Feature Vehicle: RJ Anderson's XP1K2 RZR

In 2014 UTVUnderground.com partnered with Polaris RZR and off-road racing champion RJ Anderson to put together the most viewed UTV viral video campaign ever. The video was called XP1K and before the views were done being counted talks of the second installment were already being had. It came as no surprise when XP1K2 was launched at this summers Polaris Dealer Show in Minneapolis, MN and by then UTVUnderground.com, Mad Media, Polaris RZR and RJ Anderson were already well into the production process. Like XP1K, XP1K2 is all about the RZR! Well, its also about RJ doing things that most people only would dream of doing in a RZR. But to be able to do the things we had him slated to do we had to provide him with a machine that was of course safe, reliable and able to withstand the beating that he and the stunts would dish out. To make this build happen the team once again called upon builder Mark Holz of Holz Racing Products to oversee the build process and deliver a machine that fit our needs. What Mark and the team here at UTVUnderground.com came up with was nothing short of UTV perfection. It boasts many of the same features from the RZR we saw in XP1K, but like the video sequel itself, we had to go bigger! At first glance one might think they cars are identical, and in many ways they are. The XP1000 chassis remained the same for 2014 therefor we saw no need to stray too far away from what was already done in terms of chassis and overall appearance. Of course the Mad Media designed graphic scheme is new and ProLineWraps.com once again handled all of the printing of the new red & black toned "Geo-Pattern" graphics. The signature look that was created for XP1K was carried over in a new color scheme for Xp1K2 but under neath those eye grabbing graphics is a beast lying in wait. [gallery link="file" ids="21021,21018,21016"] Mark Holz of Holz Racing Products is known throughout the sport of UTV racing for building some of the most simple and lightweight race RZRs in the world. His cage designs have been utilized on race machines from here in the US all the way to those competing in Dakar. He is one of the most well respected and sought after builders in the sport and his attention to detail is what sets Holz apart from most in the sport. The lightweight chromoly tig-welded cage on XP1K2 shares the same design that you will see on some of the most winning race UTVs in the world. Strength and safety is priority #1 for us, especially while RJ is busy sending his RZR off jumps that few would ever even consider attempting. In XP1K part 1, RJ suffered two major crashing incidents while attempting a blind step down where he literally drove off of a nearly 100ft tall cliff. The first attempt sent him 80ft to flat ground where the suspension below him literally folded in half. During the second attempt, RJ would fall short blasting the front end of the RZR strait into the lip of the landing literally demolishing the front end of the RZR. Both times the XP1K RZR was able to be rebuilt by simply replacing the broken components. The chassis as a whole was never bent and more importantly RJ walked away from both.. gingerly, but he did walk away! With chassis and cage design based off of XP1K the XP1K2 cars still had to look different. In part 1 we wanted a more opened back half, thus we eliminated the bed entirely. For Xp1K2 we wanted to give the car the appearance of being stock yet still obviously modified. To do this we added back in the rear bed and tail lights completing the machine and giving it a longer look then the previous builds. While RJ still appears to be sitting very low in the chassis, he is actually sitting 3" higher in the Sparco race seat then he was in the first Xp1K RZR. This increased his visibility which was important as he threaded the needle on many of the stunts having only an inch to spare at times between the wheels and trees. Naturally, with a shortened cage, lowered roof visor and neck restraints, visibility will be limited, but its all in the name of safety. Nevertheless, RJ has a ton more visibility in his XP1K2 RZR then he does in his Pro2 race truck that he competes in at the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series. In any off-road vehicle its the suspension that makes or breaks your machine. We learned a lot about how the RZR would react in these extreme situations where the moving mass of the RZR along with the speed and height of the stunts would affect how the shocks and other suspension components would react. For XP1K2, Holz would increase the strength of the upper a-arms in front going to a fully boxed design that he has tested in his newest