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Trip report - truly speaking I was expecting weather to be hot, but was pleasantly surprised with the cool breeze that kept it comfortable for us. It was great to see so many enthusiastic participants with @Ahmed Azmy being the first on the scene. We moved on time and after the Newbie brief we deflated and took off. Unfortunately @Tobias93 has to exit. @Gaurav in lead, with @ace1988 in second lead followed by @Ahmed Azmy, @Faisal sayed, @Mikhail Lukichev, @luwaimn and myself in sweep. As expected we had a few stucks and refusals which we handled pretty well and kept the convoy moving. Close to sunset we reached our play ground and everybody enjoyed side slopping. After a long and hard play time we met up with the Fewbie convoy and headed to the top of Fossil Rocks. Driving around it and coming to our spot for refreshments. Most of them left but left behind were the few who offered brilliant company. @eduardo along with his beautiful and intelligent wife. Dr @Ahmed Azmy the story teller, @yogic72. Before we knew it was past midnight. We too decided to head out, inflate our tires and head home. @Srikumar thank you for the brownies it was the best. And thanks for bringing Miju and Labor, their hugs and smiles make our day better. Until next time adios and catch you soon.

Thanks for the amazing drive. I have to admit you are the best off road club. Looking forward for more drives with you ✌️

Guys I had so much fun on this drive. @Emmanuel blessed us with a fantastic track that combined both the short technical dunes, and the long and high dunes where we had to push our cars to the limiter. We had a small setback with @G.huzhis nasty pop out, and it was nearly impossible putting it back into place in that location. I loved how all worked together and kept a cool head. We all learned a great lesson and that’s what matters. @amir.rophail @Javier M @G.huz Thanks for the great company ! @Emmanuel it was a blessing to follow in the pursuit of the mighty velociraptor, containing one hell of a great guy and off-road expert ! See you soon back in the sandbox !

Thanks for a wonderful drive! Me and my wife took some pictures, you can find them in the respective gallery.

TRIP REPORT What a good time we had yesterday ! So happy that we have such an amazing intermediate team in Carnity… @Frederic, @G.huz, @amir.rophail, @Javier M I reached the meeting point a few minutes before time and, to my surprise, found everyone already waiting, except @Frederic who was just behind me, as I found him somewhere on Lahbab Road, so we made our little convoy together till ADNOC station in Al-Madam. After filling up, we went directly to the entry point, a few kilometers away. We had a first sight from the road to the stunning high dunes we were going to venture in a few minutes later. The Omantel signal on our mobile phones reminded us that we were only at a few kilometers from Oman. Temperatures were still very high, close to 40°, so we deflated in no time and I limited my briefing to the essential points (what to always bear in mind when temperatures are high, a few indications about the route and convoy numbering). I decided to keep Fred as my second lead (and I must say he did an absolutely perfect job, well done) and to have @Javier M in sweep, as he is the most experienced driver in the group - thanks for your support, buddy. Soon after taking off, as we were climbing the first high dune, we faced a serious trial : @G.huzhad lost momentum and popped out in a very tricky place. We tried to move the car a few meters ahead, then back again, but it was still in a slight incline and the sand was very soft. Impossible to jack the car properly in this place, so we pulled him out (not without difficulty...) on a flat surface. There, fixing the pop out only took us a few minutes, but the all process lasted about one hour. Here I want to emphasize on the team's amazing spirit. Sometimes, when a convoy faces that kind of issue, we see many people just waiting inside their car, considering they just have to be patients and let the marshals deal with the issue. Yesterday, despite the blazing sun, everyone was out of his car from the first second, shoveling, helping to put the jack, bringing the tools, ropes, shakles, water, helping to maintain the tyre while inflating.... Finally we took off again and after playing a bit on those high dunes, we entered in what was actually the most challenging part of Al-Shuwaib : very technical dunes, big bushes, continuous slip-faces looking like China Great Wall, nasty bumps, hidden pockets... The kind of area that will make every offroader measure the importance of having a skid plate if his vehicle’s ground clearance is low. That said, everyone did very well, as we just had a few refusals. After about 10 km, the landscape totally changed. We were now in another wonderful set of high dunes where we could increase the pace and have some good adrenaline. The sun was already declining, unfortunately, so we had to leave this amazing area and head in direction of Super Bowl. As none of us felt like joining the crazy crowds of this famous spot, we decided to play a bit, but on the backside. At this point the night had fallen. We enjoyed some night driving and played before we reached Iftar Bowl side, where found a nice little spot to relax and share our snacks and stories. About 30 mn later, we headed to the exit point where we inflated. Hope you guys enjoyed as much as I did.

