peter_fazio

Systemic_Anomaly, I have a 2013 NV Passenger with the Quigley 4X4 conversion. I am very surprised to hear that the Quigley conversion puts the NV over the front GAWR. I was told explicitly by Quigley ( Ernie Sartalis ) that they will not do any conversions that would exceed the manufacturers load ratings. He even mentioned that on certain models (Chevy I think) that they have to permanently remove the 4th row seat because with the conversion it would exceed the rear GAWR. Quigley does everything by the book as far as safety and DOT regulations are concerned. I am curious as to what the front GAWR is for the NVP? Kinda' surprising since the front end is very robust looking. If you compare the front suspension on the NV to a Transit, it makes the Transit front end look like it belongs on a car. I have had my conversion for 2 years now and have not had any issues with it. I would contact Quigley and ask them your specific question. They are very helpful and very informed about the details. good luck, Pete Fazio

C5drvr, No. The Quigley conversion maintains the stock 8 lug hubs/wheels. Pete

Coloraaadho, Well, I think I will give you the opposite take on the 4WD NV. I have a 2013 NV3500 passenger with the Quigley 4WD conversion. I spent the first 3 years with my van having RWD. I found that I got stuck in lots of places where it was just slippery (ie wet muddy grass, dirt inclines, etc). I typically would be towing a trailer full of dirtbikes. The stock tires (Firestone Transforce) were almost useless in anything even remotely loose or slippery. I upgraded to BFG All Terrain KO2 tires. They were a huge improvement in traction, but I still had lots of difficulties especially in wet muddy fields ( like you would find at dirtbike events in the Northeast). The so-called active traction control on the rear axle helps, but is very limited in its ability to transfer drive torque to the other (non-slipping) wheel. I would contend IF you could equip the NV rear axle with a proper locking differential then it would be much more capable in low traction situations. So, about a year ago I had my NVP converted by Quigley. BTW, they do an outstanding job, it really looks like a factory setup. Since, I have been converted to 4WD, essentially all my traction issues have gone away. I now can tow my trailers up slippery hills and go where I need to go w/o having to resort to chains or other temporary traction aids. Personally, I love it. I have been driving full size vans for 40 years and have always put up with the marginal traction that comes with the standard RWD setup in vans. I now feel like I can take my NVP offroad w/o being concerned about getting stuck. Now as to the lift, my NVP does not have a lift. It is still the stock height after the 4WD conversion. Quigley will convert the NV with or w/o a lift. As to the low range in the transfer case, the Quigley conversion does have a 2 speed transfer case. The shift lever is blocked from engaging 4WD low range. I have personally removed the blocking bracket and manually shifted the transfer case into low range. Yes, the Quigley transfer case does have low range, but you will have to modify the shifter linkage to be able to engage low range from inside the cab. All in all, I am happy with my 4WD conversion, I feel, that it makes my van much more capable while off pavement. Pete Fazio

SilverNV, Quigley goes exactly by the book. Nissan does not want them doing a Low range in their 4WD. Quigley has a very close relationship with Nissan, also a very profitable one, I assume. Quigley will not do anything to these vans that would jeopardize their relationship with Nissan. I was told this by my Quigley rep when I asked about having a low range included in the conversion. Pete

