Owning a 4WD means you can successfully access the most precious yet untouched and secluded locations anywhere. It could be any place from beaches to bushes, having a 4WD vehicle allows you the opportunity to relish the natural sites in all their glory even those that are usually unseen. In fact, having a 4WD vehicle opens a whole new world of entertainment on the road for you. However, 4WDs aren’t cheap vehicles and if you own one, it is extremely important to do everything to keep it in good condition and make it last longer. This means, selecting the right 4×4 accessories online for your vehicle after sufficient research is important if you want your 4WD to remain trouble free.
The primary idea behind fitting 4×4 accessories is to ensure that the vehicle becomes safe for your next adventure. You need to be very careful in this regard because the easier it is nowadays to buy 4×4 accessories online for your 4WD, the trickier it has become to choose the right, most appropriate accessories for your vehicle. This is why we have come up with some helpful tips for all the 4WDing enthusiasts. With these tried and tested measures, you will be able to identify the best approach for setting up your vehicle for off-roading.
Identify your demands before modifying your 4WD:
The more you learn about your 4WD the better capable you would be to buy 4×4 accessories online and maintain your vehicle to keep it problem-free. For instance, if you want to go sand driving, you need to get the right tyres that could give the right amount of pressure needed for sand driving. Getting on to such an adventure with the wrong tyres will turn your adventure trip into a haunting one as the vehicle would need to work extremely hard and this may generate the risk of overheating. Similarly, for the terrain, you must be aware of the perfect tyre pressures to ensure fuel efficiency and comfort. Therefore, you must first identify what you want your vehicle to do before going on the modification spree and getting 4×4 accessories online.
Over modification is a bad choice:
Your focus should be on making your vehicle meet your demands. If you go on to buy all the 4×4 accessories online, you’ll end up ruining the vehicle. Don’t be deceived by the booming 4WD accessory and modification industry which can provide you everything be it battery chargers or chassis extensions, portal axles or other systems because you might be more likely to make costly mistakes. There are so many different types of 4WDing from hard core rock and mud driving to terrain exploring that it becomes impossible to prepare your vehicle for such adventures without accessorising it appropriately in the first place. Hence, you need to adopt a step-by-step approach, depending on the type of activity you want to perform. Making the wrong decisions can be detrimental for your vehicle’s life and reliability in the long run. Such as, you shouldn’t get a new suspension package without first considering your vehicle’s weight now and in the future. It is a very common mistake that people get a nice new suspension package and after installing winch, bull bar, spare tyre, drawer system, rear bar, and long range fuel tank they find out that the vehicle’s springs have sagged. The ideal stage to add new suspension is after knowing the amount of weight you want your 4WD to carry. Similarly, getting the engine modified before upgrading the exhaust is a bad idea. Hence, try to get accessories in the correct order to make the most of your vehicle’s modifications and save your time and effort. Over modification is simply not worth it. You should, ideally, plan to make a perfectly economical, reliable, capable, and practically viable 4WD while selecting 4×4 accessories online.
Compliance with local regulations is a MUST:
Owning a 4WD or any other vehicle for that matter comes with great responsibilities but these responsibilities get a little tougher and stricter when you are 4WDing. That’s because having a 4WD means you would want to go all out on adventures, and this may make you go overboard and make the wrong choices while accessorising your vehicle. That’s why it is important to have a 4WD that is in compliance with the local regulations. It is more than an ethical prerequisite because the rules and legal frameworks are designed to ensure that your vehicle is roadworthy. For instance, in West Australia having a 4WD that’s having over 50mm big tyres or roof that is higher than 50mm, it would be illegal to drive such a vehicle without possessing an engineering certificate. Or else, if you want to put bigger tyres on your vehicle then make sure that they don’t stick outside the 4WD’s guards as it is illegal. You should opt to fit flares to your vehicle to make it compliant to the law as well as save the paintwork and panels from getting damaged when rocks get flicked up from tyres. Moreover, it will be helpful in preventing flickering of rocks onto the passing by vehicles by the tyres.
Researching before buying 4×4 accessories online:
You may find a 4WD with big tyres and a massive lift exceedingly impressive, but in reality, it isn’t going to be as useful practically. A 4WD should be much more than an eye candy; when you go for everything big and huge, you should be prepared for higher fuel costs and a vehicle that’s difficult to handle. Although it isn’t totally a bad idea to add bling to your beloved 4WD but accessorising and modifying it in moderation is the key. You should go for practical improvements instead of making the vehicle appear grand because it has to be used for rough driving at the end of the day. You need to research about how to make your 4WD practical and useful and there is plenty of information available online. You can even find valuable information about the specific model that you own. You can find everything about getting the right 4×4 accessories online to opting for the perfect tyres and suspension. Researching will help you decide about, for example, buying the right offset rims before fitting big tyres, to ensure that the tyres remain stuck within the guards. And, prior to adding that lift kit, you should find out all about brake lines and the necessary adjustments to different angles as well as brake bias proportioning valves. It is very important to compare brands before deciding about any particular accessory.
Find out your payload:
It is yet another significant aspect that you should consider before selecting or buying 4×4 accessories online. Once you have found out your payload, add everything up that has some weight on your 4WD. This may include roof rack, bull second battery, cargo barrier, refrigerator with food, rear drawer system, UHF radio with lighting, 40L of water, camping chairs/table, tent, cooking equipment, recovery gear, spare parts/tools, portable electronics, and at least three adult passengers are some of these weight objects. Payloads can vary considerably in 4WDs averaging between 550kg and 1100kg. If you want to tow something then add its weight as well but be careful not to exceed your payload because it will put your vehicle in danger of breaking and becoming illegal to drive on the road.
Also remember:
Do remember that 4×4 bull bars are not merely for protection but also serve as a stabling mount for ancillary devices/equipment such as lighting because these tend to be very sturdy and can even carry electric recovery winch.
Another key tip is to ensure that your 4WD can handle the extra weight of the roof racks.
To reduce strain on your eyes and to have a clear view of the road, obstacles, animals and any blockades, you should think about increasing the reach and intensity of the 4WD’s lights.
For the best 4×4 online accessories online head over to MNF 4×4.
