I just removed the bars and in the next few days I will bend both bars maybe 10 degrees or something. I was just under the car and put masking tape on the bar where the oil filter is. I will bend the bar there (the point is only 4-5 inches in from the end) and then try to mount the front turnbuckles on the insides of the plates, as some have done.

I tested the wheel clearance with only the rear of the bars connected, by turning the wheels all the way to the stop, and the front end of the bar was only pushed in an inch or so by the wheel...which means that if the bar is bent as it will be soon, there should be no rubbing even with 8-inch rims...I hope! (I did this with the car jacked up so that might change the clearance slightly.)

I plan to bend both bars in the same spot. I looked at the control arms and didn't see any potential problems with having the bar angled more outward over the control arm. Anyone have any input?

 

Just don't bend the bar too much. Broaner brought up a good point a while ago about bending the bar, the bend will take away from the total length of the bar. The threaded end of the spherical rods can only extend so far. You really don't need to bend the driverside unless you have other issues there. BTW, the plastic shield on the passenger side of my car is totally in the way of the bar. Eventhough the plastic is pushed in a bit towards the engine, it now sits pretty close to it. I'm hoping that this won't end up rubbing against the main pulley later on. I wanted to leave this plastic shield off but I don't want any rocks hitting the pulley. The only thing that can protect it is the plastic shield. I don't want the same thing happening to me that happened to tavarish.

 

Yeah I know, and bending it probably weakens it a little, but I think it's worth it.

I plan on using an Xacto to cut away key sections of the splash guards. I want both as functional as possible.

 

would putting some spacers on your front wheels move the tires out enough for you guys w/ rubbing issues?

 

Personally, I would never put spacers on any wheels. And since my application includes 8" wheels, spacing them out might cause them to rub against the fenders at certain positions.

 

wow, i didnt know the subzeros came in 8" width. Im about to pick up some 18" subzeros here in a week or 2 (2 Pebble Beiges w/ subzeros!! ) and i could only find them in 7.5" width. Why no spacers?

 

1) It'll rub with my wheel width.
2) You cannot really space the wheel out w/o risk of loosing your wheel while driving. The wheel studs are not that long to accept a considerable amount of spacing.
3) Using bigger spacers put more stress on the balljoints.

Too many negatives for me for the small benefit that you can get out of it.

 

#2 can be solved with Nismo studs. They can be had in various lengths.

 

Those were my thoughts as well

 

Replacing the wheel studs are a major PITA x20!

 

Replacing the wheel studs is easy...or at least it is for the rear. It took me about 10 minutes per side using this method. The front may involve removing the hub and ****, but still, it's not that hard.

However, I'd feel less comfortable about putting spacers on the front since there is more weight up there and more forces on the wheels. I don't want to push the front wheels out any more than they are, they're practically perfect with my rims.

 

Did you make that write-up?? A lot of stress is going to be put on those studs by adding that big of a spacer, plus the wheels. But that's just me.

I'm sure some of you guys have been running on that kind of set-up for a while and probably have never had any issues. I just don't want to risk it. If any of you have experienced loosing a wheel while driving on the freeway, then you'd understand what I'm talking about.

 

No, I did not do the write-up, I have a '99. That was Fezzik, I don't think he's around the Org much anymore.

The studs are designed by H&R for each specific application. They are 15mm longer which is about half an inch longer than the OEM studs which are, I dunno, 2.5-3 inches long. So maybe 20% longer than stock. They are certified under ISO 9001 Quality Assurance standards and meet the safety criteria of the German TÜV, according to H&R, which is a highly reputable company. I bet these studs are made of a considerably stronger steel than the stock studs. Also, they make spacers up to 90mm...so I'm not worried about the studs breaking on my 15mm spacers (H&R would be having lawsuits in such a case), the only drawback is greater wheel bearing wear, and when my bearings go I'll replace them. Worth it for the look alone.

