Hey Guys,

My first post here so please be gentle.

I did some research and here's what I figured out:

My 2003 Xterra is a: 1st Generation
The Bolt Pattern is: 6 lug 5.5"

That's not much.

Here's what I want: swap out my stock rims for those jeep like matte black rims and wider more aggressive looking tires. Like this: http://www.clubxterra.org/forums/showthread.php?t=6603&highlight=tire+pictures

These will be strictly street tires so noise is important.

No bead lock needed

Hope to do this w/o any body or suspension lifts.

I will be putting a set of snow tires on the oem rims.

The OEM rims/tires just look so soccer mom.

PLEASE HELP!!!

31 x 10.5 with little to no trimming of the plastic
32 or 33 x 12.5 with a body lift and/or more trimming

the wheels in that link are cragar soft 8s
you could also go for regular black crawler wheels from summit racing, only about $55 each...and get them in 15 x 8, 15" tires are cheaper than 16" or 17"

get them in 4.5 or 4.75" back spacing, any less and they will stick out well past the fenders...and more and they will sit in too far and rub the frame/suspension on turns

as for tires, get an aggressive all terrain like the BFG AT, i have the cooper discoverer ST and they are pretty quiet, slight humming at around 60 mph

Yeah man! Awesome suggestions! I'll start shopping!

I'm confused, Summit racing doesn't seem to carry the Cragars in the 6 lug 5.5" bolt pattern. Isn't this the right pattern for my 03 xterra?
http://store.summitracing.com/egnsearch.asp?Ntt=cragar+soft+8+15+in+4.5+bakspace&x=0&y=0&searchinresults=false&Ntk=KeywordSearch&DDS=1&N=700+115

And the crawlers are only available in 17" with the correct backspacing and bolt pattern:
http://store.summitracing.com/egnsearch.asp?Ntt=crawler&N=700+400354+4294923105+4294755953+115+4294795045&Ntk=KeywordSearch

Ok, found this on jeggs.com
http://www.jegs.com/i/Cragar/260/3975860P/10002/-1


Cragar #260-3975860P

Soft 8 397 Series Wheel
Finish: Black
Size: 15'' x 8''
Bolt Circle: 6 x 5-1/2''
Rear Spacing: 4-3/4''

More Details $39.99
Ships
12/17/08




Looks like what it should be.

just let someone else verify that the 4.75" backspace will work, but i think your set to jet with those on jegs

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=CRR%2D3425860P&N=700+115&autoview=sku

Found these tires at $131 each for a 265/75 R15
The coopers you had recommended
http://www.discountedwheelwarehouse.com/Store_Detail.cfm?ID=163441&InfoID=4278&ShowLarge=True

Does the savings from buying online get negated by shipping and having to pay someone to mount and balance?

Found these tires at $131 each for a 265/75 R15
The coopers you had recommended
http://www.discountedwheelwarehouse.com/Store_Detail.cfm?ID=163441&InfoID=4278&ShowLarge=True

Does the savings from buying online get negated by shipping and having to pay someone to mount and balance?

pretty much, see what kinda deals you can get on tire rack or another site, someplace that can ship directly to an installer who will mount and balance them for you and then put them on...summit can do tire and wheel packages but its gonna be expensive..

suggestion:
before you go ahead and buy tires, be sure you dont want to install a 2" body lift for the extra tire clearance....if you really want the 33"s, do the body lift now, or else you will be kicking yourself down the road for not getting the bigger tires...

if you dont want to lift at all, then i say go for the biggest tire you can stuff without the body lift(like a 31.5")

also, you can use this:
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

helps when converting tire sizing in inches to aspect ratio sizing, etc.

as for the coopers, i got a sweet deal on them (265x70x17) and i beat the piss out of them and they take a good beating, and i have about 10k on them and theres still lots of tread left....

I'm so hesitant to put a body lift... It was enough to get schooled on rims and tires to make an informed decision; I just don't want to get in over my head with this stuff. I guess I'll do some research. The extra height looks so good. Wonder if it will still fit in the garage.

Ok... the 2" BL looks like it way more than I want to invest. Any idea how much for a shop to do it?

Ok... the 2" BL looks like it way more than I want to invest. Any idea how much for a shop to do it?

a LOT of $$$

a LOT

none of it is hard work, but it is very involved....it does involve the possibility of having the truck down for a period of time in case of any issues, but IMHO, its worth the extra clearance to run those bigger tires....

since it usually takes 5-6 hours for the body lift, and shops can charge upwards of $80 an hour, your looking at $400 or more possibly....local 4wd shop about 10 minutes from my house quoted me $750 and an entire weekend, this was before i decided to tackle it myself

look at james'(soccerbrace) writeup on doing the BL....it really isnt that hard, as long as you have the proper tools and do the proper prep work

Yeah i read through it. Just intimidating i guess. Especially the part about worrying about breaking off body bolts.

as long as you spray them down enough beforehand, breaking bolts isnt that likely...

i sprayed for 3 straight weeks beforehand, about 2 whole cans of PB....twice a day, every day....that, paired with a 250 ft.lb. impact gun w/ 25 gallon tank made for short, short work of the body bolts(had em all out in 30 minutes), only one gave me an issue but it was the front bolt on the drivers side which, forunately, can be access from the top and bottom....few minutes with the wiz wheel, no more bolts

seriously though, just make sure you follow the steps to the 't' and do NOT skimp on the prep work, have everything ready to go(tools, parts, prep, beer) and have an extra car on standby JUST IN CASE you need to run to autozone, home depot, etc.)...if you do the first half right, the second half will be exponentially easier

Good advice... what's a wiz wheel?

My impact wrench is only 210 ft lbs. Probably enough right?

Good advice... what's a wiz wheel?

My impact wrench is only 210 ft lbs. Probably enough right?

wiz wheel = small handheld pneumatic grinding wheel....it spins really fast so it makes a high pitched 'whiz' sound...lol

210 ft lb should be mroe than sufficient...

also, get in touch with some local X enthusiasts...theres plenty out in CA, plenty would be more than happy to lend tools, a hand, advice, etc...

if you want, pm me and ill give you my number and we can talk about the details and such

Cool.. thanks for all the advice. I guess now its on to the hunt for spacers and bolts.

Sounds like wiz wheel = dremmel

Cool.. thanks for all the advice. I guess now its on to the hunt for spacers and bolts.

Sounds like wiz wheel = dremmel

no problem...

not quite a dremmel, but a high powered dremel with the right cutting bit might be able to do the job
more like this:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=52848

with a cutting disc on it