Rahimdad

Great topic @Frederic. Also good to note that the tire pressure we suggest to you as newbies is within safety constraints. We do not want you to pop your tires out on your very first drive. The accuracy of your gauge can be checked in several ways. I have seen several modern vehicles having TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system), a lot of member with this technology double check their tire pressure gauge against what is shown on their dash. This is one way to make sure you're down to the right pressure. Another technique is to check it against the tire inflator at any petrol station.

Once you have ensured your tire pressure gauge is accurate it's time to experiment. Say we started you with 15 PSI and you're comfortable with the drive, try going 1 PSI less, that is at 14 PSI. If that too is comfortable, keep dropping your tire pressure till you find the best figure for your setup. So example is I reduced my tire pressure down to 10 PSI with my current setup, however since I did not feel any difference between 10 PSI and 11 PSI I stuck with 11 PSI to avoid any chance of pop-outs. Pop-outs are mainly due to driving at lower air pressure, but also can be due to aggressive driving style. Pop-outs in themselves are a whole new topic and will be dealt with in another episode of "if you don't know, now you know"

Trip Report:

Wow, what an amazing week which finally concluded with the end of the drive today. As soon as my drive was posted it was full within seconds, and yet a few complained it is difficult to get on my drive. These were the lucky ones. I feel sorry for the waitlisted members we could not accommodate. Another bright side was there were no no-shows on my drive today and the 14 car convoy seemed perfect for today's drive. It was wonderful to reach the meeting point and see everybody deflated, flagged up and ready for the briefing. We did a quick briefing and radio check before heading put.

The first part of the drive was the most troublesome as the convoy was still finding their feet. A refusal here, car slipping down there. Lessons learned, deflation is part of the art of off-roading. Newbie is a great level to get your best figures in terms of performance, so experiment at this level till you find your desirable number. Secondly when riding the ridge make sure you are as high as possible on the ridge. If gravity still loves your car so much that it's not going to let go, head down and climb again when you find a safe spot.

We had plenty of time in our beloved play areas, everybody had their fair chance and enjoyed learning how to perfect the throttle and steering to glide through them like swans doing ballet. The chance in terrain also meant that we had the straight long stretch to practice and the wall of death. Playing with gravity is a part of off-roading and a great way to learn more about your car and the terrain at hand.

Our next destination was top of Fossil Rock. Some made it on the first attempt, while others needed some time. Either ways a lesson in both patience, togetherness and the fact that all cars big and small can make it if you get all the elements right. As we headed around Fossil Rock on the way to Faya was my personal favorite. I enjoyed getting a few virgin dunes, and playing around as we approached Faya through some medium sized dunes. The momentum we had helped us to glide through this terrain and everybody managed well.

Coming to the back side of Faya our challenges mounted up as we tried to mount Faya. So as someone elderly once told me to help others you first need to challenge yourself to the top, this is exactly what I did. I got to the top and watched the action as one by one everyone made it through the most challenging section of the drive. Once everybody crossed the most challenging section reach the top of Faya was easy. I'm glad that all 14 cars were lined up on top of Faya and that to a Newbie drive. @sertac called to congratulate me as he watched our convoy filling the top of Faya. After heading down we spent some time to try and climb Faya from the front side with a lot of success. I has to lend some weight to a couple of cars to help them climb to the top from the front end. I was surprised to see myself almost on top with my Pathy. By far the best my Pathy has felt in a long time.

My biggest happy moment came when I saw all the smiles and positive feedback from everyone. I'm so pleased to have @Satish Mungse as my second lead. My choice to have him as my second lead came from our Pink Rock drive last week. He managed that position well and made sure fine corrections were made as and when I requested him to do so.

 @Natarajan started of finding his higher rev range, but as the drive progressed he adjusted and allowed me to express myself as today's lead. @Hossam Anwar also managed his Pajero well and showed good progress and learning throughout the drive. I had a few concerns which I discussed with him and I'm very pleased to see him taking it positively and surely saw him practice it as the drive progressed. @Rajendran D was comfortable in his Pajero and I can only hope he also learned a few tricks and polished his skills in today's drive.

@Hardik Mody was hard at work with his Xterra as it was his first drive with this new vehicle. Eventually it seemed he got more comfortable with his new ride and figured out how it is better than his Mitsubishi Montero Sport. @Jeepie was an excellent center forward and her support meant she was giving me the perfect opportunity to scale the drive higher without any concerns. Her complain however was I did not give her enough opportunities to have her work-out and she would have to go to the gym today. @Lukas Lewis with his Ford Explorer tastfully modified showed my how his Eddie Bauer version is just as effective as any other vehicle. I was never a big fan of this vehicle, but respect to @Lukas Lewis to provide me with enough evidence to rethink my prejudice against this beautiful machine. @pramod in his Land Cruiser with his family was always with a broad smile. His son Dev was amazing company and loved to have some nice conversations with him as well. @kolinrrj to my surprise was a lady. I thought it was Kolin, but she turned out to be Koli. With her big Land Cruiser she found her comfort soon and managed the whole trip well. She was very calm during the drive followed instructions well and I'm sure picked up some useful advise to follow for future drives. @Ahmad Shaker in his FJC seemed like he paid a few Salik as it seemed he was just cruising on a highway. I love the way he handles the car, but definitely needs to polish his skills a bit to look more graceful.@Watteau presented me with my first sight to a single cabin Raptor and I would not be surprised if that monster will conquer Moreeb Hill in Liwa. He looked effortless as he did everything with great control, he understands the concept of off-roading well. Furthermore he loves doing technical dunes, so @Wrangeld no doubt will be his next best friend.@Junaid120120 has a 20/20 vision. This was my second drive with him but we definitely enjoy each others company. He loves the tracks I choose and I love the way he handles his FJC at this level.

Finally @Mario Cornejo was an amazing addition in the sweep position. He and his son Danny are my best friends and I once again disappointed Danny as my drive was really boring not giving him the chance to use his shovel. We also had a nice ride all the way to the top of Faya in the trusted Nissan Patrol Y61 SWB, beautiful machine, simple and powerful. Without him in the sweep position I would not be able to do all that we managed today. His sweep duties are also highly appreciated.

For those who have completed 6 drives at this newbie level, please go ahead and apply for your promotion to Fewbie level through the link provided in the Club structure. Wishing you a happy rest of the weekend and an amazing week ahead.