Sunil Mathew

OK, first of all ..Thank you @JAISROCK for shaking up this , otherwise dormant Jeep Wrangler forum  👍..

My "upgrades" are quite cheap, as i am a firm believer in the Carnity Philospohy of "Keep it stock" ...so no lifts, no reservoir and bypass shocks, no large tyres, no re-gearing etc. mainly because i dont have the money 😂😂

1. Auxillary Fan -300AED - Added a fan in front of the radiators - This helps a bit in technical drives where the car speed is very slow and the radiator doesn't get enough air draft.

2. Low temp thermostat (open at 75 Deg) - 250 AED - This helps in making the best of  drive breaks and lets the coolant cool down below 95 deg , which is the temp at which the stock thermostat closes.

The above 2 semi-mods gave me a lower coolant temperature by at least 5 deg , and some breathing time until the stock fan decides itself to switch to high speed (i think somewhere around 116 deg??..not sure)

3. Tyres - This one could be termed as a "downgrade". I bought the car with 285/70-17 tyres on it. It was rubbing against the sway bar and i felt there was loss of power when you needed to do steep climbs in short distance. I changed to the so called Carnity tyres - Yoko Geolandars - 265/70-17 and i could feel a marked difference in the grip as well as power.

Great midweek drive, new area, beautiful scenery, different vegetation , totally unexpected terrain for me,  which demanded a different style of driving all throughout. Technical but not the style we normally do between tight dunes. Here, the challenge was to avoid tree stumps, sand mounds with hard bushes, varied vegetation and on top of it - soft sand and slip faces!!

Also , a spectacular view of the sunset on a sand dune horizon...priceless!!

Thanks @Ale Vallecchi for organizing such a different/creative drive, after a long gap. I remember seeing a similar drive notification way back , but could not sign up due to some reason , probably it was rated as fewbie or something while i was  a newbie.

Thanks to @Russ our recovery champion for the day, who gave me a quick tug on a longitudinal crest , and @Shaaz Sha for the sweep.

Good to drive with all other fellow drivers, and see you soon.

And happy to see that @Zixuan Huang - Charlie has sorted out his battery issue ---- a tint off bad luck yesterday, you missed the drive!

1 hour ago, GauravSoni said:

On a side note: I am looking for a drive which will take us from the beaches on the east coast to the massive dunes of Liwa passing through soft red sand of Mahafiz, Faya , Bowls of sharjah to the long range dunes of lisaili , cutting across the terrain of Sweihan eventually landing at Moreeb! 

My "wow" reaction was for this part of your post!!!  

Hi @Ale Vallecchi, I too echo some of the observations of fellow drivers as above.

To answer your questions :-

1. Did the drive provide "expected" challenges ?  - YES. Because the expectation for me as a participant in the drive is influenced or formed based on the pre-drive intro you usually give, with subtle hints sometimes or very clear/louder pointers otherwise. If the drive title has "long range patrol" border patrol" etc , we now know what to expect from such signature drives  

2. Was it too easy ? - I would still answer with a half hearted YES, because i have experienced much more difficult/challenging/daring drives with you at lower levels. But again, this needs to be analysed with Q#1 above, wherein the drive plan is not to go through challenging crossings, but cover the distance, which in itself is another skill set requiring long , sustained concentration.

3. Should we have delved longer in play areas ? - As a personal opinion/preference, YES, again, but that is not what we signed up for, in the first place

In short, the drive did 100% justice to the announced drive plan, while personal preferences of us drivers will surely vary, but as mentioned by Jerome, we are blessed to have a very wide variety of drives at @Carnity, and all of us will continue to get the drives at various levels of alignment with each one's personal tastes. This drive , for me was special, being my IM "baptism" and having driven 100+ km, in a new area, it also gives me a sense of achievement, with a subtle message that desert driving is not only about daring crossings, riding ridges , adrenalie rush etc . 

Looking forward and coming back for more!!

Congrats Gilbert!! @Gilbert Khalil..see you soon!

Done and dusted… my IM debut and the longest drive i ever had!!

Came out unscathed, all credit going to the track chosen by @Ale Vallecchi and my #3 position  in the convoy.. i can remember at least 3 or 4 spots/crossings  where i barely scrapped through at awkward angles and one or two wheels spinning and splashing sand .. had i been at the tail end, i would have surely ended up stuck 😬

Twas a great drive as we kept moving except for couple of planned breaks and a minor stuck.. finding enough time to just munch at my breakfast sandwich was proving to be a challenge in itself 😀😀

thanks to @Thomas Varghese at 2L , @GauravSoni as CF and @marks at sweep.

looking forward to the next opportunity to drive with all fellow drivers… see you soon!!

Congratulations @Niki !! See you soon !!

9 hours ago, Nivin said:

@Sunil MathewWell Done & Congratulations!

Thank you @Nivin, see you soon!

Well done and a whole hearted THANK YOU  to all carnity stars...having driven with all these stars either as a lead or in a support role, i have experienced their commitment,  guidance, team spirit, knowledge, humour, leadership skills and many more qualities which make them true stars and off roaders with the Carnity ethos!!

I wish every one of them many more accolades and look forward to  more driving and learning oppurtunities!!!

Happy birthday @Asif Hussain..never had the oppurtunity to meet you in person...see you soon!!

