New air shocks causing rear tires wearing on the inside.

[Cracker]

Hi,

I have Airlift 1000s and aftermarket airshocks installed on my 2005 PF. The rear tires are wearing along the inside edge with less wear gradually towards the centerline. Outside edge is normal wear. To me this indicates a kind of sagging. But looking at the level of the PF from the side the rear does not appear to be any lower than the front. I'm wondering if I need to increase the air in my shocks or decrease them to achieve normal tire wear. Normally, I don't have a load but when I do I have one (sometimes two) dirt bikes that "hang" off the hitch on a motorcycle carrier. This happens on every 3rd or 4th weekend for a total of 4 hours. This just makes me want to get an Expedition with the auto-load leveling air shocks.

[pawjr74]

You should get the vehicle aligned with the air pressure in the rear bags set at your normal driving pressure. Changing the pressure in the bags may affect your alignment.

[Cracker]

I shop told me there was "no alignment" possibilty on the rear PF. Not true?

[Cracker]

I adjust the shocks as needed when I have a load or unloaded. The bags I tend to keep around 25-28 lbs. The place that did the shocks said the shocks could handle up to 80 lbs but under normal driving they suggested 35lbs. The shop is since out of business so I can't ask them my case of tire wear. Is 35 lbs a typical for air shocks? When fully loaded I ride them at around 65 lbs. Even still there is some sag.

[pawjr74]

It is possible to align the rear suspension of the pathfinder. On vehicles 06 and newer you may need to purchase the alignment ecentric kit.

I would play around with the pressure in the airbags and see what works best for you.

[ShipFixer]

I adjust the shocks as needed when I have a load or unloaded. The bags I tend to keep around 25-28 lbs. The place that did the shocks said the shocks could handle up to 80 lbs but under normal driving they suggested 35lbs. The shop is since out of business so I can't ask them my case of tire wear. Is 35 lbs a typical for air shocks? When fully loaded I ride them at around 65 lbs. Even still there is some sag.

Wow, that's a lot of air for an unloaded Pathfinder. I usually keep 7-8 psi in mine and go up to 25 for a full load. I started at 15 and found that too harsh with no load and noticeably stiffer than the front. 7-8 seems balanced against the stock springs in the front. More than that will overwhelm my Bilsteins in normal driving and cause a noticeable "underdamped" oscillation over bigger bumps.

25 psi will definitely raise the rear and affect your alignment. As in you can measure the height change and even see the camber shift a little bit. This will wear your tires unevenly one way or another.

For some reason there's this psychological hard wire to believe that stiffer springs always equal better...it's just not true. Painful to watch in off road sports like mountain biking where you need a lower natural frequency spring and damper system, and people insist on knocking their own fillings out instead...