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Hi @Ashok chaturvedi, this is not an FJ-specific thingy, I have a marshal friend who drives his Jeep in 4L 3rd gear consistently and some Nissan buddies also drive in 4L 3rd gear. I will get into the general stuff first, and at the end dive specific to A750F transmission which is used by FJ Cruiser to answer your question mathematically 😁 1. Generally for older 4-speed & 5-speed automatic, people drive in 4H 2nd gear and downshift to 4H 1st gear when climbing or need more torque. In contrast for modern 6-speed & 7-speed automatic, some I've noticed drive in 4L 3rd or 4th gear. They're pretty similar, and I'll prove it mathematically at the end of this post... 2. My Nissan buddies drive in 4L 3rd gear because driving in 4L allows them to turn off VDC (Vehicle Dynamics Control - computer will try to brake to fix understeer & oversteer), TCS (Traction Control System - brakes spinning wheel + cut-off fuel to engine and/or close throttle valve to reduce torque) and ABLS (Active Brake Limited Slip - Nissan's version of Toyota A-TRAC), as can be seen from this manual section: 3. If you're already in 4L, during stucks you don't need to shift from 4H > Neutral > 4L > 1st gear 'cos you're already in 4L, which sounds like an excuse a lazy driver would make 😂 FJ Cruiser A750F transmission: 4H or 4L? These are the Gear Ratios for FJ Cruiser / any car with Toyota A750F transmission: Now I'll probably do a deeper dive with diagram what these different gear ratios mean, but for now I will use a cheat calculator to produce the numbers: Problem Question: I want to drive 50 km/h (31 mph) in sand, what do I use? *The 50km/h is intentional as some manuals recommend this speed when driving in 4L, and also on average we usually drive below this speed for Newbie to FewbiePlus Putting the A750 Gear Ratio numbers above, you can easily reach 50km/h in 4H 1st Gear after around 4000 rpm, which is what you'll probably do when climbing a steep dune... then shift to 2nd gear to keep RPM below 3000 for noise & fuel-efficiency. 3.727 : Differential Ratio / Final Axle Gear Ratio 31.6" : Tire Diameter, FJ stock is 265/70R17 31 mph : Desired Speed (50km/h) 3.520 : 1st Gear Ratio 4L and Gear Reduction Transfer Case in 4H is 1:1 (mentioned in A750F spec as High 1.000 above), but when you switch to 4L, it becomes 2.566:1 , this is why 4L in 1st Gear is slower and useful for crawling (but still with torque). But for the sake of fun, how much engine RPM do we need to make 31 MPH in 4LO 1st Gear ? Transmission Ratio now becomes = 2.566 (4LO) x 3.520 (1st Gear) = 9.032 Your Tachometer is usually maximum 7000 rpm, so this 4LO 1st gear will not do, let's skip to 4LO 3rd gear: Transmission Ratio now becomes = 2.566 (4LO) x 1.400 (3rd Gear) = 3.592 And there you have it, using 4LO in 3rd Gear, you will reach 50 km/h (31 mph) after about 4000 rpm engine speed... very similar to 4H in 1st Gear... To recap: If you trust the factory's book recommendation and will not go above 50 km/h in sand, then 4LO sounds safe as it disables all those pesky electronics (VDC, TCS, ABLS, ABS) without pulling any fuse. Otherwise if you're driving long-range dunes and flats and will go beyond 50 km/h in sand, you may want to use 4HI + kill-switch to ensure ABS, TCS, VSC are off.

The majority of the drivers here use Gaia as it is easy to use, and track drives: https://www.gaiagps.com Here is a very handy post from @Frederic explaining how to get going with it. https://carnity.com/forums/topic/15357-gaia-gps-for-beginners As most things go, you’ll soon discover that everything he writes is usually gold, and he leaves a lot of useful nuggets around in the forums

Sorry Fredy no comments for me on this topic.

