tastefull upgrades?

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beigepathy
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Joined: Sun Oct 30, 2016 9:24 pm
Location: sarasota fl

tastefull upgrades?

Postby beigepathy » Sun Oct 30, 2016 9:39 pm

looking for new foglights for my pathfinder a 1998 xe r50 w/o a spare tire mount rack ive had for a week now :( and i was wondering if there are brighter amber halogen lights for the headlights or a possible l e d something brighter if a andif the change from 2 fog lights to one light bar or if the change from two terminals to 1 would be a problem im also considering circular spot/fog lights.
also are there any limits on exaust pressure i should be aware of when going for a more raw rumble to the vg33e? and any other ideas that are kind of''bolt on" that wont take the average idiot like myself lol to do in a day thanks for your help


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smj999smj
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Postby smj999smj » Mon Oct 31, 2016 5:00 pm

Fog lights and spot lights do two, different things. Fog lights illuminate the area directly in front of the vehicle, which is what you want in foggy conditions. Spot lights are used to illuminate the area beyond what your standard head lights can reach. I'm not sure what you mean by "two terminals to one?"
As long as you leave the upstream converters, you won't have any issues. If you remove them, then you'll set catalyst efficiency codes unless you use CEL eliminators on the rear O2 sensors. Don't expect much increase in power unless you do quite a bit of work to the engine. Some swap in a set of VG30 cams for more horsepower, but that sacrifices some torque. The VG engines have always been reliable engines, but, not much in the power or gas mileage departments in their stock form.

beigepathy
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Joined: Sun Oct 30, 2016 9:24 pm
Location: sarasota fl

Postby beigepathy » Wed Nov 02, 2016 7:43 pm

how it has two separate fog lights if i were to for example some how put a lightbar to one of the fog lights connections or one connection per pods or what have you lol that wouldn't be a problem would it?and as far as the exhaust system goes im looking to get more sound out of it and as far as power if i got a different ''resonator''? after the muffler.. [im new to auto mechanics so please correct me] and it has 110,000 miles which as far as i know isnt much for a Nissan ,i plan to get it roughly back to ''off the line'' power so any tips to help there would be much appreciated ive been told like changing fluids fuel additives spark plugs..stuff like that?. that being said im pretty satisfied with it,it breaks loose in the dirt so thats enough for me haha and the reliability lives up to the expectations i had from reading through this forum and other reviews being my first vehicle im very happy with it and im just looking to add to it but with a lack of aftermarket parts im sure due to the engine making the maximum power to reliability ratio all in all i want to make it better in visual / mechanic aspect do you recommend any part sites online and thank you for the reply!

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smj999smj
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Postby smj999smj » Wed Nov 02, 2016 9:45 pm

You don't want to run an entire light bar off of a single power wire to a fog lamp. You could use the power circuit to the fog lamp to energize a relay, which you would install, and run the power circuit to the light bar on the other side of the relay, sourced from the battery positive terminal with a fuse in it for circuit protection. The ground side of the light bar could run to a chassis ground. This would allow the light bar to come on with the fog lamps but not overload the fog lamp circuit. This would probably not pass your state's inspection, however, if your vehicle goes on the road. To do that, you'll need a way to shut off the light bar when the fog lamps are on; this can be accomplished by running the ground circuit from the light bar to a toggle switch installed at the dash and the other side of the switch could be connected to a chassis ground. Rather than do all that, you could just install a relay, run and ignition sourced power to a dash toggle switch, the other side to the solenoid side of a relay and the other terminal for the solenoid side of the relay connected to ground. Then, a fused power source could be made from the battery positive terminal to the switch side of the relay and the other switch side relay terminal wired to the light bar, with the light bar's ground wire to a chassis ground. This way, you could separately control the light bar, regardless of the headlamps or fog lamps, and they would turn off when the ignition is off.
Replacing the post-muffler might make it a little louder but won't net you much power. Sometimes removing the post-muffler causes an annoying "rasp" or "buzz" sound to the exhaust. If you have CA emissions, then you could replace the rear cats with the front pipes (Walker 53482 and 53483) from a Federal emissions model, which would reduce some backpressure and still has the bung for the rear O2 sensor; this would make it a little louder, as well. If you really want to make it louder, then replace the main muffler with a performance muffler; you might take a look at Magnaflow 12580, which is what I run on my R51 Pathfinder (you might have to get an exhaust shop do some minor pipe fab work to install it, but it shouldn't cost too much. FYI, the Magaflow takes a few hundred miles to "break-in" and start sounding good.
At 105,000 miles, the spark plugs and timing belt are due, so you'll want to make sure those have been replaced. If you tune up the ignition system, I would go with NGK #6371 spark plugs and NGK #8113 spark plug wires. For the distributor cap and rotor, stick with genuine Nissan parts. For the air filter, most aftermarkets will do just fine; the same goes for fuel filters (it's located over the rear axle, driver's side) but just make sure it's an all-metal filter. Fram and a couple of other brands offer a fuel filter with a metal body and plastic top, which I would avoid.
As for where to get parts, the NGK and aftermarket parts can be purchased at Rockauto.com. For genuine Nissan parts, try CourtesyParts.com or NissanPartsDeal.com.
Note that you should be aware of your state's inspection policy if you do any modifications to your exhaust, especially if you remove rear converters (if you have a CA emissions model). States like CA and NY tend to be a lot more stricter than some other states.
Other sites you may find of interest:
www.4x4parts.com
www.autoanything.com

Some final notes: if you service your automatic transmission fluid, don't use Dexron III/Mercon. Use NissanMatic Type "D" ATF or an aftermarket synthetic ATF recommended for use in NissanMatic Type "D" or Dexron II applications. I recommend Valvoline Maxlife ATF or Castrol Transmax Multi-import ATF. If you have a manual transmission, make sure the gear oil is GL4 or a GL5 that specifically states it is safe for "yellow metals." As far as the transfer case, replace with whatever's in it, as some came with gear oil and others had ATF (it's okay to use Dexron III/Mercon in the transfer case, but I still use Valvoline Maxlife ATF in that, as well). Mobil One or Walmart's SuperTech full-synthetic, 75W90 gear oil works well in the front and rear diffs. If you need to replace the timing belt, I use Gates Timing Belt Component Kit w/ Water Pump from Rockauto.com. I also get Bando brand drive belts and Pentosin Pentafrost A2 anti-freeze from them, as well. I get the front cam and crank seals and thermostat from Nissan. This engine is an interference motor, so replacing the timing belt at recommended intervals is very important.

blackelk
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Postby blackelk » Mon Nov 14, 2016 10:01 pm

Fuel filter is often neglected. $10 and your set. Plan on breaking your old mount though. Also go buy the manual and read what you should do and when, go through basic maintenance. Imo lights are tricky. I wired led lights to my fog switch, $20 off amazon.


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