Gaurav

With this Suzuki Jimny Sierra experiement looks like Suzuki seriously wants to enter the proper 4x4 market and give other big boys run for their money be it Wrangler, FJC, Xterra. Looks like if this Jimny Sierra experiment becomes successful then they might toss higher hp engine for the middle east, US, Australia and other places where sand defines the 75% of offroad terrain.

So they covered all offroad terrain except the sand in the video, just a bit of snow but on tracks only. Indeed this Jimny Sierra looks very nice and sturdy and Suzuki has really done a good job with this 2019 Jimny Sierra, can't wait to see this new Jimny in action in UAE offroad terrain.

After more than a month break, I and Pajero are ready to come back. As Pajero has recently had an engine change, so let's venture in some easy area to test it fully in off-road terrain. Let's drive in Mahafiz area during the night and plan to reach to Fossil rock. Depending on heat, timing and everyone convenience, we might head to faya if time permits. When: 20 July 2018 Meeting time: 12:00 AM, convoy will move sharp at 12:15 AM Where: Adnoc Petrol Station Maleha Road GPSCoordinate: https://goo.gl/maps/bz4Sh5wyi5A2 Level of drive: Fewbie - Expert - Advance - All are welcome (absolute newbie and newbie as passengers only) Type of Car: Any proper 4x4 with front and back tow hooks and 10 inches of ground clearance Plan: Night drive from Muhafiz to Camel Rock to Faya and further if time permits What to bring along: Loads of snacks, plenty of water - whatever you like with little extra to share, water, liquids, smiles, stories, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Approximate finish time: 6:00 AM RSVP the below calendar:

Very nicely written review, that can make anyone tempted to jump on buying the pickup. Especially myself, who have never had a pickup and always wish to own due to its looks and class but always double minded due to the parking woes, cornering and offroad capabilities being Extra LWB.

Very nice review @Danny, I totally agree with everything you said as I had 2012 model up until last year. Only thing is DISLIKE the most about that Mustang is the driver seat position that hit the driver right knee into center console all the time. Maybe this was because of my height or previously spoiled with bigger 4x4 seating.

My non-techy advise: you should always change the oil and filter together as a rule of thumb - be it gear oil or engine oil so that the oil contamination chances are completely over-ruled. I have read it online, that in some military vehicles where oil supply is scarce to reach, they change the oil filter and still use the same oil for some more kms without an issue. So the bottom line is you can still get away by reusing old oil but not filter.

Thanks @desertdude, I rem that semi-synth explanation, which does make sense and will be sticking to full-synth or mineral now - if everyone thinks it's better over fully-synth in an older engine. @shadow79, if we go by your pointer on more clearance need thicker oil, then what happen if engine spec need synth and semi-synth from owner manual and you feed with mineral, which will result in uneven lubrication - as per previously explaining thread that talks about the major difference between Synth and Mineral is the consistent lubrication. As synth has regular molecules compare to mineral oil - uneven molecules. @treks do you also think that in an older engine, thicker viscosity blend is better than thinner.....? Another observation: Since last 7 years I'm using Mobil1 purchased from Dubai authorized dealer, but since 3-4 months I have sourced a tad cheaper Mobil1 from Ajman, as a clearance of old stock. Is that older stock could be a concern to get the oil to such a thinner level.......? I personally feel it may be something else, as I have been pushing this car lot more for continuous hours and hours and it never died like this. On the contrary, the day when an engine died, we had a very relaxed drive in the night and took a break for 2 hours and I checked the engine oil level too and color too while passing time. After that, we had 5 km track and tarmac drive before hitting the hill climb challenge means the engine was super relaxed and in an ideal operating temperature. Within the second or third climb attempt engine made those nasty rockers noise and I exited.

