I spend a lot of time in the dunes but also spend a fair amount of time in the rocky hills behind my house with some good rock crawling. I've driven a RZR and loved it in the sand but i'm not sure how they handle in slower and less stable situations. Is the Tyrex a good performer in the sand compared to a RZR?...I know the locking diff in the tyrex is a big advantage to me but will a RZR do the same things with and open front diff? Just looking for suggestions thanks. sorry if this is a repost
Tyrex Vs. RZR
- Thread starter EVE_Designs
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If your comapring stock RZR to Stock Teryx I would take the Teryx becuase of the added wheel base and power. But if your talking RZRs to a stock teryx then the RZRs wins in all catagories and is a great performer in both sand and rock trails.....
FYI the front drive on all Polaris 4wd machines is not an 'open diff' It is a Hillard clutch which engages both wheels equally (in 4wd mode) when the rear wheels just break tracton by 1/5th of a rotation...which equates to about two lugs, then disengages the front end automatically when you gain traction. The advantage is light steering and true four wheel drive. With traditional differential systems you either get three wheel drive (diff open) and light steering OR four wheel drive (diff locked) and really stiff steering.
so its more of an AWD situation?FYI the front drive on all Polaris 4wd machines is not an 'open diff' It is a Hillard clutch which engages both wheels equally (in 4wd mode) when the rear wheels just break tracton by 1/5th of a rotation...which equates to about two lugs, then disengages the front end automatically when you gain traction. The advantage is light steering and true four wheel drive. With traditional differential systems you either get three wheel drive (diff open) and light steering OR four wheel drive (diff locked) and really stiff steering.
Awd typically is a system where the system is full time 4wd like on a Land Rover Discovery. The Polaris system true 4wd...two modes, 2wd or On-demand 4wd. It works great, because you don't want to stop and have to 'lock' into 4wd. Momentum is your friend.
in the dunes the rzrs get squirly because of the way the front end works.
you never know when it is going to engage, makes it fun to me but you need to be ready for it, or you can spin it around quite easily and unexpectedly.
so to me it is not true 4wd when selected like all other machines, that stay in 4wd, rather traction sensing (controlled) 4wd.
I would pick the Rzr over a teryx any day even a plain one. the S is a bonus.
I still love my rhino though! lol
Rog
i had noticed that in the rzr i had driven. whenever one of the front tires was off the ground for more than a second and there was power to the wheels the system would seem to engage pretty gnarly. it sounded harsh to me lol. ive also heard a lot of the japanese machines are just put together more solidly than the polaris. can anyone confirm that or no?
Where do you live? Most likely I can arrange a demo between two vehicles and you can see for yourself. Conjecture is hoooooey.
I live in hemet CA like souther riverside county that would be awesome haha. is there a big power to weight difference between the two?
...go to Callaway Motorsports on University in Riverside...they sell Honda, Kawasaki and Polaris. And they give test drives. If someone sucks...the test drive will prove it. And 'no' I don't work for them or even live in their county. Just trying to help!
I have a RZR-S now and had a Rhino prior to it. I can tell you I had similar concerns before buying my RZR. I like to do the technical rocks of Johnson Valley and the canyons of Ocotillo as well as hit the bowls of Glamis. I rencently went with 3 Rhinos to Johnson Valley and my RZR walked passed the Rhinos with their lockers in the rocks. I was surprised myself at how nimble it was. I know you said Teryx but in regards to lockers vs the AWD the AWD works well. The frames of the RZR should have the strengthening tubes and top rear shock brace added if you hit the whoops. Not expensive... like $125 for both from UTV Crap and is cheap insurance. So far from my experience I don't look back or have regrets to going to the RZR-S. I cleared Olds in Glamis running solo on aired down Big Horns at 30 which I thought was pretty good all stock.
thats awesome. the rzr i was driving was having problems with the awd so i didnt get the full effect but the way you put it i think i know what im looking for now. thanks all you guys for the help
Don't get me wrong, the RZR does have its downsides also... the overall appearance has never been a strong point for me. "S" or standard. Also the RZR has poor engine braking compared to my Rhino. I could put the Rhino in 4 lo with diffs locked and creep down some steep technical stuff. The 2010 RZR doesn't do this and on the real steep stuff you can get into a skid situation. Outside of that to get a new Rhino to go 63mph, and add the long travel would cost quite a bit and the RZR-S has it stock with a full warranty. Once again this is not comparing it to the Teryx as I have no experience with one.
Kind of a apple and oranges comparison.The rzr is nimble due to size and you better really like your passenger if you have one in the car.Long term realiability I give to the teryx easily.Also not a big fan of rzr auto 4x4 system.
well in my case i would definitely be going with either a stock rzrS with a cage or i would be looking for a used and already done up tyrex like cage seats suspension ect. would that make any difference in anyones recommendations??
Drive both and decide if possible. Also keep in mind transporting and storage. You can get away with putting a RZR-S in a full size truck bed if needed or for day runs (which is nice). If you are planning on keeping it in a toy hauler and don't want to tow the hauler out every time you want to ride. When I first grabbed my RZR I knew I would need a second trailer as my toy hauler was full with my bike and quads. But if I wanted to just take the RZR and the toy hauler I was ok as the RZR fits fine in my toy hauler if I take the bikes out, however the Teryx would not fit in my toy hauler which meant taking two trailers on weekend trips (one with the RZR in it and then my toy hauler also). Not a huge deal but the Teryx was a little too long for my 23' toy hauler and would hit the counter. They are both great machines and you'll have fun with either. Also.... where do you ride.. what type terrain. I ask because some people have no plans to go to the dunes or others only go to dunes. I like to do it all, but on a particular trip to Glamis when the RZR-S was new out, a guy in camp had just got one and had paddles/buffs on it. We also had a Rhino and a 2009 Teryx plus about 6 quads on a ride from Gecko at pad 4 over to the washes. While crossing over I was on my YFZ450 quad and while the Rhino and Teryx took their own lines the guy in the RZR-S was right on our asses through the big bowls. We couldn't shake him. I was blown away with how the "S" could ride the bowls like a quad (in stock form at that). So if you are a sand person then I would strongly look at the "S".
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