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@amir.rophail if you have done a few drives, even with another group, then you are most welcome to join as this area does require some experience. Look forward to seeing you on Friday.

@WiLfY, most welcome. Please RSVP the event.

May I join. Have done over 10 drives with another group.

@skumar83 great! Thanks a lot! Looking forward to seeing you all on friday then! Can’t wait

Was it Dr @srini62.

@Atif bhai welcome back, good to see you joining this Friday.

awesome! I'm in! This time with my own flag and walkie talkie 😁

I think this is also very effective in humans

We will celebrate on top of Fossil Rocks.

Ooo on my birthday 😁I'm not sure 🤗

As per the title, do you think you could pass your driving test again? A lot of the members on here have been driving for many years, and as I can attest to, it’s easy to pick up bad habits, maybe not habits that are necessarily bad but not conducive to passing a driving test. If you were asked to do your driving test again tomorrow, do you think you could pass it first time?

I can pass my driving test with ease. Hopefully. I would pass my off-road test with flying colours. hahahahaha

I hope yes, if not been thrown to busy street to test my patience and tolerance level with retard cutting 4 lanes in one go and jumping in front of my car without an indicator or any sign of apology / thank you.

8 speed should be indeed much better on the road, as you can cruise in lower revs on the highway, resulting in lower consumption. For Offroading i am however not so sure if it makes that much of a difference. I am afraid it would be shifting too much constantly in D mode, and it would perform better in tiptronic mode so you can select manually which gear works best for your purposes.

I also think you can drive safely as far as your insurance is valid

As i know its no problem driving during this period but on renewal time RTA will charge you daily from expiry date to renewal date AED 5 or 10 I'm not sure https://www.edarabia.com/dubai-police-traffic-fines/

As i am often going for short and small trips in the desert alone (not ideal, i know, but i stay near to the road), i've spent some time looking at the self recovery possibilities for desert sand. Our Aussie friends seem to have extensive equipment and tools to deal with getting stuck in the sand. I'd love to hear your inputs and feedback on the available equipment such as: * Maxtrax recovery board. The original or alternatives, or selfmade. * Hi-lift Jack. * Deadman anchor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxnwAkMh9U8 .....or other anchor such as your spare wheel. * Winch on your vehicle * Others... Would love to hear what works best in our Middle-East environment without breaking the bank. I always carry 2 recovery boards made from scaffolding platform that helped me out a few times already.

For experienced and inexperienced offroaders: please state the difference between dune bashing and offroading in your own words, experience or examples.

offroading term and SUV is two highly misunderstood term here from Audi Q3, BMW X3 is also SUV and LC and Patrols are also SUV. Good explanation, but no one care reading and understanding one unless they break their cars by themselves.

LOL boy talk about cryptic messages. I wouldn't have guessed in a million years the discussion was suppose to move in that direction! But yes ofcourse its a very valid point. When you say off roading people in Europe think Mud plugging. when you say offroading people in US think rock crawling or dusty desert gatch tracks of the mountainous deserts of the south or snow covered tracks of the north. When you say offroading in Africa people think of jungle crossing in washed away muddy tracks. When you say offroading in the middle east new european expats think Going for drive in the wadis. lol. Only old potatoes like us and locals understand off roading in the middleast to be "dune bashing" Whole point is it means different things in different parts of the world. And most of todays girly suvs cuvs crossovers with their crappy front wheel drive biased 4wd systems can cope pretty much alright in most of versions of offloading mentioned above. And since real hardcore desert duelers are in the super minority not many manufacturers cater to our actual off roading needs. Neither can most of us afford or put so much money towards the few remaining real desert ready cars. Next appropriate question I guess would be to list the few remaining desert worthy 4x4s as in new out of the box without any mods. Think thats going to be a very short list!

The second point what I was trying to make with this thread is to educate car buyers that every off-road vehicle cannot be used for dune bashing or drive through dunes (in other words). Probably only 20% of the so-called off-road vehicle is capable of such extreme use out of which only 10% does it reliably and without breaking your bank account.