Hi folks, I had my 2013 NVP3500 converted to 4WD by Quigley in January 2017. I wanted to spend a bit of time with it before giving my review, since I don't drive it very much (17K miles in 3.5 years). Quigley performed my conversion very quickly, my vehicle was in and out in under 2 weeks. They did say that was kind of unusual, I just happen to get into the build schedule at a good time. Let me say right up front that Quigley does a very professional conversion, everything looks just about OEM. Quigley's customer service is also top notch, they keep you informed about the build and they attend to all the little details. Your vehicle comes back to you all converted with no signs that someone has been doing major surgery on your vehicle, ie. no mechanics tracks are left. The only thing that I could "ding" them on was pretty nit picky, underneath the van I found that they didn't clip off the tails of the wire ties when they secured the transfercase wiring. I could hear the tails of the wire ties rattling up against the heat shields, so 1 minute w/ a pair of sidecutters and all was pretty much perfect. I am very pleased with the fit and finish of their conversion. Now on to the driving experience. When I drove my van home from Quigley ( which is only 40 minutes) I could not tell any difference in the van. Running in 2WD, I could not even tell that anything underneath was different. No vibrations, no noise, nothing. I drove both highway (up to 75 mph) and local back roads and the van felt utterly the same as it did before the conversion. When I got home, I took the van of the pavement out onto my yard and fields. The terrain was wet and muddy grass. Pulled the lever into 4WD and off she went. The van was transformed from a vehicle that would get stuck on anything that was even slightly slippery to a vehicle that could climb wet grassy, muddy inclines with no problem. I could now easily retrieve my trailers that are located down near my stream and tow them out through wet sloppy terrain. Utter night and day difference in tractive capability. We had a late March snowstorm this year that dropped 10 inches of wet, heavy snow on our roads. Early that morning, before the snowplows got to our roads, I took the NV out for a snow test ride. I used to get stuck in my driveway on a couple of inches of snow before the conversion. Now, with 4WD egaged, I headed out into 10 inches of wet snow that was unplowed. I drove all around my area with no problem, uphills it just claws it's way through the deep stuff. I was very impressed with the ability that the van has now, no more fears of getting stuck if I take the van off the pavement. Only thing that I could tell when in 4WD, was a slight whirring sound from the transfercase when driving through the snow. One caveat I should mention is that I do not have the stock Firestone Transforce tires, I have a set of BF Goodrich All-Terrain KO2 275/65-17 tires, so they definitely help the tractive capability. So all in all, I am very pleased with the conversion and feel that the addition of 4WD has made my NVP much more versatile for use as a recreational/adventure vehicle. Now one other note, since I am a lifetime gearhead and a vehicle dynamics engineer, I always find myself investigating/repairing/modding any of my vehicles. This led me to investigate as to whether or not the Quigley 4WD conversion was just a single speed (4WD HI only) or (4WD HI and 4WD LOW). Using the interior lever you can only engage 2WD and 4WD HI. There is a "blocker" bracket mounted to the t-case that prevents the lever from moving past 2WD toward Neutral and then to 4WD LOW, also the interior lever will bottom against the floor before the lever can move the t-case past Neutral. But, if you go underneath the van and disconnect the linkage to the t-case, you can then manually shift the t-case lever into Neutral and 4WD LOW. I tested this. I went underneath the van, disconnected the linkage, shifted the t-case lever into 4WD LOW. I started the van, noting that the 4WD indicator light was now illuminated, and then drove out onto my driveway. Sure enough, the transfercase was in 4WD Low Range ( low range is something on the order of a 2.76 : 1 ratio). You could easily tell since the van was now moving slowly when the engine revs were up. So, the t-case is definitely a 2 speed box. So, an enterprising person could modify the linkage such that you could engage the 4WD Low from inside the van, Just saying, since doing this would likely void your Quigley warranty. But for all those wondering about this issue, yes, it is truly a HI and LOW range transfer case. And we know from others on this forum who have the Advanced 4WD conversion that the issue with "going into limp mode" due to transmission / wheel speed sensor mismatch while in Low range can be avoided or compensated for. Pete Fazio 2013 NV3500 passenger Quigley 4x4, Aluminess front bumper

Hi Scmotormind, I have a center console out of my 2013 NV3500 passenger. It is in perfect condition, I took it out when the van had about 1K miles. I would sell it for $300.00 plus packaging and shipping. It is pretty big, so I would have to do a bit of research to find out how much it would cost to ship from 17322 (near York, PA) to 50613. Let me know if you are interested and I will go about measuring, finding a box and getting a quote for shipment. Also, if you send me your email, I can send you some pictures of the console. Pete Fazio 2013 NV3500 passenger, Quigley 4WD, Aluminess front bumper 717-659-6883 (cell)

