In our last issue (Dirt Toys, Spring, 2012, page 38), we showed you the beginning of our Ranger RZR XP 900 project car. We took a 2011 XP 900 and gutted it, removing the suspension, roll cage, seats, seat belts, wheels and tires.
Then we reinforced the RZR's frame and suspension mount points with HCR's frame reinforcement and gusset kit. Next, we installed HCR's XP long travel suspension kit, including 2.5-inch King shocks, increasing our travel to 17 plus inches and our width to 74 inches.
For protection, we added TMW Offroad's Intimidator roll cage, prerunner bumper with race braces, TMW half doors (fixed) and the company's aluminum roof.
For comfort and safety, we installed a set of Twisted Stitch Revolver seats along with Crow Enterprizes 3-inch padded 5-point safety harnesses. To increase traction we mounted a set of Pitbull Growler tires on ITP T7 aluminum beadlock wheels.
In this issue, we'll continue our build by adding power to the engine, a graphics wrap and upgraded lighting.
Our initial approach to increasing power on this car is to get more power to the ground without having to crack the motor open and rebuild it. There's a lot to be said about the reliability that comes from a good engine in its factory form. It seems like when you modify the internals of an engine, you never get that same reliability back. So to add some power and keep reliability, we took the car to the turbo experts at Boondocker.
Serious Boost
Boondocker installed its Stage 1 bolt-on turbo kit, which boosts up to 8 to 10 psi, keeping head pressures within the limits of the factory engine setup. This gave our engine a substantial increase in mid-range and top end power. Boondocker also changed the clutching in our machine to match the new power from the engine so it gets applied to the wheels in a smooth linear power curve.
We took the car to the St. Anthony Sand Dunes in eastern Idaho with Boondocker for testing and ran up a hill where a stock RZR XP would make it about halfway up before it would have to turn out. When we ran this hill, our project XP powered all the way up to the top and still had enough speed to catch about 15 feet of air off of the top of the hill.
And yes, the landing was super soft, thanks to that amazing suspension. The Boondocker kit includes an adjustable fuel box that allows us to fine tune fueling for our machine if needed. The kit also includes an electronic boost controller that measures boost on the fly and automatically calibrates fueling for your current altitude. This is great because the machine will get the right amount of boost whether it's operating at sea level or 9,000 feet.
After Boondocker was finished with the car, we replaced the stock red hood with new black plastic and a scooped hood from Maier and dropped it off at Toyskinz to customize the look of the XP. They designed a wrap that we liked and wrapped every panel of the car, including the roof. The graphics wrap is thick printed vehicle wrap material which will also help protect the car from scratching.
Lighting It Up
Now that we have a great looking XP that's built to perform in every way, we need to upgrade the lighting. For this project, we chose high performance LED lighting from Rigid Industries. These guys really know their stuff when it comes to lighting. Their lights are lightweight, compact and efficient with power usage. But don't let the small package fool you; the light output from these little LEDs is incredible (we're talking retinal damage if you're on the wrong end of them). These lights are also durable. We couldn't believe the durability testing that Rigid puts its lights through and what the fixtures could withstand and still function properly. We installed a 30-inch SR-Series hybrid LED light bar on the front of the roll cage which produces 9,600 lumens with only a 7.2 AMP power draw. They call this light a hybrid because it combines spot and flood light patterns in its beam projection.
We also installed two sets of Rigid's D2 Dually lights on the prerunner bumper. Two lights in the center of the bumper for forward projection and two lights under the fenders, mounted to the race braces for peripheral projection.
For must-have accessories like mirrors, light brackets, GoPRO camera mounts and gas can holders, we used Axia Alloys' billet aluminum accessories all over the car. They make mounts to fit the stock RZR cage or just about any diameter tube used in a custom cage.
Now that our XP is built and ready for extensive testing and use, we'll do just that. Look for our report and photos in our next issue. You can also check our Facebook page for periodic updates on this project at facebook.com/dirttoys.
SOURCES:
HCR Racing
www.hcrracing.com
(888) 928-RACE
TMW Offroad
www.tmwoffroad.com
(480) 969-9261
Rexburg Motorsports
www.rexburgmotorsports.com
(208) 356-4000
Twisted Stitch
www.twistedstitchinc.com
(714) 773-0233
ITP
www.itptires.com
(888) 368-3059
Crow Enterprizes
www.crowenterprizes.com
(714) 879-5970
Boondocker Performance
www.boondockers.com
(877) 522-7805
ToySkinz
www.toyskinz.com
(855) Toyskinz
Rigid Industries
www.rigidindustries.com
(480) 655-0100
Axia Alloys
www.axiaalloys.com
(480) 216-6266
