Where did everyone go?

[rocmoc]

Wow, did everyone sale their toys or ?

We are not home so nothing new to post but wait tell next week!

rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

[Kinarfi]

Wow, did everyone sale their toys or ?

We are not home so nothing new to post but wait tell next week!

rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

Still here, lurking in the shadows, working on steering control perfections. Can you come up here and ban the snow for me, Please.

Kinarfi

[plumber]

It's been like a ghost town When will you have the steering control done can't wait to see pic

[rocmoc]

Still here, lurking in the shadows, working on steering control perfections. Can you come up here and ban the snow for me, Please.

Kinarfi

Can't stop the snow but I can come up there and get a power steering setup!

rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

[Kinarfi]

Soon buddy, soon!!!

[Paiute3]

Tylers been busy selling Popcorn since October for Cub Scouts so we have been having the other grandkids (3,4 and 6 months) Friday afternoon through Sunday afternoon. Only three more weeks and we can come out and play! I'ld really like to go out to Gold Butte before Christmas for a day or two.

[Guest Lenny]

I was kind of wondering where everyone has been too. I've been working on fall yard work to get ready for our short colder weather but that's done now. Also been working on fine tuning my suspension. The more I play with it the better it gets. Starting to better understand some of the fine points like when I need a little more or less dampening rather then more or less spring rate. I use a video camera to film going through various rough stuff. This gives me a good idea of just how the wheels are responding to not only the bump but the rebound rate. If I feel something, I film and then see if I can see it. Getting close. Electric steering is getting close. Kinarfi is just finishing up some details. I'm excited about just how powerful yet gentle it appears it is going to be especially with kinarfi's Smart Controller. Starting to look at the planitary gear setup again. Have decided to put them mid axel. Much easier and think I can get them in the room available. Will probably use electric selonids to activate them so will be able to switch back and forth.

Lenny

[rocmoc]

We will be taking the Trooper to Kino Bay, Son.,MX. and Rocky Point, Son., MX for Xmas & New Years. Anyone is welcome to follow!

rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

[rocmoc]

Lenny, watch some off-road racing. Soft springs with damping seems to be the trick!

rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

[Guest Lenny]

Lenny, watch some off-road racing. Soft springs with damping seems to be the trick!

rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

That's exactly what I'm finding out. Needless to say, I've gone through a few springs in my learning curve but I prefer it that way then to have someone just do it for me. You don't learn anything about climbing when you have someone set you on top with a helicopter. Part of my implication is that when I go exploring into no mans land, I load quite heavy, spare tire, extra 10 gal gas, 5 gal water, survival gear, extra food, tent and my two now 85# dogs. I'm forced to keep the springs a little stiffer as a result but still want a good controlling suspension when I'm riding alone and hot rodding a trail. I think I have got it to where I can just crank the springs down a bit when loaded and still have a nice soft ride that can also take some big hits without bottoming. When riding alone, I back them off and even though a bit stiffer, still fine and then I can take really big hits. The main thing I want when i'm hot rodding is to have the wheels on the ground as much as possible and not lean too much in the turns. Correct rebound dammpening is vital for keeping the wheels on the ground. Two sets of shocks would be nice, but $.

Lenny

[4x4x454]

I was kind of wondering where everyone has been too. I've been working on fall yard work to get ready for our short colder weather but that's done now. Also been working on fine tuning my suspension. The more I play with it the better it gets. Starting to better understand some of the fine points like when I need a little more or less dampening rather then more or less spring rate. I use a video camera to film going through various rough stuff. This gives me a good idea of just how the wheels are responding to not only the bump but the rebound rate. If I feel something, I film and then see if I can see it. Getting close. Electric steering is getting close. Kinarfi is just finishing up some details. I'm excited about just how powerful yet gentle it appears it is going to be especially with kinarfi's Smart Controller. Starting to look at the planitary gear setup again. Have decided to put them mid axel. Much easier and think I can get them in the room available. Will probably use electric selonids to activate them so will be able to switch back and forth.

Lenny

Quit holding out on us. Lets see some of that video.

[4x4x454]

Well I am still here. Lost my mom on Oct. 13 and have not been doing alot. I should have been making the most out of the unseasonably warm weather and lack of snow. I still need to put the shim and bolt kits in the diffs which I have had for several months but our house is for sale and I hate to start a project now.

