The Off-Road Expo. Hosted every year at the Fairplex in Pomona, California. This is the place where the hottest Jeep parts for off-roading are displayed by hundreds of vendors, suppliers, and manufacturers. It’s been California’s biggest off-road exposition for years, and 2016 carried on that legacy. While there are too many to count, I’ve been able to narrow the group down to three of the coolest, hottest, swankiest, or whatever other adjective you’d prefer to introduce, off-road parts.
Check ‘em out below.
Polyurethane Bushing Kit — Made by Energy Suspension
Throwing on a lift and large tires is the best way to tackle your favorite off-road trail, and look absolutely bad ass doing it. But, what if I told you that these can also affect the on-road steering, along with the responsiveness of your chassis/suspension system?
In response, you should say “naw, I’m good. I just bought a new polyurethane bushing kit made by Energy Suspension.” The Hyper-Flex System Master set that was debuted is meant for JK Wranglers, particularly any models from 2007-2016. This bad boy includes things like body mounts and hardware (or a body lift if need be), control arm bushings, sway bar bushing, track bar bushings, and bump stops.
What does all this do? Tightens up your chassis and lift, that way you gain back some of that responsiveness you might have initially lost. They also showed a JK 1.75-inch suspension lift kit that includes forth and rear coil spring spacers, and extended bump stops.
Sport Cage Upgrades — Made by Rock Hard 4×4
Rock Hard 4×4 has been a company that’s contributed to the Off-Road Expo in California for sometime. But, this year they still didn’t fail to impress. They also offer a number of sport cage upgrades and padding kits for a JK Wrangler, but the 3RD Row 4DR Bar and the C-Pillar Brace Kit 4DR are both new for this year.
The 3rd Row Cage gives the driver and passengers a triangulated mounted bar that runs alongside the top of the factory sport cage, towards the rear of the cargo area above the tailgate. That way, it’s not taking away from the integrity — it’s merely adding to it. The C-Pillar brace runs from the inner fenderwell to the underside of the current cage, to the point where it begins to arch down and rearward.
The purpose of each one? To aid in driver and passenger protection if a back-flip occurs.
Switching and Power Distribution Systems — Made by sPod
Remember when Jeeps used to be just four-wheels, an engine, and a metal frame? Old-school Jeepers dreamed of the day when electronics would come into play to aid in performance, and that day has arrived.
sPod showcased new and improved versions of their six- and eight-switch digital, and fully programmable circuit control systems. These are rated at 30 amps/12.5 VDC per circuit. A new interface is offered for the eight-circuit system, which has eight buttons plastered on a Marine-grade waterproof control pad. Overall, it allows for better tactile control than the touch-screen control pad.
How do you set that new control pad up? Through your smart phone, of course.
Those are three of the more interesting ones, that are sure to be found on modded Jeeps as 2016 comes to an end.
