MAKE YOUR FOUR WHEEL DRIVE HANDLE RIGHT!EXPLAINED BYSUPERIOR ENGINEERING

Michael Hayes has the secrets you need to know to make your 4WD handle better than new.

DON’T PUT UP WITH POOR HANDLING

The on-road handling of modern 4WD’s is amazing while

they are in factory form, but once you start to lift them up to

allow some clearance off-road or load them up for those long

journeys, the handling really starts to suffer. So how do you

get the looks and performance you need for offroad but re-

tain good handling? Well like most things it’s always a com-

promise, and you will find that the more your vehicle is modi-

fied from standard, the harder it is to get good handling.

MAKE YOURS HANDLE BETTER

The starting point for most lift kits is the springs and

shocks and this is where a lot of thought and planning

should really be focused. Ask yourself some questions.

How high do you really need it? How much gear are

you going to load in it? What accessories are getting

added? And how much travel or flex is really needed?

SPRINGS AND SPRING-RATE

With all the suspension options and kits available now-

adays, deciding which spring kit to get for your 4wd is

now harder than ever! Once you have decided on the

height of your lift, getting a spring setup that will com-

plement your shocks and give you the best ride and of-

froad performance is sometimes a bit daunting.

SPRINGS AND SPRING-RATE

There are really two basic categories of springs avail-

able on the market - linear springs and progressive (or

variable rate) springs. Each type has different purpos-

es and behaves a certain way. A linear spring with a

consistent rate is easy to match to a shock absorber,

but a progressive spring will often go out of the effec-

tive damping range as it crosses into higher or lower

rates.

SHOCK ABSORBERS

Gone are the days of just putting in a longer version of

the OE emulsion shock to get a bit more flex. With the

increasing availability of long travel race bred remote

reservoir shocks, which were once only used by of-

froad racers or the very wealthy, ride and performance

can be optimised or tuned precisely to any vehicle.

SHOCK ABSORBERS

With the shock absorbers being the best upgrade to

how your rig drives and absorbs the bumps, it’s always

worth doing your research and maybe spending a few

extra dollars in this area!

STEERING DAMPERS

A steering damper is nothing more than a shock ab-

sorber for the steering system. It dampens the effects

of tire vibration and feedback from the road surface

irregularities. These problems are most common in

all vehicles with large tires, such as four wheel drives

(4WD’s).

STEERING DAMPERS

The effects are multiplied when you add bigger tires

and lift which alter the factory steering geometry. So a

steering damper upgrade is vital to most lift kits, which

may now require more force to resist road or trail im-

pacts.

SWAYBARS

Although not conducive to full flex, a suitably sized

and well matched swaybar will help retain good road

manners and can even sometimes help offroad. If you

prefer to ‘let it loose’ when offroad, then swaybar link

disconnects are often a great option. For those Nissan

owners that want the best of both worlds, then some

SuperFlex swaybars may be the answer.

SWAYBARS

A radical design and extended side arms mean no

more climbing on the ground and getting dirty after a

day in the bush to reconnect the swaybar links, but still

with the ability to get full flex from your suspension.

CAMBER/CASTER

OK, so the new springs are in and it wanders and

shakes. What have I forgotten? The added lift has

caused the suspension to rotate and change the cast-

er outside of required specs. So how do I fix this? On

a radius arm vehicle there are a few ways.

DROP BOXES

These are a simple bolt-on mount extension that low-

ers the rear mounting point back to a better angle.

DROPPED RADIUS ARMS

For when performance matters most, a pair of replace-

ment drop radius arms correct caster and address the

pin or bush mounting geometry to allow for maximum

wheel travel and greater on-road handling. As well as

correcting caster, added design features such as Su-

perior Engineerings’ SuperFlex mounting technology

can also be used to dramatically increase wheel travel.

uca’S - UPPER CONTROL ARMS

When it comes to IFS vehicles, usually the first sign of

trouble is the alignment and handling of the front sus-

pension. This is often best addressed by relocating the

upper / lower control arm or replacing them. A steeper

angle on the upper or lower arm moves the steering

knuckle inboard and increases the angularity on the

ball joints, sometimes maxing out their movement.

uca’S - UPPER CONTROL ARMS

Upgrading Upper Control Arms for IFS vehicles is of-

ten the preferable solution. Replacement UCA’s allow

Camber/Caster correction and increased clearance for

the thicker or heavier aftermarket coils generally re-

quired to lift the vehicle. For more information please

contact us at Superior Engineering.

CONTACT SUPERIOR ENGINEERING

Phone: (07) 5433 1411

499 Uhlmann Road

Burpengary Queensland 4505

Australia

ASK THE EXPERTS:

4X4 Suspension Tech Talk With Superior Engineering

www.superiorengineering.com.au