[Guest Lenny]

Well I am still here. Lost my mom on Oct. 13 and have not been doing alot. I should have been making the most out of the unseasonably warm weather and lack of snow. I still need to put the shim and bolt kits in the diffs which I have had for several months but our house is for sale and I hate to start a project now.

Sorry to hear of the loss of your mother. Hang in there, time will loosen up, it always does. I know I need to put some vdeo on for you guys to see. Actually, I'm behind on my pics of my supercharger installation, underhood trunk, rollbar additions and new fenders. I'll try to get caught up. Glad to see everybody is starting to come out of the silent period.

Lenny

[rocmoc]

NEW Fenders? More info?

rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

[brostar]

NEW Fenders? More info?

rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

Bring it on.

Cheers Mike.

[brostar]

Sorry to hear of the loss of your mother. Hang in there, time will loosen up, it always does. I know I need to put some vdeo on for you guys to see. Actually, I'm behind on my pics of my supercharger installation, underhood trunk, rollbar additions and new fenders. I'll try to get caught up. Glad to see everybody is starting to come out of the silent period.

Lenny

Chin up mate (kiwi for Hang in there, time will loosen up, it always does) it slowly gets better. Time is a great healer.

Cheers Mike.

[4x4x454]

Thanks guys its tough but also a blessing. She could not get out of bed at the end and she would not want to live like that.

Thanks again Todd

[Guest Lenny]

Well, here is a couple of pics of the new fenders and rollbar treatment. I decided not to go with fiberglass. To get them out far enough to protect me from sand blasting myself when I run my 33" paddle tires, was going to put them in harms way. Fiberglass doesn' like getting hit. Once it cracks there is nothing you can do to fix it other the cutting out the entire damage area and rebuilding that section. I first started with cardboard to mockup some ideas. Disconnected a shock both front and rear so I could move the suspension all the way up at full bump. I did this with my 33" paddle tires on. I needed both turning clearance for the fronts and also over top clearance for all 4 tires. My paddle tires at full bump are about 3" above the top of the hood at its outter level. By the time I gave the top of the tire an extra 1-1/2" of clearance, this thing looked like a big boxie army truck. It was awful. I didn't see any graceful way to go up over the tops of the tires. Then I thought of the approach I ended up with. The more I looked at my cardboard mockup, the more I liked it. I like a vehicle to show exposed big tires sort of like a monster truck, all tires to me makes it look like it can go anywhere. The fenders keep everything off except maybe if I ran in the rain and the water would get thrown out and up in front just to come back and get me. Hey I'm in Southern Utah, not much rain here and I don't generally ride when its raining anyway. The underside of the fenders is made from full hard aircraft 7000 series aluminum 1/16 inch thick. It's like spring steel. It screws onto out reaching arms welded to the frame. You can roll it up into a 12" diameter circle and it just comes back straight. Tough stuff and it can take a hit. Over the top of that I used 1/8" thick industrial conveyor belting. There is someone on Ebay who has two huge rolls of it their selling. Put the black side down and redish orange side is painted camo. It overhangs the aluminum about 1-1/2" and provides a good flexible fender edge. Their light and easy to repair and can take a lot of tree and bush scraping and a pretty good hit. I removed the spare tire rack from up high and put the spare on the back for now. It is going to change to a side location later. There is just enough room ahead of the rear fender. Got rid of all the high weight and reinforced the roll bars by doubling up the verticles and top horizontals. I padded them because I kept hittting my head on them getting in and out. Gives it a completely different look. Still want to build doors that are an extension of the roll cage. With all the rock around here I'm always concered about rolling and just happening to go over a 2' diameter rock that reaches in throgh the side and gets me or Jeanne. My new doors with th spare tire connected to them will make it feel like a tank from the inside. I will be putting a spare tire on each side.

Whew, I'm out of breath now.