Congrats @Charbel!!! enjoy your fb+ drives!! See you soon

Congrats @Kailas...looking forward to drive with you again!! i presume you will be doing NB drives for some time now  

Thank you @Ale Vallecchi for this Saturday morning exploration drive. Although i had to exit after the first half, due to other commitments, the part i drove with all of you was very engaging and enjoyable. Really missed the remaining part, as we were picking up pace and swooping on bowls as much as we could , just consoling myself - there's always a nect time

Yes, the drive to the meeting point was an adventure in itself, with close to zero visibility and my white LED headlights lights making things worse with blinding reflections, had to drive all the way with only my lower fog lights on!!

It was my first time within borders of abu dhabi, and was surprised to see AD - Faqaa dirstrict boards and markings on the way home.

Thanks @Niki for the second lead, doing your part perfectly in the reduced visibility... @Wrangeld for anchoring the convoy and @Alex Raptorfor the perfect sweep, good to drive with everyone else.

Thanks @Tareck for lending your compressor, when mine went bust..

See you all on the next adventure!!

2 hours ago, Anish S said:

Well done @Sunil Mathew, congratulations. So glad to see you growing.

Thanks @Anish S for your help and guidance on yoir drives!! See you soon!!

21 hours ago, Ale Vallecchi said:

Very well done @Sunil Mathew. Steady progress on your part has brought you this far quite quickly. Looking forward to seeing you driving your way up the ranks. 

thanks a lot  @Ale Vallecchi for  all the guidance during your drives... see you coming Saturday 

13 hours ago, Chaitanya D said:

Congratulations @Sunil Mathew.well done

Thank you Doc @Chaitanya D, Just remembered  my first crest stuck  with you on an evening drive  ..thanks for your guidance...See you soon!!

It was a smooth , flowing mid-week drive thanks to @Foxtrot Oscar and the whole convoy. Drivers in support roles @GauravSoni and @Hisham Masaad  had no opportunities for getting out of their cars for any kind of support. Couldnt see much of @Pacific in 2L, as i was driving at second last position, but going by radio comms, the role was well executed.

Echoing @Christopher Assal, see you all next Tuesday!! Hope Angela comes up with a similar drive  ... obviously there is demand!!

All were familiar faces except @Mus_hus78Mustafa who drove all the way from Abu Dhabi along with @Santoso Marjuki. Good to meet you ! Great display of commitment driving from AD!

2 hours ago, Lorenzo Candelpergher said:

Congratulations @Sunil Mathew, great achievement. Looking forward to drive toghether soon! 

Thank you @Lorenzo Candelpergher...See you soon on one of your drives. I tried to squeeze tomorrows drive into my schedules but thinking of the traffic from sharjah to dxb at peak hour 9AM i decided to give it a pass..  

2 hours ago, Lawrence_Chehimi said:

Congrats @Sunil Mathew

Thanks @Lawrence_Chehimi, see you soon on one of the drives!

Thank you @Alain Canivet-Abikhalil...see you soon!!

2 hours ago, M.Seidam said:

Congratulations @Sunil Mathew very well deserved . Keep it up bro and more is coming to enjoy .👍

Thank you Doc @M.Seidam, looking forward to the journey ahead!!

Thank you @Abdul Rahman AK, @JeromeFJ and @Ranjan Das, Hope to see you and drive with you all shortly!!

Thanks @Wrangeld, Yes it has been quite an experience over the past few months , right from the AN drive with you. Never thought i would even reach this level. Always thought of the uncanny resemblance of the words "Intermediate" and "Intimidating" !!

Congrats @Lorenzo Candelpergher, your write up is truly inspiring, i must say !! looking forward to be on another one of your drives soon.

10 hours ago, Zixuan Huang - Charlie said:

Congrats @Sunil Mathew ! time to sit back and enjoy newbie drives?

Thanks @Zixuan Huang - Charlie...  😄 yes........

you are spot on  - more or less...!!

Thanks @Anoop Nair,  See you 

Congrats @Mehmet Volga!!

Congrats @Rawad!!! See you soon 

Thank you @Hisham Masaad @Danish Mohammad, @Niki, @Russ  , @Chinthaka Ruwan and @Rawad See you soon 

Thanks @Islam Soliman.. for your guidance and support

A little late for the report here,  but nevertheless, penning down something to give life to this thread for another day, before it gets buried in the archives

So, it was a great drive with all challenges built in , the fiercest being the soft sand bowl with some tight maneuvers where i got stuck and needed a tug out, despite guidance from @M.Seidam and @marks, thanks for the support. and thanks to @Wrangeld for the tug, One snippet i learnt while the tug was getting connected - Richard chose to use steel shackles with the screw pin,  along with the soft shackles and my inquisitive brain prompted to ask him why, as i have seen many times in this forum that steel shackles are not safe to use always. But then the clarification came that if we need to release one of the shackles under slight  tension in the rope, a screw pin shackle would be the choice. so that was an eye opener for me, along with inaugurating my brand new recovery ropes and shackles.

We rode some ridges, crossed some , past sabkas  and offcourse some technical at the end to finish off in style.

Thanks for the 2L @Niki, i was missing the Dad jokes from you and Richard after the infamous "condescending" drive we had ..didnt hear much on Friday  !!

@Anoop Nair  @Adhir Saxena @Rawad, good to drive with you again, and see you soon!!