Joined
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787 Posts
Sorry, it's going to be a long post! I should get a pass on my first one, but I'm wearing my flame suit just in case!
Hi all, I'll start by introducing myself. My name is Brian, and i've been a Nissan guy my whole life. I got bit by the VE bug when I bought my first car, a 93 maxima SE 5-MT with 130k on it; bought and paid for with my own money for $400 (the guy said it wouldn't start, I crawled underneath and saw that one pole of the starters' bolt had disconnected and fallen out. I took a chance that he was an idiot, and I was right!). The day I traded it in, it had 267k on it, and it still smoked the tires all across the parking lot. It was traded for a Mitsubishi lancer, worst mistake ever (hey, I was a kid). I immediately traded it in after 2 months (took quite a hit), and bought an 01 maxima SE MT. Next was an 02 Maxima SE MT, and until tomorrow, I am driving a 05 Altima SE-R MT. My old warhorse has 206k on it, and she has some issues but otherwise a great riding (NO squeeks or rattles, can you believe it? SOlid as a rock) and the beautiful VQ still purrs like a kitten (burns oil, but show me a 200k engine that doesn't!). I've never owned an automatic, and never will. The day I'm too old to drive a stick is the day I'm too old to drive! (No offense to the slushbox owners out there!)
But, now that I am no longer interested in spending money to recondition a car with replacing altenators, AC, LCA's etc I am going to spend money on modifications. Honestly, I didn't even think Nissan sold SUV's with MT's anymore, so I was going to go with a Z. But, living in upstate NY with a Z as a daily driver in February seemed like an iffy proposition at best. Long story short, a guy who I train with in Krav Maga with has an Xterra, and I asked him how he liked it. He said "I love it, but I wish I had my 09 6MT back!" (his brother wrecked it). When I realized that I could still get a VQ 6MT, and have tons of space for our frequent camping trips, I immediately started looking for a clean Xterra. Finding what I wanted was only slightly less hard than finding a unicorn, but I found a 2010 X, 6MT that is CPO. Long story short, I am basically stealing it from the dealer, paying 15.5k for it!
So now that I have extra money to burn by saving so much (I was looking to spend 19-20), I can get to work modifying! Here is my list, in the order that I was thinking of doing it, any suggestions/comments would be appreciated! (I've been lurking on this site for a week now, so I've learned a lot!)
1. Full Synthetics for all the fluids in her, PS, Brake, Oil, Rear Diff, X-fer case - Figuring at least $200-$300
2. Ordering a Shrockworks front bumper w/lights (I hear it takes quite a long time to get)
3. HeftyFab Full Skid set and sliders
4. Volant CAI
5. General Grabber AT 2 185/75 R 16 (I can mount these before a lift, correct?)
6. I would like to get a nice roof rack, much like the "Disco Dan's custom rack" that I've seen on a members' X, too bad I will never have one
I guess I will have to find a more readily available rack.
That's about all I'll do right now, I'll wait for the bumper to get here. By then, I'll want to lift:
7. Nisstec Complete OME Suspension w/Dakar Leafs (I will get the HD springs becaue of the weight of the front bumper, am I right?)
8. With that lift I'll need UCA's? so Light Racing UCA's (off of nisstec website)?
9. Maybe a winch, but that can wait
10. Wheel spacers
11. Extended Brake like kit (needed for the lift and extra travel, correct?)
12. Snorkel
And my pipe dream:
12 Supercharger! Though I imagine that by the time I do everything else, and save the money, it might not be worth it due to the age of the vehicle! haha
With all of that, I should have a pretty respectable off-road rig, amiright? I will take it slow, while waiting for the parts, I have a few friends that go wheeling, so I'll have them take me on some easy trails to get the basics while I'm stock (I'll be careful, especially without the skids installed!).
So sorry for the novel, but I can't wait to be a part of this forum, I've learned a lot just by browsing and reading the sticky's. I won't be able to offer anything useful in terms of Xterra and offroading know-how, but if anyone has any Maxima/Altima questions I could be a good help!
