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Trip Report - What do you do when you're tired and had a hard week. You go through a relaxing therapy provided by a relaxing desert drive behind @Gaurav bhai. @Emmanuel in second lead, @shadow79 owning the third place, @Srikumar forth, @Javier M doing sweep duties with me. We started off with some amazing medium paced drive which was apt for the area with some sharp drops. We just weaved through the dunes like silk. Some tracks while others made freshly by @Gaurav bhai. As we approached closer to the morning break we has some major stucks. Before I had my rare pop-out which was quickly fixed by @Srikumar. The break was well worth it with some excellent food, drinks, refreshments and tea. It was a very refreshing break and we enjoyed each other's company. Soon we were on phase 2 where we hit all the big dunes and played on both sides of each dune before heading out. The mood was mixed with should we continue or should we call it a day. The decision was made for us by a wall. So we inflated and headed back home. Thanks to a brilliant team who performed well throughout. Till next time adios amigos.

If its for Saleem then it should be in two tranches: God is with us God, please be with us

me

Good job buddy !!

Thank you, I think I got it. It was very interesting and mind bending. Well Done. Answer is Emmanuel......?

Bent wheels can be straighten too, if its not crack or hard accident impact. You can get old wheel straighten in 100-200 dhs instead of buying 4 rims. Rims do come in 4 but sold as one piece too depending on style and exclusivity, I think you have those arctic truck rim so check the single rim price from them to replace. Alternatively use the spare one, no big deal as slightly bent or repaired rim can work fine in spare for those emergency situations only.

Guess the offroad driver: if he’s part of the drive, “God is with us”....

Don’t blame the mechanic. Blame the manager who pushes the mechanic to find non existent faults to increase profits. This is an ideal opportunity to open a carnity owned garage where the customer will get a proper diagnosis, they will get charged a proper labour rate and they won’t get ripped off. Carnity garage could be a big thing

My personal problem is the lack of honesty from mechanic's here. I don't mind paying mechanic or workshop premium for honesty as far they exactly do what it should be. Some mechanic's are dishonest and others are uneducated resulting same for car owners to keep hit an trial until the actual problem get fixed. What's the point of spending 3000 dhs for the cause of 100 dhs problem and if someone can charge 100+100 premium for fancy workshop or honesty Im fine, as I will still save 2800 in end. I have been too close to several mechanic in past and when you see them ripping layman your heart cries. Guy came with wobbling complaint in front of me and that mechanic advise him to leave the car and come in evening and in 500 dhs he will fix the problem. Once owner left he showed me that one of rear tire lug (nut) was missing and he need to replace that for 20 dhs. If he would have done that in front of customer he will only get 50 dhs in place of 500. Damn after seeing such nice trade secret, I left that mechanic. Another mechanic friend charged 1000 dhs for computer (ECU) reprogramming by changing 4 spark plugs that was acting funny. Another mechanic changed 10 parts in place of 1 knock sensor, as he will make ton of labor and commission on parts money before changing the actual faulty knock sensor - some are genuinely not technically capable and others are pure evil. And this was evil as they were 20 years experience in maintaining Land Rover's only and cannot scan the error code first before changing 10 unwanted parts.....? Changing most consumable items are the pet for fake mechanics - be it changing oil, tires, brake pads, brake disc, belts, hoses, fluids etc. As none of them has a set life that normal owner can easily identify - its mostly depending on mechanics judgement. Another is the scare tactics, you go for small job and then that mechanic point another area of concern if left unattended your car will explode in million pieces "right now" and make you believe that thank god that mechanic spotted that issue in time and you should fix it right now. After all It's all in the mind and people make you fool in jiffy to make their living - its no less than a conman does.

I disagree with most of these points. I know a few small garages in Al Quoz who receive cars from the main dealers on a regular basis because the main dealers can’t repair them. When you go to the main dealer, you are paying extra for the upkeep of their fancy showroom and clean garage. Main dealer isn’t the best option. I’m not going to name any of the dealers because of UAE defamation laws but I will say it is some high end European brands. There are plenty of garages who do work cheap and do it properly. The market here is so cut throat that small garages end up basically working for next to nothing just to get work to keep the employees busy. Just because it’s cheap doesn’t mean it’s bad. Not to say cheap can’t be bad. Petrol station oil changes I totally agree with. If you take you car to a petrol station for an oil change, you must hate your car. Who knows what kind of oil they are putting in? See my 3k, 5k, 10k oil change scam thread. But back to the original question, my biggest problem as a car owner. Other people on the road. So many people drive with no consideration for their fellow humans. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been cut off or tailgated this week. The person in the other car is also a living breathing person so you should show them some consideration. Cutting someone off and nearly running them into a barrier to save yourself 4 seconds on your journey isn’t cool. These are the type of people who get involved in stupid accidents. Karma is a bitch.

