Frederic

Hi Matti, Every drive (and definitely newbie drives) will make you learn something. We have seen time and time again that offroaders who join and support the newbie drives learn the skill much faster. A testament to this is @Xaf and @Ale Vallecchi , but also @Jeepie and @Wrangeld, who join every week and give their support where needed. During the newbie drive you have a bit more time to learn to observe the sand, navigate, observe recoveries, and getting yourself accustomed to your car. Well deserved promotion !

Ridgid and Baja designs are the premium brands, but they are quite pricey. I’ve heard the brand Auxbeam is decent, and looks more affordable. https://www.amazon.ae/Auxbeam-Waterproof-Off-road-Military-Equipment/dp/B00T9GBWYE/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=auxbeam%2Blight%2Bbar%2Bwith&qid=1590549166&sr=8-4&th=1&psc=1 Having the Chinese branded ones all year round on the car will limit their lifetime. That was one of the reasons I went for the magnetic pads.

Hi Angela, As you have joined our previous drives before, we can allow you to join us. I’ve added you to the RSVP. Please do clarify which car you will bring and if Jamy will be your co-pilot that day. See you on Friday!

Hi @Chaitanya D I've noticed that you signed up for two drives on Friday. Please select only one drive so we can provide the opportunity for as many as possible to join us.

Welcome to the COVID 19 "new normal" lifestyle with restrictions and precautions for everyone safety. Moving forward and respecting authorities guidance all desert drives will be done under strict control. No Gathering | No Briefing | No BBQ | No Eating Together | No Touching | No Hugging MUST READ: Not following these rules and precautions = Not allowed to drive. We are only allowed to drive through the desert, as we are driving on the road now. So we will only do the desert driving just by sitting inside our cars at all the times and leave the drive without socializing or coming close to each other. Just like before we like to continue our desert drives through out the year, but this time we need your immense support to understand the strict control and to help everyone follow them all the time. For members who are fasting, they can break their fast discreetly and convoy will be stopped during that time and until they offer their prayer. How to maintain "STRICT" Social Distancing Meeting point will be set slightly (100m - 200m) inside the desert track. So, that you individually deflate your tires on the tarmac before reaching the meeting point. While deflating tires, stop cars 10 meters away from any other car. Drive signup on calendar will be closed on Thursday morning by 9 AM. Convoy numbering and briefing will be posted here on this drive post before 6 PM on Thursday. All participants need to read & acknowledge the briefing by clicking "Totally Agree" reaction Switch on your radio when you reach the meeting point on the set frequency advised by the trip lead in the critical briefing here. Once everyone reach to the meeting point, everyone stay inside the car at all the times. Trip lead will do the roll call, convoy numbering recap, critical briefing over the radio. Any suggestions or issues will be discussed over the radio too. You can also speak to other members through the radio only. So please make sure that your radio battery is fully charged. Once all set, trip lead will start the drive as before. Refusal and Recoveries with Social Distancing Every drive will have 1 lead Marshal and 1 or 2 supporting senior members/crew. Whenever there is a stuck or refusal, only Marshal / Senior Member / Crew is allowed to handle the situation. Everyone else including the stuck car driver, stay inside the car - AT ALL TIMES. Marshal / Senior Member / Crew is only allowed to step out to access the situation and do the recoveries: They will wear mask and gloves at all times when they are outside their car. They will try to help self recover through the radio guidance. If not they will use required recovery gear and do the needful (shovel, tug or winch, as required). If at any time Marshal require help, then only you are allowed to step out by wearing face mask and gloves at all times. Drive completion and inflation Now, there will not be any gathering or sitting down together for food-break like before. Once drive is finished, after reaching the tarmac, everyone is requested to move away 50-100 meters before starting their inflation. For drivers having no compressor, can head to the near by fuel station. If drive is ending at a place where there is no fuel station near by, then trip lead will inform in advance so that drivers having their own compressor can join only. Now Strictly no more sharing of compressors, radio, shovel or any recovery gear, at any times. Mandatory things you require to attend the drive Face mask - at least TWO face mask is needed in case one get damage or fly away. Disposable rubber gloves - at least two sets are needed. Wear face mask and gloves at all the times, when you are out of your car. Carry plenty of hand sanitizer and object sanitizer (spray). Use your sanitizers generously, whenever you step out to help or recover. Sanitize your hands before getting back into your car. Sanitize your recovery gears, if you have used them. Fully charged radio - without any excuse - No radio = No drive. Shovel - Must for every car, to do little self recovery Safety flag - Must for every car, like before Compressor - If joining the drives that is ending far from the fuel station. Mandatory precaution that you need to take at all times Do not step out of your car UNLESS/OTHERWISE advice by Marshal / Senior Member / Crew. No shaking hands, hugs or touching each other. No sharing of food, drinks or recovery tools. If you are not feeling well, please stay at home and take a lot of rest. If you have travel in last 14 days, then please do not attend this drive. If you feel unwell during the drive, please let trip lead know so he can plan an early exit. Not more than 3 pax in a car and if all 3 aren't living together, then they should wear the mask inside the car too. Drive Details Level: Newbie and all above - NO ABSOLUTE NEWBIE ALLOWED. When: 29 May 2020, Friday. Meeting time: 4 PM (SHARP - Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: Tawi Nazwa Farm: https://goo.gl/maps/zL4pr8XAuFF4BPCx5 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: 7PM End Point: 2nd December Cafeteria https://goo.gl/maps/7yJRP9Q73Y9kM1mY6 LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE: Limited to 12 cars only. RSVP will close on Thursday - 9 AM. 1 Lead Marshal + 2 or 1 Senior Members + 9 or 10 Members. Latecomers will be returned back - without ANY EXCEPTIONS. Members without RSVP will be returned back - without ANY EXCEPTIONS. 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

