Quantcast
Jump to content

T 2 with Fox shocks


flatbed

Recommended Posts

I just got the front shocks mounted on the trooper, the 8.5s fit under the hood, i was kinda of worried that i was going to have to trim a hole for the shock tower. I ended up cutting the tube that goes across the hood and the uprights out. The new shock tower just uses the center of the frame, so there is no cross bar in the hood. I keep the shocks at the same angles as stock, just made the upper mount taller and of course closer together because they tilt towards each other. The centers on the upper shock mount bolts are 10". I have added kickers and braces so it is plenty strong. I have to shorten the fenders because the tires will now come up and hit them. The susp is so soft that i can put a 16" block under one front wheel and all the tires stay on the ground. I now have 250 over 400s on the front with 30 over 35 on the valving. Drove it around some today, the trooper feels alot different.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 37
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Sounds pretty neat. You'll be ready for Baja. I'm still working on redoing my rear suspension. I was lookin at the front fender and at first glance it looks like the fender could be trimmed where it goes under the frame tubing and bolts on. It could then be repositioned above the tubes and anchored to new welded on tabs. Looks like a couple of inches could be gained without loosing any of the fenders outreach.

I have planed for some time now to redesign the fenders and make them out of fibreglass. I'll make them higher, probably 4" or 5" higher in the rear and wider to help catch slinging dirt. I'll probably not get to it until spring. It does require making molds but once made, it's fairly easy to also pull parts for others.

Looking forward to seeing your pics.

Lenny

Link to comment
Share on other sites

sorry guys, no pictures tonight, Don,t know what i am going to do about the fenders yet, I also looked at moving the fender up, but i still think i would hit if i did something bad. i thought of triming the backs and just moving them in, but damn these things can throw the mud. I like your idea of the fender with a bump in it where the tire comes up. When i drove it yesterday the susp felt good, the front would dive when you hit the brakes, and rise when you were on the throutle. Just setting still and turning the wheel the corners would dive so i think i am close with the springs, I still have to see how the shock valving does on the bumps. I think i am going to the new years race at plaster city so i should know then. Hopefuly i get off earlier tommorow so i can post pictures.

2619665190104282158YqBURG_th.jpg 2276660330104282158fNuxmW_th.jpg 2724677100104282158gIifQT_th.jpg 2059629230104282158EDKmgo_th.jpg 2434824960104282158mQuvlz_th.jpg

Click on picture to open album

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kinarfi has help me out and posted the pictures in trooperfolk. He voiced consern about the cross bar no longer being there. In the pictures you notice that the top of the shock tower is not supported side to side. What i plan on doing is after i get the storagebox built behind the shock tower i am going to run braces back to the outside corners of the dash from the shock tower to keep the tower and frame from wanting to bend back or sideways, making the frame stronger. I will use 3/4" tubing as to keep the weight down.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wish i had more time, i could probably make up some kits that some one else could weld on. You have to be carefull because these joyner tube frames are not square. What i did on the front was make sure i was at the bottom of the susp stroke, when i rased the front of the car up to get the old shocks off. get the bolts loose so they come out free . You have to turn the steering both ways with the front wheels of the ground, feel the axle as it rotates and make sure there is no bind, keep raising the frame with the wheels just blocked off the ground untill you feel the axle start to bind, lower the frame back down until it is free. you have to have the steering turned all the way to one side, and than check the other side. Once you have this done you take the lower shock mount off and weld new tabs with 1/2" holes the distance of the shock hiem and 2 spacers. mount the lower shock mount and then start fabing the top mounts. You have to cut the upper mount out. The pictures show how i did it and that is plenty strong. If you can wait awhile i can probably make the upper shock mount set-up. I don,t think it matters what shock you use as long as it is a good shock. The 2 spring set up is the way to go, 8" tender with a 10 primary spring. The trooper becomes a totaly different car. I took it out yesterday and it climbs better than it did before and we know how these things climb. There is no comparison with the ride, The wife and her boobs are very happy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Took the trooper out this week-end for a short ride, drove into some rough stuff pretty hard and it took it fine, very pleased with how it feels. I am starting to hinge the hood now and build a storage box. I had quite a mess going redoing the wiring and re running the hydrolic lines to get the area behind the shock tower clear so that there was nothing above the frame, so that the storage box will be able to set flat. I am also thinking of putting a reserve tank up there to, a small one for those long rides.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Talking about a shock and spring package, I have given the numbers off what i have. I need to get some hours on my set-up to see what it feels like once the springs take a set. They always give up a little after they have been used. Let me be the ginny pig so you don"t end up buying extra springs or having to get your shocks revalved. What i have is very close, but we might be able to make it beter.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok, i finally got the weights on the trooper T 2, seems like i have my own little post going here, Hope i am not offending anyone. Anyway i weighed each axle buy them selfs. front axle first, then the back. I had seprate scales.

left front 380lbs right front 380lbs

left rear 480lbs right rear 520lbs

Total weight 1,760

The way i weighed the car, put both front tires on separate scales and then jacked the rear of the car up in the center so the rear springs could not put any cross weight in the car. Did the oppsite for the rear. The car was full of fuel with no extras on it. No spare tire. No one sitting in the car. When you sit in the car, I am 6' and weigh 210bs. 105lbs went to the back and 105lbs went to the front. The cars are balanced better than what i though. I will have the scales here this week-end, if i have time i will try to get un susp weights.

