Leaderboard

A little late to the party, but as quoted by the rest of the convoy, thank you @Kailas for such variety in one drive. I've been trying to convince my family members to step out on drives and yesterday, my dad joined me. What were stuck situations of waiting was excellent time to bond with my dad and have him exposed to this new hobby of mine. So to everyone in the convoy, thank you for a great day out @S Jacob, I think you need to take back your comment on your pocket rocket not climbing up peaks. You took it to the top everywhere yesterday. It was so fun to watch from the base. @Naveen Raj, I've said this before but I'll say it again, watching you drive that Pajero on the limit is inspiring for everybody who wants to learn how to extract every cc out of their engines. You make it look easy but what's really speaking here is your skill. @M.Seidam, thank you for being around everywhere and advising on all the recoveries and refusals. Your advice is always on point and it gave me so much more to learn and confidence. @Naim Aoun - that was a great drive! The stucks are part of the game but you rocked that second half giving me a great line to follow @Lawrence_Chehimi - there's so much for the rest of us to pick from your approach angles, the lines you took, throttle management and more. Since you were sweeping, I'm sure many in the convoy missed it but for those of us that caught you climbing, boy what a show! @Gilbert Khalil - my dad asked me why I didn't get an FJC like you. You were awesome as always. @Damien Ranjit - I said this on the first drive we were on together and I'll say this again. You are such a sensible driver. @Gregory & @Charbel - always cool as a cucumber, you two are! The poise with which you pilot your cars forces me to rethink my throttle management. @Daniel Yang- your beast is beastly! Those tires may need to lose a couple of inches but beyond that I would chuck out the third row and yes, always stay in 1st gear 😬 All in all, thank you everyone for an event filled drive. See you all out on the sands again soon!

Nothing gives me more pleasure than to know that the passion that I inherited from @Gaurav for technical dunes, and with which he kindly let me run has infected more and more people in our club. I am 100% delighted to pass the 'mantle' of technical dune guardian to @Islam Soliman It was never mine to keep, just to carefully and temporarily look after until someone else wanted to continue sharing the enthusiasm for these critical skills that are needed to help us all become better drivers. In this game, there is rarely competition as all we want to see is that what little knowledge we have can be passed on to others so they can enjoy the same sort of experiences that we have had. Congratulations @Islam Soliman. Please continue to take care of this title until the next champion comes along.

A Fewbie on the ridge One of the hallmarks in this club is meeting new people . It was pleasure seeing new faces today. The route from Tawi to pink rock was at ease and warming up . The practice to ride the ridge in a selected short segment was doable at this drive level and impressive that every one got the chance to feel it and remember speed and momentum are not the same as control while on the ridge with keeping the proper momentum is key to master this piece of art in sand off-roading . Surprisingly all did well giving the fact for some it was first fewbie drive . Excellent 👍 after climbing pink rock and heading toward big red through the in and out progressive ascending bowels is one of the best areas for practicing at such level . However things can’t go without getting the shovel and rope and the first nice tug was performed very well by our capable sweep of the day @Lawrence_Chehimi redirecting my stuck X sideways , thank you buddy 👍🙏. Additional few refusals and one stuck came in the way which was cleared by our lead @Kailas, @Lawrence_Chehimi and myself as quick as possible . Eventually we arrived to the eastern side of big red where every one got the chance to unleash his passion for the sand climbing . it was lovely day despite the heat . Lots of learning and fun I hope you all enjoyed as I did my self very much 😎 Thank you @Kailas for the wonderful lead and guidance .it was real pleasure seeing you after quite a while . wish all of you great week ahead till next time . cheers

