PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT: MINOTAUR SUPER DUTY AXLE

[JoeyD23]

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT: MINOTAUR SUPER DUTY AXLE


Motor Master Powersports are proud to announce the official launch of their new Minotaur Super Duty Axle line. This axle is the next evolution in axle performance as it is designed for BIG wheels and BIG power!

Minotaur Super Duty Axles feature robust CV housings, bars, cages, and races. Produced with ultra-strong chromoly steel to provide TWICE the strength of OEM axles (*tested using in-house calibrated machinery). Additionally, our proprietary top secret heat treat process is used on the entire assembly to ensure ultimate strength in areas vulnerable to breakage.



Increased Operating Angle- OEM axles were not designed to continually operate at the severe angles created by suspension lifts. Minotaur CV joints handle these conditions with ease by allowing 40 degrees of articulation. Designed to slide on the bar splines that will provide 2” of overall travel to work on any terrain, Minotaur Axles are the ideal choice for ATV’s and UTV’s with lift kits or extended A-arms.

Minotaur’s Look as Good as They Perform- Minotaur CV joints are protected from dirt and contaminants by Motor Master’s exclusive Dura-Boot. Our Dura-Boot is made in-house from a blend of special thermoplastic materials that will withstand the most severe trail and temperatures. Dura-Boots are super-durable, super long lasting and with our Husky HTS-2 moly performance grease, you get the best protection in the industry!
These Minotaur Super Duty Axles, like the Dura-Boots, are made in the U.S.A. by Motor Master Powersports. So, if you have a lifted ATV/UTV or want to run with the highest quality axle out there, the Minotaur Axle will fit your needs!

For more information, the list of Minotaur applications and specs, and to view Motor Master Powersport’s extensive driveline coverage, visit www.shopmmps.com

About Motor Master Powersports:
Motor Master Powersports is a division of Aircraft Gear Corporation. A family owned business group that has been in operation for over 60 years, and includes Rockford Constant Velocity one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of CV parts in the Western Hemisphere.
Motor Master’s specializes in the manufacture and distribution of complete CV axles, CV half shafts, CV joints, Duraboot CV boots, CV rebuild kits, and universal joints for the ATV, UTV, Work Utility (John Deere, Kubota etc.) and Japanese Mini-trucks market. Motor Master Powersports provides the most complete driveline coverage in the aftermarket!

 

[megadesertdiesel]

40* of articulation, wow.

Hook me up with a set and ill put them to the test.

How about a set for a canam maverick with the shitty hcr lt kit, i have such bad cv angle i have to limit my droop travel to keep from cooking my cv joints.

 

[tatum]

I talked to these guys at UTVWC and they seemed super legit with everything made in house and no China crap. They also told me you can buy every piece individual so if you just need a cage or race you can buy just that part.

 

[BiggJim]

I guess they missed the memo that CV's plunging on both ends is no Bueno

 

[NIKAL]

And they are using Huskey grease, which is good stuff, not the crap grease you buy at the auto parts stores or comes with these other aftermarket CV/Axle kits. Back in 2002, 3 &4 I was working with Huskey (Husk-Itt) to makes some super CV greases. I believe the HTS-2 moly performance grease is a version we worked on. At the time we are just calling it a MolyPlex as that was a name they had, but the formula we were trying had a higher melting point. It was around 500 degrees.

Together we developed a super bitchin grease that was equal to Bel Ray's Molylube Anti-Seize, but it could go to 800 degrees where Bel Ray was 750. We actually saw lower CV temps and the Anti-Seize compound blend actually helped polish the CV, thus also reducing temps. After the Baja 1000 when we pulled the CV's apart, we found very little grease flung into the CV boots. The grease stayed in the CV and never got hot enough to melt or fling out of the CV. CV boots are to keep contaminants out, not hold the grease in. The grease was never named, and was packed in blank cartilage tubes and only had a R&D lab # assigned. In the end Huskey's corporate office did not feel that making that grease a production unit was viable and cost effective, as we were promoting it as a CV racing grease, and that made it a niche market product. Looking back we should have researched and tried to find an industrial application for the grease and I bet would could have had it put into production.

If your looking for an awesome wheel bearing or bushing grease check out the Huskey Dyna-Mite Red. Again this is another grease we used and still do. This grease is a no washout with a 500 degree melt point. We would use this on the VW front beam, rear torsion housing and trailing arm bushings and after a race the white & yellow bushings would turn a pink'ish, red color as the grease would impregnate itself into the bushings. It was crazy! We were doubling the life of the torsion housing bushings and we never got the bushing squeaks like we did with general purpose greases after 400-500 mile races. Same thing with the wheel bearings, we never found any significant wear on the bearing rollers or races.

 

[NIKAL]

I guess they missed the memo that CV's plunging on both ends is no Bueno

Please explain?