By the way, significantly more stress is put on your studs if you change from stock to heavier rims and/or wider rims and/or rims with a lower offset, but that doesn't stop anybody from putting rims on their cars, and you really don't hear much about people's wheel studs breaking off.

 

You're being serious? I'm missing the hard part. Hammer out old stud. Place new stud in hole. Put open ended lugnut on stud. Tighten down with impact. Takes less than five minutes per stud.

I've seen and heard of super thick spacers but thats a whole different breed. When they're that thick they get bolted to the OEM studs. Then inbetween the old studs are new ones protruding from the spacer. So the wheel doesn't actually bolt to the OEM studs as they are way sunk into the spacer.

 

Last time I did that on my other Maxima, took me 15 min to get one stud out. I was hitting the stud so hard that I was afraid I'd do some harm to the wheel bearing.

 

Can someone move this thread to the suspension & brake forum?

 

Today I got the bars on the way I wanted. I opted not to bend them because I realized that with a short filter and the proper spacers (washers/nuts), there are NO clearance issues (with either the oil filter or with tires rubbing when wheels turned). I have 8 inch rims with 235 tires and they were rubbing at full turn with the bars mounted on the outside of the brackets, so I mounted them on the inside with one nut and one washer as spacers. Since the short oil filter (which is the size they use on 350Zs so I'm not worried about it) is barely more than half the length of the regular filter, there is no problem mounting the bars this far inside.

My old oil filter was dented slightly, and I also noticed that the heads of the bolts that go through the control arm were dented slightly from the piece that protrudes from the frame directly above it. Anyone else noticed that? Didn't look serious but made me wonder.

I have to get a new locknut and tighten some things but I will try to take photos and post them within a week.

 

So what brand of filter did you get, the Nissan one? Can you measure the filter height for us? I want to know how much taller the Extended Life Mobile Oil Filter is over that. As for the bolt head on the LCA, that is no big deal if it hits it when you take a hard bump. But if that touches the bolt head even if the car is sitting level, then that could be a problem as it might put a lot of downward stress on the LCA and its bushings, it could even bend the flat surface of the LCA. I can see this being a problem when I install the Teins Basic next weekend. I'll have to grind down that cone end of the bolts.

 

No, it's a generic filter that my buddy ganked from Jiffy Lube when he used to work there. I will measure it soon and let you know.

Thanks for the info, I'll have to check to see if it's touching with the car on the ground. I doubt it.

Also, what's the best way to tighten the nuts at the rear end of the traction bars (the nuts that are threaded on the spherical rod ends)?

 

It's a tight spot to fit even an open wrench in there. JClaw forgot to include those locking nuts in the package when he shipped mine to me. I haven't been able to find one that will go arond the shepical rod ends so for now, the bar is not locked in place. Not sure what the side-effects will be.

 

Well the problem with having the bolt hit the frame stud is that it can be dangerous. Think about it. Your taking a hard turn and the suspension is almost at full compression on one of the front corners. Then you turn just a bit harder and the suspension compresses a bit more. If the bolt were to hit the stud before it came to full compression the car would be totally unsettled and very possibly loose control. Worst case being that the stud acts as a fulcrum. The bushings have only a bit of deflection in them but the end of the wheel has to move. The car would either bounce up or the LCA would bend. And since the OEM LCA's aren't very strong I could see both happening. I would definitley suggest grinding down the cone on the end of the stud and then if neccesary chase the thread.

 

Just our of curiousity how long did it take everyone to recieve the Traction Bars?

I still have not got mine.......

 

Maybe the point of the hole in the control arm is to prevent the cone end from hitting the LCA? Or maybe just to provide tool access for the bolt without removing the control arm. OK Broaner, we need to use your grinder on mine.

I measured the generic shorty filter and it's just a smidgen under 2.5". The generic regular size filter I had and the FRAM piece of **** I took off were both a smidgen under 3.5". So you gain an inch of clearance. I don't understand why people are going to the trouble of oil filter relocation kits when this solves the problem much more easily (and safely, IMO).

