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Good Evening guys and girls! It's been a while I hope your all well? I finally figured out how to make a "proper" video and here's my first shot I hope you enjoy I know a few of you were curious on the contraption I built attached to the side of my car check out the final result here : @Lee Wilson @Brette @Shehab Alawadhi @Ben84@N@ved @Alphin Aloor @imranaasghar81 @Michael Glavanis @Sreenath Giridharan @Hisham Masaad @ALI ALMOUMAR @syed salman raza @Thomas Varghese @Bala Krishnan @Arman @Santhosh kumar Rajasekaran @Sara EL FANIDI @Paul Zeitoun @ZakWarah

What an amazing day we had today, enjoyed the track, play areas, sceneries we drove by and it was a joy to be at the top of Faya. Thx to @Pancho and @Rahimdad bhai. Entire covoy did extremely well, starting from @Hennie Schoeman our 2nd lead, @Danish Mohammad showing so much improvement from all the drives we did together as newbies, @Federico Galbieridriving in full confidence and control today, @Federico De Chirico drove superbly ahead of me giving me full confidence following him closely, followed by me the worst ever CF (I still need to learn a lot and hopefully do better in future if given a chance again 😅), followed by @Joe Biju Joseph amazed everyone with the capacity his truck 😎, @Niki Patel Your driving style is as good as your photography, @AlexPol another confident and stylish driver, @Mikhail Lukichev doing very well and it was a pleasure sharing space with you at the top of Faya. Finally our superman 🦸‍♂️ @Rahimdad, can't thank you enough for all the support, guidance, patience you give us and always encourage us to keep trying with all the safety in place... it may take 12 years of driving experience to drive the way you do but it only takes a person like you to show the real definition of being 'down to earth' and share all your expertise with so much Love and care, you are no less than a big brother to me ❤. Thank you guy's, see you all in the sand again.

Evening all! I finally figured out how to put a video together of this amazing drive! Link below https://youtu.be/lW7wNcM5ooA Let me know what you think! @Wrangeld @Sanjay Malik @Jen@Mike Kraher@Ben84 @Nitin @Nitin MohanMohan @Dodi SyahdarSyahdar @Mario CornejoCornejo @Lee WilsonWilson @Ashok chaturvedichaturvedi @Mehmet Volga

Hello guys, good day ahead. Thanks each and every one of you for a wonderful day. It was a good day ( not foggy and not too cold ) to start with and I feel all of us did exceptionally well 😁. Thanks to @sertac for the selection for the selection of the terrains, a combination of some sideys, technical dunes and mild crossing. It was my first drive with @sertac and I personally thank him for the opportunity he provided me to sweep the convoy. It was great to be a part of all the recoveries and pop out fixing etc with @Anand Nataraj and @Mehmet Volga and was very much helpful for me to proceed ahead in my offroad drives. Thank you @Anand Nataraj and @Mehmet Volga. And finally thank you @Ranjan Dasfor your help once again, this time with your compressor at the end of the drive. I believe all of you had a great day offroading and hope to join you guys soon. Thank you all once again and keep cool 😎 👍

Thank you @sertac for an enjoyable drive I posted a couple of videos in the gallery Clip 1 has @Nihal17 and @Mehmet Volga riding the dunes sideways, Clip 2 is a proof that my camera setup is solid after it got run over by the rear tire when it fell 🤣🤣🤣. It also shows @Ranjan Das @Jack Thomas @Jon M and @Shaaz Sha going down the big dune @Hisham Masaad find me on facebook, i got a 40 min video of you in the last section of the drive.

@Pancho @Rahimdad @Hennie Schoeman and @Abdul Rahman Abdul Kader ... what a great drive you created for us! thank you 🙏🏽 this was my first experience to fossil rock and what a special drive this turned out to be! So much fun (and fear 😱) at the play areas and a LOT learnt for handling and controlling our cars in such a terrain! Superb route and support... @Abdul Rahman Abdul Kader pls don’t be hard on yourself ... you were great!! And every moment was either a chance to help, learn or enjoy the views! I have added a selection of pics to the album showing that every refusal/stuck/pop out was an opportunity for us all to appreciate the location and surroundings! @Abdul Rahman Abdul Kader how you described Rahimbahi is spot on ... inspired by his patience, passion and care to teach us .. thankyou 🙏🏽 see you all on the next drive!

