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700hp, 40s, bypasses, tube chassis rock buggy build

Discussion in 'Other Builds' started by snivilous, Mar 2, 2020.

  1. May 25, 2023 at 9:21 PM
    #211
    snivilous

    snivilous [OP] snivspeedshop.com

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    Couple pictures and some more updates, and lots of rambling.

    First of all, I am extremely excited with how the buggy has reinvigorated my passion for it. As I've said in the past, I had been completely burnt out and this project has evolved and changed so many times and was ultimately the largest project I've undertaken so far, that just getting it running and making everything feel like a simple couple day or couple week modification really changes how it feels to work on it. Things like the axles or the fan shroud or tuning feels like massive leaps and improvements since I can actually go out and feel the difference, instead of anticipating how something will be years down the road. It's a ton of fun now that I can experience these changes.

    On Tuesday I took the buggy to a power line road which has some little whooped out sections and some good G outs and big bumps and some cross trails, one of the few places nearby that the suspension can get a bit of a work out at speed. My intention was to start feeling out the suspension and beginning the process of dialing it in, which includes starting to figure out how completely undialed it is. Before this I measured the suspension a bunch, and honestly it's so hard to accurately tell where the axle is relative to the chassis or the axles relative to each other, that I started with just checking and setting the links to bring the same length. The axles were 1" out of parallel with each other, so I knew the alignment of everything was off. The front lower links I tweaked a bit and the trailing arms. I think I'll try to measure everything more and get the front axle square to the front of the chassis and the rear to the rear of the chassis, since the subframe the link mounts go to should be the squarest thing on the chassis. I think the axles staying parallel to the chassis through the suspension cycle is probably the most important? Then maybe dial in the lateral position? Regardless, just matching the link lengths which slightly corrected the parallelism of the two axles seemed to have a noticeable effect. Previously the rear seemed to shimmy left or right as it hit bumps and that seemed to be greatly improved. It still does it a bit though.

    PXL_20230524_011925431.jpg

    I also played with the bypasses a little. This shock setup I don't think is very correct, but that's a whole thing to dive into. I do think I'll bump it to 10" of up travel, right now it's at 8" and I have a feeling that won't be enough. In the past I ran 10" of up travel on my last rig and that handled extremely well. I'm also at the mercy of no front bump stops since I haven't been able to figure out a good packaging setup, and while I do have the front bypasses ramp up as much as possible (which has made a big difference) I need a combination of more front valving and probably some extra tubes to get my goal of the front bypasses being a bump stop to work correctly. With all of that gibberish said, it rides better than I thought. I know it can be a lot better, but I'm still hitting decent size bumps at 40mph and it handles it plenty well. Really excited for the suspension to get good, since there's a ton of potential there and even horribly setup it's a lot of fun to dive into stuff and it takes it.

    PXL_20230526_012748503.jpg

    The one thing from the first suspension "tuning" run I did learn, was the engine needed some work and I should prioritize that. While it ran alright, it definitely needed some attention. I've been watching videos and reading up more on tuning with the Holley, the biggest issue was very low throttle inputs it would have some bad lag and sometimes would break up on the high end. Today I made a bunch of changes and hooked up the computer after getting a datalogging cable (you'd think that'd be included with an entire ECU and wiring kit). Most of the changes were to the fueling. I modified the base map, target AFR, and acceleration enrichments and it's running pretty well now and considerable spicier than before and no stumbling! Also according to the Holley it's making about 10psi of boost, which I find that hard to believe but the supercharger came with a lingenfelter pulley so maybe it's conceivable. If that's true it's making a lot more boost than I originally thought though, not that thats a bad thing.

    PXL_20230526_015743678.jpg

    Though the engine isn't all good news. Cylinder 4s exhaust tube has not changed colors like all the others, and appears to not be running. Though for the most part it sounds like it's running on all 8. I have no idea what the history or health of this motor is, it originally was installed so I had something to reference to make the exhaust. Spark plugs, wires, coil packs, compression, no idea on any of that. Hell, I changed the oil two weeks ago for the first time and that raised the oil pressure by 10psi! I think next up will be to give it a little love, especially because today idling after doing a datalog run SOMETHING in the engine was knocking every 5 seconds or so, but seemed to stop after I drove around some more. Course the flip side is I just build the 408 I have laying here, and ignore the $300 5.3 that has 250k on it. Anyways, the 5.3 will get a little look over now that it's getting more duty than it was bargained for, and I think I'll start assembling the 408 sooner than I thought.

