A lot of General Questions

[SarnX]

Actually I just ordered my new X (Black SE/SC 5 spd) and unfortunately it does not arrive until April, but I have some questions I was hoping the people of this forum could help me out with:

1.) The recommended octane for this vehicle is 91. Many gasoline manufacturers these days use ethanol in there gasolines as an antifreeze and octane booster. Are there any problems in using ethanol blended gasolines in this engine?

2.) The automatic version of this vehicle is rated at 246 lb-ft of torque and the manual at 231. Where did the other 15 lb-ft go and can I get it back?

3.) I was hoping to run synthetic motor oil in the vehicle. When should I make the switch, should I make the switch and after how many kilometers should I do my first oil change? The recommended number is every 6000 km but I figured I would do my first one at 2000-3000 km still putting in regular oil and then at 6000 km do it again and switch to synthetic. Let me know.

4.) Does anyone have numbers for increases on the new exhaust replacements from Calmini or others?

5.) What is the maximum carrying capacity (lbs.) of the X and if I get leaf spring helpers can I increase this and by how much?

6.) With the S/C is there any benefit to switching to the K&N filter?

7.) I am getting a brush guard for the front and do plan to go offroading, what offroading X-tras should I put on when I get it? Torsion bars etc. or just wait and see. The new fuel tank and axel skid plates on Xterraparts.com look great does anybody know anything?

8.) How many offroad and performance upgrades can I do before I void my warranty?

9.) Does anyone have any experience with the Explorer 2 tent advertised on Xterraparts.com?

10.) Are there any X-terra offroad groups or organizations near me (Sarnia, Ontario)?

I have ordered my X with the following equipment:

Brush guard, Neoprene seat covers, tail light guards, winter floor mats, cargo liner, side window deflectors, rear window deflector, PIAA headlight bulb replacements, and class III trailer hitch.

Are there any other must have items for when I take delivery?

Any help people could give would be greatly appreciated,

Thanks,

SarnX.

[rhombus]

Wow!
That's a lot of questions
You might want to break them up into the sections of the site.

I can help with one.
Have a look at http://www.soxc.org

We also have a message board:
http://www.soxc.org/forum

I would be careful with your brush guard choice.
It may cause you more grief than protection if you take the X off road.
You will just have to be a bit more careful not to bump (hit) anything and it may bend into the body causing more damage than if you did not have it mounted.

[scott.com]

7.) I am getting a brush guard for the front and do plan to go offroading, what offroading X-tras should I put on when I get it? Torsion bars etc. or just wait and see. The new fuel tank and axel skid plates on Xterraparts.com look great does anybody know anything?


Noooooooooooooooooooooo. Save your money. Do not get the brush guard. All that thing is good for is causing extra damage if you hit something.

Check out this thread

Brush guards bad

As to the rest. Have you gone off roading before. The best bet is to try it first and see what you can do with the stock truck. Then once you know what is holding you back then you can start on the upgrade path.

This is a good path to follow as I see it

1) Tires
2) shocks
3) sliders
4) ARB
5) Lift

They on and on and on

8.) How many offroad and performance upgrades can I do before I void my warranty?

3.5 :hehe: I guess it depends how nice your dealer is.

9.) Does anyone have any experience with the Explorer 2 tent
advertised on Xterraparts.com?

No but I've found the X is big enough for an average adult to sleep in with the door closed. I would not bother with it.

10.) Are there any X-terra offroad groups or organizations near me (Sarnia, Ontario)?

Way up there ? How about the Southern Ontario Xterra Club.

They think that they're at the center of the world

Hope this helps.

[scott.com]

That's a lot of questions

Well I took the time to answer a few of them and it appears that you answered two of them while I was doing this .

[OffroadX]

1.) The recommended octane for this vehicle is 91. Many gasoline manufacturers these days use ethanol in there gasolines as an antifreeze and octane booster. Are there any problems in using ethanol blended gasolines in this engine?

Possibly. See section 9-4 of the 2002 Owners Manual here (page 229):
Online PDF version, pretty cool eh?

2.) The automatic version of this vehicle is rated at 246 lb-ft of torque and the manual at 231. Where did the other 15 lb-ft go and can I get it back?

It's the torque converter in the automatic transmission, not the engine output.

3.) I was hoping to run synthetic motor oil in the vehicle. When should I make the switch, should I make the switch and after how many kilometers should I do my first oil change? The recommended number is every 6000 km but I figured I would do my first one at 2000-3000 km still putting in regular oil and then at 6000 km do it again and switch to synthetic. Let me know.

Change the oil at 1500 km to get rid of the break-in bits, use regular oil. Switch to synthetic at 10000 km after the engine has had a decent break-in. There is endless debate on when to switch, but a couple of extra oil changes with regular oil instead of switching at the first change won't "hurt" but I'd be skeptical of switching right away without the break-in.

4.) Does anyone have numbers for increases on the new exhaust replacements from Calmini or others?

