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Overdrive really doesn't come into the picture because its technically the last gear on your transmission with a ratio of less than one like say 0.67:1 Unless some cars actually use that as a "sports" mode on their autotrans which modify the shifting patterns usually by holding a gear longer before upshifting. So the actually overdrive function would not come into play in the desert unless you are at highway cruising speeds in top gear while climbing a dune!

Our friend @Frederic Nuyttens, who joined the last absolute newbie drive, wrote in his first experience feedback : « I had the impression that some newbies struggled a bit with the 4WD settings on their car. Modern cars have many electronics and switching off the traction and electronic aid controls is indeed necessary for desert driving. A small separate workshop for 4WD and the different diff-lock settings, crawl modes, and the blip technique might be a good optional side-training ». Pretty sure that @Gaurav and @Rahimdad are already thinking about a way to cover these aspects, but, in the meantime, I would suggest that everyone here give a few elements about his own car. In concrete terms, we could all explain briefly what we are switching on or off before we hit the dunes… I'll begin with my own car… NISSAN XTERRA 2013 - X X is the basic trim, so I have only 3 positions : 2WD ; 4H ; 4LO. The « Off-Road » trim is the only one which has diff-lock. Of course, 2WD is used on-road (and sometimes on easy flat tracks) ; 4H for off-road ; 4LO for recovery + ascending or descending very high hills and slopes (NB : to engage 4LO, you must stop the vehicle and shift to Neutral). Whenever you leave the road, you should switch off 2 buttons : « Vehicle dynamic control » (VDC) and « Overdrive » (O/D). You should see two indicator lights. The problem with Xterras is that you have to repeat the same process if you restart your engine, so don’t forget if you don’t want to get stuck…

Very nice thread @EmVarlet switching off the traction control / vsc / tsc / etc is already mentioned in the brief and I personally advised all drivers to spend 5 mins to google and find out on how to switch off the traction completely for your car. Without which they will just crawl and not being able to spin the wheel. For O/D off, it's a good suggestion but not a show stopper like a traction control and it's very helpful in long hill climb when you want to delay the upshift as much as possible. I do have OD off in my Pajero and use it only 5-10% of times and not always. Again different cars react differently and we will add this point too in the brief next time. More importantly, I feel that every absolute newbie driver who comes for the drive should need to read the basics in advance and discuss the issues here well in advance and figure out the instructions, shortcuts, and procedure to switch off traction, OD etc. Doing a side workshop is indeed sound nice but delaying the convoy of 20 cars by 3 hours is not a practical approach if we have 6 newbies x 30 mins for each car in googling how to switch off traction, OD, pulling fuses, SRS disabling etc. So every newbie either discuss these points in the forum and find a way out in advance. OR agree with Marshal / Crew to come half an early so that we can help OR spend half an hour after the drive so that we can help in figuring out this stuff. My two cents.

I’d also like to add something else to this. Remember Jason was out with us a few months ago, new Jeep Cherokee, he had a problem where his SRS system activated after a bump and his seatbelt tensioner fired rendering the SRS system inactive in the event of an accident. Maybe one person should be designated as technical and go through absolute newbies cars and make sure TCS, SRS etc systems are disabled. Having a proper technician on drives would make carnity unique, something none of the other clubs have.

Route from Al Shuwaib to Iftar Bowl via Super Bowl - Intermediate Level Track - Minimum 3 capable 4x4 vehicles Shuwaib Iftar bowl.gpx

Congrats @Gaurav another milestone reached !!

Great initiative @EmVarlet and excellent suggest @Barry. We try our level best to help the newbies understand their cars, however having a technician present on all drives might not be possible. We want to learn more about new cars and all these extra buttons.

Welcome to the amnesty thread. The place where you want to know the answer to car questions you were always afraid to ask. Sarcasm or stupid answers will not be tolerated. Ill start by asking the first question. Why is every mini here referred to as a Mini Cooper? Even if it’s just the basic model? A mini is a mini. The Mini Cooper is a John cooper developed special that is different from the regular mini. I have even heard someone say Mr Bean drives a Mini Cooper. No he didn’t. He drove a Leyland Mini 1000.

