hey guys. i looked around the forum for a little bit and liked what i saw. im planning on getting a X when i get home for leave in jan. im chris, 23 yrs old. live in Phx, AZ. current stationed in wonderful korea in the army..
i have had a couple trucks but only 2 wheel drive and took them all off-road and did what i could and broke alot of stuff lol..
i've done most of my major off-roading with the dirt bikes. but i think it time to step it up..

would love advice on a good year. , lift kits, anything.
thanks a bunch
Chris

Depends on what you want to do, really. The X is a great vehicle for getting on the trails. It's got plenty of space to hold things and it's basically a 4wd tent. I'd suggest the OR model. The V6 seems to have plenty of power and it comes with a locking rear diff, which makes a huge difference off road. In terms of lifts and things you want to do, there's lots of options. The simplest ones are the pucks and brackets from someone like PRG. For Gen2 Xs, that's around $260 or so and provides 2" of SL. Shrock, Kennesaw Mountain Works, ARB, and others provide bumpers and rock sliders, as well as better skids (I'm thinking you'll need sliders and skids out west). The folks out west can provide the best input on tires, though.

I'd recommend the X, no problem. But not the Off Road edition. There are so many little gadgets and gizmos that when one goes wrong, they're a massive PIA to get back to square one. You mentioned that you've broken a lot of parts on your 2WD trucks, so it sounds like you're a bit hard on them, nothing wrong with that, but the OR edition isn't built for the 1% that abuse it, but for the 99% that may never hit the button.

Get a regular X, with the options that you want (although you won't be able to get a rear locker, you can upgrade the rear axle with an ARB, so check out what's available for the axle on the X you're looking at) and get a much more reliable vehicle for your driving style than going with super fancy but a bit more fragile X.

Or a crew cab short bed Frontier. Have a canvas topper built and you'll be happy as well with a bed that you can use for the dirty stuff. Long beds will fit your dirt bikes better (won't have to leave the tail gate down) but they have a longer wheel base as well. Extended cab long bed wouldn't be as bad, if you're not concerned with hauling your buds around and they have plenty of room for nice system as well.

Extra options? It's got a locking rear axle and Bils from the start, as well as the upgraded rear axle. HDC on the auto and clutch-start on the 6spd. I'm trying to remember what other gadgets and gizmos you're referring to, though.

Not snarking here, just not sure what you're referring to.

The problem with the rear locker is that it creates additional heat and the rear differential has had a tendancy to go out on the Off Road. Mine went out at 10900 miles, and I wasn't even working it that hard. It was replaced under warranty and so far the 2nd one has held up, but again I have been very careful...

Cliff - that's the first I've heard of that. I agree that it'll create extra heat - but if one only actually uses it when off-roading it shouldn't be too much of a problem. I've heard of many more front diffs getting blown (though mostly with folks who've lifted it and have 33s or 35s) than I've heard of with the rear diff.

New X diffs suck in general.

Again, I've only heard of it being an issue on the front diff. If I was going to be wheeling that heavily I'd swap out for a Titan or go SAS.

But I'm just not going to hit it that hard and that often right now.

HDC, HA, ABLS (that can not be turned off), locker in the rear that can only be activated in 4lo. All of which has been troublesome and most times, with heavy modification, is deemed useless.

And I've replaced half a dozen or so of the rear locker axles. Clutches in the 6-speed are also troublesome, with no aftermarket support or ability to turn the existing flywheel (only option to buy a new one at a very hefty price).

Automatic with a non-locker diff. You can still get the M226 rear end and get the ARB for it. There's even an ARB for the other axle.

I'll stick with my original reccomendations. I've modded more X's and Fronty's than just about anyone. Just running with what I know.

Fair enough - that's why I didn't want to snark. I've noticed that about the clutch. Mine isn't giving me any problems whatsoever, but when it does I'd like to go aftermarket. No HDC or HA on mine (I got the clutch lock out), ABS is normal (unless you're referring to something else specific that I'm in the dark about - limited slip or something like that).

With heavy mods most of those would be useless, so if that's the direction I'd definitely support your recommendation. Hell, if heavy mods were in the future, I'd get the least expensive one I could and just mod away.

Still wouldn't trade mine in, though. I'm not going to abuse it enough that I'll likely end up breaking anything for now. Maybe later, though.

The ABLS (Anti-lock Brake Limited Slip) has just been deleted on a friends OR edition when his ABS module took a crap. He bypassed the module, now the ABLS, HDC and HA are now kaput. Nada. Gone!

I'm probably going to talk him through bypassing the locker switch for a standard switch for his locker when he wants it, including 2WD. There goes the OR all together.

Def go with a cheaper model and then upgrade. Mucho, mucho bettero IMHO.

But hey, he's a cool sticker!

By the way, he trashed the ABS module on some whupdy-doos in Ouray. Almost had to talk him off a clock tower with a rifle. He was pissed! Now it's all ok, just doesn't have the gizmos.

I guess it really boils down to what you're going to use it for. You made a good note that our OP manages to break things frequently. With that in mind, your plan may be better. OTOH, if he's planning on moderate wheeling and not abusing it (using it as more of a 4wd tent, to some extent), maybe the OR might be better. Knowing that I've not really done much in the way of mods and have no desire to get into much more than a small lift and maybe some better springs and suspension (right now), I'd say having the locker and the clutch-start are great. I've not noticed the ABLS causing me any problems. Maybe when I turn off the VDC it goes away.

Nope, with VDC off, the ABLS stays on, no matter what.

My '73 Beetle has a clutchless starter, that's not really an improvement on anything. The locker, cheaper to buy a lesser model and put a locker in it that you know is more reliable.

Just my opinion.

I had a 73 Beetle myself. The clutchless starter there was due to there not being an actual mechanism to prevent one from starting the vehicle with it in gear. Kind of a difference there, no?

Even with what you've mentioned, I'd still recommend the OR for someone like myself. For others your path might be better.

I'm guessing you like to argue. Modding a vehicle back to the 70's isn't really an advance, is it? More of a retro-mod? And you can get the kit to do it on the first gens as well. Nothing to spend the extra several grand on.

Kind of a difference, no?