Hey. I am looking at buying an 05 or 06 SE or OR. Once i get it one of the first things i want to do is to lift it up and get some bigger tires on. What is a good lift kit for some offroad use but will still be ok to drive on the street. The same for tires, they need to be able to hold their own in mud and snow, but still be usable on the street. Would the tires be used on the stock rims or would i buy some aftermarket ones. I am basically looking for a lift and tires that will give it an aggressive stance, I want it to look mean and be able to perform to.

welcome to the club, i have a 2000 se so my suggestion is for 2000 to 2004 and i dont really know all about the new X, but im pretty sure there is someone out there that can help.

For tires, I would go with the BFG AT KO's unless you plan to get into some real mud. They are the best on-road / off-road tire out there IMO.

For a lift, it's all in how much you want to spen and how much lift you want.

For about $300 you can get a spcer/shackle lift which puts spacers above your front shocks and shackles on the rear leafs and lifts you 2-2.5".

Or you can replace the front coil springs and get shackles or AAL for the rear with gives you around 2.5" but stiffens the ride.

Or you can replace the front shocks with new Coilovers, change the upper control arms and reaplce the rear spring pack or combine shackels and AAL and get about 3" and a nice ride.

Or you can go the Calmini 5" lift and drop the front diff 4" but raise the truck 5".

Or you can go the SLR route and do about the same as the calmini 5" but with a better design.

There are a few options and what is listed above isn't all.

I have been reading and i think that a 3 in lift combined with bigger tires will give me a nice stance. What is a good three in. lift kit. Also, should i be looking at a Body lift kit or a suspension lift kit. I think i want the body because what is the point of lifting if you dont gain any ground clearence right? I am not looking for absolute top of the line, but one that is good for the "average weekend warrior offroader"

body lifts are for bigger tires, it basically moves the range of suspension travel away from the body/fenders, where as with a suspension lift at full compression the tire will be in the same place, if its too big it wont fit. im sure someone else will come with a more detailed explanation, i dont hav ethe time at work but i hope it helps

Ok, there are way to look at this.

There are body lifts (BL) and suspension lifts (SL). They each have their place.

A BL raises the body off the frame. Everything else stays put (frame, suspension, driveline, etc). This will let you fit larger tires as it gives you more clearance between the tire and the fender. Currently for the new X’s only a 3” BL is available.

A SL raises all of the sprung weight. The axles stay the same height, but you lift the body, frame, driveline, etc. With an independent front suspension (IFS) with most suspension lifts the front diff is lifted as it’s attached to the frame which puts the front CV joints at a sharper than stock angle. Because you do lift the diff (in most cases) you do actually gain front ground clearance. In the rear, since it’s a solid axle, the diff does not move from it’s original height and there for in the rear you do not gain any ground clearance. You also gain wheel travel (or articulation). You will gain the most wheel travel in the rear because of it’s solid axle, while the front is limited because of the IFS.

Now, if you look at my list above, I talk quickly about the Calmini and SLR 5” lift. Once you get above 2.5-3” of you put the front CV joints at such an extreme angle that you chance stressing them and ultimately breaking them. The way the 5” lifts get around this is by dropping the front diff down. I don’t know for sure, but I hear that both the 5” lifts on the market drop the diff 4”, so in reality you only are gaining 1” of front ground clearance. What you do gain is more wheel travel.

So now you might ask, ok, so how do I gain ground clearance in the rear, since usually with a lift that is what you are trying to do (gain ground clearance)? The answer is, larger tires. If you go with a taller tire, the distance of the axle to the ground increases. If you go with a 1” taller tire, you gain ½” of ground clearance and so on.

With the new X's the largest you want to go is 33" tires. That is a very respectful size and you usually don't need much more unless you get into rock crawling (which the X is not suited for because of it’s IFS).

On the new generation X’s (05+) you can fit 285/75R16 (33x11.5x16) tires on it without any lift at all (with minor rubbing). Because of this, a BL isn’t really needed.

Now, you say you want 3” of lift. Well IMO the best for gaining 2.5-3” of lift would be the Total Chaos Upper Control Arms (UCA), RadFlo coilover shocks for the front. Alcan leaf springs, extended shackles (to allow the springs to flex more), extended rear shocks (Bilstein 5125 or Pro-Comp) and extended brake lines for the rear. That entire package would cost you about $2000. It would give you the best on-road and off-road performance IMO without being too over the top. They are all hi quality parts.

If you want something cheap, I would look at the Daystar kit. With that kit and extended rear shocks and brake lines you’ll keep the majority of the stock handling and gain a few inches of clearance. That setup should run you around $600 or so (I don’t know what the current price of the Daystar kit is).

Calmini also has a kit similar to the Daystar. I don’t like the aluminum spacers they use, but the end result is about the same.

Give this thread a look over.
http://thenewx.org/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=2223

I think i want the body because what is the point of lifting if you dont gain any ground clearence right?

I see it quite the opposite. Body lift (without touching tires) doesnt give you any additional ground clearance. Suspension lift does. I had a Fabtech suspension lift on my 97 nissan pickup.

What about the calmini lift kit on this site
http://www.purenissan.com/2005_xterra.htm
Could i use both the add a leaf kit and the shakle kit. Or would just one work better. the AAL is a body lift and shakle kit is a suspension lift right?
Then i could sit one or both of these kits on a set of 33's

There is only one BL out there for the 05+ X's and that is sold by 4x4parts.com. All a BL is is new body mounts (ie, pucks, spacers, etc) that go between the body and the frame.

