RE: H2 Frame.
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RE: H2 Frame. - 4/16/2007 5:03:32 PM
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Xtreme
Posts: 258
Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: shortbus
i think the yugo frame came from a chinese handcart, but the engineering costs to add windshield wipers drove the cost above $100,therefore the high retail cost. kia is based on the same thing, but from a non-communist infrastructure, and rubber isn't subsidized so that made them even more expensive. hey, let 'em rag about my "tahoe", i earned it so i'll drive whatever i want. if they don't like it, they shouldn't have chained themselves to the sapling i ran over . . . the thing is, GM took parts that they already had, maximized their utility, and came up with something we all seem to enjoy. nothing we can do to change people's minds about our vehicles, it seems to be a love/hate issue these days. frankly, i'm a tad proud that i can sit at the gas pump while 3 other cars fill up and go, i earned that priviledge from bustin' my hump all these years (ok, i don't really have a hump, but it seemed to fit the clean atmosphere we keep on this forum).
ok, off my soapbox now, back to normal. gotta find that picture of me with the helmet on . .. . .
...also, in it's day, the Yugo was one of the few vehicles to come factory-equipped with a rear window defroster...so that the driver would keep his hands warm while pushing it during winter.
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"The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary."
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RE: H2 Frame. - 4/17/2007 10:05:17 AM
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Greenblade
Posts: 649
Joined: 3/19/2006
Status: offline
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The H2s frame is, for all practical purposes, a custom design made just for the H2.
The frame itself is constructed from 3 sections, each either custom made for the H2 or modified (heavily reinforced for the weight of the truck, etc.).
It is far, far more rigid and substantial than the frame on a 2500 series HD GM pickup. I have a 2500HD, and I have an H2. The rails on the 2500HD are "C-channel", on the H2 they are bigger and fully boxed, and more. If you take the front skid, bumper, etc. off your truck you'll see some of the heaviest front-end-reinforcement of any frame on any vehicle.
And its not just stiffness, either. Part of why the H2 (big truck with a 6 liter) is as quiet as a luxury car, while my pickup (also a big truck with a 6 liter) is as loud as heck relates to the custom frame design too.
http://www.lynchhummer.com/h2pages/h2chassis.html
With respect to the "Tahoe" thing, the H2 has these:
-its own frame (comments above, the parts were designed to maximize clearance, minimize hang-up points, and maximize approach/departure, maximize stiffness, blah blah blah)
-its own transfer case. Used in no other passenger vehicle, i think, and built just for the H2? But anyway, its full-time-4WD t-case is more elaborate than and absolutely not shared with the GMT800 trucks
-The traction control system is no off-the-shelf stability control ala toyota, etc. It was tuned by Bosch computer programmers and test drivers on the Rubicon and other trails (no joke)
-It has a rear locker, stock in 100% of H2s on the road (alot of people don't realize that)
-It has, in places, beefed up parts relative to the other GMT800 trucks (as shown to me by my dealer when my truck was on a hoist)
-and its the only truck GM has ever sold with front/rear winch mounts as standard.
-it has its own suspension, with better travel and so on
and much more.
For all the hype and BS hurled at the H2, it is one hell of a well thought out and designed truck. It has its flaws, to be sure, but overall a whole bunch of thought & engineering went into making it what it is. It is the mega-modified jeep of luxury SUVs.
How do you take a Wrangler and make it an offroad truck? Give it a lift (increase its clearance), give it lockers (improve its traction), make it stronger (better axles), sometimes gear it down, and give it bigger, better tires and some underbody protection.
The H2 has those relative to a Tahoe plus the TCS (very cool) and the cleanest underbody of any truck i've ever seen besides the H1 (nothing at all below those big frame rails). The width and size have pro's and con's from an offroad standpoint. Weight adds strain and is not advantageous in many offroad situations, but it sure helps in deep snow, and the size makes it tough to fit in some places on some trails, but it makes it very safe and stable. No pictures of H2s rolling in Moab. It is what it is. Its awesome, its hardly a Tahoe, hardly. Its as comfortable as any Mercedes, as weird looking as anything short of an H1, its fully fit for offroad duty, its rides great, its quiet, it holds the whole family + luggage, and its mileage isn't really any worse than any big pickup. And it comes with rock rails, which is nice.
And the fact that the H2 has commonality with FAR MORE COMMON GM trucks like pickups and tahoes and 'burbs is GOOD. Because that lets you have access to an array of aftermarket parts that nobody would ever make for just the 120,000 or so H2s that are out there.
The front locker... it works in an H2, but exists because of 20 million other GM trucks, not because of the H2.
Need lower gearing? The commonality of the diff's lets you change geari
< Message edited by Greenblade -- 4/17/2007 11:35:08 AM >
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[quote=hummbob]but these days my idea of ROUGHING IT is when there is NO MINT on the Pillow at the Hotel!![/quote]
[quote=ZYNE]I could live with that but a Hotel without room service ... my gawd what is this world coming to?!?[/quote]
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RE: H2 Frame. - 4/17/2007 10:14:56 AM
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Greenblade
Posts: 649
Joined: 3/19/2006
Status: offline
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As an offroad vehicle the H2s flaws are
(situatioanlly) the size as i mentioned above, but sometimes that same size is helpful. Its as simple as the fact that there is no "best" offroad vehicle because offroad tasks are so very, very varied. The worlds best rock crawlers look nothing like the worlds best mud-boggers, and neither of those look like the best desert race trucks
(situationally) The front end has independent suspension (only the Mercedes G-wagon and Wranglers have double solid axles, i think). But the travel of the H2s front is better than, for example, an FJ Cruisers. And the independent front adds alot to on-road ride (and off-road ride) and there are times when its beneficial offroad too. But it isn't as strong as a solid axle, and the half-shafts on an H2 (or other IFS truck) won't take as much of a beating as a one-ton-solid-axle. But yippie skippie, the H2 rides like a big fat overgrown Caddy (almost), and thats worth it.
The front steering is prone to premature wear and failure. Not excessively prone as you may be lead to believe, but it has its flaws. There are also alot of atermarket things coming out to address that that aren't so expensive.
And it could use more clearance. It has more than any other stock truck save the H1, but it could use more clearance between the wheels. I read an interview with the designer of the truck once, and he commented that they realized that more clearance would help, but one of the priorities was to make the truck completely safe and stable in normal (or offroad) use. And that compromise was made. Seems reasonable to me.
And it doesn't have a front locker. The Mercedes G-Wagon and Wrangler Rubicons ahve this. The point is mostly moot as I have a front locker and with good tires, it is quite rare to find a situation where the locked rear + TCS won't do what you need to do. Probably 1% of offroad challenges really call for it. So again, yippie skippie.
And the H2 didn't get greatly lower gearing than the GMT800 trucks. It did get 4:10 axles, but no super-low gear, which leaves its crawl ratio at 36:1 or so, much faster than the H3 or Rubicons, which are something like 70:1.
But folks, the H3 is no more a Colorado than the H2 is a Tahoe, that isn't at all fair. The H3 is an extremely cool truck. Its smaller size is advantageous at times, and it has lower gearing. Its cool.
< Message edited by Greenblade -- 4/17/2007 11:32:22 AM >
_____________________________
[quote=hummbob]but these days my idea of ROUGHING IT is when there is NO MINT on the Pillow at the Hotel!![/quote]
[quote=ZYNE]I could live with that but a Hotel without room service ... my gawd what is this world coming to?!?[/quote]
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