Hi Guys, I am a little late to post this...Thanks @Asif Hussain for the great start. You were selfless in your approach submitting your vehicle for the sacrifice at the start, hope now car is okay, nothing major. May be out trip went off smoothly accomplishing great heights and drops clocking a lot of kms at a decent pace. Thanks @Shaaz Shafor the taking over, great drive it was - just out of the world stuff... @Looperas always my reliable partner to check how his wrangler is performing vs mine w.r.t temperature but I found he now has some extras 1) refrigerator useful for the evenings 2) winch useful for the drives 3) last but not the least, he also has a crawl mode on sand, which was loving demoed the previous night @Josh T. Good to see u.... @Karthikeyan Govindarajan Nice to see u, first time drive with you @Chris Wing will come to pick your brain if i went to buy the FJ - hope u will close your loop with all your country men soon @Xavier Treasurer Great guys, good meeting Pak @Zed where are the drone videos? @Xavier TreasurerSame here, after while meeting you, and was cannot forget your rescue attempt for Karthik with no showel, rope etc... ha ha but you offered him moral support we know.... @Jeepie Thanks always for you keeping the count of the flock from the back .... Great to travel with you, thanks for the LnM Menthols, after that I have not touched them See u all soon!!!!! PS: the first 9 minutes reach us to the farms. from the 9th to the 15th minutes is where the huge drops are captured.

@Mark D I bought one tablet holder, iOttie brand in Jumbo, which I sometimes use for my phone too and works perfectly during drives. I also bought a radio holder, Mobarmor brand also very good quality, there are (I think) a couple of off road garages where you can get this brand from, just do a quick search. Mobarmor website: https://www.mobarmor.com/ Tablet holder I got at Jumbo: https://www.jumbo.ae/iottie-easy-smart-tap-2-universal-tablet-mount-miscellaneous-HLCRIO141.html#variant_id=0441617-92073271142 Hope this helps.

Your FJ Cruiser has VF2A model Transfer Case, which is Chain-Driven, similar to the Jeep's one that my marshal friend (another club) drives for 4 years in 4LOW 3rd Gear all the time... I'd say if it's going to stretch the chain / decrease lifespan of transfer case, by now he would have gone through a transfer case rebuild, but he hasn't, so yeah no issue with driving 4LO 3rd Gear for a long time every weekend 😁 If you mean the Gear Box as in Transmission, then again nothing to worry much. I have rebuilt the torque converter & transmission for my Toyota and also replaced the Transfer Case gears (my LC is gear-driven not chain-driven) and the front-differential, so I get to see how these parts work as shown by the mechanics in the garage. Simplified in text it goes like this: Engine (rpm) >> Torque Converter >> Transmission (Gear Box) >> Transfer Case >> split into 2 in 4WD: rear propeller shaft to Rear Pumpkin/Diff + front propeller shaft to Front Pumpkin/Diff >> Finally, WHEELS! Though your FJ Cruiser's A750F transmission remains 5-speed with 5-gear ratios, the VF2A with gear reduction (4LO) makes your FJ to have "12 gears", here are the ratio table again if you missed it in my prev post: FJ Cruiser A750F “12-Gears” Transmission: 4High 1:1 ratio 1st Gear 2nd Gear 3rd Gear 4th Gear 5th Gear Reverse 3.520 2.042 1.400 1 0.716 3.224 4LOW 2.566:1 ratio (basically multiply above numbers x 2.566) 1st Gear 2nd Gear 3rd Gear 4th Gear 5th Gear Reverse 3.520 x 2.566 = 9.03 2.042 x 2.566 = 5.24 1.400 x 2.566 = 3.592 1 x 2.566 = 2.566 0.716 x 2.566 = 1.837 3.224 x 2.566 = 8.273 From these table you can see that driving 4H 1st Gear = 4LO 3rd Gear and driving 4LO 4th Gear feels like between 1st and 2nd gear (this is what people feel "more torquey").... and because the Transmission / Gear Box is before your Transfer Case that does the reduction, if any should fail it should be the Transfer Case first... Keep on experimenting @Ashok chaturvedi, only you can tell how to drive your car best, we here are just giving you more encouragement to do trial-and-error (hopefully with a bit of sound reasonings behind it to make you more confident in approaching whatever you choose best) 😉

Thanks @Ale Vallecchi it was the most nerve cracking ride I ever had. Thank you for providing me such a wonderful experience

Dear @Mark D As said by @Fredericgood question, not easy to answer. I went through many options, and found the most cost effective ones are the magnet ones. My car x owner used to use it, and I had to buy another phone cover to fix the metal plate, since metal and wireless charging did not work. When go in sand I just put the cover with metal cover. Another costly option and very strong, RAM mounts, I am using to hold the iPad 12.9in, and they have much more options for all devices. Unfortunately no much options in Amazon, but you can buy direct from USA.