Tawi Nazwa to Big Red - Drive Report Take time like the river. Keep going and steady. No hurry, no rush. - Rumi On a terrain scarred by an infinite number of previous drives, through a multitude of convoys, the drive progressed like a river: steady, with no hurry or rush, from Tawi Nazwa to Pink Rock and beyond all the way to Big Red. Great display of patience and resilience by all Newbie drivers, with the most critical time coming in and around Pink Rock, mostly due to soft sand pockets, and the presence of too many convoys, which forced us to redirect a few times, and to choose some more challenging tracks to get around our obstacles. In terms of the more difficult maneuvers, the ascent and crossing of the mighty fossil formation was accomplished with minimum fuss and delay, and the navigation of the lower reaches of the tall dune formations toward the exit ("The Big Dune Near Big Red". and Big Red itself) went remarkably smoothly, in spite of these being the most trafficked, and marked, parts of the drive. Convoy discipline, on which we insisted during the briefing was excellent, as was the application of all technical skills throughout the drive. Everybody drove progressively better, improving their feeling with their vehicles, and learning from their previous mistakes, if any were made. A very commendable performance by all members: @Felix Obst, @Daniel Fernandez, @Simon Hope, @Ramandbx, @Mohamad Anwer, @Daniel Rodas and @Mikhail Lukichev with a virtually clean score, followed by @Gerrit Bus, @Ferl Brown and @Jins John, who managed to overcome the challenges they encountered throughout the drive. Very well done by everybody. Special thanks to @Alfred Alinazar for his well executed Second Lead, and especially to @Alexander Alcalafor his tireless efforts at supporting the front part of the convoy, as well as to @Jeepie Marijan, returning to the sand with an excellent Sweep. Congrats to all for completing 35 km, driven in 1:33 of moving time, at an average moving speed of 22 Km/h. Thanks to all for coming. I share all your best wishes with @Vanessa8580, for her prompt recovery and return to the sand. See you soon out there.

Solar Park: Left or Right? - Drive Report I know you are tired, but come, this is the way - Rumi Spectacular drive, a notch up from Newbie Level, both in terms of skills as well as duration. As planned, given the quality of the convoy, we turned left from Solar Park, and moved into Lisaili's cordons. Unplanned were both the first change of direction toward Murqab, as well as the second and most unexpected dash from Murqab back to Lisaili, where we exited. The convoy, arranged in a "Senior-Junior" fashion, with each Newbie being led (and tutored, in terms of lines of approach, momentum, and exit trajectories) by a Fewbie or above, warmed up from the easier maneuvers to the more advanced techniques, until managing to progress smoothly and continuously throughout the last segment of the drive, criss-crossing and side-sloping any dune we came across. The most difficult part of the drive proved to be the technical area in the middle of Lisaili's cordons, where soft sand pockets, sharp straight crossings and little room to move, caused almost unavoidable stucks and lengthy recoveries. Overall convoy discipline was good, including the few times that premature exits from ridges split the convoy. Upon reaching Lisaili's sabkhas after 2:10 hrs of driving, we diverted toward Murqab, for our first extension of the drive. After only another 1:10 hr of driving, just outside of Murqab's village, the convoy chose to make a last dash, back toward Lisaili. This is when all the work done so far during the drive paid off, and all drivers came together to perform a blitz to Lisaili worthy of the often cited (by me) Long Range Desert Group. Only 50 minutes of impeccable driving, on very bright white sand and technical terrain, were needed to reach the long range dunes next to the pylon track, where the last acrobatics were performed, before a well earned exit. All members are worthy of the same praise: great driving by @I.M.Shousha إسلام أبوشوشة (thanks for the safe Second Lead), @Alexanderrr, @Bernard Kalaani, @Pieter Potgieter, @Santoso Marjuki, @Anoop Nair and @munkybizness. Special thanks to @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ for supporting from the center, and to @Dodi Syahdar for sweeping all to safety. The drive covered 77 Km, in 3:02 hours of driving, at an average moving speed of 25 Km/h. Thanks to all for the great participation, and see you soon in the sand.

Thanks @Islam Soliman for the wonderful drive - as always long range dunes in Qudra offered the well needed weekend adrenaline rush.., being at end of the convoy with @Alex Raptor raptor blasting off all the ridges and dunes on its way further expanded the experience 🙂🙂 We had our share of stucks/refusals however considering the challanges that terrain offered (incl the extended drive period thanks to nvr ending expansion works at MBR Solar Park) the convoy did really well. @Ehab believe it was our first drive together. Your red wrangler looked awesome and your really rocked the drive. I don't think you had even a single refusal today. @Nihal17 you handled the wrangler really well through the terrain. Try cutting down on gas a bit when on long ridges. From what I could notice you were dislodged off the ridge by little bumps - cutting down on gas would improve your control and anchor yourself a bit on other side... @Danish Mohammad You know your vehicle well and know that it leaves you with very little margin of error, a minor change in line of approach might help cover that gap. That is how far I could assess fron Sweep position 🙂. Overall a super fun drive and look forward to see you all soon.

