richard310's 04 Xterra

[mortonm]

I misread, I thought you ordered the extended length shocks front and back. The regular length rears are not as thcik as the extended travel ones.

You should be good.

For what its worth I have had the rear sway bar off for nearly two years and never really noticed a difference on road.

 

[richard310]

I misread, I thought you ordered the extended length shocks front and back. The regular length rears are not as thcik as the extended travel ones.

You should be good.

For what its worth I have had the rear sway bar off for nearly two years and never really noticed a difference on road.

heheh thanks. I'd rather keep the rear sway bar over the added articulation. I don't wheel that nutty either but the added extended travel fronts should help just a little bit more.

 

[mortonm]

heheh thanks. I'd rather keep the rear sway bar over the added articulation. I don't wheel that nutty either but the added extended travel fronts should help just a little bit more.

Agreed its the front that really needs the help

 

[Dmski]

Great looking X! If you get a chance when you get the glare shields, could you throw up another pic after you put them on? I'd like to see what they look like with a before/after and if they really do help out.

 

[richard310]

Agreed its the front that really needs the help

Yep it really does.

Great looking X! If you get a chance when you get the glare shields, could you throw up another pic after you put them on? I'd like to see what they look like with a before/after and if they really do help out.

Thanks! Yeah for sure, when I get the chance to design and fab something up, I'll definitely post up some pics.

 

[Allof75]

Nice upgrade, I have the same shocks for the rear of mine. I like them a lot, and if they ever wear out, I'll upgrade to the 5125s :rally_guys:

 

[richard310]

Nice upgrade, I have the same shocks for the rear of mine. I like them a lot, and if they ever wear out, I'll upgrade to the 5125s :rally_guys:

Nice. I can definitely feel the Bilstein rears to be more progressive instead of the jarring from the ProComps. I'm really hoping UPS delivers the front shocks early today so I can install and test them out later this afternoon. If not, I'll head out to Santiago Peak tomorrow during the day since there's some downtime at work.

 

[Allof75]

Nice. I can definitely feel the Bilstein rears to be more progressive instead of the jarring from the ProComps. I'm really hoping UPS delivers the front shocks early today so I can install and test them out later this afternoon. If not, I'll head out to Santiago Peak tomorrow during the day since there's some downtime at work.

That's a nice drive, wish I had the time to join you! Haha

 

[richard310]

Well I got the front shocks installed in the afternoon. I decided to head down to Black Star Canyon for an off road test. Got all my camera gear stowed in and set off around 3pm. So the drive was nice. The shocks made a world of difference. Vibrations were dampened, and nose dive from braking was cut down. Overall a solid on-road feel except for the cricket cheeping on my driver side I can't pinpoint. I was hoping that would be eliminated from the upgrade but I guess not. The pro comps didn't fair too well. The dampening was quite soft so it was easy to compress and uninstall. The passenger side was blown. Useless. The passenger side lower shock bracket was bent too! So I gingerly bent it back so its parallel and dropped in the shocks.

I got to the entrance and found that the gate was closed. Crap. I didn't check the road statuses on the FS website before I left. Bummed out and pissed ,so I headed home right at rush hour traffic. Just great. After driving so far already and the rest of the day ruined, i didnt want to waste anymore gas.

Wasted a 120mi drive and 3hours on the road. At least I know how to get to that entrance now. Funny because the Indian Truck Trail is open. Last I went to that one, it was closed. Now Black Star is closed and Indian is open. ******.

I'm pissed. These roads should all be open especially during the daytime. We're all paying for them aren't we?!

/rant.

 

[mortonm]

Well I got the front shocks installed in the afternoon. I decided to head down to Black Star Canyon for an off road test. Got all my camera gear stowed in and set off around 3pm. So the drive was nice. The shocks made a world of difference. Vibrations were dampened, and nose dive from braking was cut down. Overall a solid on-road feel except for the cricket cheeping on my driver side I can't pinpoint. I was hoping that would be eliminated from the upgrade but I guess not. The pro comps didn't fair too well. The dampening was quite soft so it was easy to compress and uninstall. The passenger side was blown. Useless. The passenger side lower shock bracket was bent too! So I gingerly bent it back so its parallel and dropped in the shocks.

I got to the entrance and found that the gate was closed. Crap. I didn't check the road statuses on the FS website before I left. Bummed out and pissed ,so I headed home right at rush hour traffic. Just great. After driving so far already and the rest of the day ruined, i didnt want to waste anymore gas.

Wasted a 120mi drive and 3hours on the road. At least I know how to get to that entrance now. Funny because the Indian Truck Trail is open. Last I went to that one, it was closed. Now Black Star is closed and Indian is open. ******.

I'm pissed. These roads should all be open especially during the daytime. We're all paying for them aren't we?!

/rant.

Too bad about the trip out today, glad to hear you are enjoying the new shocks

 

[Allof75]

Been out there several times, and seeing as black star has the highest level of hooligan-ism (word? Haha) I can understand the closing. The relics that are there are quickly being destroyed. However, I didn't know Indian trail was closed, and next time you're out there, go to Main Divide, it's a great ride

 

[richard310]

Too bad about the trip out today, glad to hear you are enjoying the new shocks

Thanks. The Bils are a great addition. Definitely renews the feel of the X.

Been out there several times, and seeing as black star has the highest level of hooligan-ism (word? Haha) I can understand the closing. The relics that are there are quickly being destroyed. However, I didn't know Indian trail was closed, and next time you're out there, go to Main Divide, it's a great ride

Bummer about Black Star and the shenanigans. I'll have to try another entrance next time I head out there.
Any other reliable roads in that aren't on the FS.USDA site on the northwest side?? I'm tired of continuously checking the maps and finding valid roads in are closed. Btw, Indian Truck is open right now, but that's on the otherside of the range...

 

[richard310]

Since I apparently have had pretty much the whole week off from work, I'll be heading to Santiago Peak again via the Maple Springs/Silverado roads tomorrow morning to test out the new shocks and do a quick exploration. Hopefully tonight's rain wasn't too bad (this lame SoCal weather). Expect to get some dirt/mud on my truck

 

[richard310]

Trip report to come. Got the X dirty. Broke something, but a fun little run.

 

[richard310]

Friday morning I made the trip to Santiago Peak to test the Bilsteins. I entered via Silverado/Maple Springs Rd, which is quite a nice secluded neighborhood. It was still overcast and quite foggy heading up. The temps were about high 40s to low 50s. Even after a day of light rain, there were a few good sized puddles to splash through but no mud thanks to the hardpack trail. The Bilsteins offered a great ride even offroad. Less jarring, more stability. The dampening really absorbed a lot of the rocky sections and eliminated a lot of the transferred shock to the cabin. I was quite impressed when comparing to the ProComp ES9000. It was so foggy and cloudy there was no view to be seen. Just white all around me. Unfortunately after taking a small technical section on the way down, my rear sway bar driverside bracket sheared off. It looked like the bushing just wanted to get out of dodge and busted out of the bracket. Drove home with it partially attached and ended up just completely removing it when I got home. I'll be buying a replacement bracket when I get the chance. I wish I had more time out there to really explore the entire range from North to South, next time I guess.

I wish there were more scenic views, but there literally were none.

Heading up via Silverado:


Starting to gain elevation and the fog started moving in:


What view?


The highest point:




Got even foggier on the way down:




On the way down. It looks like I drove through some diarrhea..:


Broken rear sway bar bracket! Bye bye, Mr. Bushing!