Looky here!

Looks like a good alternative to a Dana 300 or getting an Atlas. Cost about the same as building a 4:1 Dana 300 and you get a brand new assy, about $300 less than an Atlas. Their 3 speed tcases have gotten good reviews, anybody running a STaK? What do you think?

I know you want it. Just get it and let us know what you think.

We saw the prototype last year at the Jeep Safari. I assume they'll have production units on hand next week for our viewing pleasure. The big drawbacks are size and weight. These ain't Texas cotton balls.

And I'm a little afraid that they will fail due to marketing missteps. While the engineering seems pretty good, and the strength is apparently built in, they've made some decisions that might be missteps. The gearing is designed for very large vehicles, and few of us will use the 5:1 ratio. Its so big and heavy that I'm not sure it will fit in the space allotted in a TJ. That will require a body lift or some serious denting of the floorpan.

And the early ones were targeted at bronco's, I think. At least thats what I got out of the website. Thats a very limited market at best. They were saying that they expected to make them available for Jeeps sometime "soon". Common sense says there are more Jeeps running around than bronco's. Maybe they know something I don't.

I talked to the guys at STaK on the phone, the Bronco version is their second design to increase their market. They originally designed specifically for the TJ. The gear ratios are basically interchangable, you can order what you want, perhaps even get an overdrive instead of 1:1. That might come in a bit handy, 0.8:1 for the highway and 3.75:1 for the rocks...hmmmm! You also get a clocking ring built in. They should have it sorted out by this summer. (I hope!)

All the STAK cases have to have a 1:1. The 1:1 is the straight through gear. Though you could have 3.x:1 and .8:1 in the 3 speeed case.

Jason

quote:

Originally posted by Dick Burg:
We saw the prototype last year at the Jeep Safari. I assume they'll have production units on hand next week for our viewing pleasure.

Yup. I saw them on the display stands last night (also in the vehicles). They will have lots to show in Moab next week. Please report back what you see...

quote:

Its so big and heavy that I'm not sure it will fit in the space allotted in a TJ. That will require a body lift or some serious denting of the floorpan.

Oh so wrong. They took a factory fresh (stock) TJ and, with less than 500 miles on the odometer, they swapped in a monster box 3spd. To look at the Jeep, you wouldn't know anything had been changed until you looked at the shifters, or crawled underneath.
Like I said, check them out in Moab and report back what you see... you're gonna like it!

{edit}
Oh, to check out what to expect see www.stak4x4.com

I saw the prototype, it was bad *** for the 3-speed tcase. Im glad they are finally coming around.

quote:

Originally posted by Unicycle Avenger:
I saw the prototype, it was bad *** for the 3-speed tcase. Im glad they are finally coming around.

They have actually been shipping since August... The demand for their components are high enough to keep a waiting list on everything.

quote:

Originally posted by Billjohn:
...check them out in Moab and report back what you see... you're gonna like it!

Well?

Last year all they had was prototypes. This year they had some of what I assume were production units, and the prices are about $200 less than what they'd quoted last year.

Not sure what I'd do with one. My 4:1 ratio case is fine for the things I do. If I were building a rock buggy or playing in mud with significantly larger tires, I could see a usefullness.

The guys on hand in the Arena knew their stuff, and they still had the cases in various stages of machining. They also had a nice display of gears out of comparable cases to show how much larger theirs were.

I'm trying to remember why I wanted one last year, but can't. Except that its cool.