Let's play a small game like dumb charades for guessing the offroad driver based on clues and hints provided. Rules: One driver at a time to be discussed, so that every other offroaders can make a guess. Clue to be specific and not just good driver etc. but it should be less revealing so that game remains entertaining. Asker can give any number of clues in following attempts, but not on the first go. Game is not limited to Marshals and crew but open to all offroaders we have in Carnity offroad club. Clues can be good or bad or funny but not humiliating or disrespectful. I hold the right to edit or delete any comment that violate with above rules Guess the offroad driver: Never respond on the first radio call, maybe on 2nd or 3rd attempt, if you are lucky.

Sorry for that buddy. Keep us updated ok ?

Did you have any noise? Was the differential low on gear oil for this to happen?

Hahaha correct and him being translator too was part of that hint. 👍

I actually got it after reading your last clue - most skilled as per his profession to solve riddles - Mr. Teacher.

The Riddles is only a fictitious character from Batman and does not drive offroad with us.

Slight deformity between 80-110-120. Major deformity about 60 Below sixty your rim has to be on its last leg if you can feel it even at such low speeds

bent rim or tire unevenness is felt much from zero to up till 100 as after that its almost nonexistent....

This is a typical scenario as car businesses always try to push there products than fixing the actual cause. Imagine if you would have bought 4 new BFG for 2800 and still face the vibration......!

Just an update. i took the fjc to al nanda auto garage in midriff and found that the balance in my tyres were way off, one of the rims bent. so swopped the spare and balanced wheels and did the digital alignment and adjustment. now no vibrations. gaurav bhai- you are a genius. Thanks to you I took the car second time to The above area ,as I was not happy with the first one in Sharjah, after looking thro Carnity forums. costed me 200 dirhams. very satisfied! now to look for r16 rim to replace the slightly bent one- I am told rims come in 4s. tyres can wait till Feb next year before replacement as it will be over 5 years then. It is al nahdha auto garage

Our superman: Rahimdad....?

First hint: the person I’m talking about is the most skilled as per his profession to solve my riddle.

Well done, that means you do hear the first call and wait for the second shout to respond or not. Ok whose next, now to ask.

Totally agree.

Only valid points as usual ✌️

Today I took my Jeep to the service, I noticed something was off during the drive. Turns out the spider gears are chipped. I'll have to take it easy for the next couple of weeks while the new gears settle. 😭

Wondering why seat belts are always black or darker colour like dark grey and why not matching with upholstery colour or contrast?

Sad to hear that about your rear differential. Usually rear differential teeth chips under excessive heat or stress. Oil is usually a first thing to doubt, second is the stress. Have you been using the hand brake system for recovery but aggressively? - Main cause for diff failure Have you been doing burn outs that end with sudden braking? Have you been using the required spec diff oil?

I didn't hear noice at all. But it just wasn't the same off-road I could not crawl out of simple soft sand. The oil was fine. My best guess is that they overheated.

I had once straightened my rims from Al Mansoor Tires behind Gold and Diamond Park on Shk Zayed Road. They do a pretty decent job. Alternately you can search for someone selling their rims slightly used but at 50% off on some of the used websites. Inspect the rims before buying to make sure they are in good condition.

Nope..

usually after a jump or crossing a ridge i am looking for it in the car as it just slides away somewhere in the car

count me on the other side of the fence here... it all depends on the customer.. some call first and say how much to change a particular part in a particular car only so i just slash the diagnosis price and just give him the bare labour price and time to fix that particular some are there only to fine that one problem to fix and every other thing which is already in bad shape left alone some are there to properly fix their car and while we are at it also accommodate some other things as well which we encounter on the way...or at least let him know whats on the future list end of the day i cant just say no and return one back as i have a business to run...

you will always find bones in a lions den....

