What would you do different or add to your Racer if building again ?

[SlowmoSU]

Do you have a KOH, XRRA, style Racer ?

What would you do different or add to your Racer if building it again ?

Im starting on the Rebuild of my 4 seater, to a 2 seater, designed more for going fast.

And Since Hindsight is always 20/20, I was wondering what you would do to your rig differently if you were to rebuild it.

Thanks.
- A.J.

[mudtruck44]

I'd rather have a 4-speed t-case so I can run 2:1 and still have a decent crawl ratio when I'm actually crawling. It would also be nice to have a 700r4/4L60 for the low 1st and overdrive. Proper gearing is more important to going fast than most people realize. If you're building something over 400hp you should probably be running a th400. I wish my car had a bigger trans. I'd like to do more stuff to my motor, but I'm afraid the 904 isn't going to last long if I do.

[2D EDGE]

I agree with Jesse mine has a 700r4 and its real nice to have the 4 speed and not need to shift the t case in and out ever time I need a deep crawl or a short burst of speed.

Build it extra wide, my chassis is 48" wide to meet weroc rules but I wish it was 50 or 52 wide. While it doesn't sound like much it would sure beat bagging shoulders for hours straight.

Make sure your fuel system and batteries are easily accessable. As we all know fuel issues suck and it is a whole lot easier to deal with if you can get there. Also if your batteries are easily accessable it make it easier to weld stuff back together.

Don't build it to tight, stuff does move so make sure you keep like a min of 3/4" clearences on pans, radiators, ect.


Oh and make sure you have lots of room for coolers and use some sort of screens to keep the mud out of the radiator if its front mount.

Geoff

[SlowmoSU]

Yeah, those are the kinda things im looking for.

I am going to be running my 6.0 LQ4 with mods, so 400+
with a Th400 behind that. with a 2800 Stall.
Right now, i've still got a stock ratio D300, and was thinking about swapping that out. But dont have the money for a 4 speed atlas right now.
If you were running 2 speed Atlas with that motor/trans combo, what Ratio would you go with ?

The Plan for chassis width, was way wider than 48" since I'm a big guy, and both my PRP's are extra tall, extra wide.

Fuel system and Batteries easily accessible is a good idea

Thanks, Keep them coming.

[Xjcrawler736]

Originally Posted by SlowmoSU

Yeah, those are the kinda things im looking for.

I am going to be running my 6.0 LQ4 with mods, so 400+
with a Th400 behind that. with a 2800 Stall.
Right now, i've still got a stock ratio D300, and was thinking about swapping that out. But dont have the money for a 4 speed atlas right now.
If you were running 2 speed Atlas with that motor/trans combo, what Ratio would you go with ?

The Plan for chassis width, was way wider than 48" since I'm a big guy, and both my PRP's are extra tall, extra wide.

Fuel system and Batteries easily accessible is a good idea

Thanks, Keep them coming.

Depends on your axle ratio and your tire size.

I am moving over to an LS1/th400 with 4.56's and 39's. Like you said, the 4 speed is what you are going to want. But $$ is the problem. Right now I am throwing around the idea of 4.3 or 5.0 if I would get the 2 speed. I am leaning more towards the 5.0 because of my axle ratio. That puts me at 30 mph all out in low range. Which is good enough to get through the slow stuff and be able to pick up speed getting from one obstacle to the next.

[tjmark]

4l80e and forget the 4l60E.. Manual VB and if you need lower 1st put in a kilgor low first gear option 2.75 or eve the 3.0 for the 4l80e..

[BIGWOODY]

Make sure to build it so you can actually work on it. I see so many rigs built that you have to pull the motor, to pull the tranny or you just can't get to stuff without cutting bars out etc.. It's just bad planning.

[Xjcrawler736]

Originally Posted by tjmark

4l80e and forget the 4l60E.. Manual VB and if you need lower 1st put in a kilgor low first gear option 2.75 or eve the 3.0 for the 4l80e..

