"Lola" - WreckDiver1321's 2005 Frontier CC/SB Nismo Build and Adventure Thread

wreckdiver1321

Overlander
"Lola" - WreckDiver1321's 2005 Frontier CC/SB Nismo Build and Adventure Thread

Ladies and gents, meet Lola.

She is a very clean, totally loaded 2005 Nismo Frontier CC/SB with 112000 miles on her. I drove a total of 1600 miles over the course of just three days with a very good friend of mine to get the truck and bring it home, crossing a time zone and two states. All I can say is that this drive... was totally worth it. This truck comes with almost every option, from the Rockford Fosgate stereo to the roof rack and sunroof. I also lucked out on the tries. Although they are not the 265/75R16 the truck should have come with (they are 265/70R16s), they are brand new General Grabber AT2s. Oh yeah, and that locker. :D

After having driven Nancy for a long while, I am shocked that this truck is still badged as a Frontier. It's like night and day. While Nancy putters along very noisily, struggling to pass just about anything on the highway, Lola cruises quietly until it's time to pass that pesky semi. Then she lets out a roar and surges ahead, hitting 90 before I even have a chance to think about it. The one thing that strikes me the most about this truck is how quiet it is inside. At 75, it feels like you're doing 40. You can whisper to your passengers. Also, during the 800 mile drive home through hills and mountain passes doing 80 mph, I averaged 18 mpg!!!!

Off road, it's a whole different animal. Whereas Nancy required some brute force, Lola is very graceful and composed. Just hit the locker switch, and you barely ever spin a tire. There was a hill that I played around on in Seeley Lake (our stop on the way home) full of loose rocks and very steep. Nancy struggles up this hill so much you needed to run at it, spinning tires the whole way. In 4-lo with the locker engaged, Lola just climbs right up from a dead stop with zero wheel spin. The stock flex is better too. Overall I'm very impressed with the truck. It's one awesome vehicle.

I can't wait to start modding. And exploring.

Before




Current




MODS

Suspension

Old Man Emu HD coils
Old Man Emu Nitrocharger shocks
PRG 1.5" front spacer
SPC Upper Control Arms
285/75R16 BF Goodrich AT KO2s
Old Man Emu Dakar MD leaf packs
Bilstein 5100 rear shocks
Nisstec adjustable shackles
Diff breather mod
Extended brake lines
Total lift: 2.75 inches front and rear

Powertrain
Radiator bypass
Evap canister breather
Auxiliary transmission cooler
Thermostatically controlled trans cooler fan
Titan M205 front differential
V8 Pathfinder CV axles

Armor
ARB front bumper
Shrockworks engine skidplate
White Knuckle rock sliders

Interior
Cobra 19 CB radio
Power distribution/fuse block
OTRATTW switches
Relocated diff lock switch
WeatherTech floor liners
RAM mount for phone
RAM mounted nav tablet
First aid kit

Exterior
eBay snorkel
ARE canopy
Canopy roof rack
Xprite LED 9" round lights
IPF fog lights for bumper cutouts
Firestik CB antenna
Hi-Lift mount
Warn VR8000 winch
Nilight rear bumper lights

Accessories
Indel B 50 Liter fridge
Ironman 2m awning
175W inverter
ARB Outback roller floor
ARB CKMA12 air compressor
Jerry can mount

Electrical
Xscorpion positive battery terminal
Kicker negative battery terminal
Blue Sea fuse block
Hella relay block w/Hella mini relays
 
Last edited:

SDDiver5

Expedition Leader
Nice! I've always liked the look of the newer Frontiers. The lockers are very nice, my mom has a Titan with the locker and it actually really surprised me for being a stock locker.
 

wreckdiver1321

Overlander
Modification Plans

I'm going to do this truck very similar to Nancy, with a few alterations to keep it a little more fuel friendly.

265/75R16 Cooper ST Maxx tires
2" HD Old Man Emu lift
Homegrown sliders
Homegrown dual swingout rear bumper
RTT mounted on a shorter bed rack
Replacing factory roof rack with homegrown flat utility rack
Mounting 40" LED light bar to flat rack
ARB front bumper
Superwinch X9 winch
TJM snorkel
Dual battery system
Tonneau cover
2m radio
 

Jack Stilts

Subaru Ambassador
That thing is beautiful. Congratulations :)

Can't wait to see how this evolves. And the night & day differences make me excited to get a 2nd Gen X / Fronty.
 
