Thrashing the XTZ Desert Build - Pirate4x4.Com : 4x4 and Off-Road Forum

Darryl89 · 10-21-2009, 12:57 PM

Well,
Any of you that attended the W.E.Rock Nationals in Farmington may have seen our Baja XTZ on display there. We've done a lot of things to it, fixed a few others and finally got a chance to go thrash it....

Saturday morning, my buddies and I took a RZR and the XTZ for a ride in the desert southwest, just outside of Farmington, NM. Over 80,000 acres of BLM land with all kinds of trails from sandwashes, hillclimbs, rockclimbing and tight, twisty trails through trees. Any of you that've been here know what an awesome riding area it is.

Right off the bat, about 2 miles into the ride, we found that the rear diff vent line was laying up under the exhaust shroud (so much for catching everything on the pre-checks). At about 40mph, I happened to notice smoke starting to come out from the engine shroud area. We stopped and proceeded to put the fire out. A small hole had burned in the vent line bellow and allowed some diff lube to spill on to the exhaust and burn. Made the repairs and off we went again.

The front end was a bit stiff between the 8-ply tires and the shocks being cranked up just a little too much. I adjusted them down an inch and things were much better. I found that the King Racing Shocks did a great job of nullifying the small bumps and taking the hard hits real well. It tracked quite well. The ride in the XTZ was much better I noticed than in the RZR. The lay back seats in the XTZ felt more comfortable and didn't pound on my spine like the RZR'z did.

Then on to a fire road. Running up to 70mph I found that the XTZ had no problem outrunning the RZR as he was bumping his speed limiter at close to 60mph. Sweet, and I still had throttle left.

Then on to the hillclimbing. The RZR sat quite a bit lower than my XTZ, so I was sure he might outclimb me, but everywhere we tried, they came out about even. I did notice the RZR was doing a lot more tire spinning to get up the hills, might've been driver style though.

After that we dropped into a sandwash running up a canyon with steep side walls, kind of felt like running slot cars. The Prowler could out handle the RZR through the tight corners and had more than ample power coming out of them. Our speeds in the canyon were around 45-50mph and the Prowler felt stable and right at home doing this.

Finally, into the tight and narrow trees. My buddy was sure that his RZR would beat me through the tight areas.... not a chance, the ITP BajaCross tires dug in to the corners, the King shocks kept them down and the XTZ turned like it was on a monorail. On even the mid-turn jumps, it felt awe-inspiring, making me feel like a champion driver.

All in all, I really like the mods done to the XTZ. Everyone that drove the XTZ really liked it and wanted more. All the mods work real well together and make this a real desert performer.

az_amsoil · 10-21-2009, 01:41 PM

Nice machine! Did you gusset up the sterring rack and the frame at all??? The power of the 951cc engine makes those heavy tires a great fix for this machine.

The RZR tire spin is probably due to the auto lock 4WD "feature"...since you can manually lock and unlock the diff, it tends to run as more a limited slip.

Darryl89 · 10-21-2009, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by az_amsoil

Nice machine! Did you gusset up the sterring rack and the frame at all??? The power of the 951cc engine makes those heavy tires a great fix for this machine.

The RZR tire spin is probably due to the auto lock 4WD "feature"...since you can manually lock and unlock the diff, it tends to run as more a limited slip.

The frame is braced, I installed upper tube inserts from UTVCrap, added a few gussets and added UTVCraps A-Arm Braces. They really beef it up.

I haven't done anything to the steering yet, but plan on dropping a Rackzilla or a Billet King unit in with a beefed up mounting plate. Unless Tom from PSC comes out with anything real quick for the XTZ. He was looking it over pretty good at the W.E.Rock Nationals. I hope he takes on doing the UTVs.

Yes those tires are heavy... but when my girlfriend hit a cactus at 40mph Saturday, I was quite glad to have the extra weight of 8-plys... *L*

Also coming up will be installation of a 2nd throttle body (one per cylinder instead of sharing one as OEM is), putting in a full Muzzy Exhaust and a fuel controller. Those and some clutch mods.

az_amsoil · 10-21-2009, 04:38 PM

I heard Johnny from UTVCrap is looking at a turbo on his...crazy! Enjoy yours!

Darryl89 · 10-22-2009, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by az_amsoil

I heard Johnny from UTVCrap is looking at a turbo on his...crazy! Enjoy yours!

