Hello from a New Nissan Rogue S Owner w/Nav, Leather, Wheel Upgrades

[lilbaggie]

Hi Everybody

Just wanted to say hello. my wife recently purchased a 2009 Nissan Rogue (well she bought it back in Sept but it took me awhile to break out the camera and get some pix). She purchased the base FWD S model with Dealer added Spoiler and Sill Pkg for close to invoice ($19,253- was that a good deal? we also got the low financing rate) and i helped "dress" it up a little.

we added:-Katzkin Leather Kit (incl Center Armrest and Door Panels- i have a buddy who runs an upholstery shop, got me the kit at his cost $495 and installed it for $100!)-Wheelskins Steering Wheel Wrap (minor mod but makes such a big diff)-Pioneer F700BT Nav (installed it myself- super simple w instructions from this site)-18" Nissan SE-R rims w 235/55/18 Toyos (fit and look great although the front center caps required some tweaking to fit back on. By chance rented a base Rogue and the bigger wheels and wider, grippier tires made a HUGE difference in handling)-Nissan All Weather Mats-Nissan Cargo Cover

may still add--Chrome Exhaust tip- Rear Cargo Mat- Divided Storage Tray from SL model if i can find one cheep

I'm used to AMGs and vintage Chevy muscle cars so i have to admit i kinda turned my nose up abit when my wife put the Rogue on her wishlist (she's a sales rep and needed a roomy, easy to drive car that got good mileage and could comfortable rack up the miles) but with the modifications we made, i've been quite surprised. It's been a great zippy comfortable runabout. Quite nice!

Thanks to Eddnog, who was helpful in input for tire sizes, and this site in general for all the great info!

bestmeng

[pawprint]

-Pioneer F700BT Nav (installed it myself- super simple w instructions from this site)

Very expensive & very nice! Did it fit perfectly?

[lilbaggie]

Thanks! It was a refurbished unit from a reputable (100% feedback) seller off eBay so it wasn't so bad ($398 shipped). With the Scosche adapter and harness, it was a very simple install with no drama or anything unexpected. Fit and finish on the adapter plate seems pretty good especially considering some complaints with the Metra unit.

Neither my wife nor i are big audiophiles so hooked up to the base amp and speakers was fine for us. The unit has a very nice feature where you can change the illumination light so it matched the orange of the other panels.

[Nick 568]

Very nice! I especially like the wheels and leather! I just added some black OZ Ultraleggeras to mine, and I couldn't be happier, but I do love the way those SE-R wheels look on yours!
Modified by Nick 568 at 6:27 PM 1/16/2010

[dolbydj]

Awesome!! Thanks for posting your pics. I was looking into those wheels as well, now I won't have to imagine them on a Rogue. I had ordered your silver color, but it was tempoararily unavailable at the time of my purchase. I have a carbon silver and I am thinking about getting silver wheels and not your gunmetal / hyper silver color. I really wanted the two-tone interior and it looks very clean in the Katzkin leather. Leather wrapping the steering wheel was my first priority, but I am surprised that a company does not measure ours to custom fit (as best possible) factory wheels. The closest I could find was a Mazda tuner out of Japan that had measured their wheels and custom fitted leather. You still stitch it yourself and the cost is about $150+. I was hoping to post a poll / link for all Nico members to petition someone like Wheelskins to make custom kits for all cars. I'm sure that if someone can measure all the panels to make dash kits, they can measure the steering wheels for every manufacture's lineup!

[lilbaggie]

Yeah those 05-07 SE-R rims are some of the nicest factory designed rims i've seen and compliment the Rogue lines quite well. They look even nicer in person but honestly with the standard gunmetal finish, the Rogue silver isn't probably the best color combo. Nick568's red (i think that's red/burgundy in your avatar), Black, or a White would probably look better. A bright silver satin or actually a much darker grey/silver on the rims would be a better combo for ours.

Even with the 18s, the body still sits a little high (gap between the tire and wheel well) but Eddnog, who installed lowered springs and 19s, says the tradeoff is Ride Quality for a flatter sitting vehicle. Didn't seem like a worthwhile trade off, especially for what my wife uses it for and also factoring in cost.

and Dolbydj, they took a little while to track down, esp clean. They're in big demand with the Altima/Sentra folks and a kid in a VW even offered to buy them when i was having them installed! I was able to find those on Craigslist for $525. If you end up getting them, the front center caps won't fit because the centerbolt sticks out too far. My tire guy ended up heating the centercap so it would bulge a little and then snapping them in place...

[Nick 568]

...Nick568's red (i think that's red/burgundy in your avatar)...

It's the regular 'Venom Red' Rogue. The pic is just a bit dark. Alaska is a dark place in the winter, haha.

[MR NISMO]

those se-r wheels look super sick on the rogue!

[koolyce]

Really nice. I like those wheels.