To lift or not to lift? That is the question

[Foxtrot Oscar]

1 minute ago, Wade Pat2 said:

Speaking as someone who purchased a car just to spend money , rebuild and mod as a hobby.

If you want to lift and start down the modding road because it's fun..go for it. 

Rebuilding and conservatively modding is my favourite part of off-road. I fix, research, buy, search for and swap parts and mods way more than I actuall drive. Haha

One day  i hope to have the skills to do just that, but as of now I window shop, buy and pay someone else 😄

[Rizwanm2]

With regards to subject matter. Here is what i have to say or whine about my Xterra. 

1. Lately i feel like my rear suspension is bottoming out very often. Specially on fast pace or Extreme drives. But if there are 2 passenger at back it will bottom out even on road hump. If i keep on driving with saggy rear suspension will it damage my chassis ?   when search in some forums this is a common issue with Xterra's and most people seems to recommend add a leaf to rear to make it bit stronger and less saggy. 

2.   10mm front skid plate is too low for some ridge riding. Sometimes i feel like it slowdown the car as im flattening all the ridges.  but i dont want to change the skid plate im amazed how much it protect my car. hence thinking of a small lift (maybe a spacer lift) in front suspension to compensate ridge riding. 

 

Dear Xterrian and experts in carnity family, what is your thoughts and recommendations on this. 

@Foxtrot Oscar  @Emmanuel @Chaitanya D @M.Seidam @Nivin @sertac @Thomas Varghese @Janarthan 

There are loads of Xterra owners here, Please feel free to tag them along. 

 

[Foxtrot Oscar]

3 minutes ago, Rizwanm2 said:

With regards to subject matter. Here is what i have to say or whine about my Xterra. 

1. Lately i feel like my rear suspension is bottoming out very often. Specially on fast pace or Extreme drives. But if there are 2 passenger at back it will bottom out even on road hump. If i keep on driving with saggy rear suspension will it damage my chassis ?   when search in some forums this is a common issue with Xterra's and most people seems to recommend add a leaf to rear to make it bit stronger and less saggy. 

2.   10mm front skid plate is too low for some ridge riding. Sometimes i feel like it slowdown the car as im flattening all the ridges.  but i dont want to change the skid plate im amazed how much it protect my car. hence thinking of a small lift (maybe a spacer lift) in front suspension to compensate ridge riding. 

 

Dear Xterrian and experts in carnity family, what is your thoughts and recommendations on this. 

@Foxtrot Oscar  @Emmanuel @Chaitanya D @M.Seidam @Nivin @sertac @Thomas Varghese @Janarthan 

There are loads of Xterra owners here, Please feel free to tag them along. 

 

Hmmm, I’m not aware of a saggy rear end but I have seen some Xterras with the spare wheel on hinges at the back of the boot/trunk . 
 

You could well be onto something re the 10mm thick skid plate, mine is definitely no longer smooth and flat but somewhat concave from the amount of ridges it’s battered down .
 

That’s why I was considering the lift too as I really need to push it on the ridges . But like you, I would never remove the skid plate or go for a thinner one due to the protection it offers 

[Rizwanm2]

2 hours ago, Foxtrot Oscar said:

You could well be onto something re the 10mm thick skid plate, mine is definitely no longer smooth and flat but somewhat concave from the amount of ridges it’s battered down

Exactly even my skidplate was about half inch concaved after  couple of months off roading. I suggest to get it inspected on ur next service, if its too much dented it might touch the radiator. 

 

2 hours ago, Foxtrot Oscar said:

That’s why I was considering the lift too as I really need to push it on the ridges . But like you, I would never remove the skid plate or go for a thinner one due to the protection it offers

Better to know ur also on same page here. I guess about 1 inch lift would make big difference in ridge riding.  So can we do a lift only in front without messing around the  rear not sure how it will effect the handling.  

[Thomas Varghese]

11 hours ago, Rizwanm2 said:

With regards to subject matter. Here is what i have to say or whine about my Xterra. 

1. Lately i feel like my rear suspension is bottoming out very often. Specially on fast pace or Extreme drives. But if there are 2 passenger at back it will bottom out even on road hump. If i keep on driving with saggy rear suspension will it damage my chassis ?   when search in some forums this is a common issue with Xterra's and most people seems to recommend add a leaf to rear to make it bit stronger and less saggy. 

2.   10mm front skid plate is too low for some ridge riding. Sometimes i feel like it slowdown the car as im flattening all the ridges.  but i dont want to change the skid plate im amazed how much it protect my car. hence thinking of a small lift (maybe a spacer lift) in front suspension to compensate ridge riding. 

 

Dear Xterrian and experts in carnity family, what is your thoughts and recommendations on this. 

