NEWS

HILUX

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.


SUSPENSION

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.   


DRIVELINE

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.  


PERFORMANCE

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.


STYLING

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.



HILUX VIDEO

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.