I had an 08 with a PRG advanced lift kit, 2.0 radflo's and Bilstein 5125's in the rear and a 2" body lift. I hear he doesn't have such a good reputation for delivering items in a timely manner these days. I did get my engine and transmission mounts from him recently with no issue so maybe it's just the suspension stuff.

That being said I am not sure I want to lift the truck that high again (4.5" up front and 4" rear between suspension and body lifts), getting stuff in and out of the bed was awkward. I do remember the droop travel being non-existent as well which made for a rough ride in certain situations.

I'll probably end up doing a Titan swap (keeping with the current theme) and keeping the lift at 3" up front and 2.5" out back to level it out.

What up? Funny how us Nissan guys seem to move around the different Nissan forums with different rides.

With IFS the only way to maintain good suspension travel while lifting is to go out wider while going up (or do a drop bracket lift :ugh2:). The titan swap is the best bang for the buck suspension mod on these Xterra and frontier pickups since it nets a 3” lift up front automatically and keeps the factory down travel. The 3 inch wider stance per side iirc also improves stability as you go up and helps fit the bigger meats. Are you just going to run wheel spacers out back to help even out the track width?

You know, you could cheaply source a titan rear axle pretty easily and just cut and reweld the shock and leaf spring brackets, new driveshaft and voila, better stronger rear to match your swapped front and then you’re rolling in a tiny titan :tup:

:tiphat:

I am pretty confident I will be leaving the diffs and suspension alone this year. I have multiple things to consider with the differential situation mainly due to logistics.

It is more expensive to re-gear the C200K parts wise but it's cheaper to ship a ring, pinion and bearings.

If time is on my side it may be a few hundred more to find an Frontier or Titan M226 but it's pretty munch going to be 2-2.5 times the cost of it by the time I get it.

Ideally I would love to find a Frontier M226 before the truck is shipped as that would be the cheapest option. I haven't been able to find one just yet and have some budget and time constraints I have to work within.

In related news all the misc **** needed to get the motor in the bay has been ordered from Rock auto. Fluids and exhaust materials are next!

my :twocents:, you’re already in so deep on this build, imo I’d do the m226 rear diff even if it means a bit of a time delay, that way when your done, you’re done and not wishing or thinking about rear diff upgrades. :tup:

http://www.the370z.com/members/sirni...76418258-n.png
Found a free 99 bypass valve from my friends spare parts bin for his mustang to replace the damaged one on the VK45 manifold. Since it's a normally closed style actuator I had to reverse the mounting orientation for it to work in this situation.



A little test using the mighty cube as a vacuum source.

There will be a check valve between the solenoid and the vacuum port so it will hold the butterflies closed until the RPM window switch triggers the solenoid and opens them.

Last piece for the induction is a Nick Williams 103mm throttle body.

Progress!
http://www.the370z.com/members/sirni...7-08-17-52.jpg
Transmission is back together and the engine is being stripped down to do the valve train this week.

http://www.the370z.com/members/sirni...7-08-16-45.jpg
I got the intake manifold back from the powder coaters as well.

Sweet!

Got the suspension finalized and a majority of the stuff ordered since the lead time is so far out. Keeping with the Titan theme here is my take on a Titan swap suspension

1st Gen Tundra Bilstein 6112 front coilovers - 47-260337
Bilstein 5165 reservoir rear shocks - 25-177510
Bilstein reservoir mounts - 11176015
Fox 14mm ID 19mm OD shock bushing sleeve - 213-28-011-B
Energy suspension shock bushing - 9.8108G
Energy suspension 2" bump stops - 9.9101G
SPC front UCA's - 25560
SPC front alignment bolts - 87520
Moog RH front lower arm - RK620511
Moog LH front lower arm - RK620512
Moog inner tie rod - EV800216
Moog RH outer tie rod - ES800032
Moog LH outer tie rod - ES800031
QX80 front axles - NCV39021

I got some stuff to make my own extended brake lines from Summit as well.

For the rear I am probably gonna go with the All Dogs Offroad broverland leaf packs and a 1" block. I will also be making my own upper mounts for the front coilovers. It should end up 4" lift up front and 3" in the rear to level it out.

Now I need to figure out what dimension "33's" I am gonna go with.

295/70-17 is always a good choice. They measure out at 33.3 x 11.8”. So a tall “33”. Visually, they are almost as big as many 35’s.

Another nice size is 285/75-17. That’s a skinny 34 (33.8 x 11.2”). Also visually and practically a “35”, but easier to fit.

I thought about stepping down to 17's but for the moment SL 18's that are on it will have to do. I might end up with the 275/70R18 which is around 33.2-33.4" depending on the maker so right in the ball park of what you're suggesting :tup:

Wonder how slow it's gonna feel with that height tire and the 3.13 gears. At least the "gas mileage" will be "good" :rofl2:

http://www.the370z.com/members/sirni...79702868-n.jpg
How it started

http://www.the370z.com/members/sirni...02873830-n.jpg
How it's going :happydance:

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The VQ40 has left the building!

