Just got an Xterra a few days ago and while I don't plan on immediately doing any serious off-roading, I just wondered sort of what the limits are of a stock Xterra. What terrains could I safely traverse, and what should I avoid for the time being?

Sorry if this is a typical 'newbie' question; I'm really trying to avoid those.

The X is pretty universal... The biggest weakness you have right now are your tires... they suck.. that should be your first upgrade...

I have driven my X all over the place with no problems, mudd is bad news with those tires... but they were fine on the beach, fine going up stair case rocks...

I think the obstacles will start to scare you before the X hits its limit. I have been very impressed with mine at least...

things to do: let air out of the tires, down to like 18psi... disconnect your rear sway bar... and if you want, crank your front tortion bars to get another 1.5 of ground clearance...

The capablility of the X depends on the drivers ability as a wheel man and wether you mind being off camber. Look in the picture and video section to see what people do with their X's.

Take it easy at first. It's better to push yourself (or your vehicle) harder gradually than to go all out and learn your lessons the hard way.

Searching around this board will get your some pretty extreme pictures. Remember that a lot of them are modified and most of the drivers are experienced.

The 2 biggest drawbacks of the xterra:

Ground clearance: Coming from a 2nd gen 4runner, the xterra has nothing! I haven't run up on anything yet when wheelin, but thats mostly because I know the truck is kinda low, so I use common sense.

Wheel travel/articulation: Another negative of the x. Without a rear locker, youll find that getting 'two wheel' stuck happens more often than you'd like. This is probably the number 1 limitation in my opinion. Invest in a rear locker and wheel travel wont matter as much anymore.

what kind of ground clearance are you talking about?? from the diffs or to the underbody? As I can see it, the clearance to the diffs are about the same as a reg (taco) pickup with the same size tires of course...also I'm not sure but I think the wheelbase of the x is a little bit shorter than most pickups so that helps out on the getting 'high-centered' and under belly damage

I have friends with stock 4runners and I haven't noticed any significant ground clearance difference. Then again, "significant" can have a variety of meanings to different people.

If the difference is only around an inch or two, I factor in driving and driver-forethought before deciding which vehicle would out-do which.

The X's biggest weakness IMO is the lack of a rear locker or really stout limited slip diff. The times that I have seen people get in trouble on the trail it has been because of traction. They had to use momentum or too much skinny pedal to do what they were attempting. That being said. The X is a very capable vehicle, stock. And with very minor mods (tires, sliders. etc.) its abilities can be enhanced greatly without too much $$ or effort.

Toyota measures their ground clearance by the highest passible spot under the car.

Pretty much everyone else measures it by the lowest hanging item (usually diff or shocks) to get hit..

In reality, the ground clearance is very similar. The wheelbase is also shorter on the X, giving it a larger advantage...

Huh? The Xterra has really good stock ground clearance. Take a look at a KJ sometime if you want to see a similarly sized SUV with lousy ground clearance. The Xterra is pretty close to a 4Runner (but has a much better departure angle).

I agree about this limitation, at least on the front end. The back of the Xterra actually flexes really well, especially with the swaybar off. The front sucks, though - even w/ the swaybar off.

To answer the original question, a stock Xterra is really quite capable. It will hang with most any stock SUV so long as the driver knows what he or she is doing.

Remove the running boards from both trucks and you'll see that the 4runner has a lot more clearance. The front a-arm suspension also has more clearance than the xterra's.

The only major low spots are the transfer case skid and the rear pumpkin on the 4runner, but the transfer case measures in at a little under 12 inches and the pumpkin at 9.

Wait until you see the new Tacoma. The lowest spot is the driver side exhaust as it crosses over. It could cross the frame in a dozen places, but for some reason, they ran it behind the t-case, and squished it into an egg shape for more clearance. It hangs more than an inch lower than the rest of the truck waiting to get nailed by a rock.

The new Frontier (and Xterra) are dead flat across the entire underside, very cool and well designed.