@Foxtrot Oscar  @Emmanuel @Chaitanya D @M.Seidam @Nivin @sertac @Thomas Varghese @Janarthan 

There are loads of Xterra owners here, Please feel free to tag them along. 

 

@Rizwanm2 as I explained to you during our last drive with @Lorenzo Candelpergher you rear suspension is bottoming out or you feel probably bottoming out maybe due to worn out rear leaf spring bushes. My X had the problem of swaying from the line and I got it sorted out by replacing them. Unfortunately Nissan doesn't provide bushes separately and you have to buy them as a set with new leaf springs. By enquiring around I found you can get them at Dobinsons and their bushes are made of neoprene which is of better quality. They may ask you to switch to greaseable shackles which I didn't as my wallet was thin at that time. By the way the total cost of changing all the leaf spring bushes at Dobinsons was around 500 AED. I changed the front suspension bushes also. They are not available separately from Nissan and it would cost around 3000 AED if you buy and change all the suspension arms for the sake of worn out bushes. I found out an alternative method of sourcing only the bushes from third party vendors and I got my suspension bushes changed all for a paltry amount of 600 AED. Bushes made in Thailand are good and will outlast the OEM ones. Thailand is a world leader in rubber products. I changed all the bushes 3 months ago and they are still holding challenging the opinion of so called experts who advised me to go with OEM Nissan parts. It was @Shaaz Sha who helped me in sourcing these third party bushes. I haven't done any lift to my car and I'm perfectly comfortable with the performance of my X with stock height. 

Edited June 8, 2021 by Thomas Varghese

[Foxtrot Oscar]

10 hours ago, Rizwanm2 said:

Exactly even my skidplate was about half inch concaved after  couple of months off roading. I suggest to get it inspected on ur next service, if its too much dented it might touch the radiator. 

 

Better to know ur also on same page here. I guess about 1 inch lift would make big difference in ridge riding.  So can we do a lift only in front without messing around the  rear not sure how it will effect the handling.  

Yeah, it’s all good , the mechanic checks my X every other week, sometimes more  😬

 

I honestly don’t know anything about lifts , I would assume you would have to lift both the front and rear at the same time 

[Thomas Varghese]

27 minutes ago, Foxtrot Oscar said:

Yeah, it’s all good , the mechanic checks my X every other week, sometimes more  😬

 

I honestly don’t know anything about lifts , I would assume you would have to lift both the front and rear at the same time 

What I know from guys who have done the lifts its good if you intend to break your back and your wallet even on normal tarmac road. Xterra offroad version Bilstein 4600 shocks are what I bought for my car and its smooth on Tarmac and ok to drive on sand. I don't know why people are getting obsessed with lifting their car up as we are not doing any rock climbing but only dune bashing. The stock height is ok for our sport I believe. Maximum you may experience with stock car is you have the chances to get crested on a ridge if your momentum and approach angle is not correct. Its not going to improve your driving anyways and still the chances of getting refusals and stucks remain the same whether the car is lifted or not. Moreover I advise our members not to get carried away by these mods and spend money on them as at the end its your skill which matters. By the way lifting a car up to 2 inches more will cost you 12000 AED from Dobinsons and if you want 2.5 inches it will be 15000 AED. Its not worth investing all this money if your skill remains the same. If you have the skill to drive on sand then these mods are not needed. 

[Wade Pat2]

Unless its a good ole American made Truck with the rear in to the sky for heavy towing proposes, I would always lift the front and rear to maintain stock front to back "rake". Always get wheel alignment done and make sure they adjust the camber and not just Toe.  Shop familiar with lifts will already do that and lift kits will typically come with proper front and back heights springs, spacers, leafs, etc. 

I dont have an X but have done and had many types of lifts. My best advice , find a great shop and lift only as much as needed with a brand with well known name.  Then take plenty of cool pics for us all to see. 

added--For us with IFS cars anything over 1 -1.5 inches can cause CV problems on many cars. If you then get a lift with a diff drop to correct those angles you are back at square one with the same ground clearance.

Only reason to lift over 1.5 for most IFS cars is to accommodate for bigger tires and a diff drop is needed to maintain angles would be needed. 

Edited June 8, 2021 by Wade Pat2

[Lawrence_Chehimi]

Look at the drive shaft of a stock vehicle compared to a vehicle with 2" lift kit. This is a Nissan Patrol..

How long would it last before it fails?

[Lawrence_Chehimi]

I'm against lifts, Unless you go with some expensive mods that will include lower/upper arms, longer drive shafts on top of the shocks, springs, also keep in mind that you are increasing your center of gravity which is not much advisable for high speed driving..

I believe lifts are essential for rock crawling.