[hrag]

Originally Posted by khan_sultan

mmmm. I would prefer a sleeper

Well, it does look like an UPPER BERTH now

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by headers

Thats the breakover angle!! Sir.

No Sir, breakover angle also depends on the wheelbase. See here: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/769675-post8.html

I am talking about just effective/useful GC. Some say lowest point of diff housing is the GC, in that case SPoA doesn't increase the GC at all.

[khan_sultan]

Originally Posted by vinod_nookala

BTw ..
1. How is the steering? Is it vague? Do you still feel the need for hi steer?

2. Did you reduce the arch of your spring to reduce the ride height (front)?

3. ..do you recommend this job to others as a high priority modification?

1. The steering is ok right now. I have not felt any difference or discomfort or problem while driving. We did some~100 kms of on rod driving last week. However, I will get a hi-steer done sometime later for sure.

2. No. All stock arch/camber.

3. A BIG No. IMHO, lockers/LSD are far more important than SPOA. In last weeks OTR, we got ample demonstration of what value Lockers/LSD bring. SPoA, IMHO, should be done after other things are sorted out. But then this is just my view.

Originally Posted by Samurai

... Does that mean you don't consider lowest point of diff housing as the GC? I too believe the lowest point at the center of the wheelbase as the effective GC. That has been definitely raised.

Here is what I meant by better GC:
While the diff housing height still remains same as before, but because other things around it are raised, it allows you to take angles/obstacles that would have otherwise hit leafs etc. Hence I mentioned better GC. This is what I found in this Sunday's outing.

Originally Posted by ex670c

..... Beef up your front Spring Hangers, as they are the first to contact any obstacle.

mmmm. You are right. I have been cosely lookign at some of the spring shackles that few fellows have here. They for sure look string than the stock tin plate shackles.

[star_aqua]

Originally Posted by swastikviji

Good Vijay with only two pictures you told full success story of SPOA Now find places for Khan He needs Extreme terrain now.Khan Sir Congrats

We did only 40% of the complete trail. still 60% is remaining which will be more challenging as that trail is not used by the locals for a long time. We must explore it further with the help of locals there.

And here goes few more comparison with stock gypsy!



And one of the best shot by our official photographer Rajesh!

[khan_sultan]

Here are some of the learnings I have had during the execution of the SPoA Stage-1 project. Sharing them here so that people who go down this path can benefit from it.

• Find a garage/workshop that you are 100% comfortable with. It can be anywhere and any kind of workshop. Important thing is that both you and the workshop technician and should be talking the same language and understand each other. In my case, I am was 100% comfortable with Suraksha doing this job and trusted them.

The above is important as SPoA is > 90% a mechanical/labor intensive job and a lot depends on the skill and understanding of the person executing the job.

• Critical parts modified/altered:
  • Spring Perches/Mounts
  • Shock Mounts
  • Brake Lines
  • Steering (Drag Link. Not so much the tie rod)
  • Propeller Shaft

Make sure that you have plans for each of these. It may sound easy, but getting these parts off the shelf or fabricating them is NOT easy. I found it during my project.

Spring Mounts: I was plain lucky that we could reuse the stock mounts/perches. If anyone of these had been damaged then I would have had a tough time getting the mounts fabricated. However, I have heard that for MM vehicles you get aftermarket perches. Don't k now if they will fit a Gypsy axle.

So be VERY careful with the mounts and your strategy for these. Also, the front driver side mount is of different size than rest.

Brake Lines: These have to be lengthened for SURE. I realized that in city one can get away with stock lines but in off-road even my lengthier pipes were being tested.
The issue one runs into getting new pipes is that usually no one keeps stock of extended brake lines as it is a part that rarely requires attention in most vehicles.

BTW, for a Gypsy, wagonR brake lines give 6-7" more length than stock Gypsy pipes.

And yes, the above just addresses the front brakes. You still have to worry about the rear brake pipe (single only).

Steering: Surprisingly, steering for Gypsy in SPoA with stock parts did not have much of an issue. However, if you plan to use bigger leafs then this is one things you have to plan for. Of al the things in SPoA, this is the most complex and can be most difficult to fabricate. However, you have options to do a z-link or a cross-over (only the drag link is above the leafs) or a hi-steer (both drag link & tie rod are above the leafs).

Propellor Shaft: This would be known only when all parts are assembled back together and you get to know how much splines are visible in the DS. Depending on that you may have to fabricate DS spacers or arrange for a longer prop shaft. Again, for me it's only ~1" of splines showing up (out of ~3.5") so am ok for now. But yes, it would be better to have spacers or a longer prop shaft.

Will keep adding to the learnings as I progress further.

Cheers,

[dwaraka]

Khan Saab,

You have given very good tips on man -machine- mechanic synchrony.

Dwarak

[siddartha]

shahnavaz you definitely should consider a good roll cage , you need it now, looking at the pics.

[Gypsy-Boy]

Hey guys
I came across this jeep in Bangalore which had SPOA and a good amount of lift. Thought i'd share it here.
Sorry for the pic quality but this was in traffic and my phone cam isnt very good.

[khan_sultan]

Ok, one more item ticked off from the SPoA pending work. The spacers for the drive shaft have been fabricated and installed.

With the SPoA lift, the DS had become a bit sloppy and one could move the drive shaft up/down with hands. This was ok while driving in city and bad roads, but I had begun to feel the difference when articulating/flex situations.

The spacers are of .75" and have been put in both front & rear drive shaft. Both have been put at the axle end each side.

I can now feel the tightness in the driveshaft and the vehicle feels lot 'torquirer' now.

So now the one pending item is the 'steering work'. Need to get the hi-steer work done soon. I can now feel that the steering is begining to be a lot vague than before.

[khan_sultan]

For the first time after the SPoA Mod, I encountered a terrain where the SPoA really helped and the Lockers + SPoA combination worked wonders.

This was a rocky terrain of some 3-4 ft drop and all uneven boulders etc.

I don't think there was any way that a 'stock' MM/Gypsy would have been able to do this terrain.

The articulation was great and I am sure that once I get longer dampers/shocks, the articulation will be even more.

Here are the pictures (pic taken by Rudra & Vijay).

[GoSlow]

Shanawaz - these are amazing pics of the gypsy and how the SPOA and diff locks are helpful in the situation. Well executed job and good thought out mods. Well Done!

Cheers
Ankit

[pradster]

Woah, WOAH!
Now thats one mean machine sultan!
The first picture really had my jaw dropping, the amount of articulation is astounding! you'll struggle to find places where this beast cannot go!
congratulations on a project well executed!
The machine looks badass!

[khan_sultan]

Am in the process of fabricating one last thing pending to complete the SPoA as per my requirements.

Any guesses to what this might be .

[ex670c]

Originally Posted by khan_sultan

Am in the process of fabricating one last thing pending to complete the SPoA as per my requirements.

Any guesses to what this might be .

Hi Shah Nawaz,

Looks like Hi-Steer Arms

Regards,

Arka

PS - Maybe T-Case Brackets

[COUGAR]

Originally Posted by khan_sultan

This was a rocky terrain of some 3-4 ft drop and all uneven boulders etc.

GASP! Man that is some awesome stuff! Puttin this down on my "must have" list.