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4.9 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 452 Google Reviews
Zed
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Posts posted by Zed
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Thanks @Zixuan Huang - Charlie for the additional cars, wow I believe with the price advantage, these can be considered for dune-bashing 😁 Even though the engine is 2.0, I think we can find some garages who can add turbos to add the horsepower & torque 😃 After all, now manufacturers care more about pollution & fuel-efficiency, so they put less powerful engines but add turbos. For example Toyota stopped making V8 Land Cruisers, and instead use turbos for their V6 to achieve more power 💪
How are aftermarket compatibilities? Do you think because BAIC was a Jeep manufacturer in China, most aftermarket parts like lift kit will fit the BAIC BJ40 too?
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1 hour ago, Gaurav said:
This is an amazing effort @Zed to enlighten everyone with your recent differential enlightenment.
Just a small add-on on few points for better clarity.
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Point 4: Center differential engagement comes standard when you switch to LO gear. Second, you can use center differential in high using HLC (Hi Lock Center diff), hence in most cars, there is no button labeled as center diff, one can use center diff either in HLC or in LLC 4X4 gearing.
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Point 5: Rear diff-lock will only help to get unstuck if any one of the rear wheels still has traction. If both rear wheels are in the air or deep inside the sand then the rear diff-lock won't be able to help much.
- Point 7: Jeep Rubicon has all three diff and plus sway bar disconnect option with a flick of a button, that can work wonder even when the vehicle is crested with all 4 wheels in the air. Sway bar disconnect will drop the front wheel lower by a couple of inches and increase the chance of self-recovery if cresting is not on razor-sharp blade.
Thanks @Gaurav bhai for adding these extra correct points. Man how could I forget Rubicon, I almost bought that car and I did look at videos of how cool sway bar disconnect is, most will show putting the tyres on a fork-lift but as Gaurav said; when you are crested press that Electronic Sway Bar Disconnect and the front tyres will drop to touch the sand like a Long-Travel Dune Buggy would, in the hope of gaining traction to self-recover 😁
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Point 4: Center differential engagement comes standard when you switch to LO gear. Second, you can use center differential in high using HLC (Hi Lock Center diff), hence in most cars, there is no button labeled as center diff, one can use center diff either in HLC or in LLC 4X4 gearing.
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Found a better illustration on the side-effect / disadvantage of differential: the point that the power will always go to the least traction wheel, shown below:
If your car specs says "Limited-Slip Differential", then you're a bit better, as some power are distributed to the wheel with traction. However note it's not an "Anti-Slip" Differential, just limited, so the arrow to the left is smaller (less power / limited) than the green arrow on the right wheel (more power / slipping). To achieve 50% left : 50% right power distribution, you still need to Lock the Diff.
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32 minutes ago, ShereenMK said:
I have seen certain pajero SWB 2010 3.8, for around 25k. Done around 120-130k Any opinion on it on this vehicle?
If you can, get the 3.8 engine for that extra power. We have a lot of Pajeros in this club, so you'll have friends who can advise you on stuff. Regarding price, of course haggle it as low as the owner is willing 😁 For mileage, use it to negotiate price, but don't be scared of high miles, my Land Cruiser has done 350,000 kms and it still climbs dunes ☺️ You need to do 2 things before you finalize the price:
1. Take it for a test drive. This will tell you if you want it or not.
2. Take it to a garage that does Comprehensive Pre-Buy testing. They will check for leaks and any flaws that the owner is not telling you. From here you'll get a list of spare parts and estimate how much to fix those flaws. Use it to your advantage to negotiate. From point #1, if you love the car, you don't mind spending money to fix it, but tell the owner because you will spend A to fix it, you want the price lowered to B 😊 Sample comprehensive pre-purchase report shown below, he will mark the areas that have flaws:
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Hello @ShereenMK, i think we "crashed" to your private session last time and @Karthikeyan Govindarajan showed that if you get distracted or miscalculated for 1 second, you can get crested & stuck 😂. Hope you'll enjoy driving on the sand and make it a weekend hobby, we need more folks in Abu Dhabi 😊 As for your car, it's too early to hunt. Watch the video link below, my friend drove a Montero Sport to climb Bu Tais Dune, and he always says it's the driver that makes it, not the car ☺️ You only need to find a second-hand car once you damage your Montero like breaking bumpers 😂
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I had a center diff lock issue few weeks back: after self-recovery the center diff lock remained locked and would not unlock, causing heavy steering when driving home. My mechanic was trying to solve the center diff problem by isolation: whether it was mechanical (possible fix: change center diff lock actuator), or was it electrical (possible fix: clean dirty connections). While he was doing that, I was reading the materials from my Land Cruiser Repair Manuals and some other sources. Thought I'd share my "differential enlightenment" here, and try to explain it as non-technical as possible 🙂 FYI, I've arranged it so that everyone knows the context and working background of a diff before using this knowledge to our offroad driving, so read from 1-2-3-4, but if you wanna go straight to how we use diff locks, go ahead to point #4 below:
1. The Minimum 3 Diffs required for most cars
Forget if you have 3 buttons with labels: RR/Rear Lock, Center Lock, FF/Front Lock. Forget the IFS vs Solid Axle debate for front drive. Turn your 4WD car upside-down (or easier to look at the underbody diagram in your manual 😁 ), it better have 3 differentials:
Rear Diff (Red Sphere), Center Diff hidden in what's known as Transfer Case that also holds the 4LO low-gearing (Purple Sphere) and Front Diff (Blue Sphere).
