mods for 2013 Rhino Charge
Bigsal
sorry to have missed you in Nairobi this time around.
just to bring you up to speed on the planned changes and major surgery for this year. Its all about better balance and stability. if you notice in the pics, the front axle sits too far back and the weight of the 2F engine is far forward.
A. move front axle forward
The sump had to clear the diff bubble and so it sits way tall and at an incline already. so the COG is high and the weight ahead of the axles. By moving the front axle forward (16"), 1. the engine drops down (near 4 inches!) 2. the engine and gear box are more centralized between the axles 3. the body can be lowered (aiming for 4 inches and improve the COG and duck under trees 4. the front tyres will meet the obstacles first 5. look better
B. ok so the rear axle has to move forward as well to keep the wheel base the same. recall we are running unimog transmission and the axles are connected to torque tubes and propellors within those. means shortening the rear one and actually getting a new rear prop to also cut and fit to the front.
C. Now the steering geometry is all over the place. am fitting a PSC hydraulic kit in
woohoo!!!
D. 4 LOW RANGE 4 High range gears. there is a modification to the existing shift plate that allows you to alter the original 6 speed set up - where 1 and 2 are low ratio 3 4 5 6 high (close) ratio and reverse a 2 speed affair. (F +R engaged in a seperate lever) now by blanking off one channel and creating a slide shift, adding ANOTHER lever (Hi Lo) we get 4 gears low 4 gears high!
its a mess of levers in there - 1 for Fwd Rev...1 for high low. 1 for shifting gears 1 for engaging 4wd and difflocks (which i am thinking to change to individual cable actuated lockers front and rear) 2 hand brake levers for each individual tyre at the back - helps in really tight turns....
E. Brakes that actually work. have tried the original Unimpog master cylinder ...not happy... and so will change that for a LC 80 series booster pedal and cylinder set.
F. Lower the body. may have to trim the body at the back now for the new overhang as well...and see if front fender needs a shave. fit the winches and alter the body armour to fit.
And that should keep me out of trouble and out of pocket for the next few months!!!!