Good day to All, I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for a great drive but more so for the patience and support in fixing the LR3. @Srikumar thank you the help and awesome route, @Anish S good job with all the tugs and support. @Asif Hussain and @Chaitanya D thank you for finding the problem and making it possible to drive my car out that day. For those who didn't not see here is a picture with some the brushes stuck in the fan that stoped it from turning. The LR3 gave me no problems for the rest of the day and got me home safely, however she is in the shop now getting some attention. Worn engine mounts contributed to what happened and some lessons learned. I have uploaded more photos in the gallery to browse through. Stressful at some stages but all and all it was great drive with everyone, hope to see you all again. @Ali Shah, @Adnan Halepota, @Karthik Raptor. Cheers.

All. Any recommendations please, for a decent quality phone holder that isn’t going to fall off with the first bump my truck hits? Cheers

Thank you @Vanessa8580

@Vanessa8580, since Suresh isn’t joining, could you add in waiting list, I’ll RSVP once it open. Hope my front bumper has chances to survive on this route:) Can I take my 5 year-old son by the way?

Thanks to your previous advise Zed- I have been tracking the AT oil temp in real time during drives using an android device and an OBD2.. I also have gone through the service manual to keep in mind the range the AT should work within … not a single drive it’s gone over 126c including the recent Liwa trip and driving in summer (… during a break I put into neutral and keep the car running which I read brings the temp down (and proven to for me). I haven’t tried a sustained 4L drive … Ashok if you do experiment with 4L then def leverage OBD2 to observe the AT temp and have this as a backdrop for a decision/review.

No I think you're right, it will largely depend on the car... when my Jeep friends with their 8-speed transmission drives in 4L 3rd or 4th and asked me to do the same, I'd say "I found my sweet spot and you found yours, doesn't matter as long as we get over the dunes just fine" 😁 I wouldn't dare drive in 4L just because another car with a different configuration does so, the same with transfer cases blowing up, probably best to check Transfer Case Temperature via ScanGauge/OBD PID during every break.... and fluids maintenance include transmission fluid & transfer case oil & diff gear oil.

Hi @Frederic fellow tech fan 🙂, In the case of FJ Cruiser that uses VF2A Transfer Case, it's Chain-Driven and uses Planetary Gear, which is better explained through a diagram and a video below: 1. Planetary Gear: there's only 1 Gear involved in Gear Reduction from 4H to 4LO, highlighted in Yellow in this Service Manual Diagram of FJ Cruiser Transfer Case: 2. Chain-Driven: When FJ Driver switches from 2WD to 4WD, it already engages the Chain Belt, so even in 4H the Chain is rotating and passing power to the front & rear diffs... Changing it to 4LO doesn't change the belt reaction, it simply moves the fork down so that 1 Gear from point #1 above is in-place and changes the ratio, thus spinning the belt slower (providing slower output to front & rear diffs). This is best explained in the video below starting at minute 13:55 👇 The beauty of Chain-Driven mechanism is that it will still work with no oil or little oil... this is why in our bicycle you rarely need to lubricate the chain between the "pedal gear" and the "wheel gear"... Gear-Driven Transfer Case like my LandCruiser is such a maintenance hassle requiring full lubrication to work, and a hard lesson learned for me who got a broken Transfer Case + broken front diff due to no gear oil inside the transfer case 😂😂😂 Source: http://www.differencebox.com/engineering/difference-between-chain-drive-and-gear-drive/

Dear @Asif Hussain thank you so much for a wonderful Liwa -Yellow truck experience. Thoroughly enjoyed it , being my first time in Liwa. @Sergio Big Dawg and @Simon Dawood great driving on this challenging terrain , was a treat to watch from the back. Thanks Sergio for sharing some wonderful videos. Catch up with you all some time soon👍

I have a Bulletpoint mount. Phone + Go Pro. It's robust and nice.

I have been using vicseed phone holder with suction cup , got it from Amazon us. Shipping takes a while https://www.amazon.ae/Universal-VICSEED-Dashboard-Windshield-Adjustable/dp/B07R1QZ8V1/ref=sr_1_5?adgrpid=119211640073&gclid=CjwKCAiAhreNBhAYEiwAFGGKPP6nt33L8SUJhxIlyMC3vKl9Kjv4kKaIJZzTeOOuWcTY_C-uT_QJpBoCmJwQAvD_BwE&hvadid=532488075351&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=1000013&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=18396172631103635202&hvtargid=kwd-597317231924&hydadcr=26640_2558929&keywords=vicseed+car+phone+mount&qid=1638862307&sr=8-5 For a 6 to 6.5 inch phone it works fine even in summer on my Xterra. Have been using it for quite a while with no issues , for my style of driving😜 on sand. Additionally I use another phone mounted on the mirror at times with lesser zoom so that I know which way I am heading as below. This option is not as sturdy in bumpy situations https://www.amazon.ae/SKEIDO-Holder-Universal-Rear-view-Mirror/dp/B07WZN9CRZ/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=car+mirror+phone+holder&qid=1638862463&sr=8-6

Good question, but not easy to answer as i've tried many and most of them failed miserably: * Glass suction cup models just fell off due to the summer heat sometimes. Tried a few and gave up. * The ones that stick onto the vent channels actually broke my vent channels. I ended up sticking some velcro to the dashboard and onto my gps phone, and this works fine for me.

