Howto: Drive a 1404 Imp

[rodre]

I have never driven a 1404 IMP. I looked in the owners manual and it doesn't say much on other how to steer and brake. Is the gearing in the C-4 for range and the front tranny to be used like in a regular vehicle? Can anyone provide some pointers? I read you should never put both the front and rear trannys in reverse at the same time as it will make you go forward and stress the C-4, can someone elaborate on this? Or more so when to use the front reverse and when to use the rear reverse? Also, any pointers for what gear you should be in for trailering/untrailering or any other advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[cloudcap]

I tend to use the front transmission for 90% of my shifting -- the reverse is more of a range selector.

I'll occasionally put both transmissions in reverse just for giggles, but I have a vague impression that reverse gears aren't very robust so I don't do it for more than a few feet.

I load and unload in low/low -- I want to be going as slowly as possible.

Keep your hands off the sticks unless you're turning -- otherwise you may tend to apply the brakes when you don't need to. I also try to pump the sticks through a turn. It makes the turn a bit more jerky, but somewhere I got the impression that this is better than continuous application of the brakes through the turn.

Slower is generally better than faster. It is fun to blast across a meadow through fresh power, but most of the time you're bumping along a snow-mobile track or on old icy snow and fast just rattles your brain. Go easy on yourself and the cat and slow down.

Ron

 

[PJL]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-bB2Kl1tCI

For those of us who need to see it, this Youtube video shows how the differential works. The correct way is to completely stop the drum. Cloudcap is correct. Pull the stick all the way back. A correct turn will actually be jerky. A partial pull on the stick might seem smoother but it will wear the bands and overheat the diff. Pulling harder on the stick won't make it turn sharper. You get a 1/3 speed decrease on the inside track and a 1/3 increase on the outside.

 

[rodre]

Thanks for this info, do you shift the front tranny like a car? As in 1 to get moving then 2 and maybe 3 on the fly?

 

[rdynes01]

Shifting on the fly is difficult because you slow down so fast when you're in any snow you are already out of the speed range needed to shift up to the next gear.I usually find the highest gear I can keep moving in with a good rpm level and just keep rolling and take my time.

 

[redsqwrl]

there is a thread here some where that has the range and ratio explained, after you get to an event and operate a few cats you will (like a slingshot) understand much of this input.

1st gear, 1 or low range up to 3/4 is not a linear progression... just look at it this way.

3rd in the front trans is 1:1
all the rear GEARS and actually ranges.... R to R is fun for noobs....

above all remember to understand that imps are direct drive A model sprytes have drop boxes.

come to the midwest (unless you are already here) and get pulling some levers and turning some steering wheels.....

 

[rodre]

Shifting on the fly is difficult because you slow down so fast when you're in any snow you are already out of the speed range needed to shift up to the next gear.I usually find the highest gear I can keep moving in with a good rpm level and just keep rolling and take my time.

So if you need to cruise in 3rd gear you start rolling in 3rd gear?

 

[cloudcap]

I usually keep the back tranny in 2nd and work between 1st and 3rd on the front. Sometimes you can work up through the gears al la a car, but you're usually close to a stop by the time you're disengaging the clutch. As such shifting is more like in a tractor -- you do your shifting at a stand-still and pick the gear that will work best for the current conditions. Basically you do a standing start after every shift.

Unless things get hairy I do most of my driving w/ my right arm resting on a shift lever and my left hand in my lap (when it isn't running the sticks). It is surprising how busy you can get @ 5 mph when the ride is bumpy, you're turning the wipers on/off, you're dodging branches on one side and a tree well on the other, and then the door pops open.

I take it really slowly over any obstacles (road berms, drainage ditches, downed trees, stuck Tuckers) -- often in low/low. The suspension for the bogies is minimal and the front idlers are mounted solid, so there's not a lot of give under there. I like to hit the obstacles head on (i.e., @ 90 degrees) and then just ease over them.

The rear end is the weak link on Imps, but I don't know precisely what the failure mechanism is -- as such I'm pretty conservative in my driving. I don't pull heavy loads and try not to pop the clutch. I'm starting to pull a home-made drag to try and knock down the moguls and will occasionally pull out a stuck vehicle, but I still take it pretty easy.

 

[rodre]

Thanks, this is all great info. So the reverse in the rear tranny is really only for if the c-4 was the only transmission in the vehicle?

 

[Snowtrac Nome]

yes and no you could use it like a reverser so you could back up in the same range you are going forward

 

[rodre]

Ok, this makes sense. Last question, I am assuming you need to be at a dead stop to shift the c-4 tranny?

 

[cloudcap]

Ok, this makes sense. Last question, I am assuming you need to be at a dead stop to shift the c-4 tranny?

No idea -- I've never tried to shift the back end on the go, so I don't know if it has any syncros in it. Sounds like it is time to do a little research in the field...

 

[loggah]

When you use reverse in the c4,the reverse idler gear has a bushing in the gear, not a bearing. That is the reason you should not use double reverse as a super low gear .

 

[Thebartman]

I took the Imp out yesterday... The OC-4 rear shifts on the fly easier than the tranny, although the ratios are kind of wide.

 

[rodre]

Where you using the clutch to shift the c-4?

I didn't find it that hard to shift on the fly using the front tranny, good thing it is a short throw shifter though.

I found that putting the front tranny into 1st or reverse at a standstill would grind, unless I put it into 2nd gear first then shifted into 1st or reverse. Is this normal or bad syncros?

 

[redsqwrl]

normal

Just wait a bit or grab the ebrake lightly will slow the bits down......

im a second then first guy....