 

You might have just hit the nail on the head on that one.

Probably because some people, like me, use Synthetic oil and they go on longer oil-change duration. The regular-sized oil filter won't go beyond 5k miles therefore many use the extended life type which are longer in size. I'll just get the regular size on mine and change the oil every 5k miles, instead of 7k miles.

Broaner, as always, thanks for the technical explanation on that one, it totally makes sense.

 

I'm having a hard time finding a filter this short. I've looked at Purolator, Fram, even the Nissan OEM and all 3 are 3" or a little more. Can you suggest some brand names that come in the shorter form?

 

This one is "Mileguard" but Broaner said it's not a retail brand. I think someone mentioned a blue Mobil1 filter as being short. But I'm quite sure that the Nissan OEM filter for the Nissan 350Z is this short, so call your dealer and ask for the size and part number.

I would have posted photos by now but the gallery on my website is acting up.

 

It's odd that the 350z with the vq35, which is bigger than the vq30, uses a smaller oil filter. So the 350z filter will work with our Maximas?

 

All Nissans that I know of use the same thread on the filter port. Most have a wide enough sealing surface on the block that the filters are interchangable. All that matters is that it holds pressure and doesn't leak.

 

Just wanted to share this with those who are having oil filter clearance issues because of the traction bar. I bought a Nissan oil filter part# 15208-65F00. It is 3/4" shorter than part # 15208-9E000, which is the typical one for our Maximas. The diameter is exactly the same, fitment is perfect! The Nissan parts counter guy told me that this is what the Nissan mechanics use when they run out of the 15208-9E000 filters.

I just changed the oil in my car this morning and installed this filter. I'm very pleased to say that there's plenty of gap now between the oil filter and the traction bar....problem solved! See pic below.

 

Welcome to the Shorty Filter Club®.

Here are some photos I took:

 

Also, I was getting a lot of rattling and clunking over even slight bumps, but tightening up ALL the nuts fixed that almost entirely. I know the cone end is hitting the heads of the bolts in the LCAs at full compression becase the bolt heads have little cone-shaped dents at the edge, but Broaner and I didn't want to mess with the ends of those. Wouldn't give much clearance anyway. I'm not concerned because I will be switching to stiffer springs soon so I won't bottom out like I do now on the H-Techs.

After tightening the nuts on the passenger bar, it's loose again. You guys think it's ok to put thread locker on these? I want it tight, the minute it's loose it's making noise and making the ride feel worse because clunking sounds cheap!

 

Im thinking of doin the same, mine have worked themselves loose and its creaking and clunking like crazy. Locking hardware will hopefully be the answer.

 

Mine keeps clunking as well and I have tightened mine numerous times. I believe its coming from the LCA end of the traction bar. The bolt going thru the whole in the LCA moves around and hits the edges of the whole at every flex of the suspension. I'm thinking of using some kind of bushing but I'm not sure what. I am thinking of rigging up one by using an automotive rubber hose as a sleeve for the bolt to make it fit inside the LCA hole snuggly.

BTW, do you run the car without the plastic shield on the passenger side? I put mine back on because I don't want the same thing happening to me that happened to Tavarish. A stone kicked up and nicked the main engine pulley and threw off his timing and making the car unable to start. If you noticed, I trimed some off of the plastic shield, around the air filter area. This eliminates rubbing against the traction bar.

***Update***

I edited the photo below to show the area that I've trimmed indicated by the red highlight.

 

^^^ i did the same thing by cutting the shield. I think a rubber bushing is a great idea. I plan on tightening mine tomorrow, hopefully this will solve the noise.

 

how much for the bars and how long do i have to wait?

 

I don't see a photo anywhere. I have the plastic shield off for the time being and actually drove 400 highway miles without it but I'm definitely going to be replacing it once I get everything tightened.

 

I updated the photo in post #349.

 

JClaw i just paypaled you the money

 

FYI: I love your Maxima Juani

 

why isnt my name on the list i send yo the money 3 days ago