ScienceAbuse

I found that my old Subaru plate had enough metal to fit, so I started cutting. 1/4" thick 7050 alloy aluminum. It should hold the weight of the car without deflecting:

Note; I'm looking at aftermarket parts. I'm aware that there were OEM parts, but I'm not sure of their protection value-per-dollar when compared to aftermarket.

I ended up with an R51 at the end of a search that began with Xterras. cratching at the surface of things, the R51 shares a chassis with the Xrterra and Frontier. Is there anything in particuluar that would keep some Xterra/Frontier plates from fitting up to the R51? Chassis, engine, trans, xfer case, fuel tank all seem the same, only the IRS stands out as a big difference. Making my own plates is on the table, so making slight mods to a purchaned plate is certainly doable. I'm just trying to get a feel for how far and wide I can search for the best plates. Thanks in advance!

Well, I've pulled the trigger and now have a 2012 LE in my driveway. I haven't got long on the tires, so I'm considering myself in the market for 16" rims now. I'd like to go down a size in tire width, too. Has anyone tried a 235/85/16? Should only add 2 mph at highway speed, with a negligable increase in MPG.

Yeah the trans cooler haunted the xterra to the very end. I'm not looking at anything older than 2010, hoping to get a decade out of it like I did the Subaru. PS; The Subaru head gaskets are now a permanent fix (as of 2010, when mine were done). I noticed the IRS on the R51, thought it was odd that they would do such a big shift on the same platform. Like most people in the first world, most of my driving will be paved, so mabe it's for the best. We do a lot of road trips to rough places, so articulation will come up at some point... but, not a deal breaker. The longer wheelbase is what has the R51 at the top of my list at the moment, though the 500 extra pounds from the xterra is a bit of a bummer. I like being able to car camp, and the Xterra is just a bit too short to lay down in, without cramping the passenger seat. I understand there were options for different gear ratios? Is the hill decent control button the primary indicator that you've got the options package with steeper gears? Using Rock-Auto as a part number cross reference, seems to show that the brakes are the same between the Xterra and Pathfinder, which should mean that the wheels will be interchangable? I'd love to get a set of 16's if I can. Thanks again, guys!

After much reading and test driving, my next car is highly likely to be a 2012 Pathfinder LE, when I can find something with low miles. I'm coming out of an Outback that I put 200,000 rough miles on, and mo one makes anything like that car anymore, so I'm creeping up in size. The Xterra caught my very serious consideration early on, until I found out that the R51 is like a long wheelbase Xterra, with more comfort stuff that an aging fart like myself can enjoy. My questions are technical, hoping you all may know: -The "LE", do they all come with 18" wheels? Can I put smaller wheels on there without changing the brakes? 18" hoops are expensive. -What differs between the Xterra drivetrain and the R51? Does the R51 have anythig watered down? -Both the Xterra and R51 are on the F-A chassis, is there much part compatibility? -Any common consumables, recalls, or "weak links" in the R51? (like the head gaskets in my Subaru). Thanks all for your time, I appreciate any advice!