Srikumar

Alright Sweihan boys, we are going to have the wonderful support of @Vanessa8580 and @Luca Palanca Falsini on this drive. So like I mentioned yesterday, be ready to push, push and push some more. The pace is going to be brisk, so we need your A game for tomorrow's drive. The meeting point has been updated on the drive post as well as the calendar event. Convoy numbering for tomorrow : 1. SK - XJ 2. Mustafa - Pajero LWB @Mus_hus78 3. Zed - LC 200 @Zed 4. Taufique - Xterra @Taufique Surve 5. Warren - Pajero SWB @Warren Flay 6. Luca - Fortuner @Luca Palanca Falsini 7. Farouq - JGC @Farouq Owdeh 8. Xavier - Xterra @Xavier Treasurer 9. Ruan - Wrangler @Ruan van den Heever 10. Vanessa - Pajero LWB @Vanessa8580 The meeting time is 5:00 AM, but if you reach early please deflate and if the entire convoy has reached we would start the drive early. We would be using Carnity Channel 3 for tomorrow's drive.

Congrats @Islam Soliman I remember last year on the AN where you brought the Yukon with low hanging bumpers and airdams. Since then both car and driver have gone through many transformations and have achieved amazing feats on the sand Your passion for the drives is unmatched. Well deserved my friend.

Congratulations @Hisham Masaad. Look forward to meeting you soon.

Thank you @Tamas Hoffmann , you will definitely be missed. it's going to be great catching up with some amazing AD drivers. So gentlemen start your engine and be prepared to push the limits of your car and your mind. Look forward to another Rocking drive in Sweihan. Meeting point would be updated shortly.

All wranglers come with AT tyres as stock from the factory, just the size would change depending on the trim from 29 (Sports trim) inch to 33 inch (Rubicon). Anyways, assuming that you are not running AT tyres this is my recommendation: 1. Switching to AT tyres of the same size is a wise choice. 2. If you are riding on 245/75/16 that means it's almost the same as a 30 inch tyre and not a 29 inch tyre. Then a 265/70/16 would have the same diameter as your existing tyre (245/75/16). But the increase in width might cause a bit of rubbing at full turns. Only way to find out is by putting the tyre and driving it a couple of meters. 3. Increasing the width doesn't always help with driving on the sand as you are also increasing the weight of the tyre. Increased width helps in better stability while crisscrossing dunes as well as better grip during self recovery, but long hill climbs would be affected due to more weight. 4. Out of the 3 options you have provided I would go with Yokohama everyday of the year. Lift is required if you are going to increase the size from your current tyres to say 33 inch, but other than the looks they add no advantage, and are probably a disadvantage for sand driving

I thought all JKU's come with stock AT tyres. Didnt know they come with HT tyres. Anyways, as long as you keep the overall diameter and width of the tyre the same, there will be no rubbing issues if you upgrade to AT tyres. May I ask who recommended you to do the lift and suspension change for installing AT tyres while keeping the same size of tyre?

Maybe I have not mentioned it clearly. I am not doing Float Shifting. I am pressing and releasing the clutch pedal during the gear shift. It's just that I keep my feet on the throttle so that when the downshift happens its more smoother at RPMs of about 3000-3500 without any jerks and that would possibly help in longer hill climbs. And with a quick press and depress of the clutch pedal I am avoiding burning it as well. Again, my success rate is much lower than the attempts that I have made, but hey we need to keep trying something different.

Get better suspension

The 10 IM drives will qualify you for an Extreme Pre Qualification drive. Details of the same will be posted on the forum soon.