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VK56 on the stand, glad I scoured ebay for a month to find one with low mileage. Next week the JWT goodies go in :yum:

http://www.the370z.com/members/sirni...61745605-n.jpg

Old valve train is out! The heads look pretty clean, seems it was maintained/serviced properly during its past life.

Next up are 32 JWT valve springs and the bump sticks :happydance:

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http://www.the370z.com/members/sirni...-45-38-am.jpeg

https://media1.tenor.com/images/d059...itemid=5296452

Well some time has passed and I have some updates for ya

http://www.the370z.com/members/sirni...02219966-n.jpg
What a lovely looking assembly

http://www.the370z.com/members/sirni...45002058-n.jpg
Motor and transmission installed.

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OEM fitment for everything pretty much

http://www.the370z.com/members/sirni...67852254-n.jpg
New fuel pump assembly with an AEM 340lph pump going in

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The crowning jewel. My modded 2008 VK45DE intake manifold with a self ported OEM LS3 throttle body. I made the fuel rails from FAST brand blank stock and they have Radium Engineering FPD adapters to reuse the stock ones.

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The flash is playing tricks with the surface finish but it's all 240 grit from a sanding drum. Stock the LS throttle body has some weird transitions at the top and bottom of the opening, I smoothed those out and tapered the opening with 50/80/120 and finally 320 grit

http://www.the370z.com/members/sirni...6-18-48-43.jpg
Since the OEM vacuum actuator was damaged when it was shipped to me I made a bypass actuator from a GT500 fit. Vacuum keeps the butterflies shut, an RPM/WOT switch triggers the MAC 3 port and opens the butterflies for that short runner goodness. You can see the Radium FPD adapters, kept the ugly looking OEM dampers at the rear of the bay.

The latest hurdles are drivers side header clearance, the Frontier has an extra transmission crossmember mounting point that the Titan doesn't have so the sawzall is coming out!

I swear if this thing doesn't make 400whp 430wtq on pump I'll be pissed

:happydance:

This is open header, man it sounds mean

Fuckin right it sounds mean... very nice!! :rock:

Wheeeeeeeeeeew. Moved it out of the shop to get it cleaned out.



Exhaust is up next! Hopefully it quiets down alot but still lets some of the lope through:happydance:

]

Husam sent me a free rev video :happydance: All the various lights on the dash will be sorted once I get the steering wheel airbag sent to him.

Outside video of the exhaust. Very happy with the sound levels as well as the sound itself. Should be able to start it up in the morning without waking the neighborhood 🤣

In the end game now!

http://www.the370z.com/members/sirni...61669832-n.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/sirni...45-adapter.jpg

VK45 intake manifold to VK56 head adapters are completed. Pretty stoked to see it get tuned and dyno'd in a few weeks time.

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Intake setup is in! Waiting on the GTR injectors to get cleaned & matched and the rpm window switch to arrive

I can officially hang with the cool VQ flame crowd now :rofl2:



Husam is getting the idle/throttle sorted with the new throttle body and intake setup currently and then it's injectors and dyno time schedule permitting.

Oh thx Sirnixalot, now I fear every time a Frontier pulls next to me......

:rofl2:

It really is a sleeper, I should leave it stock height for a while and get a ladder rack

Set it up as an overlander. Rack mounted tent and the whole kit.

I am lifting it for sure since we get alot of flooding when its hurricane season her, I have 85% of the suspension waiting on it here. The overlanding stuff would be purely for looks, there is no wilderness here to explore or off road. I may get an awning for track days for some shade though.

Below is my take on the Titan swap
http://www.the370z.com/members/sirni...3-16-08-10.jpg
1st gen Tundra Bilstein 6112's with a custom top mount and Eibach 14" 650lb/in springs
Bilstein 5165 external reservoir rear shocks

Not pictured:
Titan SPC UCA's
Titan Moog LCA's with Whiteline bushings
Titan Moog inner & outer tie rods
Whiteline steering rack bushings
Ironman 2" lift rear leaf packs
Nisstec adjustable shackles
Titan Belltech 35mm front sway bar
Hellwig rear 22mm rear sway bar
QX80 front axles

http://www.the370z.com/members/sirni...3-21-14-41.jpg

Got to go up and see the truck in person last weekend. Got a few things done to it, installed the stereo/reverse camera, door speakers and wired up the intake runner rpm switch.

It's a riot, wish I got the video from later that night with it roasting 1-3 from a stand still :driving: :happydance: Still open diff but it will roast both with the locker.

The intake noise is just insane with the 90mm LS throttle body and 4" intake.



Should have it dyno'd by July and on island not long after

It sounds sooooo good!

It really does, the exhaust dumped before the axle isn’t that bad either but I may still extend it out the back depending on how all the Noico sound deadening material I have works out.

I’d upload more pics but the image hosting on here is pretty limited and I’m saving that for the z media