Roxor Weekly 5/26: Testing the Limits
From the limits of grip to the laws of momentum, UTV parks and wheeling trails are veritable playgrounds for anyone looking to push the limits of both man and machine. There’s not one rule of physics that off-roaders aren’t willing to test. Often that involves upgrading parts to endure the extra beatings, but other times it just means using what you’ve got until something breaks.
That thrill keeps Roxor owners coming back for more every weekend, and lucky for us they’ve brought cameras along to share their escapades with the world.
This is Roxor Weekly.
The Mahindra Roxor A/T | Mahindra Automotive via Facebook
The Automatic Roxor is Coming Soon
The rumors are confirmed: Mahindra announced this week that they’re building an automatic Roxor with sales to begin on June 1st. In addition to the transmission change, the auto Roxor also comes with a special A/T hood graphic and a slew of custom color combos to differentiate it from the standard model.
I’m not sure how to feel about all this. My gut reaction is to rally outside Mahindra’s Detroit production facility with a sign that has the text “Make manuals great again!” surrounded by crudely cropped photos of big guns, soaring eagles, and Ted Nugent’s face.
Then again, I can see how an automatic transmission would be convenient for someone using a Roxor for work-related purposes. If you’re using a Roxor to haul stuff around the farm or the jobsite on a regular basis, then an automatic would be great. But the day you decide to take that hay-hauler to the local UTV park you’re gonna wish you could row through your own gears.
We will share more of our thoughts on the automatic Roxor and what it means for the future of the Mahindra lineup in a future article.
Project Woodrat: Locking Differential and Chromoly Axles Installed
It was 29 minutes for us, but for Ryan of Red, White, & Roxor the process of locking the front half of his Roxor took several days and a second set of hands.
If you’re considering installing locking differentials on your Roxor, now would be a great time to check out RWR on YouTube. Ryan has a knack for pointing out the little things nobody else mentions during his install videos, going above and beyond the installation instructions to help even a newbie tackle something as complex as swapping in chromoly axles and locking differentials.
This isn’t the hardest job you could do on a Roxor, save for a little prying and persuasion, but there are certainly some advanced concepts and tools that you should know about before diving in.
Ryan spent the weekend repacking bearings, eliminating crush sleeves, measuring pinion depth, and doling out copious amounts of elbow grease to make this project come together. He didn’t have access to a bearing puller, so he used the wife-approved “bake some parts in the oven” approach, froze the carrier in the freezer, and even roasted the bearings over his barbecue to get everything to fit together tightly.
Specialty tools used include a dial indicator, snap ring pliers, and a thin wall deep well 2-1/16” impact socket. That last one is an incredibly specific piece. Nobody had it in Ryan’s town, so he drove over an hour to another city to meet a guy who happened to have one at his shop. Even then, Ryan still had to use a grinder to thin down the walls of the socket so it would fit where it needed to go.
That’s in addition to removing two wheels, hubs, and axles, all steering components, all braking components, and the complete innards of the front differential. It’s a process that would be much easier with a lift, but this video proves that installing lockers and axles on a Mahindra Roxor is entirely possible for one person to accomplish with jack stands and basic hand tools.
Bravo, Ryan!
Full video link: Christophe Pelletier | Facebook
Watch This Roxor Effortlessly Tow Over 9,000 Pounds at Idle
This short and sweet video from Facebook user Christophe Pelletier shows a Mahindra Roxor acting more like a tractor than a UTV.
Click here to watch the full video.
To prove that this Roxor was towing over 8,000 pounds at idle with no throttle whatsoever, the driver stepped out of the moving Roxor to film the event from the outside. We might as well add another 500 pounds to the payload to account for the driver’s massive balls.
Christophe describes the load as 5 bags at 750 KG and 7 bags at 25 KG for a total of 3925 KG. That comes to 8,653.14 lbs – and that’s before factoring the behemoth steel trailer into the mix. We’re at well over 9,000 pounds with the trailer, and a commenter speculated that the actual total might actually be closer to 10,000 lbs.
That’s 9,000 pounds out of a vehicle with an official towing capacity of 3,490 pounds! For the nerds out there, that’s 157% or about 2.5x more than the Roxor is rated to tow. That’s nuts!
