Taking delivery of my '14 pro-4x tomorrow

[KiwiKurt]

Hey all... signed up a little while ago and was waiting to pick up the '14 4runner. Got to the dealer started building it out the way I wanted, and holy price tag batman. The Mrs. and I prefer leather for a number of reasons, as well as nav. SR5 put us at over 38k, I wanted a rear locker and the non-oldsmobile-highway-float suspension, so we looked at the trail which put us just over 40k and a tad over 42k with KDSS. While we liked the size of the 4runner, we decided to drive a couple other things first before committing to that kind of expenditure, especially because the dealer wouldn't budge on the price one nickel. The XTerra really impressed us and we liked its drive better than the 4runner. Nissan letting us leave with a lava red pro4x, leather, and 100k mile bumper to bumper warranty for over 10 grand less than the trail 4runner sealed the deal and we signed the papers. Opted for a couple dealer add ons, so she is getting picked up tomorrow night....traded my ome lifted CRD liberty(*tear*). I was nervous about the new wheel design for '14, but it looks really good on the lava red.

I signed up over at xterra forums, but a lot of guys there seem to be into rock crawling, which isnt really our style. We like the 'overland' type stuff much better so this seems like the better place to start to get input on how to build it.

From what I have searched/lurked so far, seems like a HD OME lift, shrock skids/sliders, and a gibson exhaust(replaces ypipe, super quiet) are good places to start. I need to research a 'rear diff breather mod'? Im not familiar with what that is/does? I also need to find a RTT solution for the rack, trying to avoid a full rack replacement.

Also curious what opinions have on the intake. I think a snorkel system is in the future...not because im into water fording, but more for the just in case/dust component, but it seems the VQ engine likes the volant intake too....My understanding is there is a way to have both of those things combined? I also know a guy from previous import life that can tune the VQ series ECU. modifies the entire ignition curve, air fuel, and cam phasing and gets some pretty good results. Not sure if I'm going to go that way on this or not, because of warranty stuff and im not trying to build a rocket ship, just get some added efficiency.

Any other things people have found that add efficiency? plug/coilpack replacements etc?

Mobile 1 0w40 seems like a good oil for it as well, from BITOG reads I've done....

Again, just interested in getting up to speed on the platform and where to start with it.

updated:

 

[mortonm]

Exciting!

your xterra can fit 33" tires with little more than a heatgun and a gloved hand to push in the front fender liner a little.

In my opinion your pro4x Xterra is very capable right out of the box, I would run the stock tires as far as they will get you (32") and keep the stock suspension unless you really have issues with it or always carrying a ton of weight.

Very capable, very reliable, great choice!

Use it for awhile and see what (if anything) you need to change

Welcome!

 

[KiwiKurt]

33"'s on stock suspension? wow....it looked like there was a little room, didnt realize it would be that much.....but i guess thats only an inch over stock.

How are the stock tires? I had firestone destination AT's on the jeep, and was over all really quite happy with them....if the stockers are good to go ill leave well enough alone until they need replaced.

 

[mortonm]

Google "melt mod" for the second gens, you can fit 255 85R16 or 285 75R16 with only a few minutes of effort.

The stock tires are alright (never run them myself), mixed reviews on the rugged terrains, but unless you are doing anything super hardcore I see no reason to drop another thousand dollars on tires right away.

Run em for awhile, if you really don't like them then you can sell them and subsidize a new set.

tough not to get caught up modifying !

 

[KiwiKurt]

isnt that the truth!

Sometimes you do stuff because you need to do...sometimes you do the stuff you want to, because its a hobby.

Im taking it coast to coast in a couple months, so it will see a wide variety of weather and a few trails. Will see how it all goes and get an idea of what to change first.

 

[4xJosh]

Congrats! Your story of looking at a new 4Runner then looking at the Nissan is the exact situation my wife and I are in right now, we just have finished deciding yet.

Looking forward to the pictures.

 

[Allof75]

Excellent to hear! Make sure to post pics when it comes in :sombrero: I'm a big fan of the Xterras, and as I've said before on here, if my Pathy was for some reason totalled, an Xterra Off Road/Pro-4x would most likely replace it.