I wanted to test @Emmanuel's knowledge with pop outs 🤣 it was a nasty pop out indeed.. Thank you all for your help. The big dunes, oh my God... Absolutely wonderful. Great track, great drivers 💪

It was nice meeting you too Ahmed. Your clicks are ochin krasivaya Appreciate if you both can spend a few minutes on the first newbie drive feedback to help us improve further

You can get tons of used tires and rim for dirt cheap in Sharjah tire market after the Sahara mall and just before the BMW road Sharjah. Although I'm no expert in such matter, using common sense to go with lightest tires and rims so that pedal pushing won't take much toll as you aren't opting for an electric motor. Do share your final project pics and video, as it really looks a nice fun project. Good luck. This is the starting point: https://goo.gl/maps/C5EFh2fC8epx2sZk8

Hey guys, My name is Romit and I'm a student in 11th grade. My friend and I are looking into building something fun this summer as a project and we decided on building a stanced trike (see pictures). We've got just about everything we need and we're trying to keep this low budget (which is why we didn't use a pitbike motor or an electric motor for it) and we're looking for a place we can find a pair of matching rims and tires. The rims should be in a moderate and usable condition and the tires can be bald for all we care. If anyone knows a place we can get this or even a junkyard that we could look into that'd be great. Thanks

Self-drive your 4X4 to venture through the desert safely with offroad experts. Its time to enjoy an evening drive and adrenaline dose in fresh sand dunes to challenge your senses and 4x4, with the best offroad enthusiasts in UAE. As the summer is arriving so we are moving towards evening and night drives now, so let's open the first evening drive with an 80% mix of daylight and 20% with headlights surely able to thrill all your senses. This drive will also enable us to gear up and learn important aspects of desert driving in the nights, as it would be easier for newbies to join in night drives after this introductory drive. When: 3 May 2019 Meeting time: 3:30 PM, the convoy will move at sharp 3:45 PM Where: Adnoc Petrol Station Maleha Road GPS Coordinate: https://goo.gl/maps/H2jguQQocz4gNCKY7 Level: Absolute Newbie, Newbie, more experienced drivers welcome to join to support this drive. Type of Car: Any proper 4x4 with front and back tow hooks and 10 inches of ground clearance. Plan: Drive, train and enjoy till about 8:00 PM What to bring along: Snacks whatever you like with little extra to share, water, liquids, smiles, stories, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Approximate finish time: 9:00 PM Please RSVP on the below calendar:

Great trip yesterday. Had my first experience driving in the night, looking forward to more trips like these.

He got stopped for noise and then got done for modifications! Just bad luck I guess. Buddy of mine was stopped also late night in Sharjah and got done in for not wearing a seatbelt even though he was wearing one, but took it off to go out to show his papers. Leaving him with no proof that he was wearing one. So moral of the story. Don't drive late night in Sharjah.

The Ambassador. Good old family car..

The 1948 Tucker with its unusual 3 headlight setup. Way ahead of its time.

Yooooo this looks sick! Rims: Rim you'll find a variety of the steelies (2nd pic) and in the first pic, the style of rims are called "deep dish". The steelies shouldn't be too expensive , your best bet would be to go to Sharjah/Ajman/Mussafah - Abu Dhabi for the cheapest (Just google Sharjah Rims) there will be a ton. The deep dish rims will be a bit more expensive as they have a high demand here (for all the patrols and LC's). ** Make sure whatever Rims you buy the Wheel Hub Assembly (Bolt Pattern Matches) also known as PCD. I don't know about scrap yards as I haven't ever purchased from them. Tyres: These i'm sure you'll get for cheap just go around looking for expired DOT tyres (2015 and before) each peice shouldn't be more than 50 - 60 bucks. Hope this helps! Make sure you get some speakers and BLAST Tokyo Drift while you ride it 😂 #stancenation Cheers, Jas

Don't rev hard if you see these radars in Sharjah, as if your car makes more than 95 decibels sound these radar will issue a fine of 2000 dhs and 12 black points. Pretty good initiative to kill the noise pollution. Nice way to deter hooliganism on public roads.

Hi guys; I am looking for a Cherokee 3.7 2002-2007 or Pathfinder 3.5 2002-2005. I want a GCC car. I couldnt find one that i feel comfortable to buy. Most of them are already dead. If you know any nice car. I can come and check. Maybe a Sorento with 3.3 also OK to me.

Loved every bit of it, thanks for the great support from everyone. Thanks for the great track man 👍 Let's see what's next

I can deal with the heat no problem. It’s the sweating that kills me. Clothes soaked like you were standing in a shower. I find it hard to stay hydrated. I drink and drink until I feel like throwing up but when you only pee twice a day and all your fluids are coming out through your skin it can’t be good. I miss the ice and snow but this is life now.