In the comments, Christophe mentioned that his Roxor has an aftermarket air intake and front and rear Spartan lockers. Those add-ons wouldn’t do much to change the towing capacity, so it’s not unreasonable to think that a bone stock Roxor could achieve this very same feat.
TFL Offroad Ranks the Best Looking UTVs on the Market Today
In a few short minutes, Stephen Elmer of TFL Offroad shatters the illusion that style is the only factor in the UTV-buying experience.
It’s sort of surprising that the Mahindra Roxor even made a list of the most attractive UTVs and side-by-sides on the market today. That’s not because it isn’t sexy – we all know it is – but while that timeless Jeep appearance is the most patriotic thing on any powersports dealer lot, it would probably inspire yawns amid a sea of wild, aggressive, plastic UTVs with LED accent lights and shock towers sticking through the hood. In a world where Jeeps didn’t exist, that is.
We’ve talked before about Mahindra’s strategy with the Roxor. They’re hoping to bring an entire fleet of roadgoing cars to American shores by the early 2020s, and the Roxor was the perfect way to enter the North American market with something instantly familiar, relentlessly cool, and undyingly lovable. Stephen echoes these sentiments, adding that if the Roxor had looked like anything besides a vintage Jeep, it’s highly unlikely it would be enjoying the success it sees today. It simply wouldn’t compete on looks alone.
That brings us to the topic at hand: if you looked at a Roxor on function alone, it wouldn’t even be in the same class as the other UTVs in this comparison. So how large of a role does styling play when choosing a UTV?
Watch the video to find out where the Mahindra Roxor places among the 5 best-looking UTVs according to TFL Offroad.
Upgrading a Roxor’s Stock Winch Line
All this talk of towing and functionality had us wondering how to get the most out of the Roxor’s factory Warn M8000 winch. Right on cue, 18k-subscriber adventure YouTuber BudNixon is here to explain the perks and drawbacks of upgrading to a synthetic winch line.
A synthetic winch line is not only lighter than the original steel line, it also has more tensile strength and causes none of the oily, rusty residue of a metal line. That lighter weight means a synthetic line is ostensibly safer than a steel cable since it won’t be as prone to whipping away should there be a break in the line under tension.
There are some drawbacks to synthetic line as well. The fibers tend to stretch under high load, causing a less direct feel between the anchor point and the winch vehicle. Additionally, rubbing a synthetic rope against other surfaces – especially metal ones – can cause accelerated wear due to the heat and damage of friction. These drawbacks are usually offset by the affordability and longevity of synthetic winch lines, and this quick and easy mod is one you’ll actually use on a regular basis.
This Roxor Easily Infiltrated a Huge Jeep Event
Speaking of the Roxor looking a lot like a Jeep, this pair of short clips from Instagram user cliffhangerjeep gives us a glimpse into the offroad party that is the Moab Easter Jeep Safari, better known as EJS, from the perspective of a Roxor masquerading as a Jeep. Here’s the other video.
EJS is an annual event held by Red Rock 4-Wheelers, an enthusiast group out of Moab, Utah with a passion for off-road vehicles. From their website:
The club official runs usually total around 9 different locations every day, with "Big Saturday" culminating in the largest ever single trail ride departure happening - around 30 groups line up in down town Moab to head off in every direction for 30 different trails!
[…]
There are no restrictions as to what type make or model of vehicle is used even though the name - dating back to the mid-60s uses the term "jeep", but high ground clearance and 2 speed transfer cases are expected in whatever type of truck you run. NO ATV's or UTV's.
I guess cliffhangerjeep didn’t catch that last part. Or maybe they simply ignored it and hoped their massive balls wouldn’t give them away.
It’s highly doubtful anyone would say a word about a desert tan Roxor falling in line with a group of actual Jeeps. Considering the Roxor is every bit the same size and has all the same abilities of an “actual” Jeep, I would be willing to bet it not only blended right in, but the sweet smell of burning diesel probably caused a few jealous stares on the dusty trails of Moab.
Just when you think your Roxor looks good | On the Rox Fabrication
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Cover image courtesy of Adam Barr via the Mahindra Roxor Enthusiasts Facebook group.