Equipment and Gear for Optimizing a Vehicle

Getting the most from a Jeep or a light truck depends on properly planning exactly what the vehicle needs to accomplish. The needs of a daily highway driver are far different than those of a rugged off-road crawler. For instance, a vehicle does not need high-grade nerf bars out on the trail, but the flaps become crucial to protecting other drivers when the vehicle is on the highway. Properly outfitting a vehicle requires the performance of an honest assessment of the vehicle’s goals and environment, and the project’s budget. The basic categories of any vehicle project include trim, drivetrain, suspension, and exhaust.

A complete exhaust system includes free-flowing pipes, mufflers and running boards. A free-flowing, efficiently designed exhaust system can improve a vehicle’s performance, increasing torque and horsepower while maximizing fuel economy. The best exhaust system is not always the most expensive. An exhaust system needs to match the vehicle in several ways, as a high-performance system is too much for a mild, stock Jeep four-cylinder engine. Likewise, a small-piped exhaust system is not sufficient to expel the spent gases from a high-performance engine. Although matching the vehicle’s engine with the proper exhaust system can be tough, a little forethought will help avoid a trial-and-error approach that can be prohibitively expensive.

There are many accessories designed exclusively for a vehicle’s body, to improve its look and performance. A set of nerf bars, fender flares, or even an upgraded bumper can improve a vehicle’s functionality on the road or off of it. Fender flares protect the vehicle’s body around the wheel wells, while allowing the vehicle to legally use larger wheels and tires. An upgraded bumper provides multiple anchor points for towing or pulling, a solid mounting point for a winch, and additional storage for tools and equipment. When selecting a winch, the unit needs to have a load capacity sufficient to pull the vehicle out of a ditch, or over an obstacle. Using a winch with an insufficient load capacity can be dangerous, and may cause serious injury.

Along with running boards and auxiliary equipment, a vehicle needs a solid drivetrain. The drivetrain includes the transmission, the driveshaft, the differential, and the axles. Generally, the drivetrain components that can improve performance for off-road vehicles are the axles, the differential, and the transmission. A set of low ring and pinion gears can help a vehicle achieve greater traction control by placing more power to the vehicle’s drive wheels. Stronger axles can help a vehicle tackle the toughest off-road terrain, while a transmission needs to be geared properly for the environment in which the vehicle will operate.