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Rybky
X-TRAIL LEGEND
Date Registered: 08-2005
Location: Sydney
TOTAL POSTS: 542
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Road handling & performance enhancements
Hi,
I am looking to start modufying my 2003 Ti specifically to improve the on-road handling and performance as this is where it spends most of it's time these days.
I would like (over time) to make the following changes but I am struggling to find any information related to the X-Trail:
1. Change wheels & tyres - would be looking to go for 18" wheels, probably 225/45 if they will fit under the arches.
2. Lower and stiffen - I would like the car lowered slightly, not slammed! Ideally a ride height adjustable system to enable raising back up for off-road would be ideal but will depend on price. I would like to reduce body roll either by changing spring rate or upgrading the antiroll bars.
3. Turbo or Super charge! I have heard of someone Turbo charging an X-Trail and will be following up on that. I guess an ECU remap would also need to go hand in hand with this.
If anyone has experience of any of the above please let me know. I am not aiming to be extreme with this, the wheel and suspension changes are to improve handling not for looks. The blower will be to put a smile on my face when I drive it!!
Thanks!
- Adam
Last edited by Rybky, 21/Oct/2005, 10:57 am
--- - Adam (MY04 Titanium Ti-L)
Full Hi-Tech exhaust,Koni shocks,Whiteline rear s/bar,front strut bar,K&N filter,eyelids,Pioneer DVD+iPod+Veh Dynamics+rear view camera
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11/Oct/2005, 12:34 pm
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jalalski
Date Registered: 02-2004
Location: SUTHERLAND, SYDNEY
TOTAL POSTS: 29100
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Re: Road handling & performance enhancements - any experience?
Hi Adam,
I can tell you that point 2 was not discussed on this forum, as most of us were looking for ways to lift the exy instead of lowering it
Lowering the exy has proven to be in fashion in Malaysia and Indonesia (as they do not tend to go off-road) and you can check CarDomain for some cool pics which will show you what they have done and how they’ve done it.
WRT point number 3, I only heard a rumour that it has been done, but nothing solid I can follow-up on or present here.
It is being considered overseas however and just starting up.
As for bigger rims, please check THIS thread for some ideas.
I will be moving this post to the FAQ section of the forum.
Last edited by jalalski, 12/Oct/2005, 3:23 pm
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12/Oct/2005, 3:22 pm
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Rybky
X-TRAIL LEGEND
Date Registered: 08-2005
Location: Sydney
TOTAL POSTS: 542
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Re: Road handling & performance enhancements - any experience?
OK, for those that might be interested, I have contacted the company that has done some of the work on the Turbo'd X that I had heard about.
It is an '04 X-Trail Ti that has had extensive mods. It is now producing around 220kw at the wheels thanks to Turbo, bigger injectors, ECU remap (might be a piggy back) and full exhaust system. It also has replacement shocks and a rear sway bar to improve road handling considerably.
I have asked them to do the same suspensions mods to mine, depending on availability of parts this should happen next week. The mods consist of ...
- 4 Koni adjustable shocks
- 1 rear sway bar
The Turbo X has stock rims, the guy advised me not to put 18's on because for such a high and heavy car it is actually beneficial to have some tyre roll, otherwise it may tend to slide more.
The advantage of this approach is that I get significant improvement to road handling without compromising off road ability as the ride height remains the same. I am not sure what impact the sway bar will have when off road but for the light off road stuff I am likely to do it will not be noticeable.
As a rough idea, to do a complete Turbo install would cost somewhere between $6k to $8k but that does include everything.
I will update this thread again when the suspension mods are done and let you know how it feels.
- Adam
--- - Adam (MY04 Titanium Ti-L)
Full Hi-Tech exhaust,Koni shocks,Whiteline rear s/bar,front strut bar,K&N filter,eyelids,Pioneer DVD+iPod+Veh Dynamics+rear view camera
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14/Oct/2005, 9:42 am
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Rybky
X-TRAIL LEGEND
Date Registered: 08-2005
Location: Sydney
TOTAL POSTS: 542
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Re: Road handling & performance enhancements
My car went in for surgery yesterday and I am happy to announce that the operation was a complete success!!
The work was done by Bromspec in Brookvale NSW (www.bromspec.com.au). They are mainly a BMW specialist but one of their customers has the Turbo'd X-Trail and they have worked on that already.