@Anoop Nair the gear ratios of a Wrangler JL 6 speed are as follows: Gear Ratios which I pulled off the internet : 1st - 5.13 2nd - 2.63 3rd - 1.53 4th - 1.00 5th - 0.81 6th - 0.72 So what this basically means is that your first gear is a high torque gear, but not a high speed gear. You can check on the road and see what's the max speed you can do, I would presume it would be close to 40 - 45 km/h. Now, for long hill climbs speed closer to 60 km/ h and above at the base of the dune is important along with being in the right power band. Shifting during the hill climb at high rpm does put a lot of strain on your gear box. But with a lot of practice, you can build the speed at the base of the dune closer to 70 km/h on second gear, and when you feel the RPM drop to about 3500 that's when you can do a quick downshift to 1st gear. That minimizes the jerk during the climb. Another technique, which I am still practicing is to keep the engine revs constant during the gear shift, that means I am trying to hold the gas steady. Had more failures than success, but nce it becomes smooth I believe that would be the best approach for long hill climbs in a manual transmission. Of course, MOST IMPORTANT, there is no Half Clutch in the desert - Its either fully in or fully out, nothing in between. To add to what Fredy said on the low gear in my XJ, 4Lo 3rd gear is equivalent to 4Hi 1st gear. So in some tricky places I have done like he mentioned, start in 4Lo 3rd gear, and then downshift as required till I get out. But every model has a different gear ratios and you need to play a bit to find the sweet spot. Regarding your question of extended driving it in 1st gear, due to my gear ratios, there have been times where I have gone through large stretches of the desert in 1st gear only. Recently I had to open up my gear box for some other reason and when I checked my 1st gear, its still in excellent condition and I have been driving this same gearbox in the sand for 4 years. So as long as you keep changing the manual gear oil once in say 40k km, you should not have any gear damage due to prolong drive in 1st gear. Good luck and enjoy your ride.

Convoy Numbering 1. SK - XJ 2. Rizwanm2 - Xterra 3. Dwain Fernandes - Pajero 4. Badar Tariq - Pajero 5. Shu Yang - Patrol Y62 6. M. Seidam - Xterra 7. Taufique Surve - Xterra 8. Danish Mohammad - Pajero 9. Abdul Rahman AK - Pajero 10. Gaurav Soni - Pajero 11. Muhammad Kashif - Wrangler 12. Gaurav - Pajero We shall be using Carnity Channel 3 for tonight's drive. See you at the meeting point at 10:00 PM

Regular headlights would be fine as long as the High Beam is working

Please only Rock and Not Roll in the desert

Hi, I will add you in manage closer to drive date depending on whether this will be a Newbie or Fewbie level drive.

Night Drives add a whole new dimension to offroading where you have only the lights of your vehicle to guide you and the sound of cars in front to assist. This Thursday night is practically a New Moon, and that means that that we would be driving in complete darkness. Be prepared to challenge yourself in a fun paced Night Drive through the beautiful sands of Bidayer. Depending on the member participation the level of the drive would be bumped from Newbie to Fewbie. 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 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 MUST READ AND TOTALLY AGREE: BAN POST Two Way Radio Guidelines Every Offroader brings his own radio, programmed to the frequencies described in below advice topic. We will not share spare radios or program your radio on the drive. If you need assistance in programming the radio, post a topic on the Carnity website with your questions and we will help you out. Make sure your radio is fully charged. It will be your only way of communication while driving. Before buying, please carefully read below advice so you are informed properly on which model / cost / shops... No radio = No drive. It is an essential tool and you should make sure you bring it on every drive and learn/practice how to use it. MUST WATCH: NEWBIE VIDEO BRIEFING Drive Details Level: Newbie and above (All Level) When: 27 May 2021, Thursday. Meeting time: 10:00 PM (SHARP - Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: - Tawi Nizwa Farm - https://goo.gl/maps/uhfU4J2mXoDPgnhR7 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, snacks (for yourself), smiles, face mask, rubber gloves, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Approximate finish time: 2:00 AM Friday P.S. Only join if you have a compressor to inflate your tires after the drive. LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE: Limited to 15 cars maximum (12 members + Lead + 2 Support). RSVP will close on Thursday - 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. Members that do not confirm the terms of the COVID requirements will be removed from the RSVP list. 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 THE CALENDAR

Hope you have got the shovel ready. It's pay back time. 😅 @Niki I agree, this is a wonderful moment and hope the father son duo enjoy it to the fullest. I have to wait another 12 years for hopefully this moment to arrive

@Abdul Rahman AK yes with summer kicking in, night drives offer some respite from the heat. Apart from what Richard mentioned on lead availability, night drive participations plays a bigger role for us to add more Night Drives.

