very nice numbers kevin!

ima need to hit up those dyno days with u 1 day. :top:

Nice numbers dude.

awesome numbers!

Meh, the numbers are nothing new for the XR scene, im just loving that torque curve. :blurock:

Now, here something ya'll should watch if you got a few minutes to spare.

[ame]http://vimeo.com/49920522[/ame]

The amount of respect i have for this guy is insane. He does things because it feel right to him. Something that makes people look, something that goes against the grain and so far from what you're used to seeing you just cant help but stare. He goes to a beat of different drum, and i can respect that. And of course, relate to that. :top:

His craftsmanship skills are something i can only dream of learning, let alone mastering.

I relate. I relate becuase to he, to I, we absorbed from external influences. Not to be that which they expect. But to be what we choose. And through OUR expression, are we truly defined.

Ah another great achievement was accomplished yesterday. Finally got one more piece of the puzzle completed. One huge issue with trying to race/drift a truck is the lack of proper rear suspension. Now, because the fact trucks have only one thing keeping the rear axle under the truck, the springs them selves. Now, using something flexible to hold the axle under the truck....can cause a few issues when you start throwing corning g's at the truck. For instance, check this older video of my truck autocrossing, note how much the axle shifts side to side....:thumbdown:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcZC8i4CAjs[/ame]



And now, i've finally come up with my own solution... a pan-hard bar. Some pictures of its install...:top:




We started by boxing the frame and adding a support bar to connect both sides of the frame. The Panhard bar is going to put all of sideways force on the passenger side frame rail and it can actually twist the frame and still allow it to flex the frame and "twist it"

Next step came mocking everything up.






Before we burned everything in, we checked the alignment and checked for any clearance issues. Found known, and burned it in.

....and...painted it pink...:smile:









The black paint is rubberized undercoating....and the pink bar, was much less black smudgy, until my gloves, covered in black rubberized coating and grease, and touched it...:rolleyez: oh well.

Now, if you noticed, the mount on the axle was reinforced and gusseted, for added strength...


Now, before you mention suspension binding, let me add this: I have 3-1/2" of travel from full droop to bump stop. With the panhard my axle shifts aprox. 1/16" during its travel, due to the panhard bar.

Now, A Watts link (like what OXI had on his race truck, 5 years ago) is a better device in controlling side to side axle movement, and can help prevent suspension bind up when used with leaf springs. But, not too say it has not been done before with leafsprung cars/Trucks. Ford lightnings and first Gen Mustangs have various kits available.



Notice how level the panhard bar is to axle, with full weight of the truck on it. That helps prevent axle bind by allowing as little suspension bind and shift as possible during the axles normal travel.


....now the big question...DOES IT WORK???





Uhhh...honestly, i feel like i'm driving a completely different vehicle. Its entirely the bizarre thing i cant even pin point what it feels like...

Started off with hitting some deserted roads, trying some aggressive slaloming and noticed the truck felt...strange...felt stable, steering felt responsive and the truck felt strangely planted... liked it, but nothing extraordinary.

Moved on to some on/off ramps...Started off with some aggressive, nothing limit pushing, just standard aggressive cornering. Do note, its about 10:30 pm, freeways are clearing up nicely. OK, so came into the first ramp at a typical speed i would, dab of brakes and turned in...and my life changed entirely...


It felt like i was coming in at half the speed! What. The. Hell. Have i done. My friend, who has been in my truck through every single stage of build, from stock to this...Came out of the off ramp no problems to be found. We both looked at each other and started laughing. :laugh:

The ass end of the truck felt like i was driving on rails. Completely different feeling then anything i have ever felt. The amount of grip i was getting from the ass end was extraordinary. :blurock:

Hit up a few more off ramps, and felt exactly the same results. It felt like i was driving at a much slower speed then what i really was...I love it.

Now, i also tried over driving it...getting it crossed up, seeing how it felt at/past the limit. I can steer the truck, using my right foot... dab of gas gets the ass end out, immediately. Dive in too hot, let off, and front end tucks in. Mid line corrections with the wheel do not make you question what the ass end is doing...It is scary predictable.

