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Lonestar lack of top speed


Coyote03

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New member here... I have a 18 Lonestar with 32” Roctanes. I can only get up to 52 mph and maxing out at 5700rpm. I’m reading of other defenders getting 60+mph and over 6k rpm. My dealer thinks it’s the tires, but I’m skeptical. Any insight from you guys?

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GPS or speedo indicated? Going from 27" tires to 32" will definitely screw up speedo and reduce rpms.

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Speedo... gonna try using my gps next weekend to double check it. 

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First off, let me start by welcoming you to the forum. I hate to say it, but if your dealer "thinks" it's your tires????  I'd be looking for a new dealer with more knowledge. OFCOURSE the tires are the issue!! Just like changing the tire size on a pickup, adding to the circumference of the tires WILL CHANGE the gearing as well as speedo/ odo.... Im not sure of the changes yet, but plan on swapping over soon. At that point i will cross referece my onboard GPS with the speedo. A couple on here have put 32's on theirs already, im sure they will chime in and let you know what they have encountered. And again, WELCOME TO THE FORUM!!

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My machine with stock 27” tires made it to 65mph. 5” bigger tires will definitely make your speedo read slow at higher speeds. I’ll bet your 52 mph gps’d will be close to 60mph. And everything is working harder to move that bigger tire so lower rpms make sense too. 

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I understand that the increase in tire size will result in a higher speed than the speedo shows, but i'm curious to why this is more apparent in some more than others. Referencing the thread just a few below this one (32" rockabilys on a limited) he said that his speedo still showed in the 60s I think... just curious...

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Well, what you will find on forums especially. Is that 6" isn't always 6". Lol..... But to answer that is that every rig is DIFFERENT. One guy could run a full 30lbs in their tires.... where another runs @ 10lbs maybe..... Big difference in gearing/speedo. Then, depending on where your speedo needle is positioned. (Does it pin itself down@zero or just float....) although yours is a 20? With NO needle? You'll hear one say his rig knocks and rattles... where another has no issues... (the latter being me)  Are they BOTH using the same fuel? Clear fuel? Race fuel? Unleaded pump fuel? ALL will produce HUGE performance differences. I guess the moral to my story is, be careful of what you read on the internet... ;-) 

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On 3/30/2020 at 8:34 AM, Coyote03 said:

I understand that the increase in tire size will result in a higher speed than the speedo shows, but i'm curious to why this is more apparent in some more than others. Referencing the thread just a few below this one (32" rockabilys on a limited) he said that his speedo still showed in the 60s I think... just curious...

My speedo is about 6 mph off at top spedd with the 32" rockabilly. I GPS confirm stock and big tire speed. Top speed so far is 70 mph GPS with the rockabillys.  The rockabilly are the lightest 32 inch tire out there. They are also rounded, so it rides on the center of the tires on pavement. I run 16 psi in them, they have alot if sidewall so still ride well at 16 psi. Alot of the reason for the speed retention.

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I noticed that your machine is a 2020, if it has the HD10 it now has 10 more HP (82 vs 72) than the 2019 HD10 and the CVT clutch both primary and secondary have been recalibrated for the extra power(torque). The primary spring is the same as the 2019 but the primary clutch levers are heavier to provide more belt pinch (control over rev with more power). The secondary cam and secondary spring are both different so the shift out (shift ratio) of this CVT system is completely different than the 2019 and previous models. Don't expect the same results when installing the taller tires on the previous models. 

After market clutch kits tend to change the primary spring, the secondary spring and the cam when installing larger and heavier tires and a few may change the clutch levers to compensate for additional HP.🤔

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