Awesome write up! Look forward to meeting you as well as many other local 100 series guys. We've owned ours for just over a year now and having a blast. My wife and daughter absolute love getting out exploring in the LC. I applaud your simplicity and minimalist attitude when modding!
Featured 100: paflytyer
- Thread starter paflytyer
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- #22
Sorry, I was backwards on that and fixed it. The auxiliary battery is fed from the main battery. The better way to do it would be to split them at the alternator, but that required much more work, so I stayed simple. There is a cable from the main battery to the SPST battery isolator, then to the aux battery. When the isolator is set to "on" , they are working together. When it's set to "off", the aux battery is totally disconnected.
Unless I'm in camp, I keep them connected.
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- Thread starter
- #23
After a lot of miles and a good deal of time on the trail, I was noticing the OME suspension wasn't taking the hits and abuse very well anymore. I had been very reluctant to try a "high dollar" suspension after the problem I went through with my last set.
A lot had changed over the previous few years and I was able to get some time in Carl Montoya's 100 Series at 100s in the Hills last year. He was running a new suspension from ICON Vehicle Dynamics and a set of his new custom UCA's. They were just prototypes at that point, but man did that setup seemed dialed in. I had been bugging ICON for over a year at that point to build a quality product for the 100 Series and it seemed like they really came through. Quality shocks for the 100 are few and far between and they are not cheap. When ICON and NITRO teamed up to bring their long travel suspension setup to the market, I felt the cost was worth it for having a true suspension upgrade that was designed to work together. Being able to try everything out at 100s in the Hills before it even hit the shelves was a huge bonus. How many products can we try before we buy when it comes to vehicle mods?
I went with:
NITRO's new Extended Upper Control Arm with fully replaceable ball joint
ICON Vehicle Dynamics CDC 2.5 Remote Reservoir shocks.
ICON Rear Links (these are beyond nice, but not available yet for retail)
All the hype about front travel has been beat to death on here. This is the one mod that I've done with the suspension that really did help me gain some travel in the front. It's pretty amazing how well it works. This setup literally eats the bumps up on the trail. The faster I go, the better it does. I was able to get some high speed testing on the Kokopelli Trail last week, it feels so good to not get on the brakes before a bump or big dip in the trail. They crawled along like a champ too. I'm more than impressed with this suspension, and it's worth every penny. A dialed-in suspension will help your vehicle climb tough hills and obstacles by keeping your tires on the ground instead of bouncing them all around too. Let's see how well they do on The Wall during HIH this year. Providing the driver can pick the right line of course.
Sometimes, expensive mods are hard to swallow and you "want" them to have improved your vehicle so bad, but they really don't. You expect a new feel when you drop cash on a expensive product. This is one of those mods that really felt different. It's not hype, a quality suspension setup that was designed to work on this vehicle will make it perform better. Plus, the adjustable CDC dial can be used to set the suspension however you like it. I'm not much for gadgets, but that's pretty cool by itself. The standard remote reservoirs are built to act like a Step 4 setting on the adjustable version. That's how I set them originally, but once my truck was loaded down for a week on the trail, Step 5 felt a little better. If I was driving around town with my wife and an empty vehicle, Step 3 is like riding in a 200 Series
I was still having some rubbing issues at the frame rail prior to this suspension upgrade. I finally bit the bullet and purchased a set of front and rear Spidertrax 1.25" wheel spacers as well. The fronts are machined specifically for the 100 series. No more frame or UCA rubbing. Well...... just ever so slight rubbing when the wheel is fully compressed to the bumpstop and the truck is twisted off-camber. Almost perfect...... finally. For the first time since I've owned this truck, I feel like the suspension is totally right. Nice and smooth on the road and a bump and rock eater on the trail.
A lot had changed over the previous few years and I was able to get some time in Carl Montoya's 100 Series at 100s in the Hills last year. He was running a new suspension from ICON Vehicle Dynamics and a set of his new custom UCA's. They were just prototypes at that point, but man did that setup seemed dialed in. I had been bugging ICON for over a year at that point to build a quality product for the 100 Series and it seemed like they really came through. Quality shocks for the 100 are few and far between and they are not cheap. When ICON and NITRO teamed up to bring their long travel suspension setup to the market, I felt the cost was worth it for having a true suspension upgrade that was designed to work together. Being able to try everything out at 100s in the Hills before it even hit the shelves was a huge bonus. How many products can we try before we buy when it comes to vehicle mods?
I went with:
NITRO's new Extended Upper Control Arm with fully replaceable ball joint
ICON Vehicle Dynamics CDC 2.5 Remote Reservoir shocks.
ICON Rear Links (these are beyond nice, but not available yet for retail)
All the hype about front travel has been beat to death on here. This is the one mod that I've done with the suspension that really did help me gain some travel in the front. It's pretty amazing how well it works. This setup literally eats the bumps up on the trail. The faster I go, the better it does. I was able to get some high speed testing on the Kokopelli Trail last week, it feels so good to not get on the brakes before a bump or big dip in the trail. They crawled along like a champ too. I'm more than impressed with this suspension, and it's worth every penny. A dialed-in suspension will help your vehicle climb tough hills and obstacles by keeping your tires on the ground instead of bouncing them all around too. Let's see how well they do on The Wall during HIH this year. Providing the driver can pick the right line of course.
