Shackles Or Aal

Ahmad Taha

Test Drive
Hi,

i need your advise to decide either to go with adjustable shackles or AAL to achieve 1.5 to 2 inch max rear lift on my 2015 S model xterra with 100K KM ODO

the goals are
- enhance and make more comfortable drive on and off road drive
- lift 1.5 - 2 inch max

mostly i drive on city but i am doing off-roading on sand dunes with hot weather

i am also not sure on which suspension to go Bilstein 5100 or OME with 1.5-2inch lift too, i am thinking of any of them with front 1.5 inch on shocks and coils + 1/2 inch spacer to get total 2 inch max on front and the rear as I mentioned still don’t know which is better aal or adjustable shackles

thank You
 

TerryD

Total Tease
Supporting Member
Location
Covington, Va
Welcome!

Going with extended shackles is rough on your OE springs. They'll break down over time. An add-a-leaf is much better in the long run IMO.

However, if you're looking at the OME lift, it comes with new rear springs that do the lifting. Plus they are better quality than the OE 2nd Gen springs so you can run an extended shackle with them to fine tune your ride height. Just remember you'll need to add spacers to your bump stops to keep the springs from being inverted which causes fatigue and eventually failure.
 

Ahmad Taha

Test Drive
Welcome!

Going with extended shackles is rough on your OE springs. They'll break down over time. An add-a-leaf is much better in the long run IMO.

However, if you're looking at the OME lift, it comes with new rear springs that do the lifting. Plus they are better quality than the OE 2nd Gen springs so you can run an extended shackle with them to fine tune your ride height. Just remember you'll need to add spacers to your bump stops to keep the springs from being inverted which causes fatigue and eventually failure.

Thank you for the feedback,,,, i think will go with AAL instead of shackles, I am not planning to add new springs, just shackles or AAL + New shocks on the rear and Coilover on the front, I need some advice to choose between Bilstein or OME too, what you think?

my plan to go 1.5-inch front with Coilover (either Bilstein or OME), and add 1/2 spacer to get the 2 inch front with good ride quality is that a correct assumption :) ? the spacer is optional in case i need to level my X as rear could lifted with 2 inches if I used AAL
 

TerryD

Total Tease
Supporting Member
Location
Covington, Va
For the coilovers, read through Crabby's lift thread and the Bilstein 5100 pitfalls threads in the 2nd Gen Suspension forum. There's lots of info on both setups in there!
 
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