Now, when i got it crossed up, the ass end out and you can catch it and get back i line, with out any abrupt responses from the chassis. I could feel exactly what the truck was doing, through the seat of my pants.:top:



Sorry for the long winded update, but this made the largest improvement of any modification to the truck, other then maybe the quick steer knuckles which in all fairness only helped drifting. While this MASSIVELY improved the feel of the truck, in entirely. :blurock:

Very nice.

G

Congrats Kev! I don't know much about that stuff but as long as it works and makes you rip up the drift track thats all that matters:blurock:

Nice! Thought u were installing a 4-link when I first saw a pic of the bed off.

Hey Kevin there's a company that makes a tool to mill the snout down yourself. Forget the name but that dude in Australia used it to mill his down so he could install a 2.7" pulley on his Hilux.

Food for thought

Murderface said:

Nice! Thought u were installing a 4-link when I first saw a pic of the bed off.

Hey Kevin there's a company that makes a tool to mill the snout down yourself. Forget the name but that dude in Australia used it to mill his down so he could install a 2.7" pulley on his Hilux.

Food for thought

Click to expand...

cant do a 4link do to Pro-am/FD regulations....this is a nice loophole, as this qualifies as like a anti roll bar...so it might still be legal...idk to be honest...but it was MUCH needed:blurock:

Dammit John, why did you implant that idea in my head with 2.7 pulley????:motz: :laugh:

Murderface said:

http://shop.zzperformance.com/store/p/709-Snout-Machining-Tool.aspx

Click to expand...

Annnnndddd bookmarked:top:

Bwahahahaha. I thought about getting the tool so that I could snag up someone's 2.6" pulley being sold but ended up deciding not to because the 2.8" and NST combo nets the same amount of boost and adding a 2.7" with NST just creates too much damn heat and not enough HP or tq to make it even worth the money

Murderface said:

Bwahahahaha. I thought about getting the tool so that I could snag up someone's 2.6" pulley being sold but ended up deciding not to because the 2.8" and NST combo nets the same amount of boost and adding a 2.7" with NST just creates too much damn heat and not enough HP or tq to make it even worth the money

Click to expand...

What will decide what i do next, will be what ever whitebuety can get out of his build...but with out the NST lowers, it wont answer my question about how much power it will make, with porting and snout cooling. We'll see i suppose.

I'm really in no rush to add more power. Cage, and coil-overs are next. Im really satisfied with how the rear suspension turn out (so far), and what i need now is better suspension up front and cage. Power will come next, depending on how actual competition goes.

But i have this sinking feeling, that with the alarming amount LS's ending up in 240s, Rx-7 and even miatas, i have this sinking voice in my head nagging at me that im gonna have to stoop to their level...Especially with my transmission being a MASSIVE weak link...

If someone could find Ntinhri's thread it will have the dyno pulls of where he had one of just the 2.7" and then another with the 2.7" plus NSat OD pulleys so u can see what happened as far as HP/tq increase.

So u thinking ur gonna need a LS motor swap soon?

Murderface said:

If someone could find Ntinhri's thread it will have the dyno pulls of where he had one of just the 2.7" and then another with the 2.7" plus NSat OD pulleys so u can see what happened as far as HP/tq increase.

So u thinking ur gonna need a LS motor swap soon?

Click to expand...

I see, i'd love to see that if anyone can dig it up...

And yes, the thought of a LS motor swap is sounding more and more appealing... No shortage of aftermarket support and add on's. And, the most ideal part about it....is the fact it all ready comes with a transmission that i would normally pay well over 3grand to have mated to my motor.... Having properly spaced gear ratios with a transmission not made out of balsa wood is exactly what i have been needing for some time...

You just have to look at the cost vs reward side of it...Both our motors and transmission are huge weak points, so might as well kill two birds with one stone...:blurock:


Is it going to happen soon...i seriously doubt it. Next year at the earliest. :rolleyez:

If I ever blow up my motor or trans I will def swap in a LS with a T56.......it will def have a blower or turbo on it though

Of course it will. I've become addicted to the power of a roots blower, so take a wild guess what will be on the ls1????:blurock:

A twin screw as you get the instant boost like a roots but you can make like 30psi with one with outit bei g just a heat pump like the roots option