zuki q's (drivetrain and rear leaf dimensions)

[N-Smooth]

okay i have a q about sami drivetrain. we all know samis rock, but what can the drivetrain take. we will be building my friends sami once we get my jeep out and i am thinking about it.
he wants to run the stock motor and tranny (after a rebuild) and 6.5:1 gears in the case. we have some cherochief d44s that are going in it too... he wants to run 36's or bigger, but can the motor and tranny take it?
he will prolly gear the axles to 5.38 so he should come out with a good crawl ratio. what is the sami 1st gear ratio? i forget... 3.6 or 3.7 or something?

will that setup work????

another q for you sami dudes, what is the length of sami rear springs? 38 inches or something? also they are not offset right?
i am trying to figure running xj rears flipped around to gain wheelbase. xj rears are like 52.5" long with a 5.5" offset, that would be nice as long as there is a traction bar involved. has anyone seen the spidertrax traction bar setup? it looks like it is one link, but they don't have pics on the site. i wonder how it works.

thanks
-nate

 

[BBowski82]

that would be nice as long as there is a traction bar involved. has anyone seen the spidertrax traction bar setup? it looks like it is one link, but they don't have pics on the site. i wonder how it works.

thanks
-nate

Spence runs the Spidertrax traction bar setup on his Sami and swears by it, I mimicked (Sp?) the setup on my Cj and have no complaints....I bet if you ask Spence nice he'd take a few pics, then again I think he may have an old thread with pics.....

 

[N-Smooth]

calling all spencurais

 

[N-Smooth]

i demand more replies!!

 

[jp008]

My personal opinion is that the sami engine and trans will take ALL the abuse you can give it. Other people will not say the same. My engine was fairly fresh when I shaved the head 20 thou, put 1.6 exhaust valves in and had a cam custom ground. I "was" running 5.12 gears w/33's and had a few rear axle issues, 1 snapped and 2 twisted like a candy cane.

I am at the end of what you are planning to do. I have waggy D44's, YJ's up front and XJ's in the rear with the long end forward. I will be building a traction/anti wrap bar similar to the bar Vonski had on the rear of his Yota. I have heard rumor that D44's don't like anything larger than a 36, but I cannot speak from experience. I will be running 36" IROK's and 5.38 gears, spooled front and rear.

The rear sami springs are not offset. I do not remember the length but I can measure if you need me to.

My wheelbase is at 93". I have chopped the rear fenders and trimmed the front fenders for tire clearance.

If I remember correctly the sami 1st gear is 3.62--ish.

 

[crimsonride]

The one I've ridden in wasn't geared and that little 5 inch clutch (brand new one) was slipping. Just a tip, lower gears in the axle will reduce the stress on powertrain. Go as low as you can gearwise in the axles, then go after the T-case. Just my oppinion here.

 

[jp008]

You should upgrade the clutch. I suggest the clutch that Petroworks has. Gary guarantees it will not slip even after a nice smoking session. I am currently running the Centerforce Dual Friction. It is a major improvement over the stock clutch but I have had it heated up and slipping. My crawl ratio was 77 to 1. The only place I have heated the clutch was at the top of constrictor.

Lower gears in the axles are a good thing.

5.12's in the diffs and a 6.1 or lower t-case will make for a great machine.

 

[spencurai]

calling all spencurais

the spidertrax setup could not be more simplistic and net more gain!!
installation was a snap. We did it in andy's driveway in about 30 minutes.

what info did you need on the system? How it works? or how it performs?

 

[BBowski82]

the spidertrax setup could not be more simplistic and net more gain!!
installation was a snap. We did it in andy's driveway in about 30 minutes.

what info did you need on the system? How it works? or how it performs?

Told you fat boy would speak up....


















Hey pot......this is kettle......

 

[spencurai]

Told you fat boy would speak up....


















Hey pot......this is kettle......

 

[SAMI]

i think the stock springs on a zuk are something more like 36"s.....
i run YJ springs all around, and i think you'll love em, the XJ's in the rear will definately be cool!

i would assume a 36" tire on a D44 under a zuk would be just fine....under 'most' wheeling conditions.... keep in mind how light these bad boys are.

and i agree that the engine and tranny/tcase will be just fine as well.....some minor upgrade goodies on the engine and you're in buisness....

 

[N-Smooth]

sweeeeet replies thanks guys... i am excited to build his sami because my bro is justing keeping his how it is basically.
spence, i just wanted to see how the spidertrax bar is setup, they show it disassembled on the site but they don't really explain it very well. i bet it is just a single bar that goes below the axle centerline, i can see it being effective in some cases, but i wonder. snap a pic of it if you would.

jp008, i need to come check out your sami sometime and see how i like the wheelbase. we would like to make his sami have about a 100" wb if that is feasible.

on the drivetrain subject i agree to gear the hell out of the d44's and go with 6.5:1 t-case.
if the 1st gear is 3.62x6.5x5.38=126.59 crawl ratio!!!

that might be a little too low for the drivetrain to handle, advice?? my jeep has a crawl ratio of 84 with 36's and it has no problems. sami has less motor though.

 

[crimsonride]

on the drivetrain subject i agree to gear the hell out of the d44's and go with 6.5:1 t-case.
if the 1st gear is 3.62x6.5x5.38=126.59 crawl ratio!!!

that might be a little too low for the drivetrain to handle, advice?? my jeep has a crawl ratio of 84 with 36's and it has no problems. sami has less motor though.

The drivetrain will handle as low as you like, lower gearing = less momentum = less breaking. Graned, you could twist a couple shafts off but I don't see that happening in a zuk.

 

[N-Smooth]

The drivetrain will handle as low as you like, lower gearing = less momentum = less breaking. Graned, you could twist a couple shafts off but I don't see that happening in a zuk.

yeah d44s under a light rid with a 1.3L = not much chance of breakage. hell i have 44's under my jeep and i don't think i will break em.

 

[BBowski82]

hell i have 44's under my jeep and i don't think i will break em.

Famous last words....

broke 2 shafts in my CJ7 (which I thought would be impossible) 4.3, 44's, 36's....

 

[jp008]

jp008, i need to come check out your sami sometime and see how i like the wheelbase. we would like to make his sami have about a 100" wb if that is feasible.

on the drivetrain subject i agree to gear the hell out of the d44's and go with 6.5:1 t-case.
if the 1st gear is 3.62x6.5x5.38=126.59 crawl ratio!!!

that might be a little too low for the drivetrain to handle, advice?? my jeep has a crawl ratio of 84 with 36's and it has no problems. sami has less motor though.

You are more than welcome to come out anytime, except this weekend. I have a show this weekend at the Delta Center. I will be home on Sunday however. Shoot me a PM or call me @ 801-725-5963.

 

[N-Smooth]

You are more than welcome to come out anytime, except this weekend. I have a show this weekend at the Delta Center. I will be home on Sunday however. Shoot me a PM or call me @ 801-725-5963.

show at the d-center? what kind of show? my mom works there and i used to work there and my brother and oh yeah my sisters and even my dad. basically my whole family worked there at one time. i need to come check out the zuk.

 

[jp008]

Monster Truck show.

Edit: January 30-31



Like I said come by anytime. I'm usually off work during the week by 4:00.

It's getting closer. I stole some 35" Krawlers last night and put them on for a test fit.

 

[jp008]

I'll be at the rodeo (5 mile) this saturday. I will be home Sunday.

But the sami will stay home.