    PXL_20230526_021531219.jpg

    Other things to note, I welded an AN fitting to the true top of the radiator so I can bleed air from it. This hasn't seemed to actually drop the temperature of the engine, but I've gotten more used to how hot it runs after some research. I guess LS easily run over 200 and some of them apparently don't engage the fans until like 220, so it running at 205-210 sometimes shouldn't be a worry.

    The axles and midship carrier bearing are all running plenty cool, the midship gets considerably hotter but I factor that to it being clamped between the engine and exhaust. And by hotter, it's at like 150. According to SKF a bearing running at 180 or less has no need for concern. And today most of my driving around was at 40-55mph, and the temps were totally happy.

    And that wraps up my current thoughts. Each drive the buggy is getting faster, handling better, and lots of little improvements. I think it has probably 30+ miles on it now with the only real issue being the battery terminals that broke (swapped those for some billet brass ones). I don't know if I'll get it into the rocks this weekend, but it can tear up some two track and desert which is what I wanted, a nice multi purpose rig that can run around comfortably and go slow when it needs to.
     
  2. May 26, 2023 at 1:47 AM
    #212
    e30cabrio

    e30cabrio I'm e30cabrio, I'm a modaholic

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    As usual, WOW!

    Enjoy!
     
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  3. May 26, 2023 at 6:25 PM
    #213
    rockmup

    rockmup New Member

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    You need to check compression. If you have it, check spark, then swap the injector to another hole. Remember- K.I.S.S.

    I understand about loosing interest, I did a multi year build once ( My first) and swore I'd never do it again and I haven't. If I can't fund it all at once I won't even start it. As a result I bought projects that were mostly done from people just like you and me, lol
     
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  4. May 27, 2023 at 6:47 AM
    #214
    snivilous

    snivilous [OP] snivspeedshop.com

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    Yea I don't know if I'll ever do another undertaking of this magnitude. If I do it'll be fully drawn in CAD and everything sent out to be laser cut and bent so it can be as close to just a weld kit as possible, and like you said have everything bought sitting in a pile so I know it'll plug together.
     
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  5. May 27, 2023 at 9:10 AM
    #215
    SD Surfer

    SD Surfer Globe Trotting Bon Vivant

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    Okay, first of all, given the amount of stuff you've accomplished on this build in addition to having a girlfriend and (I assume) a job, I'm not entirely sure you are just "one dude"... I'm tired just from sitting here drinking coffee and reading this! :eek:

    What I can tell you with certainty, is that when you have a lift, a mill, a plasma cutter, a tube notcher, an FJ parked in the corner of something bigger than my house... That's no longer "a garage" buddy, that's a damn nice shop.

    Even if I had the skills, the space, and the money to do stuff like this, let alone a woman who'd put up with it, I just don't think I'd have the time, motivation, and dedication needed for it.
    Hell, I'm about to go put wiper blades, engine and cabin air filters in the wife's car and then I may need a nap. :rofl::(

    Well done, I've enjoyed this thread. :bananadance:
     
  6. May 27, 2023 at 10:15 AM
    #216
    2Tall

    2Tall New Member

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    While I'm no seasoned LS expert, I do have 6.0 LQ4 in my Jeep CJ8 and it runs in the low 200s. Initially I was concerned it was too hot as well, like my rad or fans were undersized. After better fans and some cooling system changes, it still runs about the same. It seems with factory thermostat rating of 180-something nearly 190, they just run warmer than the older stuff.

    No top of that, when I had my motor rebuilt and a mild cam installed the guy that tuned for me asked if I had a stock or lower temp t-stat. He said he didn't like messing with ones with lower temp t-stats on stock ECM.
     
    Last edited: May 27, 2023
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  7. May 27, 2023 at 11:32 AM
    #217
    snivilous

    snivilous [OP] snivspeedshop.com

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    Hahahaha well I appreciate the comments a lot! I guess my point is I think most people (granted given the willpower or maybe stupidity) can do what I do, so shouldn't be turned off from it if they want to. All the tools I bought one at a time when I got to the point I needed that tool (and obviously spread over years), and I'm not professionally trained with any of it. Needed to bend a tube, so bought a bender, and watched some YouTube and read some forums like these. To be fair though, I am very fortunate to have a job that enables me to buy that stuff and have time to work on it, and I'm young so don't have any kids (yet).