I just said personally I dont like the term dune bashing. It just sounds to brash and negative to me. Also you haven't been on drives with some of the companies. Like now out of business FTC was a disaster drive from the word go. They use to start from big red and blaze through their route. Hitting almost every peak in that side of the sanbox till faya and then back because their camp was in nizwa across the road. Also you forget our regular safari was for 2hrs actual drive time of 1.5 hrs plus 0.5 hr drinks and sunset break. Also I like to dispel the myth that Safari Company Desert Guides are just lame drivers and can do short fixed routes only. This is actually true for most working for small operators. The kind that offer 60dhs safaris on Groupon. But the bigger more organized tour operators had I say had because most of the old guard has left now very skilled drivers, some even working today with big car names to day for their hot weather and desert testing. Evening sun downer tours was just the bread and butter but we had a lot of trips of many other types. From 3 day liwa excursions to 15 day desert trials in liwa. Overnighters in Shuwaib and sweihan. Trips to Khatim in Abu Dhabi And we all drove according to the kind if guests we had. Some liked it rough and some preferred a relaxed cruise. Surprisingly middle aged women enjoyed the most "bashiest" rides and young big buys who always said they wanted the hardest drive were the first to stop the car and throw up. Anyways just though I clear this misconception that all desert safari guides just plonk through a fixed easy route ans can't drive for shit. As professionals we drove for our paying guests so they get to experience the desert, not to show off our driving skills. But when the guests wanted a ride of lifetime they also got that. And repeat customers asking for the same guide went with last time over and over again is testimony to that.

@malek is almost correct and then second comes @skumar83 and @Frederic Nuyttens Only slight correction that dune bashing is not always you bash the dunes likes of Faya or big red, but traverse through the dunes means it can be slow or fast but through the dunes. Choosing tracks to drive in the middle of dunes is not dune bashing but offroading, that's the point I wanted to make here. A lot of newbie joins on a drive with tons of offroad experience and get crested on the first dune they cross as either they been to track with other clubs or been to beach sand or roadside sand with inflated tires. @desertdude correctly mentioned that desert safari guys stick to desert driving than dune bashing and just touch a couple of side slope to tilt the car and make tourist scream. Totally different world in that line of business when you have to please the tourist in 30 mins - 60 mins drive and make them jump on sunset point for selfies.

you have got a Like for your answer 😉

Offroad is anything off the trmac road - beach, kacha, gravel, gauge track, wadi, mountain, desert, dunes etc. , dune bashing is bashing the sand dunes at low or high speed. wht is the prize for winner?

Agree I think this covers the load well. Dune bashing is a more thrill seeking part of the off-road experience. My personal preference goes towards regular off road and taking the time to enjoy the scenery, have a bite, meeting people, and make it a relaxing experience as a whole.

Offroading is a general term which can be even a drive through the wadi, jungle or the desert. Whereas dune bashing is specifically pertaining to offroading in the desert. Also, I think dune bashing is more pertaining to a high speed drive through the desert while offroading in sand is like going at a relatively slower pace through some technical dunes

So means, necessity is the mother of invention in that Supercharged Patrol to climb faya in the least amount of time. And we got impressed by the necessity of camping light setup in 10 seconds, lol.

The way I see it, if the manufacturer has to put a light under the bonnet for midnight inspection, then the car can't be too good 😂

Yep, I also google that out of curiosity a few days back, but sadly most of the light were barely as good as phone light that can just show things in the night. The one I stick is almost equivalent to 100 - 200 phones flashlight and plus makes a perfect angle for camping light without dancing in the wind - earlier issue of the fishing pole and plus switch on/off in less than 10 seconds. P.S. God bless that white Nissan Patrol local for this idea.

I’ve done a bit of research on this. Many cars came with a light under the bonnet as standard, Grand Cherokee Porsche 944 Austin Princess Rover SD1 Datsun 240Z Porsche 996 Alfa RZ Ford Cortina Mk3 Early Corvettes Volvo 240 Alfa Sprint Porsche 986 Jaguar XJ40 Volvo 740 Celica Supra Early 7 series BMW There are many more. These are just a few examples I’ve turned up.

That idea reminded me our iconic car Ambassador "The Amby" In old models it is to have bulb with on off switch at engine bay

I know it's hard to prevent winch cable from fraying once it is used regularly, but I still like to ask this question in case some of us has figured out the way to stop winch cable fraying? Firstly it will extend the cable life, second it will offer safer recoveries and third no more bleeding hand while operating the cable to align while spooling in.

On my expeditions through Africa I have on occasion seen people use 3/4 inch steel chain instead of rope on 15 and 20 ton winches. Although they can't fit the same length of chain on the winch as a rope, some claim that a high quality, properly rated chain has the same breaking strength as I/2 inch steel rope, but with the added advantage that a chain does nor fray. According to one party of Australians I once came across in the DRC, a chain works great for recoveries in mud, since since you don't have to wash the chain to get the mud off, which if you don't, makes the hemp core rot which in turn, causes wire strands to break. Personally, I've always used aluminium ropes before switching to synthetic ropes, but trust the Australians to always find another way of doing stuff. Can't imagine what would happen when a steel chain breaks under a pulling load of 10 or 12 tons, though.

