2010 Pathfinder Suspension

[candyman10]

Hi all,
Still fairly new to the forum, but have been reading tons of articles for the past couple months. Haven’t had to post much since many of the questions I come up with have already been discussed somewhere else. So thanks for the help and excellent communications!

However, when it comes to suspension there’s been quite a few posts. Each seems to have some pro’s and cons. As you guys know, the stock pathy seems to stumble on itself in unexpected situations at speed, and is bouncy as heck over very simple objects at low speed (little pot holes in parking lots, light off-road, cats…). I’m looking for a straight-forward way to fix this.

Here’s what I’ve learned so far:

2010 pathy’s don’t take well to lifts since the rear wheels cannot be aligned back to spec

Airbags work well (but I don’t really want to go down this route yet)

Bilstein, Rancho, and OME make kits (front shocks, rear coil & shocks), but only with 2” lift option.

Springs/shocks off of V8 and OR edition pathys don’t really gain much

Shock change alone won’t gain much

I’ve seen some posts that describe uses of the above, and even a combination of kits/parts through trial and error, but I have yet to see a post where somebody said “hellz yeah! This worked perfect”. If there’s one out there that I missed, please throw the link at me and I’ll read up on it.

What I’m after is a firmer, more stable ride (with the understanding that this is a heavy suv). I’ve had a number of trucks, suvs, jeeps (this is my 15th vehicle), and remeber that some of those had a firmer ride. The application I’m after is relatively simple, just improved on-road handling with capability for the occasional off-road. And when I do off-roading in the pathy, it’s not very hard core (though I know they’re fully capable of it).

So with thinking shocks up front, new springs/shocks in rear; here are my questions:

What is the limit on the lift before I run into a tire alignment nightmare? Are there kits in that range?

Is there such a kit out there that gives you the same ride enhancement as the 2 in suspension kits, but maintains stock height? I’m not at all against lifting it, but again, don’t want issues with tire wear.

something different?

Thanks all!!!

[Storm4.0]

Rancho Quick lift.... Hellz Yeah! Tighter feel, no rear jounce, perfect alignment. Aside from the suspension travel not increasing a whole lot like the OME/Radflo setup, I love it. I don't need the extra 1-2" of travel anyway that's what the ABLS is for

Oh... and AirLift bags help alot for the rear jounce/sag.

Pic of the QuickLift on my Pathy.

[candyman10]

haha, awesome reply!!! and that's a hell of a nice ride you've got going!

i've seen many posts that say the '05 pathy had the camber bolts to adjust alignment for the suspension change. seems that pathy's after that don't have that.

i really like that susp kit, but just want to be sure about the rear alignment before i buy it. did you have any alignment change after you installed?

[jasunderland]

I agree with the airlift 1000. cheap and easy and keeps the sag down.

Here is a video I made of time lapse of the install. doesn't show much on the install itself, but it is reallllly straight forward. it does show some before and after pics.

I cant get the damn thing to imbed, so here is the Link



http://www.vimeo.com/14516128

[Storm4.0]

i really like that susp kit, but just want to be sure about the rear alignment before i buy it. did you have any alignment change after you installed?

Just get some rear camber bolts to get it into factory spec. The alignment tech that did mine said that there was still a little more room for adjustment, but not much. I have 13,000 mi. on my tires since I had them installed and they are wearing perfectly. Of course they should because it took 2 hours for them to align it.

[candyman10]

thanks jasunderland for the info and the vid! looked at the website and agree that bags seems to be a pretty cheap/easy way to do what i am after. cool song choice for the timelapse vid, but curious why you didn't choose King of the Hill song

and thanks storm 4.0! looked a little online and saw that some places sell the camber bolts for up to '08 (sure '10 prob can be found with some more hunting). the aftermarket bolts allow for +/- 2 deg, so i will need to dig a little beyond that to see if anyone's pathy needed additional adjustment beyond that range for a lift/tire chnage. but its good to know that your setup went smooth and is not giving you any issues. so thanks for the hellz yeah!!!

once i finish the home searching/moving thing, i will start in on the pathy and post more