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RSVP NOW CLOSED. @DP1011 @Lukas Wii @Wayne Momsen @Steve Farmer @Steffi @saumik1989 @Glenn W @Danie @Jerome @Krinesh @Cristian Hey guys - hope you're all looking forward to tomorrow morning's easy cruise through the fun dunes of Faya! The ride order will be as below. We will use Channel 7 (446.156-25). Let's aim to be aired down and start the briefing together at 6am...rough plan will be to step a little way south before cruising east towards the sun through the long-range dunes of Faya, looking for a bowl or two, a stop at the Fox Dens, and some play areas. We will aim to exit onto the E20 around 09.30 or so. The temperatures are up, so do check the fluid levels on your cars tonight (oil, coolant) and yourselves (bring plenty of fluids!).

Have fun @ChrisW @DP1011 and convoy!!

Putting ChatGPT to work: You can almost split these into two generations: Traditional off-road engines (1990s–early 2010s): generally operate around 85–92°C. This includes the Patrol TB48, Toyota 1GR-FE family, Xterra VQ40, and older Pajeros. Modern gasoline engines (mid-2010s onward): often target 100–105°C during normal driving. Examples are the Pentastar V6 in the Wrangler and Ford's EcoBoost engines, reflecting modern strategies for improved fuel economy and lower emissions. This is one reason people moving from a Patrol, FJ Cruiser, or Xterra into a modern Wrangler often think the Jeep is "running hot"—when in reality, it's operating exactly where it was engineered to.

Ahh, would have loved to have you along @Glenn W but thanks for letting us know this afternoon. Revised order:

As we enter the summer season, @Sam Selim and I have been watching the gauges on our Jeep JL 3.6L 4x4's - which quickly raises a question...what does normal look like? Our hobby means we push cars harder and in unusual conditions, often in ways for which they were not directly designed. A quick glance will tell you if everything is OK (i.e. all the needles are below red-lines), but over time many of us develop a gut feeling for what looks normal and when things are outside of what we would expect to see. I decided on today's drive with @Mark B to snatch a few data points and look at things with a bit more detail: Couple of major points to relate my gut feelings to what you see: The oil pressure on the Pentastar engine varies with RPM, with typically around 30 PSI below circa 3000 RPM, rising to 70 PSI when revving higher - the key point is just to ensure you don't have too low oil pressure (<<30 PSI). Oil temperature is a leading indicator: if you push hard, it moves up quickly, and vice-versa. This is to be expected, as engine oil has the dual job of lubricating the engine as well as drawing heat. Coolant temperature is a lagging indicator: The coolant temperature rises when pushing the engine, but at a slower rate - it also cools down less quickly too. Also on the Jeep JL, the fan will kick into max power at 110 degC and pull the temperature down again. If you see the temperature going beyond 110 degC and can't hear the fan (or the temperature keeps rising), it's time to do something (like come to a stop!). Transmission Temperature: It's a slow mover with plenty of margin to the limit value. However my suspicion is that once this gets hot, it will take some time to cool down again. What does normal look like on your car, and what are the big red flags for you?

on the FJ I have never seen the coolant over 93, oil I have seen at 95 max. What worries me is the ATF, on a spirited FB+ that often goes to 105, occasionally higher say 110 and in extreme cases 113-114. No aux cooler fitted, but it is in the planning. The trouble with ATF oil is that high temps cause trouble in the long term, and you don’t see them as you don’t change ATF often nor do you have a dipstick to check the color. Below a bit of an indication on what temp does to the oil, forget about ‘lifetime oil’ for this hobby!

Ecoboost (if not Raptor with external cooling for ATF) temperatures for ATF are very close to Coolant temperature, as it's one cooling system.

This is fantastic information to have and since i am also behind the Jeep wheel, will monitor this closely as well. 1. 2008 Pajero. Engine temperatures were always under control as long as there was proper airflow from driving. During idling on hot summer days, you could see the engine temperature creeping up a bit and the AC becoming more stuffy. The only well known issue we faced was high transmission temps when doing a self-recovery. That's why most people install the Aux fan on the tranny cooler. 2. 2008 Xterra and 2012 Pathfinder. Is equipped with a very confusing gauge on the dash. On the GCC models the needle would be all the way at the bottom, even at 95C. On the US Spec it would be more towards the middle like this: Luckily there was a special function mode that allowed you to monitor the digital readings while off-roading. Normal temp range was 90-96C. Idling was also a bit of an issue, and it would slowly creep up further. Giving some throttle while idling would bring it down back to 90-92C quickly. Lots of people install the Nissan 350Z thermostat that opens a bit earlier. This helps. On older 4x4's it was often quite obvious that the fan clutch was on the way out, so it would never really go to full speed because the silicon fluid from inside the fan clutch was lost or not on the right level anymore. Can be refilled but for 450dhs it's better to just replace with a new fan clutch. 3. 1999 Pajero and 1999 Trooper Hardly ever faced any issues, with temperatures in the low to mid 90's even while pushing. Most likely due to the smaller engines (generates less heat), more space in the engine bay, and manual transmissions. Of course this was only achieved with new radiator, fan clutch, and properly maintained cooling system. On the Trooper i've installed an aux fan that helps to pull in some more air while idling in the desert. 4. Nissan Patrol Safari 2021 Due to the big engine and cramped engine bay, things generally run a bit hot. I've never had issues as the car was almost like new, but i remember seeing 102-104C during a technical drive with Davie in the middle of summer around noon time. Many offroaders that want to push the Patrol will go for bigger fans (Mercedes fan for example) to keep things under control, as well as upgrading the transmission coolers. If thinking about tuning then this definitely becomes a necessity.

@ChrisW!

@ChrisW @DP1011 there’s a chance that I might not be able to support the drive on Saturday morning due to some critical work activity going on. I’ll update you by Friday afternoon.