Yesterday I had four adjustable Koni shocks fitted and the rear sway bar replaced by one that looked about 25% thicker than the stock one.
The result : WOW! The car is transformed!
Every aspect of driving has been improved - pulling away, cornering, braking and grip. I was expecting cornering and braking to improve but the improvement in grip was a real surprise. It has been raining here ever since it was done, before the changes it was really easy to get the car to slide around corners, even in 4WD. Now there is very little body roll and tons more grip! On my way home from picking it up last night I had to brake on a corner (low speed), the car just stopped, no front end dive like it used to.
It feels so much more solid on the road and a lot safer too. The only slight downside is feeling bumps more at low speed due to the increased damping but it is not unacceptable.
I am not sure what affect this will have on off-road ability, in theory nothing as the ride height is the same and the suspension travel is the same. The only possible problem is grip but these are adjustable shocks so I can at any time soften the damping if I need to.
I really cannot recommend this modification enough.
- Adam
--- - Adam (MY04 Titanium Ti-L)
Full Hi-Tech exhaust,Koni shocks,Whiteline rear s/bar,front strut bar,K&N filter,eyelids,Pioneer DVD+iPod+Veh Dynamics+rear view camera
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21/Oct/2005, 11:13 am
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jalalski
Date Registered: 02-2004
Location: SUTHERLAND, SYDNEY
TOTAL POSTS: 29100
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Re: Road handling & performance enhancements
Met-up with Adam today (nice meeting you Adam) and we went for a test drive in his exy and I can agree with what Adam has described above.
The exy certainly felt much better in terms of handling and cornering.
As a passenger it gave me the feeling like being in a sporty sedan (not a 4WD) in a good way of course
Apart from that I just kept admiring the huge sunroof. hehehe
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25/Oct/2005, 5:48 pm
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Rybky
X-TRAIL LEGEND
Date Registered: 08-2005
Location: Sydney
TOTAL POSTS: 542
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Re: Road handling & performance enhancements
OK, operation number 2 is complete, car and owner are doing very well indeed!!
As mentioned in the Stainless Steel muffler replacement thread, I have gone ahead and had a full cat back custom system in stainless steel with 2 resonators, a single muffler and twin exits with chrome tips.
Pics from the ramps looking at the install ...
Front Section
Rear Section
Rear View
And a couple of the car on my drive at home ...
Rear View 1
Rear View 2
It is too early to say yet what affect this has had on performance, I was not expecting this to be a performance mod, more of a looks and sounds mod with the benefit of a less restrictive system. This might improve fuel ecomony and possibly performance.
I think that it looks very nice on the car, sporty but not OTT. It also sounds wonderful, not loud, just a deep rumble at low revs. At normal road speed you do not hear a difference which is exactly what I wanted, there is nothing worse on a long drive than a droning exhaust!
I will add to this next week when I have had a chance to drive it for a few days, it will also take a couple of weeks to bed in anyway.
Overall, I am very happy with the result!
- Adam
--- - Adam (MY04 Titanium Ti-L)
Full Hi-Tech exhaust,Koni shocks,Whiteline rear s/bar,front strut bar,K&N filter,eyelids,Pioneer DVD+iPod+Veh Dynamics+rear view camera
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29/Oct/2005, 1:16 pm
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jalalski
Date Registered: 02-2004
Location: SUTHERLAND, SYDNEY
TOTAL POSTS: 29100
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Re: Road handling & performance enhancements
Congrats Adam, Looks very nice mate!
Hmmm, I wonder if this set-up would fit an exy with a tow-bar?? On the same token would you be able to fit a towbar now that you have done this mod?
The tail pipes look a bit too close to each other and this is the spot where the tow-bar gets attached.
Also, can you please take a side view shot, as I just wanna see how far out the tail pipes are extending.
When I approached Hi-Tech Mufflers initially about this mod, I was assured it’d make a difference to fuel economy and increase power a little bit.
I guess you gonna have to keep an eye on your fuel consumption and tell us if this is true.
Well done mate. Now it's time for a visual inspection. hehehe
Last edited by jalalski, 29/Oct/2005, 8:40 pm
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29/Oct/2005, 1:29 pm
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