what would be the most significant advancement in 6X6 or 8x8

[Robinhood02]

so ive had some conversations with others about what would be the most significant advancement in 6X6 or 8x8 as they are without changing the basic appearence or size or general layout , we all like the looks and general feel of Argos and Maxs but what would be the most significant advancement , i was suprized at the answers i got and maybe i'm "barking up the wrong tree" so i send this out to all of you .
as far as i know i made this a public poll so that even guests can vote

[LarryW]

Explanation to "other" would be more ground clearance and room for bigger tires and increased water speed. Just my thoughts.

[philipatmaxfour]

My choice would be increased water speed too. Maybe bigger tires would give a softer ride?

[Noel Woods]

Diesel, hydraulic drive, with suspension.

[Eldon]

Charlie,we all have our own ideas on "other" of course.I was told by an Argo dealer some years ago that all kinds of improvements are possible but NOT without impacting an already price saturation point.Overall I think they are all a pretty good compromise on the things we want.I would like to see more cost effective "accessory bundling".For example Argo does not bad on bundling skid plate and bearing extensions.But if they could recognize that an amphibian without a winch is nearly useless in reaching the limits they are capable of.Perhaps they could have "trim levels" similar to automotive and offer lets say what now would cost $5000 if purchased separately for lets say $3500.The base prices are pretty attractive so for instance boost the base price a bit get some profit there and then offer better prices to those who want more flexible usage such as windshields,tops,tracks etc.There is an enormous quad market and North America has aging populations tired of getting mud all over them,getting wet in the rain and parking them when snow comes.The amphibians can take a huge bite out of the quad market in the next few years,their weakness is in the marketing.In short better marketing,accesory bundling and an emphasis on maintenance schedules increasing reliability .I believe it is the maintenance that restricts their widespread usage.We all here know that these machines are where its at, but most people don't. They should concentrate on reduced maintenance through better chains, sprockets and bearings.Get the volume of sales up and the prices down. My 2 cents worth.

[Mike]

I voted for factory suspension especially if you could keep the width the same with a remolded lower tub.

[Groundhog]

On the topic of other: I would like to see a turbo and fuel injection on a v twin to get the power of a good old two stroke. Also seems like there should be a tire design that would propel better in water, possibly designed by computer simulation.

[smog]

larger tires under the argo line-up; 2 speeds transaxle in the Max IV

(I own an Argo 8x8 but dream of a Max IV that are simply non existent here in eastern Canada)


edit : I'm even considering selling the 8x8 and get a reasonably priced MAX IV on Craigslist Upper NY/VT/NH area

[thebuggyman1]

Reduced mainetance could be acheived by use of automatic bearing greasers McMaster-Carr and chains and sprockets would last forever in an oil bath resevoir. These should be easy mods for the factory. I personally think suspensions would sell many more units. Combine that with larger tires = more ground clearance = happy buggyman.

[AussieMax]

I think they are fine the way they are. I don't think they need any costly changes. The manufacturers should add remote grease fittings so the bearings can be easily serviced, and auto chain oilers to prolong the life of the chains. Suspension is a waste of time on these vehicles. Apart from the cost, extra weight and reduced water ability, it would only add more headaches with extra maintenance when being used in mud and swamp. Amphibs would then suffer the same problems as quads and side by sides with the constant CV maintenance and worn out suspension pivots. Adding suspension to an amphib would be moving away from what they were originally designed to be. If you want to go fast with a comfortable ride, get a side by side. If you want to go where those machines struggle, get an amphib. Amphibs were designed to be simple and work in mud all day every day. If you use a conventional vehicle in mud all the time they are very high mantenance and costly to keep going. In the worst mud and swamp, no quad or side by side can be compared to an amphib.

[wfo]

i totally agree with you on that they are great the way they are but.....just like any other type of manufature you should
have some other choices like faster engines and gearing and of course suspension..not all vehicles of this type have the
opportunity and privlige of haveing awesome mud bogs year round..out west its great if you have faster and smoother riding vehicles..
its great when you can put the hammer down and run 50 miles of trails in a few hours...SLOW AND MUDDY IS COOL BUT
FAST AND SMOOTH IS ALSO..