Might be long but it’s good to see it maybe not the best angle though for the recording 😊

Well done @Islam Soliman for establishing this new theme and taking off-roaders out for graduation ceremony. To be honest @Wrangeld has single handedly developed this theme for many months where my role was only limited to develop new leads. Maybe with you both in this game now, I feel tempted too to jump in to try my hand with "infamous chimney".

Really cannot stress how much I enjoy reading this knowledge sharing on this forum. Because that's what this club is all about. I cannot see the specifics of every driver while I am leading at the front, no matter how hard I try so more experienced drivers like Niki sharing such detailed and constructive feedback is invaluable. For sure, it's one of the key values of having more experienced drivers on lower rated drives. Sharing really is caring. I can tell you from my own experience that the more I share and give, the more I learn. Hoping to re-create this exact convoy some time soon. It was a pleasure and a privilege.

Wow.. that is a huge responsibility @Wrangeld.. I always enjoyed being in your convoys to watch and learn how you swiftly maneuver through these tiny tight dunes that used to make me feel suffocated and intimidated just by passing nearby and feel relieved once I hear you announce on the radio the end of it and start seeing the open Sabkhat or large dunes ahead signaling end of the tech area where I can breath peacefully.. it’s an extra challenge for any driver and specially more challenging with heavy wide/long cars such as mine but I believe one only gets better by challenging own fears.. the more drives I had with you the more I got better and started to enjoy and love the tech areas but still with a lot of RESPECT 😂 Yesterday’s convoy was amazing and we had far less stucks/refusals than what I initially expected. The convoy managed to do in 4hrs over 30KM of tech driving without answering the temptation of all nearby open large dunes. This is mainly because most of them have been in your drives before so truth is the applaud is all yours @Wrangeld, @Gaurav and all other leads for not only well handling these challenges but turning them into interests too 👏👏👏

@Mehmet Volga you are absolutely right - I was able to watch over both from the back and knowing at the end this was actually there first full FB drive - even more impressive! Every refusal was self recovered and I'll share some further feedback: @Adam James initially you had a few minor refusals and what I could see, this was due to 'easing' off the throttle as you climbed to cross a dune (maybe you didn't want to carry to much speed once at the top which is natural) = Immediate lost momentum.. That said as the drive went on - not a single further refusal and i could see you really used the throttle further up each climb and easing off at the right time! Throttle management practice for 4 hours is going to help you massively for your next drives. (ps. stick to the FJ for these drives and keep your pinup defender for the overlanding ... ) @Jason Grima due to the line you took and limited momentum climbing, it meant you couldn't make the ridge of a few dunes. Perfect was how you stopped at the moment you felt you had missed the chance to make the ridge, not forcing your car up (the learnings from your first pop out). this meant you never fishtailed, you had an easier self recovery option and no risk of a further pop-out. To correct this, try and take a higher line up a dune you want to cross so as you approach the ridge, you have natural momentum to ride it and cross. This is made harder further back in a convoy as tracks are churned however with a bit of extra momentum its def possible. Don't change how you reacted as that's textbook! Both of you will keep hearing the importance of 'momentum', 'throttle management', 'steering control' and 'lines to drive' - the drive yesterday was a 4 hour master class on building on these skills and you both were 'brilliant' ..

