Morning Newbie Desert Drive - Margham - Dubai - 3 Sep 2021

[Pieter Pot]

1 hour ago, Wrangeld said:

Post Drive Thoughts

It was quite a difficult day for some today. The sand was very (very) soft. I had pre warned of this so it's no surprise and frankly, we did not have that many more refusals and stucks than expected on a drive like this. A few, toward the end took longer than ideal, which is why we ended up arriving later than planned at Inflight Dubai.

In that period, we drove up down, sideways, into bowls, out and through difficult pockets. We even managed to go through some technical light [I can guarantee you will all thank me for that at a later stage in your off-road future].

Some specifics: 

@Pieter Potgieter excellent second lead. You did all needed. Please, on your next opportunity, stay a little closer to the lead. the distance of the 2nd from lead tends to influence the distancing in the convoy.

@Joseph Sebastian I think you are improving each drive. On recoveries, you are still using too much power too soon. It's what halts what might otherwise be a drive-out. 

@Tom V a good drive today. You are really understanding the potential of the car. 

@Alexanderrr buy a bigger shovel? There are moments when you are not using the full potential of the car in power or clearance that I would like to see you develop in future drives. 

@Enrico Biscaro nice to meet you on the drive and great choice of car! It's clear that you too are coming to grips with the incredible potential of the SWB Pajero. Keep on practicing these skills each drive into the Fewbie level. The more you can practice at this level, the better. 

@Ramandbx great to see your development from Absolute Newbie to the way you drove today. More control, less power, more decisive. 

@Ferl Brown I guess the fact that I heard little about the black xterra is testament to the great drive you had today. Really well controlled and driven. 

@Muhamed Ameen You have a powerful, capable car that it feels a little like you are scared to use. I think that 90% of the challenges came today because you were not carrying enough momentum. 

@Mahesh Khatry thanks for stepping into the sweep role today. Great job. Really shows your experience shining through. You need, please, to brush up a bit on radio messaging. At times we both needed to hear from you a little more. 

@Islam Soliman you were very well employed today, and acquitted yourself with the customary levels of excellence, diligence and professionalism we all have come to expect when you're on a drive. It was an honour to have had you in support. Thanks.

Looking forward to driving with you all again in the future. 

@Bernard Kalaani what happened? 

See you soon in the sand. 

Thank you & well noted! It was a fun day out … in the sand…

[Joseph Sebastian]

Thanks @Wrangeld for designing a challenging drive and one from which I learnt a lot while enjoying the drive. For one thing I learned that I could not afford to drop my concentration even for a second, which was what got me into both my stuck situations. I learned how to properly engage 4L in my all mechanical TJ wrangler (the final clunk has to happen or its still spinning in neutral, thanks for the specific input on this  @Wrangeld)...and I would not have learned that if I had not gotten stuck. I also learned to keep my mouth shut while shoveling since I dont like the taste of sand 🤣

Special thanks to @Islam Soliman for his enthusiastic, calm and expert advice to get us all out of our various issues, it was a very busy day for you and thanks for keeping your patience always. Really. Thanks also to all fellow drivers for the team spirit and the company. 

I really appreciate @Wrangeld the time you have taken to give specific feedback to each driver, this really takes our learning to the next level. But I am not sure if I could relate the feedback regarding 'too much power too soon' in my recovery situations as I don't recall spinning my wheels during recovery (could be wrong of course, so do let me know if I did do this so I take extra care next time). For reference I was convoy no. 4 in the green TJ.

Overall a very fun and educational drive in equal measure, and one which has left me looking forward to the next time I meet you all in the sand. Till then take care and be safe!

[Wrangeld]

3 hours ago, Joseph Sebastian said:

I really appreciate @Wrangeld the time you have taken to give specific feedback to each driver, this really takes our learning to the next level. But I am not sure if I could relate the feedback regarding 'too much power too soon' in my recovery situations as I don't recall spinning my wheels during recovery (could be wrong of course, so do let me know if I did do this so I take extra care next time). For reference I was convoy no. 4 in the green TJ.

@Joseph Sebastian you are right to question my feedback on two levels. 1. if you think it's wrong, as for more clarification 2. You are right that I confused you - my bad. 

I should have said. (1) [As you mentioned] TJ is a mechanical link for the low ratio - needs a 'clunk'. (2) Your stucks/refusals were due to a combination of not enough momentum and it looks like a little shyness on the gas from time to time. (3) I think we dug you off a crest so you could drive off ... you could have made that easily with just a little more gas. 

[Joseph Sebastian]

2 hours ago, Wrangeld said:

@Joseph Sebastian you are right to question my feedback on two levels. 1. if you think it's wrong, as for more clarification 2. You are right that I confused you - my bad. 

I should have said. (1) [As you mentioned] TJ is a mechanical link for the low ratio - needs a 'clunk'. (2) Your stucks/refusals were due to a combination of not enough momentum and it looks like a little shyness on the gas from time to time. (3) I think we dug you off a crest so you could drive off ... you could have made that easily with just a little more gas. 

Thanks so much for clarifying @Wrangeld I also suspected that I had the opposite problem ie too little gas... Totally agree! That crest stuck wss a prime example 

 

 

 

[Enrico Biscaro]

@Wrangeldthis was a very fun drive. It did feel more “technical” I am getting more comfortable with the car. This is my second drive with the modification (Lift and tires) A few learnings.

1. Started the drive at 11 psi ended at around 12.5. I believe this is a good pressure as I had only one small refusal because I did not get enough momentum on a pretty churned up sand. A quick reverse and more rev fixed the problem.

2. I love the fact that I have skid and trimmed bumper. No fear when crossing ridges or gong down. 

3. I feel the benefit of the lift and new suspension when going down as the car feel steady and solid

4. I really enjoyed the parabolic on the bowl. I did much better than last week when I got a couple of refusal when i was silly to fight gravity

5. I will admit I drove for about an hour with the centre diff locked, but High Gear. The car felt really great in all honesty, but I understand in the long run this might fry the differential so I switched back to 4H. 

Looking forward to my 5th Newbie drive as I feel I am ready for a slightly less challenging drive. 

Thanks all for the great FUN and as usual I love the club where there is no rush or pressure and safety first