Wheeling with a MT? [Archive]

flash_gordon

01-04-2007, 01:34 PM

Looking for some feedback from you guys wheeling with a manual trans. Likes/dis-likes, wish you had an auto, or would have it no other way. Looking to buy a 00-04 X soon, auto/manual still up in the air.
Thanks for your help.
Nice forum by the way, good looking rigs!
Shawn

JayRyan

01-04-2007, 01:41 PM

I love my manual...although unnamed parties in another club criticized my lack of finesse over obstacles and said I had poor driving habits maybe due to a manual transmission...that won't happen here if you buy a manny- I love 'em. It does take greater finesse when negotiating terrain I think...whatever.

ChefTyler

01-04-2007, 02:40 PM

Don't forget better highway travel :D

Nissanclay

01-04-2007, 02:43 PM

I love my MT. I stall all the time on the trails but that will soon be fixed with crawler grears.

GarrettE

01-04-2007, 03:53 PM

I absolutely love actually driving my xterra instead of just hitting its 'go' pedal.

It makes you feel a lot more accomplished when you finish a trail that some autos had trouble with and you had none at all.

CurleyMan

01-04-2007, 04:12 PM

All of my vehicles are manual i'd never switch. Gonna buy a new truck for the girlfriend and we are looking at frontier's only because the titan doesn't come in manual. In my opinion manual is better for the following reasons.
More Macho, less girly
more control in poor weather
vehicle can be roll started
clutches are easier/cheaper to replace then an auto trans
a hell of alot more fun to drive
no power loss due to torque converter
less brake wear
and well just go with the manual you won't regret it

Lance T

01-04-2007, 05:26 PM

MT all the way all the reasons stated so far! I have had both slushboxes and sticks in 6 Nissan 4x4's and and will stick (Sorry about the pun) with a manual for the next too.

Mike Maxwell

01-04-2007, 06:58 PM

It's a mixed bag for me. In 3/4 ton trucks I think MT's are a pain since they use boxes with more lever throw. I would love to see them in 1/2 tons like the Titan. Sports cars/sedans should not have an auto option! I love autos for wheelin' in most instances, like in boulder fields and rock gardens, but you may not like the lack compression braking they offer during steep desents, unless you have a good crawl ratio. My X with 33's, stock gearing and an auto sucked with a poor crawl ratio, and I hated it on the street. My Landcruiser is much better and the auto has a sport mode and is more matched to the engine (read: horsepower). As long as the TQ is locked up, there is direct power being sent thru the driveline.

Mike Maxwell

01-04-2007, 06:58 PM

MT all the way all the reasons stated so far! I have had both slushboxes and sticks in 6 Nissan 4x4's and and will stick (Sorry about the pun) with a manual for the next too.

What about that SEMA Titan you guys were possibly going to get?:crazy:

Allen Cox

01-04-2007, 07:56 PM

Love my Automatic! Have one in the PhoeniX, the Frontier and the wife's Xterra as well. Rocking it when stuck is easier with an auto. Driving with a cup of coffee is easier. Having the wife snuggle up close and drive is also really nice too. I think it's easier to wheel with.

As far as being manly to wheel with, get real! Not manly to keep stalling and get that burnt clutch smell really going and then having to get towed home because that cheap clutch went south for the winter.

I like to drag race the Frontier with my girly auto. I get the jump on most things, and then stay in front. But I wouldn't think that you'd be getting the Xterra to drag race with anyway.

I also like the fact that I can just drive up most passes without having to constantly shift...5th....4th......3rd.........4th again........3rd (come on sumbitch, don't loose speed now!)........4th.......dammit 3rd!

But then again, I can rebuild my auto myself and only be out the price of parts, so make the call yourself.

CurleyMan

01-04-2007, 08:10 PM

dammit man
I didn't mean to offend you I drive manual trucks for a living. My family raised me with manuals and my g-friend even drives them. Hell my mother drives a manual. I do however love to drive them for many reasons. it's my opinion Allen. I've never heard of anyone racing with an auto but i don't race so what do I know. But honestly I was just expressing my thoughts, that doesn't mean they are correct. Some people really do hate shifting gears I have heard this before. I drive an 18 speed semi but i still love it passes traffic whatever it doesn't bother me. Different strokes for different folks.....
I apologize for any thing i said that may have offended you it was not my intention to offend anyone at all....

Nissanclay

01-04-2007, 08:17 PM

Allen that Frontier could handle any CO pass without shifting. Those 4.0's are animals. Now the 3.3's and the 2.4 I had sucks balls up the passes. Stock they do fine but thow on a set of 33's and your lucky to keep 4th.