By 2 speeds, I mean 4Hi and 4Lo. 2Hi is a given. All I can tell you is what Ernie Sartalis at Quigley said to me. I thought he said that the 2017 NV would have a 4Lo option. Maybe I misunderstood him. Pete

Jaredg, Sorry for the late reply. But, yes, I have the factory wiring diagram for the headlights on the NV. I will attach the file for the exterior lighting. Pete EXL.pdf

KMG, When I was at Quigley this week. I saw the Nissan 7 speed and transfercase sitting in the shop. Yes. They are working that issue and Ernie claims that the 2017 NV will have the 7 speed trans and that they will be able to have the 2 speed transfercase in the NV. Pete

TX Marshmallow, I was just at Quigley this week and spoke at length w/ Ernie Sartalis (Nissan conversion sales rep). The statement that they make about using 90% Nissan parts is that they don't have to remove or change out any major factory parts. The suspension, brakes and steering stay factory Nissan NV. The only change they make to factory parts is to machine the front hub to accept the front halfshaft splines. They also remove the auto trans tailshaft and add an adapter to mount the transfercase. The transfercase is a Magna and the front differential is an American Axle Manufacturing 9.25. The rear driveshaft and front driveshaft are custom made in-house at Quigley. (BTW, they have a couple of awesome driveshaft lathes on the premises for doing custom shaft work). I suppose you could source a magna transfercase and an AAM 9.25 diff, but the transmission to transfercase adapter and the machined front hubs are custom quigley parts. So, underneath nothing looks like a Nissan Titan, except the engine and transmission. Also, Ernie claims that the new Titan XD does NOT use the same rear axle as the NV. That is the statement he made to me when I asked about sourcing an e-locker from a Titan XD for use in the rear diff of the NV. Pete

Hi, I just signed my contract w/ Quigley for my 2013 NVP to be converted. I am scheduled for a mid-January build. I happen to live about 20 miles from the Quigley factory, so going w/ Quigley was my best option. I could not talk them into a 2 speed transfer case. Quigley goes exactly by the book. They will not do anything that might jeopardize their relationship w/ Nissan. They are very strict about making the vehicle absolutely compliant w/ all Federal motor vehicle safety laws and will only do conversions that are "blessed" by Nissan. Quigley has a very professional shop, I was impressed w/ their attention to detail. When I get my conversion done in January 2017, I will post a report on the quality of the conversion. Pete Fazio 2013 NVP, Aluminess front bumper

Hi, Jared I just saw your post about my driving light setup. Yes, I got the system to work. I made a small wiring pigtail that goes between the right headlight bulb and it's harness. I tap off of the hi beam +12v to trigger the driving light relay. I let the lo beam +12v go through uninterrupted. I take the headlight ground directly to frame ground via the pigtail, which separates the harness end from ground. In doing it this way, there is no backfeed through ground which would normally illuminate the DRL's when the light switch is off. The setup works great. The driving lights go on with the hi beams, the lo beams work as normal, but you will not have any DRL functionality. Also, by using the pigtail, I can unplug the pigtail from between the headlight and the harness and then plug the harness back onto the headlight and restore all the lighting to factory stock. Pete

Bates, Counterpoint here, my 2013 NV 3500 SV Passenger came with 245/70-17E. I have seen in the Nissan literature where the NV passenger comes with 245/70-17 and the cargo version comes 245/75-17. The size is clearly stated on the tire placard on my NVP. I have also noticed that all tire websites indicate that all fullsize NV's use the 245/75-17. Honestly, the difference between the 245/70-17 and the 245/75-17 is that the 75 is 3.2% larger in diameter, ie. 30.6inch vs. 31.5 inch . Pete