Welcome to the COVID 19 "new normal" lifestyle with restrictions and precautions for everyone safety. Moving forward and respecting authorities guidance all desert drives will be done under strict control. No Gathering | No Briefing | No BBQ | No Eating Together | No Touching | No Hugging MUST READ: Not following these rules and precautions = Not allowed to drive. We are only allowed to drive through the desert, as we are driving on the road now. So we will only do the desert driving just by sitting inside our cars at all the times and leave the drive without socializing or coming close to each other. Just like before we like to continue our desert drives through out the year, but this time we need your immense support to understand the strict control and to help everyone follow them all the time. For members who are fasting, they can break their fast discreetly and convoy will be stopped during that time and until they offer their prayer. How to maintain "STRICT" Social Distancing Meeting point will be set slightly (100m - 200m) inside the desert track. So, that you individually deflate your tires on the tarmac before reaching the meeting point. While deflating tires, stop cars 10 meters away from any other car. Drive signup on calendar will be closed on Thursday morning by 9 AM. Convoy numbering and briefing will be posted here on this drive post before 6 PM on Thursday. All participants need to read & acknowledge the briefing by clicking "Totally Agree" reaction Switch on your radio when you reach the meeting point on the set frequency advised by the trip lead in the critical briefing here. Once everyone reach to the meeting point, everyone stay inside the car at all the times. Trip lead will do the roll call, convoy numbering recap, critical briefing over the radio. Any suggestions or issues will be discussed over the radio too. You can also speak to other members through the radio only. So please make sure that your radio battery is fully charged. Once all set, trip lead will start the drive as before. Refusal and Recoveries with Social Distancing Every drive will have 1 lead Marshal and 1 or 2 supporting senior members/crew. Whenever there is a stuck or refusal, only Marshal / Senior Member / Crew is allowed to handle the situation. Everyone else including the stuck car driver, stay inside the car - AT ALL TIMES. Marshal / Senior Member / Crew is only allowed to step out to access the situation and do the recoveries: They will wear mask and gloves at all times when they are outside their car. They will try to help self recover through the radio guidance. If not they will use required recovery gear and do the needful (shovel, tug or winch, as required). If at any time Marshal require help, then only you are allowed to step out by wearing face mask and gloves at all times. Drive completion and inflation Now, there will not be any gathering or sitting down together for food-break like before. Once drive is finished, after reaching the tarmac, everyone is requested to move away 50-100 meters before starting their inflation. For drivers having no compressor, can head to the near by fuel station. If drive is ending at a place where there is no fuel station near by, then trip lead will inform in advance so that drivers having their own compressor can join only. Now Strictly no more sharing of compressors, radio, shovel or any recovery gear, at any times. Mandatory things you require to attend the drive Face mask - at least TWO face mask is needed in case one get damage or fly away. Disposable rubber gloves - at least two sets are needed. Wear face mask and gloves at all the times, when you are out of your car. Carry plenty of hand sanitizer and object sanitizer (spray). Use your sanitizers generously, whenever you step out to help or recover. Sanitize your hands before getting back into your car. Sanitize your recovery gears, if you have used them. Fully charged radio - without any excuse - No radio = No drive. Shovel - Must for every car, to do little self recovery Safety flag - Must for every car, like before Compressor - If joining the drives that is ending far from the fuel station. Mandatory precaution that you need to take at all times Do not step out of your car UNLESS/OTHERWISE advice by Marshal / Senior Member / Crew. No shaking hands, hugs or touching each other. No sharing of food, drinks or recovery tools. If you are not feeling well, please stay at home and take a lot of rest. If you have travel in last 14 days, then please do not attend this drive. If you feel unwell during the drive, please let trip lead know so he can plan an early exit. Not more than 3 pax in a car and if all 3 aren't living together, then they should wear the mask inside the car too. Drive Details Level: Newbie and all above - NO ABSOLUTE NEWBIE ALLOWED. When: 29 May 2020, Friday. Meeting time: 7:00 AM (SHARP - Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: Qudra Area - https://maps.app.goo.gl/Rnv8kvp2WhQGU46D6 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: 10:30 AM- 11:00 AM End Point: Qudra Last Exit https://goo.gl/maps/uAS3yNeypFW1V1xy6 LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE: Limited to 12 cars only. RSVP will close on Thursday - 9 AM. 1 Lead Marshal + 2 or 1 Senior Members + 9 or 10 Members. Latecomers will be returned back - without ANY EXCEPTIONS. Members without RSVP will be returned back - without ANY EXCEPTIONS. 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