I've owned a 4Runner and am very familiar with them. Stock for stock there is very little difference between it and the Xterra for ground clearance. The rear diff on the Toyota is smaller than the Nissan, so their diff will have a bit more clearance, but that is governed only by tire size.

The front lower control arms are a different design offering more clearance due to how they contain the lower ball joint of the spindle. By doing that, they give the illusion of being angled downward like a lifted Nissan, but the front crossmember is within half an inch of the Xterra.

I think that we've gone through this issue of x vs 4runn....both is of the same 4wheel capability but if the runner's got the rear lsd then it'll do a bit better than a open diff X but the stock lsd for the x sucks a bit.....but you basically paid for the better lsd> 4runn=lots of $$$$ compared to the X....I'd rather save the extra $$ and get lockers instead of paying way more for a toyo lsd

You might find this trail rating we put together a while ago useful, at least as a starting point -

Trail Rating List

I like the 10 rating.

Cool! Dean made it to #9 on the Rubicon..

Thanks, that link really is a great starting point. And thanks for all the info from everyone else as well. I forgot to check the box to send me e-mails when I get replies, so I was pleasantly surprised to find 2 pages worth of replies when I logged on

I am a beginner when it comes to off-roading. I have no intentions of going out and finding a cliff to try climbing. Honestly, my X will probably never go further than your typical public park or wilderness trail, and probably just for camping. But eventually I'd love to get serious and find some real rough terrain to drive over.

Someone suggested tires as the first upgrade, so I'll do some searching in the wheel and tire forum and see what kinds of suggestions people have. How well will the stock tires handle in snow? Being November, snow should start flying in the next month or so here in Columbus.

When the grabbers are brand new... they do ok in the snow, just ok... once you lose some of the traction, they will be crap..

I was worried more about stopping than going with those tires on. I switched to BFG AT KO's. which work great in any condition, and i think are as quite as the stock tires.

there are lots of good tires out there, but if you are going to be in the snow a lot, i would choose an AT (all terrain) tire for sure.

The 4runner's rocker panel is higher than the X, almost inline with the top of the tire. But look under the vehicle and it's full of crap hanging down.

The KJ is a total pos when it comes to clearance. The front lower arms are like scraping the ground almost.

I saw a thread on a KJ site a year or so ago and owners were reporting actual measurements of 5-5.5" - that's pretty damn sad.

4 Wheeler Magazine had a shootout between the Xterra and Liberty when the Liberty was released. They tied in the ground clearance department, but the Liberty won in articulation. DC then lowered the Liberty a little bit due to rollover concerns.

I really wish people would stop claiming this or that is a POS unless you have spent a lot of time driving any of them.

I have to say for the $$$, the X is better equiped stock then the 4-Runner. And if money wasn't an issue I would have bought an H1

Oh but it is a piece of crap.

A "trail-rated" "4x4" whose foundation is a uni-body chassis! Saying its a 4-wheel drive car is one thing, but saying that it is a "trail rated", ready-to-pound-the-ruts 4x4 is definitely another...

I talk to lots of people who own these unibody jeeps (cherokees and grand cherokees mostly) and none of them really like the way jeep has gone. The ones that use them for wheelin' mostly complain about creaking and popping of the actual frame after 4x4ing for a couple years. They simply aren't cut out for it.

The liberty MAY be able to take on other 4x4's when it comes to tackling terrain, but where it fails is having the true quality feel of a 4x4 (heaviness mostly) and in durability.

From experience, I can say that no unibody "4x4" will ever be able to tow out a 3000+ lb log with brute force anytime soon. When you have something to challenge me on that, post some pics.

I thought you were an idiot, and you finally proved it.

I actually like the liberty a lot, and the 4runner (not the newest one though...), but the main difference to me, was the price tag...

you just get more with the stock nissan for the price.

i dont think you are going to find anything that different with these vehicles stock capability, the main difference will eventually be what companies build aftermarket lifts and such, and what price.