In an article that inspired our Fantastic Four series, we showed readers how a Nissan Titan can become a totally different beast after a couple of days of wrenching. This time around, Nissan's mid-sized offering will be the lucky recipient, as a 2WD V-6 Frontier will get Calmini's newest 5-inch lift, JBA's latest exhaust system, an Advanced Flow Engineering (AFE) intake, BFGoodrich tires, and American Racing wheels. A few years ago, the Frontier was practically an also-ran as far as compact pickups went, but since the redesigned '05 model hit the streets with its increased size and bigger V-6 engine, aftermarket companies have given it the attention it deserves. Calmini has been providing lift kits for Nissan's mini trucks for years, but the addition of the 4.0L VQ40DE engine allowed the Frontier to power the extra mass of larger tires without a compromise. Read along as the Frontier began at JBA's Performance Center in San Diego, where its VQ engine got the breathing it needed. Then, the Frontier moved on to Wheel and Tire Connection in Lake Forest, California, where it was given a new stance for the final transformation.
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As a factory-stock truck, the charcoal-gray Frontier was in need of some help.
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To begin the install, Jarrod put the truck on the lift at JBA's Performance Center in San
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Jarrod unbolted the exhaust from its hangers and removed the midpipe to provide clearance
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After the original gaskets were cleaned, a bead of Permatex Ultra Copper went on around ea
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The original equipment didn't look bad, but you can imagine how exhaust reversion was poss
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With the new headers bolted in place, the midpipe and O2 sensor could be reinstalled.
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Jarrod sprayed the hangers with penetrating lube and removed the remaining exhaust in one
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Each piece was clamped into place after the U-bolts were given some anti-sieze compound to
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Each piece was clamped into place after the U-bolts were given some anti-sieze compound to
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The final step in the exhaust install was for every seam to be tacked in place.
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Here's the Advanced Flow Engineering (AFE) kit, with its huge cotton-gauze, conical filter
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MAF (mass airflow) sensors are a little fragile, so it was carefully removed from the stoc
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After the intake tube and airbox lid were removed, the lower portion of the box followed.
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The rubber isolators from the stock lower airbox were reused on the AFE shield and it was
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We took the Frontier for a little spin on the dynamometer to see just how much power the e
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Calmini's new 5-inch 2WD lift included everything but the cotter pins.
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Starting in the back, Jorg at The Wheel and Tire Connection, in Lake Forest, California, s
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Next up were the Calmini shackles.
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Bilstein shocks were bolted in, and that was it for the rear. The kit included brake lines
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To achieve lift in the front, Calmini included spacers for the factory coilovers. This ens
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Once the control arms and stock knuckles were removed, the rear-most front crossmember bol
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Calmini's compression struts used factory holes to bolt onto the transmission crossmember.
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The front crossmember interfered with the new Calmini piece, so a die grinder was used to
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Skidplate bolts also kept the front crossmember from aligning, so Jorg hit them with a dis
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Bumpstop spacers used factory holes and self-tapping bolts, but the holes needed to be dri
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Front sway-bar drop brackets placed the sway bay in front of the new crossmember.
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Jorg placed the new knuckles next to the old ones and transferred the hubs and ABS sensors
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New braided stainless brake lines were zip-tied to the new knuckle and the ball joints rec
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We installed this glossy black Carriage Works grille in our driveway. The first step was t
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Next, four toggle bolts were threaded onto the center grille piece.
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The toggle bolts were pushed through the factory honeycomb grille and were held in place t
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The lower grille used threaded clips and an angle bracket to mount onto vertical plastic b
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After the location was marked and drilled with a 3/16-inch bit, a threaded clip was used t
BF Goodrich's All-Terrain T/A tire has been a staple off-road tire for decades. Its newest applications include: 22-, 20-, and 18-inch sizes, such as these 285/65R18s. They added off-road capability without adding annoying noise on the road. We made sure to move the tire pressure sensors from the factory wheels when we mounted them onto the new wheels. These wheels are the latest from American Racing and are now available with Teflon coating that helps keep brake dust and grime from accumulating. The baked-on finish also gave the Frontier a stealthy appearance that we really liked with the charcoal paint.
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
| Time Spent Working: | 13 hours |
| Degree of Difficulty: | Intermediate |
| | (Mostly a bolt-on affair, but some grinding, welding, and drilling were involved.) |
PARTS USED:
| Advanced Flow Engineering intake PN 54-10492 | MSRP $293 |
| American Racing Fuel wheels | MSRP $220 |
| | (four needed) |
| BF Goodrich Radial A/T 285/65R18 | MSRP $275 |
| (four needed) |
| Calmini 5-inch Lift Kit PN 17500 | MSRP $1,295 |
| Carriage Works black billet upper grille PN 42323 | MSRP $165 |
| Carriage Works black billet lower grille PN 42333 | MSRP $110 |
| JBA Cat4ward headers PN 1410SJS | MSRP $625 |
| JBA Stainless exhaust system PN 40-1410 | MSRP $480 |
| Total Cost: | $4,948 |
| | (Not including labor) |
From the Driver SeatWe were very happy with the installation and results of the JBA kit and AFE intake. The owner reported an increase in mileage from 14/18 to 16/22, before the lift was installed. After the lift, mileage returned to 18 highway. That sort of increase would be worth the time and money by itself, as the fuel mileage would pay for itself over the course of the vehicle's life, but the added power and great exhaust note completely changed the vehicle's attitude. The peak numbers for both power and torque were up about 30, which is impressive, however, the biggest gains were found below peak, where the engine will spend most of its time. The air/fuel meter showed that the engine ran rich as it approached full throttle, and the intake and exhaust leaned it up a bit, but it still ran conservatively rich, so we don't see any possibility of lean conditions. The Calmini lift went on with only minor problems, and one was likely our fault. The first problem was the rear brake-line extensions, which seemed like they were designed with a slightly different (possibly pre-production) model in mind. This was a non-issue, however, because the factory brake lines had plenty of slack even at full droop. The second problem is that at full steering lock, the tie rod end rubbed the inside of the wheel. Since the American Racing wheels were 1/4-inch off of the Calmini recommended backspacing, that was likely our fault, but it's only at full lock and it's only a slight rub. The tires are the same overall width and diameter as Calmini recommended, and with just minor air-dam trimming, there was no rubbing. The only other issue was that at full droop, the large-diameter JBA exhaust tip had 1/4-inch clearance from the Calmini shackles. At normal ride height, the shackles pushed the exhaust tip. Since the exhaust was already welded, the best solution would probably be to cut and re-weld a hanger to add clearance, but so far the rubber exhaust hanger seems to have shifted enough to offset the shackles. After some off-road testing, the owner was satisfied that nothing was lost in the comfort department, and quite a bit of wheel travel and extra ground clearance aided in navigating the rocky terrain. The grille install took 20 minutes, and could not have been much easier.