Walking the shop floor yesterday, we couldn’t help snapping this picture of a few IFS shafts lined up. Front left to right, we have a 35 spline & 40 spline diff shaft, followed by our latest Pro Series 45 spline stub and 56 spline stub shafts. It seems like only yesterday that 35 spline axles were the big upgrade!
Our latest Pro Series IFS line takes advantage of a significantly larger unit bearing, allowing for shafts greater than 40 spline. The 45 spline axle shaft (third in from left) works with our Pro Series Unit Bearing, while the 56 spline axle shaft (last one on right) works with our Pro Series Compact Unit Bearing. This compact bearing is 1” more compact from WMS to CV centerline, and packs the best strength to weight ratio in class.
While we wrap up some small final bits and get the website photography out of the way, for those looking to build now give us a call. The majority of our Pro Series IFS components are already in-stock and ready to ship, and we’re always happy to design a custom estimate to fit your build and budget.
There’s no shortage of fun watching Ultra4 racing grow, and pushing the boundaries of what is possible at each and every race is standard practice these days. On the constant quest of getting everything you can out of the tight space of a race vehicle, we are excited to release our IFS 4130 Narrow Width Housing. With a modified Gearworks HP 10″ third member (sold separately), we are able to tighten up the CV flange to CV flange by 1.4″. For the right builds, this allows those mid-shafts to be longer and the suspension & steering to travel more. Available today at http://www.spidertrax.com/IFS-4130-Narrow-Width-Housing .
Tom Wayes doing what he does best, always a blast to watch. This sweet video was created by HeavyMetalConcepts and produced for ICON Vehicle Dynamics, showing off their ICON Ultra4 shock package. Tom is running not only a full Spider 9 IFS setup, but the very first prototype every built. Debuted at the 2012 King of the Hammers by Jason Scherer, this original Spider 9 IFS is still running strong even to this day. Pretty amazing, and always exciting to see Tom in the seat of one amazing rig.
Spider 9 IFS, our most advanced Ultra4 product line, is in-stock & ready to ship. With over 3 years of testing, and 6 1st place finishes last year alone, we’re happy to say this new product line is more than ready.
Now these are the kind of returns we like to see. In preparation for King of the Hammers, Jason Scherer shipped back his Spider 9 IFS parts for general inspection. Best he knew, parts were just fine, but for a race like King of the Hammers it’s always best to be prepared.
So, after a season of Ultra4 racing, including the top honors spot Jason grabbed at The PSC Brawl in Blackwell, how well did his Spider 9 IFS prototype parts hold up? In one word, flawless.
All four Ultimate Unit Bearings are as tight as the day we shipped them, and shafts are straight as an arrow. Since parts are already torn down, we’ll set Jason up with two new IFS stub shaft bearings and seals just to be safe, but that’s it. These parts are ready for another season.
Always nice to see prototype parts in action, handling their job as they were intended. That’s our look back, time to move forward. Back to work we go.
