SideXSide Action - November 2007 - (Page 36) [Perfect Match] Ground Clearance: In stock form, all the UTVs suffer from low ground clearance. The RZR is about two inches lower than the Rhino and Prowler, and it did spend a lot of time scraping across its belly. Taller tires and wheels are the easiest way to gain a bit of altitude, but a few of the Ranger’s in the group also had lift kits. Adjustable ride height would be a big plus. Locking Differential: Locking differentials are a real necessity for a trail like the Rubicon. With an open differential, if one tire loses traction, all power goes to the tire that is spinning. That doesn’t help much when the spinning tire is in the air. With a locking differential, if a tire loses traction, the other tire can still pull. Thankfully, all of the UTVs on our trip come from the factory with some sort of locking differential. However, the rear differential on the Rhino and Prowler are always locked and cannot be unlocked (open). The downside to a differential that isn’t open is poor turning radius. On a tight trail like the Rubicon, you can turn your wheels all the way in one direction, but the locked rear end will push the vehicle straight. On the Ranger and RZR, the driver controls whether the rear differential is open or locked. Since we had four different UTVs on the trip, it was interesting to see the differences. In our group, most vehicles had at least some level of modification that allowed them to handle the trail better – taller tires, lift kits, longtravel. We did have three completely stock vehicles on the trip – a Rhino, a Prowler, and an RZR. What Would Make The “Perfect” Rock Crawling Side X Side? Low Gearing: Slow speed will help you keep your vehicle in control when you are rock crawling and the ability to go slow is dictated by gearing and how quickly the CVT engages. This is where the Polaris vehicles did well. The lower range in both the Ranger and RZR gave them the ability to crawl up and over rocks, while the Rhino had to have a little momentum to climb. Common Axle Length: The possibility of a CV or axle giving up on the trail is very real. We had three CVs break amongst our 14 UTVs. It would be great to be able to carry a spare axle with CVs and boots all ready to install in case of a breakage. Unfortunately, none of the UTVs have common length axles, so you would need to purchase and carry multiple axles for each vehicle to handle all scenarios. Power Steering: None of the UTVs on our run had power steering, but everyone agreed that it would have been nice. Exhaust: The stock Rhino exhaust tip makes a downward turn and points the exhaust at the ground. On a trail where you need to apply a good amount of throttle to climb up and over rocks, but not go very fast, an exhaust that points down means one thing – DUST. This is easy enough to fix with a cut off the downward portion of the tip. You can also install a different tip, but it can be very obnoxious for anyone in or behind a Rhino with a stock exhaust tip. 36 24 www.sidexsideaction.com www.sidexsideaction.com http://www.whiterhino450.com http://www.whiterhino450.com http://www.sidexsideaction.com
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