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.

I am impressed by Hummer EV with its crabwalk , hands-free driving and 1000 HP! Also GMC will bring its experience to back it up. Rivian is next although it is a plus on price compared to the Hummer and has Fords investment. Sorry but don’t like Tesla’s shape as it is too futuristic for my liking.

Nice to hear about the background. Hope your brother remains in good health. The title definitely suits you based on your offroad skills!

I endorse @Mohamed Seidam ‘s advice as there seems to be very little difference in the lift height so a low profile would slide in more easily under the vehicle. As he said, using the jack’s base-supporting board will anyways assist in maintaining sufficient distance.

@Aus Alzubaidi I haven’t bought one as yet as plan to do it this weekend. The one @Mohamed Seidam chose looks good but I request advice about the lifting range. Do check that the lifting range suits your vehicle as I read somewhere that low profile is for low profile vehicles . This states 14 inches lift .So if the vehicle ground clearance is 9 inch as in my prado then it will give a 5 inch lift. I personally am not sure if this is enough, although a solution would be to keep a 2 inch or more wooden base in the vehicle and additional extension pads (you already need a base to avoid the jack sinking in the sand). Advice requested from other carnity seniors please about low profile jacks.

Very informative write-ups!

Another well spent Friday morning with Carnity! My third drive of this year was as exciting as the first two. I am fortunate enough to reconnect with my friends again and so far have had the pleasure to drive with @Frederic, @Rahimdad and @Srikumar. Looking forward to meeting the remaining legends of CARNITY this winter season. I have kept myself to newbie drives as there is a lot to learn at this level from the various challenges faced by the newbie drivers and how they handle their cars. Helping others is a big motivation for me as I am sure it is for most in the Carnity team and newbie drive provides a good opportunity to do that. Also it is important to ensure that one starts at this level if coming out of a long hibernation to off-road driving. The Carnity spirit continues to shine in all its members and hope it continues in the future too.

@Frederic did you decide on the radio frequency /channel as yet?

I seem to have tracked quite a lot of my drives from the content I posted. So basically I went to "Manage Followed Content" on the Carnity web page and scrolled to any drives that appeared where I posted a message. Of course it may not show-up if one just joins a drive without posting a message or picture. Still it is tedious so we will wait for some sort of filter or database query option to make it convenient.

Update: Took it to a workshop who advised not to repair the oil AT pan for now as it seems a small dent. They said that when I go for the next major service ( after 40K KM) or if I notice any leaks they can then either repair or replace the pan.