GO SAN DIEGO CHARGERS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok, i finally got the weights on the trooper T 2, seems like i have my own little post going here, Hope i am not offending anyone. Anyway i weighed each axle buy them selfs. front axle first, then the back. I had seprate scales.

You may feel like you're posting alone, but I bet EVERYONE is reading and taking notes, I am!

Keep the photos coming.

Jeff

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

finally got to put some miles on the trooper, the front felt pretty good, I think it is alittle soft on the tender spring. I am going to pull the 350 out of the rear and put it in front to replace the 300. That will give me 350 over 400 on the front, the shock valving felt good so i will leave it alone. The rear is to soft, i am going to get 450"s and put them over the 600 in back. The 350"s arent really doing much, when you pitch the car it wants to lay over, so it starts steering itself, the back needs to be stiffer. Also i am going to stiffen the rebound on the shock, it wants to buck when you are hitting the whoops, not bad but it is doing it. The shocks are 100% better than stock, the ride is very good but it can be better. I hit some spots i would have been on my lid before.

I also had a lower ball joint come out while climbing a very steep hill. My son was watching and said it came out just as i started up the hill. How the cv joint did not come apart i do not know because i was reving in 2nd gear all the way up the hill. What i noticed when i looked to see what happened is the shank on the bolt does not go through the grove on the ball joint. The bolt was still tight but the bolt is not big enough to lock the end in. I am going to drill mine out to the next size bigger bolt, run the bolt all the way through with a nut on the outher end so the shank of the bolt is in the grove. If this happened while going fast you could find yourself in not to good a spot.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

flatbed, Have Fox 2.0 10" coilover shocks in transit to me. I'll need to get springs and I need your professional advise please. What do you recommend I get for the main and tender springs. I'm assuming 12" and 8" lengths? Also you mention that you set your valving at something like 45 - 35. Can you explain this and what settings you recommend I start at and how I set it that way. I could figure this out myself but I'm getting older and I only have 30 to 40 years to do so. You know how it is, I have to pretend I can do anything. Don't tell anybody you helped me.

Thanks bunches

Lenny

PS this is for the front suspension

Link to comment
Share on other sites

flatbed & rocmoc, have you guys or any body else considered an anti-roll bar and or a steering stabilizer set-up at all to help complement both the tender springs and fox shocks? The anti-roll bar should help with roll and the steering stabilizers are commonly used on 4x4s using oversize tires & helps wear and tear with both the tires, ball joints and takes all the jarring out of the steering wheel. One problem though, both these items are normally tailor made for a certain make or model.

Cheers Mike

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have but a sway bar is most useful on hard surface, street driving. In the dirt or rock climbing it would restrict the wheel from working independently. A sway bar would have to be detachable. Since I am mostly in the dirt, not on my list of upgrades at the moment. Regarding the steering, with the larger tires I am looking at electric power steering assist.

romcoc n AZ/Mexico

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have but a sway bar is most useful on hard surface, street driving. In the dirt or rock climbing it would restrict the wheel from working independently. A sway bar would have to be detachable. Since I am mostly in the dirt, not on my list of upgrades at the moment. Regarding the steering, with the larger tires I am looking at electric power steering assist.

romcoc n AZ/Mexico

Been thinking, what if you were to remove the current gear box and replace with 1 or 2 linear actuators and replace the steering wheel with a joystick? Would that be too weird?

Maybe mount something on the steering shaft to activate a switch to drive the actuators.

Should this be a new thread?-Yes, Starting New Thread Called "Power Steering"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

An anti roll bar can still be attached to independent suspension with the lower control arm being the connection point. The bar can't be to stiff and regardless you will still loose some independence and on top of that, it would have to be a new design for the Trooper. That pretty much makes it a dead duck but I still like the steering stabilizer set-up even with electric steering. It just makes sense really. I wonder if you can have two independent sway bars . Don't race cars with independent suspension have a drop bar on each side coming down from the main cross sway bar? Or at least, I think they do.