Nice truck. I see you finally went and got this one you have been looking at. Seems to be more impressive than your older one.

Enjoy!!! Looking forward to seeing pics and build.
 

mortonm

Expedition Leader
Modification Plans

I'm going to do this truck very similar to Nancy, with a few alterations to keep it a little more fuel friendly.

265/75R16 Cooper ST Maxx tires
2" HD Old Man Emu lift
Homegrown sliders
Homegrown dual swingout rear bumper
RTT mounted on a shorter bed rack
Replacing factory roof rack with homegrown flat utility rack
Mounting 40" LED light bar to flat rack
ARB front bumper
Superwinch X9 winch
TJM snorkel
Dual battery system
Tonneau cover
2m radio

Pretty much how I would do it!

How long will you keep these tires? No itch for 33s?
 

skibum315

Explorer
Awesome find ... and congrats!!!

Couple of thoughts, and they are just thoughts, not meant as anything other than some stuff for you to think about:
--I seem to recall you mentioning something about automatics ... is that what this one is? If so, please do some homework on the in-radiator transmission cooling loop issues ... also known as the SMOD. Good preventative maintenance would be to swap the OEM radiator with a high quality aftermarket replacement ... like Koyo, or even Nissan (if you trust that new part numbers translate to a 'real' fix of the issue), or if you want really high-zoot, Griffin makes an all-aluminum version that get's good marks from folks on New X. Happy to discuss this more, if you'd like ... I'm the original author of this thread: http://www.thenewx.org/forum/showthread.php?t=36132, though there's been a bunch more discussion/info that's flooded out since then, so it's by no means an exhaustive source/collection of available info.
--I'm sure you've seen it, but there's a wiring mod that lets you access the locker any time (as opposed to the factory mandated 4-Low only) ... here's one link for more info, there's others as well ... http://www.thenewx.org/forum/showthread.php?t=63664
--The fellow who won the Xoskel Frontier roof rack at this year's GONE (do your homework on current lead-times/fulfillment before you consider doing business), has an older gen truck ... and I think he's still trying to unload the rack that he won, I can try and track down his contact info if you'd be interested in that option.

At any rate, I'm in for updates and the build ... given your previous truck, this will be a great thread to watch. Congrats, again, and hopefully the old one goes to a worthy home.
 

wreckdiver1321

Overlander
That thing is beautiful. Congratulations :)

Can't wait to see how this evolves. And the night & day differences make me excited to get a 2nd Gen X / Fronty.

Thanks Brian! I already love it to death. Driving it reminds me of how I felt driving my old Land Rover.

Nice truck. I see you finally went and got this one you have been looking at. Seems to be more impressive than your older one.

Enjoy!!! Looking forward to seeing pics and build.

Thank you sir! It indeed is more impressive. Not to worry, pics are coming.

Pretty much how I would do it!

How long will you keep these tires? No itch for 33s?

No real itch for 33s. 32s should take me all the places I need to go while being a little more gentle on the fuel range. If I find they are lacking and the mileage doesn't suffer too much, I'll jump into 255/85s. I'll keep the current tires (265/70R16s) until I can afford to do lift and tires at once. Then I'll go to the 265/75s. The short term plan is to keep those tires and add a 1" lift via spacers and blocks. This shouldn't affect the ride, and I won't have to worry about coil bucket contact. It gives me pretty much headache free lift for very cheap, as that little bit of extra clearance is needed. When I'm ready to go to 265/75s, I'll get them. Then I'll start addressing the suspension as other stuff gets added. I plan on doing the front suspension along with the bumper/winch, and then working out the back later.

Awesome find ... and congrats!!!

