Category: 4x4ing

So you’ve worked your backside off and finally reaped the rewards by way of a shiny, brand new beast of a 4WD. Now the real fun starts as you make the ever growing list of modifications that will turn your pride and joy from stock to ready to rock. Its easy to get carried away but the secret is to be honest to yourself and your expectations. Sure, a 6 inch lift and 37’s looks cool but is that really what you need? Would your remaining coin be better spent on fuel? Here’s our list of the first 5 modifications we would do, if ever we got a new ride in the driveway.

1. Frontal Protection: years ago I might have put this way further down the list but after cleaning up a roo just months ago and seeing the damage it did to a 4WD WITH a bar, it left me with no doubt that it would be the first thing Id do. Without that bar I would have totalled my 4WD. Plus a front bar allows for future additions such as winches.

2. Dual battery system: This would have to be the least sexy 4WD mod you can do however in our opinion its one of the most necessary. It takes all of the doubt out of running 12v accessories off your main battery and allows you to camp in far greater comfort (without the risk of getting stranded due to a flat battery)

3. Tyres: There is some debate here as realistically the tyres that come with your 4WD will be round, black and full of air and in most situations will do their job. However if you do intend on seriously using your new rig in outback or real world 4WD locations, they will most likely be the first thing to fail. Upgrading to a set of quality All-terrain style tyres (or mud terrain if you are well keen) will pay for themselves in durability and reliability. You may even be able to go up a size to improve ground clearance as an added bonus.

4. Snorkel: I put this in the same group as the front bar; not something to think about till its too late. Sucking in a bucket full of water will literally spell the end for your new rig, thats just not a risk worth taking. Also a snorkel gets your air intake up high and out of dust, meaning cleaner running conditions for your engine.

5. Storage solution: Till you’ve owned a set of well made and installed drawers in your 4WD it will be hard to comprehend just what a difference it makes to the way you use your new rig. Keeping things not only organised but always ready to roll makes so much sense.

Bonus tip: You might notice we have not yet mentioned suspension upgrades. This is for good reason as we do consider suspension a very important upgrade but it makes no sense doing this upgrade till you have your rig as close to finished as possible with all new weight added. How will you know what package to go with if you don’t know how heavy your 4WD will end up. Leave suspension upgrades till close to the last.

The outback – where the horizon is endless. The plume of dust trailing behind is your constant companion and an outback sky your only ceiling. Despite the fact that a dirt road will beat a highway any day, there are some considerations that you need to take into account.

ANIMAL STRIKES

It’s an unpleasant reality of outback life that animals will and do wander onto roads. Of course you should be equipped with solid frontal protection to help reduce damage should the unthinkable happen. If you find yourself heading toward an animal and cannot safely stop, try to wash off as much speed as possible before impact but under no circumstance should you swerve. Any animal is a better impact than a tree.

CORRUGATIONS

Ask anyone who has put miles on outback roads and without doubt they will mention corrugations so bad you swear your teeth will rattle loose. Reducing tyre pressures greatly helps to absorb the shock of corrugations as well as reducing the risk of further causing the corrugations in the first place. Also there will be a sweet spot with regards to speed at which you can safely traverse corrugations without feeling the worse of them. This speed should always be in relation to tyre pressure and terrain however; it’s a delicate balance.

CORNERS

Corners catch more travelers out on dirt roads than just about anything else. You might drive for hours with little more than a slight turn of the steering wheel, then out of nowhere looms a tight corner. Traction will be limited and often the road will be corrugated making any high speed corner a treacherous encounter. Be sure to wash off speed and enter the corner without your brakes engaged. Stick to your side of the road to avoid oncoming vehicles and steer into a slide while accelerating.

ROADTRAINS

There are few things more daunting than an oncoming road train on a dirt road. They can reach over 50 metres long and travel at 100 kmph, spitting dust and rocks as they go. Channel 40 on the UHF is the “trucky” channel; use this to communicate with drivers at all times to let them know you have seen them and are aware. Its common courtesy to pull off the road and let oncoming trucks have their way, this also gives time for their dust to settle so you can safely see oncoming traffic. If you find yourself behind a roadtrain, again get on Ch40 and announce your presence. The driver may be able to advise you of a safe time to overtake, otherwise patience is your best friend. Never attempt to overtake through a dust cloud when there is no visibility and no way of known of oncoming vehicles.

CATTLE GRIDS

In areas of cattle farming, you will encounter cattle grids across the road to stop cattle wandering. These large metal grates are often mounted on slight raises in the road and you must slow down before hitting them. Often they will be in poor condition and can be much larger than they look. It is very easy to do underbody damage due to getting airborne after hitting a cattle grid too fast.

If you want to drive the tough tracks successfully and not spend half your day on the end of a winch rope, then we have put together a list of three essential mods that will transform your 4WD into a low range machine!

Suspension

Upgrading the suspension on your 4WD is almost an essential upgrade these days. Many of the vehicle manufacturers make their suspension to be great on the road, and not so good when you get off the black top. If your plan is to make your 4WD great for light touring duties, towing or tackling the tougher tracks, then it’s hard to go past an aftermarket suspension kit. A small lift of around 50mm will make a massive difference to your vehicle’s performance off the road, while still retaining its on-road manners. A small suspension lift will also help you to clear bigger tyres, give you more underbody clearance also helping with suspension articulation. Getting your vehicle to ‘flex’ a bit more will mean you will have more tyre on the ground when you go over obstacles like ruts and this will provide more traction and get you further. When choosing shocks, go for the biggest bore you can find. The more oil in your shocks will help you on those corrugated outback roads and prevent them from getting too hot and fading, meaning you’ll have a more comfortable and safer ride.