All, I have been doing some further research about tieing into the hi beam circuit for aux. lights. It appears that if you use the hi beam hot (+12v) from either right or left headlamp for your aux. lighting relay trigger , then that will cause a ground path when the main light switch is in the OFF position and the DRL's are lit. This ground path will likely energize the hi beam lamp on the side that you tapped into and will also energize the relay for the aux. lighting. NOT GOOD. A simple work around came from a suggestion by Tatunka about disabling the DRL circuit. He said that removing fuse F3 (DRL main fuse) in the IPDM fuse block (number 45 fuse in Headlamp circuit diagram in FSM exterior lighting) would disable the DRLs. This is true, but as a side benefit, this also disables the power feed that would cause the added aux. relay trigger to energize the hi beam lamp and aux. lighting when the light switch is off. So, with the F3 fuse pulled out, you have no DRL's and the lo/hi beam circuit work like a normal setup and as such you can tie in your aux. lighting relay trigger to the hi beam or lo beam hot (+12v) for running driving lights or fog lights triggered off of your hi/lo beams. This is all still speculation from pouring over the circuit diagrams ( except for the pulling of fuse F3, which Tatunka has tested) as I have yet to do the installation and fully test out the theory. Pete Fazio

Andy, Yes. I too have been wondering about pulling the DRL fuse. Maybe that might alleviate the issue. As a test setup, one of my co-engineers here suggested that I build a small wiring "pigtail" that would be placed inline between the headlamp connector and the headlight wiring harness. This way, if it does cause an issue, you can just remove the inline wire pigtail and leave the factory harness intact and if it does not cause an issue and it triggers the aux. lights correctly, then you could just leave it in place. I may build one of these test setups and try some experiments. I will post my results after I build the connector and do some testing. Pete

All, I think we need to be careful here tapping into the hot side of the hi beam circuit. When looking at the wiring diagram, Nissan does things a bit funny, wherein they use the hot side of the hi beam and lo beams to "back feed" the DRL circuit. I am certainly no electrical expert, but I think you might cause trouble when using the hi beam hot side as the trigger for the aux. relay. By doing that you would effectively create a ground path through the aux. relay for the DRL circuit. Andy_george, I read your tale of woe with a simple LED bulb change and what that did to your ECU. Just saying, I think we need to be careful before tapping into anything electrical on this vehicle. This kinda' mod used to be so easy in the old days!!! Pete

Hi, I will soon be installing a set of driving lights on the Aluminess front bumper on my 2013 NVP 3500. My plan was to hook them up so that they turn on when I put on the high beam headlights. From looking at the wiring diagrams, it appears to be more difficult than just tapping into the high beam relay to get a trigger for the driving light relay. The headlight relays for this vehicle appear to be non-replaceable and mounted on a circuit board, which makes them basically inaccessible for accessory wiring. So, I was wondering if anybody has hooked up auxilary lights to the NV factory lighting system and how they did it? At last resort, I will just install an accessory switch and trigger the driving light relays that way. thanks, Pete Fazio

ASD Dad, The tune seems to be stable. I have had no issues. When installling the tune I never had a problem with the battery running low. I have only installed the tune one time. I don't have any info on re-installing the original tune. Last weekend I made a trip from York, PA to New York City, about 3 hours total. Carrying seven people and luggage, we were running about 8000lbs. On the highway, PA turnpike and NJ turnpike I cruised at about 80 mph. I refilled the tank after the trip and got 12.6 mpg. I was running fast and really used the power alot to pass people. So, I guess I am not seeing any improvement in fuel economy, at least while running fast. I really need to take a trip and keep the speed down to about 65 mph and go light on the pedal to get a decent reading on highway fuel economy. Pete

Jon, Thanks for the info about the bumper. I'll call Aluminess and see if they can add a bracket to secure those parts. thanks, Pete

Jon Nelson, I noticed in your post #13 in the "wheel/tire size that fit" thread that you have an Aluminess front bumper on your NV. I just placed an order for an Aluminess bumper that is very much like yours, except that mine will have the round openings for the Hella 500 lights. I had a quick question about the installation. On the stock bumper beam (the beam behind the chrome bumper), which is removed during the Aluminess install, there are threaded holes for securing the oil cooler lines and the front of the lower plastic engine guard. Do you know if the Aluminess bumper comes with a provision for securing these 2 items after the stock bumper beam is removed ? thanks, Pete

