Amphibious HEMTT

[subybaja]

I am joking, actually. From this side of the screen, you built an entire vehicle lickety-split!

I don't remember the specifics of the radiator- do you have an outlet for that ram-air?

 

[WaterH]

I am joking, actually. From this side of the screen, you built an entire vehicle lickety-split!

I don't remember the specifics of the radiator- do you have an outlet for that ram-air?

It just dumps in front of the rad. I was thinking maybe the heat from the turbo was somehow flowing to the rad at high speed and the duct would give it some fresh air.

 

[subybaja]

I meant behind the rad, to promote flow through...

 

[WaterH]

I meant behind the rad, to promote flow through...

In front and behind are bad terms on a side mount rad. Let’s put it this way, the duct dumped air on the intake side of the rad.

 

[subybaja]

Oh, derp. Time for a reread!

 

[WaterH]

Time to marvel at my ingenuity or laugh at my stupidity.

Ive been complains about my tire balance forever now. I bought dyna beads and ceramic wheel ballancers and it still is not smooth at highway speeds. One of my thoughts is the ceramic ones don’t work because they are too small for these tires. These tires are probably not spinning fast enough at 60 mph. On the Dyna beads, they should work, but I don’t know if they ever got though the double dead locks in to the main part of the tire.

Edit, sorry, I hit post instead of return. Rest of post next post.

 

[WaterH]

Anyways, I decided to take one wheel apart and see if the dyna beads were in the main section of tire. (Not stuck in between the inner wheel and double bead lock.) There are some holes in the bead lock, but maybe none of the dyna beads make it there. I figured if they are stuck in the bead lock, I will put them in the tire. If they are allready in the tire, I will take them out because obviously they don’t work.

It was a lot of work, but I got one wheel apart. I highly recommend this product. It made it easy to break the bead.

So the first thing I found was almost all the dyna beads had made it into the tire. The second thing I determined was the double bead lock is not centered in the wheel. In addition, I think that maybe it can move slightly when going down the road Because it’s not real tight. I think the off center weight throws the tire out of ballance. This makes sense because I had the tires computer balanced and when I drove away from the place my wife and I both agreed it was great. But 20 minutes later it was bad again.

So I figured I need to locate it so it stays in the center. The fist thing I did was to pound wood shims around the edges.

This worked fine for the inside wheel to bead lock, but the outside wheel is a much bigger gap and obviously there would be no way to pound in shims. So I made some plastic blocks that can screw to the beadlock.

I drilled and taped some holes and attached the blocks.

The outside wheel fit tight in the blocks and feel confident the bead lock will stay centered now. I will probably need to get the wheel rebalanced now. I think I will drive this a bit and then do the other front wheel and get both balanced. I should be able to tell a differnce before doing the rear tires.

Im a litte woried about the wood shims. Not sure if they will deterate and fall out. They can’t really go anywhere and they don’t weigh enough to cause a ballance issue, but the bead lock could move again. I’m thinking I could make long plastic blocks that would locat the entire bead lock and eliminate the wood shims. I wish I thought of this before assembling the wheel.

We shall see.

 

[CDA 455 II]

WaterH FWIW;
I have HMMWV tires mounted on civilian rims.
I'm going to try airsoft BBs installed through the valve stem.

Said tires calls from 12oz of BBs in each tire.

 

[chaplinfj60]

WaterH FWIW;
I have HMMWV tires mounted on civilian rims.
I'm going to try airsoft BBs installed through the valve stem.

Said tires calls from 12oz of BBs in each tire.

take tire off truck pull valve stem, pop one bead, put pellets in, fill tire back up, maybe a bit easier than getting pellets thru a tiny hole.

 

[WaterH]

WaterH FWIW;
I have HMMWV tires mounted on civilian rims.
I'm going to try airsoft BBs installed through the valve stem.

Said tires calls from 12oz of BBs in each tire.

The dyna beads fit in a valve stem. I have used airsoft before in another truck. I don’t think they will fit in the stem.

 

[WaterH]

So I tour the other front wheel apart. I made and installed 4 long blocks to center the double bead lock. I like this setup a lot better than the wood blocks in there.

Of course, it doesn’t make difference where the blocks are just so they are spaced evenly. Except, they can’t be where the valve stem is. What are the odds of installing them so one is at the valve stem? F#$&@+%. I guess I could just rotate one wheel half a couple bolt holes.….NOT. Found out wheel half’s can only go together two ways. (180 degrees apart) Of course the other block was 180 from the other. So I had to pound the double bead lock around a couple inches. Harder than it sounds.

Anyways, when I took it apart, I noticed the bead lock was off center away from the giant iron weight I had on the wheel. So I left it off after I centered the bead lock. It drove not bad, so I removed the iron weight on the other front wheel. Again it drove not bad. Either the weight was too much or the dyna beads were doing their job. I’m not saying it drove perfect, but it was not any worse for sure. I may have to do both back tires.

 

[arse_sidewards]

In the future you use 3/5/7 or some other odd numbers of blocks. It has to do with harmonics and less vibration. This is why the overwhelming majority of the wheels you see (and every turbine impeller ever) has an odd number.

