2nd Gen INFINITI QX56/QX80 Build

Dmski

Adventurer
This is amazing! I love seeing the larger SUV builds and it looks rad. Any plans for going long travel? I've seen a few R51 Pathy's with this setup and they are pretty insane, but probably not necessary. I really like that snorkel fitment as well. Keep it up! Definitely watching this build.
 

leeleatherwood

Active member
This is amazing! I love seeing the larger SUV builds and it looks rad. Any plans for going long travel? I've seen a few R51 Pathy's with this setup and they are pretty insane, but probably not necessary. I really like that snorkel fitment as well. Keep it up! Definitely watching this build.

Thanks!

I was actually looking for an R51 Pathfinder with a V8 when I stumbled across the Infinitis.

I seen one on Craigslist for $15000 but it had like 220,000 miles on it. I stopped by the Infiniti dealer and someone had just traded in one for a brand new 2019 model. So I looked at it and decided to buy it.

I got it for $17,999. A little more than I was looking to spend on the R51 but I like the decision I made.

I don't have plans for long travel, with Upper Control Arms and extended travel shocks (comes already with Titan width suspension) it will have plenty of travel for the purposes I bought it for. (General exploration and camping with medium off roading)
 
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Dmski

Adventurer
Very cool. How many miles did it come with? Heck of a value at that price. I'm sort of shocked that it has an R180 though... I figured it would at least have a M205 with the 3.36 gearing just like the R51's or Titans since it has the V8?
 

leeleatherwood

Active member
Very cool. How many miles did it come with? Heck of a value at that price. I'm sort of shocked that it has an R180 though... I figured it would at least have a M205 with the 3.36 gearing just like the R51's or Titans since it has the V8?

70,000 on it.

I too was shocked about the r180. I am not sure of the reasoning behind that decision but I am 100% positive it had to do with the bean counters.
 

leeleatherwood

Active member
Wow that’s awesome! How does the gearing feel with 37’s on it?

At full throttle you can definitely feel those 400 horses, that is not not an issue.

On the other hand, at very low throttle like when slowly accelerating around town, there is a noticeable lack of torque. This was an issue before the tires... in order to get the best fuel economy Nissan programmed the shift patterns quite aggressive. It will literally upshift at like 1800 rpm and bam, your now at 1000rpm trying to accelerate. The larger tires only exacerbates the issue because bigger tires need more torque.

My plan is to get a Tuner (UpRev or HP Tuners) and have them increase the low throttle shift rpm by like 30% or something.


In 4lo the shift strategy is different and it tends to hold onto gears great, combined with the nearly 5:1 1st gear ratio it crawls great.
 

Dmski

Adventurer
Cool! Having more gears in the transmission is certainly nice and sounds like it really helps. Do you have a photo of the R180 axles for your rig? If nissan makes an "extended length" titan axle for the r180 out of the box that would be pretty cool and I don't think anyone really knows about that yet either??
 

leeleatherwood

Active member
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leeleatherwood

Active member
Double flushed the transmission fluid yesterday using Aisin brand fluid, apparently it's a premium Synthetic. Also added a bottle of Lubegard Platinum.

This transmission has no dipstick and no way for the average person to tell the condition or level. This stupid "filled for life crap".

Anyways, the old fluid was dark, no burnt smell but definitely needed to be changed to ensure long term health of the transmission.

I would advise any 7 speed Nissan AT owners to go ahead and just change it every 50,000 miles, it's cheap insurance.
 

leeleatherwood

Active member
I also had the Infiniti dealer update the ECM/TCM to the lastest version to see if it improved the shift algorithm. I don't notice a difference to be honest.

They charged $210 for 1 hour of labor since it's out of warranty.
 

ZWilson07

Member
Subscribed. Great looking truck but I just dont know if I could take the risk of it being out of warranty. Of course with all your mods, that kinda goes out the window anyways.

I would love to own that, but I just know i’d stress over having it.
 

leeleatherwood

Active member
Subscribed. Great looking truck but I just dont know if I could take the risk of it being out of warranty. Of course with all your mods, that kinda goes out the window anyways.

I would love to own that, but I just know i’d stress over having it.

I've never had a vehicle under warranty myself, but I have read horror stories about dealers voiding warranties for unrelated things. On the other hand, I dont think I would own another domestic vehicle out of warranty after the nightmare I had with a Caddilac and a Lincoln before that.

For instance, I read a thread the other day on Tacoma World where a bunch of Toyota dealers are refusing to do a TSB on non-TRD Tacomas if they installed a TRD Grill. The 2 things dont even affect each other...
 

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