[Robinhood02]

well, this is very interesting and enlightening, I designed two different kinds of rubber torsion bar suspension a couple years ago ,it had very limited travel but was designed to take the "sharp cracks" out of the ride , by takeing those "sharp cracks" out it would serve several purposes , first and formost ,save the fillings in your teeth ,ive had more than one filling that i thought came loose due to a stupid little stick on the trail ,not to mention the fact that my back feels like i just got a spinal tap ,or while traveling down a back road you hit a small rock in the road, well your tires cant absorb all of that size rock so it tranfers to the seat and wammo you take another hit and not just once but three times as each of the tires pass over it. and second, with the very limited travel suspension the machine would retain the ability to use tracks, one system used a conventional shaft with a u-joint the other used a 3/4 in thick piece of logging cable for the shaft (allowed for flex without the need for a u-joint) . In either case i did not build a prototype nor pursue it any further because i thought that i had more important issue of maintainance , the chain drive system that we all curse from time to time, if you've never sworn at your machine it's because you have'nt owned it very long LOL !! well for me it is compounded 28 times, because i own 28 of these machines on a rental fleet and i have seven more coming , boys oh boys am i ever sick and tired of fixin sprokets and chains and idlers and brgs AND tryin to keep the tub clean amongst others , but those are the biggys, so i redirected my efforts to a shaft drive, over the last year i've developed a prototype and installed it into two units, both are Max IIs, one is an 18hp unit that after a few redesigns and tweeks here and there seem to work well and the second has a 700 MXZ in it (stress testing LOL) it has spit out a few gears here and there but i think i got that one under control now, my prototypes are a one piece unit but i think i will split it up to become more easily adaptable to other makes and models, my drawings also include an optional two speed worm box incorporated into the input shaft to get more top end out of the units, the design would not be all that hard to incorporate my old suspension design along with it. my drawings are allready protected by international intelectual property laws so i don't mind showing you guys here my old drawings of it ,but i will not post them publicly nor will i produce photos of the final prototype ,if you would like to see the drawings drop me a PM or e-mail me. i would love to get some more feed back on this topic from all you boys here at 6x6 World, MIKE these are not and will not be for sale anytime in the immediate future so i hope im not breaking any of your rules
i hope that everyone that sees this post will vote so we can get a good feel for what is wanted/needed

[6X6]

I picked other:
1) Suspension OPTION would be awesome. It's not something that should be standard, as it compromises the mud and swamp performance, but for those of us who mudd less and blast all out down trails more, it's an AWESOME option.

2) Update the machines once in a while. I know it's not easy with low production runs, but it would be nice to see that tranny migrate under the rear seat of a Max IV by now.

3) More motor choices. I'd of course like to see a 2-stroke option again, with the newer engines, especially fuel injected, they are not only much more fuel efficient, but also very reliable even for those who aren't fans of "tuning". And they still put out more power for the weight, and rev to where only heavily modded 4-s will go. (RobinHood, I salute you for your motor choice, a nice big rotax would make a Max fun )

BTW RobinHood02, How much have you "Beat" on the Max 700, Any T-20 failures and what style/size key are you using on your T-20? I haven't finished rebuilding my Racer's engine yet so I can't say for sure what's going in, but it WILL test the limits of parts, so any feedback you have is greatly appreciated

[Robinhood02]

the 700 spit out the first prototype i built pretty quick but the 700 tops out at 8000 rpm so the top speed on the Max was just toooo crazy, so i had to regear the shaft drive to 6:1 to get the top speed down it now only does about 45 mph and ive only taken it up that fast on a frozen lake , ive done wheelies from an initial speed of about 5 mph ,try it from a standing start and i just bust something . the T20 has held up just fine the little bugger is just bullet proof however i did spin a sproket on the trani once ,but of course ive had the usual prob of shift pins and the dual shift fixed that, oh and it goes accross water not through it ,but it was very unstable
oh and i dont think ive ever mentioned that the shaft drive still uses a short chain from the trani down to the worm box input shaft ,its about the length of the Max IV chain from the T20 down to the rear axle
as for the 18hp it'll be going out on rentals this year to see how it performs with somewhat less than good drivers LOL i'm not expecting any probs but if you wanna find somebody that can break something that has never been broke before ,,,, just rent it out .....

[6X6]

Thanks,
I have been a bit worried and have a spare just in case (Of course a great way to keep it in one piece is to never finish the darn thing )
I had herd about 100hp on the T-20 but then again I'm not sure how that was obtained. And of course in a lighter machine, it'll be stressed a bit less too, and I'm figuring the Max will be no lighter than the Attex.

I'm not expecting any probs but if you wanna find somebody that can break something that has never been broke before ,,,, just rent it out .....

This is why we looked like jerks at my friends shop.
"That's a nice Deere(or any other random but $$$ tool), I need ...... dug/leveled/moved/etc..."
"I can do that, lets figure a price..."
"Can't I just give you a few bucks and fill it up when I return it? I can run that, I'm sure"
(Muffled chuckling) "NO"