 

[WaterH]

In the future you use 3/5/7 or some other odd numbers of blocks. It has to do with harmonics and less vibration. This is why the overwhelming majority of the wheels you see (and every turbine impeller ever) has an odd number.

The blocks are just spacers. They are very light plastic. I don’t think their weight couldn’t do much on these tires/wheels. The hunk of iron I took off weighed more than all four blocks. I’m sure your logic is right, but I’m a long way from being able to tell the difference in harmonics. Lol.

This maybe a question for scientists, but do you think the centramatic balancers can do harm if they don’t turn fast enough? The dyna beads and the centramatic run on the same principle, but the dyna beads would become more effective as the tire gets bigger. Even though the tire is turning slower, the centrifugal force would go up because of the distance from center of rotation. The centramatic ring is a fixed diameter, so as the tire gets bigger, it not only turns slower, but has less effect on balance. I don’t care if it just has less ability to balance, but I care if it actually makes an imbalance.

 

[bdkw1]

Centrifugal force would be the same. Larger tires spin slower, the surface speed of the tread is the same regardless of tire size give the same mph.

 

[subybaja]

Any guess why the spacers fit so badly? Just Mil Spec, or maybe they're from a different set of wheels? Odd.

 

[WaterH]

Any guess why the spacers fit so badly? Just Mil Spec, or maybe they're from a different set of wheels? Odd.

I assume you are talking about the dead locks when you say “spacer”. When I ordered the wheels from Stazworks, they told me they had never made a set for MVT tires. They had me measure the beads on the tires and cut the locks to fit. I suspect they could have made them 1/8” wider and they would fit tight. Still, I didn’t even try to center them when I first assembled them. The locks can move about 3/8” off center on the inside and a full inch at the outside. They probably can’t really move an inch because it would have to tilt. I had no instructions and I just didn’t think about it.

About six months ago I called Stazworks and the guy told me he had a truck with my tires. Not sure if I was talking to the owner or what truck he had them on. It would be curious if he cut the bead locks any different than mine. Could be he is running them on a five ton and balance doesn’t matter.

Im not upset with Stazworks. Kind of hard for them to cut the locks perfect with testing some. If they had cut them a 1/4” wider, you probably couldn’t get the two half’s together.

 

[arse_sidewards]

The blocks are just spacers. They are very light plastic. I don’t think their weight couldn’t do much on these tires/wheels. The hunk of iron I took off weighed more than all four blocks. I’m sure your logic is right, but I’m a long way from being able to tell the difference in harmonics. Lol.

I agree. Any imbalance from those blocks is a far in a hurricane here.

This maybe a question for scientists, but do you think the centramatic balancers can do harm if they don’t turn fast enough?

I never had an that when I ran them.

 

[Bebop]

I have bent some stazworks wheels because the insert was too wide.
Looked like an idiot and it was a massive pain to get them flat again.
No way they would balance proper again.

Are you sure they are still staight after what you said abour your inserts being too big ?

 

[WaterH]

I have bent some stazworks wheels because the insert was too wide.
Looked like an idiot and it was a massive pain to get them flat again.
No way they would balance proper again.

Are you sure they are still staight after what you said abour your inserts being too big ?

My inserts were too big in diameter, so they can move off center. They are possibly too narrow. (I can’t really say this for sure.) I think they are not pinched tight, so they can move when going over a bump. Again, I can’t really say this for sure. It could be they were assembled off center and have stayed that way.

As far as straight, I have put a dial indicator on the wheels and they were all turning true.

 

[Bebop]

Carry on then :)

 

[WaterH]

So the next day I’m driving down the road and a vibration comes in terrible. This is starting to piss me off. I go back and bolt one of the iron weights back on. I take it for a drive and it’s better, but still worse than my recent trip down south. I go back and bolt the other iron weight on. Better again, but still not right.

I’m thinking, what could have changed? There was those wood blocks in the first wheel. They are tight as a bitch, but nothing really locking them there. I figure I have to start somewhere. So I pulled that wheel apart. Didn’t take long to find a problem.

Not good, but at least I found something. So out with the wood and more plastic blocks.

Put the wheel back together and back on the truck. First drive was good. I don’t know if it’s the best so far, but nearly so.

At this point, I figure I need to tear apart both rear wheels and put blocks in them. After that, I’m going to take it back to a computer balance place.

 

[CDA 455 II]

Captain Obvious asking possibly obvious questions:
Do you need multi-piece beadlock rims?

Dealing with HMMWV rims/tires; I've found them to be an absolute major PITA.

Maybe get a set of standard rims?🤷‍♂️

 

[WaterH]

Captain Obvious asking possibly obvious questions:
Do you need multi-piece beadlock rims?

Dealing with HMMWV rims/tires; I've found them to be an absolute major PITA.

Maybe get a set of standard rims?🤷‍♂️

Probably not, but I have them now. (They weren’t cheap) One thing, with these tires running such low air pressure, I feel better about no chance of the bead coming off.

