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I dunno just doesnt seem right for some reason. Having that extra aura sense to increase situational and spatial awareness cant be a bad thing. You can drive but with one less sense. But then again people can drive at 140 in heavy fog where they can hardly see beyond their hood. Im sure you can manage without ears

Doubt youll find anything locally for your model. I suggest if it has been serving you well all these years just replace both rears with OEMs as one new and one old will give you a funny and wobbly ride.

Radio in my car isn’t working so I drive with earphones so I can listen to music and hold karaoke sessions when I’m driving. Mrs B is convinced this is bad. What if someone honks at you she said. My argument is how do deaf people drive then? And I don’t care if the guy behind me is honking as soon as the light turns green, that’s his frustration not mine. I’m totally aware of my surroundings, I don’t put myself in situations where normal people need to honk at me. Plus it makes it super easy to just hit the answer button on my phone and talk freely if anyone calls. What’s everyone else’s opinion of driving with earphones.

Just now broke one of rear spring in desert, nothing unusual but just a little jump but nothing flying off, done that million times before. Seems like it was the age and due time for it to go. Appreciate any suggestions for Pajero lift kit or heavy duty 2 inch lifted springs brand, type, suggestion or any other things to consider or avoid. Thanks in advance.

I had those Irani shocks. I can say big no. I know you, you won't be afraid to put some investment, better to get some good brand like king or fox.

What about car noises if something breakdown, ting tang ding dom boom clank clink, just spotted one few hours back in desert. Broke my rear spring of my beloved Pajero. I read this post before that and I was about to reply same, but I rushing out for drive.

I don't like the idea of stuffing things to the ear but of course increase the sound system of the car...use your eyes wisely you can too gain that superpower... it's called seeing

Of course I'll change both rear springs together. I want to go OEM but height is an issue and instead of adding 2 inch spacer as a temp fix, better to drop an oversize spring to gain 2 inch lift at back, while at it. Remember in cruiser and range we have had oem option of standard springs or standard oversize heavy duty springs, that's what I'm torn in between. Yeah model year and type is a big pain for finding aftermarket parts. I have to research on height and type and then match with other available ones in market.

If you invest and get off road suspensions (spring coil and the shock absorber) then your ride comfort won't be killed in the process as those springs are longer and the shocks keep working even on longer dips and the cheapest way is to use stock shock and put in those Irani hacked shocks won't be much comfortable but will lift it up for sure there will be some handling difference for sure in short you will have to learn again how the car handle's...

https://giphy.com/gifs/jump-automotive-gtr-xnQNF6saxCVLq

Don’t see the issue, as I mostly drive with very loud music. But I’m always aware of my surroundings in case an ambulance or something would be coming from behind.

Never fallen asleep when I’m driving, no matter how banjaxed I am. Know plenty of people who have though. My neighbour in Ireland crashed through my wall and into my garden early one morning. And my road is totally straight. Another 500 meters and she would have been home safe. I like to sing when I’m driving, I think that helps. Always get a lot of strange looks at traffic lights. Ice cold drinks help too.

Very nice question asked @Keithryan, well done for putting this doubt in mind in writing. Totally agree with @Frederic and @Srikumar These are called detailing shops and they are in abundance these days. Back in 2008 it use to be rare and every detailing shop used to charge 1000+ now you can get full car detailing inside out in 300-500 dhs depending on your negotiation skill and size of the car. With such detailing you can only clean up the sand presence and not the offroad toll what Sri mentioned. Quick look around and under the car can still reveal its been regularly offroad or not. 1000000% YES No offroad 4x4 or SUV will ever fetch same resale value as opposed to on road use car. Short Answer: YES Long Answer: Depends on following criteria No: 1 point what Fred mention: Define your offroad - Camping vs dune bashing. 99% of buyer wouldn't mind camping vehicle, but definitely stay away from dune bashing vehicle. That's why Safari driven "White LC" has the lowest resale value. If buyer looking for offroad vehicle for dune bashing he/she will not buy previously offroad vehicle to have spare life for his next ownership. If buyer is buying 4x4 / SUV for road commute, then he may buy if you sweeten the deal little. You may find a dreamers on dubizzle advertising 100K wrangler with 50K mod as a 150K selling price, but they will never fetch anyway close to the unmoded vehicle price unless they wait for 3-6 month for a one in million right buyer. So heavily modded 4x4 do attract lot of buyers but minus the cost of all mods you have done, as no one pays a dime for aftermarket mods, unless buyer is a genuine enthusiast. Capable 4x4 looses very little value even with regular offroad use, if its well maintained - LC, Patrol, FJC, defender etc. as oppose to not very capable 4x4 or SUV when offroad use considered as an abuse. Lady driven is a curse these days, that people stay away from this overly used term that raises truck load of suspicion, unless lady answer the call and comes out during viewing.