6L80 or 6L90

First: 4.02
Second: 2.36
Third: 1.53
Fourth: 1.15
Fifth: 0.85
Sixth 0.67

Not sure on the aftermarket support yet for the ECM. But the wide range of gear ratios in those trans would be nice.

[95geo]

I've looked into the 6l80 VERY deeply and I had one lined up to buy. I backed out because of the communication issues that would be there. I'm going to swap my th400 and 3.8 2 speed atlas for a very expensive 4l60 and 4 speed atlas when I have the time, money and motivation. I havent driven on the th400 and atlas yet but I already know it isnt going to stay long.

[tjmark]

Originally Posted by Xjcrawler736

6L80 or 6L90

First: 4.02
Second: 2.36
Third: 1.53
Fourth: 1.15
Fifth: 0.85
Sixth 0.67

Not sure on the aftermarket support yet for the ECM. But the wide range of gear ratios in those trans would be nice.

I have looked into those.. Good tranny.. But they have not released a aftermarket kit for those yet... they have a internal computer that interfaces with the engine.. At least this is what i have found.. Hope they get a soulution..

[vetteboy79]

Originally Posted by Xjcrawler736

Depends on your axle ratio and your tire size.

I am moving over to an LS1/th400 with 4.56's and 39's. Like you said, the 4 speed is what you are going to want. But $$ is the problem. Right now I am throwing around the idea of 4.3 or 5.0 if I would get the 2 speed. I am leaning more towards the 5.0 because of my axle ratio. That puts me at 30 mph all out in low range. Which is good enough to get through the slow stuff and be able to pick up speed getting from one obstacle to the next.

Maxing out at 30 would piss me off greatly. Completely stopping to change ranges sucks ass, and as much as I enjoy bouncing off the rev limiter, I don't want to do it all over creation. At the last RCRocs race you would have been in and out of hi/low range all day long.

Like Jesse said, having a midrange gear is great because you can cover 90% of your driving in one range. If you need to go 90 MPH you've probably got time to knock it into high, and if you really need to creep around it's easy to go into double-low...whether with a doubler, a 4-speed Atlas, or 3-speed Stak it's still just one lever instead of trying to deal with shifting both axles. Otherwise it just stays in mid-gear and I can go from nearly all trail riding up to around 60 MPH. An overdrive trans really helps out in that respect.

[Xjcrawler736]

Originally Posted by vetteboy79

Maxing out at 30 would piss me off greatly. Completely stopping to change ranges sucks ass, and as much as I enjoy bouncing off the rev limiter, I don't want to do it all over creation. At the last RCRocs race you would have been in and out of hi/low range all day long.

Like Jesse said, having a midrange gear is great because you can cover 90% of your driving in one range. If you need to go 90 MPH you've probably got time to knock it into high, and if you really need to creep around it's easy to go into double-low...whether with a doubler, a 4-speed Atlas, or 3-speed Stak it's still just one lever instead of trying to deal with shifting both axles. Otherwise it just stays in mid-gear and I can go from nearly all trail riding up to around 60 MPH. An overdrive trans really helps out in that respect.

What I was trying to say is for a race like KOH where you have 90+ mph runs for a couple miles then you have a technical section where you need to crawl but move quickly from obstacle to obstacle. At the RCroc race you don't have room to really hit those speeds so a midrange gear is perfect. Hence where the 4 speed shines. The gearing I have now with my doubler and D300 is perfect but building it for 400+ hp just doesn't make sense.

[Scott@Rockstomper]

I wish I had more of my gearing in my axles and less in my transfer case. Then I could run high range lower, and low range higher. As it is, I have a 4.3 Atlas and 4.88's on 42's, which is a dog in high range, with a 150+ MPH top speed (useless). Problem is, I'd rather have about a 3.0-ish low range and axle gears in the high-five-low-six-something neigborhood, but with a HP60 front, that's not an option for me.

