Ultimate First Gen Tire and Suspension thread

[durrell]

Well I figure since 90 percent of first gen questions here are about tires and suspension lifts, I'd compose a thread that is dedicated to answering all of those questions in one place. Hopefully it will be stickied so that everyone can see it before they ask the same questions.

What is the biggest tire I can run without a lift?

That depends. Most people don't go over a 31x10.50-15 on a stock lift. A 31x10.50-15 is roughly equivalent to a 275/75-15 tire. It may be possible to run a 32x11.50-15 on stock rims on a First gen 01 and up since the wheel wells are a bit different, but

I'm not sure. You can use this tire converter to calculate what metric sizes correspond to what standard sizes.

http://www.redrock4x4.com/tech/tire_calc.php

You can also use this link to see what other Frontier owners are running on their trucks with stock/aftermarket rims and stock/aftermarket lifts, and whether they had to trim mudflaps or not.

http://home.sprintmail.com/~onlyone/tunfstd.htm

Here is a breakdown of what might be necessary with running different sizes of tires on first gen Frontiers:

http://www.nissanoffroad.net/article...guide/tire.asp

From JoshuaTest:

I will add that anyone intending on running 32's or bigger and who off roads would want to look into a steering upgrade for the truck... Larger tires are known to eat up stearing parts on the 1st gens.

What is a torsion bar crank?

First gen Frontiers have independent front suspension instead of the coilovers found on second gens. This makes it easy to gain a few inches of lift on the front just by adjusting your torsion bars. A tutorial on how to do this can be found here:

http://www.nissanoffroad.net/how_to/...rsion_bars.asp

Also, don't forget to get your tires BALANCED when you get them mounted on the stock rims. Any shop should do that when mounting automatically. And also, with new tires and a torsion bar crank you will need to get your truck realigned.

What is a wheel alignment?

http://www.familycar.com/Alignment.htm
http://www.2carpros.com/topics/allign.htm

Those sites explain it easier than I can. Basically, an alignment adjusts your wheels to be parallel to each other and perpendicular to the ground. So this means that all 4 wheels are sitting straight up with the tire sitting flat, so as to avoid unnecessary wear on your tires. If you decide to do any kind of suspension lift, an alignment should be scheduled immediately afterwards.

What kind of lifts are available for my first gen?

There are several brands available, but the basic lifts for our trucks include:
-Upper Control Arms (UCA's) for the front
-"Add-a-Leaf (AAL for short)" or shackles in the rear

More extensive kits are available that include new shock absorbers and new torsion bars. These normally cost considerably more than the basic kits.

With any suspension lift, especially if you plan to do "flexing" (rocky trails, hilly terrain, etc.) you're going to need an idler arm brace.

This tutorial shows how to install a 3 inch lift with new torsion bars, new Add-a-Leafs in the rear, and the idler arm brace:

http://www.nissanoffroad.net/how_to/...ft_install.asp

This tutorial is dedicated solely to the idler arm brace install, and it has pictures:

http://nissan.off-road.com/nissan/ar....jsp?id=193931

Many choose to go with the basic lift of UCA's, AAL's, and the brace..as I intend to do.

You can find many suspension kits here.

What if I don't want to go with an expensive suspension lift?

You can go with a body lift. A body lift is harder to install, but it doesn't mess around with any suspension components. It is also cheaper.

Body lifts can be found here.

I will add more as I think of more, and if any of you have suggestions to add to this then PM me and I'll add it.

-durrell

[JoshuaTest]

Good Post...

i will add that anyone intending on running 32's or bigger and who off roads would want to look into a stearing upgrage for the truck... Larger tires are known to eat up stearing parts on the 1st gens