    As far as the woman to allow it, that may be the real trick :rofl: she does put some limits on me being in the shop too much. Though now that we have a house with the shop in the back yard that helps a lot. The last semester of college I was renting a shop and building my first King of the Hammers racecar, and after classes and work I would be there until usually 10-11pm, which probably half the time she would be at work then and just go straight home. I would get home which was a 15-20 minute drive from the shop and usually have to strip down outside and leave the clothes there since she didn't want them stinking up the little place we were renting. So by comparison now, her being comfortable in the house and just looking out the window to see me I think really opens up her willingness to deal with my projects :D
     
  8. May 27, 2023 at 11:34 AM
    #218
    snivilous

    snivilous [OP] snivspeedshop.com

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    That is very good to hear! And interesting on the tuning preference too. I appreciate the comment, obviously coming from Toyotas I was getting anxious if it was creeping over 200 let alone constantly chilling around there or hotter.
     
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  9. May 29, 2023 at 6:54 PM
    #219
    snivilous

    snivilous [OP] snivspeedshop.com

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    Went to Sand Hollow today for the first real rock trip!

    PXL_20230529_161448484.jpg

    Met up with a local guy with a GoatBuilt ibex chassis on 43s. We did three trails, Nasty Half, Joint Effort, and the Fallen, all rated 9s (though the Fallen is hardly a 9). The buggy did extremely well, with a relatively minor hiccup at the very end.

    PXL_20230529_170554982.jpg

    The only time I've done anything harder than the 7 rated trails was my first time to Sand Hollow for Trail Hero a long time ago when I had my previous 4500 car and had slapped some 40s on it, and I only did one 9 rated trail then I think. So this trip alone was doing harder stuff than I really ever have, or honestly was planning to do on the first trip.

    PXL_20230529_171355967.jpg

    First off, the buggy seems to be insanely stable. And as I always say, this is completely beyond the realm of anything I've had before. Tube chassis, trailing arms, V8, atlas, etc. So maybe it's par for the course for a buggy, but by my standards I am blown away. Going back to how stable it is, I've been worried that with the trailing arms or maybe how I set stuff up that it wouldn't be very planted and that is far from reality. There were two notable instances where it looked like the driver's side beadlocks was nearly level with the ground and the chassis wasn't unloading and flopping over and was actually super planted. Both times I was waiting for it to fall over and it didn't. And this is without sway bars!

    Additionally the fairly long wheel base of ~119" helped more than it hurt I thought. Obviously this is location and obstacle specific, but the big climbs and obstacles that we went through it could reach through and made a lot easier. Going hand in hand with that, the rear with the trailing arms is awesome! Its strapped at 24" as I recall of straight vertical travel, and the straps are a fair bit inboard and the shocks have quite a bit of stroke left at normal droop, so needless to say when flexing it can get wild. I've seen the methodology of having leafs in the front and links in the back with the idea that if the front can make it then the rear definitely can, and that is how this setup feels. If the front can make it over something then I can usually ignore the rear and it will walk through.

    PXL_20230529_174824471.jpg

    The engine seemed to run really well, and hung out at 190-200 the whole time. We were wheeling for 4 hours, so everything got plenty hot. It ran great all day and seems to be plenty nasty. I'm slightly worried of when I get the big engine in, since this one is almost a bit too touchy to be gentle in spots. Though part of that may be the transmission which we'll get to. The serpentine belt stayed out the whole time so the new belt tensioner setup seems to be the way! The atlas is also behaving a lot nicer now that it's broken in a bit and I've figured out how to (sometimes) smoothly shift it.

    May as well address the transmission, it seems to be in a limp mode which locks it in 2nd gear. This would explain why the crawl ratio seems so high, and certainly why the top speed is so low. I haven't read much, not sure if the Holley increases or decreases how easy the fix is since now I can't read any codes.

    PXL_20230529_174903760.jpg

    The second issue is the supercharger/hydro cooling loop radiator is either way undersized or maybe just doesn't work as well as I envisioned. The cooling loop im pretty sure was boiling, I think I need to get a bit sexier and stuff a larger radiator in there. The radiator for my tundras supercharger has more area, and that's the same size supercharger and obviously doesn't have the hydro cooling to deal with also. But it's currently better than nothing, and should be a relatively simple upgrade.