Congrats @MMansoor - nicely done!

Wonderful post @Zed My only thing to add is my assumption that when using 4L, there are more gears involved (used) in the transfer case, leading to more heat, hence the much higher risk of destroying your transfer case. Is that correct ?

Congratulations @kiranshinde well done

I'm reviewing the videos, I'll keep on adding on this post: Here we have some interesting drops and Asif parking in the crest 😂 : https://gopro.com/v/62geQ7Q04kr6o Arrival at the yellow truck: https://gopro.com/v/KRqk6o0lyZrRa Quite a big drop: https://gopro.com/v/8vgyB7V5onaXX Difficult climb in soft patch: https://gopro.com/v/lrzQl33Zr3EV5 Fun climb and drop: https://gopro.com/v/zPopXBX1PDzp1 Fun sequence: https://gopro.com/v/zPopD65Kl67ZK

https://gulfnews.com/uae/saturday-sunday-weekend-from-january-1-in-uae-four-and-half-day-working-week-1.1638864606070

This drive is organized in full compliance with the COVID19 guidelines. We expect every member that joins this drive to go through below information and strictly follow these guidelines in order not to jeopardize someone's health, and to ensure we can keep organizing these drives safely. MUST READ AND TOTALLY AGREE: COVID19 Precautions Mandatory Safety Requirements Ban from Carnity Off-road Club Two Way Radio Guidelines Drive Details Level: Newbies and above When: 01 Dec 2021, Wednesday Meeting time: 7:30 AM (SHARP - Without any exceptions) Starting Point: https://goo.gl/maps/bZ77eVtDJqDhGJBm7 You can come early and camp in same starting point if you like. Last Fuel Station: https://goo.gl/maps/D6t1rXkuecZScyPZ9 NO 100 Liters of FUEL = NO DRIVE - Carry additional jerry cans accordingly SWB Cars = 2 Jerry can of extra fuel LWB Cars = 1 Jerry can of extra fuel 100+ liter fuel tank cars = No need for extra fuel. Lunch Break: 1 Hour in between with couple of short breaks (if needed). Type of Car: Any proper 4x4 with front and back tow hooks and 8-10 inches of ground clearance. What to bring along: Loads of water, lunch, snacks, face mask, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Approximate finish time: 4:00 PM End Point: https://goo.gl/maps/hcRAsNvzKXnFDTMm7 THIS IS A COMPRESSOR ONLY DRIVE. LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE: Limited to 12 Newbies and above drivers. RSVP will close on 29 Nov, Monday - 9 AM. If the RSVP is full and you wish to join, please mention your name on the drive thread to add on the waiting list. Latecomers will be returned back - without ANY EXCEPTIONS. Members without RSVP will be returned back - without ANY EXCEPTIONS. Please withdraw your RSVP, if you aren't joining, so your spot can be taken by others. Repeated no-show members after RSVP will have their account suspended for a month. Please RSVP on Below Calendar:

Hi @Anton Dimov I added you to the drive. You can bring your son but he has to sit in a proper carseat.

I've rebuilt my chain-driven transfer case (looks very similar to the video) twice now, and i can tell you without any doubt that if it would run without oil, it would not last long. I remember looking at the operating temperatures of a transfer case during offroading, and temperatures of 80-100 degrees Celsius seemed to be common. Rotation generates friction, which in turn generates heat... So should we be assuming that the stories of so many offroaders driving in 4L and overheating their transfer cases are all fake news ? I fail to believe so. @Gaurav his encyclopedic brain might come in handy here on how many offroader he has encountered that busted their transfer cases from driving in low gear all the time.

Nothing fancy but I use a magnetic mount too in my truck. Works perfectly fine even on desert drives.

Al Qudra Last exit, 2.00PM done

Thanks for your response...there another school that says that it absolutely does nothing to the FJ gear box as long as you keep shifting gear 4 and 3 on a 4 Low amd use for short burst. I have used it for short climb and it does wonders to the power. I would love to invite more comments there is another club which encourages this.

