Hello! What performance mods are out there?

[GSX-R35]

Hi everyone! I'm a newbie here but I've lurked for a while and have had my SE 4x4 since it was new in '05 and me and my friends and family have found it a most excellent companion

I was originally looking forward to replacing my trusted workhorse with an R52 but i found the new model less suited to my tastes and needs (I go camping a lot and tow an enclosed trailer at times to track days). So, I think I'll be keeping old reliable for a while longer.

Anyway, since I have a few modified cars and bikes under my belt I thought the old R51 could use some fettling too so I'd appreciate it if someone could point me to some good parts. I've looked around and I see a couple of nice intakes (the Volant seems to be the best one right now?) but I haven't found much info on exhausts, tunes, or whatever else is out there for US-market vehicles. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places here?

Also any tips on what mods are good for longevity? I've heard about the tranny cooler bypass but are there any others? I have an extended warranty on my vehicle so I hadn't really bothered to check this all out especially since I thought I'd be changing to a newer model but the situation has changed lol.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give!

[smj999smj]

There's not a lot, but there are some mods. Volant does make a nice CAI. Some have installed Gibson exhaust systems. There's a 1/2" plenum spacer that's made to fit between the intake manifold and the upper plenum. Some minor gains can be made through reprogramming, like Superchips and Bully Dog. If you have the budget, Stillen makes a supercharger.

[DanJetta]

I'm so jealous! I wish I didn't have to fix something stupid on mine long enough to be able to spend some time and money on something fun. I can't stay ahead of this thing!

[ShipFixer]

I'm so jealous! I wish I didn't have to fix something stupid on mine long enough to be able to spend some time and money on something fun. I can't stay ahead of this thing!

Don't worry, after three years I seem to have finally worked through all of the usual bugs. Just two more to go!

[skinny2]

Just curious, but are you guys looking at performance mods running premium fuel? I normally don't because I'm doing about 25k miles a year and don't see any real mpg difference, but when I do switch to premium it's clearly a bump in power.

I did about 600 miles this weekend towing with premium and I'm always amazed at how well this thing performs. Also keep in mind that I tow 15-20,000# trailers with my diesel pickup and have towed with numerious full-size V8 trucks. Obviously this isn't a diesel truck and isn't going to move 15,000# (well I suppose it COULD) but with a more typical 2k-5k trailer this thing does as-good or better than many V8 trucks I've pulled. I came across hilly eastern OH yesterday with cruise locked on 70mph and never downshifted even pulling hills that semi's loose speed.

Also pretty lucky on the repair front...I've replaced the radiator as a precaution but otherwise no other issues coming up on 100k rapidly. Hopefully that continues for awhile as I'd like to get another couple years out of it at least.

[GSX-R35]

There's not a lot, but there are some mods. Volant does make a nice CAI. Some have installed Gibson exhaust systems. There's a 1/2" plenum spacer that's made to fit between the intake manifold and the upper plenum. Some minor gains can be made through reprogramming, like Superchips and Bully Dog. If you have the budget, Stillen makes a supercharger.

Thanks for the info! I had no idea there was a supercharger kit for the Pathfinder! I almost wish you hadn't told me about it cause I just looked it up on the Stillen site and now I'd love to have one lol. But my upgrade money is mostly going to my other Nissan lol.

Is the Gibson exhaust the only decent one out there? I tried googling Pathfinder exhausts and that seems to be the only one that popped up.

And am I missing something or this site doesn't have multiquote for replies? I wanted to make one post to reply to everyone else but couldn't find how to do it lol.

[GSX-R35]

I'm so jealous! I wish I didn't have to fix something stupid on mine long enough to be able to spend some time and money on something fun. I can't stay ahead of this thing!

Don't worry, after three years I seem to have finally worked through all of the usual bugs. Just two more to go!

Sorry to hear you guys have had a lot of issues with your Pathfinders. Mine has been pretty reliable except for the AC needing a new thermostat and a couple of bad fuel level and oil senders - all covered under warranty.

