Canadian Nissan Truck Club

A quick and absolute way to figure out how much down travel you can achieve before CBC is to put a jack under any sub-frame component in that quarter of the vehicle, start jacking the vehicle until it is raised to your desired height (say 36" at wheel arch for your example, which is a 1.75" lift over stock) and measure the distance between the UCA and the CB. Multiply this distance by the 1.6 factor , and you have your "down travel before CBC distance". Before you do this, make a prediction on what you think it is going to be based on all the knowledge you have acquired and all that you have read. The number is small!

the x kid wrote:How about a body lift?

yeaa why not, this might be way easier and cheaper than what your getting into

Not sure what this is like on an X but the frontier was easy

What I really like about a body lift is that it opened up some extra space to spray all the mud/crap off, there are labyrinths of mud pockets I never even knew existed till I lifted the body 2".

I think Rev did it. He had already done a suspension lift at that point though.

If I'm taking all of this lifting information in correctly, the BL would not change ground clearance, but BLs allow larger tires to be installed, and even stuffed upward into the wheel well ... and larger tires mean more ground clearance. Ground clearance is what it's all about for me - just a little more - no monster truck stuff.

So the question is, would a 2" BL allow tires larger than 33"? I'll be running 285/75R16 (33") soon regardless of a BL, so does the BL alone allow for even larger tires? If it doesn't, then I'm better of with even a small SL, right, especially since the cheaper SL that i would consider affects droop more than anything?

...or am I missing something (brain hurting now).

The BL would raise the fenders 2" and allow for bigger tires = more clearance without any change in ride quality. Assuming you have factory wheels (no offset rims or wheel spacers) you should be good for 33"s with a 2" BL, maybe have to trim or remove the front mud flap.

A 2" BL might actually give you a bit (~1/2"?) more tire clearance compared to 2" suspension lift... When the suspension travels closer to the top or bottom of the cycle the wheels move in towards the truck slightly. Also since the upper A-arm is shorter than the bottom, the camber of tire changes with the position of the suspension. A 2" suspension lift will put you below the mid point and start to pull the wheel in (closer to the fender) while a BL in any situation, the fenders will be 2" higher than stock

33's should fit without doing a body lift just have to do the melt mod. as for the 2"BL i did mine last summer and wasn't bad the hardest part was i had alot of seized bolts (Not Body Bolts).

BigRed44 wrote:33's should fit without doing a body lift just have to do the melt mod. as for the 2"BL i did mine last summer and wasn't bad the hardest part was i had alot of seized bolts (Not Body Bolts).

...but you aren't able to fit 34s or 35s are you?

Do 33s make contact upon full stuff without a body lift?

@BigRed44 - I am interested to get your reasons for a body lift - bigger than 33s? What setup are you running? I seem to remember that you have UCAs and upgraded coil-overs but not the other details.

@FrontyFlyer - I would really like to get a look at your truck and setup in person. I work in Burlington, live in Oakville, so if we could grab a coffee sometimes that would be great. I have followed your various build threads and contributions. I am daydreaming about redoing my truck and anything from the output of the T-case to the wheels is up for debate. PM me if you up for it.

@Xtrapol8 - are you ever looking to run anything bigger than 33s? I did not get the impressions that you would be looking to open that can of worms.

JAS wrote: @Xtrapol8 - are you ever looking to run anything bigger than 33s? I did not get the impressions that you would be looking to open that can of worms.

I doubt I would ever run tires bigger than 33s.

A friend of mine has a Jeep she just lifted and upgraded to 35s and it looks great, but doing something like that to an Xterra is a completely different $cenario.

I'm just trying to assess the value of a body lift. I know lots of guys run 33s without changing anything else. If a BL doesn't allow for bigger tires (without cutting metal etc), and if the 33s move through the complete range of motion without difficulty without a body lift, then the value of a body lift by itself seems to be simply aesthetic. (Okay, it would help with certain clearance issues, esp. along the rocker panel, but I don't think that would motivate me to do it.) Please everyone, let me know if I'm misunderstanding.