Indeed it was @Thomas Varghese . Every one did well today.

An absolute fewbie drive. The fun we had is beyond words. @Wrangeld and @Janarthan & @Mohamed Seidam thank you for the wonderful drive.

Fantastic day guys. Thanks @Brette for a awesome drive. Thanks @Kailas for keeping a check on all of us. Thanks to everyone for a safe and fun day. Looking forward to meeting up one of next drives.

Good morning everyone, no fog, so far. Please be on time.

TRIP REPORT Another fun filled morning with amazing people. Everyone deflated as I reached flags up and raring to follow our lead for the day @Pancho. It feels strange to have not driven with him in a long time and now I am supporting his drive. I must say that he has been really on top of his game and I loved the route he managed today. Also I should compliment him on the convoy numbering for the day as it turned out to be perfect. A big thank you goes ot to @Niki Patel who made photography make a little sense to me capturing my first pic for the day. I have added similar pics, I felt the tip he gave me made a huge difference and hope to take better snaps in future. Our second lead was @Hennie Schoeman and I must say I've driven more times with him. Today he impressed me with an impeccable second lead as he enjoyed @Pancho lead. @Danish Mohammad was next and our jokes about treating us for some breakfast and lunch continued from last week. Very pleased to seeing him able to self recover and enjoying to drive by being one of the first one on top of Faya waiting for the rest to catch up. His enthusiasm is contagious, but still has to refine his drive style in the desert and try to stay on top of the ridge. @Federico Galbieri was giving me the goosebumps everytime his V8 made sweet music as it glided through all the dunes. @Federico De Chirico was not far behind and did some low level flying in his Pajero. Watching him do the things in his Pajero makes you want to buy one. @Abdul Rahman Abdul Kader was our Center Forward today and did amazingly well with his Pajero. Also very cheerful and friendly guy who follows instructions amazingly well. We did have a pop-out which we fixed without much time taken, but makes me think there are still a few lessons to be learned here. He needs to find how momentum in this area behind Faya differs to the rest of the trip and find his throttle and steering control a bit better. I believe it was only his second Fewbie drive and maybe I'm a bit harsh with my judgement. But looking forward to a more polished driving ability from him as his support to us today was amazing. @Joe Biju Joseph with his H3 was looking mean and the way he handled his ride revived my faith in the Hummer as an off-roader. Really amazing drive and showing us what the H3 can do in capable hands. @Niki Patel always boosts my ego by telling me how he feels about watching me drive. But I have to quickly deflate my ego as I do my tires early in the morning. He is improving with every drive. I don't mean improving in the sense that he doesn't get stuck, as 2 weeks in a row and his FJ Cruiser has not allowed him that luxury. But just from last week to this one I have noticed him trying to emulate my drive style. The biggest compliment one person can give to another person is trying to emulate that person. I'm touched and sure he will find the poetry in driving. Maybe @Frederic can teach him about the rhythm of the drive as he is our house DJ and @Niki Patel can be dancing to his tunes. @AlexPol quietly drove the second Wrangler limo around the desert. He managed the whole trip without any trouble. Sure people say Wranglers are meant to do that, but the control i saw from up close was amazing and his skills make it look easier than it is. @Mikhail Lukichev comes with is quiet smile and an awesome camera, starts shooting pics like he is operating a machine gun. Ofcourse as he put it selecting those good shots from the thousands he takes on every trip is a task on its own. But we are lucky to have him on any trip as he absolutely glides through the sands, drives up Faya like he paid Salik on one of the highways and treats us to some awesome pics. What an amazing day with awesome individuals, I still have a smile as I type this out. Thank you to all.

