REVERE THE STEER - Rubicat Going Wide with 72.5" Dynatrac XD60 / PRO 1550 Front Axle

sc_rhino

Member
IMG_4798.JPG

As much as our wheels/beadlocks get scratched up, how likely is the locking hub going to get scratched/damaged?
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Wow!!!I wondered where RubiCat was... hadn't seen her in awhile. So much to contemplate and learn from in this. Bigger axles are a must for me. The first thing I noticed was the 1550 ujoint[emoji15]. Putting all the other "stuff" back into the protection of the wheel is awesome. AND taking the stress off the ball joints/wheel bearings...... so cool! Great write up!

LOL! Yeah, Rubicat had been in Dynatrac's hands since September but what we learned from it alone was worth the wait. Of course, what they made from her time there is nothing short of amazing! :yup:

Awesome setup, write-up and pictorial. I’ve been checking the other thread more than a couple of times daily for updates. I was actually most interested in what your rear end solution would be to compliment the stretched XD. The thought of “recycling” the ProRock 60 rear never occurred to me… pretty cool. Guess Rubicat has gone green. Lol.

My current plan is Dynatrac Elite Axle Set XD60/PR80 (68.5”) + EVO Bolt-On COs + Coop STT 40s. I was going to go with Chamber Pro IIs, however now I wonder if I should consider wheels with greater backspacing to take advantage of the XD’s 1550 knuckles/wheel ends. Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated.

Even with Chamber Pro II's of which have 4" of back spacing, you would still see the benefits of reduced scrub radius that the Pro 1550 knuckles provide. The closer you get to 5.5", the more protection you will have and a greater ease of steering you will see. Mel is running Machete's on his Pro 1550 knuckles and it still feels a lot better than if he were running Pro 60's. We wanted to get the most out of this setup and that's why we went with the 5.5" back spaced Trail Ready wheels.

Excellent write up! Learned a ton.

Thanks! It's been a ton of fun learning all this stuff and I was eager to share it with all of you :yup:

Looks very nice. Other difference appears to be how the hydro is set up on those. On the standard setup its welded to a bracket on the axle tube and connects to the knuckle. On the new setup looks like it pushes the tie rod. I assume this is because of the tight clearance where the nuckle is now?

Typically, mounting the ram to on the axle and having it steer at the knuckle has always been the better way to go. Of course, a big part of this is because everyone has been running wheels with very little back spacing and that significantly increases their scrub radius. When you do this, you dramatically increase your wheels potential to rotate forward and into each other as you accelerate/climb an obstacle and this puts a lot of pressure on your tie-rod. When you attach a ram to weak tie-rod, the combined stress created by the wheels and ram will cause it to bend outward and/or fail. While the tighter tolerances of the Pro 1550 does make it harder to setup a ram in the way we've seen with the Pro 60, it wouldn't be impossible to do. However, running a set of wheels with 5.5" of back spacing will significantly reduce the stress placed on the tie-rod and being that the new Dynatrac tie-rod itself is so strong, there shouldn't be any problems running this setup. Of course, we plan on putting this to the test and will be sure to report our findings.
 

hinrichs

Caught the Bug
Eddie-

After reading up your difference between rubicats setup and the dynatrac jeep....since I have been curious about this and our stupid ass fender issues, The standard width PR60 combo combined with 5.5" backspace would work with bolt on coilovers and be the only real way to keep the wheels/tires from sticking out too far correct? I do understand that the mopar highline fenders are wider than stock.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
For some of us normal folks, not ready to make a leap like this just yet, this is just a shit ton of eye candy. Was pretty awesome to see Rubicat at the SnG. And thanks for sharing more details here. She's looking awesome!! [emoji41][emoji41]

Beyond drooling, I guess a man can dream. Lol. [emoji6]

:cheesy: What's so cool is that something like the Elite XD60/80 is priced at about what a ProRock 60/60 would have cost just a couple of years back. It's the cream of the crop for sure but not something everyone needs. The best part is that you can now get something like a 60/60 for so much less and even that's more than what most people would need. :yup:

Wow what a difference between axles!! Amazing work Dynatrac love your axles! Thanks Eddie and Cindy for the break down of it all made for some fun reading and learning! [emoji106][emoji106]

So glad you saw my post was "fun reading" :crazyeyes: :D

Wow, what an overload of awesomeness. Thanks for sharing! That axle amazing!!!!!!

Believe me, the whole process of developing this setup was borderline overloading for me. I was jotting down notes like crazy and at times, felt like I was taking some kind of college course in axle/steering design :crazyeyes:

That axle is straight BEEF!!! Love it! Thank you for the very detailed review of the set up. I like how dynatrac came out with this and really took the scrub radius and such into mind. That is what really will help people from blowing ball joints and really make their pro steers even that much better

It really is awesome that Dynatrac would do this. It'd be so much easier to just leave well enough alone and keep doing what everyone has always been doing but they're obsessed with doing things better. :yup:

Wow what an axle! Fantastic post too, it answered a lot of my questions.