@JAS - I did the BL for 2 reasons first is larger tires with the SL I have and now the BL I can fit 35's without trimming
The second reason is to bring the rad a little higher which keeps it out of the mud better. I do have a 3" SL on it and a 2" BL now

33's will fit without a lift of any kind where they contact is in full lock left or right turns on a piece of the fender lining. The melt mod is basically where you hear the point with a heat gun and the use a price of wood or other material to push it back and away from the tire to give you clearance. Once you do that there shouldn't be any running issues. At least that is what I have read.

@BR44 That's cool. A bunch of questions for you....

Are you running the 35's at stock width without a Titan Swap? BL + SL with aftermarket UCAs and extended coil-covers? Any gearing changes? Are you still with the R180 diff? Definitely would like to hear your opinion on your setup regarding travel, ride, and overall impressions. What kind of numbers for up/down travel? Sounds like you went from 32's to 35's - is that correct?

Right now still 33's wife wants me to wear out the 33s before I step up and for right now factory width and gearing as for travel I have never measured I will look when I get the chance

Thanks for the info - don't worry about measuring. I am going to assume that you have whatever the extended coil-overs give you with your UCAs.

Xtrapol8, do you remember Ironman's Pathfinder at AW? I think he has a 2" spacer lift, and a 3" body lift. Then stuck on 35s. I have never seen that on a xterra. I bet it would be cool.

That Pathy definitely ROCKS

I think BigRed44 is headed in that direction, but I don't know of any CNTC member running it right now.

If money were no object, I would certainly do it. For now, it's not in the cards

Just saying that the 2 inch body lift will allow 33s.

I have the JAS spacers on. I didn't measure; I just trusted the yield would be 1.75".
I didn't do anything to the back since I already have an extra leaf on each side.
The truck sits level now and the clearance under the front is much less embarrassing. I suppose the return of the stock rims and the MTs also help a little with appearances

So what about the infamous Coil Bucket Contact? Some guys have reported that spacers yielding a lift of 2" or less have not caused it. Other guys have been driven insane by its relentlessness. It's tough to know which to believe, or maybe more precisely, whom to believe ... So, FWIW, here's my account after trying things out on Sunday. (Remember I might be one of the people whose account should be given no weight whatsoever ) I almost didn't notice anything, but there was a series of humps in the trail (70cm tall, 200-300cm peak to peak) and when I went over those faster than I normally would, I could hear/feel something as the front end crested each each hump. No bumps, no potholes, no washboard or any other thing I tried gave me CBC. Maybe my front end needs a stuff coupled with a sudden release to generate CBC...

Great that the spacers worked for you. Did you use my whole coil-over or did you use the spacers on your coil-overs?

JAS wrote:Great that the spacers worked for you. Did you use my whole coil-over or did you use the spacers on your coil-overs?

We didn't have much time. We used your coilovers with the spacers already on. I figured I'd experience the CBC phenomenon and then take them off.

Alright i know this hasn't been talked upon since April , but i am in the midst of getting a 15 Xterra , and am looking at suspension lifts . I am soo befuddled at the moment , now i am not a slouch i am coming from the show car world , so i know what coilovers are and so on , however the application to the Xterra confuses me.

So i am in need of a full kit , can;t cost me a what the Prime minister makes , but i was a 2" to 2.5" lift , i plan to fit 32.8-33 " tires on 16" steel rims , or 15" depends on costs . However i see a few different brands and some talked about more than others . I prefer to buy in Canada rather than from the US . Simple reason ....Customs .... they kill us . So can someone point to me the best bang for my buck for a suspension lift that i can buy in Canada?


There is more i am trying to find but i don't want to go off topic , i also need to find off road steel rims and General tire grabbers AT2 in the size i need .

Any help would be appreciated

I heard that spacers are ok to a point. Probably like anything you go too far and things become a problem. The shackle kit I bought came with the levelling spacers (about an inch) for the front. I also have adjustable blistein shocks. With the shackles I am planning to add 1.5" OME leafs and bump up the blisteins in the front.

Sadly a lot of the stuff you want is from the states. Even if you can find it in Canada you will still pay customs and shipping as they have to bring it in from there.