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LoMax 205 gears in stock, cases in November

sweetk30 said:
203 / 205 lowmax = 6:1 over 5.33 of black box or magnum box . But i can see both sides .
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I’m sure you couldn’t tell the difference And wagoner engineering sold 3:1 203s years ago, they weren’t that popular

A 2.72:1 241 case would be way cheaper and do essentially the same. Otherwise just splitting hairs

The support you’d get from ORD, NWF or the like is way better than Lomax
 
I agree with @Bent77 about the ratio difference / feel being negligible. I have always wanted a Lomax for my Doubler but at $3000 (and your almost guaranteed no future parts support) I’d buy a Magnum.

At $2000 I’d consider the Lomax but still be hesitant because of the parts support. There’s a guy local to me with a new in the Lomax and he wants $2500 for it, just too much for irreplaceable parts that you’ll abuse.
 
I’ve gone down every theoretical rabbit trail on an under drive. Even contemplated a NV4500 instead. I love the simplicity of being able to unbolt it and put it in place of a 205 in an already running vehicle.

It’s the price tag that gets me every time.

But with how much places are charging for a remanufactured NP205. It’s not that far off. (Thinking of the guy who bought a project and is starting with nothing.)

I imagine a 1970 K20 suburban with an NV4500 and a LoMax 205. Just brain dead simple. (Add a mechanical diesel and it wouldn’t get much better)
 
Bent77 said:
I’m sure you couldn’t tell the difference And wagoner engineering sold 3:1 203s years ago, they weren’t that popular

A 2.72:1 241 case would be way cheaper and do essentially the same. Otherwise just splitting hairs

The support you’d get from ORD, NWF or the like is way better than Lomax
Click to expand...
Bent77 said:
I’m sure you couldn’t tell the difference And wagoner engineering sold 3:1 203s years ago, they weren’t that popular

A 2.72:1 241 case would be way cheaper and do essentially the same. Otherwise just splitting hairs

The support you’d get from ORD, NWF or the like is way better than Lomax
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Bent - you ain’t kidding about Wagoner not selling that many 3:1 range boxes - I’ve got one and there are damn few folks who even know what they are.
It’s a great piece and strong as can be but if it ever took a dump on me it would be some difficulty in getting a low range gear set for it.

I think it’s great that LOMAX is offering up the 3:1 NP-205 again but I hope that they invest a little more capital and keep some product on the shelf this time so future customers don’t have to wait untold amounts of time for enough orders to be placed before they schedule an order with their gear cutter and foundry; which all ends up being much too long of a lead time - and no replacement parts on the shelf either…
I hope it works out to be a success because it’s a damn cool piece !
 
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Yeah, I'd agree with the idea of not buying a Lomax. It's like the proverbial carrot that keeps getting dangled in front of off-roaders only to have it yanked out of the way again. The ORD doubler or Magnum is proven gear. The Magnum is only off of the 3:1 lomax by .28 which is pretty hard to feel the difference of.

I thought about a Magnum 205 with mine, but realized for the type of wheeling I do, it's complete overkill. A 6.34:1 low gear nv4500 and 241 effectively doubled my previous crawl ratio I had with a 700r4/241. With a 4.10 gearset in both the 700 crawl ratio was 33:1 and now with the NV4500 is 70:1. That's good enough for my type of wheeling and no major changes to the drivelines in the process.
 
The only reason I got the lowmax is because I can take the 205 off the existing doubler and put this one on. If I’m not breaking gears now, I’m probably not breaking proprietary gears later.
If I chose planetary, I’d have to rebuild everything like I was starting fresh.
If I were starting with a new rig, yeah the planetary is a great choice.

Also midnight metalworks has an aluminum case out that accepts lomax gears. It is $2000 though.
 
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ZooMad75 said:
Yeah, I'd agree with the idea of not buying a Lomax. It's like the proverbial carrot that keeps getting dangled in front of off-roaders only to have it yanked out of the way again. The ORD doubler or Magnum is proven gear. The Magnum is only off of the 3:1 lomax by .28 which is pretty hard to feel the difference of.

I thought about a Magnum 205 with mine, but realized for the type of wheeling I do, it's complete overkill. A 6.34:1 low gear nv4500 and 241 effectively doubled my previous crawl ratio I had with a 700r4/241. With a 4.10 gearset in both the 700 crawl ratio was 33:1 and now with the NV4500 is 70:1. That's good enough for my type of wheeling and no major changes to the drivelines in the process.
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You might be surprised how much you'd use the Magnum. I always doubted their value, but now it might be my first purchase for a fresh build (assuming the budget allows). I end up using it on the easy club runs as much as I do the difficult trails.