, ,

Lenny

[brostar]

Wow Lenny man wow. You sure have been busy. Yep, I like what you have done. Not every one could achieve what you have with your Trooper and you have certainly put your mark on it. Funny thing is that I have put a lot of thought into spare wheel replacement and fenders too but came up with a total different solution. My idea with the spare wheel was to connect a bracket to the bonnet (hood) as far forward as possible for vision and forward weight reasons but your idea trumps that. With the fenders I'm going to be a little bit critical for the first time with you. My concerns are, at a certain speed on the stock Trooper in the mud or on a loose metal Rd the tires will fling debris up and forward at such a rate that you drive straight into them. With your design, I feel that that certain speed will increase from say a 30km/h to 35km/h to something like 20km/h to 60km/h. I'm not sure how sand will behave but feel it will be the same. For example, a couple of weeks ago that very thing happened to me and I ended up with a mud pie in my face.My idea with the mudguards (fenders) was to use a Joyner part as in the Spanish and English Joyner Sand Spider as in this youtube video http://www.lifestyleutvs.com/apps/videos/v...oyner-650-buggy . Your front and back guards look the part but I fear the rear guards will do the required job where as the front guards will be found wanting. I hope I'm wrong so please keep us updated on how the perform.

Cheers Mike.

[Guest Lenny]

Wow Lenny man wow. You sure have been busy. Yep, I like what you have done. Not every one could achieve what you have with your Trooper and you have certainly put your mark on it. Funny thing is that I have put a lot of thought into spare wheel replacement and fenders too but came up with a total different solution. My idea with the spare wheel was to connect a bracket to the bonnet (hood) as far forward as possible for vision and forward weight reasons but your idea trumps that. With the fenders I'm going to be a little bit critical for the first time with you. My concerns are, at a certain speed on the stock Trooper in the mud or on a loose metal Rd the tires will fling debris up and forward at such a rate that you drive straight into them. With your design, I feel that that certain speed will increase from say a 30km/h to 35km/h to something like 20km/h to 60km/h. I'm not sure how sand will behave but feel it will be the same. For example, a couple of weeks ago that very thing happened to me and I ended up with a mud pie in my face.My idea with the mudguards (fenders) was to use a Joyner part as in the Spanish and English Joyner Sand Spider as in this youtube video http://www.lifestyleutvs.com/apps/videos/v...oyner-650-buggy . Your front and back guards look the part but I fear the rear guards will do the required job where as the front guards will be found wanting. I hope I'm wrong so please keep us updated on how the perform.

Cheers Mike.

So far I haven't found this except for a little bit of blowback very occasionally kinda of like a light quick gust of sand. It's not much and the paddle tires are the same. It's so little that I don't consider it a problem however if I was running in the southeast or other areas where wet ground is quite common, I totally agree with you. If I hit a mud puddle at speed, I will probably take a shot. My tires are 31x10.5-15 and when I place them to be no lower then the rocker panel and sort of touching the rear fender it sticks above the arm rail next to the seat. It comes across about shoulder height and rolls down to vertical about 3" ahead of the forward part of the arm rail. With a tire set on blocks in place I got in the Trooper to see if it felt restrictive or overbearing. It didn't at all, instead it gave me a feeling of invinceability. Otherwise if I roll, the arm rail is so close to my side that anything on the ground is going to get me. A few years back while mountain biking in the smokey mountains and about 2 hours in, my partner, while going over a wet 6" dia log, slipped and fell on his side. He got speared by a stob sticking up that punctured his chest cavity and broke off in side. Fortunately it didn't puncture his lungs. We barely made it out before dark and $40,000 later he was OK. My side doors will be really an extension of my roll bar cage. They will probably swing open from the front from very structurally strong hinges and latch to the rear verticle bar kind of like the rear doors on a semi trailer, again structurally sound. The doors will be L shaped, high to protect the head and shoulders and then roll down to just above the thighs. I will still be able to get in or out through what is left open. At nearly 65 ( in March ) years old, I'm not willing to risk my next 35 years because someone thinks it's a little over kill. Gosh, this is by far the best time of my life.

Lenny

[4x4x454]

Freaking WOW what else can you say. That thing is awesome. I wish I had some of your imagination and ability. Again wow you have uped the bar again but you set the bar in the first place.

[brostar]

4x4x454, you kind of get the feeling that if Lenny had a Trooper workshop weekend with rocmoc, Kinarfi and that slacker (posting slacker) flatbed, Hurricane would be over-run by Troopers. Now there's an idea. Anyway Lenny, good to here that it works with sand but I wound not use that design in mud. Still think the Sand Viper mud guard that connects to the axle is the way to go. No height worries as it rides up and down with the wheel. Visually, I don't think it would look that great though. When are the rock sliders going on Lenny?

