2011 lift options?

Maxxpags

Bought an X
brand new here & looking for the better lift& tire options for a 2011 Pro X 4, been wheeling for quite a while with an FJ Cruiser ( see my "welcome " thread for a little background), looking for a mild lift-2-3- or even 4", not crazy $$$$, only going to be used for daily driver & weekend trail riding. The information I'm looking for is how large of a tire size goes with the different lifts out there? Haven't really looked into this yet, just decided to go ahead with the used 2011 Xterra purchase & trying to lay some plans out
 

IM1RU

Skid Plates
Supporting Member
Location
SLC, UT
1-2” lift = $$ to $$$
4” lift = $$$$$$, and that ain’t gonna happen without a Titan Swap being in the mix. As a reference to set up your rig like mine (just suspension), you can bust out 5k..... but you’ll need other mods to make that happen.

You can fit 33” tires with a simple melt mod.
35”s with a body lift, and a 2-3". You’ll also need to trim sheet metal.

Moral is, you want it to ride well?.... plan on spending $1500 to $2000 to lift it 2-3”.

Start researching at Nisstec, PRG, and Rugged Rocks.

Aftermarket is really small or these rigs.

Edit: I assume you're an auto trans, which means you can run 33's (285/75/16) just fine for nearly everything, but if you have a bur in yer britches to run 35's, you're gonna need a re-gear, and whole lotta coin.
 
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AdventureRider81

Bought an X
Location
Savannah, GA
Titan swap with 33s is a really capable and great riding rig without re-gearing. Price varies wildly.

$3500 can get you the following set up

M205 titan diff (optional)

Front Radflo 2.5s non-resi (order those from PRG they're valved different than others. Most preferred.)

Bilstein 5125 rear with 4 leaf AAL and adjustable shackles.

Stock titan LCAs

SPC UCAs (no brainer)

Then some misc. Like shims, cv's, cam bolts, etc.

Buy once, cry once. Lots of folks here started with the 2-3 inch lift only to scrap it and go titan. That's the expensive and hard way.

Take ah gander at some of the build threads to get ideas. Enjoy the new whip.
 
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TerryD

Total Tease
Supporting Member
Location
Covington, Va
You don't have to go with a M205 swap out of the gate, you can run the R180 with extended shafts for Infinity QX56 (correct me if I'm wrong) shafts from RockAuto. That'll save a little $$ off the hop and you can find a M205 later or hold off till you decide how low you are going to gear.

Here's where you need to decide what it's worth to you. The Xterra is a very capable platform. The Nissan front suspension is more robust than the Toyota and the CVs will operate at steeper angles without failure.

Many people run Bilstein 5100/5125's on all four corners and AALs and are very happy with it. It has it's limitations since the 5100s don't respond well to heavily increased spring rates such as the Fat Bob's Garage coil over conversion with 600lb/in springs. It gets hoppy in the front end since the shock isn't valved to control those spring rates. With the stock control arms, the best front wheel travel you are going to get is about 7" and that's very near pushing the ball joints into bind.

If you are going to run a heavy bumper with a winch, you'll want the heavier spring rates. 600-650lb/in depending on which shock diameter your run, 2.0 vs 2.5, and how you personally feel about it. I like the stiffer 650lb/in on my 2.0 Rads. I'm stock width though. Some feel that a 650lb/in spring on a 2.0 has the same feel as a 600lb/in on a 2.5" Rad and go with that. You'll find lots of varying opinions based on what people do with them so read up and look at what who is doing and where. The guys whooping through the desert won't want the same setup as a guy crawling around forest service roads with a RTT and 3klb travel trailer.

With that said, the Titan Swap is the best you can get for off-road performance with a reasonable cost. Beyond that is the full custom control arms, SAS, and other more involved and extreme setups. But with the Titan swap you gain about 6" of width in the front that has to be matched with wheel spacers in the rear. I think most guys opt to stick with 2" spacers and leave that 1" difference without issue. Some guys I think run 1.5" spacers as well. That's a personal choice more than a performance one I think. There are those that have done a full Titan rear axle with varying results but that's a whole different rabbit hole there. But you can get 12-14" of wheel travel I think it is from a T-swap with aftermarket shocks like the Radflos. I think there's a Tundra coilover swap but it gets less travel, 10-12" IIRC but it's been a while since I've looked into it.

Please correct me if I'm wrong guys, I'm just going from memory, but I wanted to expand on some points.
 