As stated before I stall constantly. I think I set the recored for most times stalling an engine going over the golden crack. After two trips to moab and 3 summers wheeling my truck I think that crawler gears are a must. Oh yeah and seeing what there like first hand in Ryan's pathy put me over the edge. If I started over with my truck I think gears and a locker would be my fist mod.

And has many have Manuals are fun but there are times (rush hour) when I wish I had an auto. However the wish is allways short lived.

Ryan Gee

01-04-2007, 08:28 PM

Autos for going up and Manuals for going down. I could go down lions back without hitting the brakes....

JayRyan

01-05-2007, 08:07 AM

Autos for going up and Manuals for going down. I could go down lions back without hitting the brakes....

Brakes are for girls anyway- you can pick out the good drives from the bad by break usage...every weekend coming down Berthoud Pass...too many suburbanites from the big cities riding too much brake...

Ryan Gee

01-05-2007, 08:51 AM

My Pathy couldn't get out of its way in the mountains with an auto... ask Clay!!!

With 35's and the 5 speed it seems to at least keep up with the traffic...

Lance T

01-05-2007, 08:53 AM

What about that SEMA Titan you guys were possibly going to get?:crazy:

It was 2wd and had a V8...if I could have got a VIN for it I probably would have got it.

...I also like the fact that I can just drive up most passes without having to constantly shift...5th....4th......3rd.........4th again........3rd (come on sumbitch, don't loose speed now!)........4th.......dammit 3rd!...

LOL!

I pass X's and Frontiers everyday on Floyd Hill. Going up and down...even before the 33's I could smoke my my sister-in-law's X (auto X with 4.9's, I have a 5spd with 4.6's) in the mountains. Hers is faster accelerating though...

Brakes are for girls anyway- you can pick out the good drives from the bad by break usage...every weekend coming down Berthoud Pass...too many suburbanites from the big cities riding too much brake...

You just described every owner of an Audi TT on Floyd Hill! They have a car that will stick the corner but they all hit the curve at 45mph. I also saw a lot of Xterra brake lights going down Red Cone while I just popped it in gear and cruised.

I agree with Allen and CurleyMan...to each there own. Flash, I would drive both and see which one you like best.

JeffW

01-05-2007, 09:23 AM

I think I would buy the 6spd over the auto but with the old 5sp I think it's a wash. The torque converter helps in some situations and hurts in others. I don't like the feeling of "bogging down", but it is helpful in stall situations.

Rondo has mentioned to me that the automatic sucks ba11$ in the sand.

Alpine Spirit

01-05-2007, 09:43 AM

Autos for going up and Manuals for going down. I could go down lions back without hitting the brakes....

I think that is the best way to look at it. They both have thier plusses and minuses. I like my auto.

flash_gordon

01-05-2007, 10:13 AM

The last Jeep I'm replacing, (00 XJ, 6" lift, 456 gears, locked F/R, 35's etc..., was an auto. It was nice for crawling up obstacles, but sucked getting there! I didn't know if they had a gear reduction for crawling or not in the X with a MT?. My friend had the Terra-low with his 5-speed XJ and he loved it. I do with the X had a bit more juice to it....
Thanks for all the input!
Shawn

Alpine Spirit

01-05-2007, 10:32 AM

For the 00-04 you are looking at there are 2 available.

One from Calmini 3.92:1
http://purenissan.com/t-case_gear_reduction.htm
And another from 4x4 Parts 3.72:1 ... I think is the ratio.
http://www.4x4parts.com/public_html/shop/index.php3?page=shop/flypage&product_id=4079&category_id=5016933e07a1b4d60578d56fc5c88c93&ps_session=45660cb9be164f4275034774fd71472e

And as for lockers ARB is the only option right now with the stock Nissan Axles.

The stock gearing in the diffs is either 4.6 or 4.9 depending on the trim you purchase.

cscherrer

01-05-2007, 11:15 AM

I've had auto and manual. As stated they both have advantages and disadvantages. My pathy is auto and one time I really appreciate auto is in heavy stop and go traffic.

Scott Allan

01-05-2007, 01:06 PM

I have an auto - my wife lost her left leg in a motorcycle accident so manuals are out in our house. After 7 seasons of wheeling it, I don't have any big complaints. You do have to use the brakes more going downhill, but that isn't too much of a pain. You really have a lot of control in boulder fields with the auto. I personally think it is easier to break stuff with a manual (without crawler gears) because you just can't finesse things the way you can with an auto. The non-SC Xterra is underpowered though (pre-2005), so the manual definitely would be nice in that regard. It really is personal preference.

zonianbrat

01-06-2007, 01:57 PM

I like my auto for different reasons. The type of wheelin I do mostly involves rocky mountian trails with occasional rock-fields and small boulders. My truck is not lifted and I only have 31" tires so I am not big into rock-gardens or boulders. I like steep trails and MUD. So for those things it is nice to have the auto. My 95 camaro SS was a stick and I would not have it any other way. So like everybody has said I think it depends on what kinda driving your gonna do like alot of in-town red-light and heavy traffic driving or small-town open road driving. Good luck.

