Adding that all important personal touch to your 4WD has never been easier - or more affordable.

Time was when you took what you were given – or were actually able to buy – in this country, and most of us drove cookie-cutter vehicles distinguished only by the colour or – at the most – a ‘Monsoon’ shield clipped to the driver’s door, or set of brand name mudflaps.

Now, the sky is literally the limit as far as ‘bling’ of any description is concerned with the results obvious to us each and every day,

Want to ‘smarten up’ your new 4WD ute? Easy. As easy as adding a new lease on life to that old Patrol/Safari/Surf you can’t kill.

Wheels, tyres, bars front back and sides, snorkels, suspension kits, roofracks, recovery gear, no matter how vivid your imagination is, if you can dream it (or sketch it on the back of an envelope) you can buy and fit it/have it made and/or fitted here.

The aftermarket is traditionally where the action is but with record numbers of new 4WD work and lifestyle vehicles being sold, more and more manufacturers are offering factory-supported genuine accessories from mag wheels to winch-ready bullbars.

Hi-Lift Jack

Like a genuine US-made Hi-Lift Jack. The Hi-Lift jack is robust, strong and designed to last. While traditionally known for lifting, clamping and spreading, its versatility is far greater. Other uses include stabilising and levelling a vehicle for camera work or a roof top tent, fence wire tensioning and winching. But it can also be used in such diverse applications as farming, house removal, forestry, container movements and the military.

Hi-Lift also make the ‘Extreme Jack’ which has all the features of the standard jack plus a quick release foot and more versatile top clamp.

An array of accessories are available to expand the versatility of the Hi-Lift jack even further. The most notable (accessory) being the ‘First Responder Conversion Kit’ which contains the foot piece and top clamp from the  ‘First Responder Jack’.

Hi-Lift supports their jacks with a full array of service parts, further extending the service life of the jacks.

Hi-Lift also make a ‘Handle-All’ kit which combines a shovel, axe, sledge hammer and pick axe with a telescoping handle into a single compact gear bag. For more information or to buy your own go to 4WDbits.co.nz.

Terrain Tamer Parabolic Springs

Or you could add a set of Aussie aftermarket specialist Terrain Tamer’s new Parabolic Springs to your leaf-sprung 4x4

Compared to your standard leaf packs, both light and heavy duty, Terrain Tamer Parabolics have many advantages. Firstly, there are fewer leaves, which are tapered in a parabolic way rather than linear, meaning they are thicker in the middle, and decrease towards the ends.

With other leaf packs having many leaves, the unsprung weight is dramatically reduced with this new design. The overall shape of the spring also being parabolic, keeps it flexible yet still strong enough to hold the load on a vehicle. If, for instance, you have an excessive load on the driveline or hit a bump in the road, the Parabolics are able to give a little due to their flexibility, causing the differential housing to rotate with the springs, reducing shock transferred to the crown wheel and pinion.

If you applied the same force to your vehicle with standard leaf packs, they would stay set with almost no flex at all, causing more shock to the vehicle and driver. This means that it is particularly beneficial to 4x4s, when challenged with some difficult terrain, and you are changing from forward to reverse gear frequently.

Through extensive research and development, it has been found that this new shape results in a smoother ride, as there is better axle articulation and almost no interleaf friction. The new shape also minimises any issues with rust build up, one of the major causes of failure in standard leaf springs.

It does so (minimises issues of rust build up)  because the Parabolic leaves compress or extend with ease, they don’t touch each other until there is a reasonable load on the vehicle, currently standing at 500kg load weight.

Ultimately the new design produces a quieter and more comfortable ride in the cabin. Fit a set to your hard-working 4x4 and laden or unladen,  you’ll wonder how you ever did without them!

To read the full story in the NZ4WD Annual go to Zinio.com (December 11) or purchase your own hard copy at the Adrenalin store.