I think for short term prevention Dry chain lube spray can be beneficial but its always better either to use precautions such as gloves or buy a new one.

I don't understand- If according to the seller both the aluminium and synthetic ropes have breaking strengths of 9500 lb, how can the aluminium rope have a "better" breaking strength? You are right though that fraying will occur on a synthetic rope as well, but the difference is that when it does fray, it does not draw blood like frayed steel or aluminium ropes do.

Fraying is gonna occur in metal or synthetic rope equally as per usage. Mine is aluminum cable, better for high load strength and has better breaking limit. Price was just a tad expensive 3500 for aluminum cable and 4000 for synthetic rope, but TJM seller told me that 9500 lb Aluminium cable has better breaking limit than 9500 ln synthetic. For same breaking limit, I need 12000 lb synthetic rope and that will be a bit tight for the roller.

Maybe not everyone is using synthetic winch ropes because it is so expensive, as opposed to not everyone using it because it does not really work on cranes?

Well this had FAIL written on it from the word go and the H3 driver paid a heavy penalty for his carelessness. Towing strap was useless and even visibly not sturdy enough for the job The patrol from the looks of it, could have just steered downhill and with a little effort driven down the slope, nose of the vehicle was already pointing downhill and he had gravity on his side. Even if this was not possible there is no way you could pull the heavy patrol up and over the ridge this way, the way the H3 was trying, Better to go with the force of nature rather than against it as mentioned above. Should have been pulling from the front for best chances of recovery. If not possible from the front then at an angle say 45 degrees. Many a times I have recovered cars in such situations even at a complete 90 degrees, when the slope is not too severe and the vehicle is not dug in on its side. A gentle tug is most of the times is what is needed. OR worst case scenario get your lazty behind out and dig ! And finally, nothing on the strap to dampen and absorb the kinetic energy force of a snapped strap just like in this case. Watch till the end for the aftermath of this "accident" And after car being trashed and he himself physically, he says Thanks God!!! What a tosser!

As you all know, when you get stuck in the sand, getting pulled is the first thing that comes to mind which means you need have tow cable as the most important accessory. Although, it is my first time buying any of these things so I don't know which one to get. I saw a strap for 40 dhs which I cant say was decent quality because I don't what a decent strap looks like. It had a breaking load of 4000kgs and limit of 2000kgs. Then there was steel cable with simple hooks on either side for 20dhs. Again, I cant say if it was decent quality because I don't know what to look for in a quality cable. Although, there was no written weight limit on the cable packaging. Do you mind helping? which one should I get? Even if any of those lasts me one day I will be happy and I think 40 dhs is a bargain, or is it because I don't know what a good strap or cable should cost. Although, if both of them are crap what and where should I get it from. I wouldn't spend a lot on it because I am not a hardcore offroader and my trips are severely limited. Thanks.

Bear in mind though that kinetic straps need to recover after each use. Typical recovery times vary, but a good quality strap should regain its original length in about 8 - 12 hours or so.

Where is the facepalm emoji when you need it.

It wasn't being used in the sand so temporarily I thought why not use them torsion bars. It looked so good.

Yes, I have the same doubt because mechanics siphoning your money has become really common. Although 9 against 1 i believe that the engine somehow was resting on the shocks and springs not how it should. Hard to explain that is why this explanation is so weak. I will check with the guy. Although feel free to add in your suggestion.

The weight of the engine acts on the springs and shocks anyway, no matter how the torsion bars are tensioned. Maybe you should find out where the car was fixed and go and ask the people there what they found?

Clicking sound could be cv joint or diff. I would look at the cv joint first. Is the sound coming from the front or back? Center or side? If you drive in a circle with the steering on full lock can you hear a click?

Death Wobble. Usually starts when you hit a bump or uneven patch, but not always. Look it up, common for solid axel 4x4s Something in your steering linkage is knackered, could be a bush or a ball joint or both.

get your wheel balancing checked as your first incident highly raises doubt on unbalance wheel that only wooble at or after specific speeeds. then go with barry steps to eliminate.

I guess you’re talking about the inner cv joint which goes into the diff? Smell the oil on it. Gear oil is stinky and you can’t mistake it for anything else. Maybe the oil seal has gone and all the oil has come out of the diff and screwed it. So worth checking how much oil is in it too. If there’s yellowish fluid on the inside of the wheel rim, the first thing to do is make sure it’s not brake fluid. Then look at the rubber boot on the cv joint and see if there are clips on both ends and that the rubber isn’t split. If the grease has come out of the joint, you can try repacking it again and sealing it up. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. It depends on how much driving you’ve done with no grease in it. Probably best if you just take it to a proper mechanic who should be able to diagnose it in 15-20 minutes.