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Driving FJ in 4 L


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Apparently there are two school of thoughts.. one encourage driving in 4 L with 4/3 gear while the official version is to avoid. 

 

I would like to Offroader driving FJs to share their opinion on this.

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The owner manual will clearly mention that it should be avoided for speeds above 30-40 kmh. For speeds below that, you have indeed the choice of driving in 4L but then again why would you risk it ? and what would be the benefit of potentially damaging the transfer case ?

Driving in sand requires you to keep your engine revs in the powerband. If this can be achieved in 4H then this is by far the better option.

 

PS i am not an FJ owner (anymore) ;) 

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"Go as far as you can see; once you get there, you'll be able to see further."

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@Ashok chaturvedi also take into account the group and their link to certain garage(s) as a backdrop for their recommendations to run full ride in 4L.  

Also testing their recommendation comes at your own risk (vs theirs) - if you do play around with it to form your own decision, be sure to share your findings.  I accidently kept in 4L after a recovery and did a few climbs before noticing - I didn't 'feel' the benefits/difference however it was hardly a scientific test. 

Edited by Niki
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Not FJ, but I remember one of my convoy buddy @Ali Shahduring our last week drive in Liwa, mentioned that he struggled to climb on 4H but considerably better when he switched to 4L in his Pajero.

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Hello Ashok Bhai @Ashok chaturvedi thanks for asking this question . I am not an Fj owner . But this is the way how understand it  , please correct me all if I am wrong , and here I am talking about 4WD off course . HI gear it means that you can drive to higher speed because the gearbox will sheft you automatically up or you will manually if manual shift the stick from 1 to 2 from 2 to 3 .. etc and you gain more speed ( creat momentum ) with lesser Torque ( strain on the previous gear as you shift up ) . However aborting the sheft by keeping the stick on 2 for example or the gear shifter in D2 or even D1 your torque ( pull ) will increase to maintain the speed ( momentum ) but at the expense of your gear ⚙️ life span .

now at lower gear climb it looks like as if someone is winching you up hill with tremendous traction and if the engine power is given more input ( that’s why modern vehicles will cut it off no matter what you do as a protective mechanism ) your transfer case will die sooner or later .

for me the adequate speed builds momentum which is the one we rely on to take us from one dune to the next smooth and nice 

Edited by M.Seidam
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I drive my FJ on 4H, i had to engage the 4L only for self recovery and while declining a steep ramp for engine break. But 4H is doing just fine all the time at least for me, sometimes i keep a low gear on 4H when i need to climb up tall steep ramp but i keep it always on the High didn't need to go to 4L for high climb yet.

On the other hand someone kept driving on 4L because he didn't want to get stuck at the end the transmission overheated and broke in the middle of the desert but just to note it was a fast drive.

 

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*Not an FJC owner

The only time I actively use 4L for long-ish periods is when I’m doing climbs up extremely steep inclines in Wadis on rocks where my speed is never rising above 20 kmph. Through a consistent pressure on the pedal and carefully watching my RPMs, I find the 4L works a lot better than 4H when doing the steep grades.

Beyond this, in the desert, I rarely ever use 4L unless I’m doing self recovery. Switching to a lower gear and improving my line of ascent is a much better process for me.

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Hi @Ashok chaturvedi. I guess I know where your question is coming from. With bigboys drive, definitely 4L to keep up with the pace, especially for long high dunes that require power+speed.

With carnity drives, you are ok on high gear, which is definitely safer for the gearbox and the engine.

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