PROJECT UTV: Custom Can-Am Commander

Can-Am’s Commander became one of the more popular sport UTV choices over the past few years, and it’s not without reason. The 800 or 1000cc powerplants propel  the big yellow beast to incredible speeds, and the dual A-arm front and trailing-arm rear suspension gobble up small bumps with ease. Even though the Maverick is not the big ticket winner, there are a lot of Commander owner’s looking to build up their ride. With Blingstar making such a huge push into the UTV market, it was no surprise to us to see that they had a big, bad, decked-out Commander ready for us to test. Blingstar’s most recent marketing venture has been to start a race team with Polaris and Rockstar Energy, competing in the Lucas Oil Off-Road Series (LOORS) with a handful of fully sponsored cars. The Commander is more of a pit-and-show vehicle, but we had to make sure it could still run with the big boys. We got Blingstar to bring their Commander out to Dirt Wheels’ turf for a true test in some rough terrain.

THE PARTS
The parts list on the Commander is extensive, and almost all the parts are made in-house by Blingstar in Riverside, California. The most impressive piece bolted on to the Commander is their remote-opening vertical door kit, which uses a hinge and a small gas strut to open the doors outward, then swings them up out of the way, Lamborghini style. The remote included with the kit has a button for each door, so you can open them before you get to the vehicle. There are also two buttons on the dash to open the doors. They open slightly outwards, then swing up with ease. It’s cool to watch and will definitely turn heads wherever you ride.

Blingstar also has a host of other parts available for the Commander, including multiple billet accessories like mirrors, shift knobs, gas caps, gauge covers and more. They also outfitted the Commander with their sleek roof rack, a fiberglass locking tonneau cover for the bed, graphics kit, and a Gladiator front bumper. These pieces all offer functional benefits, as well as looking great, as the fiberglass bed cover allows you to lock your belongings in the bed for a theft-deterrent storage compartment.

The Commander was also outfitted with Blingstar’s prototype, chromoly, long-travel kit and huge Fox Racing shocks. We are told that the logistics of the kit and whether they will offer it in this configuration are still being worked out, but we got to play a hand in shock-tuning while we tested the vehicle. The huge, boxed chromoly arms are super strong and make the unit more than 10 inches wider than stock, so it’s not for tight trail use. The Fox shocks and bigger arms bump travel to the 14- to 16-inch” range, up from the stock 10 inches the Commander provides. This allows the yellow bomber to soak up big hits and jumps with ease and to ride more comfortably over small trail bumps.

Kicker also outfitted the Commander with a full stereo system, including four speakers and a subwoofer with iPod integration. It is loud and clear enough to be heard over the Motoworks exhaust system that is now installed on the Commander—just don’t expect to take it hunting and sneak up on any prey. The Kicker system uses SSV Works fiberglass speaker pods, which we have installed before. They are high quality and a great product.

ITP provided beadlock wheels and big, 26-inch Bajacross tires for the Commander, which are both tough and grippy in desert terrain. It completed the look of the unit with matching yellow beadlock rings.

THE RIDE
We took the Commander to some of our local stomping grounds and put it through its paces. The first whoop section we hit had us out of the car and adjusting the suspension, as the front end was packing up and wouldn’t let the wheels drop back down in deep whoops. After about 30 minutes of tuning, we had it riding plush. The long-travel kit soaks up big hits without breaking a sweat, and the extra width provided really makes railing corners a breeze. You don’t worry about it tipping, because it’s so wide, but you have to watch the wheels in rocky places as they are pushed so far out. The roof rack with sunshade was a welcome addition as we rode through the California summer, and it’s still low enough to fit in most large enclosed trailers.

The door kit is a nicely finished piece, with black metal panels that cover the inner workings of the hinge, making it appear clean and tidy. The doors are easy to open and close, as you just pull the door straight down until it stops, and then in, letting the stops in the hinges do all the aligning for you. The first installation of the doors is time-consuming, as you have to properly align all the pieces to get the latches to line up smoothly. However, once installed, the doors are trouble-free and solid. Blingstar recently  added a small rubber strap to the bottom of the door that reduces vibration and ensures the doors won’t open if the frame flexes as well.
The Commander 1000 still had plenty of power to push around the extra weight, and now that the suspension was beefed up, you could drive it harder and faster nearly everywhere. Jumping the Commander is fun and easy, and it soaks up landings like a champ. We had a blast railing on some of our gnarlier high-speed hilly trails, with big washouts, whoops, jumps and rocky descents. It performed well, and with a little more shock tuning, it could be even better.

THE VERDICT
As of this very moment, all the parts you see here (except for the suspension kit) are available to the public through Blingstar, which you can find by calling (951) 279-3861 or logging on to www.blingstar.com (make sure you tell them Dirt Wheels sent you). We are hoping to see Blingstar refine the long-travel kit a bit more and put it out on the market. It’s a strong, gorgeous kit with great potential. Blingstar also offers less expensive door setups for the Commander, and even a vertical door kit without the electronic latches that will save you some money.