Tatunka, Thanks for checking out your transfer case. I guess it is still inconclusive as to whether or not it is actually a 2 speed, but I think for now I will just assume that only 1 speed will be available. My impression from everybody's input is the the 4WD conversion definitely adds to the "off the beaten" path / adventure vehicle use of the NV. thanks, Pete

Jon, So my takeaway from your comments about the 4WD conversion on the NV is that it has enhanced the drive/tractive capabilities sufficiently to let you drive the van into areas where a 2WD van could not go or would have difficulty. That is really what I am looking for, as well. We do offroad motorcyle events that sometimes require us to travel, with a trailer in tow, into areas that are off the paved road. Previously, with my E-350 w/ diff locker, I have had to resort to putting on my snow/ice chains on the rear wheels to be able to pull my loaded trailer in and out of the event locations. Thanks for your comments on the subject. Pete

Hi Jon Nelson, I re-read your post #20. I think I understand what you are saying about limp mode. It's a nuisance, but you can kinda' work around it. What I don't understand is the whole traction control/ABLS/VDC issue. Tatunka says that it is better to turn off traction control when it is slippery. Does the disable switch turn off Vehicle Dynamics Control (VDC) or Active Brake Limited Slip (ABLS) ??? VDC seems to cut engine power when slip is detected and ABLS is supposed to brake the slipping wheel in an effort to transfer more drive torque to the non-slipping wheel. I have found that when my "traction control" switch is left on, I get some braking on the slipping wheel but I also get engine power cut down. I have never tried getting through a slippery section with the "traction control" switch turned off. I am just not clear how the system is designed to respond. Also, do you feel that the addition of the 4WD has added significant tractive capability to your van ? Presently, in the stock configuration, I will not consider venturing into terrain where the traction appears to be limited. In my old van, Ford E-350 w/ Powertraxx No-Slip diff locker, I would attempt lots of areas where the traction was limited. I just want to get some real world advice on this subject before spending almost $12K dollars. thank you, Pete

Tatunka, Those are great pics you posted of the linkage and "block-out" bracket. I can see how it works. You are right though, that the real test would be to remove the bracket and attempt to engage 4Lo. I notice that the bracket has a stop for 2Hi. If you remove the bracket would the linkage be able to over-travel past 2Hi ??? Just something to think about before testing w/o the bracket. Thanks for being willing to be a "test" subject and for providing the info to the other non-4WD members. I am curious about your comments about using 4WD and its effect on traction. Do you feel that 4WD has not added that much to the tractive capabilities of the NV ? In my NV, 2013 3500 passenger, I have felt the traction control activate when it was slippery, but it does not feel like it helps very much. It seems to turn off the engine power too much and will not let me climb up the incline. You mention turning off traction control and it is better ? So, pushing the traction control disable button does not turn off traction control ?? I am confused about how the system works. Any further insight would be appreciated. thanks, Pete

Hi Tatunka, A Quigley employee said that the transfer case was actually a 2 speed, with Lo blocked out, that is interesting. Any chance that you could look under the truck and verify that there is a "blocker" bracket ? I am leaning more and more toward getting this conversion done this year. Honestly, I feel that the van really needs some kind of traction help. This last winter in PA I got the van stuck on my driveway going into my garage (uphill) on 2 inches of wet snow ! The previous years I had no trouble getting up that same incline using my old Ford E350 that had a rear PowerTrax No-Slip diff locker. Concerning the front diff locker for the AAM 9.25, it appears that they make an e-locker for that application. I understand the problems of a locker in a steer axle, but I would only use it for low speed, getting unstuck type situations. There are times when having at least one cross axle diff locker can really save the day. thanks, Pete