Love your idea and have done this with the kids behind our community in Al Qudra a few times. With the current restrictions it might be more difficult but not impossible.

It largely depends on the weight of the flag. If it’s a light dune buggy flag it won’t be any issue. i have seen the AOR off-road flag which is quite heavy also on a AOR suction cup mount. But I think these suction cups are more heavy duty than the dragon mart ones. They also cost a lot more.

Yes the upshifting also happens in 4Low. For steep climbs, the 2nd and 3rd gear in the Pajero are actually quite good.

Happy birthday and on top of that this promotion. Who said 2020 was a lost year ? 🤣 Congrats Xaf, you’re a quick learner and you understood that the more drives you do, the more experience you build up. And that includes sweeping in Newbie drives and being around for overall support. Those duties have brought you maturity and people looking up to you as a senior member and a guy that knows what he’s talking about. Looking forward to many more drives together !!

@Ale Vallecchi you’ve been a constant key player in our convoys the last months. Always ready to help, curious to learn more, and a desire to explore the unknown are the main keys that explain your growth. Looking forward to many more drives together !

Congrats Jolly !!

Congrats Matti!

Congrats Nacho ! Well deserved !

Congrats !!

Congrats Anish!!

Congrats Najeeb ! Well deserved ! Dont worry about that number. It just means that on average that drivers will be doing on average 10 drives on Fewbie level before going into the Intermediate category.

Agree. Only for these big hill climbs the Omani hack is a cheap option that would make it possible to keep the gear. Just need to make sure it doesn’t end up breaking the transmission. That would make it a very expensive fix. 5500rpm is indeed about 50km/h. Luckily the 3.8 has quite good torque, so in second gear we should try to get into the power band and keep it there. Sri buddy I much prefer the manual gears 😜

I want the car to stay in it’s gear in order not to loose momentum. The danger in the up shifting is that you loose the momentum and need to exit immediately. I’ve been practicing a bit with that car and it’s possible to keep it in first gear if you keep a close eye on the rpm counter and try to keep it below 5500. The plan is indeed to not tinker with the transmission, and definitely not the Omani hack.

