All UTV's Alignment

badassmav

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Jun 11, 2013
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Jamul
These calipers?



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No. The ones I used were off of a 2013 model year. I believe it was the Outlander 1,000 cc Max model, and they were 2 piston calipers. I went to the dealer to confirm the mounting orientation, and the piston bore size before ordering. The pic you have is of a single piston caliper, and most likely would not provide sufficient braking performance for a vehicle twice the weight of the one they came off of.
 

mearsman

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Nov 2, 2011
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Ok I'll keep looking , I did remount the rack 2" lower and it helped the bump steer immensely



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badassmav

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Jun 11, 2013
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Jamul
Ok I'll keep looking , I did remount the rack 2" lower and it helped the bump steer immensely



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Glad to hear it! You can further dial out the bump steer by adjusting the rack clevis centerline.
I noticed the inner tie rod pivots, where they connect to your rack need to be adjusted as well. The bolts that the inner tie rod pivots on, the ones attatching the inner tie rod pivots to the rack clevices, need to be at the same angle as the bolts that your a arms pivot on (angled about 10 degrees downward, towards the rear of the car). Like my rack, yours appears to have clevises threaded into it, with jam nuts to secure them. Rotate those clevises so the pivot bolts match the angle of the a arm pivot bolts. I would be surprised if you get full steering, lock to lock and without bind and throughout the entire wheel travel, in its current configuration. The general mounting rule here is to either match the plane that the suspension pivots upon, or perpindicular to that plane, depending on the components motion requirements.
The only disadvantage you will experience by converting to a front steer, is the process required to remove the front differential. Whereas before, you just removed the bumper (which doubles as a spreader support at the front of the frame), un-bolted the 5 bolts attatching the diff to the frame, and pull the diff, with driveshaft attatched, straight out through the front of the car. Now, you will also need to yank out that pesky, hard to access and excessively loctited, 1/4 turn at a time retaining bolt that secures the front driveshaft yolk to the pinion gear shaft. Not a worry if you do not perform regular driveshaft maintenanc as we have to.
Don't forget that you still need additional gusseting to the factory down tubes that you welded your new rack mount bracketry to. If you do not tie in the gap between the bottom of the rack mount, and the intersection where the down tube attatches to the frame, said joint will surely fail before its time. Notice the reinforcement that I added to ours. Overkill? Possibly so, but overkill, as it relates to off-road racing, is the key to success.
Another experience I had when putting an aftermarket rack n pinion on the front of the axle, was the reliability of our electric P/S unit. The first race for our car, and it was under 200 miles, was enough to break off the teeth of the gears in the electric P/S unit, and our steering locked up. The Fox steering stabilizers are not just for looks boys and girls. Like everything else we added to the Monster Mav, they are necessary for our cars' reliability. You most likely will get away without the stabilizers. Most racers do. I'm just sayin'
.
Oh, and one last tip about selecting a brake caliper: We barely got away with using a caliper off of an atv to replace the stock Maverick ones because of the mounting offset dimensions. We got lucky, and ours was just barely able to mount to the stock mounting tabs on the spindles. Also, be sure to match the number of pistons in the calipers, as well as the bore diameter of said pistons. Once completed, you want the brake pedal to have a similar feel to it, as well as the car to stop when you depress it. Hydraulic systems are very sensitive, to even the slightest change, in the plumbing that carries it from point "a" to point "b".
 

badassmav

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At this years Mint race, we took a solid impact to the left rear tire as you can see. The red/blue tape on the floor represents two lines that run parallel to the chassis. If you line up the piece of metal resting on the wheel hub with the tape on the floor, you can clearly see the toe out that the drivers side rear wheel now has. Compare it to the passenger side image, which has the proper 1/16"-1/8" toe in, and it becomes crystal clear why I check for a 4 wheel alignment after each race, or excessively hard impact while testing. Something moved somewhere, and I have 2 days to identify and repair it before the IV 250.
 
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mearsman

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Nov 2, 2011
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Rear tie rods? And I'm gonna need some help on the mounting plates for the front calipers. Can ya help out a brotha when at get back from your win?


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badassmav

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Jun 11, 2013
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Jamul
Rear tie rods? And I'm gonna need some help on the mounting plates for the front calipers. Can ya help out a brotha when at get back from your win?


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Only if your dad's name is Richard or Roger! :confused: Ha ha. No problem, maynard. I'm going to test right now, but will be back here this eve.
 

mearsman

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So the calipers from my dealer are 134 a piece loaded. Is that a good price?


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badassmav

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Jun 11, 2013
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So the calipers from my dealer are 134 a piece loaded. Is that a good price?


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Yep. The cost on BRP's parts page is 179.00. The calipers you need are the front ones off of the 2013 Outlander Max 1000- EFI DPS XT, at least that's what I used. The packing slip I received with the calipers had the 179.00 price on it, but we have a parts allotment, so it might just be a formality. It is however, much cheaper than buying an aftermarket brand like Wilwood or the like, AND the OEM calipers you purchase will be a close enough match to the hydraulic output of your stock brake pedal so you don't have to re-design your entire braking system. The end result on our car was only satisfactory, but we weigh in at 2,000 + lbs.

Also, I had to have custom braided lines made for our car, but that was mostly due to the length of our custom a arms. As long as your a arms are not more than 3" wider than stock (per side), your stock lines should work with the new calipers. You will need to fab a small angle bracket to secure them to the stock threaded hole in the top of your spindle, or pick up the upper caliper mounting bolt. If I can find a close up, I'll attatch an image.

