Need Help on A BL and SL

[Diadaga]

I'm sure this is a fairly stupid question but I know how everyone puts faith in Greg at PRG and his answer to my question is whats making me wonder.

I've got an 05 X and I wanna do a BL and a SL I had intended to get the 4WD Advanced Coilover Package. I emailed asking about using spacers and shackles from PRG for my BL and this is the response I received.

3" of lift is average using the coilovers. You cannot add a spacer kit to the coilovers to get more lift, this is NOT an option and will just hurt performance and damage your Xterra. Please give me a call so I can insure you get the proper parts for your project. Talk to you soon...greg

I'm also considering going with the NISSTEC OME Suspension and they have these Spacers that they say are for use with coilovers.

So I am thoroughly confused as to what the real deal is. Now if I'm wrong then I'm wrong not a big deal and glad he saved me from messing up the X. However, I thought that spacers and shackles were the way to do the BL on the X and I'm sure I've seen guys running a BL and SL. So help me out here guys I need you vast X knowledge here.


Thanks

 

[KChurch86]

Coilover spacers (OR lift coilovers) in the front and lift shackles in the rear is basically the 2nd gen version of a Poor Mans Lift...(the gen 1 PML is cranking up the torsion bars in the front and adding shackles to the rear).

The body lift is a completely different mod. For a BL, all you're doing is lifting the body away from the frame (never touching/adjusting the suspension) with thicker pucks and longer bolts. I am completely unaware of what else (if anything) needs to be extended on a gen 2, so I'd wait for another gen 2 guy/gal to chime in on that one. But a BL is completely different than a PML

I think the spacers that Greg is referring to are the coilover spacers (IIRC, they give you 2" of lift) and he's saying that the spacers cannot be used with new lift coilovers...as that would increase the CV angles to a unsafe and damaging levels.

 

[Diadaga]

Yeah I got the whole concept of the BL and the SL and the BL for the 2nd Gen is spacers and shackles. Now if it does increase the CV angles so its unsafe or damaging then that makes perfect sense on why not to do it. I just want some clarification from the guys on here so I can get my thought process straightened out and so I know what I'm doing.

 

[xterror04]

when say BL do you mean body lift? if so that is not spacers and shackles... it would be body lift pucks.... this will change nothing in the suspension at all...

 

[Macland]

I'm right there with you man. I'm researching all of this too but I've got to beef up my suspension completely because of the Hefty.

How much lift are you looking to get?

 

[Diadaga]

Yeah I'm getting alot of armor too so I started looking at the OME stuff because of the HD setup they have. Not trying to do anything super crazy I was shooting for 2-3 for the SL and 1-2 for the BL so I have more ground clearance and can get some bigger tires without having to stuff them.

Yeah Terror I was talking about a body lift and thats exactly why I'm asking I don't wanna mess s**t up.

 

[Macland]

You can run 33s with just a melt mod so don't worry about stuffing tires or anything. But IF you're looking to go BIG then I'd just go all out and do a titan swap. But If you're looking for a moderate lift to handle armor in the front and rear then I've heard good things about the OME stuff. I'd say that going with an AAL would be best for supplementing your rear suspension. And in the front the coilover springs. If you don't want to do that you could do coilovers, UCAs, and a full leaf pack along with new shocks.

 

[Diadaga]

I have plans down the road for doing a titan swap like La Rana posted up on CX using the pathy axles. I'm considering the Complete OME lift on NISSTEC the only thing it didn't have was new UCAs.

 

[Macland]

I believe NissTec has new UCAs in the works, they just haven't released anything yet.

 

[Diadaga]

That would make sense cause I was a little surprised they would have everything else and not have UCAs on the website even if they were someone elses.


Terror I'm pretty sure these are what your talking about me needing. If they are I have no idea how I looked over them, just proves how special I am I guess lol.

