New here and thinking about an R51

Any topics related to 2005-2012 R51

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telemike
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New here and thinking about an R51

Postby telemike » Thu Sep 12, 2013 5:30 am

I currently have a 2007 Hummer H3 with Adventure package. Pretty darn good off-road, not the greatest on-road. rear locker, 4.56 gears, 33's, 4:1 low range. Looking at a pathfinder R51 for the 6000-7000lb tow rating. My H3 only has 4500lb with the 3.7 I-5.

I would like to find the Off-road packge Pathy. How can I tell if it has the OR package? I see some 2006-2007 models around that say Off road pkg, but here are no badges. Is it just skid paltes and 16" wheels? The 2008+ models added HDC?

I also can get a 2008 V8 LE for a darn good price, plenty of power but the 2.94 gears kinda suck and I prefer cloth to leather seats.

any suggestions?

I am assuming even if I get a non OR pkg, I can add Nissan skid plates but not HDC.

If stock tires are 265/70R16, 265/65R17... I should be able to go 265/75R16 or 265/70R17 stock height? I would at some point add a 2" spacer lift or Ranch quick-lift.

Any way to repogram ECU for tire size changes?

Thanks for helping the NOOB 8)


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disallow
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Postby disallow » Thu Sep 12, 2013 6:39 am

I think you would like it compared to your H3. What are you planning on towing?

What kind of prices are you seeing on V8s down there?

t

telemike
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Postby telemike » Thu Sep 12, 2013 6:59 am

My father-in-law has a 23 or 25' travel trailer. 4200# dry weight. He tows it with a Chevy Trailblazer I6.

There is a 2008 V8 for $16K. I'm not into the LE package though. I prefer the SE cloth.


For the forest roads and such around here the Pathy ought to be fine. I don't do rock crawling much anymore. The H3 is a tractor offroad though with the massive gear reduction available.

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disallow
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Postby disallow » Thu Sep 12, 2013 7:04 am

telemike wrote:My father-in-law has a 23 or 25' travel trailer. 4200# dry weight. He tows it with a Chevy Trailblazer I6.

There is a 2008 V8 for $16K. I'm not into the LE package though. I prefer the SE cloth.


For the forest roads and such around here the Pathy ought to be fine. I don't do rock crawling much anymore. The H3 is a tractor offroad though with the massive gear reduction available.
The trailblazers have a wicked towing capacity, the ext has 7500lbs, which is nuts because its smaller than the pathy on wheelbase and overall size.

Thats a good price, methinks I'll have to find myself one in the next year or so, want to upgrade to v8!

And to answer your question on the tires, you can go pretty big, guys here are doing 285/65s with no real issues. I ran 265/75/16s on my 05 with mild rub on the fender plastic, they were awesome I could drive through anything! :)

telemike
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Postby telemike » Thu Sep 12, 2013 7:34 am

I have 285/75R16 on H3 and can fit 315/75R16. No Lift.

Toyota Sequioa is ugly and pricey. 4Runner and Xterra too small for towing. Land Cruise so pricey! Chevy Tahoe boring!!!! Ford Expedition and Explorer are boring as well. Armada possibility but Pathy is prettier.


Also looking at Jeep Commander with HEMI V8, but even iwtha 2" lift you can barely fit 31's.

Jeep Grand Cherokee with 3.0 CRD diesel is possibility if I can find one.
Last edited by telemike on Thu Sep 12, 2013 7:37 am, edited 1 time in total.

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disallow
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Postby disallow » Thu Sep 12, 2013 7:36 am

wait for MY2015 and you can get the v8 diesel on the Titan, and maybe the Armada too!

telemike
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Postby telemike » Thu Sep 12, 2013 7:37 am

Budget is sub $20K

DanJetta
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Postby DanJetta » Thu Sep 12, 2013 7:47 am

I think the Off Road package only comes on the SE and includes taller suspension, skid plates, different wheels and hill descent control.

I have the V8 LE with leather and kind of wish I had gotten the SE instead. The additional LE features feel like putting lipstick on a pig to me. The leather feels cheap (more like vinyl) and is really fragile. I'm super careful with the seats and they're already full of scratches. I LOVE the V8 but the transmission gearing is really awkward.

Overall I like the truck, though, and think you'll like it coming from the H3. $16K is a great price if it's in good shape.

telemike
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Postby telemike » Thu Sep 12, 2013 8:00 am

I'm not sure when/if I will sell H3. Depends on if FIL gives us the travel trailer. I think the SE OR has HDC on 2008+. I've seen some 2006/2007 Pathy's for sale that say Off Road but all I can see from the pics is the hard plastic cargo area and 16" wheels. There is a 2008 OR with side badges and HDC that is $18K, which I could talk down.

DanJetta
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Postby DanJetta » Thu Sep 12, 2013 8:11 am

I think the hard plastic cargo area comes on all pre '08 models.

DanJetta
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Postby DanJetta » Thu Sep 12, 2013 8:14 am

If you can find something in Diesel, I'd say go with that. I wish the Pathy came in Diesel/manual in the US.

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Postby skinny2 » Thu Sep 12, 2013 8:36 am

SE-OR was only available in '08 and '09 and was the only way to get the hill-decent and hill start assist. That's not something you can add later and frankly more of an amateur feature in my book.

Either engine will feel like a rocket compared to the H3. The V6 has tremendously more torque than that I5. I took the V6 to keep my mpg in check since I drive 25k per year and haven't had any complaints on performance. The V8 will obviously tow better but the V6 is no slouch. I would argue it does as good on the power front as my last two V8 pickups.

skinny2
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Postby skinny2 » Thu Sep 12, 2013 8:44 am

DanJetta wrote:I think the hard plastic cargo area comes on all pre '08 models.
I believe it was an option in '08 because mine has it. Most do not but there are some out there. I've never seen it in an '09+ though. Which is weird since '08 was the update.

telemike
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Postby telemike » Thu Sep 12, 2013 8:52 am

I've had my I-5 PCM tweaked by PCMofNC.com. Has major power surge at 4K. Will probably add a header to replace cracked manifold.

As it is, if I get an R51 it be an SE and then mod from there.

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NmexMAX
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Postby NmexMAX » Thu Sep 12, 2013 9:41 am

telemike wrote:I've had my I-5 PCM tweaked by PCMofNC.com. Has major power surge at 4K. Will probably add a header to replace cracked manifold.

As it is, if I get an R51 it be an SE and then mod from there.
I'd wait for a V8 SE. Had one in my sights, but didn't act on it, and had to get an LE because I slacked.


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