dd908

Looks like it needs some shock tuning but it seems to run good

Hawt dayum, that blower was whining more than Gavin Hill begging Doughboy for trucks.

But in all seriousness, those guys at Go N' Big Racing have a great and very unique piece there that's already handling pretty good and sounds great for its first season competing. I'd like to see it run in person or at least just see it in person soon.

I see some sort of pipe from the stacks going towards the chassis, but I see the collectors. Do both of them work or are the stacks just for show?

Just for show. 

Even with a perfect ramp, he still wouldn't have landed it with how he hit it.

With the amount of momentum he had going into it, he would have either went up and flopped over onto the hood, or did a 270 and land hard on the front and pull it back down on the tires. No matter how we look at it, it would not have ended cleanly.

It looks like you could get a back-flip off that ramp easily, but Zane definitely did not nave the right technique.

It wasn't anything to do with Zane, the ramp was poorly designed and constructed. The ramp was more designed to just send trucks straight in the air and for the shocks to soak up the impact. If the dirt ramp on the bottom was a tad bit shorter with a little less angle, the front shocks would have bottomed out and rebounded off the bottom or 2nd car with the rear wheels driving up all 3 cars and giving him a successful rotation. For that ramp, if Zane gave it more throttle, he would have had less backwards rotation and just would have shot straight up in the air. There was nothing Zane could do here. The only way this ramp would have worked is if you were running those front shocks extremely stiff with minimal travel, which isn't worth the hassle.

#WorthIt

 

 

It was a really good event overall. I've never seen XDP run so hard, and everyone else was just as good. No complaints. XDP won Wheelies and Long Jump, Tailgator won Racing, and I forgot which of the two won Freestyle >.>

Diesel Dave won freestyle, too.

Tim Bee just brought some new 30" PEI bottom accumulator shocks for the rear of the truck, but I'm not sure if he's planning on throwing some 26" PEIs on the front of it yet. He's still got the older King shocks on the front.

Oh, and it looks like Tom Herzog has quite a bit of work to do this week at the shop...

And just to add to maxdman's post right above me, Zane clarified that the landing ramp is fixed and should be a-okay to go for tomorrow night's show.

 

Hasn't broken yet Sean.

Now it has.

It is just temporary. The River Rat name isn't retired yet (thank god).

I think if it had headlight decals with a grille decal to boot, then it would look better to me. For now it's a pretty neat and different concept that looks alright, just needs those few minor details to do it in good for me.

But how long would that actually last him? It would just be easier to convert to the conventional nitrogen set-up like 99% of other teams.

That's why I'm saying. A 1 shock per corner setup is outdated in today's sport for the sheer fact that promoters want these trucks to fly higher, hit more obstacles, and run harder. If this were 10 years ago with this exact technology, he would have been a-okay. But obstacles are bigger and promoters want more out of a driver and a truck. He can make the most out of it by upgrading to gas bump stops to take some of the edge off when landing from a high leap, but you still need initial shock suspension to take most of the hit. A 2 shock per corner setup with gas bump stops is ideal in today's competition. 

Theres always Seasock too, cuz he's been filling in some

Seasock was let go from Feld a few weeks ago as a recovery driver and backup driver, so he's out of the question in this case. 

I know Feld wouldn't want to let the Blue Thunder name go into oblivion again, so they'll keep it around; it's just a matter of finding someone fit enough to fill in Dalton's shoes. It's such an unfortunate matter that this happened and it was so untimely too. Still shocked that he's gone.

They have to be set up too soft, because there is only a single shock per corner with a single bypass; If he had it set up any stiffer, they would explode out from under him.

They could have the potential to be tightened up a bit, maybe changing up the valving a hair too to change the flow of the shock during compression, but just having one shock per corner alone is already asking for trouble, and by making them too soft, you'll be hitting the bump stops on every hit and your back will feel the jolt when you land. If he has gas bump stops, it might be a little more comfortable.

I've seen Doug in person, the truck will take abuse to an extent. But those are non-FELD sized ramps. And that truck lands super hard on those small jumps.. Imagine it on the big jumps.

May not be a fancy Monster Jam style ramp, but that's a pretty big obstacle for a monster truck to hit.

I know its common, but would 4 work on each side, like if a chassis was built to support it i guess,

It'd be a stretch and would take a lot of redesigning and re-positioning, but I've seen it done before where there are 2 shocks side-by-side stacked on another pair of shocks where, if you look down at it from the top, it makes a square shape. It would mean a skinnier chassis or even wider axle housings, but I've seen it before somewhere, just can't remember where.