 

[BRONCOBOY]

I guess they missed the memo that CV's plunging on both ends is no Bueno

Why no bueno? Cv's plunge on both sides of every Class 1, 10, 5, 5-1600 and so on, I'm just curious because i'm new to this UTV stuff. I talked to Kevin Kalstrom at UTVWC and I like there USA made pitch. I also like the fact that you can buy all the cv replacement parts but I asked who is running them and got a blank stare(no answer). Looking through there catalog they compare there axles to the strength of a stock Yamaha Rhino axle -thats no bueno. I'm looking at different axle mfg's but don't want to pay to be a test dummy, so far I think my money is on a new set of Turner axles but I have heard of some RCV success stories lately.

Car # 1963

 

[the stripping shop]

put them in johnny utv and shut the 4wd off he will tell you if they are any good really quick.

 

[the stripping shop]

Why no bueno? Cv's plunge on both sides of every Class 1, 10, 5, 5-1600 and so on, I'm just curious because i'm new to this UTV stuff. I talked to Kevin Kalstrom at UTVWC and I like there USA made pitch. I also like the fact that you can buy all the cv replacement parts but I asked who is running them and got a blank stare(no answer). Looking through there catalog they compare there axles to the strength of a stock Yamaha Rhino axle -thats no bueno. I'm looking at different axle mfg's but don't want to pay to be a test dummy, so far I think my money is on a new set of Turner axles but I have heard of some RCV success stories lately.

Car # 1963

To start class 10 and 1 both run a mid board or out board set up, so the axle has room to plunge. On a utv there is no room to plunge. Can it be done yes most class 16 run stub axle kind of similar to utv but axle has to be cut or measured correctly to work but most of the time outer axle gets chewed up. I wish someone would think outside of box on the axle situation, Maybe someone is?

 

[NIKAL]

To start class 10 and 1 both run a mid board or out board set up, so the axle has room to plunge. On a utv there is no room to plunge. Can it be done yes most class 16 run stub axle kind of similar to utv but axle has to be cut or measured correctly to work but most of the time outer axle gets chewed up. I wish someone would think outside of box on the axle situation, Maybe someone is?

Yes both class 1's outboard's and most 10's run mid boards, but the concept is the same as a Micro stub or traditional stub axle. I have not dove deep into the UTV CV, but besides the CV housing being part of the stub axle or splined trans input shaft the concept is the same. Heck most guys dont run the spiral or c-clip on the axle, so the axle can plunge or float more without pulling on the star & cage.

Yes the wheel side of the axle can get a bit beat up, but that is why we dome the end of the axle. (I assume this knowledge has yet to find its way to the UTV crowd yet, or is only being done by those who have raced other classes and are keeping this hush, hush?)

I can say from the UTV teams who I have spoke to in the past & recent, many do not know the prep or basics of how the CV based race buggy running a type 2, 930 or 934 CV's work. Some have been open with me that they dont really know whats going on and they just bolt the axle/cv's in, some others seem to know, but when they explain their theory it seems very different then the way the rest of the racing CV joint world does things. But like I said I have not dove deep into the UTV CV as I have had no reason too.


And last, what part is typically breaking in the axle/CV area? Is it the axle itself? the CV housing, star or cage?

 

[BRONCOBOY]

"And last, what part is typically breaking in the axle/CV area? Is it the axle itself? the CV housing, star or cage?"

I have asked this question before and I get no answer's, I not sure if they just don't know and simply toss the old and bolt in the new or figured it out and don't want to share. I have 20 years of prepping cv's for class 5's 10'S and 1 cars and we pay a lot of attention to the details inside of a 930 or 934 cv. My problem is I have not broken a CV yet mainly because I don't have any real races completed(couple of PURE and UTVWC). There is a obvious issue with the xp1000 cv's and i'm trying to understand and cure that before the next race - hopefully Laughlin Challenge. We just completed the PURE 125 with stock cv's on 32" ITP with no issues but drove it like the cv's were going to snap at any moment.

 

[Hrc450er]

i dont race desert but run xc in the east, and the cage has broken on almost all of my axles. then sometimes before i can come to a stop the housing bust on the inner cv

 

[the stripping shop]

Yes both class 1's outboard's and most 10's run mid boards, but the concept is the same as a Micro stub or traditional stub axle. I have not dove deep into the UTV CV, but besides the CV housing being part of the stub axle or splined trans input shaft the concept is the same. Heck most guys dont run the spiral or c-clip on the axle, so the axle can plunge or float more without pulling on the star & cage.

Yes the wheel side of the axle can get a bit beat up, but that is why we dome the end of the axle. (I assume this knowledge has yet to find its way to the UTV crowd yet, or is only being done by those who have raced other classes and are keeping this hush, hush?)

I can say from the UTV teams who I have spoke to in the past & recent, many do not know the prep or basics of how the CV based race buggy running a type 2, 930 or 934 CV's work. Some have been open with me that they dont really know whats going on and they just bolt the axle/cv's in, some others seem to know, but when they explain their theory it seems very different then the way the rest of the racing CV joint world does things. But like I said I have not dove deep into the UTV CV as I have had no reason too.


And last, what part is typically breaking in the axle/CV area? Is it the axle itself? the CV housing, star or cage?

