1999 SNIPER - 4x4 Tech Editor Off-Road.Com - Off-Road.com

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1999 SNIPER4x4 Tech Editor Off-Road.Com

Publish date: Dec 1, 1999
By: Joshua Lowenstein, Andi Vogt
Source: Off-Road.com

Steve Rumore of Avalanche Engineering builds kits for coil springs,¼ elliptical suspensions, and other trick goodies for your high performance 4x4. What's new for Steve and AE is building a production vehicle to meet the needs of the person who "wants it all" in off-road performance. Would you like to have a ride that can crawl with ease over the biggest boulders? One that can run with the sand draggers and hill climbers jumping with big air under the tires and landing balanced and soft? "Wheel" across the surface of Mars? Maybe go desert racing too?
Meet the "Sniper." This new "purpose built" rig was created by Steve and his talented crew under the commission of Troy Myers from Badlands Off-Road Park in Attica, Indiana. Troy met Steve at the National Rock Crawling Championships in Las Cruces New Mexico last November.
Troy asked Steve to build an unstoppable tube chassis machine that had reverse cut 60's front and rear, a ZZ4 small block Chevy and 1/4 elliptical suspension. The AE crew took it from there and as Steve said "We laid out the axles and suspension and built the chassis up from there"
The Sniper (unpainted) was unveiled at the 1999 Easter Jeep Safari and I had the privilege of riding with Steve for the maiden voyage on the Metal Masher Trail. This new supermachine was not challenged much on this trail, but Steve did manage to make it entertaining for the spectators by driving the Sniper backward up Rockchucker Hill with virtually no effort.
After delivery of Sniper to Troy, he gave the crowd at his off-road park a thrill by climbing a hill that had previously never been negotiated. Not only did Troy succeed in reaching the top, he also "Aired" it out off the top two more times to the wild cheers of the crowd. Troy said it landed "super smooth" after getting ten feet of air under the tires.
The specifications of the Sniper reads like a kid in a candy store or a shopping list for kids with the "Neatoest" toys: All steel tube chassis. ZZ4 Chevy 350 355hp & the ZZ502 cid 502hp also is available Holley Digital Projection 2bbl Turbo 400 transmission 1400 rpm stall torque converter Atlas Transfer case Dynatrac Reverse cut Dana 60's F&R Detroit Lockers 5.13:1 gearing 42" Superswampers 4 wheel disc brakes Front and rear¼ elliptical suspension Doetschtech Shocks Ramsey Winch Platinum 9000 (not that it's needed) Front & Rear approach/ departure: 110 degrees Weight: wet and fully loaded 4040 lbs. Wheel base 100" Steel Horse seats with full race five point harness safety belts
Questions & Answers I met with Steve at his shop near Durango and as gracefully as his Sniper drove backward up Rockchucker hill, Steve answered some questions for ORC: ORC: How long has AE been in business? Steve: Just over three years. ORC: Did you go to school to learn how to build off-road machines? Steve: No, But I do have a mechanical engineering degree. I learned useful information about physics, stress analysis and geometry and mechanical drafting. Most of my 4x4 building experience comes from years of "wiz bang" trial and error. ORC: What percentage of your business is wild suspensions and kits vs. general 4x4 maintenance and repair? Steve: 60% Kits, Installs and building of more Snipers and 40% basic 4x4 repair and simple conversions. ORC: How many more Snipers are in the works? Steve: Two more, one for me, one for another customer and as many as I get orders for. ORC: Will the Sniper be a built in a four seater configuration? Steve: Yes, we will be building a longer wheel base version with a back seat area.	ORC: Will the Sniper have a soft top as an option? Steve: Yes, the rag top is in the works. And the top will have no bows or extra hardware. It will snap on to the existing roll/chassis and stow in the rear storage compartment. ORC: When will your "Steve" version of the Sniper be on the road? Steve: Well, I'm signed up for two rock crawling championships one in September and the next in November. I hope to be rolling for both events. ORC: When someone buys a kit is do you have follow-ups and updates available to the people who buy them? Steve: Yes, as we do more and more R&D we let our customers know how to make their machines better too. If anyone has a problem with the kit or installing it, we want to hear about it. Most of the time we can get it straightened out over the phone. ORC: Has anyone ever had a performance problem but did not how to describe it to you? Steve: Occasionally that happens and the best way for me to help, is for the customer to shoot some video of the vehicle when it is doing the problem. ORC: What % of the creativity of AE comes from you and what % comes from your staff? Steve: 60% from the staff and 40% from me. Drew Barber, Eric Filar and Chris Ward are a huge part of AE. Jaimie Neptune keeps the front office going smooth, so I can be the most effective. ORC: Who are the people in the 4-wheeling world that admire most? Steve: Ned Bacon, Randy Ellis,Shannon and Don Cambell are top flight designers, builders and great people. Their trials and tribulations have laid the ground work for the new age of 4x4 suspensions and roll cage/chassis integration.
Thanks to Steve and his great crew for taking a lot of the "error" out of the trial and error of building a radical 4x4. His kits can take considerable mechanical skill to install, but don't despair. AE can also take your 4x4 and transform it into a super flexing, trail dominating machine at his shop in Bayfield. Soon Steve and Clifton Slay will be opening a new satellite shop in Denver, Colorado. September 1st is the tenative opening date.
Look for Steve to be competing in both the Phil Howell and Bob Hazel 4x4 championships this fall. Contact Avalanche Engineering at avalanche@frontier.net or phone them at 970-884-7716.