New project - brainstorming time

[Miner]

Is the plan for the front a bracket lift or extended travel with shocks and UCAs?

[avacado]

Frontier with a couple of Subaru-Brat style jump seats in the back.

[Morpheus]

Is the plan for the front a bracket lift or extended travel with shocks and UCAs?

All of the above.

Then a 3" Titan body lift would be modified for use.

[Miner]

That's going to be big, so you're serious about doing everything to fit 37s. What gears are you planning? Do you think the front diff will hold up?

[Morpheus]

That's going to be big, so you're serious about doing everything to fit 37s. What gears are you planning? Do you think the front diff will hold up?

I haven't planned that far ahead yet... I might stick with 36"'s I have no expectations of being able to go rock crawling with this truck, it'll be about cruising down the centre of the trail, do the climbs that entails, nothing more. I'm not overly worried about the front diff. It's stronger than the front diff in the xterra/pathy/fronty, so....

[Miner]

I think 35s and a take it easy, rock crawling ...not rock bouncing... approach to trails will keep the Titan/Armada Diffs within their limits. I would say 35s are the limit for the stock big-tow gearing (3.36 but don't quote me on that), 3.73s would be better but I personally can't justify the expense. For 37s I'd say 4.10s but Jibber is running 4.56s. What tires are you considering in a 36"?

Note - As I'm sure you're aware you should include exhaust manifolds in your Armada build budget. The Nissan units are only good for ~100k, I'd expect the same from the after-market replacement units. Long tubes are the other option, but then you need to add tuning (Up-Rev) to your budget. However some of the Flex Fuel trucks have been okay after headers without tuning, something you may want to look into.

[steelcityslicker]

Mike,

The armada is a fantastic rig and will easily carry your family. I had a US truck which had the bench middle seat which was great. My LE had all the options minus a sunroof and dvd player. The best option was the towing pkg which included the tranny cooler, temp guage and tow mode for the auto. When I picked up my BJ42 on a car hauler it pulled it from a stop light just letting my foot off the brake so power is definitely there if u are pulling a trailer. The stability, traction control were awesome in the winter esp for commuting. The wife loved the heated seats and heated steering wheel. I had the navigation and boss stereo which were great.

All that being said I'm not sure if the LE will be the the way to go for you having to deal with the electronics in the axles plus the rear air bag system. As far as space for the family the rear "trunk" is annoyingly small and barely room for anything. If you get a middle bench then you can at least fold one third row seat for extra room.

You will have tons of torque and hp for wheeling as the motor and tranny are fantastic. I'm questioning whether stock type axles will put up with all that weight, power and big meats though unless they are built up. The biggest issue I think you will have as Miner mentioned is getting it through some of our trails bc of the size. I hope you won't mind a lot of tree rash and body damage. Skids and sliders are a definitely must.

Hope this helps.

I hope you do it Mike. I look forward go seeing it out there it will be awesome.

[Bow_Tied]

Slicker!!!! Good to see ya here, been a while. Don't be a stranger.

[Simon]

Slicker!!!! Good to see ya here, been a while. Don't be a stranger.

X2

[steelcityslicker]

Slicker!!!! Good to see ya here, been a while. Don't be a stranger.

X2

THREAD JACK!!!!!!

Oh, I've been lurking. Creeping if you will. Hope to see you all soon.