- Dirt Road Magazine - Inside ARB USA - (dirtroad.com)
Credits
Home
F.A.Q.
Media Kit
Cover
Vendor Catalogs
Jeep Rater
Show & Tell
Yellow Pages
Projects
Site Map
E-mail Us
Jeep Forum
Ask Grant
Features
Columns
Trial & Error
Classifieds
Trading Post
Back Issues
Links
©2005 Dirt Road Magazine


See who WON!

I have been to the promised land, and it is called ARB USA. Seriously though, let's see a show of hands: If you had to pick one aftermarket parts warehouse to tour, wouldn't you pick ARB? Lockers to lift kits, compressors to off-road lighting...It's all under one South Seattle roof - ARB USA. You could drive a totally stock Jeep in here, and drive away impressively equipped and almost totally trail-ready.

Inside ARB USA:


OME Front Springs

ARB Compressors

OME Shocks

OME Rear Springs

ARB Lockers!

Portable Compressor

The Jeeps of ARB USA:

Jim's XJ

Chris' TJ

Tim's CJ7

An easy way to tell how good any one company's products are is to take a close look at their employee's vehicles. It's kind of like driving by your local Chevrolet dealership to see how many salespeople drive Fords. From what we could see, Jim Chris, and Tim have adorned their Jeeps with ARB products galore!

Inside an ARB Locker:

Prototype Installation

Deep Inside An ARB...

Dana 60(L) & Dana 35(R)

I would like to thank Tim for the in-depth instruction on the inner-workings of an ARB Air Locker. I already knew they were tough, but now I'm really impressed!

Manually lockable differentials use a conventional differential in conjunction with a mechanical locking device which can be operated at the driver's discretion. When locked, both axles will then turn at the same speed irrespective of the road surface. When it is unlocked, the differential functions as a conventional differential giving predictable handling, long service life and no increase in tire wear. It can be installed in both the front and rear axles without compromising on-road performance. Although manually lockable differentials are available in tractors and some military style vehicles, their installation in mass produced recreation type vehicles has been restricted by high cost and complexity of installation.


Click here to enlarge the above schematic.

The ARB Air Locker has allowed this situation to be reversed. This unique air-operated unit incorporates its activating mechanism totally inside the differential centre. This avoids the need to have complicated piston arrangments hanging off the axle housing. Locking action is controlled by the driver with the push of a button switch inside the cab. Installation involves a bolt in replacement of the original equipment differential centre, a 12-volt air compressor with resevoir and an in-vehicle mounted switch. Original equipment axles, bearings, etc. are retained. Locking/Unlocking of the unit is extremely rapid (approximately 0.1 seconds) and may be achieved at any vehicle speed. No special maintenance is required and servicing of other vehicle components is unaffected. Standard lubricants are used. The ARB Air Locker is the ultimate differential for almost any vehicle providing 100% drive to each wheel, without handling problems, or additional wear problems.

Courtesy ARB Corp Limited Australia

Worried about Broken Air Lines?

Air-Line Coupler

Air-Line Coupler

Don't be! ARB now sells a coupler for broken air lines. If your air line does happen to break, just push the broken ends of the hose into the coupler, and viola'! Trail Fix Traction! Contact ARB USA at 206/264-1669 for more information.

See? Better!

IPF Head Lamp
Replacements

IPF Halogen Bulbs

Available in H4 55/60, 80/110, 90/145, or even the new 55/60-watt Magic Bulbs, these IPF head lamp replacements produce a right-hand 15-degree rise for a better view of the road shoulder. Magic Bulbs produce illumination equal to 110 watts on low beam and 130 watts on high beam using a 55/60-watt bulb with a special phosphorescent ring at its base which contiues to glow for about 10 minutes after the lamp is turned off. they are available with green or blue glow rings.