Based on my recent purchase which till date I am extremely happy, my experience is as follows: 1. Try to get a low mileage car even if its an older model 2. Check for the complete service history. This is very important. Service done at dealer is preferred and its worth paying the little extra premium. 3. Get a reliable mechanic to do a thorough inspection of the car. Better than the RTA comprehensive test 4. Not meaning to be biased, but some nationalities do tend to keep the car in better conditions than others. Even if there is a small work, they will get it fixed. 5. You can check the accident record on the MOI website (https://portal.moi.gov.ae/eservices/PublicServices/AccidentsInquiry.aspx?Culture=en), just enter the chasis number and you get the entire record for non-Dubai vehicles. For Dubai registered vehicles, the link is as follows: https://www.rta.ae/wps/portal/rta/ae/home/rta-services/service-details/?serviceId=5810003

Basic Pointers from my end Ensure to check the exterior of the vehicle in bright sun light. Avoid evening time as you may find it difficult to see the difference in paint else you shall have paint thickness check pen. When you turn on the engine check for any abnormal noises. Better to open bonnet to ensure no oil leaks. When you go for a test drive ensure to keep all window open to check for any noise during drive. Better to take a test drive on unpaved road to check suspension and jerks if any. Try reverse gear too just to check. Apply brakes and check if the vehicle deviate from its actual path. Inspect tires manually. Follow coin rule or even check with your finger for the tire thread. ensure tires are not very old. Check all electronics like all windows, lights, wipers, sunroof mechanism, if its open roof, check for roof mechanism. Ensure that vehicle is GCC specs. Check for service history and recent repairs. Check for cleanliness of interiors.

For me @Gaurav bhai is my saviour. While driving back more than 70% of the way we are talking over the radio or phone, so keeping the mind engaged helps to drive back home safely. I try to talk to myself about cricket discussion or how I am going to tone my trip report to keep awake rest of the way.

You are probably right as I don’t know the difference between side sloping or side cresting. Difficult to explain with words so I’ll show you guys when we meet this weekend.

Maybe he meant side sloping

Like I mentioned before, don't love side cresting as that's the most dangerous thing to do in offroading that can flip your car in no time. Instead learn how to not to side crest, by keeping the momentum to climb and "accept" fast if it won't go up, so that you can turn downward safely and make another attempt. Fighting with the gravity till last second when you don't have enough momentum cause side crest, which is very prone to flip while recovering.

Sorry to say that has never happened to me. Even on that long boring 120kms dead straight to Liwa via Hameem. Even while coming back in the night in the times when it had no streets lights and all you saw was what your headlights lit up. I just moved back to Sharjah after living in Rak for over a year. Drove to and fro on that road more times than I can remember. Last 3 months was brutal wife drove to bussiness bay at 5am and then back to rak by 9 daily. Before that I was driving twice to Abudhabi daily for over a year So long boring drive is no excuse in my book!

Trip Report. What a night, Superman truly back into action caught flying all over Area 53 after 3 weeks of exposure to kryptonite. With myself in the lead, @Javier M in second lead, followed by @Roshan Abraham, @MATHEW FELEX, @Shamil and @Frederic and @Gaurav bhai in the sweep. Earlier @Gaurav and myself were flying to the meeting point to brief the new personal on board, but had to wait and thus got somewhat delayed in our start. The first bit itself was fun but soft sand which made it difficult for all 7 cars to go through. A little reroute saw better results with 400 meters without a stuck, but it was that kind of a night where the sweep team had to do overtime to keep the convoy moving. Every time I tried to make through closer to Iftar bowl we were faced with a soft sand wall which was impossible for all 7 cars to clear. Slowly but surely we moved around the Iftar Bowl to find a path that would finally let us through. There were a lot of hits and misses, but close to early morning hours we finally found a track and almost made it through. Just edging at the back side of Iftar Bowl waiting for the rest to catch up, I came to find out that one of the cars was caught up in an awful pocket. I made my way back to the sweep team and assisted with a couple of tugs that had the vehicle in a better position. From here @Gaurav bhai took over and got it out in a jiffy. With the sun coming out, we played a while on the Iftar Bowl. This was time for @Javier M to bow out as his friend Ramon was not feeling so well. Rest of us headed 100 meters away from the action to a safe spot with a shade which was not going to last very long. We lay our spread and enjoyed recapping the horrid night behind us. With the sun becoming just a bit unbearable we had a quick ride in the daylight to exit. We all inflated our tires and promised to meet another time. So in short the drive was challenging yet fun. It had Superman written all over it but not without the help of the sweep team. So until next time I bid you all farewell. See you all soon.

Thanks @Frederic for giving me wonderful support in that extra adventurous night drive where we were having 1 stuck every 10 min average. I was really very fortunate to have you as a second sweep that night. Without your physical and calculative support and patience I would have gone crazy with so many stucks in one drive. Your team player attitude is really something special that we rarely see in today's offroader. Really thank you from the bottom of my heart, when I was fully exhausted and drained that I crashed first on the mat where we suppose to eat, which I have never done that before. You are on a very right path to excel and learn lot more than others to reach the higher levels, just because you "genuinely" love to help people and in return learn lot more than just usual recovery skills.

Let me know when you Sexy Ladies, ready to play solo - catch me if you can - game in the desert, but with key to key.