Hi all, I'll start by introducing myself. My name is Brian, and i've been a Nissan guy my whole life. I got bit by the VE bug when I bought my first car, a 93 maxima SE 5-MT with 130k on it; bought and paid for with my own money for $400 (the guy said it wouldn't start, I crawled underneath and saw that one pole of the starters' bolt had disconnected and fallen out. I took a chance that he was an idiot, and I was right!). The day I traded it in, it had 267k on it, and it still smoked the tires all across the parking lot. It was traded for a Mitsubishi lancer, worst mistake ever (hey, I was a kid). I immediately traded it in after 2 months (took quite a hit), and bought an 01 maxima SE MT. Next was an 02 Maxima SE MT, and until tomorrow, I am driving a 05 Altima SE-R MT. My old warhorse has 206k on it, and she has some issues but otherwise a great riding (NO squeeks or rattles, can you believe it? SOlid as a rock) and the beautiful VQ still purrs like a kitten (burns oil, but show me a 200k engine that doesn't!). I've never owned an automatic, and never will. The day I'm too old to drive a stick is the day I'm too old to drive! (No offense to the slushbox owners out there!)
But, now that I am no longer interested in spending money to recondition a car with replacing altenators, AC, LCA's etc I am going to spend money on modifications. Honestly, I didn't even think Nissan sold SUV's with MT's anymore, so I was going to go with a Z. But, living in upstate NY with a Z as a daily driver in February seemed like an iffy proposition at best. Long story short, a guy who I train with in Krav Maga with has an Xterra, and I asked him how he liked it. He said "I love it, but I wish I had my 09 6MT back!" (his brother wrecked it). When I realized that I could still get a VQ 6MT, and have tons of space for our frequent camping trips, I immediately started looking for a clean Xterra. Finding what I wanted was only slightly less hard than finding a unicorn, but I found a 2010 X, 6MT that is CPO. Long story short, I am basically stealing it from the dealer, paying 15.5k for it!
So now that I have extra money to burn by saving so much (I was looking to spend 19-20), I can get to work modifying! Here is my list, in the order that I was thinking of doing it, any suggestions/comments would be appreciated! (I've been lurking on this site for a week now, so I've learned a lot!)
1. Full Synthetics for all the fluids in her, PS, Brake, Oil, Rear Diff, X-fer case - Figuring at least $200-$300
2. Ordering a Shrockworks front bumper w/lights (I hear it takes quite a long time to get)
3. HeftyFab Full Skid set and sliders
4. Volant CAI
5. General Grabber AT 2 185/75 R 16 (I can mount these before a lift, correct?)
6. I would like to get a nice roof rack, much like the "Disco Dan's custom rack" that I've seen on a members' X, too bad I will never have one
I guess I will have to find a more readily available rack. That's about all I'll do right now, I'll wait for the bumper to get here. By then, I'll want to lift:
7. Nisstec Complete OME Suspension w/Dakar Leafs (I will get the HD springs becaue of the weight of the front bumper, am I right?)
8. With that lift I'll need UCA's? so Light Racing UCA's (off of nisstec website)?
9. Maybe a winch, but that can wait
10. Wheel spacers
11. Extended Brake like kit (needed for the lift and extra travel, correct?)
12. Snorkel
And my pipe dream:
12 Supercharger! Though I imagine that by the time I do everything else, and save the money, it might not be worth it due to the age of the vehicle! haha
With all of that, I should have a pretty respectable off-road rig, amiright? I will take it slow, while waiting for the parts, I have a few friends that go wheeling, so I'll have them take me on some easy trails to get the basics while I'm stock (I'll be careful, especially without the skids installed!).
So sorry for the novel, but I can't wait to be a part of this forum, I've learned a lot just by browsing and reading the sticky's. I won't be able to offer anything useful in terms of Xterra and offroading know-how, but if anyone has any Maxima/Altima questions I could be a good help!
