Frederic

@Ishak your attitude has been visible to us from the start. You never shy away from teamwork and helping out on every drive. I remember a drive where my coolant hose popped off, and before i knew what happened, you and @Dodi Syahdarwere already climbing in my engine bay and fixing the issue 😀. You've also worked on your drive skills and improved massively. Nowadays i see your Pajero floating over the dunes, completely in tune with the terrain. Extremely impressive ! I am sure you will excel in the Leaders Lead Sessions, and will make a brilliant lead very soon !

@Luke K P you've been a colorful presence from the start. First with the Pajero, but now with the beautiful Orange Ranger Raptor. Your positive energy and calm demeanor is an absolute delight for people who receive guidance from you. I am sure you will absolutely love the Leaders Lead sessions, and before you know it, you will have the honor of driving all the way in the front, guiding one of our convoys, and enjoying the magnificent feeling of creating your own tracks. All the best of luck !

That's great. Don't give up on her. You should indeed always follow the lines of the vehicle in front of you, but during a climb you can deviate a little bit (20-30cm to find fresh clean sand). If you have HT tires, better not to go below 13psi. If you have AT tires, you can go a little bit lower up to 10-11 as long as you don't steer agressively. Always make smooth turns. Double check you tire pressure as well with a second pressure gauge (different brand or type) as we have seen up to 1.5psi deviation amongst many models. I would not clean the cat converter yet, this is not so common and would only be potentially useful for a car with very high mileage (how much is your mileage)? Try to get the spark plugs replaced and injectors cleaned. That usually helps a lot more. Also, keep an eye on other 3.5 Pajeros in your convoy, and have a chat with the owners. Perhaps even a small test drive in their car can reveal if there is really something wrong with the power. Yours is a SWB so it's already 250kg lighter than a LWB. @Mehmet Volga used to lead drives even in Sweihan with a LWB model, and that car was amazing (and stock). Apart from that.... momentum....momentum......momentum.... Build up speed to climb hills. It will never be a Raptor, but in the right hands you will drive in Liwa without issues.

Freddy prior to leading himself; GOOSE After becoming a lead and feeling responsible for everyone in my convoy: MOTHER GOOSE

Found the LIWA drive video from Feb2020: That big sidey started at 2.30 with attempts from most.

your video is set to Private. My sidey was not too far away from Yellow Truck. I might be able to find which dune it was.

In my opinion, the 3.5 is definitely not underpowered if it's in a SWB model. Of course, the 3.8 will give you that extra punch. If you have purchased that Pajero recently i would recommend to verify a couple of things which might optimize your power. It could be that some horses are sleeping in the car. 1. All fluids (transmission, differentials, engine oil, coolant). When were these last done? 2. Injectors. Have they ever been cleaned? This can transform many sluggish cars back into their previous power specs. 3. Spark plugs. When were they last replaced? The original ones are fine. 4. Tire pressure: better flotation on the sand will mean less power needed to climb. Get some AT tires which are not too heavy and drive on 10-11psi. It will definitely improve. 5. Use of D vs Tiptronic. I always found the D setting on the Pajero transmission to be slow. Once i moved to using Tiptronic and especially when climbing, it kept the car in the same gear and i could go full out, while in D it decided to upshift or downshift at all the wrong possible times. 6. Cold air intake makes more noise, not a lot more power on Pajeros. If there are any gains they will only appear on the top end range and will be marginal in my opinion. 7. Car could be lazy from previous owner. Drive it more in the sand and make it stretch its legs

Well done @Nicolò!

Something i learned from my mentor @Gaurav: 1. Visualize your entry and exit points before attempting. 2. Once you commit: do not hesitate (this could result in panic steering or even braking)... At the end we all like to "play" with nature, and sometimes when we are being overconfident, it will gently slap you on the wrist. At that point in time, be humble and respectful. That's why ego cannot have any place in offroading.

Congrats @Sunstreaker !!

Felicidades Diego!!

Well done @Mei ling !

Well deserved @Ana !

I have been lucky and blessed so far to have had no serious technical breakdowns in the desert so far. I do remember this one big sidey we did in Liwa where i got a bit too excited and we kept trying to climb higher and higher. The video below shows the sidey which worked out fine, but on my way down my little Pajero suddenly felt like fishtailing a bit, which was a bit of a scary moment and by sheer luck and instinct i was able to steer into it and correct it. The descent however was way too fast, and i realized only later that i got lucky. https://www.instagram.com/p/B-Omvp0h_PG5j_5cWYdTVQa5NoAV2Gb9Ld-eHA0/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== Since moving over to the Trooper, which is a top-heavy and bouncy off-road thing, i have become a lot more careful. With the Pajero i always felt like i was 100% in control of the car and where to point it, but the Trooper has a mind of its own and is sometimes all over the place. Not fun when you want to ride ridges at massive heights. 😐

DRIVE DESCRIPTION: The Pink Rock area is a classic, and a must for every offroader to go and explore it and enjoy the beautiful dunes surrounding it. We request every member that joins this drive to go through the information below and strictly follow these guidelines, etiquette and responsibilities. MUST READ AND COMPLY Environmental Policy Offroad Flag Guideline Two Way Radio Guideline Off road Driving Etiquettes Emergency details for all off roaders Off Road Driving - Roles & Responsibilities Drive Details Level: Fewbie and above (all levels) Meeting time: 06.00 AM Meeting Point: https://maps.app.goo.gl/FRYcmZ9g2g65cE397 What to bring along: Plenty of water, Offroad gears as per your level, your brightest smile. Approximate finish time: 9.30-10AM RECOMMENDED OFF-ROAD GEAR: Tire deflator & Tire pressure gauge Compressor (MANDATORY) Walkie-talkie radio (MANDATORY) Off-road flag (MANDATORY) Shovel, Tow Rope & 2 Shackles First-aid kit Fire extinguisher. LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE This drive is limited to 10 cars only. RSVP will close on Saturday - 12 PM. If the RSVP is full, you can add your name to the waitlist, once anyone drops, you will be moved to the RSVP list. RSVP will close a day prior to preparing a convoy list. Latecomers will be returned - Without any exceptions. Members without RSVP will be returned - 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

It's here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/tLsEhriWvEgmVR8E6

We went West, but it seems the West was a bit green 🤣. A great morning out, and always a great laugh, which I like the most about these drives. Everyone drove extremely well today. I marked that weird blowhole in my GPS: we should definitely head back there with a short convoy to make several loops. The original plan was to head further south, but as we faced some delays due to pop outs i decided to stay closer to the Tilal Sweihan area. See you all soon in the sands again !