In 2009, 4Wheel & Off-Road Magazine took a newly released Suzuki Equator, and decided to see if they could improve on its off-road capabilities. Since there wasn’t a suspension kit available for the Equator, they decided to created one. Luckily, the Equator has the same chassis as the 2005-and-newer Nissan Frontier and Xterra. The project’s suspension is a compilation of Frontier parts from three manufacturers. They used Icon Vehicle Dynamics coilover shocks up front and remote-reservoir shocks in the rear, a Total Chaos upper A-arm system, and a rear mini leaf pack from Deaver Spring. For a blend of three companies suspension components, the off-road performance and on-road handling of the Equator is exceptional.
The combination of Total Chaos A-arms and Icon coilovers turned out to be really trick. The coilovers provide a 0- to 3-inch adjustable ride height and are valved specifically for the Nissan Frontier, which is basically the same truck. The A-arms are definitely stronger than the factory A-arms and incorporate a 1-inch Teflon-lined uniball for maximum travel and dependability. Total Chaos also added the proper caster and suspension geometry into the A-arm systems design, which increases on- and off-road handling and performance and helps retain factory alignment.
Using the Deaver mini leaf pack in the rear saved them from having to fabricate spring mounts for a longer leaf pack. The mini packs installation required removing the lower overload leaf, then the pack was simply bolted in. Were still able to haul truck parts and ATVs around without major compression of the rear suspension. The Icon shocks in the rear are prototypes, and we cant say when an Equator-specific shock will be available. The mini packs, combined with the Icon shocks, softened the suspension some, but provided a better-than-factory performance and ride.
They achieved what they were looking for with the combination of these suspension components: increased ride height and better off-highway performance. This allowed them to install 33-inch-tall tires. They did have to trim the front fenders slightly and remove the mudflaps, but the truck looks aggressively cool and now performs exceptionally better both on and off the highway.
With the suspension complete, 4Wheel & Off-Road worked to add some body armor. After checking around for Nissan body armor (the Equator shares the chassis as the 2005-and-newer Nissan Frontier and Xterra), they decided on a Shrockworks front bumper and skidplate.
Installation of the Shrockworks bumper and Warn XD9000i winch required carefully trimming the factory fascia off the truck. This isn’t too tricky a task because the radiator and assorted hoses and lines are far enough back that they wont be cut by an air saw with a small blade. The Shrockworks skidplate was added along with a set of ShrockBar sliders.
The final modification was to replace the front seats with Mastercraft Baja RS seats. The rear factory seat was covered with the same MasterCraft material.
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