Quote:
Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy
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Let's face facts, how many Cayenne owners buy one to beat the crap out of it on the Rubicon trail?
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Okay, and Let's face facts, how many
Jeep owners buy one to beat the crap out of it on the Rubicon trail? ...as a percentage sold? .... and those who do buy Jeeps to beat the crap out of, on the Rubicon trail, how many don't modify the hell out of them?
All I'm saying is a stock Jeep doesn't eclipse the off-road capabilities of a Cayenne or even a Lexus. As Webb points to "...the newest most sophisticated drive/traction system ..." buys a lot.
The hard-core Jeep-ists look to split hairs and point to supposed weak spots, such as CV joints. Seriously? "durability is pretty valuable when miles from civilization. " PUh-LEASE.... Let's just say for a moment that all the CV boots get completely ripped off (not likely that even ONE would). . .and then the deep mud, and then the dry sand.. Does any one think that the vehicle will be stopped "miles from civilization." from torn CV boots? Let me remind people that ALL of these vehicles (Jeeps included) depend on civilization for a little consumable called GAS. ...and that even sand-packed CV's will keep pushing a wheel around for THOUSANDS of miles. So really, what kind of crazed, outback scenario is anyone imagining where it's "oh no, I won't be able to drive confidently 1000 miles into the jungle and back because if a CV boot tears I'll be stuck." ?
And to putting too much torque for a CV? .... CV's are sized for any give torque load. The Cayenne turbo can produce massive engine torque, which is then multiplied thru gear reduction. Does anyone think that the Porsche engineers don't know this? ...that only Jeep engineers have figured out "CV's can't be strong enough?" Funny, my VW Syncro van has both CV's, (axles) and U-joints (Drive shaft). Now at ~200k miles,the U-joints failed at ~100k, yet none of the CV's have failed (and one has had a torn boot for the last 60k) -- yeah, I'm living on the edge now.
And then this idea that massive "articulation" is So important for getting thru stuff. Again, that is splitting a pretty fine hair. While "articulation" does help ride quality it's not a big player in traction. I mean, I -get- that in some peoples minds having more rubber in contact will give that much more grip. . . but of course they are wrong. Friction (grip) is by far a function of normal force (loading).
And then this thing about the hanging dif (on Jeeps). lm6y says "if you know how to drive, you won't drag the diff. "
Yeah, Someone here has a tag line that reads "a poor craftsman will blame his tools." And I have to agree with that. But it doesn't mean that some tools are better than others. In my experience, it SUCKS to have low hanging gear in the center of the vehicle, because when driving some sort of trail the majority of the trail will be rutted out. I don't care how tough the diff is, --dragging any part of the undercarriage is inefficient at best. At worst, it's high centering, and the grand "articulation" isn't going to help.
...which is why those who choose that 1940's 'tech' of a hanging diff, so often mod the crap out of the suspension so that they can fit giant tires.
Meh, as off-road gear goes, if you really want something to go deep into country get a bike, or a horse . . .or a helicopter, if you need to get there fast.
f course if your goal is "see that bolder over there? ...I'm not going to drive around it, I'll drive OVER it . . .with practice . . with a modified Jeep." Then have fun.