After my recent Pajero engine failure, I'm doubting everything to anything that comes across relating to engine maintenance and health. I have been using a semi-synthetic blend of Mobil1 - 10W40 always. As per my Pajero owner manual also says 10W40. Mobil1 - 10W40 has a life of 7k kms, and I always change between 4-5k due to offroad use. And when the engine failed that oil was less than 2k driven, and upon inspection as per mechanic educated guess - oil must have thinned out too much under stress and fail to reach to all parts and shot the engine or oil pump failed partially. Now some advices that using mineral is better than synthetic as it will not become thin under stress like water and help provide all-round lubrication under stress too. Is it true.....?

After a lot of searching, patience and prayers from all of you finally I got lucky to source a really clean, low km driven (68K Km), original Japanese engine for my beloved Pajero - exactly same as mine 6G74 + DOHC As it is so rare and so clean and hardly used on road only, it cost me quite a lot: 6K only engine OR 7K for full half cut, so after testing and firing the engine early this week with Saleem and Jalil, we decided to go for half cut as many bits and pieces were so unused and fresh that we can use almost all of it to breathe a new life. Thanks to Saleem and Jalil for endless support and advice. Opened the initial engine ancillary items yesterday and it seems all look good and now we are in process of changing to new timing belt, plugs, engine main seal, converter seal etc. Hoping to plonk the engine soon and fire it by tomorrow. Keeping my fingers crossed until then. Special thanks to Jabal Tokyo owner / partner - Ahmed, who has been kind enough to give me a call within 10 mins of this half cut arriving and I manage to seal the deal immediately.

And also as per my recent research electrical are better than OBD ones, as they only catch the fluctuation what OBD tells them and in case if OBD doesn't record exhaust or oil pressure then they won't deliver that.

Very cute looking with good approach and departure angles

This is really bizarre to hear Japanese automaker Nissan also caught falsifying the emission data as per BBC article. Now admittance in time will decide if it was an omission or intentional after the full investigation. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44763905

Ok guys, I know the pro guys run Motec and other stuff that a normal weekend warrior really cannot afford to spend upto 5-10k USD just for gauges unless you are doing these stuff for a living. So my question is what is the best and reasonably priced gauge that every weekend warrior can afford to keep a close eye on engine oil temp and pressure, water temp and exhaust temp to know when to stop pushing if things go south - once in a while.

Do you have Dash Race Display Sensor kit that can show the exhaust, oil, water temp and pressures?

Just a food for thought, how about going for "almost" all in one cluster for key data like Exhaust temp, Water Temp, Oil Temp, Oil Pressure etc in one single digital panel. It is supplied with individual sensor and wiring and all those get connected to control panel that is hooked with digital panel, looks pretty neat but pricey. Anyone tried this one.....? How about this one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/132641287237

There are few cheap and expensive ways and I'll explain both but suggest for an expensive way - SURELY While selling your car you can reserve your plate number in your RTA file for small money 25 for 3 months 50 for 6 months OR you can pay 1500 AED and buy your own plate permanently so that you can not transfer it by mistake and never have to spend money on reserving for certain months I used to hold by small money before and once while selling the car I forgot to hold and car new registration card has been printed with my plate number. After that, I spend a lot more money to buy back my own plate due to some de-registration and re-registration process and then spend 1500 AED for lifetime that plate in my file. So it's better to spend 1500 initially if you are 100% certain than 2000 - 2500 later on.