I would say if you look at 1600/9 car and compare the 2 axles to a rzr you would find the problem. Size of axle/size of cv/size of star/size of cage. On a rzr only can go so big on outer diameter of cv, so in thinking you can only go so big on internals. Who will think outside of box on this one? There is a answer and already been done but nobody will take the plunge on doing it.

 

[dmcmark]

I have popped a front in the rocks at the CV, the housing exploded and looked like a flower. Did the same to a rear, but it was the shaft. Sheared perfectly in half and looked like two finished ends, crazy!! So you guys have played with standard bug stuff that's been used for years. Me too... We were always fairly conservative on angle especially at full droop. 24 to 26 degrees was typical. When I check my 1000 at full droop it scares the Sh*t out of me. I actually made my own limiting straps to reduce droop some and help the pour little CV's on the RZR.

 

[NIKAL]

I would say if you look at 1600/9 car and compare the 2 axles to a rzr you would find the problem. Size of axle/size of cv/size of star/size of cage. On a rzr only can go so big on outer diameter of cv, so in thinking you can only go so big on internals. Who will think outside of box on this one? There is a answer and already been done but nobody will take the plunge on doing it.

Class 9's dont run CV joint's, but I get where you are going with this. If you look at the size of a 1600, 5/1600 etc. the axles are not all that big. Sure the 930 CV is much bigger, but they are in no way getting the degree's a UTV CV is. So in this case size does not matter when it comes to CV angles. Now in the strengths dept, you are right the 930 is a much stronger part, but when we say race prepped we do allot to that stock 930 to make it stronger. Chromoly stars, 300M cages, polishing the CV housing, clearancing the cage and smoothing the edges of the star. Making sure the splines on the axle and star slide smoothly. Some prefer to use smaller balls in the CV in place of polishing the CV housing. All this is done to make it articulate smoothly and to reduce heat in the CV and to get a 30 degree max angle. Some CV have fins machined in them to lighten the CV and to dissipate heat. Then you have spline length on the axle, dome ends, clips or no clips.

And where I find a big disconnect between the UTV guys and the buggy's guys is UTV guys think bigger axles are better, where buggy's guys are about removing shock load and letting the axle twist like a torsion bar. Also the axle diameter is based around weight & HP of the car. A class 10 axles will be longer and thicker in diameter then a 1600 car. The idea is we let the axle absorb some of the shock load transferred from the wheel to the gear box. I saw and heard of several gearbox failures at the Mint 400. I have personally watched the guys who make my axles, and in they could twist my length axle almost 70 degrees. Turners, RCV or whoever is building your UTV axles, what materiel are they using? 300M? Are the splines cut or rolled? Big difference in strength! Are they heat treating and then truing them? And are they heat treating them to be like a torsion bar? How many know a right side cant go on a left, same with the CV's and its internals once ran? How many guys wrap their axles, and do you know why?

What grease is everyone running? Common, you can tell!

I bet all this is way more than anyone is doing with the UTV CV! And I wont even get in to Cryogenics.

I have popped a front in the rocks at the CV, the housing exploded and looked like a flower. Did the same to a rear, but it was the shaft. Sheared perfectly in half and looked like two finished ends, crazy!! So you guys have played with standard bug stuff that's been used for years. Me too... We were always fairly conservative on angle especially at full droop. 24 to 26 degrees was typical. When I check my 1000 at full droop it scares the Sh*t out of me. I actually made my own limiting straps to reduce droop some and help the pour little CV's on the RZR.

Yep a stock 930 is good for about 22-24 degrees. After we "Race Prep" a 930 we can max them at 30 degree's and some do, but they dont live and cant take that for long. 935 CV's have less angle on them vs a 930. We were conservative at 27-28 degrees. Never had a CV or boot failure in race or prerun conditions. I'm also surprised guys don't run a limit strap with an adjustable cleaved end, so they can fine tune the CV angle and reduce beating on the shock?

 

[megadesertdiesel]

Wow, some eye opening info.

 

[dmcmark]

Yes helping the shock out is another good reason to run straps. Funny how they set up the XP1000 and XPT. At full comp it's around 10 to 12 degrees,(Plenty of room to play, if you step up in tire size to maintain ground clearance at full compression). But the rear is close to 30, bad news the way I see it. When we set up our Bilstein package for the 1000 & XPT we actually shorten the extended length to help the CV's, ( A little goes a long way). We were able to compensate on the Comp side and didn't lose any travel.

 

[BiggJim]

Please explain?

On a bolt on CV like a 930 on full size cars they are fine....on a utv they tend to float down tword the wheel end and then they end up pulling the inner joint out of the tranny...we fought it for yeas on rhinos

 

[BiggJim]

I can't speak for turbo cars but for the xp1k we have see great success with oem parts and summer brother shafts.

 

[the stripping shop]

I can't speak for turbo cars but for the xp1k we have see great success with oem parts and summer brother shafts.

I am pretty sure you guys have just the right power and axle combo for your utv, so don't change a thing you guys are killing it.