Sometime late last summer I was talking to Jim about modding his jeep and it snowballed and somehow I got in the middle of it. before I knew what was going on I agreed to build his jeep over again pretty much. The goal was lots of strength and a nice cushy ride while providing clearance for 40's in the future.
So anyway, thanks to JohnnyJ for giving me his sway bar setup that he hadn't installed yet. It allowed me to get it installed this week before I leave. Thanks John.:woot:
I had to bend the sway bar arm to miss my Trac Bar mount.
To maintain some even geometry and symmetry, I bent the passenger side the same as the drivers side. Notice in this pic the grey body bushing I made up to fit in the frame tube.
No problem on the sway bar. I'm glad to see it in use.
It looks like everything packaged in there nicely. I thought you were going to do more of a z-bend around the trackbar, but that looks like an easier way to do it.
You didn't supply long enough arms for a Z bend.oke: Actually, that's kind of the truth. If we had longer arms, it could have bent around the trac bar but I don't think it would have improved anything.
how does it flex? Ahhh.... the #1 question for everyone.:sonicjay: Actually we didin't flex it out at all. That still needs to be done. If I have flex problems, I'll have to look at something different but don't expect any problems.
Jim still has a long was to go to get comfortable with the limits of this rig.
This was in Canada last weekend and I could tell he wasn't real sure about this situation, but the rig handled it perfectly. A few more off camber runs like this and more seat time and he'll get it dialed in.
The rig worked great, the motor sounds awesome, he needs bigger tires
Too bad I didn't have quality spotters.oke: You're right. With the SOA, I knew exactly where I was at from a tippy standpoint. This setup reacts differently and although I am very comfortable driving it, there were times I didn't have a good feel for balance. Maybe I need one of those little inclinometers.:teehee:
There was one spot where all of the spotters on site felt I was tippy so we winched. (at the base of the rock face above the stairs) At that time, I actually felt pretty safe but common sense said to not push it, better to listen to those that have a different view. Although I've been in big rocks before, I never had a rig that had this type of capability so I found myself having a tendancy to be more timid than usual. Plus, I was the only full bodied rig with all buggies & I had never wheeled with any of these guys before. So I found myself less willing to push it. Out of the entire day, I think there were 2 obstacles that gave me problems where no else did. No excuses........ just the way I felt. Next time.........
Yes it is. There are certainly arguements pro and con. The con is that there is a lot of side wall to fold over, which can cause issues in an off camber situation. Pro is that the tire wraps around an obstacle really well.
The real pro is that I didn't have the money to buy new wheels.:sonicjay:
Well this is not really an update on any build mods. That's actually the point. It's time to note the quality of engineering and work done by Bryce and Jim. Since June we've hit everything from the dunes for a week to 3-4 times at the Mounds to twice at OSTC to 3 trips to Canada. I've run the snot out of it and twisted it up pretty good with no problems save a couple loose bolts on the hydro assist that we found on the first outing.
ohh yeah, I'm "for hire" but not cheap. If you want something of this caliber done let me know and we can talk about options if you are serious.
[/shameless plug]
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