Cheers Mike

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think the gain in performance would put a sway-bar high on the list of upgrades. Tires or Shocks are number 1and/or2, more engine power via chip or mass flow fuel improvement and power steering next. Then I will take a look at the sway-bar. Sadly I am stuck on the first two and it will be some time before I get to the next two.

rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lenny, i have changed the tender to a 400, made the ride softer because i was not getting ;into the 600 has much, have not drove it much but i did launch it and when it hit it did not buck. On the bottom of the shock body there is normally a number telling you what the shock has for valving. I am running a 10" 600 with a 8" tender, with the angle you are going to have to have your shock i would run around a 425 tender and a 600 main spring, split it with 2 10s. let me think on the valving.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

flatbed, got my fox shocks, really nice. I also have 600s by 10" on the way and watching a few 425s. Bottom of the shocks show 40-60 for valving. Thanks for all your help. I'm getting excited and the weather is improving rapidly. Plan on getting out for a 3 day weekend soon. The pic shows my basic get away kit. This is my all terain trailer. It will pretty well go where ever my 4x4 truck will go. Truck, 5th wheel and Trooper trailer all use the same wheel/tire combo. Only need one spare.

2664597670104282158TpGsIl_th.jpg

Lenny

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice rig Lenny but it would be illegal over here. You can only tow one trailer including 5th wheelers. Is your Trooper trailer purpose built? Just asking because you seem to have the sweet spot between the weight of the T2 & the axle of the trailer. Also, I can't see how you drive on, does it tilt or you have fold away ramps?

Cheers Mike.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is built special for the trooper. It does tip up, you can see the liniar actuator sticking up at the front of the trailer. So I just drive on, reach over to a switch next to the drivers seat and lower the bed back for towing. The trailer was also designed so I can place 3 peices of plywood on its floor and plug in side rails so it can be used as a typical trailer with dumping bed. When I built my 5th wheel, I designed the rear hitch to safely hold 700 pounds figuring using a 20 percent hitch weight I could tow a trailer behind weighing 3500 pounds. The axel placement gives me the 700# tongue weight. I like to keep tongue weights on the heavy side. This allows the axel to be farther back. The heavier tongue weight and the farther back axel make for an extreamly stable towing trailer that you can swerve, zig and zag and it just follows perfectly, always.

Thanks

Lenny

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Similar Topics

    • By Robert B
      Going down a 20 deg hill engine is holding UTV back. Then something releases like going into Neutral and makes a loud clacking noise. Have to use brake to slow UTV down. Then once level it shifts back into gear. Have done shift extension does not pop out of gear.
    • By Steve Toney
      Hello, my name is Steve and just signing up.  Bought my first UTV yesterday.  It is a Massimo T-Boss 550.  
    • By SafeSledBryan
      Hey guys! My name is Bryan and i am the owner and creator of Safe Sled. Not some crazy corporate backed recovery product, but just some guy with an idea. 
       
      4 years ago, I suffered 11 strokes, and am now 50% paralyzed on the left side of my body. I am unable to work a normal job anymore. I was working on the sled 2 years before this all unraveled. My wife told me to keep working on it since i was pissing her off staying home and doing nothing.
      I still plan on improving and implementing different ideas as the product’s revenue continues to grow.
      if the sled is appealing to you, please check out my website, safesledoffroad.com
      Safe Sled Website
    • By Paul409
      Have a Hisun 750 only 700hrs 21 model. Never had issues went to start it and there's a clicking sound under the seat I'm assuming it's the started relay. I for the life of me cannot find the starter, is there a way to test the relay. 
      Thank for any support 
    • By CBS
      Greetings from Southern Illinois. My name is Bruce and I currently have a Hisun HS550 Performance Rural King. I have had nothing but problems with this unit replaced so many parts of it and of course, it stopped working and will not start again for about the 3rd or 4th time since 2018 it only has a little over 500 miles and has cost me a bunch of money and headache and the Rural King where I purchased it has a repair man who is certified to work on HISUN but he charged me a little over $600 to repair it once back a few years ago and when I got it home after it being in his shop for over 2 weeks the thing worked for a very short time but when I went to start it the next day it was the same thing and they wouldn't check it further without me paying for service, labor, and parts and I went around and around with them and since there aren't any dealer service centers for Hisun near me and even most of them can't get to it for weeks to months and it could be at their shops for months as they tell me they have problems getting the parts needed from Hisun to fix these giant paper weights. Oh, and you can't buy a scan tool (code reader) Delphi 190121 unless you are one of their dealers and I can't find any other scanner tool that works with it except the Tiny Scan Tool which I purchased and it will work if I could find the correct adaptor cable and connector to connect the Tiny Scan to the diagnostic port on the Hisun HS550 Performance Rural King. Yep, I pretty much have been screwed every which way that can happen with this machine. I am disabled, have cancer, and am on a fixed income so I need help if anyone knows what the connector is called (type or part name) that will plug into the diagnostic port to get my scanner to work it is a 6-pin connector and I hear it only has to have 3 wires connected to it.
      Thanks 



×
×
  • Create New...