Lift Questions?

[jconway23]

So I'm thinking about buying something for my 2011 Pro-4x. I've never had a lifted vehicle before so I honesty don't know to much about it. Is this what people run? http://nissteclifts.com/index.php?p...tegory_id=157&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=76

I'm not looking to get crazy. Alot of the places I've wheeled in the past near me you can't get to anymore. I'm fairly experienced in 4x4'ing but nothing near me I wasn't really able to do when I had my 04 X.

Thinking about getting some wheel spacers as well. If it does nothing but change the look of the stance.

Just curious.

Jesse

 

[Xado89]

If you run wheel spacers be careful which you purchase, they can be dangerous for offroading. Spidertrax offers a good set.

 

[granitex]

Before you get any lift, get together with some locals to see first hand what they are running in the kind of situations that you want to get into. Weather you need a SL, a BL, or a full new suspension with a SAS and different rear end all depends on what you want it to be and do.

Also learning the limitations of your ride, in the conditions you will be working in is in my opinion a very important thing.

 

[jconway23]

Thanks Granitex....I'm not really talking 1000's of dollars for something I'm not going to use every day. I'd never see places like Moab since its clear across the country for me. I'm very close to Rausch Creek of course so places like that. As for locals I don't have to many people near me. At least not within close driving distance. I might set something up in the summer time since its still rather cold here.

 

[granitex]

If you can't get together with anyone, then do the next best thing and look through the build threads. Look at the folks that are in your geographical area, there are some universal mods that work well, and there are some that are useless to certain people.

Big offroad lights on a roof around here are pointless, the trails are to tight and tree lined for them to last very long at all. But out west they are great for getting rid of shadows.

Just one example, but you get the idea

 

[jconway23]

Yeah I get what you are saying. Its not like I'm a noob when it comes to 4x4'ing. Been in the woods a very long time on some pretty serious trails. What I'm new to is the Xterra/Lift thing. When I had my 04 it wasn't really a priority of mine to put money into it to just get rid of it eventually. Having alot newer now its more of an option. I look at the build threads all the time. I can look at pics and see what people have done till I am blue in the face. I really asked about that lift cause its rather cheap. I'll do what I can to make some of the local events near me and and see what people are using.....

 

[drbandkgb]

I currently have 2" lift spacers in KGB's xterra and I'm not happy with them at all.. Revtech
The go In between the spring and top of the strut. I feel like it compresses the spring too much and causes the strut to squeak.
I have bilstein adjustable struts on order and will install them ASAP.

The rear I did calmini shackles and so far I'm very happy with them. I know on tnx everyone seems to jump right on add a leafs because of the sagging springs. My goal is to replace the whole spring pack down the road anyways and I can have the springs built to my needs.

Working on the struts is very easy if you hve the right tools. I was able to use 4 wheel parts shop and that made a world of difference vs doing it I. My yard.

Good luck man

 

[crashdan]

Before you get any lift, get together with some locals to see first hand what they are running in the kind of situations that you want to get into. Weather you need a SL, a BL, or a full new suspension with a SAS and different rear end all depends on what you want it to be and do.

Also learning the limitations of your ride, in the conditions you will be working in is in my opinion a very important thing.

This is excellent advice and think I will have to steal it and use it when asked the same question!

 

[TKDx00]

If you can't get together with anyone, then do the next best thing and look through the build threads. Look at the folks that are in your geographical area, there are some universal mods that work well, and there are some that are useless to certain people.

Big offroad lights on a roof around here are pointless, the trails are to tight and tree lined for them to last very long at all. But out west they are great for getting rid of shadows.

Just one example, but you get the idea

All the above is great advice BUT... I like my roof lights even though they have never actually been turned on because I haven't wired them (but soon to be changed)...lol

 

[Kokines]

You Buy a lift yet? I have a 2012 PRO-4x and i'm in the same boat.

 

[NMTerras]

Only one thing to add - don't look at gen1s for what you want to / are contemplating for your gen2 rig. Apples to Oranges.

 

[jconway23]

No lift for me yet! No money really. LoL

 

[civicjoe]

Honestly! Id save your money and do it right once, instead of doing it twice like i did. The kit you linked is ok to get you started and as your rig is newer your leafs should last a while, not sure for how long with the add a leaf but will go flat over time,( i dont know how long because i bought my x used), but if you have the money to spend on the front lift with either adjustable coil overs or something like the old man emu kit or the tjm kit but with that you'll need aftermarket uca with all of those but the emu kit, but it has had really good reviews. Spacers as drb talked about are sometimes good and sometimes bad, lots of folks get the dreaded uca clunk over bumps and could be remedied by uca upgrade. But like i said save your money do it once, if where you wheel your truck is capable enough leave it as it for a bit. I jumped in on mine getting the adjustable bils, and once they were installed correctly ( they get installed wrong all the time) i didnt mind them they were good for a while but i wanted more our of them once i upgraded my front bumper, so i picked up prg ucas and the TJM coilovers with the hd spring and ome dakar rear leafs, im very happy with them even with all the added weight.

 

[Prime]

Civicjoe is right. I can't sit here and all about 2nd gen stuff but I can tell you that your money would be better spent doing it right the first time. We 1st gen guys have an advantage there because the small lift uses parts that are kept for the big lift. But from my understanding the spacers are junk once you get a real lift. In that case, I'd save the money and just do the real lift. I think it'd be more value for your modding dollar.

 

[jconway23]

Yeah down the road a little bit for me. This is why I asked. Didn't seem like a good option. I need tires soon. Probably by winter time here. And thats not cheap. I'm trying to sell my bass boat so that might be an option if I do. I'm not in any rush really.

 

[Ron ap Rhys]

I'm going to go in the opposite direction of Civicjoe - not that I don't respect his opinion and, if you can and you know that's where you want to go with it, then saving cash isn't necessarily a bad idea. Both PRG and Nisstec have options that may be better suited than that one:

• PRG's kit - shackles and spacers
• Nisstec has it as two separate items: Spacers and shackles, but the price is comparable.

The biggest difference between these and the add a leaf kit that you linked to is that both of these have rear shackles that are reusable if you go with a suspension lift. Then, if you want, you can sell of the spacers up front for some smaller amount and recoup some of your investment back - maybe half of it, but still - better than nothing.

Some back story to this:

I went out with nothing but the stock tires and skids on my first trip, which demonstrated that I needed much better tires. That was my first upgrade - then NX Rocks sliders followed a year later by NX Rocks skids. NX Rocks is now Hefty and I think the design has changed slightly. At that point, what I found is that I was dropping onto everything that everyone else was rolling over. So I did the spacer/shackle lift. Honestly, that worked really well for about a year before my rear springs crapped out. I then upgraded to Alcans on the rear and better shackles (don't cheap out on the shackles. Trust me on this). This year I finally dropped the cash on UCAs and extended travel Radflos. However, I started all this nonsense back in 2008, so I've slow built it.

What that's allowed me to do is ensure that I'm making the mods I really want and that they complement the type of adventures I get involved with. For Rausch, you can run the blues all day with spacers, shackles, skids, and sliders. The armor is probably more important, at first - along with 33" tires.

$0.02

 

[Zombieitch]

I recently installed a daystar spacer/shackle 2" lift, along with adjustable cam bolts from nisstech. The install wasn't that bad, I chose the daystar kit due to not having to completely dismantle the lower strut and, rotate it 180. My biggest observation was the amount of salt corrosion that had already started on all the bolts.