This yellow Nissan Xterra Off Road is a (4×4) example of peak Nissan. Sure – some people will argue that you have to go older. But I bet almost NO ONE would argue that you have to go newer. This Xterra represents the cutoff line, before Nissan as a whole became virtually invisible. And it roughly represents the last point when exciting people thought about new Nissans. Nissan is in trouble now. Without outside financial help, we’ll likely lose them. So hopefully Nissan digs deep in these final 2-minutes. Because… 

Apparently fans can clearly see what Nissan can’t… 

Ditch the dumb gizmos, ditch the damn CVTs, pull your balls back down into that shriveled-up sac… and get back to building fun, interesting, & affordable cars that people actually WANT to drive. Nissan used to be the peoples’ sporty ride. The other Toyota white meat. Right now, aside from the Z (which is awesome, but got fumbled), no one wants to drive a new Nissan. Nissan’s current image is: A disposable car for bad drivers with bad credit & bad taste. That’s it. Nissan ran their brand into the ground. They burnt their fanbase, took a gamble on the bottom of the barrel, and lost. And one new sports car or truck every 15 years ain’t gonna fix this. It will take a complete spiritual-overhaul of the brand… along with an authentic marketing effort.

And while that may sound harsh…

It should be taken as tough love & motivation. We’re fans. We WANT to see Nissan pull through. But we also want them to get shaken enough to find some clarity… and find their old mojo. NO MORE BORING CARS. And if that’s doesn’t make sense… fire people until it does. 

This is Mikey Rafkah’s 2008 Nissan Xterra Off Road…

To put it plainly, at the time when Mikey got this Xterra, he couldn’t afford the TRD tax. Additionally, he owned a Frontier in the past & loved it. So when this 2008 Xterra Off Road popped-up for sale in Solar Yellow, it was enough of an impulse to where he scooped it. It’s that simple lol, and ‘simplicity’ was actually a big part of it. The Nissan Xterra is a utilitarian form-follows-function 4×4… yet it’s also endearingly attractive & lovable. The kinda car where your daughter hops out & hugs the tire… just like she’d hug a dog’s neck. And in a way, the Xterra is innocent like the early import-tuning days: A simple thing that’s fun to drive. It’s the type of SUV that makes you wanna roll the windows down, and blast 311 lol. Remember when SUVs used to be like that? Before everything was connected to your phone but disconnected from the entire damn rest of the outside world? I say it all the time… tech kills moments. So touch grass, eat burgers (veggie burgers count too), and roll down your windows. 

Nissan Xterra vs Titan…

Did you know – The Nissan Xterra is on the same frame as a Nissan Titan? That means you can Titan-swap the front suspension like Mikey’s done here. This Xterra has beefed-up Titan upper/lower control arms, axles, and coilovers. He also has a modified Dana44 in the rear. See, there are real-world benefits to Nissan’s past hodgepodging of models & chassis lol. It’s a cool thing Nissan was doing, back when they were actually being profitable. That kind of interchangeability enhances the ownership experience & aftermarket capability… and keeps the vehicles on the road longer. In short, that’s how Nissan built a fanbase, and that’s part of how they can do it again. The front suspension on Mikey’s Xterra is now 6” wider (3” wider per side) because of the Titan suspension. 

Mikey’s still running the VQ40 engine in his Xterra… 

Which is a strong-enough engine that Nissan also shared across many platforms. But yes – if you’re wondering, a Titan V8 can be dropped into an Xterra with just a re-pinned harness, along with a Titan torque converter & bell housing. Although it’s probably easier to just get the whole Titan tranny as a package with the engine. In fact, if you have the space & patience, some Xterra owners just get a salvage Nissan Titan & part out the rest of it for a net-zero investment. The V8 is on Mikey’s to-do list, eventually. But for now… 

Mikey’s just enjoying the ride…

He’ll always be an import guy at heart. And he’ll always be a little bit of a ricer (in a good way). In fact, we first became friends way back when we both drove 2nd-generation Eclipses. Back then, Mikey didn’t drive a Honda like seemingly everyone else. Nor was he “building a drift car”… and he wasn’t drunk on the JDM juice. He just marched to the beat of his own drum & drove a damn turbocharged Mitsubishi. That against the grain mindset… used to be Nissan’s too. This Xterra is not a Jeep, it’s not a Toyota… and it’s not apologizing for it. Here’s to hoping Nissan can dig deep & find that intangible energy again.

Photos by Alex Bell

2008 Nissan Xterra Off-Road

SUSPENSION:

Radflo Titan swap 2.5” coilovers & 650lb springs w/ external reservoirs. CJD Racing Titan swap fully boxed UCAs, heim steering tie rods, R180 extended CV axles. Mevotech Supreme Titan swap LCAs. Timbren LCA bumpstops. Energy Suspension UCA bumpstops. Bora 2” wheel spacers added to rear to even out stance from Titan swap. PRG dual AAL & adjustable shackles. Bilstein rear shocks (from PRG). SumoSprings rear bumpstops.

ENGINE / EXHAUST:

Volant sealed-box cold air intake. Offroad Gorilla snorkel. XTP intake manifold spacer. Doug Thorley headers. Magnaflow 12580 muffler. Custom stainless pipes with y-pipe delete & secondary cat delete. Vibrant 1141 ultra quiet resonator. Secondary trans cooler. PRG motor mounts. Audi R8 Coilpack Conversion. UpRev tune done by SoHo.

ARMOR / RACKS:

MaxTerra rear bumper w/ tire carrier & dual gas can holder. Also MaxTerra rock sliders interior rear cargo rack, & roof rack. Hefty Fabworks aluminum front winch bumper & aluminum full skid plate set. Gobi ladder. Nisstec rear shock skids. OGFab center console molle panels.

TIRES / WHEELS / BRAKES:

Falken Rubitrek 285/70/17. KMC XD wheels XD132 RG2. EBC Brakes GD7402 3GD series dimpled and slotted sport rotors. Nisstec full-extended (braided) brake lines.

INTERIOR / AUDIO: 

Retrofitted Pro-4X interior (from-later model). Pioneer DMH-160BT headunit. Alpine Type-R SPR-60C 6.5” component speakers in front, with Alpine Type-R SPR-60 6.5” coaxial 2-way speakers in rear. Also, Alpine MRV-F300 4-channel amplifier. KICKER 10” powered subwoofer.

LIGHTING:

Morimoto 4Banger SAE amber fogs in bumper. Rago Fab ditch mounts and combo beam pod lights. Rear amber dust lights. OR Engineering rock Lights. Auxbeam 8 Gang 12v controller. EndMotive panel mount.

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