Topic: Inertia Ring vs Hand Throttle

[subsonic]

Looking for something to help my jeep keep from stalling while I am offroading.

What are the pros and cons of the inertia ring vs the hand throttle?

[sharpxmen]

Looking for something to help my jeep keep from stalling while I am offroading.

What are the pros and cons of the inertia ring vs the hand throttle?

they serve different purposes, the inertia ring is meant to keep the rotational momentum of the crankshaft going at low rpm. so you would probably want both to improve your chances of not stalling the engine, the hand throttle would be used in other situations as well like starting on a ramp uphill where your right foot is on the brake.

[Jeffy]

yup, there is no vs.  BOTH would be best though.  The hand throttle will allow finer throttle inputs which keeps you from romping on it when things get tough.  It also allows you to not have to resort to three-footing it with the clutch, brake and throttle.

The inertia ring does just what it says.  Add inertia to the engine's flywheel.  This helps make up for the loss of power and delay between #4 cylinders power stroke and #1's power stroke.  The engine can resist stalling to some extend when the tires become stuck.

Neither will make up for not having low enough gears though.

[aw12345]

Truthfully a hand throttle is nice to air up tires when you have a york compressor for onboard air other than that it doesn't have much use. Good gearing for crawling and an inertia ring will work wonders for crawling over rocks no hand throttle needed. Some of my buddies have them on their Jeeps and all they get used for is to rev the engine a bot for airing up tires or running an impact.

[Jeffy]

Hmm, I use mine for cruising down the highway when I have to shift in my seat.  I used it a few times when I started to wonder if I could drive around town without using the pedal, too...  It's a conversation piece as well.

Having to three footing it while in a precarious position, it pays for itself.  They are cheap, if you source the parts yourself.  Otherwise, Rubicon Express sells a 'kit' which really isn't a kit but rather a collection of parts most of which you don't use.

[sharpxmen]

They are cheap, if you source the parts yourself.  Otherwise, Rubicon Express sells a 'kit' which really isn't a kit but rather a collection of parts most of which you don't use.

i went to all the bike shops around and it actually comes to be more expensive - i asked a couple of them and they said it's because the lever shifters are not standard anymore and are hard to find.

i kinda like the Teraflex one better, i'll probably end up getting one of those.

[Jeffy]

i went to all the bike shops around and it actually comes to be more expensive - i asked a couple of them and they said it's because the lever shifters are not standard anymore and are hard to find.

i kinda like the Teraflex one better, i'll probably end up getting one of those.

They use the same crappy shifter but Teraflex charges a bit more.

[aw12345]

going up a hill or whatever with a good crawl ratio is cake no need to get panicky about it. Haven't found a need for the thing yet, like I said most of the peeps I wheel with that have one of those either do not use it, or only use it rev the engine to air up tires or use the onboard air. If you stall a lot while wheeling , it's simply time to regear the beast.

[Bounty Hunter]

I never use my hand throttle on the trail other than to air up the tires or to winch.

[FourbangerYJ]

After I got lower gears in the t-case I stopped using it. In fact I forget it's there. They are handy on real steep hills if you get stopped in the middle and don't want to roll backwards while getting started again.
But like others have said gearing is the real fix to be able to handle the rough terrain.

[Jeffy]

going up a hill or whatever with a good crawl ratio is cake no need to get panicky about it. Haven't found a need for the thing yet, like I said most of the peeps I wheel with that have one of those either do not use it, or only use it rev the engine to air up tires or use the onboard air. If you stall a lot while wheeling , it's simply time to regear the beast.

Aren't you running an automatic?

[jfrabat]

I have both on mine as well; I just recently installed the hand throttle, though, and have not wheeled with it yet, so this is all opinion base (thus, take it at face value).  First off, I agree that it is better to have both, as it is not one vs the other kind of thing...  I think they serve different purposes, and can complement one another.

With the innertia ring, if you hit an obstacle, the Jeep will not stall as easily as without it.  I have found it very useful when hitting the banks of rivers, with all the small/mid size rocks, you can idle and the engine will not stall that easily (although if you hit a big enough one, it will stall).

As for the hand throttle, the reasons I installed it were:

• To rev up the engine for winching and airing up (my comrpessor is an electric one, but it is still good to get the amps up to run it for longer periods, such as when airing up or using air tools with the spare tank)
• Better throttle control on fire roads and river banks with lots of small/mid size rocks (when you are in low range, and you are bouncing all over the place, your foot tends to press and depress the gas pedal, and this causes the Jeep to jerk around; with a hand throttle, you can keep a steady speed regardless of the bumps)
• Hill starts (if you stall out in the middle of a hill, it's easier to start and keep going with a hand throttle)

I have also tried it for shifting on my seat while cruising down the highway (my cruise control is currently not working), but I rather fix the cruise control than use the hand throttle for this (I dont feel as comfortable with the hand throttle for this purpose).  Hopefully, the cruise control will be fixed this weekend, and I will not depend on the hand throttle for the 16 hour drive back to Panama at the end of May...

I also got the RE kit, as it was cheaper than the prices at the bike stores.  Here's a pic of the hand throttle:



And here's a pic of the engine bay (you can see the hand throttle and cruise control going to the TB):



By the way, this is the type of terrain where I THINK I will be using the hand throttle for:

Rocky roads (OK, THESE rocks are on the small size, but I did not have pics of anything bigger; you get the idea, though):



River banks

[aw12345]

Nope Jeffy stick shift and I remember the time on Phobia hill in Moab which is so steep that with the parking brake on the tires just and Jeep just started sliding back when I took my foot of the brake. Just a bit of throttle and easy on the clutch and it climbed no problem. 4:1. 4.88 or 5:13's and 35's make this stuff easy going. Seems to me to much throttle and feathering the clutch makes a for a lot of Jerking which is not good and it is does not make for a happy clutch either.

[Jeffy]

Nope Jeffy stick shift and I remember the time on Phobia hill in Moab which is so steep that with the parking brake on the tires just and Jeep just started sliding back when I took my foot of the brake. Just a bit of throttle and easy on the clutch and it climbed no problem. 4:1. 4.88 or 5:13's and 35's make this stuff easy going. Seems to me to much throttle and feathering the clutch makes a for a lot of Jerking which is not good and it is does not make for a happy clutch either.

Lower gears definitely help.  If you don't have the money though and you're on stock gears with 33's, the hand throttle is a cheap investment.

[jfrabat]

Lower gears definitely help.  If you don't have the money though and you're on stock gears with 33's, the hand throttle is a cheap investment.

As a side note, lower gears and help or hinder; in my case, a 4:1 TC would hinder more than help, as I would not have enough wheel speed to clear the mud from the tires (especially that thick gooy clay-like stuff).  Now, 5.13's on the diffs would CERTAINLY help me out, but I doubt I would fine a 4:1 useful for my type of terrain...  And for when I DO find some terrain where I need some control, the Hand Throttle SHOULD (remember I have yet to try out!) come in handy at a very cheap cost (under $30).