    The third and biggest issue, is on the way back to the truck at some point I bent the wishbone link in the rear so the whole axle is shifted a couple inches. You can tell from the bump stops alignment with the strike blocks.

    PXL_20230529_184824624.jpg

    At one point there was a loud clunk, im not sure if it was that or when we jumped down some small rocks and the back end felt a little squirrelly as we landed. This thing was supposed to get braced and of course was overlooked getting everything else going. I was thinking about converting it to a double triangulated 4 link but there's no good place to mount the chassis link mounts inboard so the links would clear the shocks, which is why the wishbone is a wishbone and has some bent tubes. So I think I'll keep the wishbone, pull it out and make a new one properly that is a truss (like a bridge) so it can handle all the loads. I'd call this a hiccup, since I didn't know anything was wrong until it was on the trailer! Another thing that is a relatively simple upgrade, and couldn't ask for a better way to find out that weakness than parking it on the trailer after a day of wheeling!

    There are a handful of other things that need to be added to the list. The brake pedal needs some comfort upgrades, I need a roof so the sun doesn't kill me, I need some dedicated storage spots, etc. BUT this was an extremely successful day, I couldn't ask for a better first trip. The thing blows me away with what it crawled through, and then was able to pretty comfortably run through the washboard and whoops and dunes. There is so much potential, and it's already doing everything I wanted, I can't wait to see how much more performance will be squeezed out of it with more tuning and time behind the wheel!
     
  10. May 29, 2023 at 7:19 PM
    #220
    Wynnded

    Wynnded What MPG...

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    I miss rock crawling....:pout:
     
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  11. May 29, 2023 at 8:11 PM
    #221
    snivilous

    snivilous [OP] snivspeedshop.com

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    Likewise. The last time I really did any crawling was 2018. I've taken the can am and FJ out, but having something that's actually good and not worried about breaking is a whole different ball game.
     
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  12. May 30, 2023 at 12:22 AM
    #222
    Rubberdown

    Rubberdown Spilling my guts here.

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    Really enjoyed this thread. Glad you are enjoying the fruits of your labor.
     
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  13. May 30, 2023 at 3:28 AM
    #223
    rockmup

    rockmup New Member

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    Thats FAWESOME !!

    Its an odd feeling when a suspension actually stays planted, actually makes it feel too easy which is how we get in trouble. lol

    Only thing I have an opinion on is the motor, I'd find another of what you have and rebuild it and then swap it in and keep this one as a spare. I love big motors but there is such a thing as too much motor, especially for where you are. If you were here in the South or spent a lot of time in the dunes, it'd be different.

    I had a 383 in my first jeep and it was great but most of my time was spent @ Glamis and Pismo. When I moved Sacramento I quickly found it was too much for crawling and swapped it out for a plain small block. Way more betta.
    Down here in the land of rock bouncing, I had a big motor in my truggy, you almost had to.
     
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  14. Jun 3, 2023 at 4:28 PM
    #224
    snivilous

    snivilous [OP] snivspeedshop.com

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    First thing to address is the bent wishbone. I pulled it earlier this week to get measurements off of it. To reiterate, the plan was to fully plate this, but that was obviously too far on the back burner since it got overloaded quickly.

    upload_2023-6-3_16-32-50.jpg

    upload_2023-6-3_16-34-38.jpg

    The plan was to make a new one from scratch, and reuse the bungs and maybe some of the tubing. I decided instead of doing a plated version like my very original plan, but to do a trussed one. Since I would inevitably be using tubes anyways, may as well use the tubing in the most structurally efficient way. Because I had to go around the shocks (thus the reason for not just a normal 4-link with some straight links on the top), I would follow a similar overall geometry as the original layout but turn the bends into nodes. I figured I'd throw a little engineering at this, but still keep it pretty lazy. I started off by calculating the buckling limit of a normal 4-link that would use 1.75x.120 wall tubes, and the new wishbone would then be designed to handle those loads. With the length between joints, that is a buckling load of 20k pounds, and from the angle of the links that breaks down into a lateral vector of 10k which is one link going into compression, and a frontal vector of 35.5k which would be two (both) links going into compression. And that is then the loads I designed the wish bone for, a lateral load of 10k, a frontal load of 35.5k, and a combined loading of the two simultaneously. The actual frontal load the links experience even in low range with a much larger engine is a fair bit lower than 35.5k, but it was close enough that I decided to stick with the higher load since then I know if a 4 link can handle it then so can the wishbone and ultimately the stresses between the two loads was marginally different. I started out with a truss looking like this:

