Added 2 April 2001
There is just some stuff that doesn't fit existing categories, and isn't worth making into it's own category. So here it is!
THE DISCLAIMER: With the exception of stock ponds, and the occasional necessity of turning around, I *ALWAYS* drive on established roads and trails. Doing otherwise is not only bad karma, but it leads to ill-will towards four-wheelers/four-wheeling and makes people want to close vehicles out of the beautiful environs that we all enjoy. TREAD LIGHTLY! For more information on responsible wheeling, go HERE or HERE Ziggy at dirtroad.com says it best, "Use your 4-wheel drive to enjoy the environment, don't use the environment to enjoy your 4-wheel drive!"
Knowing full well that RTI scores are not necessarily representative of how a vehicle will handle obstacles on a trail, or how useful a vehicle will be on a trail, it is still a useful way to find out how vehicle modifications effect articulation. With this thought in mind, I decided to get a baseline score on my Highrider before some up-coming modifications were performed. I had a 2" body lift, and larger, 32" tires put on my truck, so a new round of RTI scores was on order.
This time I decided to use a real RTI ramp. Kyle and I arranged to get together at Four Wheelers Supply in Phoenix, and after Frank joined us, we had a trio of Z's tackling their 23 degree RTI ramp. We wanted to explore a number of options this time out, so it took a couple of hours to get everything done.
With my truck, we did the following combinations:
With Kyle's truck, we did all of the above except disconnecting the frong sway bars. With Frank's (Speedy's) truck, we only tested street pressure with and without the trackbar connected.
Here are some pictures of each truck on the RTI ramp:
And now for the numbers:
| Truck condition | WolfSoul | Kyle | Speedy | ||||||
|
Distance up 23 deg ramp (in.) |
RTI for 23 deg ramp |
RTI for 20 deg ramp |
Distance up 23 deg ramp (in.) |
RTI for 23 deg ramp |
RTI for 20 deg ramp |
Distance up 23 deg ramp |
RTI for 23 deg ramp |
RTI for 20 deg ramp |
|
|
35 psi with trackbar |
55 |
448 |
511 |
53 |
431 |
493 |
51 |
471 |
538 |
|
35 psi w/o trackbar |
60 |
488 |
558 |
55 |
448 |
511 |
53 |
489 |
559 |
|
20 psi w/o trackbar |
61 |
496 |
567 |
57 |
464 |
530 |
|||
|
20 psi w/o track and sway bars |
65 |
529 |
604 |
||||||
As you can see, my truck saw more improvement in articulation with the rear track bar disconnected than Kyle's or Frank's truck. We think this is due to the longer shackles on my truck, which allow for a little more flex.
If you're in the Tucson area (or anywhere in Arizona), drop me a line and we can go wheelin' sometime.
Speaking of which, if you own a Highrider/ZR2/BlaZeR2, or want to find out more about the best little 4X4's around, check out these great sites:
http://www.zr2.com and http://www.zr2hr.org
There is also a ZR2 discussion group, which is very fun for talking about our special trucks and in getting ideas, help, and useful information. I have learned a great deal from the list. You can join by sending an e-mail to mailto:zr2@zr2hr.org with the word "SUBSCRIBE" (without the quotes) in the subject line.
ENJOY!
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