 

[CDA 455 II]

Probably not, but I have them now. (They weren’t cheap) One thing, with these tires running such low air pressure, I feel better about no chance of the bead coming off.

Roger that on both points.

 

[WaterH]

Veterans Day parade.

There was about 30 vehicles in the parade. If I do say so myself, mine was by far the most striking.

 

[HYDRODYNAMIC]

FYI
When I was searching for double bead locks inserts for the 10" MRAT Hutchinson wheels I found out that if you have a narrow bead like a DOT tire or possibly the 46" MVT vs the 53" Michelin with a super thick bead, you need to find a 11" wheel insert, not the normal 10" insert. The 11" are unobtanium but they are the only ones that have enough width to preload the bead on 10" wheels. I found some iron soldier guru on Craigslist from the bay area and drove 2 hours to pick them up. He had bought a whole auction of them and had them in storage. I lost the contact so I can't help you there. If you can find the 11" insert, they will not move around. Problem these days is the age of rubber. Back in 2010 you knew that the MRAT was fairly new and so would be the replacement parts, now you are looking at 20 year old rubber that could be rock hard and still have the bubble wrap on it.
You could also make some shims out of rubber to preload your current inserts. I would look for 20" DOT tires and cut the bead out of them and add them to the insert width. If you tried unreinforced rubber I would assume that if would stretch and squirt out of the bead area if it did not have belting to keep its diameter set.
After destroying a set of "mint" surplus MVT tires within an hour at the Hammers and driving back to camp on the run flats and ruining the trip, I was done with surplus tires FOREVER!!! Sadly that was the last trip with the HydroDynamic buggy little did I know... ok I'm going to go cry in the corner of the garage now... HELL NO I'M NOT, I'm going to climb into the new buggy and mash the pedal down and make engine sounds and rack the shifter like a 5 year old!

 

[WaterH]

FYI
When I was searching for double bead locks inserts for the 10" MRAT Hutchinson wheels I found out …………

My wheels are 14” wide, so the bead locks are custom. If I were to do it again, I would have used the aluminum military wheels. I bought one since than and it has the double bead lock and run flat. It’s not as heavy as I thought they would be. It’s about the same the steel stazworks.

How did the MVTs in the pics get like that? Was it rubbing rocks or just flexing with low pressure. That’s very disturbing.

I have to say the Hydro Dynamic Buggy is one of my all time favorites. It still saddens me that you dismantled it. I realize your new buggy is going to be fantastic, but the HDB will never be duplicated.

 

[WaterH]

So I’ve driven it enough to know I would like a center arm rest. Also, I need more storage than just the door pockets. Of course, I have my air bag controls right where the arm rest should be. I Don’t actually use the air switches that often. So I decided to design a console/armrest that can slid over the switches.

I started with cad. (Cardboard aided design) I know it’s an old joke, but a good one.

I liked the heigh and decided to make a kind of A-frame.

I needed to have front edge lower because I must have access to the shifter.

Most of it is built with .063” and the top is 1/8”. It is strong enough to sit or stand on. This might be useful if someone needs to get out the ring mount.

I really wanted to get a custom leather pad made for the top, but my ulpolstorer ran out of the leather he made my seats. So I ended up doing it myself. I’m not real proud of it, but not ashamed of it either.

Here you can see the air switches covered. And the next pic with it slid back.

Edit, almost forgot, extra storage.

 

[WaterH]

So quite awhile ago I got this diesel fill port from a boat. It’s all stainless and cool. Of course, if I ever get this thing functionally floating, it will be appropriate. But I’ve had some problems with it. First, it has a ball chain that keeps you from losing the cap. Well, one time I was getting fuel and I couldn’t unthread the cap. It moved a couple threads and stoped. Of course, I just forced it and broke the chain. I guess this thing is designed to be flat on a deck of a boat, not vertical.

The other bigger issue was the little casting that the ball chain is attached to. It sticks out enough that prevents putting a pump nozzle in more than about 3”. So I have to stand there hold the pump handle the whole time Or the handle will fall out. Also, splashes some fuel so the pump would shut off unless it was going slow. (Not great when you’re pumping 40+ gallons.)

Well, I figured I don’t need the chain and a die grinder took care of the cast bump. Got it all back together and went down to fill up.

This is the first time I have been able to let go of the handle while pumping fuel. Nice!

In some other thread, I saw where Grendel mentioned he works the bugs out of a build in the first 300 miles. My mileage stands at over 5000 right now. I guess Grendel has a lot more builds under his belt, but still it would appear I’m slow.

 

[WaterH]

So I made another trip down south for T-day. Can’t say I was happy with the truck. All kinds of shit went wrong. At least it made it. My wife and I stayed in a cabin at this place right down the road from her parents. It’s a camp grounds / resteraunt / bar. It’s right on a lake that gets boat and seaplane traffic. It’s called the “Cherry Pocket”.

They had the Corvette club meet on Saturday. I didn’t have my wife’s vette, but I thought I would blend in.

About the only truck good news from this trip was 770 miles on 50 gallons of fuel. 15.4 mpg, woohoo!