    upload_2023-6-3_16-46-51.jpg

    The reason I'm calling this a truss and why it's setup this way is if you assume each node (joint) can't react a moment (torque) then it will only take axial loads which is ideal. This is why triangles are preferable, everything is in purely compression or tension, since bending is usually bad. In this case it's essentially two triangles that connect at that middle horizontal element, and then that is mirrored over to the other side. So it's really three triangles that all share a common element in the middle. Because none of the tubes (very simplistically) are in bending, there is no need to add plates to stiffen anything up. This is opposed to my original idea where everything is plated, and is essentially a brute force approach to react all of the bending loads--where as the truss is reacting everything the same way that a normal 4-link would where the links are only in axial compression or tension.

    However, after my first run through FEA I realized the center horizontal tube had essentially no load going through it, so I removed it. While I'm not a huge fan of this, the reason it works is because this is obviously not a simple truss where each node is free from transferring moment. All the nodes are welded and can transfer moment, so getting rid of the three overlapping triangles for a "two triangles and a diamond" didn't change anything and just saved mass. With that said, I would've stilled added the horizontal tube but what really turned me off was figuring out how to actually fabricate it. It would have to get added before at least one of the longer tubes that intersects it, and all of those tubes are primary load path and I wouldn't be able to get a full weld where it really mattered. If I could've added the horizontal tube after the three main tubes were welded, then I would've added the horizontal just because it feels right, but since I couldn't do that and would have to compromise some other weld on a part that would be taking load, I decided to delete that tube and go with this configuration:

    upload_2023-6-3_16-57-13.jpg

    And as I said, since I'm super lazy and not getting paid to do this, I only did FEA of the three loading conditions:

    upload_2023-6-3_17-0-38.jpg

    upload_2023-6-3_17-0-50.jpg

    upload_2023-6-3_17-1-7.jpg

    Looking up the strength of DOM tubing which is what I was using, the yield is 60ksi so that's what I aimed to stay below. The highest stresses go beyond that, but the highest stress is usually an outlier of some tight corner or the mesh isn't fine enough or something else. What really matters is what does the majority of the stress distribution look like. As you can see, the combined loading has a nominal stress right around yield, what I call nominal is whatever the highest stress that is commonly found in the model (essentially the highest REAL stress to be concerned about). As you can see from the clipped view in the bottom left, at 60ksi (so the steel is brought right up to yield) there is really only the top left tube that is kissing on yield, and in reality that section of that tube is in compression so probably isn't yielding anyways. On top of that, this is at YIELD, meaning the structure will begin to permanently deform but has not catastrophically failed so it can handle a lot more and make it home fine, and this is at the loads that would buckle a traditional 4-link. Going back to what I was saying how this isn't as simple as a basic truss, you can see the right side of the part is all straight and happy since it's in tension, but the left since since there's some eccentric load paths due to the tubes having to join together and attach to the rod end in a way that isn't a straight shot, results in some bending which is then highlighted by the two tube elements that are deflecting and have extremely high stresses.

    Moving right along since this is probably boring people, I converted the tubes into flat pattern layouts and printed them off at 1:1 scale so I could trace them onto the tubes to notch them. This was needed due to the extreme mating angles of some of the tubes, which were outside the range of my tube notcher.

    upload_2023-6-3_17-9-3.jpg

    It turned out I didn't have enough 1.75 DOM but did have some smaller and larger DOM, and some close 1.65 x .135 HREW tubing. The issue is HREW only has a yield of 40ksi, and at the end of the day no matter how I convinced myself to lower the loads or how much stress was acceptable or what would happen if it started to yield, the obvious answer was just go find more 1.75 (I literally needed two 30" sections!). I called up Fabn801 who is the guy I originally bought my chassis from 5 years ago, and out of coincidence lives the next town down the highway, so I went over there and he gave me the extra tubing I needed which worked out great!

