A few of us were out last weekend , and my friends wanted to get Pictures of their cars jumping, so we went to that spot just east of OLDS, the question came up reguarding the landing;

A. Leave it in Gear ?
B. Clutch In or Out ?
C. Landing on the Front Wheels First ?
D. Landing on the Rear Wheels First ?

Whats the Best ?


I happen to have a very Quiet Car, with no Rattles of any kind, just some motor noise, sometimes when the car gets some air and comes down , I can here a very small winning noise comming from the trans or drive train, it eventually goea away and it only accures after landing. What is that ?

Thanks in Advance Bill

Mike from Mendeola wrote a thread on his website regarding the technical aspects of jumping and transmission life. Short story goes like this : clutch it on landing or master the fine art of matching tire speed to your vehicles speed on impact.

Not sure what that noise is you hear but i would look for shimmery metallic fluid in your transmission. I think gears in general make some noise and if you oil is clean i wouldnt worry too much. But if you do have shimmery metallic oil you are probably driving a hand grenade.

Punch the throttle right before you land...

thats what mendeola told me too...

NEVER push the clutch in when u land! ALWAYS have it in gear whith the clutch out !! Accelerate the car just as you are landing to help cushion the impact!! You want full control of the car when you land ! You don't if their is no power to the rear wheels!

I always peg the throttle right before I land, it helps float the front end and the landing is sooooooooo much smoother...

when I jump I have 2 landings....... or one bounce!!!! hahahahaha life is good when your asking for advise on how to jump your ride.... life is better when your dishing out the advise!

What about jumping with a no travel VW/91 trans? Same procedure, get on the gas just as you land?

My Oli Is changed Regularly and is always really clean. how about the Landing Front or Rear ? Most Offroad Race Vehicles appear to most of the time land on the front Suspension, even though most on them are mid or rear engine...........

I'll tell you what------you bring your car, or just yourself, and I will show you how to drive the dunes, take you for a real ride---the whole gamit!!
Actions speak loader than words----I always say!!!

BUT!! No TAPOUTS!!

Ed

This is the way I see it , if your clutchin off a jump, it's esentially choppin the throttle you need your torque to keep the car flat on landing..If you don't time it right the nose is gonna dump = Lawn dart

there is very litttle you can do to manipulate how your car is going to land off of every hit. So just make sure it is rubber side down and you wont have to many issues.....



Here is the information for Mendeola's website:

Jumping from dune to dune can be the easiest thing you’ve ever done, or the most expensive! The secret to doing this correctly is all in the landing.
You must do one of two things.
Number 1: Just before landing you must match rear wheel speed with vehicle speed by throttle manipulation. This is a skill that must be learned.
Number 2: Just before landing push in the clutch. By doing this you have completely disconnected the powertrain from the chassis. This will eliminate 99% of maincase and ring & pinion failures.
By performing either one of these actions the dreaded “power-load reversal” can be eliminated. In mechanical jargon, a power load reversal is one in which ALL driving members become driven members, instantly! The pinion no longer drives the ring gear. The ring gear drives the pinion. Bang-catatrophic failure.
It goes somethin’ like this:
1. You launch your new car from the first dune.YEEEE HAAAA!!
2. While in the air you lift off the throttle so the motor doesn’t wallow itself (this is what you’ve always been told to do, and its correct).
3. By lifting off the throttle the motor goes into immediate compression braking (slowing down).
4. The only resistance to vehicle motion while in the air, is the air! The buggy gains speed, albeit slowly.
5. Just before you land on the second dune you have a car doing 50 mph and rear wheels doing 10 mph (remember compression braking).
6. Now the landing. As soon as the rear wheels contact the ground the ring gear does everything it can to drive the coast side of the pinion. The rear wheels are directly connected to the ring gear. The clutch is still out and the transaxle is in gear. You’ve initiated a power load reversal. If the ring & pinion doesn’t explode immediately, it will. Remember, you’ve got the rest of the weekend.

OR

Push the clutch in! By performing this action it divorces the powertrain from the chassis. Let the suspension and brakes do their job. Let these components absorb the impact not the gearbox. Once you’ve gotten the car under control let the clutch out.
If jumping from dune to dune is your thing go ahead theres nothing wrong with that. Just do it the proper way. You’ll spend a lot less money fixin things and have more fun dunning.