Robby Gordon TT AWD conversion

[Bricoop]

What makes his truck substandard right now. Without 4wd to say a 2 wheel drive Geiser, mason, tsco, racer? He has not been competitive in it. Is it reliability, suspension geometry/travel? I can’t imagine it being power or traction. He almost always does well outside of his truck.

Reliability has probably been #1. Lots of guys talk about how fast it is (I don't know what he's done differently than other TTs), but suffers in some terrain. Generally on or near pole supports that theory. The top drivers are all so close now-a-days that any tech advantage you can get.

 

[ltr450rider]

From what I gather over the past few years, the only unreliability of this truck has been either engine failures, or rear gear failures as common issues. There was the converter pressure valve that came loose last year, but that's either a prep failure or just plain bad luck. None of which I believe have to do with the layout design of the truck itself, I don't know why everyone points to the layout of the truck being the cause of reliability.

Mason went with this same mid-engine layout for a reason. They are smart people, I am sure there is plenty of weight up front to get the front wheels to pull.

 

[Bricoop]

From what I gather over the past few years, the only unreliability of this truck has been either engine failures, or rear gear failures as common issues. There was the converter pressure valve that came loose last year, but that's either a prep failure or just plain bad luck. None of which I believe have to do with the layout design of the truck itself, I don't know why everyone points to the layout of the truck being the cause of reliability

Mason went with this same mid-engine layout for a reason. They are smart people, I am sure there is plenty of weight up front to get the front wheels to pull.

Can’t recall what happened at the 1000. Truck ran perfect at the ‘18 500, but they were chasing dust all day and got beat, flat out. The rear gear seems to be the most common failure these days. Seems that most of the development over the last 5 years has been finding the next weak link. Got the Albins issued resolved, only to start shredding drive shafts. I do wonder if sending some of the power to the front will help reduce future rear gear failures.

I also bet they’ve learned a ton developing the XX and that geometry.

 

[partybarge_pilot]

One issue I see is the offset diff in the rear. 1 axle has a way higher spring rate that the other. It will transmit far more shock loading to the driveline. Couple that with the great traction from the heavy rear weight bias and bad things start to happen.

 

[Zac Reish]

One issue I see is the offset diff in the rear. 1 axle has a way higher spring rate that the other. It will transmit far more shock loading to the driveline. Couple that with the great traction from the heavy rear weight bias and bad things start to happen.

Sounds like front traction would reduce the shock load

 

[ltr450rider]

One issue I see is the offset diff in the rear. 1 axle has a way higher spring rate that the other. It will transmit far more shock loading to the driveline. Couple that with the great traction from the heavy rear weight bias and bad things start to happen.

I have thought the same thing. Shorty axle just not having enough give compared to a center mounted 3rd member with 2 axles that have somewhat equal amounts of torsion ability.

I do also think that adding some front traction will reduce the wear and tear on rear drive components. Weather that be from lower strain on the rear drive, or being able to run at a faster pace with less input, I don't know.

 

[SuperRanger]

A question I keep asking myself: Is 4WD a better mousetrap or will they start winning more races only because top teams are all building them? The world may never know...

 

[BigBlue&Goldie]

Why would the top teams make the switch if they weren't better?

 

[Dezertpilot]

4wd is the way to go, its obvious

 

[SuperRanger]

Why would the top teams make the switch if they weren't better?

Because the other guy is doing it.

I think it is probably better if it can live but those development dollars would go a long way behind a 2wd truck. 4wd isn’t a new idea and I haven’t seen them dominate just yet... Soupras has been doing fairly well though.

 

[PeteRock]

One thing I have noticed, while watching BM coming into infield finish of the Baja 500. It looks like his truck has lots of under steer going through the corners. Maybe its setup or driving style, but the truck seemed to push the front tires through the corners. If you compare to a pro-4, you can see them pull through corners, not that the TT looked like. My belief is that having front wheel delivering power is not an advantage enough in itself. Proper setup with the front wheels pulling is another story.
Oh and where are the pictures of RG trophy truck going under the knife, someone has to have something!
Pictures or it did not happen lol!

 

[BigBlue&Goldie]

Because the other guy is doing it.

So Andy is making the switch so he can keep up with who?

 

[BigBlue&Goldie]

One thing I have noticed, while watching BM coming into infield finish of the Baja 500. It looks like his truck has lots of under steer going through the corners. Maybe its setup or driving style, but the truck seemed to push the front tires through the corners. If you compare to a pro-4, you can see them pull through corners, not that the TT looked like. My belief is that having front wheel delivering power is not an advantage enough in itself. Proper setup with the front wheels pulling is another story.
Oh and where are the pictures of RG trophy truck going under the knife, someone has to have something!
Pictures or it did not happen lol!

Not all AWD trucks are running the same drivetrain setups; some are more effective than others, especially with regard to how the front diffs work. It's seems the Masons have it figured out the best. Their whole drivetrain is incredibly well thought out and engineered. I think we will see a lot of top dogs making the move to Mason.

 

[PeteRock]

Not all AWD trucks are running the same drivetrain setups; some are more effective than others, especially with regard to how the front diffs work. It's seems the Masons have it figured out the best. Their whole drivetrain is incredibly well thought out and engineered. I think we will see a lot of top dogs making the move to Mason.

I wonder if any of these guys are running adjustable differentials, similar to rally cars. Being able to control the pull vs push of a 4x4 TT would be ideal since terrain varies so much and so fast.

 

[partybarge_pilot]

I wonder if any of these guys are running adjustable differentials, similar to rally cars. Being able to control the pull vs push of a 4x4 TT would be ideal since terrain varies so much and so fast.

An adjustable center diff would do the most good there. I know you can change the bias on the Albins units, I just don't think it can be done on the fly.

The little Mac's had different gearsets for the center diff's. Once they were set-up, they never changed them.

 

[DanMcMillin]

I’m not the fastest guy in the desert, but Bryce put a lot of time on Andy, Luke and myself from Mikes road to the coast. If it lives, it wins.

 

[mattb]

Let’s bust the old MacPherson TT out! Always loved that truck.

 

[atvrcr88]

They need to bust out the old herbst tt it was a winner.

 

[Yumaoffroad]

 

[burninfuel]

pure beauty