The dobinsons have been good both on and off road. In addition to 2 inch dobinsons lift I decided to upsize the tyres which gave me an additional ground clearance.

Yes as well for SWB Pajero 3.8 if you can get in good condition and at the price you are looking for, it would do very well. However please do note that the parts are more expensive than other Japanese car makers.

What was the offense mentioned? Modified car or noise or both? P.S : Karam still has that SS?

I can add the swb pajero also. I think this one should be 3.8 to use it on weekends.

Tough to find one. Especially PF

Keep on looking, finding the right car is a tough job but luckily there are plenty of pathfinders and Cherokees around. And with Ramadan and summer right around the corner 4x4 prices drop so it's a good time to look for one.

This is always the issue once the wife gets the license. Get a Pathfinder 3.5 in clean condition. That would help both as a daily driver + weekend excursions.

I lost my SLK Sri. My wife took it for herself . I am looking for something that can take me from home to work and also time to time i can use it as weekend warrior. Since i am not sure about my future in this country i want something cheap. So when i am selling it i can give it little cheap and i wont loose much.

Hi, Sertac what is your purpose for the vehicle?

https://m.khaleejtimes.com/news/transport/now-radars-on-uae-roads-can-detect-car-noise-1

Search KT, I saw this posted in my FB feed from Khaleej times

Bit skeptical about this. How does this work? Any links in the mainstream media on this?

For me it has to be the Mercedes 190 SL. A lot of people write it off as the lesser brother of the famous gullwing SL but I think it looks so much classier with its sleek lines and open top sports car look. I love a lot of classic cars but this comes top of the list for me.

A rebadged Morris and a Vauxhall

Contessa from Hindustan Motors. India's first muscle car in the '80s https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindustan_Contessa

So far I am happy with dobinsons 2 inch lift. Was thinking of fixing cheap spacers but didn't think they were worth taking the risk.

It's a lie, regardless of how long you've lived here, you never get used to the scorching summer heat. I'm already starting to hate it as its becoming warmer. Already miss the winter here

Thanks for the help, Ill definetly look into the steelies and the tires. Romit

Yup that's the one.

That's easy. The first Range Rover

The Opel (Vauxhall) Manta A. I have a very very faint memory of an uncle who had one with the beige leather perforated seats and that smell and cabin still sits gently on my mind. The Lancia Fulvia or Delta, Triumph Spitfire, VW karmann ghia, Golf 1 convertible, Alfa 33, Saab 900 Turbo are all in that same boat of semi- affordable retro cars I’d like to have in my modest little garage to tinker around with once I ever retire and find the time 🤪

My reaction when I noticed @amir.rophail and @G.huz signed up for the drive..

I am not actually, when buying a car for the main purpose being Daily Driver + Weekend Off-roader, I will always choose a Japanese make. We drive these cars daily and then at the same time push them in 40+ degree heat! They have to be tough and reliable. RR or Jeeps are good, but I have never come to trusting American/British makes just because the Japanese are second to none in build quality of a vehicle and they are inexpensive to maintain! I had a 2005 Prado LWB for the past 3 years and I have very few complaints about it after 276K Kms. Just recently switched over to a 2006 Pajero SWB for a change. For the dunes I prefer having an old car with less computer management etc. It makes the experience on the sand more raw and in my opinion will make you a better driver, anybody can buy a 2019 Prado and get stuck and use Crawl Control to get them out. But if you're really into the sport of Dune Bashing I think knowing the methods/techniques of self recovery etc are just as important and this only comes with Experience. But then again the newer models are much safer so if you intend to take family/loved ones around everywhere the newer models are much better. Lastly, in my opinion, I think any of the 4x4's we have offered in the market (Pajero/Prado/LC/Patrol/JK etc.) are all perfectly capable vehicles. Each has their own USP's but overall they all will run the toughest sands the Middle East has to offer just fine :D. I'm a strong believer of the saying "It's the driver, not the car". If you know your car well and how to take advantage of it, there is no dune that will hold you back! Oh! Also this is my first post here and I hope to be seeing you guys soon on some drives. 😁 Cheers, Jas

This car is lifted (dobinson) i know the owner. Bumper trimming 😍 perfect angle

Stock Pajero has decent ground clearance. If you don't want to spend on suspension, you can up size your tyre when you replace them and trim your front bumper which will be more than enough for camping trips. I had attached the picture of modified bumper and i liked the job done on this pajero.

Crazy, my brother has installed a valve when closed there is no noise, the cop stopped him because of the mods. He even spoke to the captain at the police station but he was even worse and no right response. Just leave your car and go.

My brother was caught last night passing Sharjah in his Lumina SS. He was driving as quietly as possible, no revving a police car came out of no where and stopped him. 6 months confestification. Not fair, not revving the engine just driving at low revs. Just because his car is modified.