flash_gordon

01-06-2007, 03:13 PM

I decided to go with a MT. I think for what I will be doing, and with an available gear reduction, should do well in the rocks and trails in Colorado. Now just need to save a bit more and find the one I want!
One more quick question:
I don't want to buy tires more that once for this thing. Can I squeeze 33's under this thing with a 2"BL? I know it's going to rub off-road, but it would be for a very short time until I could do a 3" SL.
Shawn

Alpine Spirit

01-06-2007, 03:31 PM

You can squeeze them in on stock wheels, after market wheels with a different offset are a little different. And whats called a PML (Poor Mans Lift).

The PML is a torsion bar crank and new shackles in the rear. This gives about 1.5" of lift.

So between the BL and PML its about 3.5".

ChefTyler

01-06-2007, 04:53 PM

And the PML only costs ~$50 and gets used on the full 3" SL too, so you don't remove the shackles when you go for the full 3" SL.

flash_gordon

01-06-2007, 06:20 PM

I was reading about the PML and was planning to do that at the same time as the BL. I will be getting new rims at the same time as the tires, what BS is everyone running on the X?
Shawn

ChefTyler

01-06-2007, 11:47 PM

I run 3.75" BS but that required some, uh...sheet metal trimming :D I'd go as close to stock BS as you can.

flash_gordon

01-07-2007, 07:48 PM

CurleyMan

01-07-2007, 08:00 PM

you should be fine with 31 spline i'm running 37" ties with stock metal in my rear axle. Ryan has run stock axle shafts in his HB233 rear ever since he started and never broke a shaft. I'm pretty sure you'll mess up your front end far befoe you do anything to the rear axle.

ChefTyler

01-07-2007, 09:11 PM

I know I'm asking a lot of questions but;

1)Is the 03-04 180HP much better than 00-02 170HP? Looks like 03-04's are around 1K to 1.5K more. I know the X is a bit under powered, so I was thinking every bit will help.

2) Rear axle strength. If I'm reading correct the rear is a 31 spline? Anyone had problems with breakage with stock axles, or are you running alloys?

Thanks again, you guys rock!
Shawn:D

P.S. Anyone on RMXC? I have been waiting for 3 days for them to approve me so I can look around?

Ok first thing's first: the extra 10 HP you probably won't notice.

Second: the rear in the X is the 33 spline variant of the H233B, and you will never break it...ever...unless you go mongo crazy and build an X running stupid huge tires (think 40" +) :D

Thanks, we try to rock :D

As for RMXC...that's kinda sorta a four letter word around these parts (wow it actually is a four letter accronym - bad spelling I know). We won't get into why at this point in time, maybe if you come out to the Bull and Bush and get one of us really drunk :toast: Some of us haven't lost our priveleges over there and could help you out. But, you'll get an answer to pretty much any question you have between here and www.xterraownersclub.com (beware XOC, it is not for the thin skinned...and be sure to search before you ask questions because they have a hair trigger when it comes to flaming).

:wave:

Alpine Spirit

01-07-2007, 09:27 PM

Yep I know of people running big tires on the stock axle shafts. No issues. I am running 35s and I have not had any problems.

tmorgan4

01-08-2007, 02:20 AM

All Xterras are 33 spline. Even better. :)

flash_gordon

01-08-2007, 07:13 AM

(beware XOC, it is not for the thin skinned...and be sure to search before you ask questions because they have a hair trigger when it comes to flaming).

:wave:

Sounds like Pirate....

OK, cool 33 spline, no worries! ChefTyler, I see you over on Colorado4x4 also.
This site has been the most helpful so far, thanks guys! Hope to be wheeling with some of you this summer.
Shawn

Ryan Gee

01-11-2007, 11:08 AM

Here is an example of manual tranny... That rear bumper has sure held up to the beating!!! :whack:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXjvTujsjFQ

JayRyan

01-11-2007, 11:09 AM

Since when do Foomanchu's drive trucks? lol

Ryan Gee

01-11-2007, 11:14 AM

If you drove trucks you would probably see a few! hehe

NissanNut

01-11-2007, 12:08 PM

Nice videos Ryan.

I have manuals in my pathy and king cab. I love them. The crawler gears are basically required with a manual if you want to have fun and control. I prefer manuals when driving in rush hour traffic. I used to live in LA. Had to commute 50 miles on the 405 daily. My current Quest has an awesome 5spd auto though.

I want to get a Titan one day. So I will have to live with an auto. Never had a auto as a daily driver.