COVID 19 Compliant - Morning Fewbie Desert Drive - Solar Park - Dubai - 10 Jul 2020

[Febin Frederic]

6 minutes ago, siddharth maheshwari said:

Hi @Febin Frederic thats a good advise . I have never tried triptronic gears. Will try that out next time. I agree that JLU is powerfull and fun when in momentum  but at times when i need quick acceleration from zero or very slow speed  on slopes specially with soft sand the RPM just go against .

Thank you !

Try manual shift, you will not be disappointed. good luck !

[J J]

3 minutes ago, Febin Frederic said:

Try manual shift, you will not be disappointed. good luck !

Just as @Febin Frederic said ..........@siddharth maheshwari Go tiptronic 1 or 2 on climbs , 3 on smooth . I need to get my vehicle calibrated though , and do the ring n pinion due to the larger tyres  - but you should be fine on stock tyres.

3 hours ago, Frederic said:

I wouldn’t recommend Pedal Commander. Your Wrangler has more than enough power and your throttle response issue is just yourself that needs to gel with the vehicle and it’s capabilities. A pedal commander might increase response time and will make your car feel more agressive behaving, but it also puts a lot more strain on the drivetrain components.

Make sure you’re well deflated on these days 12psi should be ok, going to 13-14 and higher and you’ll start feeling that you need to apply more power to make it through and will struggle more.

@Frederic have the pedal commander too , it seems fine .. but yeah never even dare to go at sport+ on that.. city +2 for me thats it

@siddharth maheshwari hope you are at that ( city +2 )

[Rinelle Sanaani]

20 minutes ago, siddharth maheshwari said:

Hi @Febin Frederic thats a good advise . I have never tried triptronic gears. Will try that out next time. I agree that JLU is powerfull and fun when in momentum  but at times when i need quick acceleration from zero or very slow speed  on slopes specially with soft sand the RPM just go against .

Thank you !

@Febin Frederic thank u... urs is beastier than mine, i drive the unli sports JL..

i still hav a lot to learn from.u guys. 

@siddharth maheshwari most of the time i only used D. I only used gear 1 and 2 in the playground and somtimes in refusal. .. i just never hold back my JL. Just enough momentum and throttle. . i just believe it has the power.. just like febin said, never understimate the jeep... 

. 

 

[Febin Frederic]

1 hour ago, J J said:

Just as @Febin Frederic said ..........@siddharth maheshwari Go tiptronic 1 or 2 on climbs , 3 on smooth . I need to get my vehicle calibrated though , and do the ring n pinion due to the larger tyres  - but you should be fine on stock tyres.

@Frederic have the pedal commander too , it seems fine .. but yeah never even dare to go at sport+ on that.. city +2 for me thats it

@siddharth maheshwari hope you are at that ( city +2 )

Putting my 2 cents...Larger tires are good but comes with lot of burden..you should expect premature wear of drive components, especially on axle, drive shafts, breaks and gears (require at least 4 10) etc.

Axle re enforcement is something must if u've 35s in non rubicon model, unless the jeep is just a mall crawler.

Edited July 10, 2020 by Febin Frederic

[siddharth maheshwari]

4 minutes ago, Febin Frederic said:

Putting my 2 cents...Larger tires are good but comes with lot of burden..you should expect premature wear on drive components, especially on axle, drive shafts, breaks and gears (at least 4 10) etc.

Axle re enforcement is something must if u've 35s in non rubicon model, unless the jeep is just a mall crawler.

Thank you @J J and @Febin Frederic . noted all points. 

[Mehmet Volga]

This drive was a challenging start of my Fewbie, but I think difficult starts teaches more and quicker... The first shock for me was the sand; at the beginning I couldn't see high dunes like the ones in Pink Rock or Fossil Rock but it was like driving in the deep water! I experienced that even maximum power & speed doesn't work in such a soft ground so I felt my pajero much weaker than ever.

Other than the drive, it is also strange to me how the desert is different in its each parcel. Pink rock, fossil rock, al qudra, solar park, ... they are all close to each other but very different in many aspects like plants, dune topography, geology, ... It is because wind regime maybe... 

Many thanks to leaders @Wrangeld @AKR @Jeepie @Brette ; this was very instructive drive for me to enter Fewbie under your great coordination.

And of course @Gaurav, I believe you should also have a "superman" t-shirt like @Rahimdad ; Front towing, back towing, pop-out solution, cooling down pajeros, self-recovery directions, rerouting, face-mask warnings and desert jokes - this is too much for a natural person doing all at the same time! ... and I hope this is more enjoyable than gym saloons to lose calories. I am sure you have lost 2-3 kg in a couple of hours and are much more "fit" now...

[Rajeevan Vickneswaran]

Thank you to @Wrangeld @Gaurav @Brette and everyone else for a wonderful drive as always.

Really grateful to @Anish S and @Veedooshee for the help and saving me from a lot of hassle with the number plate  👍

Looking forward to next Friday's drive and have a great week all!

[Veedooshee]

1 minute ago, Rajeevan Vickneswaran said:

Thank you to @Wrangeld @Gaurav @Brette and everyone else for a wonderful drive as always.

Really grateful to @Anish S and @Veedooshee for the help and saving me from a lot of hassle with the number plate  👍

Looking forward to next Friday's drive and have a great week all!

@Rajeevan Vickneswaran always our pleasure to help...☺️

[Chaitanya D]

On 7/10/2020 at 10:02 PM, Lorenzo Candelpergher said:

Dear @Wrangeld, dear @Gaurav,

This was my 3rd Carnity Fewbie drive, 1st time at Solar Park. 