Thank you all for joining the drive yesterday. Many thanks to @M.Seidam & @Lawrence_Chehimi for your super support. You both made the big convoy effortless for me to manage. Thanks again. It was a big convoy, and we started out with slow speed from Tawi Nazwa as we had some fewbie beginners. We soon found a nice ridge which was not that tall. We all took our turns and tried practicing one by one. Then we slowly stepped up the pace and started making some nice climbs. Eventually we crossed the pink rock and did some nice tall sidees at big red. We had few refusals and stuck. An one of those stuck took some time to recover, but every one was very patient and it was a great team effort. @Naveen Raj, you were an amazing SL. You made sure proper distance was kept from my car and very good reflex. @Naim Aoun did a very good job on his 1st FB. Couple of refusals, but managed out of it very well. @Damien Ranjit it was my first time driving with you, nicely managed. Few refusals, followed exact instructions provided by @M.Seidamand self recovered very well. @Daniel Yang brought his Y61 and was trying his hands on Manual mode. A bit shy on gas at times, but I believe you are trying to figure out driving Y61. Getting refusals or stucks is common , do not panic or hurry in recovering. A bit more attention is required following support instructions and getting out of refusals. @Gregory hope you and your son had a great time. We had an interesting pocket stuck situation with your pajero. It was a great learning session trying to explore options. The area was churned. Keeping the option of @Lawrence_Chehimi pulling from side available, me and @M.Seidam tried to pull from different angles, but we were not able to get enough traction. Finally @Lawrence_Chehimipulled from the side. 😀 @munkybizness @S Jacob @Charbel @Marwan Haddad @Gilbert Khalil , I dont recollect you guys having any issue. Well Done👍 See you all soon! Drive Stats:

Trip Report Hope everyone had a great weekend, starting with such fun-filled and capable convoy riding on Sweihan dunes. I returned to Sweihan after 6 months and I was super happy to see such broad rolling dunes again. As someone prompted (cant recall who) I should better make it good, hope I live up to your expectation. After first 30 minutes of warm up and testing, I got a good feeling on the cars and drivers are capable, sensible and eager to learn and push. The first phase of drive went on enjoying the huge roller-coaster dunes for maximum fun with controlled pace to keep newbies safe and happy. During the second bit I purposely tried a notch-up and resulted in one refusal and tow rope stuck (quiet normal) that brought the great teamwork out to dig, help and laugh a little with beach party joke ;-). Last bit was the most exciting part where fewbie scaled the side slope to perfection and newbies tried the smaller U-turn to feel the vehicle dynamics up-close. Everyone did fantastic including 3 Absolute Newbies with great spirit and attitude. @Salim Akhtar you have done great for your first drive and with more experience you will enjoy your Pajero and off-roading more. Like I said many times during the drive, do not panic when you get stuck or experience any refusal as that blocks the simple instruction processing power and make recovery more difficult and risky. Enjoy the fun and take it easy, everyone get stuck and its absolutely normal and required if you really wish to grow. @Chantelle Williams Allen (Nick) since I saw you in the morning deflating with great enthusiasm and sitting on the floor, I knew you are a true outdoor person blessed with equally supporting wife. Whenever we see couple doing the chores together we know that this new hobby will take you both to the next level from bonding to even fighting for the steering soon. You did absolutely amazing with your Tundra and continue to enjoy off-roading safely. You may take a little longer time to excel considering long wheel base of Tundra that requires an inch of extra skills, caution and precision to handle, glide and cross through dunes. Nothing scary or alarming but just making a reference so you know where you really need to work hard. @Muhammed Saeed It was nice to see another Pajero from gone back era still kept in good nick. Your confidence clearly shows your previous experience and calm approach through out the drive. Just keep learning the off-road tricks and keeping a close eye on heat gauge as these Pajero have very little tolerance to hot weather. @Karthikeyan Govindarajan and @Josh T. thanks for supporting the SL and Sweep critical position with an awesome team spirit and support. @Nabeel Abdul Rahman @Santoso Marjuki @ShereenMK @John Vanderbleek it was nice to see you all and drive with you to keep a good and confident pace through out the drive. Looking forward to see you all again on sand.

Thanks @Islam Soliman for the beautiful ridge riding this morning! Combined with the super soft conditions and the technical portions around Solar Park, it made a complete and challenging drive. All the convoy handled very well the proposed challenges, thanks @Alex Raptor and @varunmehndiratta for the assistance. @Darren Brooke, I hope your car will be fit for the next drive !

