RAW Nitro Max Struts
Tuesday, 6 December 2016Most 4×4’s coming off the production line these days are equipped with a coil over independent front suspension (IFS) that offers the compromise between on road prowess and off road ability.
Due to the design of the strut on the front of these vehicles there is relatively a small amount of space available for a larger body unit than the OE design.
Where some of these IFS vehicles are used in harsh outback conditions and long distant touring applications, RAW 4×4 saw a need for a heavy duty strut to survive in these remote environments. The engineering team at RAW 4×4 took on the challenge to get the biggest piston and body size combination as possible to create the RAW Nitro Max strut range.
Being part of Powerdown truck shock absorber group, RAW 4×4 had access to heavy duty truck technology which has proven themselves over millions of kilometres on heavy trucks and trailers.
The 41mm & 45mm piston designs were chosen for their durability and ability to be precisely tuned for comfort and control. The key advantage of a larger piston is that the operating pressures inside the strut are greatly reduced improving the overall performance and longevity of the unit
A large 61 mm body was incorporated into the design for extra oil capacity to allow the unit to soak up the corrugations with minimal drop off in valving known as “shock fade”. High temperature oil and a multi lip HNBR seal were specified to further improve this aspect of the performance.
Coming from a truck shock pedigree all materials and fittings offer an extremely high tensile strength to withstand high side loads and stone damage. This is most noticeable when picking up the one of the Nitro Max units in terms of weight in comparison to an OE unit.
To further enhance the strength of the strut a one piece stem and end cap combination was used on certain part numbers. For example, on the Toyota Hilux front strut it is one of only a few units on the market that incorporated the stem and end cap into a one piece design. Being a one piece design this eliminated any weak points that may occur in welds when the stem and end cap are separate components.
The RAW Nitro Max strut range will be released in August this year, covering the following vehicles: Toyota Hilux, Toyota LC200, Toyota Prado 150 series, Ford PX Ranger & Nissan D40 Navara.
All RAW 4×4 shock absorbers & struts are valved to suit our vast range of coil and leaf springs to provide a complete suspension package to meet your varied ride & load carrying requirements.