Atif

Congratulations @Vanessa8580! You deserve it.

The more I read and watch videos the more keen I am to try the different options of traction control and central diff lock in a ‘stuck’ situation. As Prado 2014, surprisingly doesn’t have a rear or front diff lock ( at least in my Prado’s model and year) I wonder if Traction Control activation helps to direct torque to the correct wheels ? Currently I switch off TRC as soon we start an off-road drive so next time I will take up your offer @Rahimdad bhai to try the various combinations of TRC and Central diff lock to get to the bottom of this.

Congratulations @Barry ! Have a happy married life.

@Frederic thanks for managing this drive. Another well-spent active weekend in the desert thanks to you for sacrificing Christmas Day that you could have spent on a personal plan on your own. Shows your commitment and passion for this desert activity. The drive had its fair share of learning for me too as it was the first fewbie drive of the year. It helped that the number of cars and being in a sweep position provided the right amount of learning opportunities. Thanks to all who participated and supported each other in today’s drive. Special thanks to @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ for keeping me informed of places my prado had to be careful.

While viewing videos on Prado Diff-lock usage and during the subsequent discussion on Carnity forum, I came across a good video about the way traction control helps in off-road conditions and this may apply to all FJs , LCs and possibly other 4x4s. It appears that the TRC will activate even if kept Off in certain circumstances. https://youtu.be/XpY_QDM8Fqc

This is very useful info. It means I can use the diff lock more often off-road than I thought I could. Need to try out all combination sometime in future.

The Prado has a central diff lock only. I am not sure if the torque is split 50:50 as I overheard someone say it isn't but as I said I would mostly use it either in a completely stuck or as you indicated "negotiate hard with cross tracks" . However, if the central diff doesn't lock any wheels i.e. if front set is completely in air would the torque be available for the rear set? I am finding it hard to imagine the working of the central diff lock so need to see it in practical use sometime. I do grasp the point about rear diff lock or front diff lock though.

Both @Gaurav Bhai and @Rahimdad Bhai have good advice and if at all I try using diff-lock for climbing a high dune it would be on a second attempt and only if going up straight. I also feel it might not give too much of an advantage. So best is to keep the diff lock usage mostly when getting stuck.

Is it useful to have a locked differential when climbing a high dune? This was mentioned by one Carnity member when driving his Patrol up on the second attempt when he was successful using a locked one. Prado offers only a central diff lock so how much difference is it to the Pajero’s options? As per my understanding in a locked differential the torque would wary so as to transfer to the tyre with the maximum grip i.e resistance thus it should be more effective.Am I correct? However, I don’t know if locking it while side sloping would be detrimental.

https://youtu.be/vAtE7qVPANw Saw this video and my initial reaction was that the guy is a capable driver. However, where I stand in my current driving skills, I feel the risk being taken is not worth it for the adrenalin rush. The vehicle is a lifted FJ Cruiser and the precarious point in the video come 48 sec to 50 sec of the video. My points for general discussion are: Wasn't there a little bit of fish tailing? When I get even a bit of fish tailing I feel like turning downwards to avoid risk of tumbling down. How does one decide on when a fish tail is too much? In this case the dune has a big dip at the beginning so turning downwards at the first sign of fishtailing would be risky too? In addition, as the FJ is a modified ( lifted by 2 inch) isn't it to much of a risk to go over the bumps at that speed? Caution: I am not encouraging this type of driving so please do not attempt after watching it even though it may appears tempting. Leave it to the Carnity Marshals to advise on when a dune is safe to climb based on your level and skills.