Thanks @skumar83 will do that. I prefer they join Carnity forum first and start following the content. Then we can slowly integrate them.

In case of emergency too, information shared, posted and stored on forums will be 100% searchable and accessible round the clock than the WhatsApp group that majority of WhatsApp user treat like a trash bin due to 90% forwarder traffic and only 10% meaningful information. Maybe Deepak or Ayman can start the Xterra club here, and link all users that shoot instant notification when someone post's something.

Well WhatsApp has its uses, because its "live" that does have its uses in many situations for example if someone is stuck, broken down or some other emergency. You need an immediate response and not left to the mercy of forum members, if and when someone logs in. Just sharing of knowledge, that's where forums are more useful than WhatsApp groups. Other than that WhatsApp groups are just a nuisance and people just end up sharing memes and useless garbage. I have blocked my own brother on WhatsApp because of this!

But you gotta be careful, there is a lot of misinformation and fake CGI videos out there, hence making it difficult for the average joe to separate the wheat from the chaff. A not end up looking like a conspiracy nut. Real VS Fake

Congratulation to all club members.. @Rahimdad & @Gaurav i really appreciate your hard work to put this system in place. This will definitely encourage all of us and help the club to grow.

Why do Mercedes G wagon need two antennae on top like a horn in today's modern world where all GPS, radar, hunting gear antennas can be very well concealed in the body?

Thanks, guys and I wish to see more and more members crossing this 1000 likes milestone in the coming year as Carnity has started the likes system in 2015-2016.

Prado indeed is a good buy, and I'm glad that its V6 so it can be equally good for occasional offroad unlike V4. Get the Engine checked properly being 300K, and if it was maintained well in the past then you should be fine. In my company, we have Prado and LC's crossing 500k with very minimal wear and tear.

I agree I'm waiting desperately to see the UFO too. Why all UFO goes to the US only and not in the Middle East or in UAE. Can someone please tell extraterrestrial beings that they do have a good fan following here too.

I have seen a Prado 2008 model with 700k on the clock. All the owner does is get maintenance at regular intervals and doesn't want to sell it. It's a work horse.

@Sidshk good choice. Toyota Prado is a very capable car with minimum options and one of the reason it never gives you trouble. Toyota reliability. Just the normal things to check like engine, gearbox and chassis. Being an old car it will give you some repair cost, but Toyota is easy and cheap to maintain. Just change all the oils, plugs wire sets, just to be on the safe side. Happy buying.

Congrats @Barry and @Gaurav !

Great suggestion @EmVarlet it will definitely be useful for future drives with different newbies and their cars. Thanks for sharing your details on how to setup the Xterra for Offroad. From my side i can't share much information on the electronic aids as i don't have any 🤣. But i have a friend with a more modern Pajero and another one with a Grand Cherokee that might join in on one of the next Abs.Newbie drives.

It is UFO Barry

Congratulations @Gaurav bhai for being the second individual to cross 1000 likes. Well deserved bro.

@Frederic Nuyttens there was one of those abandoned in Al Quoz behind gold and diamond park for over a year. The front end was damaged. It disappeared a few weeks ago. Very rare car here, never mind anywhere else. Next car, Saab 900 Turbo. The biggest honour it holds is that it was the first commercially successful turbo car. There were also a few oddities that made it special. The engine was mounted backwards so power was delivered from the “front” of the crankshaft. The next was that it had the gearbox mounted in the sump, like an original mini.

Awesome Barry, this is a really nice achievement and you set a very good example for other car enthusiast's to follow.

Yeah,like a lamb to the slaughter...

Bit of a clickbaity title but that’s what it is. I saw a thing, I don’t know what it was. I was on Al Khail Road heading towards Hessa Street. It was on the back of a tilt and slide truck. Bigger than a Hiace but not massive. White with some orange stripes. It was box shaped with 4 wheels but tall enough for someone to stand up inside it. Like it was really a big box with 4 wheels and windows all around. There was no drivers seat. The door was at the front and there was a row of seats down each side. I couldn’t get my phone unlocked in time to snap it. I’m going to guess that it was some sort of self driving transport pod? Has anyone seen anything like this around?