NEWS

RANGER

CHAPTERS:   SUSPENSION    DRIVELINE    STYLING    PERFORMANCE    RANGER VIDEO    STYLING #2    4X4 AUSTRALIA'S CUSTOM 4X4OTY WINNER

Recently Harrop welcomed a new 4x4 addition to the performance fleet; the Aussie designed & developed Ford PX2 Ranger XLT. Straight from the factory in Thailand the Ranger offers great capability with its 3.2L Turbo Diesel and plenty of technology bells and whistles. As we all know, there is always scope for enhancements.

The Harrop team got together to evaluate how we could apply our engineering skills to develop the performance and capabilities of one of Australia’s most popular dual-cabs.  Check out the articles below to see the upgrade journey of the Ranger. As we create a dual-cab capable of tackling the grittiest terrain in style, with equally comfortable manners for street driven use while representing great value for our 4x4 enthusiast customers.



SUSPENSION

Posted on 11th January 2016 at 4:32pm


There are plenty of aftermarket suspension options on the market, but we couldn’t go past Tough Dog’s ability to tailor every aspect of our suspension package – whether it was shock, spring or damper settings. Our ability to fine tune our ride control and application mode is exactly what our customers require whether it be loaded up for outback exploring, unloaded around town or hooked up for towing gear around Australia.

We went for a set of adjustable strut and spring assemblies on the front to suit bar only weight and fitted light load rear leaf springs on the rear. This set up will allow us great flexibility and compliance as we explore the Victorian state forests.



DRIVELINE

Posted on 11th January 2016 at 4:34pm


An exciting moment in the Harrop Ranger's build was the testing of our selectable differential the Harrop Eaton ELocker. Market leading for performance and durability the ELocker engages and disengages with the push of a button, distributing 100% of available torque to each axle when engaged, fully locking the front differential on demand. Combined perfectly with our Diff & Trans Breather Kit to keep unwanted contaminants clear of expensive differential and transmission hardware.

Fitted with the Harrop ELocker our Ranger is more than capable of conquering the toughest, most uneven terrains to the point we elected not to fit a winch at this stage given the enhanced traction capability locking differentials provide. 



STYLING

Posted on 11th January 2016 at 4:35pm


Like all fleet vehicles we wanted the Ranger to be distinguishable when out and about with subtle styling changes. The XLT model from the factory is covered in chrome trim that we elected to black out all these shiny bits using a tough polyurethane textured black coating, this included the front grill, side vents, door handles, side steps, rear step and sport roll bar.  This transformed the look massively, giving the truck a tougher appearance than the higher spec Wildtrak. 

MCC side steps in textured black replaced the factory steps that simply hang too low and look bulky. 

For rolling stock a set of Method NV Race Wheels in 18x9” + 18 offset wrapped in 285/65R18 Nitto Trail Grappler MT tyres were fitted to gain some additional ground clearance and provide superior grip off road.



PERFORMANCE

Posted on 9th February 2016 at 12:26pm


On the quest for more power and torque output our team consulted Dynomotive, who have been Unichip agents from day one.  We were attracted to the Unichip solution as it is live tuning software, calibrated on the dyno for optimal results. We now love the Rangers responsiveness and our ability to store up to 5 maps at any one time. Along with this we fitted a BMC air filter and 3" stainless steel exhaust, improving gas flow and delivering a deeper and sportier grunt.

As a result, we saw an increase from 128kw at the hubs standard to 157kw, increasing responsiveness and fuel economy. We also saw a massive increase in torque from 412nm stock to 536nm (29% increase).




RANGER VIDEO

Posted on 27th April 2016 at 4:28pm





STYLING #2

Posted on 14th June 2016 at 3:30pm


Much like the Harrop Amarok & Hilux that have featured in 4x4 Australia Magazine, Ranger was picked by the 4x4 Aust editorial team as a cover car and feature article. To further enhance the visual impact we installed an Evolution Bar from Rhino 4x4, they are a great quality, tough replacement sport bar made from 3 and 5mm steel with integrated aluminium back plate and LED fog lights. We optioned the bar in colour coded white powder coat.

At the back we installed the new release Uneek Chase Rack that was powder coated in black, with custom designed side plates featuring the Harrop 'H' Logo in textured black to tie in with the other accents. On top we installed an Ultra Vision light bar to vastly improve the night time visibility when out of town. 


4X4 AUSTRALIA'S CUSTOM 4X4OTY WINNER

Posted on 23rd February 2017 at 8:30am


It was great for the hard work of our team to be acknowledged by 4x4 Australia’s readers, as the Harrop Ranger was voted the inaugural Custom 4x4 of the Year. Read more about the competition run by 4x4 Australia hereThanks to all those who voted for our engineered performance PX2!