Nothing definitive. I think the only numbers so far are from an HKS install, and they weren't comprehensive.

5.) What is the maximum carrying capacity (lbs.) of the X and if I get leaf spring helpers can I increase this and by how much?

Max Gross vehicle weight (on my 2000) is 5200 lbs. Max 2740 lbs. on the front axle, and max 2850 lbs. on the rear. Just what are you planning to haul in/on your X that you are concerned about exceeding this?
Can't say how/if you can increase the max load safely.

6.) With the S/C is there any benefit to switching to the K&N filter?

Yes, the K&N doesn't discriminate.

7.) I am getting a brush guard for the front and do plan to go offroading, what offroading X-tras should I put on when I get it? Torsion bars etc. or just wait and see. The new fuel tank and axel skid plates on Xterraparts.com look great does anybody know anything?

Take the brush guard off the day you get the X and put it up for sale on Ebay.

8.) How many offroad and performance upgrades can I do before I void my warranty?

Depends. You may void portions of your warranty depending on which modifications you add. It's rather subjective too.

9.) Does anyone have any experience with the Explorer 2 tent advertised on Xterraparts.com?

Save your $, you can sleep in the X as it is.

Brent

[SarnX]

Scott.com and Brent,

Thanks for the info. I will phone my sales associate and see if it is too late to remove the brush guard and I will upgrade to an ARB later if I think I need it.

Rhombus,

Thanks for the site. As soon as I take delivery in April (God that won't come soon enough) I will try and join and come out for some of the excursions.

SarnX.

PS That on line owners manual is cool. I found out I will be OK with all gas in Ontario anyway they cannot blend more than 10% ethanol and according to the manual that is OK.

[ScottG]

Originally posted by SarnX

8.) How many offroad and performance upgrades can I do before I void my warranty?

I have some experience with warranty issues. The modification you have made has to cause the problem complained of to void the warranty for that particular problem. No modification is going to completely void your warranty for the entire truck. Things can get tricky when it's difficult to tell what caused the problem. For example, if your transmission goes out and it's argued that your 33 inch tires are the cause; how are you going to refute that?

Keep detailed maintenance records. I have had cases where the warranty company denied the claim for alleged lack of maintenance. The extended warranty companies are notorious for this.

[Schludwiller]

Get on a good first name basis with your service department manager if you can. He's going to decide what flies and what doesn't.

[ToeJam]

In no particular order...

You asked about the fuel and axle (differential) skid plate - They are made by Calmini (www.calmini.com). XterraParts is a middle man, but both companies have good reputations on this board (in general, I know some of you don't like Calmini). They make good equipment, so you can't go wrong with adding more protection. If you want to add skids, also check out Skid Row (www.skidplates.com). They make front, engine and transfer skids that are outstanding. SR also makes a fuel tank skid plate that is "basically" the same as Calmini. The transfer case on the X actually hangs below the frame, making it very exposed. I'd recommend getting the SR plates before the Calmini stuff.

Can you get the torque back - Nope....

The Nissan performance exhaust says "up to 5 hp"

Adding load leaf springs will allow you to carry more w/o hitting the bump stops, but the X on a whole is still only rated to carry the same weight. You'll just be moving the stress somewhere else.

[Kerensky97]

Originally posted by SarnX
7.) I am getting a brush guard for the front and do plan to go offroading, what offroading X-tras should I put on when I get it? Torsion bars etc. or just wait and see. The new fuel tank and axel skid plates on Xterraparts.com look great does anybody know anything?

I have to dissagree with scotts list for mods.

Not that its wrong, I just think you need to do some offroading yourself and see what you need.
Mods are almost a case by case basis, depending on where and how you drive.


This is a good path to follow as I see it

1) Tires
2) shocks
3) sliders
4) ARB
5) Lift

They on and on and on

My list is almost exactly the same, except for the ARB is last (distant last), and the lift is earlier.
In my case I found that the frame kept hitting bottom so thats why my list is different.

[XMan9]

Originally posted by Schludwiller
Get on a good first name basis with your service department manager if you can. He's going to decide what flies and what doesn't.

unfortunately, this is very true. are you going to buy and then retreat to the great white north, eh? get to know those guys at the dealership becuz they can make or break ya. it also depends on the mod. obviously a different cam installed in the motor will void but rear AAL's might not. it just depends...

[XMan9]

btw, it sounds like it's going to be a primo ride...

[scott.com]

Originally posted by Kerensky97
I have to dissagree with scotts list for mods.

Not that its wrong, I just think you need to do some offroading yourself and see what you need.
Mods are almost a case by case basis, depending on where and how you drive.

Umm isn't that what I said before I presented my list ? After doing a few off road trip that's the path I'm planning to take. I've already done the tires. Man what a different that made. I have the ARB before the lift because the first time I went out I took out my front bumper . Yes a lift would be nice but that requires major modifications to the truck and I'm not sure whether I want to go that far yet.

Ever ones path with be different depending on where they are and what they want to do with their truck.