suggestions for better suspension/handling?

Posted by: lee28

suggestions for better suspension/handling? - 06/07/02 07:58 AM

hi.......newbie here

did some searches but didn't turn up what i was looking for: suspension mods for my wife's Xterra

she doesn't offroad it (bought it for snowy mountain roads), and wants a better, firmer suspension...less body roll, better suspension in general for highway driving

only mods she's done so far is a Waag brush guard, which added a bunch of weight up front

i'm thinking she needs better shocks and springs, with better anti-sway bars? if these are available for Xterras, where do i find them?

Thanx.........lee28
Posted by: CCX

Re: suggestions for better suspension/handling? - 06/07/02 11:50 AM

The best thing you could do is add Bilstein shocks, anything else you do except maybe bigger torsion bars will lift your truck, not what you want.

SLR for Bilstein shocks
Posted by: lee28

Re: suggestions for better suspension/handling? - 06/07/02 11:51 AM

ok....after doing more searches i found some posts about Bilstein shocks...these have been great for my Z28, so i trust them and would like them on the X as well...they have fronts that are either 10% or 20% stiffer...so, with the brush guard, i'm assuming the 20%'ers? And is SLR still a good place to order them from? Reason i ask is because all the search results seem to have been during the first 6 months of last year.

any other good mod suggestions to improve the wife's highway miles?
Posted by: OffroadX

Re: suggestions for better suspension/handling? - 08/07/02 08:43 AM

20% is pretty darn stiff. Lets it soak up big dips etc. just fine, but makes my X rattle down the road on the smaller irregularities. I don't mind, but it's definitely overkill and I have a TJM steel bumper that weighs a lot more than your flimsy Waag setup.

Unless you plan to weigh it down a good bit more, the 10% should be more than adequate. I'm planning on adding a winch, skids, and sliders down the road to get more to a weight that would be in the "sweet spot" for the 20% Bilsteins.

Brent
Posted by: Bayou Boy

Re: suggestions for better suspension/handling? - 10/07/02 05:52 PM

Sure OffroadX

Hey honey I need to add these things to my truck so my new shocks will ride better. oh and I need $1500 to do it.

We know that's not the real reason for the new stuff. laugh
Posted by: BoarderPhreak

Re: suggestions for better suspension/handling? - 11/07/02 09:36 AM

I've got the 20% stiffer Bilsteins AND the 20% stiffer torsion bars in the front, and it rides just wonderful... No add-on bumper in front, yet.

The X handles better than it ever has now. laugh
Posted by: Strom

Re: suggestions for better suspension/handling? - 11/07/02 09:41 AM

I just bought some Urethane Front Endlink Bushings - they helped to firm up the turn-in and the front body lean on turns. They are cheap and easy to put on...might want to look into them!

Graphite Injected Urethane Front Endlink Bushings

You might also want to look into a polyurethane bushing set by Energy Suspensions - has anyone tried one of those? Looks like SLR has them for all sorts of applications.
Posted by: Axle

Re: suggestions for better suspension/handling? - 11/07/02 03:50 PM

You can also do a larger rim, shorter sidewall tire swap. I see you have the SE wich means that you probally have the 255/65 16's on there now. I'm not sure what size the S/C's are running but it's probally close to a 265/55 17.