Good evening fellow adventurers, Tomorrow's drive will hopefully have a bit of everything to suit all palettes. We will start off in the wonderful play area that is Shuweib and the lovely dunes that it has to offer. The plan is to then tackle some technical dunes and head towards the Iftar Bowl. It won't be all technical en route, we will face some challenging dunes, so please don't leave your wits at home I am being ambitious as I hope we get to play in two magnificent areas but as always the convoy will dictate the drive, so lets make sure we all have a good time, and remember to pack your sense of adventure as well as good humour . Here's hoping the desert Gods are kind to us and no matter what the journey has in store, we all have fun. We will use radio channel 1 (one) My proposed convoy is as follows: Angela -@Foxtrot Oscar Xterra Lead @Probir Mukherjee Landcruiser 2nd lead @Anvar Sadath Bekal Pajero (White) 3rd @Lucky sAm Nissan Patrol 4th @Archibald Jurdi Wrangler (Burgundy) 5th @Tamas Hoffmann Pajero (Gold) Centre Forward @Ranjan Das Wrangler (white) 7th @Islam Soliman Yukon 8th @Goutam Wrangler (Yellow) 9th @Nizam Deen Wrangler 10th @Alexander Alcala Wrangler (Grey) Sweep

That’s brilliant! @imranaasghar81 Did you use a GoPro or Insta360? And what did you use for the editing?

Thank you so much @Pancho @Rahimdad @Hennie Schoeman @Abdul Rahman Abdul Kader It was a wonderful drive today... love the track made by @Pancho as it made me to learn, play, enjoy and to understand my car in better way. I m very thankful to all Convoy members for their patience and helping during my refusals. And yes .... Big thanks to our superman for his guidance, patience. love, passion, support... He is our HERO and we are really in safe hand. Regards...

Dear @Abdul Rahman Abdul Kader good to know you all had fun today's drive with @Pancho & @Rahimdad. Missed you all today. Nonetheless we had great fun at Qudra with @Wrangled, @Mohamad seidam & @janarthan. Will see you soon in the sands. Dear @Abdul Rahman Abdul Kader good to know you all had fun today's drive with @Pancho & @Rahimdad. Missed you all today. Nonetheless we had great fun at Qudra with @Wrangled, @Mohamad seidam & @janarthan. Will see you soon in the sands.

Thanks guys for a wonderful morning in desert. @Brette thanks a lot for taking it through a real good mix of ridge crossing nad slide slopes. It was a perfect setup to help us test and elevate our skills. Support from @Kailas and the fact that I had someone like @Rizwan to follow really helped me get going. Special thanks to @Kailas for all the flag chasing, as advised by @Rizwanm2 i used some WD40 and it's fitting in fine now... @naved thanks for lovely pics and taking it with ease the challanges i added for.you by moving a lot of sand on my way 😄 Small convoy size and collaboration among the team made this technical drive a real fun. Thanks all, looking forward to have the next ride with you all soon.

Thank you @Brette. Should I pull F76 as well or not required?

@Hardik ModyGet the higher profile tires that fit your rims without rubbing the fenders as that helps best on sand , else you will need melt modor some other alteration for the plastic lining to push it in. 265 or 275/70-75 R16 would be best , though the difference between 70 and 75 is marginal. (Refer pic below)I suppose the options in AT for 75 profile are lesser in market You will not go wrong with Yoko G015 AT, provided you are driving on sand only. Side walls are a bit soft for wadis. On road they are very good with less noise You will get tons of valuable info on this link https://www.thenewx.org/threads/tire-options.4645/ Tire Options | Second Generation Nissan Xterra Forums (thenewx.org) We do not support any dealer/ Garages directly by taking names. If you can get them at an authorized Yokohama dealer it will be perfect without any hassles, the prices when I bought were comparable outside and at the Yoko dealer.

Since the labor charges involved with a timing belt replacement is high, that's why normally the water pump is changed at the same time.

