Just a quick post recognizing all of the teams supporting Spidertrax and Spider 9 Axles this competition season.  Round 1of both W.E.Rock & XRRA are now behind us with Spider 9 Axles & Components securing 12 of the top 15 spots!

XRRA Round 1: Top 5 Running Spider 9 Axles & Components
1st: Rick Deremo
2nd: Brad Lovell
3rd: Levi Shirley
4th: Dana Verdorn
5th: Joachim Schweisow

W.E.Rock Round 1: Unlimited Top 5 Running Spider 9 Axles & Components 
2nd: Jason Paule
3rd: Jesse Haines
4th: Brent Bradshaw

W.E.Rock Round 1: Pro-Mod Top 5 Running Spider 9 Axles & Components
1st: Brad Lovell
2nd: Buzz Bronsema
3rd: Tracy Jordan
5th: Brian Errea

Last, but not least, we got our hands on some amazing Rock Bug photos by renowned photographer Chad Jock (http://www.chadjockphotography.com/).  These were taken during the W.E.Rock Round 1 event in Tucson, AZ.

Click Here to View the Slideshow

Discovering unfound trails in Moab has always been a highlight during Easter Jeep Safari.  Our last memorable unfound trail that comes immediately to mind was “Upper Proving Grounds” which, for the clan of Samurais way back when, was about as hardcore as it got.  Vehicles have become so capable these days, finding a trail that still holds this same unfound impact is near to impossible.  That was my feeling…until yesterday.

A good friend of ours, Kevin Carrol, has discovered a rock boulder canyon that adds new meaning to the word “hardcore”.  This trail (if you can call it that) has no known name but is referred to as the trail out by Lisbon.  So, until someone comes up with a better name, we will call this new find “Out By Lisbon”.

Out By Lisbon is located 45 minutes from Moab, UT (about 30 miles) and to be completely honest, without the guide of Kevin no one can figure out how to get back to this place.  This trail is suited only for competition level rigs, where rear steer is virtually a requirement to get all the way to the end.  From start to finish, it takes about 8 hours to make it though, assuming of course nothing breaks.  In addition, there is only one way in and one way out so breaking is not an option. 

Yesterday the 7th of April, Kevin took Mark Ruffing (driving a Spidertrax XTS) & Tracy Jordan (driving the Spidertrax Rock Bug) for a day of wheeling they will never forget.  Although photos never do trails like this justice, it’s the next best thing to actually being there.  Therefore, please enjoy the photo set below courtesy of Shane Garrels from yesterdays trip on Out By Lisbon.

Click Here to View the Slideshow

It was an awesome day 2 for rock crawling competition! The point spreads were so tight that no one could call a winner until every vehicle completed the shootout.  Even then, the scores had to be triple checked to safely name the top finishers.  All in all, Tracy and the Rock Bug had an amazing first W.E.Rock event securing 3rd place in the Pro-Mod class!

There is far more to celebrate then just the 3rd place finish.  The Rock Bug looked great out there both yesterday and today, clearly demonstrating the benefits of ultra lightweight &  ultra high strength designs.  With the exception of some odd behavior out of the t-case shifters, the Rock Bug worked flawlessly right out of the box. 

From here, the Rock Bug is heading up to Moab for the Easter Jeep Safari Vendor Show this Thursday & Friday (April 9th-10th @ the Spanish Trail Arena in Moab, UT).  After which, the Rock Bug is heading back to our shop where we will be installing a heat treated chromoly Spider 9 solid rear axle as well as looking over the rest of the vehicle for general inspection & maintenance.  Once we get these changes wrapped up, we’ll get a new Rock Bug weight which will most likely happen at the next W.E.Rock event.

Last, but certainly not least, we absolutely need to recognize all of the Spider 9 axle & component equipped teams out there this weekend that proved, once again, Spider 9 axles have what it takes to win.  All in all, Spider 9 axles & components secured 7 of the top 10 spots:

Unlimited Top 5 Running Spider 9 Axles & Components 
2nd: Jason Paule
3rd: Jesse Haines
4th: Brent Bradshaw

Pro-Mod Top 5 Running Spider 9 Axles & Components
1st: Brad Lovell
2nd: Buzz Bronsema
3rd: Tracy Jordan
5th: Brian Errea

Be sure to check out the Rock Bug videos below from day 2 of the competition.  There is nothing special to comment on for these so dig in and enjoy.  Note: If you have a fast connection and computer, hit the “HD” button in the video window to watch the movie in full High Definition.

Course A1

Course A2

Course A3

Course A4

Final Shootout

The smell of competitive rock crawling is back in the air with W.E.Rock kicking off their first event of the year in Tucson, AZ. Tracy & the Rock Bug have had some time together both on the trail and in the shop getting ready for this day. Today marks the Rock Bug’s ultimate debut and we are happy to report Tracy and the Rock Bug were both in amazing form, securing the top spot of the day!

Before reviewing today’s competition, it deserves mention that yesterday we had the first chance to weigh the Rock Bug. Keep in mind, this recorded weight includes a rear steer axle and an oversized radiator, both of which were designed and intended specifically for King of the Hammers. We planned on swapping these out for a lighter solid axle and smaller radiator, in total shaving over 160 lbs. As mentioned in our last update, time did not permit this change for this first event but we should be making these improvements for the next W.E.Rock competition.

