (48"). Make sure you measure the area in your truck before you start. My truck is an 03 Crew Cab and it fits nicely. To make the box get yourself some 5/8" wood, wood screws, and wood glue. You want to make the box air tight. After you finish the box you can put carpet covering around it or just leave it as is. I am running two eight inch Rockford Fosgate P1s and it looks like I can fit up to 4 if I wanted. 10 inch subs might also be a possibility for this box. There is about 0.83 Cubic Feet of air space inside the box so keep that in mind when looking for subwoofers.--Firelli
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2003 XE V6 Frontier: [Current Mods: Nismo Intake+Exhaust+Rims+Shocks, 32" Pirelli Scorpion ATRs, 2" Lift, Manik Brushguard, 3x5 KC HiLites, WT Window Deflectors, 2 Rockford Fosgate P1 Subs + Kenwood Amp] Last edited by Firelli : 10-21-2007 at 02:51 PM.
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10-21-2007, 05:05 PM
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Quote:
o and for you extended cab owners, you can stick a single 12 box or a dual 12 box just about anywhere, i personally went with a 15, aka mega bass for a smaller sized truck. and if having trouble finding a place to put it, make a plateform so everything will be level, just measure the back space and cut it out on a square piece of plywood. then build supports based on how high you want the plateform to be, i did mine flush with the cup holder in back of the console. then if wanted, grab some carpet and some glue and stick the carpet on there, it makes it look like the floor is even and smooth but with a "from the factory look" (i got the same color carpet as the rest of the truck).
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-Josh- 99 Nissan Frontier XE V6 4X4 -3 inch lift, 33s and a lot of fab work- AC, Calmini, Ballistic Fab, Bilstien, KC, Shrockworks, BFG, L&P, SLR, Copperhead Fab, Pro Comp, Cherrybomb, K&N Yeah, it's the new king of everything, and b*tches don't say no to me, I'm like a wedding ring.
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10-21-2007, 08:09 PM
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Nope.. it doesn't have to stop with lifts and tire stuff... those are the ones that i've seen tons of, and catch myself answering more often than none....
I can also add the stock intake mod info too...
__________________
01 Frontier - Crew Cab - 4x4 - SuperCharged - 285/55/16 Bighorns - TJM - ShrockWorks - Skid Row - Calmini - AC Off Topic Talk about everything that doesn't relate to the Nissan Frontier. This section is pretty much a free for all. Have fun here.
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10-22-2007, 01:16 AM
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i got one more (cuz someone just asked this):
how to get to #6 plug.. aka pain need 2 6" extensions, 3 pivots and a plug socket, pull the plug wire off, fish those 2 extensions down with all 3 pivots on them (i find it way easier to leave off the wrench till the socket is on the plug) then stick the wrench on and loosen away idk if this should go on here, but when i first got the truck, that was a major thing i had a question about, not a very user friendly design 
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-Josh- 99 Nissan Frontier XE V6 4X4 -3 inch lift, 33s and a lot of fab work- AC, Calmini, Ballistic Fab, Bilstien, KC, Shrockworks, BFG, L&P, SLR, Copperhead Fab, Pro Comp, Cherrybomb, K&N Yeah, it's the new king of everything, and b*tches don't say no to me, I'm like a wedding ring.
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10-22-2007, 04:38 AM
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this might be a double post and if it is the suck on my lolly pop!!
stearing is a big issue with 1st gens this is the weakest point on out trucks with any offroading you wheel hop with anything bigger that a 31 you will bend tie rod adjusters 4x4parts.com and slr are the only two places i have found that carries heavy duty replacements for stock stearing once you lift you truck and put bigger tires i would upgrade! then for the more crazier (because we all are crazy we wheel nissans!!) there is calmini which i believe has the best designed system but there is l&p slr and big money with total caos king kong systems. these replace everything from the power stearing box to the knuckle! without the rack and pinion that the 2nd gens have we need something stronger for our stearing!
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 3in calmini sl, 2in bl, front calmini winch bumper, calminis rear stolen tube bumper, home made rock sliders, rear arb air locker, slr stearing sytem
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10-23-2007, 03:39 PM
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Regarding the OEM Air box mod, someone (and I'll do it if time permits) should consolidate into an easy step by step post. But for now, see these links... The mod is ~$5 for the two caps needed and time wise it took me 1-2 hours, but I like to take my time when doing unfamiliar mods
Josh's original thread - 1st Gen Airbox Mod Useful link on an Xterra site which Josh found (Post #8 on the thread above), has some good details - http://www.xterraownersclub.com/cgi-...;f=70;t=000190 My thread, which may have some additional details, start from about post #7 onward - Scotty, we need more POWER!!!
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