@imranaasghar81 brilliant. I am looking for adding these gadgets to my car as well please recommend where u bought the stands..

Deal! I’ve got an Insta360 One X but nothing to mount it to the car. Your rig looked pretty solid. Looking forward to the next drive. It’ll be some time late February before I get out again though.

Hey Lee! I use a go pro 360 and I used the standard GoPro software and check this I did all the editing on my mobile phone after hours of staring at the screen!!!! I'll take you through it next time we meet dude!

It’s definitely recommended as this is a very critical part. If it fails it will lead to overheating and maybe even a busted engine. It’s usually being replaced together with a drive belt as it provides easier access if I remember correctly. It’s not an expensive part.

To tell you the truth @Abdul Rahman Abdul Kader I love driving with all the marshals in carnity. Each 1 is different and has a different lesson to offer. We sure had fun today. I'm sure you also had. Missed you & @Danish Mohammad.

We missed driving with you too @Thomas Varghese, see you soon.

Just went through the gallery and was stunned again with all the pictures you posted... feels like pictures taken from some Hollywood movie.. wow @Niki Patel👍

IT was a fantastic learning experience & getting to know everyone on this morning's drive, & looking forward to meeting up in future drives, thanks to @Ale Vallecchi @Jeepie for your teaching & guiding us. See you again

Pictures in the gallery @Ale Vallecchi @Serafino @Satish Mungse @Hossam Anwar @Samuel Hainsworth @Francis Fernandes @Pacific @Robert Nammour @Ahmed Wagdy @soumyasaklani @ankit teotia

Upto fewbie level just pull the air bag fuse. The traction and ESP from fewbie + onwards.

Indeed, it was fun riding with all of you, and thanks a lot folks for leading us and for being patient with us

It was great meeting all of you. I hope to see you guys again on another drive! and massive thanks to our two guides.

Hi @Alex Sidorov just before the drive starts, you remove the fuse and put it back once done with the drive. The large yellow fuse just lifts up but stays in the slot, it will not come out, just lift it up fully and after the drive push it back down. When you do this, the annoying beep will start once you begin driving but will cut off after 1 minute or when you touch 20kmph. Just remember 3 things before the drive, deflate, put up your flag and remove fuse. After the drive, inflate, remove flag and put fuse back. 1st pic is the fuse in place, 2nd pic it is out.

Normally the stock tyre is the largest tyre that can fit without rubbing at full turns. The aspect ratio of 60/65/75 is dependent on the rim size. 16 inch rims is a good size to fit an off-road tyre, and Genolandar AT is a very good option. If you want a good pricing you need to visit Sharjah. Prices in Dubai might be on the he higher side.

