not thrilled with the 06 off-road package

[starkos14]

Just picked up my xterra and I got the off-road package but im not diggin the bilsteins, i want stiffer or lower, any suggestions?

[hsckris]

Stiffer or lower seem to be working toward 2 different goals. What are your goals?

FYI -- many consider Bilstein an elite shock... it'll probably be hard to beat, though that'd depend on your goals.

I would guess you didn't get an offroad package to drop the truck in the weeds.

[BadQ45t]

What do you want to do, make it a low-rider and stiffer to handle better? If so you should get rid of tihs truck right now. I have a S model which uses the standard shocks and it is still pretty darn stiff. Your not going to get a stiffer ride really than the Bilsteins unless you do something that is really radical for off-road (maybe the Ranchos). But lowering it is not a good idea.

[starkos14]

i got the off-road package for the bilsteins and the vlsd. but the bilsteins still have too much body roll around turns and the vlsd never locks, even with the drift button on, sorry, by drift button i mean the "lock" switch thats supposed to lock the diffs, maybe its only the center diff but then i dont understand the point in rwd. and burnouts only consist of 1 wheel spining. also, this truck likes the drifty, so stiffer and lower suspension would be a lot more fun.

I chose the xterra because i needed to be able to tow my 240 and the 5k lb tow limit does the job as needed. and its the best suv in its class that I could grab for under $20k with a 6 speed option.

[hsckris]

i got the off-road package for the bilsteins and the vlsd. but the bilsteins still have too much body roll around turns and the vlsd never locks, even with the drift button on, sorry, by drift button i mean the "lock" switch thats supposed to lock the diffs, maybe its only the center diff but then i dont understand the point in rwd. and burnouts only consist of 1 wheel spining. also, this truck likes the drifty, so stiffer and lower suspension would be a lot more fun.

You have a 4x4 truck. It will not be a drift machine from the factory. It will have body roll in the corners. It does not have a center diff, but rather a trans case & a front and rear diff. The Bilsteins are meant to improve offroad performance, not on road handling.

IMO if you really want your SUV to handle well on the road you should get a 2wd model, and then go from there with suspension upgrades. I don't know of any 4wd SUVs that do not exhibit body roll. This isn't a Lotus (or even a 240), its a 4x4 truck.

Be aware that the reason your truck tows well is, in part, due to the way the suspension is setup. If you change that, it can affect how & how much the vehicle tows.

As far as burnouts & drifting, I don't even know why you would attempt to do that in a 4x4 suv.

[starkos14]

good points, and you probably dont understand the burnouts and drifting because you dont understand the drifting addiction. As for the stiffness and body roll factor, i dont need the suv to be slammed with rock hard suspension, i just want a minor improvement to handle more similar to the 4runner. the 4 runner can handle 50mph curves with dramatically less body roll and instills more confidence in the vehicle. i feel like 45mph in the x, should be able to take turns without having a fear of flipping(not like i get close, its just annoying). If the curve reccomends a 40mph speed, I still feel annoyed. the 4runner just feels more stable, but its over priced, less power, and i feel like a soccer mom driving one. when i have the xterra in 2wd, i feel the handling is much worse than 4wd. 4wd gives it more stability for obvious reasons, I just dont like 4wd for daily driving. parking with it is a biotch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...latedas you can see, we drift anything... about a min in, my buddy is sliding his pathfinder. we really want to tandem the xterra vs pathfinder...

[hsckris]

FYI -- You should NEVER engage the 4x4 on dry pavement.

As far as a slight improvement in handling... that should be achievable in theory. I personally have never seen anything for the 4x4 that wasn't geared primarily towards off-roading. Maybe somebody else has?

I don't think you have a rear sway bar, you could always add that. Other than that, replacing the coil spring with a higher rate spring should have a significant effect.

[Desert Rat]

And the locker only actuates in 4wd. I'm sure your owners manual clarifies this.

drifting in an Xterra just seems...well....dumb to me. (sorry).

[starkos14]

i hear ya... i only use 4wd in the rain and waiting for the snow to come. actually i do have the rear sway bar. i thought about doing an upgraded spring, but the front wheels are the only ones with coil springs. the rears, well you know... personally, i'm not a truck/suv person, so i'm unfamiliar with anything besides coils. so what to do about the rear suspension... hmm????

also, i just towed another 240 the other day and had an additional engine and transmission in the back. the rear was slammed, the front was in the sky and my headlights were blinding everyone. i was well within my my max towing load(tounge weight too) and full payload weight. not about overstress the new toy....

drifting in an Xterra just seems...well....dumb to me. (sorry).

its not just the xterra, i'll drift anything with wheels on it... sliding is just that fun.

[Desert Rat]

If you want to maintain decent ride quality and still be able to tow, consider adding airbags to the back. Your rear suspension is as rudimentary as it gets - leaf springs, live axle. It's easy to modify.