I have a '01 Xterra, 2wd. Originally from Phx, new to the Denver area. Driving this truck in the snow SUCKS!! So my project for the spring and summer is to lower it and make it a bit faster. I don't have a plan of attack yet, but I thought this would be a good place to start and get some ideas.

Welcome to CX!

Lowering it and making it a bit faster? That's an interesting theory on helping it drive better in snow :mocking: .

To each his own though. As you will probably notice, most of the members here choose to go the other route with their mods (higher and hence slower) but we will try and help as best we can with your questions.

But I want to add that making the X faster is a dangerous proposition. These are really heavy and have a high center of gravity.

We all have ideas of how we want our rigs to look and while there will be those who may not agree with what you want to do, I'm sure there are those that don't like what we do with ours either.

Enjoy your X and welcome to the club!

i have a 2wd and i have driven in snow and i didnt have any problems..... you just have to know how to driven in the conditions.... and remember that its 2wd so take it noce and easy.......


but like drake said "To each his own"..... welcome to the club and if there is any ?'s we can answer just let us know....

WOOTS
im not sure if shadow's X is dropped or not, but his X is moddedtowards road only driving, and it is one of the sweetest lookin Xs ive ever seen!

so Welcome to the club
and dont worry, we really dont flame on here, you could bag your xterra and drag frame and i would sure hope no one here would talk down to you(pun intended, lol)

remember dudes, this site clubxterra and not clubxterraoffroad

i for one cant wait to see what you do with it, as for power mods, check out the intake mod in the DIY repairs and modifications section
then exhaust obviously, and then really all you can do is supercharge it if it isnt, and get bigger cams

i hope you stick around!

I have a feeling that your tires suck. The best method for better snow handling is better, wider tires and in no case, lowering it.


Welcome to the club!-James:wink-big:

All of our tire reps say narrower tires are better in the snow.

I don't follow the thinking myself, but that's what they say. They also say that when you replace two tires they should be placed on the front of the vehicle regardless of it's drive train.

They even showed us videos of why to do it that way. Pretty interesting stuff.

Anyway, I'm rambling.

Buy snow tires!

All of our tire reps say narrower tires are better in the snow.

I don't follow the thinking myself, but that's what they say. They also say that when you replace two tires they should be placed on the front of the vehicle regardless of it's drive train.

They even showed us videos of why to do it that way. Pretty interesting stuff.

Anyway, I'm rambling.

Buy snow tires!
I believe it's true that narrow tires are better on snow pack, as they can bite in a little better and get down to the hard stuff. In DEEP snow however, it's better to have wider tires. They'll provide a bigger footprint and give better flotation, which keeps you on top of the snow, rather than sinking in, digging holes, and getting stuck. My stepside for example does very well with 16" wide tires, but it SUCKS on ice and is actually quite scary. So it all depends on what you're driving in. People tend to make generalizations that favor snow-packed road driving, cause that applies to what most people will take on.

On a RWD vehicle, putting your best tires on the front will help you avoid getting into a wreck. Putting them on the back will help you avoid getting stuck. Depends on what you would prefer....