TRIP REPORT A perfect day for Absolute Newbies with the right amount of challenges. Its been a while since I did an Absolute Newbie Drive, so was really looking forward to this drive. Everyone reached the meeting point on time which was the first sign of a wonderful day ahead. After checking all the tow points, and helping few new members in deflation we were all set to start the journey through the Qudra desert. While some had a bit of prior experience, quite a few where entering the sand for the very first time. So the team of senior members helped each and every drive participant on how to engage 4 wheel drive and turn off traction control. @Paolo Pellegrini was my second lead in a Pajero and he did a perfect job of second lead by following the instructions and stopping wherever it was required. Hope you also saw that for normal desert driving there is no need to engage 4 HLc and that 4H is perfectly fine for desert drives. @Muhamad mustapha in his LR Discovery had a near flawless drive throughout except for the final stuck as we were moving out to the exit. It again showed that as the air temperature increases, we need to keep monitoring the tyre temperature. But overall very well done. @Talgat Mendibaevin the Ford Explorer managed the entire terrain extremely well and drove with extra caution which was much needed. He also had a couple of opportunities to learn the art of self recovery in soft patches. Well done buddy. @Aisha S was joined by @Arman as a passenger in her green wrangler and make the entire route look very simple as she was willing to test the power of her Wrangler on every dune. Nicely done and I am sure Arman would have also learnt a few tricks from you. 😜 @Saddaquat Tanvir did an overall excellent job in his LC and probably realized that he should not have waited 3 years to start off roading. Hope you had a good day, @Nishant Mulani brought in an almost brand new Y62 to the desert, and had his heart in his mouth on couple of the descents. But you held your nerve and managed the entire route extremely well with zero refusals. @Abdelhamid Elbasossi joined in with his son in a JGC on his first desert drive. But your confidence and technique showed very good improvement during the course of the drive. Well done. As explained during the debriefing, JGC requires the Traction Control and Airbags to be disabled as you move up the drive levels. You can check on the Carnity forum the methods by which this can be done without affecting the warranty from the dealer. @Rory Ashman brought in a beautiful 2 door manual transmission Wrangler. Just a couple of refusals, but nothing major that the Wrangler could not handle. Nicely done mate. @Ivan Pironi added another Ford F150 to our club and hardly broke a sweat at the back end of the convoy. As mentioned during the debriefing it will be better if you get rid of the air dam so that you have a better approach angle and have the peace of mind to push your beast. @shu yang probably the quietest guy in the convoy who had to deal with all the churned up the sand at the back end of the convoy. As I recall zero refusals, so very well done buddy. Please check out on the forum regarding the modifications other members do for the Y62 bumpers, as they are a bit too low hanging. Finally, a bit shout out to the two support members on the drive, @Yousef Alimadadi and @M.Seidam for their excellent support, guidance and instruction to all the Absolute Newbie drive members. Your support was much appreciated by everyone and a big thanks from myside. Moving forward you all will be joining the Newbie drives and not an Absolute Newbie drive. Drives are announced every Sunday at 11 am, and they go live on Sunday at 7:00 pm. Due to the high demand, these drives get full in about 10 minutes, so please be online at 7 pm to book your spot. If you miss a spot, put your name on the waitlist asap. Generally, by Thursday with dropouts everyone does get a spot if they have waitlisted. For the next drives, please bring along a deflator, pressure gauge, flag, radio and compressor as a minimum. Learn to deflate your tires and checking them precisely Learn to fix a flag on your car Learn to program and fully charge your radio Also like I mentioned during the debriefing, join the Carnity Whatsapp Drive Notification to get the latest updates on the drives, so that you can RSVP on time for the next weekend's drive. Please have a look at below topic which describes the tools needed for every level. There is a separate tutorial inside which explains which radio we recommend and how to program them: (Please do not buy the Baofeng 888S spare radio we gave you, as these cannot be programmed without a special cable and software). Please have a look at below grading structure that explains various off-road levels: See you soon on the sand.