    Fast forward all of yesterday and we ended the day here:

    upload_2023-6-3_17-12-22.jpg

    I traced the flat patterns, cut out the bulk on the band saw, grinded the rest out, did a bunch of fitting and sanding, and had welded on some temporary holding parts to make sure everything was as square?)---triangular as possible. I reused the axle side tube and rod end bung, which is 2.0 x .25 DOM, and then cut the other bungs off the original and turned them down on the lathe back to their original dimensions to reuse them which worked out great. I decided to MIG weld everything since I didn't feel like using the TIG, and after swapping new lenses into my helmet and being able to actually see again, I think it turned out pretty good!

    Today I installed it into the buggy. There were two issues, first up was my measurements were off by about 0.25" so I had to go in and cut the chassis side bungs down by 0.25". And then the mufflers were hitting at full droop, so I pizza cut the exhaust tube right near the muffler to angle them down as well as outboard (they were pointing right at the shocks before).

    upload_2023-6-3_17-16-49.jpg

    I think it turned out great, it's super simple and elegant. It's not light, but it might be the lightest option, and at the end of the day I think it's only a couple of pounds heavier than a 4-link setup since it essentially has two extra half length tubes, but then one less rod end. And I am not advocating that this is better than a 4-link, this is just the only option that works for how my suspension is setup. If I had planned ahead better originally this would've been a triangulated 4-link but it is what it is.

    Additionally, I went ahead and weighed everything. The buggy's total front weight is around 2000lbs:

    upload_2023-6-3_17-20-1.jpg

    Though I realized after the fact that my scale is only rated for 2000lbs, which is why it probably maxed out there. So I went ahead and weighed the front axle by itself and the front of the chassis.

    The front axle is 868lbs (this is fully loaded with tires and everything, shocks were just unbolted from it).

    upload_2023-6-3_17-21-11.jpg

    And then lifting the chassis off of the lift with the shocks still disconnected came up with 959lbs. So this is what the lift arms are supporting. Obviously that's slightly less than 2000lbs, but ball park checks out with the original 2000lbs measurement.

    upload_2023-6-3_17-21-56.jpg

    The total rear weight came out at 1797lbs:

    upload_2023-6-3_17-22-41.jpg

    And the rear axle came in at 879lbs. This was with the shocks connected, but the coilover collars loose so the springs weren't doing anything. The chassis was in the air from the lift and the axle was off the ground completely with the coilovers not doing anything.

    upload_2023-6-3_17-23-54.jpg

    In summary of weights, essentially if you broke the buggy into quarters, each one weighs the same: front axle, front half of chassis, rear half of chassis, rear axle. Each of those quadrants is right around 900lbs. On the one hand the buggy is under 4000lbs as it sits by quite a bit which is great, if I ever enter it in a race the limit for 1.75" tube is 4400lbs (and that's without tools or spare tire or full tank of gas, essentially a dry weight), so I have a lot more room than I was figuring. The flip side is my sprung and unsprung weight is essentially identical, which I've heard can make suspension tuning hard. Is the suspension damping the axles or the chassis? They weigh the same so which one is going to move? Though I am stoked that the weight distribution is right near 50/50 and that's without a spare tire on the back.

    Anyways, this was a bit more technical post than usual. The next task will be figuring out the transmission being stuck in 2nd. But at least the buggy is back to a drivable state!

    upload_2023-6-3_17-29-59.jpg
     
  15. Jun 4, 2023 at 3:59 PM
    #225
    rockmup

    rockmup New Member

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    Looks great and nothing wrong with a 3 link. Only question I have is why not just bend the long tubes, why the cut and weld ?
     
  16. Jun 4, 2023 at 5:23 PM
    #226
    snivilous

    snivilous [OP] snivspeedshop.com

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    Since I assumed everything was just going to be axially loaded, it'd be stronger having those tubes straight than having a bend even if it was going through that node since then each tube section is effectively prebuckled. Whether that would make much difference in reality is a different question and probably not, but simple mindedly it's stronger. Plus I didn't have to risk fucking up a bend too :D
     
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  17. Jun 4, 2023 at 5:27 PM
    #227
    snivilous

    snivilous [OP] snivspeedshop.com

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    So all of the chassis weights in that previous post are totally fucking wrong. After talking to one of my buddies and him pointing out that the suspension/lift arms/lifting points were all different (seems like the most obvious fucking thing, but I was trigger happy with the results I guess), I went and did some quick measuring and based off the previous measurements and the moment arms came up with an actual total vehicle weight of 4300lbs. I then just wrapped a chain around each tire and lifted it until it was just off the ground and came up with the following numbers, which totals 4500lbs:

    PXL_20230604_204240001.jpg

    PXL_20230604_203858323.jpg

    PXL_20230604_203005766.jpg

    PXL_20230604_202720257.jpg

    I don't think I can measure it more accurately with the crane scale than just lifting one tire at a time. So now my excitement of it being lighter than I thought is replaced by the realization that it's turning into a heavy pig, and has already shot past the 1.75 tube limits for Ultra4 (without pleading my case to the race director or engineer or whatever the rules say).