 

[zukrider]

Welcome!

 

[4D55 Performance]

Google "melt mod" for the second gens, you can fit 255 85R16 or 285 75R16 with only a few minutes of effort.

The stock tires are alright (never run them myself), mixed reviews on the rugged terrains, but unless you are doing anything super hardcore I see no reason to drop another thousand dollars on tires right away.

Run em for awhile, if you really don't like them then you can sell them and subsidize a new set.

tough not to get caught up modifying !

The 2014 Xterra's come with the BFG Rugged Trail tires which do have mixed reviews. They are often confused with the newer more aggressive Rugged Terrain which has excellent reviews. I have purchased 3 sets of the Rugged Terrains over the last year for different vehicles and I have loved them. I have used them both on and offroad and they perform fantastic. This past weekend we had 10" of snow and they performed fantastic. The Rugged Terrains are fantastic. They are my favorite tires of all time. I hope this helps.

 

[Snowman]

Nice, and welcome to the Nissan family!

 

[KiwiKurt]

Congrats! Your story of looking at a new 4Runner then looking at the Nissan is the exact situation my wife and I are in right now, we just have finished deciding yet.

Looking forward to the pictures.

Yeah it was interesting. I mean, the price we were looking at on the new 4runner put us right in the used LR4 range, so we even looked at those too, but decided for this vehicle we wanted to buy new. The 4runner is certainly nice, and the little extra size would have been welcomed (vs xterra)...... but at the end of the day we didnt feel like we were getting $40k+ worth of truck, and certainly not $10k more truck than the xterra was giving, so it just didnt seem to make sense. Now I have enough left over for the new paragliding wing I want and then some

 

[KiwiKurt]

The 2014 Xterra's come with the BFG Rugged Trail tires which do have mixed reviews. They are often confused with the newer more aggressive Rugged Terrain which has excellent reviews. I have purchased 3 sets of the Rugged Terrains over the last year for different vehicles and I have loved them. I have used them both on and offroad and they perform fantastic. This past weekend we had 10" of snow and they performed fantastic. The Rugged Terrains are fantastic. They are my favorite tires of all time. I hope this helps.

Thanks for the info.

 

[mortonm]

The 2014 Xterra's come with the BFG Rugged Trail tires which do have mixed reviews. They are often confused with the newer more aggressive Rugged Terrain which has excellent reviews. I have purchased 3 sets of the Rugged Terrains over the last year for different vehicles and I have loved them. I have used them both on and offroad and they perform fantastic. This past weekend we had 10" of snow and they performed fantastic. The Rugged Terrains are fantastic. They are my favorite tires of all time. I hope this helps.

Sorry for the mixup, I was never sure why BFG made 3 or 4 tires that all sounded very similar

Long Trail
Radial Long Trail
Rugged Trail
Rugged Terrain

 

[Mo4130]

Welcome to the club, you are going to love your X. When I was also looking for a new truck I was dead set on the Tacoma, and then just took the Fronty for a drive, and that was it. I think Nissan makes a better product, they have always been 2nd to Toyota and as a result makes a better product, where as Toyota, though good is crusing on their name.

 

[BuffaloFunk]

I've got a '13 Xterra Pro-4X, and I was also eyeing 4Runners. I didn't even make it in the showroom door though due to the 4Runner's price.

The breather mod is very simple. You'll want to get part number 38323-C601A from the dealer. It's a barb that will replace the breather. From there you'll want to get roughly 5ft of hose (I used 5/16" ID silicone vacuum hose) and a small filter (I chose this one http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003CJ95V6/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1).

Also, have you looked at White Knuckle's sliders (http://white-knuckleoffroad.com/nissanxterra.htm)? I think they look much nicer than Shrock's and you get the kick-out, but they are more expensive.

EDIT: Oh, and the Rugged Trails? I'm not that impressed with them. For the seasonal roads and few trails I've done, they've been fine. A bit short on traction in the wet, but nothing horrible. They have been disappointing in the snow though. Yeah, they aren't snow tires, but they perform worse than I thought they should/would have in the snow. I'm not in a major rush to replace them, but I certainly wouldn't buy them given the choice.