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Hey all, I was just wondering what you guys consider a necessary upgrade or spare part to have or mod onto your machine. I'm going for a kind of shtf survival rig that's not going to be SUPER heavy and I'm looking at getting: A spare belt (I keep seeing this mentioned everywhere I look so it must be important) A spare tire and mount( So would I need a jack like one from an old jeep or something else?) Tire chains for the winter And maybe a cargo bed upgrade so things don't slide out. Bumpers because duh. I already installed high output lights and have a windshield, roof, back window, and winch. And I outfitted a Molle panel for the back of my passenger seat with extra supplies like food, first aid, and spare mags. Any advise on increasing durability, longevity, and having something on hand because it's absolutely necessary would be a plus. Thanks so much!

Nice work I am going to give this a try thank you.

Top quality work!

So here’s the setup I used to replace the Silent Rider silencer. Materials 2” 16 ga mandrel bent 90 deg elbows (2 pieces) [90 deg elbow] 2” 16 ga mandrel bent 90 deg elbow with tail piece [90 deg + straight] 2” resonator [resonator] Rubber exhaust hanger (note- only used one) [hanger] 2” butt joint band clamp (2 pieces) (note- the exact brand I bought is no longer on Amazon but here’s an identical one) [butt clamp] 4” diameter band clamp (2 pieces, local hardware store) To make the exit pipe from the original muffler, I used the original spark arrestor flange cut from the arrestor and opened the ID to fit the 2” elbow OD. Then I welded the first elbow into the stock flange and welded the second elbow to the first at 90 degrees. The orginal trim ring can slide back over the pipe into place for aesthetics. This forms the new exit pipe to the resonator. In addition, I used some 1” x 1/4” flat stock and a piece of 1/2” rod (cut from a stainless bolt) to fab up the upper hanger that bolts to the Hisun frame, and a piece of 1/8” plate formed to match the radius of the resonator that I welded to a short tab and another 1/2” bolt shank rod. The 4" band clamps attach the resonator to the plate, and the rubber exhaust hanger provides support and vibration isolation. So originally I had intended to have the tail pipe extend straight down, but the elbows I chose wound up a bit longer than anticipated and conflicted with the rear wheel. I shortened the elbow legs on either side of the resonator as much as practicable while maintaining what I estimated to be minimum safe clamping area of about 1” to 1-1/4” (which also required “notching” the band clamps on the inside bends, see photos). I was able to get the tail pipe piece off of the tire, but it’s still pretty close and cannot aim straight toward the ground. Doesn’t look as clean, but I deem it acceptable and it does not heat the tire. I will turn down the last few inches at a later date, which should also reduce sound a bit more. So how does it perform I'm sure you are wondering... ***OUTSTANDING IMPROVEMENT!*** Much quieter, particularly outside the vehicle. Definitely quieter than the Silent Rider and lower cost (at least from my perspective since I could fab up the bits). Moreover, the stainless should last the life of this vehicle. Not a simple install for the average owner, but a muffler shop or local welder could do it for you. If I had to do this again I might source some tighter elbows or I would just shorten all the legs and weld up everything including the resonator in order to get the tailpipe straight down. But I didn’t want to weld in a resonator in general just to make it more serviceable, and also definitely not until I had assessed the performance of the mods and the selected resonator. You might look at the Evil Energy ones...more expensive but it looks like all stainless. Also, the exhaust clamps I ordered do not have stainless bolts. And finally there are more heavy duty band clamps available for the resonator that I may switch to in the future. Sorry I forgot to take a picture of the resonator hanger before installing, but you should be able to see it clearly in the installed pics. Post any questions and I’ll reply as best I can.