The turbo is done, it's wicked... if you see an XTZ with a US Flag paint job at Glamis, watchout for it....he's shooting to break 100mph with it.
Here's a vid of his XTZ.

http://s236.photobucket.com/albums/f...t=MOV03366.flv

az_amsoil · 10-22-2009, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darryl89

The turbo is done, it's wicked... if you see an XTZ with a US Flag paint job at Glamis, watchout for it....he's shooting to break 100mph with it.
Here's a vid of his XTZ.

http://s236.photobucket.com/albums/f...t=MOV03366.flv

Nice, He lives about 2 miles from me, but I haven't kept up with that AC build. The paint is very nice on it...nice to have bank and a fab shop to do whatever you want!

Mudinyeri · 10-22-2009, 10:11 AM

Any mods to the RZR?

10-21-2009, 12:57 PM	#1 (permalink)
Darryl89 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2009 Member # 143821 Posts: 219	Thrashing the XTZ Desert Build Well, Any of you that attended the W.E.Rock Nationals in Farmington may have seen our Baja XTZ on display there. We've done a lot of things to it, fixed a few others and finally got a chance to go thrash it.... Saturday morning, my buddies and I took a RZR and the XTZ for a ride in the desert southwest, just outside of Farmington, NM. Over 80,000 acres of BLM land with all kinds of trails from sandwashes, hillclimbs, rockclimbing and tight, twisty trails through trees. Any of you that've been here know what an awesome riding area it is. Right off the bat, about 2 miles into the ride, we found that the rear diff vent line was laying up under the exhaust shroud (so much for catching everything on the pre-checks). At about 40mph, I happened to notice smoke starting to come out from the engine shroud area. We stopped and proceeded to put the fire out. A small hole had burned in the vent line bellow and allowed some diff lube to spill on to the exhaust and burn. Made the repairs and off we went again. The front end was a bit stiff between the 8-ply tires and the shocks being cranked up just a little too much. I adjusted them down an inch and things were much better. I found that the King Racing Shocks did a great job of nullifying the small bumps and taking the hard hits real well. It tracked quite well. The ride in the XTZ was much better I noticed than in the RZR. The lay back seats in the XTZ felt more comfortable and didn't pound on my spine like the RZR'z did. Then on to a fire road. Running up to 70mph I found that the XTZ had no problem outrunning the RZR as he was bumping his speed limiter at close to 60mph. Sweet, and I still had throttle left. Then on to the hillclimbing. The RZR sat quite a bit lower than my XTZ, so I was sure he might outclimb me, but everywhere we tried, they came out about even. I did notice the RZR was doing a lot more tire spinning to get up the hills, might've been driver style though. After that we dropped into a sandwash running up a canyon with steep side walls, kind of felt like running slot cars. The Prowler could out handle the RZR through the tight corners and had more than ample power coming out of them. Our speeds in the canyon were around 45-50mph and the Prowler felt stable and right at home doing this. Finally, into the tight and narrow trees. My buddy was sure that his RZR would beat me through the tight areas.... not a chance, the ITP BajaCross tires dug in to the corners, the King shocks kept them down and the XTZ turned like it was on a monorail. On even the mid-turn jumps, it felt awe-inspiring, making me feel like a champion driver. All in all, I really like the mods done to the XTZ. Everyone that drove the XTZ really liked it and wanted more. All the mods work real well together and make this a real desert performer.

10-22-2009, 10:11 AM	#7 (permalink)
Mudinyeri Run For the Hills Join Date: Mar 2005 Member # 44531 Location: Nebraska ... the Good Life Posts: 1,966	Any mods to the RZR? __________________ Check out The Union Creek Journal, a fictional, diary-style chronicle of a Midwestern family's struggle to survive in the aftermath of a global economic collapse.

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10-21-2009, 01:41 PM	#2 (permalink)
az_amsoil Registered User Join Date: Apr 2008 Member # 111970 Posts: 23	Nice machine! Did you gusset up the sterring rack and the frame at all??? The power of the 951cc engine makes those heavy tires a great fix for this machine. The RZR tire spin is probably due to the auto lock 4WD "feature"...since you can manually lock and unlock the diff, it tends to run as more a limited slip.

10-21-2009, 04:38 PM	#4 (permalink)
az_amsoil Registered User Join Date: Apr 2008 Member # 111970 Posts: 23	I heard Johnny from UTVCrap is looking at a turbo on his...crazy! Enjoy yours!