 

[AbuseTheElderly]

Yep, that is what you need for the Body Lift. Those and longer Grade 8 Bolts to compensate for having to go through 2 more inches of material between the frame and body. I am not sure if there is anything else that needs to be extended on a 2nd gen so I will leave further explanation to a more qualified member.

 

[civicjoe]

I dont know too many that have dont a BL on 2nd gens, I know rook has and, so has kelly, I think you need longer brake lines, but not sure.

 

[Diadaga]

Yeah I know Rook's tank had one and thanks for the heads up on the brake lines I'll see if I can get clarification on that.

 

[Macland]

The 4x4 parts site said that with a body lift alone you wouldn't need to do anything with the brake lines. It says that the BL works with a suspension lift however it doesn't address whether you'll need to extend those lines with both.

 

[Diadaga]

I figured thats what joe was talking about mac but thanks for the double tap.

 

[Jmac289gt]

Oh mac is good about double tapping.

 

[Diadaga]

Oh mac is good about double tapping.

Now that just sounds naughty.

 

[TomsRedX]

If you go more than 2" with a suspension lift, you should get extended brake lines. You don't need a body lift or suspension lift for 33's but if you go bigger you will have to trim the front fenders no matter what. If you add wheel spacers or get new wheels with more back spacing or do a titan swap, you will have to trim the fenders also.

If you use spacers on the stock front coil overs, you may get coil bucket contact going over small bumps. New uca's or after market coil overs can eliminate contact.

Add a leafs are a temporary fix for the rear springs. A full leaf pack replacement is your beat fix for the long term.

The 2" body lift requires the rear bumper to be relocated or an after market bumper for a bl be installed, same with the front if you don't want a 2" gap. There are some brackets that will need extended also not sure of all of them. It takes a few hours to complete a bl on a second gen.

 

[civicjoe]

good work covering it all tom!

 

[Diadaga]

Thanks Tom here is my breakdown on where I stand on the things you covered.

With the wheels I'm getting I wanna say I got as close to stock specs as I could so I didn't have to worry about backspacing issues.

Not going with spacers everybody got me straightened out on that one. I'm gonna be using the 2in lift from AC. New UCA's are on the list anyway though.

I'm going with the OME setup from NISSTEC and its come with the DAKAR leafs and shackles not AALs.

New front bumper is the next thing on the list as soon as I order the lifts and rear bumper right after it. I'm trying to work my way down price wise so once I have less income I can still get stuff in a reasonable amount of time.

 

[civicjoe]

make sure to get the upgraded springs on that ome kit, if youre adding a bumper and full skids, and sliders

 

[Diadaga]

Yeah I plan on getting the HD ones.

 

[TomsRedX]

Just a word of caution, AC stuff is good for first gens, not so much for second gens. The AC coils have been known to break.

 

[TomsRedX]

Looks like you have a good plan for your build.

The body lift from AC is good, lots of guys have it on their trucks.

 

[Diadaga]

Yeah just took me a while to get pointed in the right direction on the body lift.

 

[ymbhonk]

I just put a 2" AC BL on, with that and OME coils I didnt need to extend the brake lines. The AC BL provides all the relocation hardware you need, you may want to skip some steps like moving your radiator. I went by the instructions and didn't skip anything, took alot longer but it turned out nice.

As for coils and such I ran with 2" spacers for about 2 months and didn't have any coil bucket contact. Right now with the OEM Titan UCAs and LCAs I have the OME coils and coil spacers wich is not recommended by anyone but I havent gone offraoding and havent seen any damage done. The only reason I went with both was to even out my lift and as a tempory fix until i can afford Radflo 2.5s. Again i dont recommend using sapcers and lifted coils at all.

If you go higher than 2.5" with the stock UCA expect coil buck contact and a bad ride, the CVs are maxed out at around 3.5" so if you want 3-4 inches of suspension lift you should look at the titan swap.

 

[Peck]

I run spacers on top of my Radflos. Caveat: I do not do it for more lift. I do it so I don't have to preload the spring so much -- smoother ride.