@Christian Andras Gaurav has made a very important point. Tyres are very critical components for offroading and if you have recently changed the size it's very important to try them at Newbie or Fewbie drives, before pushing on Extreme drives

Convoy Numbering 1. SK - Cherokee XJ (Lead) 2. Paolo Pellegrini - Pajero @Paolo Pellegrini 3. Muhamad mustapha - LR Discovery 2019 @Muhamad mustapha 4. Talgat Mendibaev - Ford Explorer 2016 @Talgat Mendibaev 5. Aisha S - Wrangler @Aisha S 6. Saddaquat Tanvir - LC 2019 @Saddaquat Tanvir 7. Yousef - Pajero - CF @Yousef Alimadadi 8. Nishant Mulani - Patrol Y62 @Nishant Mulani 9. Abdelhamid Elbasossi - JGC @Abdelhamid Elbasossi 10. Rory Ashman - Wrangler @Rory Ashman 11. Ivan Pironi - Ford F150 @Ivan Pironi 12. shu yang - Patrol Y62 @shu yang 13. Mohd Seidam - Xterra (Sweep) @M.Seidam See you tomorrow at 5:00 AM sharp at the meeting point. Incase on any emergency my mobile number is 055-9567471

Welcome Abdel Hamid. Will assist tomorrow. Hi Shu, welcome. Look forward to meeting you tomorrow.

LC have a button to disable TC and ABS. Just the read the owners manual. If you are still unable to find, we shall assist you tomorrow

@Nishant Mulani @Saddaquat Tanvir @Aisha S @Abdelhamid Elbasossi@Paolo Pellegrini @Ivan Pironi @Rory Ashman As we are less than 24 hours from the start of the drive, here is a brief of what we plan to do tomorrow: PREPARATION FOR THE DRIVE AND WHAT TO EXPECT 1) Please ensure that you reach the meeting point on time, i.e., 5:00 AM sharp. Reaching 10 mins early would be better, but dont be late. Also, ensure that you have tow points at the front and rear with 8 inch (min ground clearance) 2) All first timers with Carnity need to ensure that they have gone through the Newbie briefing Video : 3) The senior members on tomorrow's drive would be @Yousef Alimadadi @Alexander Alcala and I would be leading the drive. 4) We will be using Carnity Channel 1 tomorrow. (446.00625 Mhz). The instructions to program the radio are provided in the below post. Please ensure that you have a fully charged and programmed radio before the drive. If you are a first timer with Carnity we shall provide you with a spare radio for this drive, if you dont have one. 5) All traction controls, ABS and Air bags need to be switched off. While turning off traction control is mandatory, its ok if you are unable to turn off the Airbags for this drive. Traction Control, ABS and Airbags can be disabled by a button or by pulling the fuse. Incase of any queries you can always ask me or the senior members before the drive or better still, post your queries on this drive post and we would assist. 6) You will need a pressure gauge and deflator as a minimum. If you have a compressor it would be better as the compressor at Last Exit does malfunction from time to time. 7) For highway tyres you can deflate to 15 psi. Those who have AT tyres, you can deflate to 13 psi. 8 ) Feel free to ask questions at any time. 9) Convoy Numbering will be posted today evening after 7 pm. We shall be starting the drive on some flat tracks and would build up the pace from there depending on the convoy response. We will be driving for about 3.5 hours practicing driving in sand, proper steering control, crossing some dunes, and getting you and your vehicle more familiarized with the desert. By 9:00 am we will be heading out towards the Qudra Parking. COVID PRECUATIONS COVID is still very much there, so once you reach the meeting point, park your cars at sufficient distance from each other. Always wear your masks while stepping out of your cars. Once done deflating, please get back into your cars immediately. Drivers will be responsible for the compliance of their passengers as well.

@Nishant Mulani @Saddaquat Tanvir @Aisha S @Abdelhamid Elbasossi@Paolo Pellegrini @Ivan Pironi @Rory Ashman The drive location has been updated. As mentioned by Richard, it's mandatory to go through the Newbie Briefing Video. Few more updates about the drive would be provided tomorrow.