I really enjoyed the comparison photos between Rubicat and the Dynatrac rig. To me, it's awesome that you can keep the 68.5 width with a traditional coil lift and still get the added benefits that the new knuckles give you.

Glad to hear that I was able to answer a lot of your questions. Going with a standard 68.5" axle and running the Pro 1550 is what most people will want and our 72.5" setup IS an exception, not the norm. The wider width is what Cindy and I wanted especially being that we're running EVO DTD and were already rubbing our bypass shocks with Chamber Pro II's that have 4" of backspacing.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Awesome write up. It's nice to see your review and a company like dynatrac pushing our passion to new limits

A passion for pushing the limits is definitely what I love about Dynatrac :thumb:

This is awesome, love seeing all this new technology coming out for the JK.
I just ordered Dynatracs Hard Core 60/60 package, can I run 5.5" wheels too or do I need the XD60 knuckles? I'm looking for the same stance, got to keep the tires covered in NH.

Thanks for your order of our Hard Core 60/60 axle set! The 1550 LT wheel ends only fit our new Dynatrac ProRock XD60, and in fact this all-new axle housing and the knuckles were co-designed to create the ultimate front axle for a Jeep. The 1550 LT will not fit on our earlier ProRock 60 housings, and the 72.5-inch width shown in these specific axles for Rubicat won't keep your tires covered to keep law enforcement in NH happy.

Thanks for chiming in Dynatrac :yup:

Ok, got it.

Will 5.5" BS wheels fit on my 60/60? That would keep me under the mopar fenders like you have.

I don't think so or at least, not unless you're running a 20" wheel. The steering arms on a Pro 60 are too long and would not fit in a 17" wheel.

Wow, I'm mouth breathing after reading this.

Amazing write up, information, and awesome photos. Thank you!!

LOL!! Sorry, I realize it was a bit much :crazyeyes:

Good God thats beefy. Pretty innovative too. It'll be interesting to see who copies this design now

I doubt many will bother especially being that wheels with 3.5" of back spacing are all the rage and there are so many more options for them. I believe it was almost enough to convince Dynatrac not to pursue this path but they just couldn't get past the fact that there was a better way of doing things.
 

longarmwj

New member
I doubt many will bother especially being that wheels with 3.5" of back spacing are all the rage and there are so many more options for them. I believe it was almost enough to convince Dynatrac not to pursue this path but they just couldn't get past the fact that there was a better way of doing things.
Very nice!! Good to know that Dynatrac has a market exclusive!! Shows the level of dedication they have to the hobby :thumb:
 

SDG

Caught the Bug
LOL! Yeah, Rubicat had been in Dynatrac's hands since September but what we learned from it alone was worth the wait. Of course, what they made from her time there is nothing short of amazing! :yup:



Even with Chamber Pro II's of which have 4" of back spacing, you would still see the benefits of reduced scrub radius that the Pro 1550 knuckles provide. The closer you get to 5.5", the more protection you will have and a greater ease of steering you will see. Mel is running Machete's on his Pro 1550 knuckles and it still feels a lot better than if he were running Pro 60's. We wanted to get the most out of this setup and that's why we went with the 5.5" back spaced Trail Ready wheels.



Thanks! It's been a ton of fun learning all this stuff and I was eager to share it with all of you :yup:



Typically, mounting the ram to on the axle and having it steer at the knuckle has always been the better way to go. Of course, a big part of this is because everyone has been running wheels with very little back spacing and that significantly increases their scrub radius. When you do this, you dramatically increase your wheels potential to rotate forward and into each other as you accelerate/climb an obstacle and this puts a lot of pressure on your tie-rod. When you attach a ram to weak tie-rod, the combined stress created by the wheels and ram will cause it to bend outward and/or fail. While the tighter tolerances of the Pro 1550 does make it harder to setup a ram in the way we've seen with the Pro 60, it wouldn't be impossible to do. However, running a set of wheels with 5.5" of back spacing will significantly reduce the stress placed on the tie-rod and being that the new Dynatrac tie-rod itself is so strong, there shouldn't be any problems running this setup. Of course, we plan on putting this to the test and will be sure to report our findings.
That makes sense. Nice thanks for the clarification on that. That was one thing that popped out at me when I was looking at the pics.

I hope to see you guys out on the trail sometime soon.