race machines. The arms can utilize the factory ball joints but Mark quickly decided to upgrade our arms to a uni-ball set up once he saw how we were side loading the car on many of the XP1K2 stunts. We are proud to say that in XP1K2 we never broke or destroyed any of Mark's uni-ball arms with the exception of one set which was lets say shaped to help RJ lock into a log.. you will see what I mean when you get to see the video on November 4th 2014! The rear trailing arm design remained the same from last year as did the rear radius rod design. We did add in a Holz Racing Products rear sway bar and like much of the billet components on the RZR this year, Mark did a cool gold anodized finish on the links. In XP1K we were introducing a new model of vehicle with the launch of the video. We wanted to use the stock Walker Evans Racing shocks to prove how good they were and they were dynamite. The only time we actually broke shocks was when RJ came up short on a stunt casing the car and damaging more than the shocks or when landing to flat ground after falling from the sky like a meteor. We did a lot of valve adjustments however to tune the shocks to the stunts as they started to get bigger. We soon realized that what we were doing was far beyond anything the RZR was actually intended for and although the components were awesome and worked great we knew for XP1K2 we wanted to take what we learned and make everything better. On the XP1K2 RZRs, Randy Anderson of Walker Evans Racing (and Rj's dad) set up a brand new shock design for us. We would go with 2.5" Walker Evans Racing shocks up front and 2.5" out back. We begged for 3.0's but Randy assured us it wasn't necessary and he was right.  Instead, Randy tuned up a special valve spec that would allow us to use the lighter 2.5" shocks while still maintaing the compression and rebound needed to make the big jumps safe and smooth. We are proud to say that we never had one single shock failure despite some very intense landings and near catastrophic misses. Its crazy because you can actually press down on the front of the RZR and feel like you are bouncing it up and down with ease, and you are, yet when the suspension fully drops out then compresses upon landing the internal needle valving of the Walker Evans Racing shocks work like they have a full on internal bump stop of sorts. You will see some intense stuff in XP1K2 and when you watch the shocks work I promise, you will be impressed. Of course it didn't hurt that Walker Evans Racing customized the look of the shocks for the XP1K2 RZR putting some awesome gold touches on the all black body shocks. You will also notice that on the rears we went to a piggy back design in place of the remote reservoir design. When I talk to people about XP1K they always bring up certain stunts and then it always leads into questions about the RZR itself. More importantly what kind of engine does it have. For XP1K we went crazy and when you talk to many of us inside the build we went a bit overboard for what was really needed, BUT thats what we wanted to do. I know many will somehow be disappointed that we didn't go beyond the 195hp we had at the wheels in part 1 with our turbo Kroyer motor, but like everything else in the build and in the project we had to do what we felt lent itself to being the right decision for what we were about to do. Now don't get me wrong, we may have gone a little down in HP but when you really break it down we actually increased the CC's and the power we were able to use by putting in an 1132cc Muzzys Performance modified Polaris Pro-Star engine. This naturally aspirated monster puts out a tire spinning 170+ HP while maintaining a large amount of torque. In XP1K we were primarily on wide open flat ground, in XP1K2 RJ was climbing hills, driving in and out of tight wooded trails and doing things that required a lot of power right at the push of the peddle. Now, I am not saying we didn't have all that in Xp1K with our Turbo Kroyer engines, but what I am saying is don't let the non turbo Muzzy's engine fool you. This thing has balls! More balls than we even needed for this shoot but I think RJ will tell you, it was nice to have the ponies when he needed it, especially when he jumped the........ never mind, you will see.... Anyway, we combined the 1132cc big bore engine with a Muzzys dual exhaust and Muzzys digi-tune fuel programmer. Lorin Morrell and Rob Muzzy himself even came to the filming of XP1K2 and helped us tune the car to the terrain and environment. Combined with the clutch tune by Mark Holz and Muzzys this RZR was a beast to drive! [gallery link="file" ids="21011,21013,21024"] If the engine is the heart of the