http://www.off-road.com/nissan/feature02.html

No it doesn't.

Why not?

HOw could a SAS not be just what an offroad Xterra needs? Anybody who thinks that a stock IFS suspension is better than a SAS needs a psyh-evaluation

If you want IFS, then you need to buy fiberglass fenders and have a long-travel IFS made for the X.

Why not?
My warranty only has 50,000 miles left on it, anyway........

Much better than that monster truck X with solid axles that we saw before. Atleast this one is functional, and actually increases offroad ability.

But yeah, this is only for the really serious guys out there. Very time consuming project I would guess.

for the cash spent on doing that to an old beater Pathy...he could have bought a Unimog or put a decent down on a Jeep.

Where's the fun/originality in that?

The Frankenfinder is a legend, one of the first bad-ass SAS jobs done on a Nissan that I know of. Kudos to him.

Brent

Most decent unimogs are over $10,000. Most cheap ones are crappy gassers that get 6 mpg and max out at 50 or something. Even the early model 404/406 are often over $10,000. But keep in mind these thing are pretty much dedicated to offroad travel. They're very useless on road.

They have to be modified to go faster than 65MPH, and a well tuned Unimog will rarely get better than 8MPG. They're military vehicles, so like the US HWWMV and M35A2 Deuce and a Half you'll be redlining to get them to 65MPH. Most all unimogs get that mileage and that top speed for the very reason you mentioned, dedicatied offroad travel.

The Frankenfinder is in just about the same boat, it may be a little bit more road friendly but I'd recommend against driving a custom SAS job as a daily driver unless its a super high quality professional job, not some backyard welded fab job.

If you want a reliable, solid axle, daily driver at a decent price get a used Jeep Grand Cherokee. I have yet to see an Nissan SAS job that I'd trust with as much highway miles as my Xterra will get (and I offroad alot).

Bottom line:
A solid axle that's been designed by a team of professional engineers who design suspension systems for a living is likely to be much safer and more reliable than one welded by your buddy who wanted to use his new plasma welder.

But if you have a dedcated trail rig then by all means SAS it, trim the fenders, lift it sky high, and do a engine swap.
Just don't drive it cross-country to attend GONE unless its on a trailer; and bring lots of spare parts for trail breakage.

For rock crawling or trail riding you're right on the money. An SAS is definitely superior.

An IFS long travel system would be better if you're desert racing, then I woul ddefinitely have a long travel system,(Coil over system from sway away or fox)