I'm feeling kind of bad that you dove into your project not planning on the expense of buying new calipers, even though I covered that necessary mod in my posts, so I'll tell you what I'm going to do (because contrary to how I might come across at times, I really am a nice guy, and do enjoy helping others):

I'll get you out of the doghouse with your special lady IF, you promise not to share the file I am offering to email to you with anyone else. I spent a fair amount of time designing it, and plan to include it with the kit that I will soon be offering. I refer to "it" as being the adapter bracket that I designed to mate your new calipers to the stock Maverick spindles. If you have the ability to accurately drill and tap 8 or 10 mm holes through 3/8" thick mild steel, then you're home free. I would like to remain the one who owns said file, and therefore, be the one that chooses to whom it is given. Fair enough?

BOASTING WARNING!! The test today went very well for the Monster Mav. Our competition will not have an easy time keeping us in their rear view mirror(s) come Saturday!
 

badassmav

Well-Known Member
Jun 11, 2013
1,379
182
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Jamul
At this years Mint race, we took a solid impact to the left rear tire as you can see. The red/blue tape on the floor represents two lines that run parallel to the chassis. If you line up the piece of metal resting on the wheel hub with the tape on the floor, you can clearly see the toe out that the drivers side rear wheel now has. Compare it to the passenger side image, which has the proper 1/16"-1/8" toe in, and it becomes crystal clear why I check for a 4 wheel alignment after each race, or excessively hard impact while testing. Something moved somewhere, and I have 2 days to identify and repair it before the IV 250.
I identified the rear toe link as the cause of our mis-alignment. The damage is subtle, and easy to miss, but significant none the less. Notice the difference between the passenger side and the drivers side link bar. You can see that the drivers side has a lazy bow leading up to the actual bend that I made in the link, whereas the passenger side bar is straight, and has a distinct separation from where the bend radius meets the straight section. I have no time to fab a new one before the race, but have a spare set (first design, a bit different) on hand already. I have decided that running the damaged bar will be a low to no risk solution for this race, and will replace it for the 500.
 
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mearsman

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Nov 2, 2011
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I promise and give you my word on not sharing the file. I would never blame you for not sharing the info on needing the calipers. I really appreciate you taking the time to help me with this.


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badassmav

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Jun 11, 2013
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Jamul
I promise and give you my word on not sharing the file. I would never blame you for not sharing the info on needing the calipers. I really appreciate you taking the time to help me with this.


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If you can wait until Sunday night for the goods, that will give me time to get you the proper and complete information. Thanks.
 

mearsman

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No worries, go kick some ass this weekend


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mearsman

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I've got more pictures of the maverick gear one billet rack front steer conversion if interested


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badassmav

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Jun 11, 2013
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Jamul



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It looks like your clevises on the rack are rotated too far forward. Looking at a side view, the bolt axis that passes through the clevis should be perpendicular (90 degrees) to the bolt axis that passes through the steering knuckle. If not, the rod end at the clevis will most likely have clearance/binding issues at full bump and lock. This means that as you look at the front view of the car, the top of the clevises should be rotated back slightly. I believe it's around 10 degrees, depending on the amount of caster you are running.
 

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mearsman

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Nov 2, 2011
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This was the first location mock up. After our discussion regarding bump steer I lowered the rack mounting point as far as I could as to not interfere with the a-arm braces. After I mounted the rack in it's final place I looked at all the pictures of the front of the monster Mav and rotated the clevises to match


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badassmav

Well-Known Member
Jun 11, 2013
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Jamul
This was the first location mock up. After our discussion regarding bump steer I lowered the rack mounting point as far as I could as to not interfere with the a-arm braces. After I mounted the rack in it's final place I looked at all the pictures of the front of the monster Mav and rotated the clevises to match


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I just wanted to make sure. As pictured, the inner rod end would be a binding bitch at full extremes. Looks good Jim. Let me know as you are working through the early stages of figuring out your arms if I can help. I'm too tired right now to even think straight, so tomorrow, I'll recall my experience and let you know any short cuts or red flags to watch for. Check out Mearsman, taking the bull by the frickin' horns :cool:. Yeah, your cool:D.
 

mearsman

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Nov 2, 2011
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Just learning from you bud.
I appreciate tour attention to the details in the picture to ensure my success.

I gotta tell you that you've sorted me in to help out others as much as you've helped me. To pass on the gained knowledge. It's very liberating and gratifying at the same time.


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badassmav

Well-Known Member
Jun 11, 2013
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Jamul
Just learning from you bud.
I appreciate tour attention to the details in the picture to ensure my success.

I gotta tell you that you've sorted me in to help out others as much as you've helped me. To pass on the gained knowledge. It's very liberating and gratifying at the same time.


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Yes it is! It's my swan song, and I just want to help others while I can. I wish I could give more. Society is in bad need of people who care enough to go the extra mile for a stranger, who wont unnecessarily line their pockets at the expense of others. We all have received good gestures in our lives, and therefore, we all should reciprocate with kind gestures to others. I'll stop it now. I feel a David Banner moment brewing!! :confused: You're welcome, by the way! I'm putting my new power supply to good use drawing up these new arms on the shop floor with my laptop. Thanks

I see that you can still pull out the front diff w/driveshaft attached. Good thinking!
 

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