@munkybiznesstell your dad...it is not the car that counts...it is the driver🥰

Well that was pretty awesome!!!!!! We covered a good distance, had a perfect mix of technical and flowing dunes, but the highlight of the day had to be crushing the ridges, what a blast, that was top fun. Kudos to the guys behind me, I deliberately kicked up the sand in a few places and you all handled it admirably. Ridiculous sand conditions today, even the flat bits were uber soft in places. Few refusals and tugs, but nothing major, a great chance to hone your skills. I hope your thumb heals (blame the oven like sand) and the Tahoe gets fixed soon @Darren Brooke. Huge thanks to @Islam Soliman for this one, loved it. See you all soon

Thanks @Kailas, my first fewbie and it rocked. Enjoyed the pace and the challenging terrain. Looking fwd to joining you again. (by the way I did not see that your changed the time to 5:45am).

So now we have a special job for bigger trucks....! Nice comparison.

Friendly test to find the clear winner with a sensible approach is always welcome and healthy. On the other hand naming challenge / competition / battle will bring the ego to play that will def result in broken cars, suspension, drive shaft, radiator, axles, foundations, bushings, fried transmission or engine (been there done that). This is the sole objective of most other off-road clubs backed with off-road garages to maximize the damage and sell one after the other off-road products and upgrades. @Kailas experience is a living proof that there is no replacement of "skills" (mentioned above) than strapping ton of products and expecting stock cars to climb moreeb from stand still. Once you settle down (content) with what you have then only you will start practicing and improvising on your skill set that do take time to hone but once mastered you will really shine bright.

I drive a JL 2 door. Soon after I bought my vehicle, I changed stock tires 245 70R17 to 285 70R17 (33") BFG KO2's. I did it only to get an aggressive look. 33's are the maximum you can go with stock suspension & clearance, plus there was no need for re-setting the speedometer. Only later I began off-roading. I have tested my vehicle at different drive levels and never felt there was a need to upgrade suspension & clearance from drive performance point of view. I have had no issues while sharp ridge riding or crisscrossing. However, since I installed bigger tires, at IM level my tires were rubbing the fenders. Just to avoid that, I recently installed 1.5" spacer lift on top of factory springs. I still use the factory suspension. Now the tires no more rub the fenders. I had spend close to 1k on the spacer lift.

Great drive today! Good company, amazing location and these ridges were awesome. Thanks @Islam Soliman for some great lines, and overall great training. Definitely have to do another trip there soon @Alex Raptor thanks for the help today and always good to have a raptor roaring behind me @varunmehndiratta Top job with the sweeping at the back!

Great drive, Great company... and some jokes Hope to drive with you all agin soon.

A nice eventful drive @Islam Soliman I believe we did abide very well by your selected theme. What I loved during the few stucks is the great teamwork and humility we witnessed. It confirms the interest we all had in the technical learnings throughout almost every moment of the drive. The long dunes were calling on the way - as @JeromeFJ mentioned - but to be honest, they were not missed today. I am usually inclined to drive in the front of the convoy. Today, driving at the back was challenging because of the churned sand between the tight dunes, but I also had the chance to look at different drivers styles, techniques and learn and anticipate some approaches. Thank you @JeromeFJ @Nabil Bishara and @Mario Cornejo for keeping the convoy together @Gaurav Soni and @Ranjan Das for a very nice demonstration and everyone for a beautiful morning ! PS : @Wrangeld you have competition 😄

An enjoyable and varied drive today, with some of everything.... thanks @Kailas, and @M.Seidam and @Lawrence_Chehimifor support and backup.

What a great drive specially the second half high speed cruise, thanks to @Kailas for the great lead, Also thanks to @M.Seidam @Lawrence_Chehimifor help and support.

Thank you @Wrangeld@Niki@Alex Raptorand @Mehmet Volgafor this amazing drive with plenty of technical dunes. @Wrangeldalthough I did not catch all your jokes, my step son in the car enjoyed them tremendously, loving what he called a sensational “50 years old virgin humour”, sorry I had to report that one ! Thanks for the ride and for the fun !

