how to shave weight on rocks????

gubni · Jul 9, 2011

There's a saying I heard once.... If you are going to attempt to defy gravity don't build a tank.

Elliott · Jul 9, 2011

But how could that last Buggie be that much heavier?the only diff is the axles.and I agree that they take more horsepower to turn, but I've also seem a wore out 4.2 liter in a jeep smoke 44" tires with the gear reduction also.

Elliott · Jul 9, 2011

If you was to do a cam swap, springs, exhaust and a tune with a 5.3 on rocks it would be a hoss.

TBItoy · Jul 9, 2011

Yeah but of you are"smoking"the tires with gear reduction your wheel speed at the ground is floor slooooow.

I wheel a toyota so gear reduction is my game. I dont have much wheel speed as an option with 90 hp. :dunno:

patooyee · Jul 9, 2011

I look at rocks as the "go home" axle. Yes, they weigh more, but if you absolutely have to not break while wheeling then they are about the only choice. People can say what they want about them but the fact of the matter is, when everyone is loading up on the trailer Sat. night or Sun. morning because their tons are broke, I am still heading out to the trails to get a few last hours of wheeling in. Its so far for me to haul to go wheeling that I can't afford to spend all that money on diesel and then just break. Few here are in that same boat though.

Here are my pics of my machined hubs. It took about 11 lbs off per hub:

That wasn't my idea, I copied it from Steve Gerstner.

I don't think TC was running Ouverson's Aluminum hubs, was he? That would have saved another 10 lbs per hub. (I know, not exactly a game changer, just saying.)

Ultimately, its the gears that make all the weight of a rockwell and you can't do anything about them. Just think about it: a conventional axle has 2 gears, pinion and ring. Rockwell has 4, pinion, ring, intermediate, and bull + double the bearings to support them all. I've got a few d80's laying around the shop right now for my future rockwell hybrid axles. The rockwell third weighs more than the entire d80 housing with gears. (No brakes.)

J. J.

traveler · Jul 9, 2011

patooyee · Jul 9, 2011

Elliott · Jul 9, 2011

I looked into the 7075 to build some hubs for mine, your looking at 700 in material to do 4, can't imagine that it would be worth the money vs just machining the stock ones up like jj.

YOUNG · Jul 9, 2011

Theres alot of stuff you can do to the inside of the third memeber to reduce weight and reduce the amount of power needed to turn the double reduction unit.

fordcontraption01 · Jul 9, 2011

What can you do?

patooyee · Jul 9, 2011

YOUNG said:
Theres alot of stuff you can do to the inside of the third memeber to reduce weight and reduce the amount of power needed to turn the double reduction unit.

Very interested to hear about this ...

J. J.

xjpaddler · Jul 9, 2011

J.J. thanks for posting those up and for the other info. I wheeled agin today, and it is really makeing me want to do some sort of hybrid on the next rig. but i already have the rocks here, so thats what I plan to use.

the go home axle is a top pryority for me as well.

TURNEROFFROAD · Jul 9, 2011

True enough, I don't plan on being "top dog" anywhere, but it'd sure be nice to be "Ole Faithful" on the trail!!!

gomer pyle · Jul 9, 2011

i plan on using d80s with rock outers and hoping to get the final weight close to a steering d60

xjpaddler · Jul 10, 2011

what type of ground clearence can you get out of an 80??? would think less than a 14bolt is this true???? Ive been thinking about some 14 bolt hybryds but dont like the plow side of the 14s. I know this doesnt seem to effect the hill killers to much. but for where I wheel mostly it does.

badreligion_13 · Jul 10, 2011

Bronco Buster said:
TC told me that Hellraiser was 2,000# heavier than he was used to. He also said the rocks were too damn heavy and he had them as lite as they could be even had the first and only open knuckle rocks.

That is pretty funny right there. He said his jimmy smith buggy weighed 1000 pounds LESS than the his last Coleworx rig(moon rover) perconevrsation with one very successful buggy builder. Those rocks did not add a thousand pounds let alone two thousand pounds more in weight.

gomer pyle · Jul 10, 2011

xjpaddler said:
what type of ground clearence can you get out of an 80??? would think less than a 14bolt is this true???? Ive been thinking about some 14 bolt hybryds but dont like the plow side of the 14s. I know this doesnt seem to effect the hill killers to much. but for where I wheel mostly it does.

you get more than a 14bolt plus the ring and pinion are stronger

TBItoy · Jul 10, 2011

YOUNG said:
Theres alot of stuff you can do to the inside of the third memeber to reduce weight and reduce the amount of power needed to turn the double reduction unit.

Copius grinding? Cryod bearings? Light preload? Polished gear teeth? Light weight spool?

These are what I could think of to accomplish what you are claiming.

fordcontraption01 · Jul 10, 2011

Even if you did all of that no one could afford it. Im breaking shafts like crazy I may try the rcv shafts im sure there a lifts lighter than the ouversons but I don't know about strengths