Shackle and AAL (Add-A-Leaf) are both ways to do a suspension lift on a leaf sprung suspension.

A shackle works by increasing the distance between the frame and the rear of the leaf spring.

An AAL works by increasing the arch of the leaf spring.

If you combine the shackle and AAL you will end up with over 3" of lift in the back while you will only have about 2" of lift in the front. Since the rear stock sits a bit higher than the front already you will end up looking like a drag racer with the rear end all jacked up.

If i got the 3 in lift on 4x4parts.com I could fit 33 in tires? Would they rub? To have a good and well functioning lift would i need anything else. I saw that is comes with a steering extension, but what about bumper relocation brackets or anything else?

That would be the BL and yes 33's would fit with the body lift....they fit without it. So unless you are just going for looks, the 3" BL isn't really going to gain you much.

Ok, well then that is not the one for me. I guess i should be looking more along the lines of a suspension lift. What is the difference between a AAL and Shackle? Do both kits raise both ends (front and back) Kit on this site: http://www.purenissan.com/2005_xterra.htm

Because it would make sense to me that the AAL would raise the back since the back is the only one with leaf springs and the shakle would rasie the front since it doenst have any leaf springs. Or am i missing something.

The shackle and AAL both are ways to raise the back end. They are both a way to raise a leaf sprung vehicle (which the X is only in the rear).

The 05+ X uses a coilover shock in the front with upper and lower control arms. The way to lift this type of suspension is to lengthen the shock. There are two wasy to do this. First is to place a spacer on top of the shock. This is what the Calmini and Daystar kits do. The other is to use a longer/heavier spring. This is what the 4x4parts.com lift does.

Each Leaf Spring Pack Connects To The Frame At 2 Points, One Near The Middle Of The Truck, One By The Rear Bumper, The Leaf's Pivot Point Middle Of The Truck Connects Directly To The Frame, At The Rear It Has To Move, So The Shackle Is Connected To The Rear Of The Leaf At One End And The Frame At The Other, If You Get A Longer Shackle It Spreads The Rear Or The Leafs And The Frame Apart, Thus Lifting The Rear Of The Truck.

The Aal Adds A Leaf To The Leaf Pack, Which Makes Them Stiffer, Thus Lifts The Rear Of The Truck Via Higher Tension

Ok. Is there any other way to raise the front end besides replacing the shocks and springs. What do new A-Arms do. Do they lift the front end by themselves or do you have to use them in conjunction with springs and shocks? Also i see the kits for AAL and shackel on that same site come with spacers. They are to raise the front correct?

Yes, if you don't want new shocks or springs you can use the spacer that is attached to the top of the springs. This is how the Calmini and Daystar kits work.

The Upper and Lower control arms are what attaches the steering knuckle to... Tell ya what...give the URL below a read and if you have any more questions let me know. :)

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/car-suspension.htm

Good read! That site definently rocks. a few more questions and then I think I understand all that i need to know to make some educated decisions.

When lifting the front, are new A arms necessary and are they what i need to reduce wear on the CV joint that happens on lifted Xterras. If they dont stop that what is the kit that does.

When replacing springs I know atleast for my old car that it caused lots of damage on the struts. Is it the same with Xterras?

Well, the problem with the 05+ Xterra's is that as you lift the front, the UCA (upper control arm) gets closer to the spring bucket (this is where the top of the coilover shock mounts) it can get so close that it makes contact when the wheel is dropped (ie. when you hit a hole). To prevent this Total Chaos made new UCA's that clear the spring bucket. Because of this, you can eek out a bit more lift. For 2-2.5" of lift no new UCA's are needed. For 2.5-3" new UCA's would be suggested and the closer to 3" you get they become a requirement.

New UCA's do not help the CV angles. The only thing that can do that is a diff drop. You are good until you get above 2.5-3" of lift in the front.


Since on the front end has coilover shocks, if you go with a stiffer spring, it will put more stress on the shock and cause it to fail. I have the 4x4parts (AC) coil springs on the front with stock Bilstein shocks and have not had a problem (about 18K miles). In a month or so I will be changing over to the RadFlo coilover shocks that PRG sells, so I won't know exactly how long the shocks would have lasted.

Keep in mind, everything I have gone over (with the exception of lifting the rear end) is only for the 05+ Xterra's. The 00-04 X's use torsion bars in the front so lifting them are totoally different. The first gen X's will also not fit 33" tires stock.

Ok. After looking at alot of this stuff this is what I have come up with For 2nd Generation Xterra.
Calmini Spacer($175), Shakle($55), Add A Leaf Kit($150 +$25 for ubolts), and Cam Bolt Kit($55) all from this site
http://www.purenissan.com/2005_xterra.htm

This would give me a 2.5-3 in suspension lift in the front and back.

For tires I think I will go with some 33in BFG AT tires(Would they fit)

Would I need brake line extenders, UCAs, or steering angle fixes, or does that sound like everything I would need? If I need some of these things where would it be reccommended that I get them.

I am not sure what a cam bolt kit is. The new X's come from the facotry with front LCA cam bolts. The front spacer kit keeps the front end within Nissan spec, so although you'll need an alignment after the lift install, they should be able to pull it in without problem.

I would suggest going with either a shackle lift or an AAL lift in the rear, not both. With the spacer up front this will make your rear much higher than the front, giving you that raked drag car look.

If you want the most possible travel in the rear, new (longer shocks) and extended brake lines would be needed, but you will be fine without them.