Dimo's 2004 Xterra build
- Thread starter Dimo
- Start date
Ordered a Shrock Rear bumper back in early Feb and got it last Thur, the 19th. Got it home and started wrenching off the rusty old hitch and bumper. A few hours later and a trip to Home Depot (to pick up a few bolts that were left out) and great success! It is incredibly solid, no rattles, and fits very tightly against the vehicle. With the Factory hitch gone, I also have a much better departure angle. I have SC 17in wheel just waiting for the 265/70 matching spare tire to come in. The other thing is whether or not to move the Hi Lift. I ordered the bumper with the Hi lift mount just in case.
The BN Guy
Expedition Leader
Pretty cool there!
It's been a busy week, had to order a new exhaust to meet Pa inspection. Looked around extensively and never found one I liked the sound of. Either too loud or to ricer ish. I ended up going with Gibson oddly enough because of all their negative reviews. Almost all of which were for the sound quality, "sounds stock" or "quiet and boring." The usual PITA to remove the stock exhaust, but less than half an hour to bolt the new one on.
Over all, it has a deep rumble at idle and low RPMs and unnoticeable difference between the stock at higher RPMs. Zero performance improvement noticed. The fit would have been perfect, but the exit point was not designed with an after market shackle in mind. A little bit of adjusting or a small extension piece later and it works.
Old one off
New one on
Next up:
long and the short of it, my truck spends a lot of time running while parked and usually under load. My brother has the same louvers on his drag mustang and they help quite a bit. He sent me a link and I ordered a set that day.
Parts acquired and I started the install. Took the hood off to make things easier.
Measure, tape, measure again, tape...
Holes cut, cleaned, painted
Came out awesome
Also added some more horsepower! Can you tell I like stickers too much?
Over all, it has a deep rumble at idle and low RPMs and unnoticeable difference between the stock at higher RPMs. Zero performance improvement noticed. The fit would have been perfect, but the exit point was not designed with an after market shackle in mind. A little bit of adjusting or a small extension piece later and it works.
Old one off
New one on
Next up:
long and the short of it, my truck spends a lot of time running while parked and usually under load. My brother has the same louvers on his drag mustang and they help quite a bit. He sent me a link and I ordered a set that day.
Parts acquired and I started the install. Took the hood off to make things easier.
Measure, tape, measure again, tape...
Holes cut, cleaned, painted
Came out awesome
Also added some more horsepower! Can you tell I like stickers too much?
Haha that I do! But just imagine all the extra horsepower I must be getting!
Just picked up 5 BFG M/Ts Rubicon tread for a sweet deal. One was the spare and it's brand new, the other 4 have less than 5k on them. They're 255/75R17s put them a bit over 32in. Probably about the biggest you can go without heavy trimming. This does mean I'm probably not going with a BL any time soon. I would like the extra height, but don't really NEED it. I'll be putting them on when my next oil change and tire rotation comes up. Only downside is that they don't have the raised white lettering. I like that old school look, but as with my current tires it does start to wear and fade.
It was a tight fit with all five
Just a bit dirty, but still has the little nipple thingies
Just a bit bigger than the 265/70R17s that I have.
Just got one mounted up on my spare SC wheel. Finally have a full size spare! Much nicer to look at out that back window.
Just picked up 5 BFG M/Ts Rubicon tread for a sweet deal. One was the spare and it's brand new, the other 4 have less than 5k on them. They're 255/75R17s put them a bit over 32in. Probably about the biggest you can go without heavy trimming. This does mean I'm probably not going with a BL any time soon. I would like the extra height, but don't really NEED it. I'll be putting them on when my next oil change and tire rotation comes up. Only downside is that they don't have the raised white lettering. I like that old school look, but as with my current tires it does start to wear and fade.
It was a tight fit with all five
Just a bit dirty, but still has the little nipple thingies
Just a bit bigger than the 265/70R17s that I have.
Just got one mounted up on my spare SC wheel. Finally have a full size spare! Much nicer to look at out that back window.
Last edited:
muddyluxury
Observer
Dimo, what has all the extra weight done to your mpg and power? do you plan to re-gear and lock anytime soon?
So far I've dropped maybe 1 or 2 mpg on average still rounding out to around 16 on average. For the most part I don't run with skid plates unless I know I'm going somewhere hardcore. That ditches a good deal of weight. Considering most 1st gen ers don't re-gear going up to 33s and at lower rpms it still has quite a bit of pep, I don't thing i'll re-gear anytime soon. I still think, even though it's just a 3.3L, it still has enough get up a go for onramps and to get you out of trouble. The next thing up will probably be OBA, which will definitely lead to rear locker. For the most part I've just been using an AUX air pump to air up.
muddyluxury
Observer
Cool man thanks for the info good luck on the build! what kind of OBA you looking at? I am partial to the extreme air ammo can setup
I haven't looked too much into it to know for sure, but I have been looking at an ARB permanently mounted kit for under the hood. Nothing too over the top, but also not taking up a lot of space in the truck. Got some shots with the new tires nothing off road yet. They're pretty loud, but that's half the fun of having M/Ts. It does make me appreciate the BFG ATs, being that aggressive and that quite. These give me about half an inch extra at the diff. Only down side so far is that they don't have the raise white lettering. Not too big a deal, but I like the classic style. The same reason I went with the KM1 style over the newer KM2 design. I'll be able to give an update on MPG soon enough.
