Frontier V6

[MrSpudboy]

I am up for a new chair. The Quantums and Permobils seem to get a lot of bad press on this forum.
I was leaning toward a Permobil F3 front wheel dirve.
It appears that I may be able to get a Frontier V6.The V6 Hybrid ad the V6 C7 to be precise. I have not asked if they are available to me in front wheel drive.

Front wheel drive or Mid wheel in the V6? What the heck is a C7?

Comments? advice?


Thanks

[Burgerman]

>>>I am up for a new chair. The Quantums and Permobils seem to get a lot of bad press on this forum.

In both cases there are issues if you care about these things. Permobil appear here a lot with seating issues and thats a permobile only bespoke solution leaving you tied in to them for what can best be described as marginal support abilities. Have a read on here. Quite a few issues. With pride its more poor build quality and then theres the real biggie for both of them -- Programming. Theres no way to do anything with the pride chairs. They dont even acknowledge the existence of an OEM level tool. Claiming that they literally rewrite the code. Bullshit of course, but a dealer cannot help you. Similar reports from the newest permobils. They no longer allow you to write the new programming to the power module. So you cannot ever get either of them to steer properly. Or remove walls, or configure them properly. This alone would absolutely prevent ME from even looking at them. Your mileage may vary, depends on what you can put up with. I know how good it can be, so I just wont!

As for the original X5 reborn as V6 front, mid and rear drive in the US, and called V6 for the mid, and V4 for the rear drive in the rest of the world, then yes they are good. But a measured exactly 28 inches wide across my tiled kitchen. (marker pen on the floor then measure! And the mid drive one i tried is as long as an oil tanker. But more stable off road because of it. They can be reprogrammed as per normal with the OEM tools we have available. But you need a dongle. They are good for range, but big indoors. I never tried the front drive one which would be my choice if buying. But the mid drive one is or feels massive indoors. So I suggest you try before you buy. Was too big for my van as well. Doable sort of, but hardly ideal.

[MrSpudboy]

I have found the specs on the Frontier v6 C73 chairs (C-meaning compact):

Length 965mm Width655mm.
Motors68Nm Torque, 800W, Gear In Line (I don't know the significance of this)
I believe they come with group 24 batteries and are mid wheel drive only. One could put the fat, knobby tires on pretty easily.
The width and length seem to compare favorably with a Permobil M3.

What I can get with the Permobil M3 or F3 that I can't with the V6 C72 is an anterior tilt feature (The chair can be made to angle up) Which would probably be a good thing for me to have. I probably can get by without a reprogram, but it would be nice to be able to do that.

What sayest thou? :-)

[Burgerman]

I would say the programming is 100% essential. So theres nothing to think about. But its not my choice, its yours!

The magic mobility chairs are available as front, rear and mid drive. And ignoring the specs, the fat tyred off road one is the same as the C one. It just has skinny tyres and a harsh ride.

[MenCallMeGimpy]

I would say the programming is 100% essential. So theres nothing to think about. But its not my choice, its yours!

The magic mobility chairs are available as front, rear and mid drive. And ignoring the specs, the fat tyred off road one is the same as the C one. It just has skinny tyres and a harsh ride.

I've got a V6 and this is absolutely right. Reprogramming the presets turned it from a doorframe shredder to something I can control very finely. It is quite long, so I sometimes take out the ankles of people who insist on standing too close. I see this as a feature rather than a bug.

As for the width, the 6" all-terrain tyres are a bit much indoors. In the US, at least, standard residential door widths are 30", so the 28.5" width of the V6 only leaves 0.75" either side. I swapped for the indoor tires which give me almost an extra inch each side and it makes a big difference.

[Fusiongoat]

I recently bought a six year old version of the Frontier V6 MWD off Craigslist. It's in pretty good condition. The motors were replaced and it has a relatively new DX2 controller. I'm a little bit confused about how to get hold of the OEM programmer. Is the DYNAMIC DX-HHP the correct one?
Thanks.

[Burgerman]

It will work. But it is rather basic. It is a basic dealer or user level tool.
Theres better ways.

The one you want is not the dealer version, as it is pretty much useless.
You need an OEM version, or better. Which is PC based. And "they" wont sell you it...

At least if you want to change anything useful to make it steer properly etc.

Do you have a PC?
And are you able to do a little basic soldering or anything to make a lead up?

See PM.

[fleetmac]

I have found the specs on the Frontier v6 C73 chairs (C-meaning compact):

Length 965mm Width655mm.
Motors68Nm Torque, 800W, Gear In Line (I don't know the significance of this)
I believe they come with group 24 batteries and are mid wheel drive only. One could put the fat, knobby tires on pretty easily.
The width and length seem to compare favorably with a Permobil M3.

What I can get with the Permobil M3 or F3 that I can't with the V6 C72 is an anterior tilt feature (The chair can be made to angle up) Which would probably be a good thing for me to have. I probably can get by without a reprogram, but it would be nice to be able to do that.

What sayest thou? :-)

I have a Frontier C73 that has anterior tilt (a factory option). This greatly assists me with transfers.

[ex-Gooserider]

If I recall correctly, the ONLY difference between the 'Compact' and regular models is that the Compact models come with the skinny tires / wheels, and the regular models use the wide ones.... Otherwise they are identical... Changing between the fat and narrow wheels is not that different from changing a tire on your car - jacking it up can be the hardest part - the rest is just unbolting one and bolting on the other.....

ex-Gooserider

[foghornleghorn]

youtu.be/oMjMNCuqcd0

[Irving]

I like those rims!

Is there no locking tab on the wheelnut?

Is it just the camera angle or is the wheelbase on that incredibly short?

[Burgerman]

Wheelbase is actually longer than most other chairs. Every picture shows them with the casters folded inwards at both ends to make it apear shorter. Yes theres 1 nyloc? nut. Rims are pretty but unfortunately not tubeless. Split rims.