As soon I entered the world of off-roading in Dubai back in 2006 with much awaited Land Cruiser LWB - desert safari special, I realize that it's too heavy for real dune bashing and every convoy used to wait for my refusals and failed attempt. After the first stage of denial, I realized that I need something small and nimble and then my attention got glued to the next King of the desert in Dubai - Nissan Patrol. After a few months of searching, I finally got lucky with the 2006 model Nissan Patrol GL - SWB with the manual gearing. This 4x4 had no "bells and whistle" other than the real grunt of a capable off-roader, but it was a true head turner and it came almost desert ready with Aragosta rally suspension with lift, BF Goodrich tires, Warn winch, and plenty of underbody protection mods. All mods were done very tastefully and still able to pass the RTA test back in those days. I had this Patrol for about 2 years and never spent any extra money other than the regular maintenance. I just had an issue with the front wheel bearing once, so changed it outside the agency under 600-800 dhs. Every time I used to send this car to the agency and was very happy with its performance, looks and reliability. Due to stiffer suspension, it was a pain to drive on the long drives, as I did few Oman visit and came back with a sore back. Nissan Patrol with 4.5 V6 engines in such short body was a killer recipe for any off-road enthusiast's to climb the dunes with zero run-ups with the torque so huge that you can even drag up instantly with even 5 people in the car. It was an amazing 4x4 for self-recovering in almost any worst situation and 1st gear torque was the best friend ever to rock/crawl out of any sticky spots. Being so ready with power delivery and torque it was a true gas guzzler that I could see the fuel gauge needle move during serious pushing. I haven't used to maintain the fuel logs, back in those days but it must be close to 20 L/100 on road in two wheels and close to 30L/100 in 4x4 mode. The first gear for the road was too short, that you will always spin wheels unintentionally if you are in rush, so starting on 2nd was the best option to have a good drag till 40 and then change to 3rd. In off-road first gear was a blessing to go anywhere with zero momentum or climb up sideways and splash sand and still go upward on side slopes - had a crazy power. However, this year model up until 2008 had a known issue with its gearing and downshifting on a long hill climb was a disaster. You can't attack tall dunes in 1st as it was too short that 6-7K rpm will get you 20-30 speed, and downshift from 2nd to 1st you will wait until 2500 rpm so it will again spoil the long hill climbing momentum. It should have allowed downshifting just above 3000 - 3500 band to let continue the momentum and plus without breaking the speed. This issue has been addressed by Nissan after 2009 model and in 4800 VTEC models. As many of my friends and cousins have swapped the gearing of 4500 with 4800 model and were very happy on the long hill climb. There was another known issue for Nissan Patrol I heard was a bent differential due to heavy offroading. Luckily I never had that, as the previous owner has installed good braces under the differential to prevent this from happening. Almost all my friends had their diff bent within 2-3 years of regular off-roading, some got changed in warranty by Arabian Automobile and some left to spend their own hard earn money. If anyone is looking for this year model to buy, then you must check that engine and gear mounts are safe to drive as I have seen few Patrols when you give full gas, engine shake to the right side and can cause some other damage. The second thing to check is the wheel bearing and steering alignment is straight or not as due to offroad jumps and irregular landing this might have been damaged. The third is to check differential is still straight or bent already due to jumps or offroad impacts. Resale value of this beast is always a very big plus point if you maintain it well. I bought this for 80K and sold for 60-65 after little more than 2 years. As it's fun to drive and fun for weekend offroaders so it's always in demand in used car market due to less supply.

Very nice review and amazing 49 years old beauty still alive and kept under pristine condition. True respect for the owner and his enthusiasm, very rare to find such car enthusiast's

Very nice thread and an idea of reliving those old memories @Barry My Cars are always my star and I am very proud to have petrol engined legacy for next gen to come and share my stories. Finally, I have to dig my drive for old collection, found almost all my cars except my very first car in Dubai - Nissan Sunny, but that car number plate Dubai A 46329 has been living with me ever since.

I will be planning the same at end of Aug if that interests you, you are more than welcome to join. Alternatively, you can post your July trip and see if someone wants to join now.

Find a shop who can plug and play before you buy to impress what you really want. I was in a similar situation last year and after testing 3 units, I decided to upgrade my speakers and add a high-quality amp under the seat and the bass boost is much better than any compact subwoofer. Of course, nothing can beat a dedicated full-size subwoofer but if space is a constraint you need to pick a side. You can read more in detail from my build OR Sri's thread

Indeed it's worth every penny if you are an iPhone user. I was about to buy Garmin Montana and then scrapped that plan after using MotionX

Very good and informative review from a real owner.