Post Drive Report How good was that, indeed! What an awesome drive everyone. Murquab to Last Exit. 55km. Laughs along the way (well, at least I did!). Brilliant combination of long range, technical and slowing dunes. Incredible teamwork and flawless convoy discipline. Arriving at Last Exit exactly on time. Everyone should be proud of themselves. I did not make it easy, lots of criss crossing and ridge riding, some nice side sloping and some technical elements. A couple of excellent self recoveries, and the few occasions when help was needed nothing too serious. Callouts to @Mehmet Volga @Niki for their recovery support and @Alex Raptor in 2nd lead (more challenging than it looks when you drive a big truck like that). See you soon in the sand.

All nice (focus is on Naice) addictions make one sick at early stage and once you get used to it, it's where the heaven is .....

Hi @Enrico Biscaro yes and if you remember at the AN brief about this moment which you feel it’s coming like we all felt it through climbing the off-road ladder . There is no way to off the traction control and the ABS totally , as they are coupled , unless you kill it by pulling fuses or install the kill switch . This is important as you don’t want to lose momentum while doing long sidy or when attacking the slip face or while riding the ridge and criss crossing as all these manoeuvres are coming at Fewbie and Higher levels gradually . I am sure you will be doing great the more you drive and learn 👍

Absolutely. Gold and true !

Thanks Frederic, it was a pleasure indeed. The absolute newbie drive was great. Got to learn a lot from your knowledge and experience. The briefing is long but certainly worth it. I did takeaway a lot from it. Your passion for what you do is evident. Thanks once again for your patience with us absolute newbies. Hope to drive with you in one of the newbie drives.

@munkybiznessCarry a fully filled sub tank is also a bad idea😝, i am still learning how to drive on manual mode, for y62 vk56 i just need to maintain keep the throttle around 3000-4000 rpm on auto mode only, but in vtc i feel i really need to kick the gas pedal into the floor on every gear😂 but to listen the tb48 engine roar is also a big part of fun. I believe y61 is pure safari masterpiece period.

Excellent drive welcoming me back to the sand after a long and lazy summer! Thank you @Wrangeld for our first pain-free drive from the beginning. Hope to continue this pace I was a kind of lazy CF today since @Alex Raptor and @Niki didn't leave me much to do. Thank you both! Amazing drivers in the convoy with only a few stucks and refusals which have to be some in each drive for fun! Congrats @Warren Flay @Pierre de Maigret @Chris Meir @Richard Franks @Christopher Assal Special callouts to our fresh fewbies @Adam James and @Jason Grima. Unbelievable performance at the tail of such a convoy! Bravo! See you on the sand again

Cheers @Wrangeldwhat a fun drive! My first one back from becoming a daddy last month (I need to work on my match fitness). Technical and tight in places and a bit of air every now and then (I'll get repairs done eventually) Thanks to @Mehmet Volgafor your support and to @Nikifor tirelessly watching over the flock. Special mention to @Alex Raptorfor chiselling the tops off of all of the mountains for me, it was like following a road roller and made my Friday drive a Sunday drive!

https://www.relive.cc/view/vr63yeYRRdv

Thank you @Brette for leading the drive and safely expanding our boundaries. What I have learn today. 1. When traction control kicks in on a climb or on a ridge you loose momentum and you can only go where gravity takes you, down. Do not fight gravity Folks. 2. Tiptronic in my car is not quick like the imaginary Ferrari I have in my imaginary garage, so better get momentum in 2nd gear and keep car in second. During my 3rd failed attempt to climb in 1st gear, I also observed that, even in tiptronic, the car shift form 1st to 2nd after a while (probably when MAX RPM is reached). It does not do this when in 2nd. Maybe if you push it it does it, but for this particular dune, 2nd gear was the magic one. 3. When you have a refuse and need to climb down, go straight. You do not want to be parallel to the max inclination. Rolling is not fun, I hear. 4. Always check your traction control. For some reason the car put it back on without me noticing and I got a refusal because of that. All in all after my 5th newbie drive + 2 courses I hope I can join a newbie drive next week. I know know the lift and the skid plate can take a hit Thank you all.

thanks @Kailasand the support team for the lovely extended drive 😆. was glad to meet new faces today and hope to see you all again.

Looks like an off-road version Xterra. If it is, then selling it by highlighting an off-road spec will help fetch better value.