[SlowmoSU]

Right now... The Plan is... 5.13 in the axles, 2.62 in the D300. 2.48 1st gear in the Th400, 1.00 3rd gear. 2800 stall.

So if my math is right, in Low, 1st, with TQ converter not at lock, should be in the neighborhood of 70.1 crawl, 35.1 converter locked.
and in high, 5.13:1 in 3rd, locked.

with 40's that will be about 120mph top end in high (doubt it would get there)
and 45 mph in low range, at rev limiter.
and should still be low enough to crawl in low range.

[mudtruck44]

Originally Posted by SlowmoSU

Right now... The Plan is... 5.13 in the axles, 2.62 in the D300. 2.48 1st gear in the Th400, 1.00 3rd gear. 2800 stall.

So if my math is right, in Low, 1st, with TQ converter not at lock, should be in the neighborhood of 70.1 crawl, 35.1 converter locked.
and in high, 5.13:1 in 3rd, locked.

with 40's that will be about 120mph top end in high (doubt it would get there)
and 45 mph in low range, at rev limiter.
and should still be low enough to crawl in low range.

My crawl ratio is around 50:1 and even with a 1700 convertor I wish it was lower for actual crawling.

[fuggy]

I have a 'trail rig' that I entered in KOH, but here is what I would change:

4spd Atlas
Larger cooling for radiator/auto tranny/steering
Weight transer to 60-40 (F-R)
More uptravel
air bumps (at least up front)
better seats for racing
extra-battery wired in just in case....

[vetteboy79]

Originally Posted by fuggy

Weight transer to 60-40 (F-R)

Just curious, what's it at now?

[SlowmoSU]

Nobody has anything else ?

[Danger Ranger]

where do I start?

pick up proven race truck

spend some big money on a badass 4x4 ttb front end

install atlas

maybe some rock sliders

and go leave a trail of fiberglass in the rocks!!!

[tw89yj]

I haven't even run a race with my new rig, but so far, so good on about everything. I will add the bigger Howe cooler before KOH, but won't change much more than that.

I'm really curious about the 60-40 weight ratio, I'm estimating mine is around 45-55 and so far I love it.

[fuggy]

Originally Posted by vetteboy79

Just curious, what's it at now?

around 70/30 (original EB frame and motor mounts) I think Bronco's had the engines sitting a couple inches forward compared to a Jeep or Truck. Climbs very well since nose heavy.

[Bigrockbronc]

Mine would def be more hp, lighter overall weight, and suspension like Shannon Campbell or Rick Deremo's cars. I see them hit stuff so fast, whether on the right line or not, and just float through. Even when they take a big hit or drop a big ledge, their rigs seem to just suck it up and keep ripping. Mine will buck and knock the passengers around while there's looks like their floating on clouds. Maybe it just looks smooth from the outside, never ridden in anything like theres.

My current motor is a 2004 LQ9, so around 375 hp right now. I would love a lot more. Or should i say, i would love a better power to weight ratio. That would be my second on the to do list.

[AlumCJ]

Drop the motherload on a trophy pump for steering

Higher low range, lower gears in the chunk...im 700 / 3.8 / 4.88, and its way to doggy in high (3rd gear, 3/4 throttle = 93mph)...about right in low.

[AlumCJ]

Originally Posted by tw89yj

I haven't even run a race with my new rig, but so far, so good on about everything. I will add the bigger Howe cooler before KOH, but won't change much more than that.

I'm really curious about the 60-40 weight ratio, I'm estimating mine is around 45-55 and so far I love it.

Mine is 55f/45r (on the scales)...and its great for going fast (except for getting the rear shocks dialed in...still working on that; considering bypass airs.) Rock crawls just as good as any other 2 seat buggy.

[crawlin85cj]

Great insight, especially for a guy building a new car. Thanks guys.