I was quite disappointed when I got crested at the very beginning of the ride: I still have to figure out why my diff lock didn't engage while trying to self-recover. I tried later multiple times and it always kicked in.

When we eventually managed to drive a bit for real without stopping for some time it was quite enjoyable, until a moment of distraction made me lose control while sliding on a big dune, with the rear of my car literally falling downhill all of a sudden, causing a pop-out on my rear right wheel. My son, a pop-out freak, was excited as usual.., this time I really didn't feel the same way! 

After the 5th pop-out I am starting to consider shifting to 18" rims with a high profile tyres 265/70, slightly thinner than my current 275/60 but surely better when deflated off-road. I was told there are tyres with a particular shape of the inner edges of the shoulders which may help prevent pop-outs: recommendations would be appreciated. 

The biggest challenge of the day, for me, more than the soft sand, was the difficulty I experienced in reading the bright sand, despite polarized sunglasses. My latest drives were all in Mahafiz, Pink Rock, Fossil Rock, Area 53, Al Badayer, etc were the sand is much darker and much simpler to read. 

@Gaurav was amazingly relentless and patient in an abnormous number of recoveries and has all my gratitude for helping me out in the two instances above. I was also amused how he could ride all over the place while everyone else was getting stuck... 

The path was interesting and, when we had the chance to ride without stops, fast enough to have fun. @Wrangeld and @Jeepie did a great job in leading and routing, thank you both. Find today's track details below. 

Thanks to the whole convoy for the nice time spent toghether today.

Hi @Lorenzo Candelpergher. I am not an expert but I was driving the same model y62 as yours , top spec with hydraulic suspension (HMBC), for may be some fewbie drives.

I have been through all that has been going in your mind about changing tyres and rims, and once that happens you will think about suspension as the hydraulic is too comfort oriented and not performance oriented for the desert. To change the suspension to a performance oriented one , the hydraulic has to be disassembled at the agency and then you do the upgrade or changes in suspension. I would say please do check if changing rim size will void your warranty , as I felt your car was the 2020 new model.( mine is 2015 model , with the same specs - LE platinum).

Why I am telling you this is I have already broken my UCA which was replaced under warranty  and done a front axle overhaul .Just in case down the line you have to get something replaced under warranty then you have to be sure you dont do anything that voids it, parts and service for the Y62 are expensive.

Some things I observed from being exactly  behind your car were

- you were pushing it very hard relying on the V8 (it is a vow feeling driving it!) , rather than using the momentum - especially at the time of pop out.I have made these mistakes and i realised it once I was getting to know how to handle it better.

- I always kept the tyre pressure 15 or above considering the weight,  not anything less . And I never had a pop out , probably i was lucky .

I still miss riding my y62 in desert , may be some more drives and you will get to know how to ride it better.As I said earlier,  I am not an expert but have given you a straightforward opinion from my little experience.I still drive and absolutely love it .Cheers !

 

 

[Lorenzo Candelpergher]

10 hours ago, Chaitanya D said:

Hi @Lorenzo Candelpergher. I am not an expert but I was driving the same model y62 as yours , top spec with hydraulic suspension (HMBC), for may be some fewbie drives.

I have been through all that has been going in your mind about changing tyres and rims, and once that happens you will think about suspension as the hydraulic is too comfort oriented and not performance oriented for the desert. To change the suspension to a performance oriented one , the hydraulic has to be disassembled at the agency and then you do the upgrade or changes in suspension. I would say please do check if changing rim size will void your warranty , as I felt your car was the 2020 new model.( mine is 2015 model , with the same specs - LE platinum).

Why I am telling you this is I have already broken my UCA which was replaced under warranty  and done a front axle overhaul .Just in case down the line you have to get something replaced under warranty then you have to be sure you dont do anything that voids it, parts and service for the Y62 are expensive.

Some things I observed from being exactly  behind your car were

- you were pushing it very hard relying on the V8 (it is a vow feeling driving it!) , rather than using the momentum - especially at the time of pop out.I have made these mistakes and i realised it once I was getting to know how to handle it better.

- I always kept the tyre pressure 15 or above considering the weight,  not anything less . And I never had a pop out , probably i was lucky .

I still miss riding my y62 in desert , may be some more drives and you will get to know how to ride it better.As I said earlier,  I am not an expert but have given you a straightforward opinion from my little experience.I still drive and absolutely love it .Cheers !

 

 

Dear @Chaitanya D,

If I change the rims, it will be only with the ones recommended by Nissan, ie 18" with 265/70R18 tyres, as I totally agree with you that nothing should be done on the car that may void the manufacturer's warranty (also for insurance reasons).

Many have advised the move and even @Gaurav was suggesting me to consider shifting to a high prifile tyre some posts back to reduce pop-out risks. 

Meanwhile I have also discovered the existence of "inner beadlocks" (see https://ok4wd.com/inner-air-lock-inner-air-lock-pneumatic-inter-ina208100). They seem quite an interesting solution, for which I would be curious to hear some advice from anyone who had any experience with it. 

Having said this, I totally believe my problem, as you suggest, is mostly about using too much power instead of momentum, which is something I am trying to improve. I think I got much better than in the beginning, but I sense it is mostly a matter of accumulating a sufficient number of driving hours, in order to gain confidence on going a bit faster and learning to let go when momentum is lost rather than flooring the throttle... 

For this In the next rides I was considering the possibility to ask someone behind me to accept mounting my GoPro on their bonnet so I could see my own driving from behind and be able to assess what I am doing right or wrong. 

See you on the sand. 

L

Edited July 13, 2020 by Lorenzo Candelpergher