I will say that a lot of the reason is probably due to having an automatic. It really helps me keep the transmission in the happy zone. The club always goes so slow, the a Magnum keeps me from having to ride the brakes all day or follow too close.
 
That being said are you rolling like that with the Magnum in low and the 205 in high? Or are you running it compounded? (Just the magnum would be the 2.7..:1)?
 
Optimally you run the case in low and downshift into the doubler reduction
 
muddybuddy said:
I regret selling my WMS 3:1 203, just like everything else I’ve ever sold.

Just imagine what you’d have if you never sold anything.
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Just for some old WMS memories I found my original receipt from Casey at Wagoner and the sticker that they included - I supplied the range box and input gear and the total cost was an even $1,000 bucks ( back in 2005 ).

Of all the cool parts that I have sold over the years I’m glad I never decided to depart with this one - but, I‘m still coveting the Magnum and LOMAX parts….

DDB8A326-2563-4E29-B693-95A9F435C5D9.png
 
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tarussell said:
Just for some old WMS memories I found my original receipt from Casey at Wagoner and the sticker that they included - I supplied the range box and input gear and the total cost was an even $1,000 bucks.

Of all the cool parts that I have sold over the years I’m glad I never decided to depart with this one - but, I‘m still coveting the Magnum and LOMAX parts….

View attachment 424670
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That's awesome! I had heard of that being an option but never talked to anyone that actually had one.
 
mrk5 said:
You might be surprised how much you'd use the Magnum. I always doubted their value, but now it might be my first purchase for a fresh build (assuming the budget allows). I end up using it on the easy club runs as much as I do the difficult trails.

I will say that a lot of the reason is probably due to having an automatic. It really helps me keep the transmission in the happy zone. The club always goes so slow, the a Magnum keeps me from having to ride the brakes all day or follow too close.
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I use my 203/205 ORD unit a lot in the plow / work truck . Its so nice to have options for stuff . Like having a street legal farm tractor .
 
Bent77 said:
Optimally you run the case in low and downshift into the doubler reduction
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That is how I always used my NP203/NP205 doubler in my '90 Blazer. Of course my NP203 shifted like butter, and my NP205 required the transmission to be in gear, and using the clutch to get it to shift.

Martin
 
venevidivicci said:
That being said are you rolling like that with the Magnum in low and the 205 in high? Or are you running it compounded? (Just the magnum would be the 2.7..:1)?
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With the club I end up double low. :haha: I mean it gets irritating how slow we go. Hence I don't do a lot of club runs.

Usually run the Magnum in low and 205 in high. I think because I had an NP241 for so many years, that's what I'm used to.

In regards to doublers, I thought I had seen somewhere that it's not recommended to run the 203 in low and 205 in high. I believe it's a concern with the 203 input bearing. I also think that was part of the motivation for ORD to develop the Magnum.
 
mrk5 said:
With the club I end up double low. :haha: I mean it gets irritating how slow we go. Hence I don't do a lot of club runs.

Usually run the Magnum in low and 205 in high. I think because I had an NP241 for so many years, that's what I'm used to.

In regards to doublers, I thought I had seen somewhere that it's not recommended to run the 203 in low and 205 in high. I believe it's a concern with the 203 input bearing. I also think that was part of the motivation for ORD to develop the Magnum.
Click to expand...
Correct on the old style doubler. I’m not sure what the recommended for the magnum
 
mrk5 said:
With the club I end up double low. :haha: I mean it gets irritating how slow we go. Hence I don't do a lot of club runs.

Usually run the Magnum in low and 205 in high. I think because I had an NP241 for so many years, that's what I'm used to.

In regards to doublers, I thought I had seen somewhere that it's not recommended to run the 203 in low and 205 in high. I believe it's a concern with the 203 input bearing. I also think that was part of the motivation for ORD to develop the Magnum.
Click to expand...

This is the conclusion I came to. Most the the wheeling I do would be in that gear range. Which Ironically is very similar in these combinations if you put it into the crawl ratio calculator:
4l80e w/ 2.72
4l65e w/ 3.0
NV4500 W 1.00 (or Second Gear w tcase in 1.92)

Im currently running 4.10 gears on 35" bfg's w a stock NP205. I love the highway speed/handling I just wish I had a little more low range. But no matter what way you get there your looking at $$$.

LowMax $2900 ish (bolt in)
Magnum $2200 (match case/adapter/driveshafts)
NP241 $350 (Adapter $50-$200/SYE Kit $250/Driveshafts) not as strong or reliable
NV4500 $2000 (Plus everything to do the swap...)
 
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