Frederic

Agree, the 4.0 Fortuner (new model) is pretty good in the sand. The only alternative Mitsubishi has now is the 3.0 Montero Sport which is quite nippy thanks to the 8-speed automatic and not overly heavy, but the Fortuner has more horses and Torque (but costs a lot more too). I would not mind buying a basic Montero Sport in a few years, as they will be easy to find, and maybe the original 220hp can be brought to 250-260 with some mods. But then again i might change my mind another 20 times by the time is there.

Totally agree. Touch screens are a real pain, but i also understand partially why Tesla is using them. You can avoid a ton or wiring. I also prefer a simple rotating switch.

ABSOLUTELY NOT. Your stock air intake is totally fine, and 200hp in a Short Wheelbase Wrangler is plenty enough to get you through every terrain. On top of that, modifications to air intake (cold air intake or others) will only give marginal improvements. (few percent)...negligible. Remember that doing hill climbs in soft summer sand are very difficult. More improvements can be made with good off-road tyres, lower deflation, and practice practice practice to find the ideal gear and technique. Are you sure the original horses are still alive and kicking ? - injectors, spark plugs, dirty MAF sensor, compression issues these are all potential horsepower killers if not in the best condition.

Another amazing video production! I saw us even driving backwards at one point 🤣

Very good point Ashok, yes in general it will go up 2-3 psi after two hours in summer. We started at 15psi in the morning but the sand in that area is very soft and we had to further bring it down to 12psi on most cars.

Correct. One of the few remaining SUV’s with ladder frame construction. Try to find a decent alternative in this price class.

Was to be expected. They couldn’t keep the model alive anymore. The Montero Sport, though being a bit less rugged is not a bad alternative as an off-roader in my opinion.

Hahahahaha yes the Blue Wrangler I remember as you posted it few days before on the forum. Well done ! We have drives every week so keep an eye out on the forum as we normally post them every Sunday by 7pm sharp (be fast to sign up).

Hi @Ashok chaturvedi It was good to see your radio worked for now. If i am correct this will be your channel numbering: MOTOROLA TLKR Channel 1 = CARNITY CHANNEL 1 (446.00625) MOTOROLA TLKR Channel 3 = CARNITY CHANNEL 2 (446.03125) MOTOROLA TLKR Channel 5= CARNITY CHANNEL 3 (446.05625) MOTOROLA TLKR Channel 7 = CARNITY CHANNEL 4 (446.08125) You won't be able to use our Carnity Channel 5, as this is on 462.8875 Mhz and your radio does not have this channel. The good thing is that we usually do not use Channel 5 (is our backup frequency). So for now you can keep that radio without issues. If you decide to buy another radio, we recommend either the Crony/Motorola MT777 or the Baofeng UV5R. Both are available in Dragon Mart.

DRIVE REPORT Another lovely day in the Al Qudra sands.... I was glad to see so many new faces, all ready to hit the sand and learn the essentials during this drive. Most arrived well before 05:00 so me and @Wrangeld could help them with deflating. We always try to leave as early as possible to have the maximum drive time in the sand, so please try to arrive before 5:00 so you have ample time to deflate and receive the convoy instructions or ask to help for the radio and other details. @SureshVNair you either forgot to set your alarm, or went to the wrong meeting point, as we did not see you nor you informed us that you could not make it. Shame as this spot could have been taken by someone else. @Ashok chaturvedi was my second lead and drove very well, steering the Pajero LWB perfectly on the right track, and keeping a watchful eye on @mathewjo behind him, who drove well but will need to overcome the fear of pushing the car a little bit more, and that initial fear of the other side when crossing a dune is totally normal and will take a few drives before that settles. @Ashy with the JGC managed well, this is not the easiest car to learn and i suspect there is lots of electronics holding the car back. @Arun Mathew with the Green Jeep Wrangler struggled a bit initially, but after lowering the tyre pressure a bit you improved a lot. I hope the overheating alarm did not came back. @muzamil hussain @Andrei @Kailas it will take me a little while to distinguish the Jeep Wrangler colours from each other (who drove which Wrangler), so my apologies. You guys managed very well, and also have seen the use of deflating further down to have better flotation. @Ajiesh George Kannankara that Patrol of yours was sliding through the dunes without much effort. Very well done !! @Jinesh Thomas your FJ cruiser has all the bells and whistles and looks great, you drove very well ! @Sajit Modiyil The Nissan Xterra is a fantastic offroad vehicle. Get yourself familiarized in switching off the traction aids and getting the right tyre pressure. Overall you drove very good ! @Erwin van Helden, what can i say about Erwin, except for the fact we could not miss to see that black H2 monster, that you drove great through the dunes by the way ! At the end of the drive, nearby the exit track, @Wrangeld had the honour of pulling the Hummer of the dune with the little TJ, and did this amazingly well. Unfortunately the Hummer was feeling a bit stubborn after the recovery and did not want to start anymore. Erwin noticed that the lever was in P, but the dashboard was showing R. A quick look on Youtube told us that in that case the transmission shifting lever underneath the vehicle has come off. And luckily we were able to clip it back in place and resume the drive towards the exit. I hope all you guys had a good drive and initiation to desert driving. There is lots more fun to follow on the next drives. My main recommendation to all you guys is to practice deflation, test the accuracy of your pressure gauges by comparing with the gas station pump, to make sure 15psi is really 15psi and not 19psi. (BIG difference). Unfortunately many gauges are not very accurate, and it does not hurt sometimes to bring a second (different brand, type) gauge to double check. IF you have offroad tyres, you can deflate further down to 10-12 psi and will feel the positive result of that immediately. The sand was quite soft and lots of the tracks were quite churned up today, looks like many other clubs or drivers had their fill on the long weekend. Quite a few had a flag and radio already, thanks for that. To the other drivers, please arrange these for your next drive. As you have seen the flag is very useful to spot the vehicle going over the dune. My apologies i was not able to do the debriefing after the drive, as i instructed Richard to take the convoy out to the Hamari well while dealing with the Hummer issue. I hope you guys enjoyed and please type your feedback on this topic ! Welcome to the club guys and i hope to see you all back soon !

Hi @Kailas we will give you a spare radio for your first drive that you can use.

Nope, it stops at certain intervals (pulse width modulation) to reach the desired pressure. An example: Setpoint is 36 Psi. The moment you connect your tyre it measures the actual (for example 10 psi). Then the system understands it needs to go from 10 to 36 and will use a pre-calculated interval time. The compressor will start running for at least 10-15 seconds non-stop, then it will pause for a second to take the reading, then restart with a shorter stop-start interval until it reaches 36 psi.

This is perfectly normal @RohanH. There is no compressor in the world that can show an accurate reading while it is inflating. You need to stop the compressor so the pressure can equalize.

Congrats @Biju Abdul ! Well deserved !

Super deserved @Veedooshee ! Now the fun starts ! And no doubt @Anish S will be there to give you full support. You both have become club residents and show up at every drive with enthusiasm, eagerness to learn and are such lovely people to be around with !

Well deserved @David Ortells !!

Congrats @VipinShetty !!

Congrats @Christian Andras you’ve grown quite fast in the last couple of drives ! Well deserved!

Well deserved @Islam Soliman ! Love that Yukon sliding through the dunes !

Congrats Heisem !

Super congrats @J J !! Your calm, coolheaded, and positive approach to every drive and every situation makes you a real asset in our club. You’ve reached the point where shoveling and recoveries will come into play and I have no doubt you will soon be an expert in that too. Well deserved !!