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LOADED4X4.COM.AU
OPINION: NICK KOTTER
This F-Truck is actually
really cool, but it’s a
show car and built in
the US where there is
only one law governing
vehicle modification; do
whatever you want.
often requires further forward
movement of the wheels (more
positive caster) to ensure the
tyres don’t contact the firewall
when the steering’s on full lock.
This abundance of positive caster
throws the vehicle’s geometry
and weight distribution right
out of whack, with handling and
braking performance suffering
accordingly. You may think your
modified mall crawler drives like
a beaut, but its ability to handle
well in emergency situations is
what you’re mucking around with
here.
RULE 3 - Respect your
vehicle’s centre mass or rollover
point. I know how it goes.
You’ve seen the ads for cool
gear, checked out the ‘mint’ rigs
on Facebook and thrown your
credit card at your truck. It’s now
rocking a 3” lift, 35” tyres, some
flash black alloys and to finish it
off you’ve added a roof rack and
stacked it high with awesome
crap, like a high-lift jack, and that
rooftop tent you don’t need but
have always wanted. Your truck
now looks ‘killer’, and ironically
you’ve just increased its potential
to kill. Its ability to turn turtle on
a sideways slope when off-road,
or in an emergency situation onroad,
has increased significantly.
That raised suspension and
the swag of heavy gear you’ve
bolted to the roof, has moved
your vehicle’s centre mass point
higher and conversely decreased
the angle at which a rollover
becomes a reality. Maintaining
the lowest possible centre of
mass should always be your aim
when modifying and kitting out
your 4X4 with gear.
Increasing the centre of
mass height doesn’t just make
the vehicle more susceptible
to a rollover, the excessive
load transfer it can induce –
much like a pendulum effect -
increases body roll and negatively
impacts steering and braking
performance. Excessive load
transfer doesn’t play well with
Anti-lock braking systems
(ABS) or Active Stability Control
systems (ASC) as it can push
them beyond their ability to
maintain control. Fitting stiffer
springs and adding or upgrading
anti-roll bars are great ways to
combat excessive load transfer,
but they reduce the suspension’s
ability to flex, and that has a
negative impact on the vehicle’s
off-road performance.
The average mall crawler
breaks all three of these rules,
and that makes them an illconceived,
dangerous and to be
blunt, pointless vehicle. You’re
better off spending the bucks
to build a well thought out, safe,
comfortable and capable 4X4
that doesn’t magnetically attract
the attention of the law. And you
know what, “they can still look
mint brah”, whatever that means…
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