Gaurav

That's very neat work, glad to see this project seeing some sunshine now. Good work buddy, keep it up and hope you have someone to hold your hand in dark moments.

Totally agree, on words of wisdom.

For sure you have an electrical issue or installation of the non-compliant product like your Piranha Battery protector that must be switching off everything after the certain time to save battery. Read here: http://www.piranhaoffroad.com.au/product/dual-battery-management/battery-monitors-protectors Second one looks like a dash cam or GPS antenna. Post a close-up pic for better understanding. Thirdly for your traction, google or search here on how to switch off traction control completely, as some cars have VSC / traction button to control traction with click or push or long press of a button. For driving and enjoying your FJC in sand, you can join the carnity off road club, created by one of the most seasoned off-roader having 10+ years experience in desert driving and training.

You can also find the hole in the firewall that opens in cabin footwell area and stick that hole with temporary insulation / sound proofing sheet. I did that same in my Pajero and road noise (espcially engine noise) reduced by 50% at least. Usually, that firewall hole is provided to pass the wires from engine bay to cabin. Remove front side carpet and look around for some hole with wires coming from engine bay.

I once refused the Range Rover deal for 5k more than my set price in mind, and I regret that till today as it was super clean and low mileage car. I offered him 10k extra than the market, but owner was expecting 15k premium....!

McLaren really tries very hard to beat their own records, but apparently, almost all model looks so damn identical.

This guy is a serious visionary and thinks miles ahead of the competition. In few years time they will commercialize this trips far cheaper than NASA budget.

Wow, that's the creepiest news I have heard in a long time. 8 years.....!

Glad to see you back Noor. We missed you and Basel a lot.

Knowing your vehicle current limitation and timing restrictions, I kept it near abu Dhabi and that too afternoon drive. I highly recommend you should join and drive too, we can always scale the drive to be run within first, second and third gear.

It's time to explore an unexplored territory of Al Ain, near to Al Ain Airport that we have spotted while "Around the UAE in one-day" drive. This area has medium to large size dunes. and seems very nice and appealing from the road. We will have plenty of opportunities to test our driving skills by climbing sideways, ridge riding, ridge cutting and to climb huge dunes to its peak and capture some stunning pictures. This drive is meant for Intermediate level. When: 09 February 2018, Friday Meeting time: 12:00 PM, convoy will move sharply at 12:45 PM Where: Mosque near Al Ain Airport Meeting point: Mosque: https://goo.gl/maps/AMPq283T5wS2 Deflation point: https://goo.gl/maps/pH3BrpSEMhF2 - 24.308554, 55.621123 - (15 min drive from meeting point) Please fill up your fuel tank and have lunch prior to the meeting point. Level of Drive: Fewbie - Intermediate - Expert - Advance Type of Car: Any proper 4x4 with front and back tow hooks and 10 inches of ground clearance Plan: Explore new territory What to bring along: afternoon snacks, whatever you like with little extra to share, water, liquids, smiles, stories, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Approximate finish time: 6 PM, 9th February 2018, Friday RSVP the below calendar:

I agree very much, as I just used this for rent a month back and it was a pain to shift while parking.

I would love to, but not in 50 degrees

I have a similar invertor and don't go by the word what it says for 1000W. Before doing any major exercise I suggest to run inverter with battery and power up the PlayStation and display to see if this metal box is actually supplying required wattage. Additional fuse what Barry suggested is for wire installation and it's a good practice to add the fuse in case some surge happen so it won't fry your devices or melt wire.

In an ideal world for awesome clarity and crisp output, everything should route through AMP. You should have 4 channel decent AMP for 4 speakers and 2 Channel AMP for the woofer. Or you can get powerful 4 channel AMP and use two channel for 4 speakers by clubbing front left + rear left as one set and so on for right side and use other 2 channel for the woofer. Or you can get 6 channel AMP but the price will be a lot more than having two AMP. Secondly in any sound system built, the head unit is the main jewel in the crown. Do not compromise on that, I was having 3 years old Sony xplod single 52W RMS unit that I replaced with Pioneer 100W RMS and just by replacing the head unit, the whole sound scene changed dramatically. While doing my system some of the geniuses here advise me too to go for the used component, but after researching the main issue I stopped. Expensive cars factory unit run with a lot of support at AMP and controller level and design with that size and sound space inside that car, so unless you rip every sound module from the donor car and place it exactly same in your car you won't' enjoy, as you will lose the secret recipe of "config". I have gone to my friend's place to listen to his Harman Kardon speaker and realize they sound too bad as just speaker alone from scrap can't do the full justice. They perform well only at a certain level and moment you want to crank up the volume, you realize there is something wrong. Crutchfield has tons of good information and build list, that I strongly suggest to use and educate from. IMHO go for new one so that you can size everything perfectly for your car.