Cheers Mike.

[Guest Lenny]

4x4x454, you kind of get the feeling that if Lenny had a Trooper workshop weekend with rocmoc, Kinarfi and that slacker (posting slacker) flatbed, Hurricane would be over-run by Troopers. Now there's an idea. Anyway Lenny, good to here that it works with sand but I wound not use that design in mud. Still think the Sand Viper mud guard that connects to the axle is the way to go. No height worries as it rides up and down with the wheel. Visually, I don't think it would look that great though. When are the rock sliders going on Lenny?

Cheers Mike.

Rock sliders, thats a good idea. Want to put a little heavier aluminum plate on the undr side too. Had a chance to buy a piece of titanium just big enough to go under the gas tank. It was about 3/16" thick and weighted about a negative 1 pound. Outragiously tough too. Always concerned about punching through the bottom on a rock and busting open the tank. It was at a scrap yard but I didn't think and passed on it, STUPID. Keep in mind that where I'm at, it's normally real dry and stuff just doesn't stick to the tires. What does stay on the tire generally gets slung off long before it makes it around to the top side. For mud a fender attached to the wheel would be great. Better yet, just mound a 200 gallon tank of water on the back and put cleaning spray nozzles at each wheel. Then if you don't have mud, you can make some.

Everybody have a great Thanksgiving Day and sneak a ride in if you can.

Lenny

[brostar]

T.J USA has them on their website as does No Limits but knowing you, your probably fabricate them yourself. If you are, go onto No Limits site, good photos there to get you going. I have beached the bottom of the sill panels on hard packed mud on more than one occasion without any damage but with rocks, that will be a different story. Still not much getting posted, whats everyone up to. rocmoc, you must be getting close to a re-birth for your Trooper? I have been out with mine 3 or 4 times around the traps here and have had a ball. Took my wife out to a 4wd park and came across 3 standard 4x4s that had got stuck in a mud bog that wasn't a problem for us and then later on, on one of the advanced tracks watched a group of 4x4s that had some modifications breeze though a series of bogs and short sharp mounds. The Trooper got through too but it just highlights what you can achieve with any vehicle by adding mods to make it more capable. My favorite track where all my videos have been filmed at Moirs Hill has had a Grader level out all the ruts and some gravel added after complaints that no one could get up. Bullocks, that was the best part and yes I did always get a little worried going up and down that slope, now it's just a walk in the park. P.C strikes again. There's my rumble for the day.

[Guest Lenny]

Thanks for the input Brostar. Pulled my head to add extra head gaskets to lower compression as a result of the supercharger addition. Also, even though it runs a lot stronger, it still isn't tuned right. Decided to go to an after market computer so I can control all the sensor inputs and how it reacts. Hopefully I can learn enough buy a lot of reading to get the engine to run strong at all RPM's and loading. I have several things to address like the stock mass air pressure sensor (MAP) is probably only capable of reading pressures from negative up to normal atmospheric pressure but not any boost pressure so the computer doesn't know it should add extra fuel at boost. Also decided to pull the rest of the engine and see if I can find a higher volumn/pressure oil pump to remendy the low oil pressure at higher temps. I'll probably be down for a couple of months especially with all the studying I have to do. This is fun stuff.

Lenny

[rocmoc]

We have been traveling and came home with the crud again only this time the better 3/4's has it. So I am playing Doctor, not the fun version, and we had company that just left. Hoping to get it running this week, should take only a few hours over a couple days. Want to be able to take it to Kino Bay & Rocky Point for the Holidays or at least Rocky Point for New Years. I am at the point where I will install the intake/mass flow meter & filter, then exhaust and cooling system. In addition I pulled the HVAC system out of the house to be relocated to a new utility room and the weather has turned COLD. We do have two electric heaters & the fire place, so I have to get the HVAC installed. BUT I WILL get it running soon.

rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

[brostar]

I have just come across something interesting. The Troopers engine at only 1080cc has the same power as a Suzuki Jimny(not sure if you have them over there) which is a small 4x4. The Jimny has a 1328cc and both are 86hp. There must be some more herbs in the Trooper engine somewhere Lenny but I suspect most of it gets used up in gearing.

Cheers Mike.