Grandpa X
First Fill-Up (of many)
- Location
- Luverne Mn
Track bar mount, shock mount, spring seat, radius arm mount (with bump-stop on top that lines up with frame).
This axle stuffs 2-3 inches more than other suspension designs being it does not require a truss over the differential. The oil pan ends up being the limiting factor on this setup and even more when a truss is in-between. This rig is built to fit 33 inch tires. If a builder goes bigger the wheel wells tend to be the limiting factor. Some folks get out the sawsall, install a body lift, or bump-stop the axle from stuffing as far.
The radius arm setup works fine with the stock exhaust system. No extra room needed for links etc..
Coil-overs are what is "in" right now. And they are supposed to perform better on speedy long beatings. Not sure our 5500 lbs SUV with 170 horse (when new) could be considered "speedy". However, the beauty of SASing a Nissan is the custom wants and needs that fits a builders desire. I tend to go with old school coils and shocks. They add up to less than one naked coil-over body (no springs). These type coils worked on the 70's Ford pickups for years without a failure. Two shocks every 100,000 miles are normally under 100 bucks.
Everything adds up when SaSing... one has to add up to see if the "cost" is worth the "buck" on every decision. There is a point of too cheap... one strives to find the sweet spot between overbuilt and unsafe to drive on the road.
AlpineSpirits rig was the father of many of the ideas you see on this build. He drove it on wash board gravel roads for a couple years before our basic design was copied to other rigs.
This Xterra goes beyond that to a skid/bellypan setup, the old school coils/shocks, a Toyota Landcruiser steering box, and the custom (built to Xterra spec) axle. Once again it will be driven for a fair amount of time before the process moves on.... The eventual goal adding a front axle to a rig with the standard 2 inch body lift/shackle setup (PML) on the rear end. If the front axle can be stuffed deep enough (result same fundamental height as a PML rig) with a fair amount of up-travel, the rear axle setup on a PML rig could be left alone(not lifted). This would lower the cost exponentially... (no new rear shocks/springs/driveshaft/slipyoke eliminator/etc....)
This axle stuffs 2-3 inches more than other suspension designs being it does not require a truss over the differential. The oil pan ends up being the limiting factor on this setup and even more when a truss is in-between. This rig is built to fit 33 inch tires. If a builder goes bigger the wheel wells tend to be the limiting factor. Some folks get out the sawsall, install a body lift, or bump-stop the axle from stuffing as far.
The radius arm setup works fine with the stock exhaust system. No extra room needed for links etc..
Coil-overs are what is "in" right now. And they are supposed to perform better on speedy long beatings. Not sure our 5500 lbs SUV with 170 horse (when new) could be considered "speedy". However, the beauty of SASing a Nissan is the custom wants and needs that fits a builders desire. I tend to go with old school coils and shocks. They add up to less than one naked coil-over body (no springs). These type coils worked on the 70's Ford pickups for years without a failure. Two shocks every 100,000 miles are normally under 100 bucks.
Everything adds up when SaSing... one has to add up to see if the "cost" is worth the "buck" on every decision. There is a point of too cheap... one strives to find the sweet spot between overbuilt and unsafe to drive on the road.
AlpineSpirits rig was the father of many of the ideas you see on this build. He drove it on wash board gravel roads for a couple years before our basic design was copied to other rigs.
This Xterra goes beyond that to a skid/bellypan setup, the old school coils/shocks, a Toyota Landcruiser steering box, and the custom (built to Xterra spec) axle. Once again it will be driven for a fair amount of time before the process moves on.... The eventual goal adding a front axle to a rig with the standard 2 inch body lift/shackle setup (PML) on the rear end. If the front axle can be stuffed deep enough (result same fundamental height as a PML rig) with a fair amount of up-travel, the rear axle setup on a PML rig could be left alone(not lifted). This would lower the cost exponentially... (no new rear shocks/springs/driveshaft/slipyoke eliminator/etc....)
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