Sometimes, expensive mods are hard to swallow and you "want" them to have improved your vehicle so bad, but they really don't. You expect a new feel when you drop cash on a expensive product. This is one of those mods that really felt different. It's not hype, a quality suspension setup that was designed to work on this vehicle will make it perform better. Plus, the adjustable CDC dial can be used to set the suspension however you like it. I'm not much for gadgets, but that's pretty cool by itself. The standard remote reservoirs are built to act like a Step 4 setting on the adjustable version. That's how I set them originally, but once my truck was loaded down for a week on the trail, Step 5 felt a little better. If I was driving around town with my wife and an empty vehicle, Step 3 is like riding in a 200 Series
I was still having some rubbing issues at the frame rail prior to this suspension upgrade. I finally bit the bullet and purchased a set of front and rear Spidertrax 1.25" wheel spacers as well. The fronts are machined specifically for the 100 series. No more frame or UCA rubbing. Well...... just ever so slight rubbing when the wheel is fully compressed to the bumpstop and the truck is twisted off-camber. Almost perfect...... finally. For the first time since I've owned this truck, I feel like the suspension is totally right. Nice and smooth on the road and a bump and rock eater on the trail.
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that's what I assumed your wiring is like. But I don't think the bit about the current having to flow thru the main before reaching the aux is quite correct if they are in parallel. They will charge at the same time I believe. The voltage will be about the same for both if you have thick cables to the auxiliary. The current in each should depend on each battery's instantaneous state of charge, though, IIANM. You can check the voltage easily on them while they are charging.
Where it could possibly get weird is that the alternator will see the total current needed and may adjust the voltage (slightly) accordingly (if that's the kind it is) and that may not be good match for both if you have say one fully-charged and one almost discharged battery. Normally, I would think the alternator-provided voltage would decrease a bit as the battery charges. On my 80, for instance, it will give 14.5V if the battery is low but will lower it to about 13.8V when it's charged. I don't know what the feedback control is like. But this would likely be a second order effect, anyway.
Maybe more importantly, is whether the alternator can handle two fully discharged batteries at the same time (hopefully never needed) and what happens if it reaches its nominal max amp level. Hopefully, it just limits the current and all is well. I don't know, but if an issue, it may be best to disconnect them in that case and do the main first, and wait to do the second one later.
Then again, I've never looked seriously at dual battery systems, and I'm just conjecturing aloud, so I may be all wrong on all that. I'll leave it to George or one of the other EE whizzes to correct me as needed.
Anyway, I don't mean to sidetrack a great Build thread. Nice to see the suspension mods too.
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aaronrules
Coolest person you know!
Wait a second...this looks like a build thread that I could have sworn you said you weren't going to do! It's a good one though!
Yep subscribed for sure!
bluecruiser
SILVER Star
YOLO....Great list of mods....you are almost ready to go wheeling! HIH in full effect
^ @bluecruiser is that the end of the campsite that needed a blowtorch to start the campfire??
bluecruiser
SILVER Star
YEP....no fire is really a fire unless a proper blowtorch is used....
What a great write up ! I'm all over this Stan. I will see you all at HIH.
- Thread starter
- #32
I'm running OME T-bars and back to the OME860 coils. A heavier coil would help when I'm loaded down with gear and the tent on the roof, but the ride suffers when I'm just out trail riding with minimal gear.
This shot shows the old suspension. I'll try and get a similar shot showing how much further the NITRO/ICON Extended length shocks reach in the front. It's a pretty significant difference.
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- Thread starter
- #33
Pics before I move on to the next upgrades.....
I should talk about that thing hanging off the back.... Everyone knows it's a Trasharoo. That very well may be the single best thing I've ever done to my truck. I have 4 that I use on a regular basis. I have picked up trail trash, held my own trash, carried wag-bags (gross), carried firewood, carried super muddy MAXTRAX, carried a potty and generally anything that I didn't want inside my truck has been placed in the Trasharoo. Call Dave Druck at Trasharoo and get one on your vehicle ASAP. It's worth every last penny and then some.
I should talk about that thing hanging off the back.... Everyone knows it's a Trasharoo. That very well may be the single best thing I've ever done to my truck. I have 4 that I use on a regular basis. I have picked up trail trash, held my own trash, carried wag-bags (gross), carried firewood, carried super muddy MAXTRAX, carried a potty and generally anything that I didn't want inside my truck has been placed in the Trasharoo. Call Dave Druck at Trasharoo and get one on your vehicle ASAP. It's worth every last penny and then some.
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txoutdoorx4
Media Partner
Fantastic write-up, Stan. For those who don't know, Stan's truck has been a model for our family overlander build which we're currently working on and featuring here at MUD as well. I've ridden in/slept in his truck before and it's wonderfully built for solo/family adventures.
- Thread starter
- #35
Just for clarification..... ^^He slept in the RTT, I slept in the truck. Otherwise, this thread gets weird. @bluecruiser and I shared a sleeping couch once. #bff's
Edit..... maybe twice. It wasn't weird at all.
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Cruiserdrew
On the way there
- Thread starter
- #37
LOL.TMI - Nice truck, I guess I'll see you at Rubithon.
We'll be there..... same 80, different tents.
I agree with the comment above about battery charging. The alt will charge both batteries at the same time. The charging system sees it as one large battery...
- Thread starter
- #39
Good to know. As I look back at that, it's the reason I didn't like the IBS system. It will not charge the aux battery until it senses the main is full. My system is one big battery until I chose to separate them. That's why I did it like that.
Gotta fix that post.
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- Thread starter
- #40
@SanDiegoCruiser and @e9999 are correct. I had my very limited battery knowledge mixed up. Posts are fixed so no one gets confused.
