Speed UTV

kazuaki said:
I'm really glad to see at least one is out getting used.  I've seen a few of the videos that Nick has posted. The suspension on it sure looks pretty good.  The thing that I have a tough time getting past is the sound of that motor.  Maybe it will be better with a different exhaust. I honestly cannot think of anything I've heard driving in the dunes that sounds worse than that.
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You never heard a Textron XX

 
I gotta say, I bet the guys with the RG edition color scheme wish they stayed with an ElJefe and be able to customize their wraps.  Orange and black is rather boring when you see some of the other color combo's.  So far I like the red white and blue scheme, or the white.  My son's chose my colors so we will see. Maybe I will get it by 2026.

 
Honestly, coming from a Polaris guy, the CanAm seems to have the best power to weight ratio. Al they would need to do is pump the hp another 50hp and they would be running up front. It would also be great if they could implement their own Dynamic suspension. That would probably be what it takes for me to hop the fence!

 
FOG said:
What happened to the car at the end. Looks like oil all over the ground. 
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from their notes:

"After we got back from 10 minute ride, an axle boot was leaking grease pretty good, and there appeared to be oil leaking from engine area and front diff area. Possibly also coolant"

Speed is a lot like a Trophy Truck as long as you have a helicopter to follow, a pit crew , some Spares and Tools you seem good to go.   I hope they get that a little better before I buy one

Seems every sand car I build goes a few seasons (before I sell them usually)  with CV maintenance and oil changes and with over 1000HP,  and I build them in my backyard shop ....hmm

 
Fullthrottleguy said:
from their notes:

"After we got back from 10 minute ride, an axle boot was leaking grease pretty good, and there appeared to be oil leaking from engine area and front diff area. Possibly also coolant"

Speed is a lot like a Trophy Truck as long as you have a helicopter to follow, a pit crew , some Spares and Tools you seem good to go.   I hope they get that a little better before I buy one

Seems every sand car I build goes a few seasons (before I sell them usually)  with CV maintenance and oil changes and with over 1000HP,  and I build them in my backyard shop ....hmm
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Other than the financing… seems you’re better off with a buggy if you have to put up with it not being gas ‘n’ go…

 
Fullthrottleguy said:
from their notes:

"After we got back from 10 minute ride, an axle boot was leaking grease pretty good, and there appeared to be oil leaking from engine area and front diff area. Possibly also coolant"

Speed is a lot like a Trophy Truck as long as you have a helicopter to follow, a pit crew , some Spares and Tools you seem good to go.   I hope they get that a little better before I buy one

Seems every sand car I build goes a few seasons (before I sell them usually)  with CV maintenance and oil changes and with over 1000HP,  and I build them in my backyard shop ....hmm
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I’m wondering why Speed didn’t have some of these issues during their testing. 
Are the production cars significantly different from the pre-production cars?  Or is the production QC just missing things?  Or what?

 
FOG said:
I’m wondering why Speed didn’t have some of these issues during their testing. 
Are the production cars significantly different from the pre-production cars?  Or is the production QC just missing things?  Or what?
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Nick’s  car was in Havasu getting the new transmission, fixing the wiring harness, and new servo for the power steering.  Maybe it was something that was overlooked in Havasu when they were doing the work on his car.

Get a better sample once more cars are in the hands of consumers. 

 
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FOG said:
I’m wondering why Speed didn’t have some of these issues during their testing. 
Are the production cars significantly different from the pre-production cars?  Or is the production QC just missing things?  Or what?
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Full rate production parts are different than initial run parts. Vendors pay a lot more attention to quality and tolerances before the contract is signed. 

 
FOG said:
I’m wondering why Speed didn’t have some of these issues during their testing. 
Are the production cars significantly different from the pre-production cars?  Or is the production QC just missing things?  Or what?
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Pre-production cars were hand built with pre-production parts.  First 77 cars are hand built with production parts in china.  The 500 batch will be the first cars actually off the assembly line with production parts from vietnam.  Those are the ones we need to closely watch for quality control issues.  It's going to be hard to believe that they are going to have less issues than the handbuilt ones but we will see.  It takes a while to dial in an assembly line.