Having said all of that, the Rock Bug with all fluids and fuel weighed in at 2,510 pounds. This puts the Rock Bug’s approximate weight with a solid rear axle right around 2,350 pounds. Keeping in mind the Rock Bug is a full bodied two seat Pro-Mod rig, it is currently on track to weigh less then Tracy’s legendary Scrapper single seat moon buggy which weighed 2,360 pounds.  It is also worth noting once these weight saving changes are complete, the Rock Bug should easily be the lightest vehicle competing in today’s W.E.Rock Pro-Mod class.

Back to the competition, day 1 of this 2 day event is now finished and as mentioned above Tracy and the Rock Bug have secured the top spot with a total of -16 points. The point spread is close though so it is still anyone’s game tomorrow. Videos do the Rock Bug far more justice then my writing, but I will make a quick mention on the video below of course B2.

On B2, Tracy hits a cone and is called on it by Judge #1 but he and his spotter clearly do not hear the call. You will see Tracy continue to negotiate this cone with another judge, who we will call Judge #2, watching his progress from above. The crowd, including myself, begin yelling at Tracy as he is clearly consuming enormous time on a cone that Judge #1 called him on. When Tracy and his spotter hear the crowd, they ask the closest judge, Judge #2, if the cone was hit and this judge says no. So, they continued negotiating the same cone which consumes the time needed for the course’s bonus climb. Once the course was finished, Judge #1 said they hit the cone for 10 points in addition getting 4 points for backups while negotiating this already hit cone.  Needless to say, this did not go over well with anyone and the final call by Lil Rich gave Tracy back 4 points of his potential loss of 10 (for missing the bonus that the majority of teams completed). In the end, it was a raw deal for everyone with no clear winners. Luckily, Tracy & the Rock Bug’s solid performance carried them to 1st place for the day despite this negative run.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter as we are posting live updates of the Rock Bug and will continue to do so tomorrow during the final day of competition.  Until then, enjoy the videos below of the Rock Bug in action and be sure to check in tomorrow for the final outcome.

Note: If you have a fast connection and computer, hit the “HD” button in the video window to watch the movie in full High Definition.

Course B1

Course B2

Course B3

Course B4

We’re back at it with the Rock Bug, this time going over the entire vehicle without the pressure of a ticking clock.  Our goal now is to have the Rock Bug ready for the first W.E. Rock Western US National Rock Crawling competition on April 4th, which will mark the Rock Bug’s ultimate debut.  For those that followed along with our Rock Bug King of the Hammers updates, you may recall the Rock Bug was struggling with what we thought were motor and transmission issues.

To quickly recap, the day before the KOH race the team came to the conclusion that the stall speed on the torque converter was set to high and the low end torque of the motor was far from ideal for rock crawling.  Although the Rock Bug could arguably run KOH, the risk of damaging the motor just weeks before the Rock Bug’s intended purpose of competing in W.E. Rock, the last minute decision to pull from the event was made.  Whether this was the right thing to do is still a hot topic around here, but you have to do the best you can with what you have.

There is no question weeks of countless sleep and the pressure of race day may have gotten the best of the Rock Bug team at KOH and here is why.  The Rock Bug was back at our shop this past weekend for a closer inspection of the problems experienced at KOH.  It appears these problems were not as they seemed, which can be both good and bad depending on how you look at it.  The stall speed on the transmission was not set too high as originally thought, but in fact set far too low at about 1000 RPM.  This in turn gave the impression that the low end torque of the motor was far from ideal.

So the solution will be installing the right torque converter with a 2200 RPM stall and re-tuning the Scat V4 for rock crawling.  The Rock Bug went back with Tracy on Sunday the 15th for some well deserved seat time.  Tracy and his co-pilot for the day, Dave of Powerhouse Motorsports, had a chance to run a full trail with the Rock Bug this past Monday.  Both agree the Rock Bug is in great shape for rock crawling and have since ordered the 2200 RPM stall speed torque converter.  Once the torque converter is installed, the Scat V4 will be re-tuned for rock crawling and trail tested.  Yes, this was indeed a lot of drama all because of a torque converter.

Tracy’s seat time is probably more valuable now then almost anything else we can do, so while the Rock Bug was in our shop this past weekend we took on only the absolute necessities.  For W.E. Rock regulation, we had to build a very small & simple front bumper.  I have included a few pictures below and do apologize in advance for the low quality photos.  The camera is being repaired and all that was on hand was an iPhone.

Still to come for the Rock Bug are changes to make it even lighter for W.E. Rock.  Due to time, these changes will not all make it for the first event but are coming.  These changes include, but are not limited to, swapping the rear steer axle for a a chromoly Spider 9 full floating axle as well as replacing the fuel cell for a smaller & lighter version.  King Shocks is building Tracy some custom air shocks just for rock crawling, which will not only perform better but will also save weight.  Once we get all of these changes in place, we will make a point to weigh the Rock Bug which we have been dying to do since KOH.

Lastly, while at KOH we received a few dyno videos, courtesy of Tracy, related to our blog entry The Sultry Sounds of a Scat V4.  These were taken around the 21st of February and will be included below.

From The Sultry Sounds of a Scat V4

From The Sultry Sounds of a Scat V4

From The Sultry Sounds of a Scat V4