In the UAE, we have a myriad of terrains to choose from when it comes to desert driving. For many new members who might be asking themselves what the differences actually are, I wanted to compile the most known areas we drive in, and give some information about the area and what you can expect when you join a drive with us in that area. We will be focusing on the sand driving. Northern Emirates (UAQ and RAK) Umm Al Quwain and Ras Al Khaimah have some very nice areas that we often explore, with plenty of vegetation, wildlife, and the mountains are never far away. On these drives, the emphasis is more on exploration than on the typical dune bashing. Scenic Score: 95% Excitement Score: 70% Versatility Score: 95% Fossil Rock - Faya - Sharjah From the moment you drive on the Sharjah - Kalba road, you'll see the majestic Fossil Rock mountain on the right hand side. It has got its name due to the ancient fossils that you can find on the rocks, and the surrounding red dunes are a delight to drive. Usually starting from Batayeh-Faya road, the dunes gradually go from small and bushy until you reach the nice open areas with "The Long Lady" as one of the most popular dunes to showcase and practice your sidesloping skills. The cherry on top is the climb on Fossil Rock itself which provides an amazing scenic view on the area and Mleiha town below. A must for every beginner level driver ! To even up the challenge you can take on the nice bowls behind Fossil Rock, or head out to Faya which is also called "The Saddle". Scenic Score: 90% Excitement Score: 70% Versatility Score: 90% Pink Rock - Big Red - Sharjah Nearby Fossil Rock, you will find Pink Rock, which got its name from the pinkish hue the rocks have. This very popular off-road area is known for the smooth gentle dunes at the start that gradually move to challenging bowls nearby the base of Pink Rock. Climbing Pink Rock is the ideal challenge for beginners and provides a fantastic view as well. From Pink Rock you can head out to Big Red which will up the challenge and entice every level of off-roader. The Big Red area is an off-roader hotspot during the season. Scenic Score: 80% Excitement Score: 70% Versatility Score: 75% Bidayer / Area 53 / Schuwaib - Sharjah This area is not for the faint of heart, and the big dunes will demand you to keep momentum at all times, while the massive hills such as Iftar Bowl and Super Bowl are ultimate play areas one can find in Sharjah. This area tends to be extremely busy during the offroad season. Scenic Score: 60% Excitement Score: 80% Versatility Score: 65% Margham / Lahbab - Dubai A little less known area, but very versatile with nice technical areas, playable bowls, and overall a terrain where any level offroader can practice and hone their skills without encountering too many cross tracks. Scenic Score: 70% Excitement Score: 70% Versatility Score: 75% Murquab - Lisaili - Faqa - Dubai This area is located on the Dubai-Al Ain road and offers so much. From technical terrain, to the arboretum in Faqa, long range dunes in both Faqa and some areas of Lisaili, and the most amazing creamy dunes below the Maktoum Solar Park which we have now called "Little Sweihan". This area never disappoints and there is a reason we have it on our weekly drives schedules ! Scenic Score: 85% Excitement Score: 80% Versatility Score: 95% Al Qudra - Dubai Al Qudra has become one of the most well known Offroad areas in Dubai, mainly due to the close vicinity to the city, but also because of its versatility, nearby facilities (Last Exit, Love Lakes), and the wildlife than can be spotted while off-roading (gazelles, oryx). This area stretches out to Murquab in the East via Al Hathmah area, on to Faqa going South below the Solar Park, and up to the Bab al Shams resort in the West. Scenic Score: 85% Excitement Score: 75% Versatility Score: 95% Sweihan - Abu Dhabi / Al Ain The Sweihan area in Abu Dhabi has to be experienced, and the proximity to Dubai brings lots of Dubai residents to Sweihan to explore the massive long range dunes and versatile area that has something in store for every off-roader. Sweihan never disappoints and the Nagrah area which alternates between monstrous dunes and deserted sabkhas will leave you hungry for more every single time. Scenic Score: 80% Excitement Score: 90% Versatility Score: 95% Al Khatim - Abu Dhabi A very popular and versatile offroader destination for Abu Dhabi residents with exhilarating dunes and technical areas that will challenge any offroader. Scenic Score: 80% Excitement Score: 90% Versatility Score: 80% Wagan / Umm Al Oash / Bu Tais - Abu Dhabi / Al Ain In search for monstruous dunes where momentum and pace are critical and where your vehicle will be pushed to its limit ? You have come to the right place as this area is spoiled with massive dunes, alternated by long flat sabkhas where you can get your bearings back before heading in again, and again ! Scenic Score: 95% Excitement Score: 100% Versatility Score: 80% Liwa Madinat Zayed - Abu Dhabi The Madinat Zayed area is famous for its Yellow Water Truck, which was left behind many years back, but no-one really knows how it got there. This area is consisting of massive dunes, and you can easily scale the level up or down in this area based on the convoy you bring there. From this place onwards and further down south into Liwa Crescent you will feel like you are on a different planet. Scenic Score: 90% Excitement Score: 100% Versatility Score: 90% Liwa Crescent - Abu Dhabi Seeing LIWA for the first time will leave you astonished, baffled, and beyond comprehension. From Himeem in the East, to Khanoor in the West, this whole area is filled with some of the biggest dunes on this planet, massive slipfaces that will make you shiver when descending, and extremely technical dunes that will require your utmost focus. This area is unforgettable and every off-roader should have this on his bucket list ! Scenic Score: 100% Excitement Score: 100% Versatility Score: 100%

Really nicely done @imranaasghar81. Love this video much better than your last effort.

