It was Monday morning and the air still had that cold bite to it. We had organised a team of Fulcrum Suspension specialists, including some of our store managers and SuperPro engineers. All too extensively evaluate Formulas new 4x4 lift kits, Leaf springs and SuperPros 4x4 suspension parts for the Ranger, Hilux & Patrol. At Fulcrum we all believe that in order to properly vouch for a product you must test it first hand to know its strengths and weaknesses, so you can give the best advice to a customer looking for a suspension upgrade.
Heading South to go 4WDing
Planned the week before we headed South of Ipswich to visit SDT's 4x4 training track at Boonah to test how well Formulas new, 4x4 lift kits handel and what suspension improvements it gave. We also had installed SuperPro Swaybars, Control arms and bushes on the Hilux, Ranger & Patrol to see what flex increase and drive handling we could further push the 4WD's to get. After arriving we went through SDT's safety briefing and then went straight to our 4WD's to give them a pre safety check before heading out making sure we had enough water for the day, that the car was looking ready to head out. Happy with everything we let out the air in our tyres to give the car more traction in the Offroad terrain and then proceeded to head out. This is just about when one of our employees got really excited.
"Letting out the Hilux's Tyre Pressure, getting ready to hit the track".
"Shane excited to hit the 4x4 tracks".
Hitting the Track and Going Offroad
Finally ready to head out we form up a convoy and head out into the Australian bush, getting ready to traverse marsh/swampy lands, small creeks, rocky landscapes, forest tracks and farmland. Looking to test the suspension products in as many real world conditions as possible. We manage to traverse a few hill climbs with ease, the Patrol built by Fulcrum Capalaba’s manager, didn’t even flinch at any of the hill climbs. We moved on to tacking a few wombat holes and gulley’s, taking it slow but so far everything we threw at the cars, the suspension handled it all with ease. The SuperPro parts really giving a boost in driver control and handling, the Formula 4x4 lift kits giving a smooth ride for all passengers and giving enough clearance to traverse the rocky terrain we encountered.
"Stopping at the bottom of a hill, waiting to climb up".
"Showing off the Formula 4x4 Lift kit with SuperPros Swaybar and Control arms fitted to the 2015 Hilux".
"Formula 4x4 Hilux".
"Formula 4x4 Hilux".
"Fucrum Capalabas Patrol desceding a hill, getting ready to take on some wombat holes".
"Quick video showing off the 4WD's and suspension in action".
Our Final Thoughts & Feelings
After spending the morning driving South of Ipswich and then spending the whole day in Offroad terrain, we got a rough understanding on how well the products will perform in constant everyday conditions.
Formula 4x4 Lift Kits
The Formula 4x4 Lift really increased the vehicles driving capability, enhancing the vehicles Offroad capability and giving extra handling/control to the driver. When driving Offroad you can really feel the difference, all those bumps you would sometimes feel in the bitumen just disappear, but at the same time Formula has not sacrificed comfort for performance. The 4x4 Kit offering a greater set of control to the driver compared to others. The Formula 4x4 Lift kit gives a standard 2" inch lift giving the 4WD the much needed clearance to handle gulley’s and rocky terrain. In the vehicles tested it was seen that the flex provided by the kit ensures that the vehicle maintains traction in all standard and extreme 4x4 situations (gulley’s, wombat holes and rock crawling).
No matter the terrain that was thrown at the 4x4 kit, rocks, logs, large hills and gulley’s the suspension managed to overcome all obstacles and power through the 4x4 track with ease.
SuperPro Arms, Swaybars, Links & More
The SuperPro upper control arms really helped with on and off road handling. Paired with the Formula 4x4 Lift Kit these arms delivered up to 3 degrees of caster along with extra camber adjustment with increased clearance between spring and control arm at full articulation, allowing for the optimum alignment settings for a 2” lifted vehicle. This allowed for the Hilux to have a good footprint of the tyre to maintain traction no matter what the terrain threw at us!
The SuperPro Swaybars & links really attributed to the great on road handling without restricting the off road performance.
Check out our Formula 4x4 Lift Kit Range