Congratulations @Stav for reaching the Fewbie Plus Level with Carnity Offroad Club. Looking forward to seeing you growing further and helping others to learn the art of offroading in a safe environment. Please make sure your Carnity user profile is always updated with all the latest Emergency contact details. P.S. Trip lead might deny your participation if you don't have required off-road gear. FEWBIE PLUS Drives Attended (Indicative) Minimum 10 Fewbie drives are required within last 6 months for Fewbie Plus promotion. What you'll learn Advance dune and sand reading Advance recovery techniques Rocking and crawling to make path Learn to flatten/compact soft sand patch Self recovery from crest Advance side sloping and long hill climb Advance ridge riding and criss crossing Advance control over technical dunes Slightly faster pace desert driving FULLY control and avoid fishtailing Never fight or challenge gravity Skills required Enthusiastic and positive attitude Willingness to learn and help others Extremely attentive and focused while driving Car Worthiness Any 4x4 vehicle with low range gearing Suitable approach and departure angle Bash plate and skid plate protected Off-road gear required Safety flag, tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio (walkie-talkie), air compressor. Drive teamwork Manage second lead and sweep positions upon request Intuitive and proactive to support Trip Lead Observe recoveries and offer help, when needed Drive Joining Join Newbie, Fewbie and Fewbie Plus drives Forum participation Active participation on the forum Share drive experience + feedback Share drive pictures in the gallery Post trip report after the drive

- Toyota Prado - only once with friends’ help - i think there’s one at the back not too sure of the back

Thank you @Chaitanya D for the warm welcome. I am driving a 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe Z71 which both 4H & 4L gear options. Yes my car has front & rear tow hooks in good condition. I do have off-roading experience from another club where I have done 3 drives. Looking forward to trip on Friday. Cheers, Salman

Well deserved @Xavier Treasurer !!

Congratulations @Simon Claes 👏🏼

Last year, I viewed a lot of awesome photos and read a lot of great reports about the Liwa drives. This year, I made it a point to visit the Yellow Truck and I am glad that I did. Liwa did deliver on its promise by leaps and bounds. My day started well. When I stopped at the 2nd last petrol station to refuel before the meeting point, I bumped into these 2 legends @Gaurav @Srikumar , after a quick hello, I tailed them to the meeting point. The weather was perfect. It was still foggy when we arrived at the meeting point and slowly more people (and cars) arrived and the buzz, enthusiasm and activities went a notch higher. I had the pleasure of meeting @Niki whom I had communicated over WhatsApp on FJ matters on numerous occasions. and he was ever so informative and helpful. Also, thanks for the croissant and coffee! I have not been driving regularly this year and since I know Liwa is challenging, I am glad that I joined this drive under the great leadership of @Srikumarand @Anish S . I have driven quite a few times with these 2 gentlemen before and I enjoyed their clear communication, style of convoy and driving. I knew that I am in safe hands and I will get to enjoy the beautiful Liwa. After the clear and precise briefing from Sri, particularly, on how to descend from the tall dunes, we got started and it was indeed exciting. Most of us had to check our tyre pressure and deflate a couple of times as the pressure gradually increased with the temperature. I enjoyed being in SL and get to see for myself the perfect lines and throttle applied by Sri on the soft Liwa sand dunes. We had a few enjoyable shoveling sessions, also an opportunity to rest, rehydrate and enjoy the scenery. The first long break came when Sri and Anish had to troubleshoot the overheating issues on the LR3. It was a good call to take a break to the Yellow Truck and come back later after the car has cooled down. Great help from @Asif Hussain to get the LR3's clutch fan to work again and @Derius Oliviermanaged to drive the second half session without any problems. @Ali Shah Thanks for the great conversations and you are doing really well as this is just your second drive. I hope there will be many more drives for you. @Adnan Halepota@Karthik Raptor @Derius Olivier Everyone drove really well! I really enjoyed this convoy and glad that we navigated Liwa safely and came out in one piece. Thanks again for all the hard work and dedication from @Srikumar @Anish S and not forgetting the great help from @Asif Hussain Dr @Chaitanya D We got out shortly before sunset and made it back to Dubai in good time. I hope to see you all again soon.

Congrats man! See you in more and more rides

@MMansoor congrats and well done

Hi @Stav, congratulations.

Congratulations @Stav

congrats @Stav

@M.Seidamthank you very much sir, your support is really appreciated!

Bravo Satvros @Stav congratulations 🎉 keep the passion up smooth and safe . You drove like pro in Lisaili 😉

I will be camping there tomorrow. is there mobile coverage at the meeting spot? Looking forward to this!