May actually need a limit strap… These are 14” shocks and the tire was still very firmly on the ground. My radius arm set up would bind before maxing out these same shocks so the 3 link is obviously moving better, and it damn well better for all the work!
And I’m biased of course, but I love these 2 shots. The 3 link just plain works, there’s no sign of bind in any of the joints and the passenger tire is firmly on the ground. The springs and shocks are definitely the limiting factor.
So actual wheeling impressions… I need hydro assist. Bad. Turning at idle with little to no speed is damn near impossible. Turning at slow speeds with some RPMs is hard. And that’s in 2wd, in 4wd fighting the locker it’s even worse. I knew I’d need this and it’s been on the list but this totally confirmed it.
My passenger side bump stop is running into the track bar brace and eating up the rubber strike pad so I need to clean that up. It also suffers from the same problem as the driver side that the shock runs out of travel before the bump stop. At some point here I’ll need to remove the springs and cycle the suspension up to set the bump stops properly. Then mount the tires, stuff the suspension and turn left to right trimming until things fit.
As for the manual trans… so far so good. I often felt more in control and it wasn’t too bad juggling pedals. Most the time in 100:1 you just let it idle through stuff and maybe tap the gas once in a while. I did manage to stall it in 100:1 flexed out in the log pits. I was trying to stay slow and wasn’t loosing traction so it would’ve been nice to have it muscle through but it’s not a huge deal, and It’s very early on in the testing phase of this set up so it’s too early to draw any definitive conclusions.
I will say the downhills are amazing with the manual. We came down west trail into the quarry and there’s a fairly steep rutted up part. I’ve done it many times with the auto and you’re just plastered in the brake the whole time and it’s rather unsettling. With the manual I put it in 100:1 and just idled down, super slow, super controlled, it was awesome. The motor even picked up enough RPM that I could steer a little. Really, really, really like the manual on downhills so far.