underdog
Well-Known Member
So I've been wanting to do this for quite a while.. and thanks to the previous likelihood that I'd have to sell the car for financial reasons, the idea had been put on the backburner.. until now. I had originally posted a similar thread on an australian vehicle-specific forum and received 90% negative/pointless feedback, albeit with some small amounts of constructive criticism(mostly from "ToddyH" here, haha, thanks mate). Having been here (4x4earth) for a little while now, I've come to appreciate that most of you are open-minded and enjoy a reasonable challenge.
So I'm posting up this research/progress thread for the "body"/dual-subframe lift of my 2008 Nissan Xtrail. I'm aware of pretty much all the reasons not to go ahead with it, ranging from being impractical (reduced wheel travel/body roll/road manners) to legalities(illegal in Aus/engineers/roadworthy inspections), but feel free to go ahead and make your recommendations anyway, just be nice about it, yeah?
Who knows, maybe there'll be something I haven't heard before. I'll also be adding photos over the weekend to depict the areas being focused on and possible issues that will need to be addressed.
I will be focusing on the rear subframe first as it appears to be the easier of the two, and it will serve as practice for the more complex front end. Questions (and the sporadic return of my elusive/useless memory) will equate to details below being updated as they are revealed to be important/relevant or I remember them. I've probably forgotten a whole bunch of important stuff, so feel free to point out the obvious!
Relevant details:
-Car is full-time FWD, with the tailshaft leading to a wet-clutch "transfer case"/diff at the rear for 4WD.
-Suspension is entirely independent, front and rear; with rear being trailing arm.
-Rear diff is housed in the subframe(if memory serves me correctly) so cv's shouldn't be an issue.
-I currently have 35-40mm King Springs installed, although they've sagged to 20ish up front and 30 rear (with no barwork, bash plates, wheel carriers or an any added weight at all yet).
-Rear subframe houses the shock absorber and swaybar mounts.
-Brake lines look like they'll have enough slack, but that will depend on the size of the lift, so I'll need to revisit them later.
-Diff breathers and oil lines to the rear transfer case/diff are also lengthy enough between the subframe and the body to accommodate the lift.
-Bump stops in rear will need to be extended, as well as the top mount for the coils.
-Rear subframe has a total of four(4) bolts attaching it to the body, however, the foremost mount for the trailing arms requires another four(4) bolts per arm, and there is also a stabiliser/support rod/bracket(?) which goes up a little further, requiring another two(2) bolts of it's own. Im fairly certain I can just bend this, as it won't make a difference to the suspension.
So I'm posting up this research/progress thread for the "body"/dual-subframe lift of my 2008 Nissan Xtrail. I'm aware of pretty much all the reasons not to go ahead with it, ranging from being impractical (reduced wheel travel/body roll/road manners) to legalities(illegal in Aus/engineers/roadworthy inspections), but feel free to go ahead and make your recommendations anyway, just be nice about it, yeah?
Who knows, maybe there'll be something I haven't heard before. I'll also be adding photos over the weekend to depict the areas being focused on and possible issues that will need to be addressed. I will be focusing on the rear subframe first as it appears to be the easier of the two, and it will serve as practice for the more complex front end. Questions (and the sporadic return of my elusive/useless memory) will equate to details below being updated as they are revealed to be important/relevant or I remember them. I've probably forgotten a whole bunch of important stuff, so feel free to point out the obvious!
Relevant details:
-Car is full-time FWD, with the tailshaft leading to a wet-clutch "transfer case"/diff at the rear for 4WD.
-Suspension is entirely independent, front and rear; with rear being trailing arm.
-Rear diff is housed in the subframe(if memory serves me correctly) so cv's shouldn't be an issue.
-I currently have 35-40mm King Springs installed, although they've sagged to 20ish up front and 30 rear (with no barwork, bash plates, wheel carriers or an any added weight at all yet).
-Rear subframe houses the shock absorber and swaybar mounts.
-Brake lines look like they'll have enough slack, but that will depend on the size of the lift, so I'll need to revisit them later.
-Diff breathers and oil lines to the rear transfer case/diff are also lengthy enough between the subframe and the body to accommodate the lift.
-Bump stops in rear will need to be extended, as well as the top mount for the coils.
-Rear subframe has a total of four(4) bolts attaching it to the body, however, the foremost mount for the trailing arms requires another four(4) bolts per arm, and there is also a stabiliser/support rod/bracket(?) which goes up a little further, requiring another two(2) bolts of it's own. Im fairly certain I can just bend this, as it won't make a difference to the suspension.
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