Couple of thoughts, and they are just thoughts, not meant as anything other than some stuff for you to think about:
--I seem to recall you mentioning something about automatics ... is that what this one is? If so, please do some homework on the in-radiator transmission cooling loop issues ... also known as the SMOD. Good preventative maintenance would be to swap the OEM radiator with a high quality aftermarket replacement ... like Koyo, or even Nissan (if you trust that new part numbers translate to a 'real' fix of the issue), or if you want really high-zoot, Griffin makes an all-aluminum version that get's good marks from folks on New X. Happy to discuss this more, if you'd like ... I'm the original author of this thread: http://www.thenewx.org/forum/showthread.php?t=36132, though there's been a bunch more discussion/info that's flooded out since then, so it's by no means an exhaustive source/collection of available info.
--I'm sure you've seen it, but there's a wiring mod that lets you access the locker any time (as opposed to the factory mandated 4-Low only) ... here's one link for more info, there's others as well ... http://www.thenewx.org/forum/showthread.php?t=63664
--The fellow who won the Xoskel Frontier roof rack at this year's GONE (do your homework on current lead-times/fulfillment before you consider doing business), has an older gen truck ... and I think he's still trying to unload the rack that he won, I can try and track down his contact info if you'd be interested in that option.

At any rate, I'm in for updates and the build ... given your previous truck, this will be a great thread to watch. Congrats, again, and hopefully the old one goes to a worthy home.

Thanks skibum! And thanks for the tips.

I've done alot of homework on these trucks before I decided to buy, so I do know about the SMOD. In fact, I just finished doing the bypass about 20 minutes ago. :D I'll post some pics of that later. Just yesterday I read up on the locker wiring mod. It seems intriguing, and I might end up doing that later on. I really appreciate the offer, but I have a plan that is a bit different to the Xoskel rack. The mounting system will be similar, but I'm planning on a flat rack like the BajaRack utility rack for the Tacoma. The reduced wind noise and reduced drag are things I really like about that design.

Again, thank you very much! It's nice to have you on board.
 

skibum315

Explorer
Glad to hear you've done your homework (not surprised, either) ... and that you're bypassed. In doing your research, you've probably run across jeff_redx's excellent work on the trans fluid temperature mapping, if not you should give it a look and see what you think about trying to recover some of the cooling capacity that's lost when doing the bypass. Given how you use these trucks, I'd highly recommend at least putting in a trans-temp gauge to keep an eye on how it's doing.

I absolutely hate how much of a hassle this SMOD issue has become for the VQ40 trucks ... and I think even some of the VK Titans have had to deal with it, too. It's by no means a slam dunk as to what the "right" answer is, even in a given situation with multiple specific parameters. Very frustrating, and why I'll stick to the 6mt if I ever seek out a new truck on the same platform.

I'm with you on the flat-rack concept, as well ... I've been debating hacking up my Gobi for a similar thought, but that's a tough trigger to actually pull, if I'm honest.
 

wreckdiver1321

Overlander
Glad to hear you've done your homework (not surprised, either) ... and that you're bypassed. In doing your research, you've probably run across jeff_redx's excellent work on the trans fluid temperature mapping, if not you should give it a look and see what you think about trying to recover some of the cooling capacity that's lost when doing the bypass. Given how you use these trucks, I'd highly recommend at least putting in a trans-temp gauge to keep an eye on how it's doing.

I absolutely hate how much of a hassle this SMOD issue has become for the VQ40 trucks ... and I think even some of the VK Titans have had to deal with it, too. It's by no means a slam dunk as to what the "right" answer is, even in a given situation with multiple specific parameters. Very frustrating, and why I'll stick to the 6mt if I ever seek out a new truck on the same platform.

I'm with you on the flat-rack concept, as well ... I've been debating hacking up my Gobi for a similar thought, but that's a tough trigger to actually pull, if I'm honest.

I plan to run an UltraGauge to monitor various little things, including the trans temp. If I'm unhappy with what I get, I'll add a trans cooler later on. From what I've read it shouldn't be too much of an issue, but I'll definitely keep an eye on it just to be safe.

Yeah, this issue is a serious pain. I wish Nissan wouldn't sit on their hands and do nothing about it.

Yikes, I'd be nervous about ripping one of those up too! I have a friend that's a hell of a fabricator, so I'm sure we'll come up with something cool.
 

mortonm

Expedition Leader
265/75 is the current pro4x stock size. Did the earlier nismo/off-road versions run 265/70?
 

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