    At some point I'll weigh it on proper scales, but I doubt it will change much. And I still have quite a bit of shit to add. Obviously I was only going to "race" to have fun, I don't want to fuck with sponsorships and the time involved to actually competitively race. But I'm still bummed that now at a minimum I'll have to go and explain and have some guy have mercy on me to allow me to race if I ever want to since I don't comply with the simplest rule...

    On the plus side, I took my father in law for a 30 mile ride today and everything did great. This was the longest distance and most consistent higher speed (35-50mph mostly) I've done so far, and the differentials and carrier bearing were all at happy temperatures.

    PXL_20230604_172905795.jpg
     
  18. Jun 4, 2023 at 5:46 PM
    #228
    reywcms

    reywcms New Member

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    Too many mods to come

    Damn big girl lol At Least you can enjoy it that’s what matters
     
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  19. Jun 4, 2023 at 5:47 PM
    #229
    Wynnded

    Wynnded What MPG...

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    That other engine that you're wanting to use; heavier, lighter, or close to the same as what's in there now?
     
  20. Jun 4, 2023 at 6:03 PM
    #230
    snivilous

    snivilous [OP] snivspeedshop.com

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    Same thing essentially, both iron block aluminum head LS. If I went to aluminum block it wouldn't save much either, I think like 40lbs from what I've read. Fabricated axles could save a couple hundred too maybe.
     
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  21. Jun 23, 2023 at 5:57 PM
    #231
    snivilous

    snivilous [OP] snivspeedshop.com

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    Finally went wheeling again today! The buggy has seen a bunch of small tweaks and improvements, none of which I took pictures of. The biggest change is the transmission now has gears 1-3! After looking through the Holley instructions there was a wire that was kind of glossed over in the instructions but detailed in the back in the wiring diagrams that it needed power, and after hooking that up the transmission shifts! Though something is majorly jacked about 4th gear, it squeals and smokes and acts like the brakes are applied when it shifts into 4th. This tranny was like $100 and no idea on its history---but it has two more gears than I'm used to, one higher and one lower so I'm not complaining, working around 4th is fine for now!

    I also changed the brake master fittings to banjos instead of the awkward setup before that was temporary and had the brake lines run outside of the cage. I added a little aluminum brake reservoir since the OEM style one leaked at steep angles and was zip tied to the cage. I added a limit strap between the two trailing arms to act as a driveshaft loop in case the front joint explodes. I cleaned up the wiring when I got the trans working, and also wired up the winch and a little Baja designs bar I had laying around, I also tied the fuel pump through the switch pros just for simplicity. The winch is mounted, and I opened the solenoids so it's wired directly to the switch pros. The little Baja designs is I think an older 8" S6 and I mounted it to the winch using some of the bolts on the winch, this was a cleaner approach than some brackets on the chassis and keeps it out of the way. I made a little flag mount that's behind the fuel cell. Routed the fuel cell breather a bit nicer. Trimmed the brake pedal bracket. Setup the digital dash how I wanted. Added some more floor panels, mostly around the passenger area. And lifted the rear about 4" per the advice of ADS. I also sent ADS all the weights and measurements and yesterday received rebuild kits for all eight shocks, as well as valving for all of them, and even some bypass tube spring changes. Next week I'll get into that and I'm very excited for the shocks to get a baseline tune in them and see how it feels.

    Today my schedule and the guy with the ibex buggy finally aligned so we did a trail in the morning called Dutchman Draw. I had done this once before in the can am and broke a CV, and didn't even do the actually "hard" spot. The whole trail seemed so difficult back then so I wanted to know how the buggy would do and have looked forward to going back. And of course, the whole trail ended up being a walk in the park. Couldn't even tell what spots I had struggled with before, but obviously that's comparing two vehicles in utterly different weight classes. I'd say Dutchman draw is probably an 8 rated trail, and one of my favorite since the scenery is really cool and different than the red rock trails.