Exactly the point, I think most of us drive alone more than 75% of the time.

The seat is very nice or it's just a refurb, maybe...! I always wonder why car makers don't make single seater car on 4 wheels (not bike/trike) which is safe, small and less fuel consumption for daily drives.

Super hilarious find @Barry I was stunned by Xterra and Mercedes flaws. Seriously you don't expect this level of stupidity from A class car manufacturers. BTW, lifetime gear oil and crap oil is a money pit and when you challenge any German or American car maker with that, they defend by saying that it's lifetime of the gearbox and not car. Very cleverly thought idea. Ideally without a gear oil change gearbox will die soon after 100K and the same gearbox can work flawlessly for 300K with proper schedule maintenance of changing oil every 40-50K. Dam commercialization.

Awesome input from @Frederic Nuyttens, I wish I knew you in person while setting up my system. Your explanation and pain points remind me of my journey and I'm sure @Barry can relate to it as well. Keep going, buddy. @skumar83 THE MOST important decision before anything you need to make is the choice of setup with or without woofer so that can size things accordingly. Previous explanation of Fredrick goes for the system with woofer, so if you go with that build and minus woofer, you will not enjoy. I was very clear from the beginning that I can't afford a woofer space in my dinky boot that is already loaded with tons of off-road equipment and that's why I went for the real powerful rear speaker that deliver door-shattering bass if you turn up the bass remote from AMP (remote is place next to driver). Finding the head unit that delivers 100 RMS is must and also it's pain in entry-level setup. Pioneer only has one system that delivers 100 RMS x 4 channel DEH-X4850FD. Just to give you an idea, entry-level setup costs from 2000 - 3000 AED, Pro level cost in the range of 5k - 6k with likes of Focal, JBL, Harman Kardon etc. Competition level cost in range 10K - Sky is the limit.

Here is my current audio system build - Pioneer (all the way), that I and Barry have built last year. SUPER happy with the output and loud enough to have crisp detail with enough bass for little outdoor gathering even. Pioneer TS-A1686S - 350W - 60W RMS (Front speaker) - 150 AED Pioneer TS-A6996S - 650W - 100W RMS (Rear Speaker) - 200 AED Pioneer TS-S20 - 200W - 20mm amorphous-titanium-coated dome tweeters - 250 AED Pioneer DEH-X4850FD - 100W x 4 Channel (Head unit) - 375 AED Pioneer GM-D8604 - 1200W Class FD 4 Channel Bridgeable Car Amplifier - 500 AED Oxygen free cable for wiring - 100 AED High-quality AMP cables - 100 AED Labor in 3 places - 300 AED Total: 1975 AED My strong advice is to first make up your mind 100% on which all components you want and then go with one shot buying and installation, as that will save you labor cost, time and hassle A LOT. I have done in 3 tranches and regret the time and money wastage. For road noise, there are soundproofing ways that you can ask the sound installation guy to place it and seal all doors. Of course, it's not cheap though and it may cost in the range of 800 - 1000 AED additional.

This is totally absurd and I'm more surprised that how people agree to inhale fumes for bloody 11 USD for two hours. It was very clever on VW, Merc and BMW part for forming and funding EUGT to put the blame on them (if exposed) and wash their hands. Now the bigger question is, does diesel fumes really have carcinogen.....?

I like to welcome three newbies to the Carnity offroad club: Aref, Prakash and Vinod. All of them drove very well and had lot of patience and understanding to follow the brief for safe off-roading. Thanks to my limited memory chip, I completely forgot this area and it was like totally new area for me after several years of break. It was something different and had the perfect mix of all terrain for the newbies. We had 2 cars, with really low bumpers and to my surprise, both of them managed very well and exited with the same bumper in place. Special thanks to Rahim bhai lead to keep everyone safe and we manage to finish drive with just one stuck in 5-6 hours. It's always good to meet new faces and exchange different cuisines at the end, that makes any drive complete with social touch and knowing each other.

You are more than welcome Annabel, good to have you here too.

Very good choice of area sirji, it will remind a lot of age-old memory of very first area to offroad back in those days. It must be more than 5-6 years I have visited this long forgotten playground.