At Enhanced Off-Road, we spend a lot of time helping customers build vehicles that are reliable, capable, and properly engineered for touring and heavy loads. One of the most common upgrades we install is a GVM upgrade, and a big part of making that upgrade work properly involves components like OnTrack 4x4 control arms and diff drops.

In this edition of Mat’s Chats, Mat from Enhanced Off-Road explains why these “shiny bits” are more than just nice-looking upgrades. They play a crucial role in maintaining proper suspension geometry, protecting driveline components, and ensuring your vehicle drives the way it should.

Watch the Video

In the video above, Mat walks through how OnTrack billet control arms and diff drops help improve wheel alignment, reduce wear on critical components, and support reliable GVM upgrades.

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Why Control Arms Matter in a Lifted Vehicle

When lifting a vehicle—especially a Nissan Patrol 62 series—the suspension geometry changes. These changes can affect wheel alignment, tire wear, and overall drivability.

One of the components that helps correct this is the rear lower control arm, sometimes referred to as a tow arm or spring arm. The version used by Enhanced Off-Road is manufactured by OnTrack 4x4.

These arms are designed with a modified center-to-center length, which helps correct alignment issues that commonly occur when vehicles are lifted.

Without this modification, achieving a proper wheel alignment can become difficult or even impossible.

By installing these upgraded arms, the suspension geometry is corrected, allowing technicians to properly align the vehicle and restore predictable handling.

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Rear Upper Control Arms and Suspension Geometry

In addition to the lower arms, the Nissan Patrol platform also uses rear upper control arms.

The Patrol 62 has three control arms in the rear, and the upper control arms also play a critical role in maintaining suspension geometry.

Just like the lower arms, the OnTrack rear upper control arms are modified eye-to-eye to help correct alignment issues.

When both the modified upper and lower control arms are installed together, something important happens:

You no longer need additional camber correction components.

Even better, the design allows the vehicle to retain factory-style rubber bushes, meaning there’s no need to switch to harder aftermarket bushings like Nolathane or SuperPro.

This helps maintain ride comfort while still delivering the alignment correction required for lifted vehicles.

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The Role of Diff Drops in Suspension Upgrades

Another important component used in GVM upgrades is the billet diff drop.

Some people question why diff drops are necessary, but they play a very important role in protecting CV joints and CV boots.

When a vehicle is lifted, the angle of the front CV shafts increases significantly. These joints are designed with small hardened bearings that allow them to move and articulate.

In a standard setup, the movement inside the CV joint is minimal—usually around 1 to 5 millimetres.

However, once you install a two-inch lift, the angle increases dramatically, which causes the CV joints to move much more than they were originally designed to.

This increased movement leads to:

• Higher friction
• Faster wear
• Increased likelihood of CV boot damage

And anyone who has worked on vehicles knows that replacing CV boots is not a fun job.

Installing a billet diff drop helps solve this problem by lowering the front differential slightly. This reduces the CV angles and brings the drivetrain geometry closer to its factory design.

The result is less wear on CV joints, longer component life, and improved reliability.

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Under the Vehicle: How the Diff Drop Works

When looking underneath the vehicle, the purpose of the OnTrack billet diff drop becomes very clear.

The diff drop physically lowers the differential housing, which reduces the extreme angles created by a lift kit.

This small adjustment makes a big difference in protecting driveline components.

Combined with other suspension upgrades, it helps maintain smooth operation even when the vehicle is carrying heavy loads or tackling rough terrain.

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Two Types of Lift: Lower Control Arm vs Coil Lift

When installing a lift kit, there are two primary ways to achieve lift on a vehicle like the Patrol.

Lower Control Arm Lift

A lower control arm lift works by modifying the mounting point of the strut.

By raising the lower mounting point slightly, the suspension geometry changes in a way that produces roughly a two-to-one lift ratio.

This means lifting the mounting point by about one inch can produce around two inches of suspension lift.

However, this type of lift still uses the factory Nissan coil springs, which are not designed to handle additional loads.

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Coil Lift (Preferred Method)

At Enhanced Off-Road, the preferred method is usually a coil lift.

With a coil lift, load-rated springs are installed in place of the factory springs.

This provides several advantages:

• Increased load capacity
• Improved suspension support
• Better handling under heavy loads
• Enhanced ride stability

When combined with proper alignment and supporting components like diff drops and control arms, the result is a vehicle that drives far better than stock when carrying touring gear.

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Camber Locking Kits for Alignment Stability

Another component often used in suspension setups is the Patrol Apart camber locking kit.

These kits are installed on the rear camber bolts and help prevent alignment changes over time.

Normally, camber bolts rely on tight friction to hold their position. However, when vehicles encounter large bumps or off-road impacts, those bolts can rotate slightly.

When that happens, the suspension bushings move, and the wheel alignment changes.

This is why camber locking kits are installed in the rear suspension.

They physically prevent the bolts from rotating, ensuring that once the alignment is set, it stays that way.

Interestingly, these locking kits are generally not necessary in the front suspension, as alignment changes are much more common in the rear.

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Supporting GVM Upgrades

When combined with other suspension components such as poly airbags, this setup can support serious upgrades.

Vehicles equipped with these systems can achieve:

• Up to a 4.2 tonne GVM upgrade
• 7.7 tonne Gross Combined Mass (GCM) on pre-registration builds

This is one of the most common upgrade combinations currently being installed by Enhanced Off-Road, especially for customers preparing vehicles for heavy touring setups.

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Lift Height and CV Reliability

One important point to remember when modifying suspension is that lift height matters.

For most vehicles, the recommended setup is:

• 2 inch lift with diff drops
• 35mm lift without diff drops

Once lifts exceed three or four inches, diff drops alone are no longer enough to protect CV joints.

At those heights, increased wear on CVs and CV boots becomes unavoidable, meaning those components will need to be treated as part of regular maintenance.

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Building a Reliable Touring Vehicle

At Enhanced Off-Road, the goal is always to build vehicles that are reliable, practical, and engineered properly.

Upgrades like:

• OnTrack billet control arms
• Billet diff drops
• Load-rated coil springs
• Camber locking kits

all work together to maintain proper suspension geometry and protect critical drivetrain components.

While they may look like simple upgrades, these components play a crucial role in ensuring a lifted vehicle performs the way it should—both on the road and off it.

And when done correctly, they help transform a standard vehicle into a strong, capable touring platform ready for serious adventure.