Oh, there was one big issue with a side airbag sensor going bad and Nissan originally refusing to cover it using some lame excuse of how it isn't covered because of it being part of the seat and the seat isn't covered under my extended warranty - even though it states airbags ARE. Thankfully my local dealer went to bat for me, took it up with corporate, and got it fixed for me at no charge.

Mind if I ask what problems you've had so I can do some pre-emptive check on mine?

[GSX-R35]

Just curious, but are you guys looking at performance mods running premium fuel? I normally don't because I'm doing about 25k miles a year and don't see any real mpg difference, but when I do switch to premium it's clearly a bump in power.

I did about 600 miles this weekend towing with premium and I'm always amazed at how well this thing performs. Also keep in mind that I tow 15-20,000# trailers with my diesel pickup and have towed with numerious full-size V8 trucks. Obviously this isn't a diesel truck and isn't going to move 15,000# (well I suppose it COULD) but with a more typical 2k-5k trailer this thing does as-good or better than many V8 trucks I've pulled. I came across hilly eastern OH yesterday with cruise locked on 70mph and never downshifted even pulling hills that semi's loose speed.

Also pretty lucky on the repair front...I've replaced the radiator as a precaution but otherwise no other issues coming up on 100k rapidly. Hopefully that continues for awhile as I'd like to get another couple years out of it at least.

I used to use regular myself when just tootling around town but would switch to premium for going out of town especially when towing my enclosed bike trailer and have always been impressed at how strong the V6 pulls. My friends and I always joke actually about how I usually outdrag most people at stoplights with little effort even with the trailer in tow lol.

Now I just put premium in all the time. My other cars need premium so I figured I didn't want my Pathfinder to feel left out anymore lol.

And I'm hoping mine stays reliable too. At 64K miles I'm hoping he's still got a lot of life left in him lol. I've got the money to replace it but since the R52 is no longer a body-on-frame I'm wanting to keep my R51 for quite a while longer.

[skinny2]

And I'm hoping mine stays reliable too. At 64K miles I'm hoping he's still got a lot of life left in him lol. I've got the money to replace it but since the R52 is no longer a body-on-frame I'm wanting to keep my R51 for quite a while longer.

Same here...I normally don't keep my daily-drivers this long but I really like it and it's been a solid vehicle. There's almost nothing out there on the new front that interests me without going to a full-size and then you lose the agility. I run a lot of two-lane backroads and the full-size utes like Suburbans, Armada, etc. just can't take the turns or make the passes. Nevermind the gas mileage....

[Xterror04]

For bolt on performance for the 4.0 the afe intake seems to be a good choice, dyno runs with that vs the volant show the afe gives more hp and torque, it can also be purchased for about $200 from the afe website, the ims ( intake manifold spacer) by xtp ( http://extremetruckperformance.com/) also has good dyno proven results... Pair those with a bullydog tuner and you will see a lot more pep

I believe www.offroadperformanceparts.com had bullydog tuners the best deal

As for exhaust I'd go custom but that's just me... And slap on some headers

[DanJetta]

Mind if I ask what problems you've had so I can do some pre-emptive check on mine?

I don't want to hijack the thread so I'll keep this quick.

In the past year I've had the following things go wrong: rear hatch motor, seized control arms, seat heater, window switch, sunroof seal, driver door seal, U-joint, serpentine tensioner, fuel pump, starter motor clutch, rear hatch struts (twice), tire pressure sensor and annoying rattles in the following places: center console, inside the driver door, inside the steering column, inside the DVD player and a new one where the windshield meets the dash.

I crunched some numbers and found that something goes wrong about every 250 miles and I've spent an average of $230/mo in repairs in the year I've owned it (not including maintenance items). I'm giving it another 6 months. If the repairs keep coming I'm going to "Laverne-and-Shirley" it.

I'm hoping to be able to do some fun mods one day!