machine then the interior is clearly where the brains of the operation reside. I think I nailed that analogy? Anyway, we have to keep RJ safe and we have to give RJ the comfort and equipment he needs to be able to perfectly navigate some of the most heinous stunts one could ever dream up such as the 50/50 grind, thread the needle and of course the..... oh wait never mind, you will see. In XP1K we introduced the first RZR with a cutting brake, for XP1K2 we brought it back and RJ has it dialed in better than ever. He used it about 10 times more this time around then he did in XP1K and thats because he is 1. more comfortable with it and 2. needed it a lot to get the car in and out of some of these super tight situations where momentum was key. RJ was even able to use it in 4wd which took him some practice but it worked! For those who don't remember how this set up works I will explain. Mark Holz installs a second master cylinder into the XP1K2 machine. Because the rear diff is a locked rear diff you can't use the cutting brake like you would on a traditional vehicle. So its tied to the front wheels. When RJ pulls on the gold anodized RZR logo handle of the cutting brake he locks the left front, when he pushes it he locks the right front. He uses the throttle in conjunction thus making the RZR turn or cut on a dime. You will notice a full passenger side enclosure on XP1K2 just like we had on XP1K. We house our electronics and fuel cell under there and its a great way to keep a bunch of debris and mud from piling up on the side with no seat. It also looks cool as hell. It all ties into the custom aluminum dash constructed by Holz which houses the factory gauge cluster and A/F gauge. For those who are wondering, 99% of the stunts were done in 4wd. RJ is held in place and safe with a set of Mastercraft 5 point harnesses and a carbon fiber Sparco racing seat. Of course his body is kept warm with a custom built Oakley fire suit designed by Mad Media and built by Oakley. His noggin is surrounded by one of the most sought after carbon fiber brain buckets in off-road and its made by Impact. The Impact helmet was of course custom painted by Troy Lee Designs who paints all of RJ's race helmets. You can't talk custom machines and not talk about wheels and tires. For wheels, we stuck with more of the same! We are rocking 15" custom Holz modified OMF Performance 3 piece bead locks. But different for XP1K2 is the 31" tall BFGoodrich KM2 Mudd-Terrain tires. We had nothing bad to say about the Falken tires we used in Part 1 but the aggressive pattern on the KM2 BFG tire is what we needed for the various mountain terrain we had. We battled through loamy damp dirt, mud, gravel, and dry loose dirt. In all conditions the KM2 performed. The wheels were amazing just like their were in XP1K. We had no flats and no broken wheels the entire shoot! I know many of you will geek out on the intricate details of the XP1K2 machines and I encourage you to do so. I have attached the images that I have been cleared to post prior to launch but I assure you there will be plenty more to fap to here real soon. Stay tuned to XP1K2.com for more updates on the new XP1K2 video campaign and be ready because we start the launch on Halloween in Glamis at Camp RZR this Friday before taking it LIVE worldwide online on November 4th 2014! Please watch it, like 100 times, share it and help us show the world what these machines can do when put in the coolest and most extreme environments with one of the baddest drivers our sport has ever seen! See you all in Glamis and at SEMA!!! Joey D. Photos by: Vincent Knakal // UTVUnderground.com - Mad Media SPECIFICATIONS Owner: RJ Anderson - UTVUnderground.com Builder: Mark Holz - Holz Racing Products Year: 2014 Make: Polaris Model: RZR XP1000 Cage/Chassis: Holz Racing Products Suspension: Holz Racing Products Suspension System w/ Holz Tie-Rods, Rear Radius Rods Shocks: Custom Valved Walker Evans Racing 2.5″ Front & Rear (GOLD EDITION) Sway Bar: Holz Racing Products Axels: Stock Engine: Muzzys 1132cc Polaris Pro-Star - 170+ Horsepower ECM: Muzzys Piggy Back A/F Programmer Intake: UMP Air Cleaner Exhaust: Muzzys Dual Wheels: Custom Holz Modified 15" OMF Performance 3-Piece Bead Locks Tires: 31" X 10" BFGoodrich Mudd-Terrain KM2 Seats: SPARCO Paint / Graphics: ProLineWraps.com Lighting: Factory Communications: PCI Race Radio's Racer Handheld Accessories: Joe's Racing Steering Wheel - Holz Racing Products Cutting Brake [gallery ids="21008,21009,21010,21011,21012,21013,21014,21015,21016,21017,21018,21019,21020,21021,21022,21023,21024,21025,21026,21027,21028,21029,21030,21031,21032,21033"]

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