cray54

On 7/19/2020 at 11:26 AM, SoundinSpirit said:

For anyone running the 285/70/17 on factory wheels... do you notice any road wander on the freeway? Les Schwab warned me to avoid going that big on the 7.5" wheels as they may not be flat on the road... Thoughts?  Several other tire shops were not concerned though... 

I running that size, but not on factory wheels (I'm on 17x8). The Falken Wildpeak AT3W shows a range of 7.5" - 9.0" for their 285x70R17 and 7.5" - 9.5" for their 285x75R17. I would think if they specified it, it would be appropriate to use.

Cray54,

 

Yes on part list.

No instructions or "Manual"

They do have a help line for mechanics to call.

 

All parts come from Quigley.

 

So sorry for delay in answering....

I just saw that you replied. Is the parts list something you would share here or directly?

Is there any way to position the swivel so it can operate with the center console in? I picture opening the front door, sliding the seat fully forward, starting the swivel, and having to slide it rearward before it is complete... but I'm not out looking at the van right now.

I'm looking for some data points:

• What lug nuts do you have on your aftermarket aluminum rims? 
• What amount of thread engagement do you get with them (how many turns until tight)?

The reason I'm asking...

I checked the stock lug nuts, and the [small] conical seat almost fully engages with the steel wheels (which means it will not have enough purchase on aluminum wheels). Also, the stock lug nuts have about 9.5 threads of thread engagement (which is the expected amount, so they would not get enough with aluminum rims, and standard conical lugs would not get enough engagement without longer studs). 

So, it seems to me that when getting aluminum wheels, you need to either: 

• Get longer wheel studs, and standard conical seat lug nuts

or

• Get "ET" (Extended Thread) lug nuts

I can't seem to find ET lug nuts that are geared toward trucks (larger hex size, larger conical seat, larger diameter thread extension, etc.)... and I don't really want to replace my studs right now.

So, I look forward to reading what others have used successfully. 

Thank you, Chris

I haven't weighed mine directly, but through rough weighing the wheels with tires and subtracting the manufacturer tire weight, I get: 

40 lbs (For SL tires, which I think are the same).

I'd be interested to get some real readings from someone with bare rims.

So calculating gas mileage would be difficult.  I'm just looking for a way to lower the ride height so I can park in my garage.

Oh, calculating gas mileage isn't that bad, the odometer is much more accurate than the speedometer. Check the specs for revolutions per mile, and figure out your ratio. Mine is 1.032 new:old. So, when I calculation my mileage, I do: (Distance in miles) * (1.032) / (Fuel volume in gallons). 

Now, I can't picture putting tires small enough to make a significant difference (Tires a full 1" shorter will only reduce your clearance by 0.5"). Maybe some suspension work (lowering via suspension) would be a better option.

Does changing the height of the tire change the speedo reading?

Yes, the speedometer reading is tied to the rotational speed of the wheel, which will change when the wheels get bigger or smaller.

You can use the tire height ratios to get a general estimate (A tire that is 3% taller will general read 3% lower on speed). The estimates don't always work because speedometers are not always an accurate representation in the first place. 

The wheel looks good, but I personally would go with something wider that 6.5.

 

I have American Outlaw Bunker (17x8.5 with 10 mm offset) with GoodYear DuraTrac (245/75/17).  

Do your tires rub on your door at all? If not, can you measure the gap you have between the tires and the door?

  All that weight is on the tires.  The tires will take it.

 

How much of the weight is NOT on the suspension?

The only components that are changed / added that are not supported by the suspension are the hubs and the cv-shafts. The hubs should be effectively the same, and you can consider approximately half of the cv shaft weight as un-sprung. I picture this being around 25 lbs of un-sprung weight in the front... so the majority of the weight added is sprung weight.

SKRUGS, awesome and informative pictures. I've learned a bunch just from those few posts. 

Did you receive any sort of parts list or instructions for repair? For example, if your hub bearing or CV shaft fails, do you have a record of the part you need, or do you have to order directly from the conversion company?

I got a response from Quigley. They said their front and rear ratios are matched (so the front is a 3.54 like the rear).

The problem remains, I haven't found any example of AAM making a set of 3.54 gears for their 9.25 front differential. 

Anyone with a 4x4 willing to check it out to confirm?

I realize this is a really old thread, but I'm working on sensors tonight. The sensors are just mounted in keyed holes in the bumper. I would be inclined to setup mount points for the two center sensors on the bull bar, and extend the wiring. Then you could retain the functionality.

As long as the bolt pattern is the same and the bore size is at least 121 mm, they should work.

 

Older Dodge heavy duty trucks used to have bore size larger than 121 mm. Current Ram trucks have the bore size slightly smaller than Nissan NV. Typically non-OEM wheels have larger bore size than the OEM ones.

chphilo, Do you have a reference for when the Ram center bore got too small? I was under the impression they still had the same hub size in the past 10-15 years. I haven't tried fitting any yet, but I had been leaning that directly to try.

Fair enough. I'll send Quigley an email asking the ratio. 

It didn't feel quite right asking the conversion companies directly for such details (It felt a little like asking a restaurant for their recipes). 

I suppose a better questions might be: what ratio is used in the standard 4x4 NV conversions now?

I understand the front differential commonly used for the 4x4 conversions is an American Axle & Manufacturing (AAM) 9.25" differential. There are several possible sources... but I cannot seem to find any that have a 3.54 ratio like the NV V8 rear diff. 

Any suggestions where to source an AAM 9.25 front 3.54 ratio differential?

I'm trying to find a decent guide to the changes between model years (since I'm looking to buy one, I'm trying to find the differences). 

So far, I haven't found any comprehensive guide... the only things I've found is the radio and navigation system was changed a couple times (maybe 2014 and 2017), and the V8 / Transmission was changed in 2017. 

Is there a good resource? I've done some searches here and online in general without good results.

As a former Chevy van owner, I would not want Nissan to change NV's front end. I remember how difficult it was to work on the van. I also like people coming up asking "What is that thing?"  B)

Now that you have the NV, how often do you have to work on it?

I've been thinking:

The Nissan NV has a pickup-truck style long hood (intended, I understand, for ease of maintenance)... but it apparently isn't necessary since the Nissan NV doesn't seem to need any maintenance! 

I'd really like some extra room in the back, maybe they could tuck the front just a bit for that extra room now that we know how reliable they are :-).