Many owners who regularly use their 4WDs as tow vehicles or have fitted a few accessories and then loaded up the family and supplies for a trip, may be unaware that they could be over their vehicle’s
Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM).

GVM is the maximum allowable weight of a vehicle permitted by law when fully loaded, including the weight of the vehicle itself, passengers, fuel, accessories and luggage on board. Additionally, if
the car is towing a caravan, boat or trailer, the tow ball weight is added to the GVM total.

The end scenario is that a vehicle that you might think has a generous carrying capacity may not be safe or legal. The automotive aftermarket industry has addressed this situation by developing GVM upgrade kits.
Depending on the GVM upgrade kit selected, around 130kg of carrying capacity can be added to the GVM with entry level kits, through to about 700kg for more comprehensive options (kit and vehicle dependent). For most owners, this is enough to stay on the right side of the law, while providing their vehicles with improved componentry to handle the additional weight.

In most cases, the kits focus on providing upgraded suspension in the form of more appropriate coils (or leaf springs) and dampening. The kits need to be fitted by a certified installer and approved by an
authorised engineering signatory, so no DIY. Owners also have the option to upgrade GVM at the time of purchase prior to the vehicle being registered for the first time.

Very few of the GVM kits that are available in Australia or New Zealand consider the brakes at all, so owners wanting to maintain – or improve – factory braking performance after their GVM kit is fitted,
need to also consider braking upgrades to handle the extra carrying capacity of their rig.

Bendix offer a wide selection of four-wheel drive braking upgrades covering many makes and models and to suit every budget.