    PXL_20230623_135439979.jpg

    PXL_20230623_144234826.jpg

    PXL_20230623_155545846.jpg

    PXL_20230623_155609174.jpg

    PXL_20230623_161428104.jpg

    PXL_20230623_165001630.jpg

    Not a lot of pictures, meaning nothing went wrong! I think we stopped three times, once to piss and two to scout the obstacle. There is one big crack we bypassed since it would've been impossible to extract someone if they got stuck with only one rig, but otherwise was a fun and scenic little trail.

    Buggy didn't have any issues. Having 1st gear after wheeling previously in 2nd the whole time and thinking that was 1st is awesome, a lot of stuff I can just idle through and if it takes more than 200rpm of throttle to make it over something it's rare. And of course now it feels properly nasty, and can cruise at 60mph happily. Much more enjoyable having an actual crawl ratio! I'm like a kid in a candy store every time I drive it, it's an absolute blast and works great!
     
  22. Jun 23, 2023 at 6:36 PM
    #232
    Black@Blue19

    Black@Blue19 Old Salt

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    To much to list:)
    Awesome pictures!!:) very nice.
     
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  23. Jun 23, 2023 at 6:38 PM
    #233
    e30cabrio

    e30cabrio I'm e30cabrio, I'm a modaholic

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    Freaking awesome!!!
     
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  24. Jun 23, 2023 at 6:41 PM
    #234
    Cruzer

    Cruzer Wheeling Full Size

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    Was gonna ask if a Tundra could fit until I scrolled down further :rofl:
     
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  25. Jun 23, 2023 at 7:10 PM
    #235
    snivilous

    snivilous [OP] snivspeedshop.com

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    There's a Y in the canyon, that spot is going left but going right is a lot longer albeit nothing hard. The biggest issue I think you'd have isn't actually that spot, there's some big stair steps to that right that could bypass that crack, the actually hard spot is the big crack (not shown) which the bypass is this pretty narrow and off camber section, I think that's where you'd have issues. But all of that is to the left of the Y in the canyon, the main canyon and right at the Y you could probably do. There wasn't anything that stood out as being that hard or awkward, maybe a spot or two that would require some more reversing to make a corner is all.

    Though your Tundra is obviously a lot different wheel base and height so maybe I'm wrong, and it'd either be easy or a nightmare :rofl:
     
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  26. Jun 23, 2023 at 9:06 PM
    #236
    snivilous

    snivilous [OP] snivspeedshop.com

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    Here's a video I was randomly recommended of doing this trail actually and posted today:

    https://youtu.be/qjNAJRECxKk
     
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  27. Jun 23, 2023 at 9:25 PM
    #237
    APalmTree

    APalmTree 4x4 SKEPTIC

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    1 or 2... I lost count
    A different view from that same group (trail starts at 4:50). These are a part of the small group of youtube channels that I actually watch somewhat regularly. Fab Rats is a pretty cool channel, they do basically what it seems like you do, take an idea and make it happen in their backyard shop, then go drive it till it breaks and they have to fix it. Only difference is they film it and I have to read yours in novel installments :rofl:which is still incredible don't get me wrong!

     
  28. Jun 27, 2023 at 11:19 AM
    #238
    snivilous

    snivilous [OP] snivspeedshop.com

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    Some pictures of wheeling on Saturday morning. One of my local friends got his buggy running, and then two random out of towners we met up with. Did Double Sammy (7), down West Rim (3), and Sliplock Gulch (7)

    PXL_20230624_150523497.jpg PXL_20230624_150913118.jpg PXL_20230624_153341464.jpg PXL_20230624_154838769.jpg PXL_20230624_153804106.jpg PXL_20230624_154713087.jpg PXL_20230624_180501900.jpg PXL_20230624_174500981.jpg received_1925011471206205.jpg IMG_20230625_223111.jpg
     
  29. Jun 30, 2023 at 3:08 AM
    #239
    rockmup

    rockmup New Member

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    Whos the IRATE ?
    I'm really jelly, I miss that.
     
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  30. Jun 30, 2023 at 5:25 AM
    #240
    Backslider

    Backslider Thirsty...

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    This thread is a great read. Impressive project and progress!

    Not sure how I am only just seeing this..
     
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