..tops are made of rubber, bottoms made out of spring..

The Suspect is a 2002 Stock SE-SC Solar Yellow.

Let me start by clarifying that his is the first truck I have owned. Previously I have only owned Toyota Celicas.

So, here is the situation. Is the Xterras back end supposed to bounce like an indian rubber ball? I have noticed that it feels like my shocks are gone in the rear (like after 220k in my Celica) and I only have 620 kilometers on it.

This behaviour has existed since I bought it but I just attributed it to it being a truck and me not being use to it. I drove my roomates Cherokee around and it didnt seem to bounce like mine. Sometimes it is scary

I dont take corners like a maniac (mostly) but is there any fix for this? Stiffer Shocks? Poly bushings? I dont know, I am a newby and want my truck to handle a little bit better while I am held captive in Urbania.

Help me Obi Won, you are my only hope.

Well, keep in mind that the Xterra really is a TRUCK. A modified pickup (Frontier) to be exact. The handling might be a little different that you'd expect if you've driven any of the more typical soccer mom SUVs out there, which are really based on a car chassis.

There are several improvements you can make to the X to make it handle better. Some quick, simple ideas include:

- Bilstein shocks all around (up to 20% stiffer)
- Aftermarket torsion bars (also 20% stiffer)
- Add-a-Leaf springs for your rear leafs
- Tires! (tires can make a huge difference)

Just curious - what psi are your tires at? They should be around 30-34psi generally, but depends wholly on your tires. If it's much more than this, especially with the stock tires, you're gonna bump and jump over a crack in the pavement.

I know it isnt supposed to handle like a Rav4 or some other piece of shite such as that, but I didnt expect this type of bounce.

I have driven a Tacoma 4x4, Trooper, Cherokee, Range Rover and none seemed to bounce quite like this. While there were varying degrees of stiffness and body roll, this is different. I will check the tire pressure, I have 17" BFG stocks on it.

Thanks for your input. How long does it take to install new shocks? In man hours.

Thanks Again.

The shocks install in about an hour or so. Depends on how you do it - some suggest taking off the tires, etc. but I did all four with the tires on. The hardest part is compressing the shocks into place.

It sounds like your air pressure is probably too high, which can make the truck very bouncy and responsive to any flaws in the road surface.

Damn Tonka Tuff, I couldn't have said it better myself. Except my previous car was an Eclipse, not a Celica. I agree with you that the back end seems to bounce like crazy.

I do have a question for the car tech owners: why would "stiffer" shocks make it ride smoother? Wouldn't that potentially exaggerate the "harsh" ride?

I'm looking into other wheels and tires to hopefully help the ride quality on city streets. Specifically, "street" tires.

Thanks for any feedback.

If your back end is bouncing you are using too much throttle. Nissan went to a softer 2 leaf spring set-up in the back. The problem I have seen is that the springs seem to wrap-up easier then the older models. Stiffer shocks could help this but I can not verify this as I am running 01 shocks on mine (busted the 02's off-road beginning of summer). They may also keep the vehicle from nosing up during heavy acceleration.

ALAN

I seriously doubt we're talking about wheel hop here.

I agree with adjusting the pressure. Anything over 35 psi will get a bit rough. Mid-upper 20s to low 30s ought to be ideal.

Brent

That's not what I'm referring to. For me, just driving on city streets I feel every road imperfection.

I may try lowering my tire pressure to around 30-31. I'm at 35.