Picture this. You and your mate are off on an adventure of a lifetime. You’ve saved up your dollars ready for an epic month up in the Cape, well past the black top of suburbia. Both your rigs are brimming with camping kit. Roof top tents. Awnings. Dual batteries. And a set of wheels and tyres that’ll have every P-plater you drive past drooling with jealousy. The only real difference is suspension. Dazza upfront ponied up for some flash springs and shocks, maybe the Outback Armour Adjustable Bypasses Pat runs in the F-150. Meanwhile, you’ve got the old twin tube setup your rig came with and some flogged out springs to save a couple of bucks. 10 years isn’t that old for suspension… right?
The difference becomes clear as soon as the corrugations start. While there’s no hiding them, Dazza’s shocks are able to soak up those endless vibrations and still keep kicking so he’s having a great time belting out Khe Sanh, or his rendition of it anyway.
Meanwhile, you’re hanging on for dear life, the dash threatening to self-eject at any moment while your rig skips and slides around on the surface, the tyres barely making contact as they oscillate up and down. Y’see, a lift kit is a poor description for what aftermarket suspension does. Sure, we gain a little height for bigger tyres, but ride quality and control are the real benefits. The feeling of soaking up washout after washout while a similar rig bucks and bounces isn’t something that really fits on a spec sheet.
The Unsung Hero of 4X4: Good Suspension
What suspension actually does is one of the most misunderstood topics in 4X4 land. It’s easy to tell the difference between a good and bad fridge, the warm beer often gives it away. But how do you tell the difference between a good and bad lift kit?
Sometimes the easiest way to demonstrate is by taking things to extremes, the humble old box trailer. With no shocks whatsoever it’s a great example of what a shock absorber does, hit even a mild speed bump and that poor old box trailer starts bouncing down the road, meanwhile, your 4X4 has a little wriggle and then gets back to business. On the complete other end of the scale in some million-dollar off-road racer you’d hit that speed bump at full tilt and not even notice it.
Forget how high your springs make your rig sit for a minute, and all things being equal the quality of your shock absorber dictates exactly how your 4X4 will handle big hits off-road and small bumps on road.
Beyond the Height – The Versatility of Suspension
Of course a “lift kit” isn’t just a set of shocks, while they’re a major player in how your rig performs on and off-road, they’re not the whole picture. The quality and specs of your springs play just as big a role in your 4X4s performance. Get the combo right and you’ll be in 4X4 nirvana with a do-it-all rig, get them wrong and it can ruin the whole experience. If the shocks dictate how your 4X4 handles, the springs dictate what they’ll handle. They provide the foundation for what you can carry and how well you’ll do it.
Springs are typically advertised with a + kg indicator. For example. The Outback Armour setup Pat runs in his Ranger has four different choices of rear springs, all giving the same 50mm increase in ride height. The Trail springs are rated for nothing in the tray so would suit someone who daily drives their rig and throws in things like mountain bikes, the occasional Bunnings run, and heads bush with a swag. The Expedition series are rated at a 250kg load. Maybe you’re running a fibreglass canopy, a set of drawers and a fridge back there. The Expedition HD bumps that to a 500kg constant load, perfect for someone with an alloy canopy or a ‘van on the back. And the Expedition XHD are rated at 800kg, ideal for someone loaded to the hilt.
“choose a spring rated too high for your setup and it’s like throwing a set of Kenworth springs in”
Each spring, with the appropriate load will ride and handle well at the same height. But choose a spring rated too high for your setup and it’s like throwing a set of Kenworth springs in, the ride will be stiff and your shocks will struggle to control the bounce. Go too soft and you’ll get sag and wallow all over the road. By having more options available you’re able to more accurately dial in your suspension setup to your actual needs to make your 4X4 perform at its peak.
Drive Time – Go Further with Less Fatigue
So what does this actually mean for you behind the tiller? Well, remember old Dazza before? The flash Outback Armour shocks and weight-rated springs he’s running in his setup means his rig rides smooth and flat over the corrugations and absorbs the bigger potholes and washouts on the blacktop and on the dirt roads. He and his family can roll into camp after hours behind the wheel feeling refreshed, they haven’t spent half a day having their bodies bounced from one side of the cab to the other.
The old flogged-out suspension in your rig? It’s struggled to absorb impacts meaning you’ve been making countless small steering corrections to keep you on track. It’s skipped and slid over the corrugations making your rig tail happy too. And the poor old family are half deaf from the rattles and clangs of every half-loose bolt and screw inside your cab. Which family do you reckon are going to be in a better mood rolling into camp?
If your 4X4 rides better and handles corrugations better you can drive longer and further. That means fewer travel days on big trips as you can push that little bit further before fatigue sets in. Go further and in more comfort? This quality suspension caper is starting to make sense.
Off-Roading – Enhanced Capability
Great stuff hey? But will quality suspension actually help you get further off-road or just make you feel good on the drive? That’s a little more complicated, but the short answer is a resounding yes. There are the obvious height benefits you’ll get from fitting any old lift kit, an improved approach, departure, and ramp over angle. Room to run bigger tyres further improves those areas too. But articulation and control are the real game changer when it comes to off-road ability.
The longer and harder the tyres are in contact with the ground, the more forward drive you’ll have. A properly spec’d suspension kit will allow the suspension to “flex” more as you move through undulating terrain keeping more tyres pressed into the ground and maintaining forward momentum. Those Outback Armour Adjustable Bypasses from before will allow you to soften your ride offroad to soak up any little hits and keep the tyres planted. The less bucking and bouncing, the more consistent drive forward, the further you’ll go up the toughest tracks.
Safety First – The Stability and Control Advantage
One area often overlooked is the safety aspect you’ll get from a quality suspension kit too. Just because your 4X4 looks awesome doesn’t mean it’s immune to the laws of physics. It’s no secret that increasing your 4X4s height and adding accessories like rooftop tents and roof racks will raise the height of your centre of gravity and decrease your handling, but a quality suspension setup can claw that back. Better handling, sharper turning, and decreased body roll by having the right suspension, not just the highest, all add up to a 4X4 that doesn’t just perform off-road but is a good thing on road too.
Conclusion
From ramping up your off-road chops to boosting safety and cutting down driver fatigue, the perks of installing the right lift kit on your 4X4 are massive. Remember, it’s not just about raising your rig up—it’s about revolutionising how it rolls. If you’re keen to take your off-road game up a notch—literally—a top-notch lift kit is essential. The team at Outback Armour are always keen to have a yarn over the phone on how to get the most from your 4X4, or you can tap the button below to suss out their options to get your rig dialled in.
