Frederic

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 🤨

Alibaba.com maybe ?

The front bumper guard is more to protect the front side of your bumper, while bash plates are made to protect the bottom underneath. In the desert I don’t see the value of having a front bumper guard. Bash plates will definitely help to protect you.

@Tero Vallas this is an Intermediate and above level. kindly sign out from this drive. We will post new drives for next week from Sunday onwards.

You need some sunshine bro

@Remco Snoek @Vanessa8580 @George Francis @Anish S @Matti Brockman @Rajeevan Vickneswaran @Nacho @Najeeb Mohammed @Nikhil Saju Paul @J J Please make sure you all have your two-way radio with you and that below frequency is programmed into your radio. We will start using the radio as soon as we arrive at deflation point. Broadcast channel will be: - Carnity Channel 1: 446.00625 Mhz. See you guys tomorrow !

In the UAE ? A white Yaris.... Once you hit the road they will never find you...

Agree this looks like a decent Xterra. French owner: @Emmanuel your twin has arrived 😜

I only remember of a Ferrari kit that came out for the Toyota MR2, and one that was made for the Fiero (which was a disaster).

2008 JK will have the 3.8 Engine with 200 Hp, which is not bad, but not be mistaken with the Pentastar 3.6 with 280 Hp that came out a few years later. From what i've read, the 3.8 was a bit of an inbetween engine, as they came from the legendary 4.0 inline six from the TJ, and later developed the Pentastar with superior power. We used to have Aamir in our club that drove a 2011 JK with this engine, with manual gearbox. Was a very nice 4x4. Probably the 3.8 JK will go cheaper than the Pentastar models.

@Xaf in case the flights don't take off soon, you can dig into this...

Correct. I also assumed that due to the tow bar the risk for damaging the rear bumper was low, but at some point it still popped out. I have put a stainless steel plate on both sides that’s bolted onto the tow bar and the bumper. It basically avoid the sand from entering so the « scooping » cannot occur.

Have a look if you’re able to put the radio to 446.00625MHz. That’s our Carnity Channel 1 Youll find all about our radio frequencies and walkie talkies here:

Unfortunately not. The chip is only something that contains the owner details and you need to hold the reader on the chip itself.

More than anything else, driving offroad in the desert like we do, requires a few things: 1) A good power / weight ratio: (Hp per Ton). @Gauravhas written extensively about this in the past. 2) A car that's reliable and can take on the extreme heat. Japanese 4x4's are the winners here. 3) A car that's affordable to fix and maintain, because you will be demanding extreme things from it. 4) A car that is not full of electronics or tries to take over the wheel and decide where or how you should drive. 5) FUN factor. There is no denying that a TJ will be more fun than an Armada. Taking above things into account, this means you would be looking at an "older" generation vehicle that's not too heavy, has a capable engine/power, is not choked with electronics, and is reliable and fun to drive. That's where Xterra, Wrangler, Pathfinder, XJ, Pajero SWB, and some others comes into play. The Patrol Safaris are of course legendary, but try to find one that is not completely bashed or broken by locals, or not with 500,000 miles on the clock, or is affordable... Good luck. In stock version they are even not that special in my opinion. Xterras can be found with relative low mileage and used as mall crawlers / family haulers. That makes them perfect to buy as they still have a whole life ahead of them. If we talk about buying a 10k offroader, do not be mistaken that this vehicle will be immediately ready for dunebashing. You will need to get it properly serviced, and make sure the stock suspension is still in decent condition. Bushings etc... also to consider and check. So take into account another 3-4kAED to get it ready for an exciting season with Carnity PS Above reasoning does not apply for "overlanding", where many would choose a big 4x4 so they can take their dogs, camping stuff, etc... It's not based on speed or sidesloping, but more on navigation and comfortably crossing long distances in the desert.

Leave that beautiful 2019 Patrol at home, at get yourself a designated offroader if you plan to take this further. It would make you more comfortable knowing that you are driving a 4x4 that can take a beating and a cracked bumper. Don't get me wrong, the Patrol is a fantastic vehicle, but i think it's a shame taking it to the desert and being upset when damages occur. Unless you go for full modifications to make if offroad-ready, but in my opinion it will drop the resale value as no-one will buy a Patrol with offroad bumpers (or you need to put back the stock ones when selling).