Hi Team,

I was wondering if the owners of the "Star" kicks could tell us a bit more about their rigs and how they have been performing out there in the real world.

Eg: Does IFS mix it with SAS. What are they like in the rocks.

Would you do anything differently if you built one again .

ZeusZuki

I'm sure Mike will jump in here, but I will let you know what I have gathered while wheeling with them (and test driving both the Rock Star and the Porn Star.

First off, I drive a locked and loaded 89 with 33's 4:1 5.83's Ford 9", Anvil etc...... It does very good in almost any situation I have put it in (within reason). Both of the Stars I rode in and test drove, hands down, would spank my kick on the trail. These things easily walked stuff I was having trouble with, I was amased at how well the light weight machines worked. Amased enough I was considering doing something similiar before I moved to FL and no longer have my shop to work in.

I believe that Mike won, or took second place in the Rock Crawl at the Melt just a few months after finishing the Rock Star (I believe he did about the same in the Rally race too ).

Like I said above, the Stars realy impressed me. Now if they could make one street legal so I could drive it cross country 

Zig

I gotta say the "stars" work better than I could have imagined. The best part is they are the cheapest rigs I have ever built to that caliber. The yellow rig took first in the Zukimelt rockcrawl and second in the rallyrace. I was pretty pleased with that. Whoever decided that you need wheel travel to rockcrawl didnt drive this thing! The ridiculus stability more than makes up for it.

Mike

It hillclimbs great too.

Would you do anything differently if you built one again .

We do plan to do something different everytime we build one.  I think we truly lucked out on the builds. If I were to build them again I would buildem exactly the same....Mabey the body chop that the Darkstar got but otherwise no changes.

Mike

Wait did I miss something, what are the Stars?

Wait did I miss something, what are the Stars?

They are refering to the Operation Rockstar project artical for Zukiworld, The Pornstar, and the Darkstar. If you did miss it here it is.

http://www.zukiworld.com/month_010105/feature_operationrockstar_partone.htm

http://www.zukiworld.com/month_020105/feature_rockstarpart2.htm

http://www.zukiworld.com/month_050105/feature_rockstar_part3.htm

http://www.zukiworld.com/month_080105/feature_rockstarfinale.htm


Quick history...
We liked the Rockstar project so much we built another before the first one was even done. 12 days before Memorial we started and finished #2. Dan followed Erics lead (Eric Bewely, Zukiworld moderator, named the Rockstar artical) and named his the Pornstar.  By we I mean several members of the RPM club. Myself, Dan Bour, Stan Bonngard (37kicker on this board) and Chunk. Now we are on #3, Chunks ride, which he calls The Darkstar. We are not usually ones to name our vehicles but it has been kinda fun conversation with the play on words. 

Here is a pic of the Pornstar

http://www.zukiworld.com/month_080105/images/minnesota-wiconsin/dsc02468.jpg

Hi Mike - I knew you would step up to the plate and give us some feed back - very much appreciated 

It would appear that the other guys are not as happy with their rigs as you because I have not heard from them :'(

What do you think the secret to its abilities are - I am looking for exact details here Please give this some thought before answering.

Please enlighten me about the "body chop" you have mentioned - is it a go or no go?

You are probably thinking - "Why all the questions, will this guy EVER leave me alone". But the reason is that at the moment I am at cross roads - I have built a SAS kick that works very well but I have always liked / prefered IFS. I believe Ind' Sus' has a lot of advantages in its own rights - my first 4WD was a Nissan with IFS and SA rear and it actually kicked ass but Zuks are my thing these days and it is a fair bit of work and expense to sort the front on Kicks as you know. This is why all the Q's.

Important - would you weld the rear again or go locker instead???

Oh yeah - I have a spare kick at the side of the house I can build up so the SAS one I can just rob for parts - it has lockers, 4.24:1 t box gears, 37 wranglers, rancho 9000 shocks etc - all the stuff I need.

Immmmmmmmmmmmm - that will do for now

ZeusZuki.

Im the only one on the board that owns a "Star" . Dan and Chunk are not internet inclined. Their are only 3 to date. As for secret abilitys... I guess #1 would be light weight. Shave every pound off possible. Off road gear tends to be heavy so removing as much non essential equiptment as possible is key. loosing weight adds stability and the axles have an easier time holding up. Center of gravity would be #2. Most of the weight added is low in the drivetrain (35 inch tires, steel front axle, skidplating) so stablility is also added. The motors are also lowered in the chassis. The body chop is a lot of work but I belive it is worth it. Again we are lowering the center of gravity. I dont know how else to explain it but to say 4 inches are cut out of the firewall so the windshield is 4 inches lower which means the driver and passenger seats can also be lowered 4 inches. So if you have a couple of guys pushing 300lbs in the rig 4 inches can make a difference. 

  Chunks car it all of the above to the furthest we could take it. When its finished I think it will be one of our best builds. Only time will tell.

As for the welded rear or locker I would say that so far Im fine with the welded rear but in Moab I may change my mind.

Mike

Thanks Mike,

I knew you would help fill in the gaps. I think I will go back to IFS and ditch the SAS. SAS is pretty good but my heart is still with IFS and you got to follow your heart

Light weight is something us Zuk guys have known about for a long time and I guess the "Stars" are just a continuation of this

Well I guess I better get busy and start the mods , hope to meet you someday at Moab

Talk to David at Calmini and he will let you know who I am ( If you are curious ).

Thanks again and keep up the good work.

ZeusZuki

death star??? do  you remember..... the next step ?      IFS !!     rocks catch us if you can ....  kicks are great .     stan

"DEATH STAR" it is then .

Hands up all those who agree with this title .  Even though I am all the way over here in NZ I will try to do you guys proud

Here is the plan: Been thinking about it quite a bit.

37 inch Wranglers ( maybe Calmini 4140 axles at a latter date for strength )
Rancho 9000 shocks so I can fine tune the damping
Long arm rear end for lots of travel ( ZeusZuki has 700mm / 27.5 inches of travel just in one rear corner alone with straps - real handy in the rough stuff ).
Stock front end with softer springs ( to help it work better with the lighter rig ) Sammy stub axle upgrade as well latter on to help with bearing loading
Steel front end with universal joints and slip yoke drive shafts for strength
1600 16V donk ( learned from experience that if you flip your rig over these motors are easy to get the oil out of so you can keep going )
Stock kick T-case with 4.24's and Sammy doubler
Weld the rear ( thank you Mike for the feedback )
Locker in the front ( so I can steer the damn thing )
Power steering
Oh yeah and the front cut and tuck.

Chop Chop Chop to slim the old b-atch  down

Build time - for ever. I need to win the lottery and stop this stupid work thing 

One bonus though - I have all this stuff lying around already

Have I missed anything

ZeusZuki

No worries mate - all is forgiven

Oh well back to the drawing board

ZeusZuki