Mini Trip Report: Having noticed most of the drives were fully booked at a faster pace than a Metallica concert, we must conclude that the ones who made it in the RSVP list were either very lucky or very eager to join Everyone made it on time, even @Remco Snoek that joined us all the way from Abu Dhabi. It was also a pleasure to see @asifk his girlfriend/wife helping out with deflation. It shows that this hobby can bring people together as a team, and if that happens to be your partner it is even better. We started off at @Rahimdad his vacation home but quickly had a troublesome refusal, as @George Francis his Pathfinder seemed to be only working on 2WD. We tried a few things but had no other option than to pull him back to the flat ground and assist him to the exit. I hope your car is fine by now George. Fast forward 30mins and @Gaurav slowly started to stretch his legs, and slowly started increased the pace. @Rajeevan Vickneswaran had some small refusals in the beginning, and the initial fear of the other side of the dune (as we all had) resulted in some refusals. But after we spoke a minute where i slightly altered my convoy position and re-assured him that on the other side of the dune there is only sand, and he can rely on us for the full 100% knowing that the rest of the convoy already passed by that same place, he suddenly changed into a confident offroader and did not struggle anymore for the rest of the drive. Very well done @Rajeevan Vickneswaran !! I had some fear that my little blue Pajero had to recover the mighty F150 of @Nikhil Saju Paul, but he drove his car though the dunes like going to Emirates Mall. No stress, no Struggle. Very impressive ! @Matti Brockman, being Finnish, has racing pilot DNA in his blood and it shows. After deflating a bit further due to the summer sand, he turned into a Kimi Raikonnen. Perfect control of the car, composed yet dynamic. Brilliant driving ! @Nacho has grown a lot in a few drives. You've blended in and have very good control over your car. Both you and your wife had a constant smile and thats always a good thing @J J was our sweeping man and he did great, thanks buddy ! @Najeeb Mohammed you learn very quick. You've only joined us recently and i see you improving quickly. Well done ! I love that Black Cruiser ! @Anish S you really impressed me last Friday. I know that the big Pajeros are not that easy, and they are a bit heavy to drive, but you did not struggle anywhere. I've seen you crossing dunes at a few places where you had the perfect momentum and hardly had to brake or correct. You are one with your car, and that says a lot about you. Keep up the good work ! @Remco Snoek i know you had some fears that your Fortuner 2.7 would struggle, but this shows again that driving in the desert is more about control and knowing your vehicle, and using momentum in your advantage, which you did. Well done ! I cannot forget to mention my life partner @Vanessa8580, who was driving in second lead and knowing how competitive she is, she wanted to do things perfectly. Getting crested perfectly is also a part of that, and believe me if you go through the Carnity photo gallery you'll find tons of photos of me getting crested perfectly too. I am proud to see how far she has gotten in such a short time and hope on many more adventurous drives in the future ! As usual, @Gaurav gave us a perfectly balanced drive with some challenges, but also enough time to gain confidence and get everyone to drive home with new baggage. On to the next one !

Bringing this topic back to life. After doing some trials and investigations on my 2008 Pajero, it is now clear that the vehicle upshifts by itself in tiptronic first gear at about 5300-5500rpm. This was a safety measure put in place by Mitsubishi that was later upgraded in the more recent Pajero models. In second gear it keeps its gear well until 6000rpm. This is the INVECS-II system at work which is pretty advanced and not so easy to fool. I've looked into the Omani hack but want to keep that as very last option, due to the fact that it puts the transmission in limp mode, and does not allow you to drive in 4H first gear (only 2nd and 3rd). Because of this you are required to drive in 4LLC to somewhat overcome the lack of the first gear. I would be ok with this for occasional use for climbing a steep dune, but not for a complete drive. Also the Omani hack results in rough shifting, because disabling the output shaft sensor means the transmission cannot sync properly. On top of that it throws the CEL (Check Engine Light) which is something i really do not want to see on my dashboard. God forbid something else would be going wrong it would be ignored. So currently i see a few options available: 1) Getting a Unichip piggyback ECU with rpm limiter cutoff. A bit pricey in my opinion and i am not really looking at chipping a vehicle with +200k on the clock. 2) Installing a "racing" rpm tachometer with shift light indicator. By programming this to light up a bit before the upshift happens, i can keep the throttle more stable and hopefully keep it in gear during a climb. I will however not use the full potential of the car, although the 250Hp is @6000rpm so we are not that very far off. I need to check wiring as i've seen these tachometers are normally wired on the coil pack. Not sure if this is easy with the Pajero. 3) Installing a bluetooth OBD plug with an app like Torque: it also has a functionality with shift light notification, and at the same time i can see engine temps in realtime values. But not so very fond of again sticking a phone onto my windshield just for this one purpose. Good thing is that nothing is being altered (no wiring needed). I've looked into other possibilties similar to the Omani hack, but have not found any decent solution to avoid the transmission from going into limp mode. There are so many failsafe options on the transmissions. To be honest i am not interested in going for extreme dune climbs, but i am very worried about the car upshifting while doing a sidey, resulting in complete loss of power and the vehicle slowing down. This is downright dangerous. @Michael sammy As you have experience with the Omani hack, can you provide your feedback on this ? And am i correct that the vehicle cannot be driven in 4H first gear once activated ?

Fantastic write-up and very helpful in case it ever happens to me 😅

That looks like engine mounts 🤨