Sent from my SM-G900P using WAYALIFE mobile app
 

Amrth

Member
Oh boy! Great write up and 6 months of wait was quite tedious I suppose. Thanks for the eye candy shots and making me feel J of the setup you have.. Really liked your efforts in translating the learning to us :clap2:
 

RubiconJohn

New member
Xd 60

For comparison, here are a few shots of Rubicat with her new 72.5" XD60 axle standing next to Dynatrac's JK which is running a standard 68.5" axle. Both axles have the PRO 1550 steering knuckles installed, both JK's are running Trail Ready bead lock wheels with 5.5" of back spacing and with 13.50" wide tires.

Looks Awesome! Great timing, I just received my 68.5 width XD 60 Friday and it was nice to see how it will look once its all bolted up. Thanks for all the DTD info as I was not aware that there is some rub issues.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Bad ass axle! Thanks for the write up! [emoji1303]

Glad you enjoyed the write-up :yup:

As much as our wheels/beadlocks get scratched up, how likely is the locking hub going to get scratched/damaged?

I suppose it depends on how you wheel your Jeep. For sure, the hubs are a bit more expose but not so much that I'd loose any sleep over it. While my rear rings typically get beat to all hell, it's because it's a lot harder to get a rear axle to do what you want and more times than not, your rear tires can fall off a good line and end up getting dragged through an obstacle. Up front and if necessary, with the help of a spotter, it's a lot easier to get and keep your tires on top of a threatening obstacles. At least, for me anyway. Of course, I don't even run an oil pan or transmission skid on Moby so there's that. :crazyeyes:

Eddie-

After reading up your difference between rubicats setup and the dynatrac jeep....since I have been curious about this and our stupid ass fender issues, The standard width PR60 combo combined with 5.5" backspace would work with bolt on coilovers and be the only real way to keep the wheels/tires from sticking out too far correct? I do understand that the mopar highline fenders are wider than stock.

Unfortunately, I don't think you can run 5.5" of back spacing on a ProRock 60 unless you run a 20" wheel. The steering arms on a Pro 60 knuckle will get in the way of a 17" wheel. If I'm wrong on this, maybe Dynatrac will come on and correct me.

I haven't even gotten my PR44 installed yet and I am wanting to upgrade it. Dynatrac is the shit!!

:cheesy: Sorry about that :crazyeyes:
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Shows the level of dedication they have to the hobby :thumb:

Absolutely! It's one of the biggest reasons we love them so much :yup:

That makes sense. Nice thanks for the clarification on that. That was one thing that popped out at me when I was looking at the pics.

I hope to see you guys out on the trail sometime soon.

Indeed! Been way too long. We were hoping to catch you at the last suds-n-grub but I'm sure there will be a next time :yup:

Oh boy! Great write up and 6 months of wait was quite tedious I suppose. Thanks for the eye candy shots and making me feel J of the setup you have.. Really liked your efforts in translating the learning to us :clap2:

The wait was tough but oh so worth it especially being that we got to learn so much. Fortunately, we have Moby so it wasn't like we were without a Jeep to wheel :yup:

Looks Awesome! Great timing, I just received my 68.5 width XD 60 Friday and it was nice to see how it will look once its all bolted up. Thanks for all the DTD info as I was not aware that there is some rub issues.

Yep, unless you're running 3.5" of back spacing, you will rub the bypass shocks up front even with a 68.5" axle. Going 72.5" allowed us to run 5.5" of back spacing while keeping the EXACT same width as we were and not have any rubbing issues.

Super informative post. Thanks for sharing, I love geeking out on hardware like this.

LOL!! Me too. Glad you enjoyed the post :)
 

The Cock Father

New member
Unfortunately, I don't think you can run 5.5" of back spacing on a ProRock 60 unless you run a 20" wheel. The steering arms on a Pro 60 knuckle will get in the way of a 17" wheel. If I'm wrong on this, maybe Dynatrac will come on and correct me.



:cheesy: Sorry about that :crazyeyes:


So what is the BS range for the PR60? I have 17" wheels with 4.5" BS. Will this work?
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
So what is the BS range for the PR60? I have 17" wheels with 4.5" BS. Will this work?

Unfortunately, I'm not 100% sure. I know that it'll work with 4" of back spacing but you might want to contact Dynatrac to confirm that 4.5" will work as well.
 
We are excited to see the positive response. If you've asked us a question, we need time to go over each one and make sure we answer accurately. Please be patient as we're working to answer everyone, and thanks for the questions!
 
Unfortunately, I'm not 100% sure. I know that it'll work with 4" of back spacing but you might want to contact Dynatrac to confirm that 4.5" will work as well.

Our earlier Pro60 wheel end that is still available will also accept most 5.5" BS x 17-inch wheels. Some wheels and some steering configurations may not apply, so this is not a blanket answer for everyone. But if you you have a ProRock 60F (XD or Gen-1) with our earlier Pro60 wheel end with our crossover steering for a JK, most wheels should not be a problem.

Even with the 5.5" BS wheel the Pro60 does not offer the reduced scrub radius of the new 1550 wheel end.
 
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