ARB links with King of the Hammers event
Australian 4WD aftermarket specialist ARB has inked a deal with the big Nitto King of the Hammers event in the US this year to be the official locking differential and air compressor supplier of organiser Ultra4’s race series.
An Ultra4 fan favourite which began in 2008, King of the Hammers was instantly regarded as one of the most technically challenging races in the world. Since then ARB has been a frequent vendor at the event, displaying its latest product and providing technical support to all those competing with ARB Air Locker and ARB Air Compressor gear.
This year’s event kicks off on January 31 and goes until February 09 with the ‘main event,’ the Nitto Tires King of the Hammers ‘rock race’ taking place on Friday Feb 07.
Racing will include the CanAm Motorsports UTV King of the Hammers, the Shootout, the
Everyman Challenge, the Toyo Desert Invitational (T1 trucks), the Nitto King of the Hammers Ultra4 race, plus the popular return of a King of the Motos (dirt bike) event!
The extreme conditions of this gruelling competition have driven ARB’s product development further and further, a dedicated team of engineers using their experience from previous Hammer events to develop two Competition Edition
Air Lockers.
Based on the Ford 9” differential, the RD99CE (35-spline) and the RD249CE (40-spline) pushed the limits of Air Locker design. New features were developed like a ring-gear boltlocking system and a unique casing material grade that improved the overall case strength by 290 percent, making the competition edition lockers the perfect choice for serious Ultra4 and off-road racers.
Not surprisingly, since its release, the competition Air Locker has taken the rock-racing scene by storm. In fact, Air Locker-equipped vehicles have won the past three King of the Hammers events in vehicles piloted by Shannon Campbell and Jason Scherer.
These same design principles and learnings are inherent through the ongoing production of all existing ARB Air Lockers and the development of new applications to ensure each and every product remains the strongest and most trusted Air Locker in the world.