@imranaasghar81 this video was definitely more watchable than your previous try at this 360 degree shooting. Well done bro, can't wait to see how you develop further on this new form of video making. Very interesting.

Flash Freezes Motion Better Than Shutter Speed - YouTube Very interesting. I hope @Frederic got a solution to his learnings with motion blur when photographing

Cool, thanks!

I have a gen3 pajero and for my 120K major service I changed the timing belt along with the pulleys(I think), is a waterpump change mandatory at this milage? Alternatively, can anyone recommend the general parts to replace during the 120K service?

Thanks Vanessa, Srikumar, Anvar and Tamas for a wonderful drive, the Pink Rock climb was a great adrenaline rush, looking forward forward for the next drive

Thanks to @Vanessa @Srikumar @Tamas Was a great drive this morning especially as i haven't visited Pink Rock before too. Great direction and support, cheers Matt

See you al tomorrow morning Fossil Rockers.

Copy:)

To all fossil rock dessert drivers, Looking forward and proud to be your lead tomorrow. We have a wonderful mix of people and cars. Please drive to the trees and deflate and tried to be ready at 07:00 am sharp. If fog permits we will try to leave straight away to be before the Friday crowd and finish by 11:00 am. We have the following convoy numbering: 1 pancho jeep wrangler red 2 hennie schoeman jeep wrangler 2nd 3 danish Mohammad Pajero 3.5 grey 4 federico Galbieri Cherokee4.7 V8 green 5 federico de chirico Pajoro WB 3.8 l silver 6 abdul rahman Mitsubishi Pajero blue CF 7 joe Biju Joseph Hummer H3 8 niki Patel fj cruiser black 9 alex Pol Jeep wrangler grey 10 mikhail luckichev Toyota Prado recovery 11 Rahimdad nissan Pathfinder sweep We will use channel 2:

Hi Ranjan it is 7am

Mahmoud Asar @Mahmoud Asar Mohamed Abo ElKomsan @Mohamed Abo ElKomsan Thomas Varghese @Thomas Varghese Shehab Alawadhi @Shehab Alawadhi Mohamed Seidam @Mohamed Seidam Szymon Stankiewicz @Szymon Stankiewicz Arman @Arman Alphin Aloor @Alphin Aloor Aus Alzubaidi @Aus Alzubaidi Harold Roberts @Harold Roberts Evening Desert Drivers, Wednesday night is the last opportunity to bow out of a drive gracefully. I say that not because I want to lose anyone, but because signing out after that date really has not been paying attention during the week. Assuming you are all still committed to the drive, tomorrow I will send out the convoy order and the radio channel. Some of you may wonder about my convoy positions and why you are being put there. While you wait and see, I will let you know that convoy positions are not haphazard and random. Drive leads look carefully at the drive and the positions of the drivers from a number of perspectives. A number of my choices for the drive Friday will be because I want to offer new challenges to the participants. They may or may not be welcome challegnes, but they are always considered from the viewpoint that we want every driver to develop at their own pace and capability and our job as leaders is to help everyone reach their full 4x4 potential. We may not get it right all the time, and we are by no means the complete drivers ourselves (boy there's still so much to learn), but we do feel that it's not just about driving round the desert and finding nice dunes but about helping every driver. Perhaps it comes as a surprise, perhaps not, but the leads talk to each other and check the recommendations on the convoy, identifying if a particular driver might bebetter placed in the convoy than the original plan. Mine, I am glad to say has been validated so I know what is planned ... unless someone pulls out. By 10,00 tomorrow, you'll hopefully see what we agreed - with any changes that need to be made because someone'e plans changed. If not, you'll get the final pre drive instalment so you can prepare yourselves for Friday's adventure. Myself and @Janarthan are looking forward to seeing you all soon in the sand.