Papa Hoc
New member
Thanks to all in advance. I have ditched my 2025 Ranger 1500 after only a couple of months. The clunking from the drivetrain has just drove me nuts. Water leaks into the cabin, a substandard AC and some other things including very uncomfortable seats drove me and my wife from it. We fell in love with the expedition. We went with the one that doesn’t have the bed. I’m sorry I’m so new,I don’t even know the designation or letter for it but we have dogs we bring along with some grandkids and that’s an absolutely perfect set up for us. Everything the Ranger wasn’t. Seating is much more like an automotive environment, and I like the center console and its shifter that goes the right direction. Then there’s doors that operate the right way and don’t have protrusions from the bottom that you whack your shin on it every time you try to let someone in! There are obviously features in the Polaris that I did like in the ranger like the navigation, the connectivity to my phone and other features. Our biggest mistake with the Ranger is we should’ve got a four-door and they’re just overpriced for how they drive and I know now know that even though they have a steel drive transmission, which should be more reliable, they also have a very annoying hesitation that makes them hard to rock crawl in!
One thing the Ranger was right up until 40 miles an hour unless you really had a steep incline was quiet. That transmission has a comfort mode that actually alters the RPM range that the vehicle operates in and you can bring it down to a lower gearing to keep the noise down. Going into this I know this is only a two cylinder that revs to 8500 RPM and needs 8000 RPM to hit max torque and has to keep RPMs up to produce any power and is loud. Going into it I was gonna live with it, but make it better if I could. My questions are the following. I’ll try to break them up to make them make sense.
1. What is the best headset intercom system for at least a front passenger and driver? I don’t mind wires and headsets will probably be best for us as we mostly put around in our 55+ neighborhood and don’t wear helmets honestly. That said, I guess a system that would work either way would be good for me and may eventually want headsets for the back too, but my thoughts there would be your muffling the noise of the vehicle obviously and making it much easier to communicate. I’ve seen several. I just don’t know which ones were the best and I’m trusting you guys do!
2. I used aftermarket assassins for the tune and the muffler on the Ranger, which I was very pleased with. He offers a clutch kit for the Xpedition that essentially brings the RPM lower in relation to the road speed and is supposed to make a significant difference in the internal cabin noise much like the comfort mode in the steel drive transmission does in the Ranger. I’m sure some of you have used different brands of what is probably essentially the same thing but one may be better than the other or work better than the other so I’m not hooked on his unless his is the best. I’d love to hear multiple views on different clutch brands how they perform and how they affect vehicle performance.
3. Who really has the quietest muffler system for this vehicle? Does it really make a difference?
4. I have used Dynamat and similar products in the past and I saw a kit on Amazon where everything is pre-cut – it fits into the headliner and doors and along different places in the body. Some of it appears to be some kind of a fiber foam other is the Dynamat material. It’s like 500 bucks. Has anyone used that or a similar kit and is it worth it or are you better off just buying your Dynamat and getting nutty?
5. I wouldn’t say I’m an abusive driver in how I use my vehicles, but I don’t mind sticking my foot in it good and long when opportunities present themselves. I have never had a CVT transmission with the rubber belt drive and would like to know a couple things there – do they have a kind of predictable lifespan where you can proactively replace them at a given mileage or age and avoid breakdowns? Is there a better brand or aftermarket belt that is substantially better than the factory ones? Is putting a temperature sensor into the belt drive area a good spending of the money or wasted? And why?
6. What other common issues may I encounter that I have yet to think of?
Any words of wisdom here I will completely absorb into what’s left of my little brain. Thank you all.
One thing the Ranger was right up until 40 miles an hour unless you really had a steep incline was quiet. That transmission has a comfort mode that actually alters the RPM range that the vehicle operates in and you can bring it down to a lower gearing to keep the noise down. Going into this I know this is only a two cylinder that revs to 8500 RPM and needs 8000 RPM to hit max torque and has to keep RPMs up to produce any power and is loud. Going into it I was gonna live with it, but make it better if I could. My questions are the following. I’ll try to break them up to make them make sense.
1. What is the best headset intercom system for at least a front passenger and driver? I don’t mind wires and headsets will probably be best for us as we mostly put around in our 55+ neighborhood and don’t wear helmets honestly. That said, I guess a system that would work either way would be good for me and may eventually want headsets for the back too, but my thoughts there would be your muffling the noise of the vehicle obviously and making it much easier to communicate. I’ve seen several. I just don’t know which ones were the best and I’m trusting you guys do!
2. I used aftermarket assassins for the tune and the muffler on the Ranger, which I was very pleased with. He offers a clutch kit for the Xpedition that essentially brings the RPM lower in relation to the road speed and is supposed to make a significant difference in the internal cabin noise much like the comfort mode in the steel drive transmission does in the Ranger. I’m sure some of you have used different brands of what is probably essentially the same thing but one may be better than the other or work better than the other so I’m not hooked on his unless his is the best. I’d love to hear multiple views on different clutch brands how they perform and how they affect vehicle performance.
3. Who really has the quietest muffler system for this vehicle? Does it really make a difference?
4. I have used Dynamat and similar products in the past and I saw a kit on Amazon where everything is pre-cut – it fits into the headliner and doors and along different places in the body. Some of it appears to be some kind of a fiber foam other is the Dynamat material. It’s like 500 bucks. Has anyone used that or a similar kit and is it worth it or are you better off just buying your Dynamat and getting nutty?
5. I wouldn’t say I’m an abusive driver in how I use my vehicles, but I don’t mind sticking my foot in it good and long when opportunities present themselves. I have never had a CVT transmission with the rubber belt drive and would like to know a couple things there – do they have a kind of predictable lifespan where you can proactively replace them at a given mileage or age and avoid breakdowns? Is there a better brand or aftermarket belt that is substantially better than the factory ones? Is putting a temperature sensor into the belt drive area a good spending of the money or wasted? And why?
6. What other common issues may I encounter that I have yet to think of?
Any words of wisdom here I will completely absorb into what’s left of my little brain. Thank you all.
