MTS XP S trailing arm kit Test

[Spicoli]

Hey guys for everyone thinking about going Long Travel and not wanting to break the bank, there is a new kit coming out shortly from Makin Trax. It takes an S suspension and coverts it to an XP trailing arm suspension.

Finally to the part you guys are waiting for . Well first off I want to describe the test vehicle. I have a Rzr S with a weber snowmobile engine swap with a Turbo producing 130 HP. This rzr flies right up China Wall no problem and hits 85 MPH on the GPS on the hard pack and gets there in a hurry running @ 15lbs of boost.

The test and review....I took it down to Parker over Presidents weekend where they run parts of the Best in the Desert Parker 425. For those of you unaware of the terrain, it has long wooped out sections. We felt that this would be the best test for the new suspension. The kit was unbelievable how it soaked up some of the narly woops. The handling through them was one of my favorite aspects. The second best part of the suspension was the ability it gave me to hit the corners much faster than the S suspension. Hitting the gas through the corners keeps the Rzr right on track. I found the S suspension unable to handle the extra power of the weber and the car simply outdrove the suspension. This new trailing arm kit corrects that unbalance and allows me to run the rzr faster and harder than ever before. The video will show the first testing of the kit. The average speeds were between 45 and 60 with speeds of up to 65 mph. I wasnt able to get video but we did the same course with a passenger and the suspension still kicked @ss. Didnt bottom out and hit the woops around the same speeds. Overall this kit was similar to the jump I made from Stock suspension to S suspension. It was that much of an improvement.

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[mosslager]

I really want to see this in action and more pix. Very interesting. I want to see how it hooks up to the frame. I have seen Steves trailing arm Rhino and it is cool how simple it looks up close and it mashes out in the whoops.

 

[Crowdog]

Need to see some pictures of the kit on the car!

 

[megadesertdiesel]

friggin genius!!! now all of the S owners will not have penis envy with the new XP.

what kind of travel are you getting? using stock hubs or completely new outers? i am very interested.

 

[LSRGreg]

Sounds like a great idea.. but just curious about your S suspension... Was it using the stock shocks? Or tuned aftermarket shocks? What about the new trailing arm set up? Using the polaris shocks, or using tuned aftermarket shocks?

G-

 

[mosslager]

friggin genius!!! now all of the S owners will not have penis envy with the new XP.

what kind of travel are you getting? using stock hubs or completely new outers? i am very interested.

I believe Steve said the rear gets 13" travel with this kit and its +3 back

 

[megadesertdiesel]

Sounds like a great idea.. but just curious about your S suspension... Was it using the stock shocks? Or tuned aftermarket shocks? What about the new trailing arm set up? Using the polaris shocks, or using tuned aftermarket shocks?

G-

looks like the shocks are mounted forward of the stock location.

 

[Spicoli]

The kit is intended to use the stock S fox podiums. It gets around 13" of travel and is set at 60" wide. It does add 3 more inches of wheelbase. And yes there are completely new shock mounts for this kit. The purpose of this kit is to have a bad@ss trailing arm suspension like the XP without having to spend an arm and a leg or taking a huge loss on your Rzr S by having to upgrade to an XP.

 

[07fj]

The kit is intended to use the stock S fox podiums. It gets around 13" of travel and is set at 60" wide. It does add 3 more inches of wheelbase. And yes there are completely new shock mounts for this kit. The purpose of this kit is to have a bad@ss trailing arm suspension like the XP without having to spend an arm and a leg or taking a huge loss on your Rzr S by having to upgrade to an XP.

so it gained one more in of wheel travel? and uses the same 1.5" podiums that most report over heat. I am suprised Steve did not use his own Afco's for this.

not knocking the gains, but it would seem to me a true full LT kit woud do the same or better.

the XP can use some improvement also, it does pretty good for stock, but not fantastic.

 

[LSRGreg]

so it gained one more in of wheel travel? and uses the same 1.5" podiums that most report over heat. I am suprised Steve did not use his own Afco's for this.

not knocking the gains, but it would seem to me a true full LT kit woud do the same or better.

the XP can use some improvement also, it does pretty good for stock, but not fantastic.

yeah Rog.. i was thinking the same things. it looks like that car was running afco's, and that alone to the back of the S version would help a lot.. and save all the work of adding trailing arms. If both setups (S vs trailing arm) were running tuned shocks specifically for that set up, I bet it would be pretty hard to tell the difference, and say one was a huge difference over the other. But that's just my opinion. Still a cool set up.

G-

 

[Crowdog]

One key component though is the extra 3" of wheelbase....

And I am sure Steve is looking at more than just 1.5" Fox Podiums. That is probably just the baseline.

Would still like to see some still shots of the kit.

 

[Spicoli]

yeah Rog.. i was thinking the same things. it looks like that car was running afco's, and that alone to the back of the S version would help a lot.. and save all the work of adding trailing arms. If both setups (S vs trailing arm) were running tuned shocks specifically for that set up, I bet it would be pretty hard to tell the difference, and say one was a huge difference over the other. But that's just my opinion. Still a cool set up.

G-

The springs were different in the rear because I had 250 rate progressives on there and it was way too much spring. It has the same 1.5 Podiums though. I know Steve is planning to provide Afcos as an upgrade which should significanctly improve the ride but the intention of this kit is to provide a XP upgrade( which I promise you it is much better handling and takes the woops faster than the S suspension) for a price that many people will be able to afford and can always upgrade in stages.

I put the Rzr through nasty wooped out sections and the shocks were warm but not that hot like they were overworked.

 

[Big Guy]

I was in Parker with Steve when they were testing this kit. Steve has done an awesome job with the design. He is definatly on to something here. I dont want to speak out of turn so I will let him tell you the particulars. There are alot more benifites to this kit other then more travel you will be able to eliminate all those a-arm bushings and all that stress on the rear section of the chassis. No more bushings to grease or bolts to bend or wear out ect...

 

[megadesertdiesel]

we want pictures DAMMIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Big Guy]

we want pictures DAMMIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know Steve wants to be sure he has everything %100 figuared out before he goes public with too much detail......just be patient...

 

[tatum]

I like this idea.I think the extra wheelbase is a big plus in the desert.I would think it would turn a little slower though.

 

[hansshanks]

does this change add a lot of weight. have you compared stock parts to replacement parts. will this require custom length axles?

 

[skunx]

I know Steve wants to be sure he has everything %100 figuared out before he goes public with too much detail......just be patient...

looks like its already public

 

[StrRacerX]

steve wants to work out all the bugs before he official puts a price tag and up close pics. have patience guys

 

[Spicoli]

Yep Steve is going through the last couple things but I can tell you it should be really soon. The rzr ran great for first time testing but like anything there are certain refining that can be done. Pics and more video soon.