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Airmapper

First Fill-Up (of many)
Buy once, cry once. Lots of folks here started with the 2-3 inch lift only to scrap it and go titan. That's the expensive and hard way.

Lots of folks can't leave well enough alone. As mentioned, you do not have to axle swap to get a decent setup. If this is not a off road park toy, you can relax a bit.

All stock 2nd Gen Xterra's can run 33" tires with the "melt mod" which is simply heating and reforming the wheel well liner out of the way a bit.

As stated going up to 35" is going to be a large undertaking. I ran 33"s for quite a while with no lift. My only complaint is they fill the wheel wells a bit much and make the truck look like it sits lower, which is just a visual trick.

There are several mild lift options, the one I went for was the Old Man Emu complete kit, around 2" lift, greatly improves the looks (no more drooping) and completely replaces the spongy and ineffective coil and leaf springs that the Xterra comes with. What I liked was it came with everything to do the lift, no multi-sourcing and piecing parts together for front or rear, it was simple.

What that lift won't do is impress the masses with your monster truck. It's an upgraded suspension replacement, and makes 33" tires look natural on an Xterra. You park next to a stock Xterra it will be very noticeable yours is bigger. Viewed by itself, it looks like it rolled off the lot as an actual 4x4.

Personally for me when I modify I'm keeping long term use and reliability in mind. I stay close to stock as possible while beefing up key areas. I don't wheel hard as some and my Xterra is a travel and camping rig and I do drive it quite a bit in general, so making it an exclusively off road toy is not my primary goal. The more off road capable you make a vehicle, the less on road comfortable it is. So how much you lift you want needs to fit into how you use your Xterra.
 

IM1RU

Skid Plates
Supporting Member
Location
SLC, UT
But you can get 12-14" of wheel travel I think it is from a T-swap with aftermarket shocks like the Radflos. I think there's a Tundra coilover swap but it gets less travel, 10-12" IIRC but it's been a while since I've looked into it.

Please correct me if I'm wrong guys, I'm just going from memory, but I wanted to expand on some points.


With a titan Swap, and aftermarket UCA's the maximum possible travel of the front end (Binding droop to Binding stuff) is 10.5" period.... and that is with the shock out of the vehicle. 12" is just not possible, no matter what Nisstec says.

Mine cycles close to 9.5".... Limited on both ends to avoid binding ball joints
 

Maxxpags

Bought an X
Thank you, great reply's as I was expecting, just like the FJ forums, not building a super modified off road park toy, just something that looks & rides good. Not a mall crawler by any stretch but a weekend trail truck. Thanks again
 

TerryD

Total Tease
Supporting Member
Location
Covington, Va
Thank you, great reply's as I was expecting, just like the FJ forums, not building a super modified off road park toy, just something that looks & rides good. Not a mall crawler by any stretch but a weekend trail truck. Thanks again
A GOOD, reasonably priced setup is the OME kit with the heavier coils and rear leaves. Add a set of cam bolts and SPC UCAs AMD since 285/75/16s and you'll have a great riding and performing trail truck.

All their components are matched to provide good ride and handing characteristics and its only a 1.5" lift (usually comes in around 2" over what you have because of wear in the OE stuff).

There are some other options for good quality, mild lifts but they take some research as to what pieces to get to achieve exactly what you're looking for.
 

Fromfrontier2Xterra

I bought a Taco
Super Moderator
Supporting Member
Location
All over PA
1-2” lift = $$ to $$$
4” lift = $$$$$$, and that ain’t gonna happen without a Titan Swap being in the mix. As a reference to set up your rig like mine (just suspension), you can bust out 5k..... but you’ll need other mods to make that happen.

You can fit 33” tires with a simple melt mod.
35”s with a body lift, and a 2-3". You’ll also need to trim sheet metal.

Moral is, you want it to ride well?.... plan on spending $1500 to $2000 to lift it 2-3”.

Start researching at Nisstec, PRG, and Rugged Rocks.

Aftermarket is really small or these rigs.

Edit: I assume you're an auto trans, which means you can run 33's (285/75/16) just fine for nearly everything, but if you have a bur in yer britches to run 35's, you're gonna need a re-gear, and whole lotta coin.
This is going to be the best info here. Thank you @IM1RU

Titan swap is of course always an option as others and he has said. But unless you have bucks, time, and another daily, see above at quoted post and at @TerryD and @Airmapper posts.

I have beaten the absolute snot out of mine without TS (see build). The Xterra will take about damn near anything you throw at her with proper parts, intelligent driving, and maintenance.
 
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