 
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This is a quick note from Nick (Chubacabra)
 
The first leak of fluid was indeed a loose hoes clamp on the coolant overflow, We lost maybe 2-3 ounces total and discovered when we removed the bed and rear side panel to access the PS reservoir.

Front diff has leaked since I took it, I think I know where it's coming from and I added a little Friday night.

PS system is self bleeding- but I have to mention RG, Brian and Daniel took all of my calls and gave me tips on how to help it self bleed, which we did, and ran all day Saturday with no leaks, on Double Sammy, and the dunes.

Steering feedback has been improved with the new servo, but they also have another item coming, I'll let them explain.

Had my spare axle so we installed the fresh unit, fairly simple and clever design, RG sent a CV boot kit Next Day Air to fix the damaged (now) spare.

I got a lot of questions about climbing performance, and I'm starting to put together my "240ish" mile review, which encompasses Havasu, local ride, and Sand Hollow weekend. Learned a ton.

Learned a ton! I lost the PS fluid, and discovered the right rear torn CV after the 20 minute ride I gave Jon Crowley. Originally we saw the pool of fluid and assumed the worst, but I lost the power steering at the end of the ride and didn't really realize. Hit 72 mph on that ride with him on the fence line, it's chewed up! I know my X3 is a 2 seater, but its laughable how much better the Speed is in that section, or any whoop section. And I LOVE that X3, its dialed as well.

Most importantly the suspension and handling:

Stock spring rate, crossover ring height, and Comp/ REB settings are FANTASTIC. Only downside is the stock springs loose height. RG told me we need to be at 16" WITH PEOPLE IN THE CAR, so we had it at 17-17.25" static when we loaded up for UTAH. The preload rings are beautiful, but also a huge pain in the ass. Give me the standard 2 rings, hammer and punch any day.

I'll put together a comprehensive video and have ready this week.

A YouTube video is going live tomorrow am regarding a "oh crap" moment I had climbing the Chute (2nd time, Saturday). The Speed can't be driven with 2 feet, I feel they created a safety setting to prevent people from blowing belts, but when you are half way up a rock slab, on the brakes for dear life, you cannot bump the RPM's and slowly proceed. I assume it's a simple ECU setting that hopefully I can have overridden, this will help immensely for crawling. I learned this the first day at Double Sammy, so the second time I ran it, I just got my lines and kept momentum on the few sections I needed to, so I wouldn't get into this pickle. I think the Speed has great crawling potential, a Diablo on 35" stickies and that magic 110" wheelbase would be sick!

Nick
 





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HEADINJURY said:
Probably one of the best non biased opinions available. UTV Guide is as legit as they come. They've driven and reviewed just about every SXS since the Rhino. 
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Text from their post for the non-Social-Media users:

First ride in a production Speed UTV! While at Sand Hollow for the SxS Adventure Rally, we had the opportunity to jump in a 4 seat Speed UTV for a quick spin. A few takeaways:

1. Lots of legroom in the passenger/front
2. Factory installed comms are nice
3. Car looks good from a distance
4. Do not like the cheesy stickers covering accessories that were not purchased.
5. Suspension in the whoops is impressive for a stock vehicle (70+mph along the fence line).
6. Lots of axle and/or differential noise while idling out to riding area.
7. Sway control feels good.
8. Brakes feel a bit light (Wilwood upgrade available)
9. Stock springs appeared to be sagging a bit (Eibach upgrade available).
10. Power from a stop is not all that impressive, but decent in the mid-range.
11. Three speed transmission is nice but it’ll take a bit for customers to figure out how to smoothly shift.
12. Apparently, shifting from 2 wheel drive to 4 wheel drive needs to be done while vehicle is moving.
13. After we got back from 10 minute ride, an axle boot was leaking grease pretty good, and there appeared to be oil leaking from engine area and front diff area. Possibly also coolant.

Overall, the Speed UTV feels like it is still a vehicle that needs more testing with a variety of drivers/terrain before prime time.
Immediately after our quick rip in the Speed UTV, we jumped behind the wheel of a Yamaha RMAX and hit Double Sammy trail. While these are two completely different machines (sport vs. rec utility) the difference is fit and finish and how solid the RMAX feels is night and day compared to the Speed UTV. Big thanks to @chupacabraoffroad for the ride!

 
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