Tyres

The rubber you run is your only contact with the ground, so it makes sense that the tyres you choose to run is very important. The highway tyres that come stock with your 4WD are great on the road but terrible as soon as the going gets tough. They are simply not strong enough to handle our dirt roads. Technology has come a long way in tyres in the last decade and now most all-terrain and mud-terrain tyres will perform as good on the road as off and are a lot quieter than the old knobby tyres once were. Aggressive all-terrain tyres are a great compromise between on and off-road performance and work wonders in the mud and other tough terrains.

Look for a tyre that has at least 3 ply’s and is of light truck construction. Remember to lower your tyre pressures when you head off road to protect your tyre and give you the best performance. It will be different for all vehicles, but I suggest 18 PSI for sand, 18 PSI for mud, 24 PSI for rocks and 28 PSI for outback dirt roads.

Lockers

You may have heard about diff locks and thought to yourself are they really that necessary and will they make much of a difference off road. The simple answer is yes and I believe they are one of the single best mods to get your 4WD further off the beaten track. Have you ever been in a situation where you have got to a difficult part off road and one of your tyres starts spinning and you’re going nowhere in a hurry? What happens in this situation, even though you’re in 4WD, is that your diff is designed to allow the tyre with the least resistance to spin. This is essential in cornering on the road, but off road it certainly holds you back. A locked diff will supply equal amounts of drive to both your tyres, even when one loses traction all together and the wheel with traction is still given drive, even if the other one is in the air and has no traction whatsoever.

Lockers aren’t cheap and many of us only opt to lock one diff and not both, which is still extremely effective. To get the biggest bang for your buck, it’s essential to understand your 4WD and decide which diff will get the most benefit. On most LandCruisers a diff lock in the rear is the best way to go, while in a Nissan Patrol locking the front offers more value as the rear diff comes with a very effective Limited Slip Diff (LSD) from factory.

A few simple rules of thumb and a cavernous rut can be your friend, rather than your enemy. Ruts will be encountered on slopes due to water run-off and erosion. The soil type and terrain differences will determine the size and severity of ruts. However one thing will remain constant; you will have to tackle ruts at some stage…this is how.

UP HILL

Gravity sucks and so when heading uphill, anything that restricts progress is to be avoided. As such, our approach to almost all ruts when heading high is to straddle where possible. If a rut isn’t too wide to fit between the wheels of your 4WD then try to keep the rut under your rig for as long as possible. Although daunting, even the deepest, gnarliest rut will be utter insignificant if you can straddle it. To be aware of at all times is the possibility of slipping into the rut and the consequences of doing so. If you are in doubt, a spotter out front is extremely valuable in making sure your wheel placement is as close to the edge as possible without slipping in.
DOWN HILL

When tackling ruts on steep down hill sections of track, the rules can change slightly. Again, where possible the best tactic is to try and avoid the rut altogether by straddling it, however this may not be possible and when so, the complete opposite approach may just save your bacon. By actually driving in the ruts they can act as guides, keeping your 4WD in a straight line. This can be especially useful on slippery, clay or mud surfaces where traction is hard to find.

CROSSING RUTS

At some point you will have to cross a rut and doing so can be especially tricky. Our rule when it comes to negotiating a rut crossing is to do so with your 4WD on an angle, effectively making sure the rut is tackled one wheel at a time. This allows your rig to achieve maximum articulation and helps decrease the risk of bottoming out due to approach or departure angles and also minimises getting hung up due to ramp over angles.

Most challenging 4WD tracks will have their fair share of rock steps and it’s the most likely place where 4WDers get stuck and have to opt for the winch. With these few tips you’ll be tackling rock steps like a pro and have bragging rights with your mates when you get back to camp.

GET OUT AND WALK

The first thing we like to do when we get to a rock step is to get out of the vehicle and check it out on foot first. It’s amazing the different perspective you get when you walk it and take a good look at it from different angles. What you are looking out for is the line you are going to take and the bits of the climb that will likely cause your 4WD to get hung up or loose traction.

THE PERFECT LINE

The right line for each 4WD is different, so choosing the right line has a lot to do with how well you know the strengths and weaknesses of your vehicle. In saying that, there are a few generic rules that I like to go by. Firstly, keep your vehicle pointing as straight up the hill as possible. Turning too much on a hill of consequence can be dangerous and cause your vehicle to get on nasty angles or even roll. Secondly, try to choose a line that will keep your tyres on the high side of ruts and rock steps and not drop into holes. Keeping the tyres well positioned like this will cause your vehicle to flex less and you will likely have more traction as a result.

BUILDING THE TRACK

Once you have picked the right line to attempt, you might be concerned that your vehicle doesn’t have the clearance or approach angle to make it over the rock step. Picking up smaller rocks and making a ramp is a good way to help you drive a tough obstacle. I mainly pack rocks into big holes so I can tackle rock steps as flat as possible.

TYRE PRESSURES

Everything about negotiating rock steps successfully comes down to traction. Getting more rubber on the ground is a great way to help with traction and will be your best secret weapon to making a tough challenge look easy. I tend to drop my tyres down to around 18 PSI for extreme rock steps and ruts. As the air is let out and the tyre bags out, you will have a bigger footprint of rubber, which means more traction. lowering tyre pressures will help protect your tyre too, allowing it to mould around sharp rocks and obstacles.