New Tool album was released this morning. I am not disappointed. Well worth the 13 year wait. I thought rammsteins new album was going to be the best rock album of 2019. Poor rammstein, they picked the wrong time to release a new album.

I got a smart tv recently. To watch the latest movies you can open the web browser and go to a site like putlocker or popcorntime and it works. You can find live sports streams on sites like wiziwig. Basically anything you can watch on laptop, you can watch on tv. Netflix is a worthwhile investment. Anyone who knows me knows I hate spending money but that’s one bill I am happy to pay every month. I got the full HD package and it’s better picture quality than you get through OSN. Don’t bother with amazon prime unless you order a lot of stuff from the amazon website. Their selection is limited.

Black is a neutral colour so it goes with anything so it’s cheap and easy to make all belts one colour but it really depends on the manufacturer. I’ve had Citroens with red, green and blue belts, and they weren’t high end models. I see some cars with cream coloured belts too, Mercedes, BMW. I can’t have a car with a light coloured interior. I’m always dirty after work and light coloured interiors get ruined in a couple of months for me.

Choice is completely yours.

thanks gaurav. i was considering yokohama geo. but i have to admit the bfg looks mean and intimidating as a tyre on the fjc xtreme and was wondering if this was good compensation for the lack of these features in me😃🤣

Change to Yokohama geolander if you are not into Extreme offroading, rock climbing, etc. For daily driver + best of offroading you will be very happy with geo. BFG are always overpriced, heavy and noisy. They are very good for self recovery in extreme spots but very bad for long hill climb on stock engine, if turbo or supercharge they can rock. Had them for 1 year and seen the huge difference when I changed to michelin, but they aren't good for rocks as much as geo - best of three - road+sand+rock in 400 - 450 per tire, I guess. I'm using my second set of geo from last 6 years.

This here is the main reason why people use Carnity: to get more detailed information and knowledge about their cars to we can all try to balance the impossible. Because this really IS impossible to have the best of all worlds. And that goes for nearly all services in life. (And please don’t get me started on Carrefour...) The only thing you can do is preparing yourself for what cost is coming, getting quotes and consulting car forums like Carnity, and trying sufficient workshops until you find the one that suits you personally. And like @Rahimdad correctly mentions, go and consult a professional for the specific task at hand. After all you don’t go and see a neurosurgeon for a grown-in toe nail. Try to realize also that everyone needs to make money, so that workshop that looks clean, professional, and has excellent staff who can solve your problem fast, will have higher overhead costs than a mechanic in a tiny shop without staff. Personally I have a pretty good intuition, so I work on a basis of trust and transparency, and don’t see my mechanic as someone who is trying to rip me off from the start, but rather as a person who has the balls to run his own business with the risks involved. When my trust gets a dent, i discuss this with him and tell him to do better next time, or I move on to another shop. It’s a hard business and we all need to be the best in what we do to survive.

If I were still active in the car repair industry I would have had something to say about this, too. But I am not, so I won't. What I will say though, is that I am glad I know enough about cars so no mechanic can f^&%k with me when I take my cars in to have something done.

Thanks. I think Toyota looked at this . Not sure if it was changed. by the way- no sand in the tyres- so no luck but to change tyres. If it persists then back to Toyota. best price I got in Sharjah was for 2019 bf Goodrich 270/70/r16-k02 tyre- 700 dirhams including tax/fitting/balancing. i am not sure if it is me or my lack of Hindi, I just got an overwhelming feeling that I am somehow being taken for a ride- I did not have cash and the guy insisted that I stay there till he gets the tires from somewhere in 5 minutes and once fixed can go together to the nearest atm. this might be ok but I just felt being pushed into buying- so I left. Probably should have waited till I saw the tires to see f new or not. i probably will try Abu Dhabi musaffah area for tires on the way back from airport on Sunday.

If that's a automatic then in some cases the converter is the problem.

Best thing to do is understand your car and some knowledge of the problem you are facing. Second is to source a specialist in this problematic field, so electrician or mechanic or suspension & tire specialist, etc. Get a quote upfront. Consult here on Carnity if in doubt. Save time, money and high blood pressure.

Oh I bet Barry is going to have something to say about this.

Jeep parts are very expensive when i compare with US. People who doing scrap business are horrible to deal.

congratulations emanuelle. well deserved. missing your chocolates. hope i can join one of the drives soon. regards sri