CHAPTERS: SUSPENSION DRIVELINE PERFORMANCE STYLING HILUX VIDEO
It’s easy to understand the popularity
of the Hilux with a high build quality from Toyota and strong reputation for
reliability on the back of their unbreakable advertising campaigns. We
get a lot of requests for more information on our development
Harrop Hilux and how we make the most
popular selling 4x4 even better at Harrop 4x4 Centre.
With our performance pedigree our goal
was to build a sport truck package to appeal to the weekend
warriors with performance gains, pre-runner styling and enhanced
off-road capability.
Posted on 8th February 2016 at 3:44pm
Typically the first upgrade for most
4x4 enthusiasts on their upgrade journey we were keen to evaluate a number of
options that could sharpen up the handling on the street and still offer
flexibility for off road tracks. The popularity of Fox Shoxs for off-road
racing (as used in our Project LR) and their big presence in the US 4x4 ‘truck’
market led us to try their 2.0 Performance Series coil-over. While the 2.0
offered a much firmer ride for higher speed driving it could be best described
as harsh for slow speed rough tracks and consequently we swapped these out for
the higher spec Fox 2.5 DSC coil-over with reservoirs. The 2.5 DSC units
provided the Dual Speed Compression (DSC) allowing adjustment of high and low
speed compression damping. Combined with Tough Dog springs this vastly improved
the ride, with firmness present for street duties and range to performance
better in the bush. The experience from the team our Tough Dog also presents a
great opportunity to utilise their foam cell shocks on future builds, like our
Ranger, and benefit from local conditions R&D validation.
Posted on 8th February 2016 at 3:48pm
Transferring the power and torque to the ground
is our ELocker selectable locking differential up front and Harrop Eaton
Truetrac at the back providing low maintenance gear based LSD traction. While the Hilux lives on Melbourne
arterial roads Monday to Friday the Truetrac provides
far greater traction than the open diff when negotiating corners and
roundabouts, particular in the intermittent wet weather down south. While the
Truetrac won’t perform to the level of an ELocker in high wheel articulation
situations, our Hilux benefits from the ELocker up front that will pull the
truck up through almost any obstacle.
To keep the Hilux's driveline breathing clean
through the dust and river crossings we have also
installed a Harrop Diff & Trans breather kit. This kit replaces low sitting
breathers and is used to prevent water and contaminants from entering
differentials, gearbox and the transfer case, an inexpensive insurance
for expensive underbody mechanicals.
Posted on 8th February 2016 at 3:53pm
With 60 years of experience and a name
synonymous with performance enhancements, the Hilux couldn't be a part of the
Harrop fast fleet without some subtle modifications to boost performance and
torque. We sourced a 3" Turbo back exhaust system from HPX
Australia, increasing exhaust gas flow and providing a tougher sport truck
exhaust note to the 3.0L diesel. The system is made out of high grade stainless
steel, which has incredible durability for its light weight
structure. Performance and torque gains of around 20% have been achieved with
a programmable diesel module and throttle module, boosting output,
responsiveness and improving fuel economy.
Posted on 8th February 2016 at 3:59pm
One of the first things most people
notice is the integrated evolution sports bar from Rhino 4x4, a tough
replacement winch bar made from 3 and 5 mm steel with integrated aluminium bash
plate and quality LED fog lights. We optioned the bar in colour coded white powder
coat and elected not to fit a winch when we have some handy traction devices
fitted to the diffs. To match the changes made on the front, we replaced the
factory SR5 rear step with the well packaged Rhino unit that
features multi-faceted angles finished in matte black.
We didn't stop there, removing the
bulky factory side steps for a pair of Melbourne made steel tube Raslarr Rock
Sliders that look great and offer strength and protection when tackling the
rough stuff. Like the Ranger, we felt the Hilux needed a new soot of boots to
finish off the new look. We went for a set of Method Wheels
Matte Black NV in 17” and wrapped them in Nitto Trail Grappler All Terrains.
The developed hasn’t stopped here and
we look forward to providing updates on our Hilux enhancement journey.
Posted on 22nd February 2016 at 12:52pm
Check out our video covering all the modifications made to our Harrop Hilux so far! Don't forget to subscribe to our channel HarropTV for all the latest news and updates.
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Since 1955, Harrop has engineered and manufactured world-class systems and solutions for OEMs, Race Teams and the Aftermarket. #harrop
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