Is 2 shocks like a max?

In today's world, it's pretty much a common thing and all that can really fit efficiently on a truck. 

Who said Wild Thang couldn't take the abuse of big hits?

 

I said that it couldn't handle the abuse of big hits, and I guarantee you it can't. The rear shocks look like they were landing way too soft and looked like they were hitting the bump stops on every hit. Everyone that has run a single shock setup and gone big with it regret it because it just flat out does not land as soft as a truck with a double shock setup. I'm not saying that he can't be competitive with it, because he can; it just needs a heavy upgrade in order to remain competitive, because his back might tap out before the truck does. Hell, watch Throw Down For What? and Jamey Garner says that the single shock setup hurt on every hit he took. Ultimate testimonial, right there.

Doug knows how to drive really well, and he knows how to put on a great show whenever he drives. I give him credit for going out there an outdated shock setup and making the fullest extent of it, but if he wants to keep up with the biggest and more angled obstacles that are showing not just in Monster Jam but all over the place, the smartest thing to do is to upgrade to 2 shocks per corner. It'll provide a much better cushion. 

Didn't forget about this one. It's a start

 

Also, im doing a bunch of new things in terms of aligning props to make it easier for members. Once done, i'll be using this as the example. Enjoy!

So far, only Rims, Axles, Knuckles, and 4links are aligned and finalized! Again, don't mind the flag

Everything's looking much better now that the steering ram heim joints and tie rod heim joints are all vertically in line with each other. There are very few trucks that run steering knuckles where the tie rods heim joints are farther spread across than the steering ram heim joints.

And I hate to be that guy to point the little crap, but only the rear axle should have a self centering device attached to one of the steering rams. The front one has it too, which it shouldn't since the front runs an orbital/hydraulic system, not electrical/hydraulic system.

Other than the little crap, just the axle assemblies alone are looking spectacular. 

I think the last time it ran a Monster Jam show was in 2011. Not sure if the wheel tethers were implemented then or not.

Wheel tethers became mandatory by the USHRA and MTRA before 2011, so Raging Bull has them on the truck since it passed USHRA inspection in 2013 when it last ran with Feld.

Welp.

 

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And to make it even better, he saved it but wound up crossing the center line and disqualified himself, so Runte took the win by default. Not sure on who crossed the finish line first, though. 

And it's Runte against Hartsock in the final round. Apparently Anson and Sims Sr. both had truck issues and couldn't make the casting call for the semis.

And it really starts to get expensive when you're running 2 trucks(because im pretty sure you have buy 10 tires then) and then outrageous when you're running 4 trucks like Creten or Vaters..

No matter how many trucks you own, Feld wants 5 tires per truck (4 plus 1 spare mounted and ready to run). Plus that would also mean that some guys would have to build new rims as well, adding onto the cost more.

Koehler done goofed.

That's Cory. Jimmy's in Charlotte.

lol

 

yea the bkts are expensive.

 

what r they now $3000 a pop?

$2650 per tire plus whatever it'll cost teams for shipping, depending on if they get them straight from India where BKT is based out of or from a distributor here in the States if they do pop up.

Ive seen it 3 times this year, and hes killed Tie-Rods and alot of other stuff in shows. The truck did alright in Waco which had the biggest jumps I've seen it hit but CFP is not anywhere near MJ Tracks. I hope he's able to upgrade if he does run but man that'll be expensive next to the BKTs he'll have to buy

Well, if he decides to only run 4 events or less with Monster Jam, he can keep his China tires.

Doug needs alot of upgrades for sure, as you know Daniel most teams have the hydraulic/electric jacks and hydraulic tire lifts and stuff and Doug hasnt been able to get alot of that yet and its probably because he breaks alot of stuff and its probably because that truck lands so hard. He told me and a few other guys at a show a few weekends ago that he wants to try to run for FELD next year but idk if that truck can take those tracks.

If his aspirations are to get Wild Thang into Monster Jam events, he needs to first and foremost upgrade the shock package. I haven't seen the truck run in person yet, so I'm at no liberty to say what he can and can't do, but just saying now, single shock setups aren't going to survive on Monster Jam's tracks, especially what they're coming up with every year and how it's getting bigger and bigger with more and more angle on every jump.

If I had time, I'd be pumping out some badass trucks. I wish you guys the best of luck otherwise.