What's that, you don't like this 3D illustration? Let's show a real example with an old Toyota Fake Jeep #whoops I meant FJ 😂 You can see I circled the 3 "pumpkins" casing showing the 3 differentials location 👇
2. Why do we need those spheres/pumpkins/diffs ?
The picture below shows 2 tyres on an axle with NO DIFF. Do you think it will turn nicely without slipping? Do we want this kind of horse carriage in our modern 4WD systems? 😅
So there you go, we need Diffs to make smooth turnings without stressing the driveline. In the illustration below, when we turn the Red Curve is longer (travel more distance) than the Blue Curve (travel less distance), so how can they turn at different rates when the engine gives the same power of 1,000 rpm? The answer: the magical mechanical device called a differential 😊
General Motors made this video long long time back, even though it's in Black & White, it explains how the concept of Differential came about (also explained how the Spider Gears work!). The video is optional, only for the technically-inclined and curious ones...3. Why do we need that Center Diff?
So from point #2 above, we know Diffs are used for turning the car, so front & rear diffs make sense, but what does a center diff do? Tilt the car?
Refer to sketch drawing below:
The car is turning left. Each wheel follows a different curve path: the inside wheels don't need to turn so fast, so in this diagram the front inside wheel needs 50 rpm and the rear inside wheel needs 48 rpm. BUT in order to turn, the front wheels need to turn faster than the rear wheels: thus the outer front wheel needs 54 rpm and the inner outer front wheel needs 50 rpm. Both front wheels are rotating faster than the rear wheels. If you add all the power required, Total Front Drive Power Needed = 54 + 50 = 104 rpm and Total Front Rear Power Needed = 52 + 48 = 100 rpm.
WITHOUT CENTER DIFF, the transmission outputs 100 rpm to both Front and Rear drive shafts.
So what? Well, that 104 rpm needed to turn wheels is greater than then 100 rpm, so extra stress is created... if continous stress is accumulated, this may lead to the image below, kablooi!
So the Center Diff is similar to point #2 above, but instead of allowing inside wheel & outside wheel turn at different rates, the Center Diff allows the front axle and the rear axle to get different power output. Refer to diagram below now:
So by having that Sphere/Pumpkin/Diff in the middle, the front drive shaft gets more power to accelerate faster than the rear drive shaft which move slower.
Don't believe this paper drawings and theories? Well let's watch how the World Rally Championship uses Center Diffs to make turnings smoother and then lock the Center Diff to distribute power in a straight-line driving:
4. Press that Center Diff Lock!
Finally we can use all that theories to use. Refer to below illustration:
Red Axle is the rear and Blue Axle is the front. The Front-Right wheel is slipping while the rest of 3 tyres got some traction. Why won't the car move?
Here's a little secret: Diffs are great for helping to turn, but the side-effect of a diff is that the output power from transmission will go to the wheel with the least traction. In the diagram above, that means the Front-Left Blue tyre will not turn at all!
BUT we still have the 2 Rear Red tyres with traction, don't we? Yes, but from Point #3 we know an open Center Diff allows front & back axles to turn at different rates, so in this case more power is given to the Front Blue Axle because of that spinning wheel that has the least traction... thus the rear tyres spin r.e.a.l.l.y s.l.o.w.l.y , making the driver frustrated and leaving him sweating 😂
Now we hear those famous words from the radio: "Engage 4LO and (Center) Diff Lock"
We'll talk about 4LO some other time, but the effect of pressing the Center Diff Lock is now this illustration:
No it's not the same image... ok yes, but watch the rotational arrows at the back. You see that Front-Right Blue slipping wheel? That one is stealing all the drive power. BUT because of Center Diff Lock, we now forced the Front & Rear axles to turn at the same rate. So if the Front-Right Blue is stealing 100 rpm slipping, then now the Rear Tyres are also spinning 100 rpm, with probably 50:50, so Rear-Right is 50 rpm and Rear-Left is 50 rpm. Because the Rear Tyres have traction (those brown balls), then the rear tyres move the car forward... or down-right depending on the angle you wanna recover.
5. Press that Rear Diff Lock!
So you think Center Diff Lock is enough and no need for a rope tug? Well check the illustration below:
Now we have 2 wheels spinning: one in the front (Front-Right Blue) and one in the back (Rear-Left Red).
You press Center Diff: nothing is moving. Why? Well the Center Diff allows front & back axles to turn the same, that bit is right... BUT because power is lost to the least wheel with traction, the transmission output will just spin both wheels (Front-Right Blue & Rear-Left Red). Calculatively:
Front-Right: 50 rpm spinning
Front-Left: Zero rpm not spinning (refer to disadvantage of diff in Point #4)
Rear-Right: Zero rpm not spinning (refer to disadvantage of diff in Point #4)
Rear-Left: 50 rpm spinning (same speed as Front-Right due to Center Diff locked)
Here's what's gonna happen if your 4WD is lucky enought to have a Rear Diff Lock button:
It's the same image again? Yessirree but look at the rotational arrows, especially at the rear red axle. So now Rear Differential is locked, splitting 50:50 drive power to the Rear-Right Red tyre and the Rear-Left Red tyre. Now instead of Zero RPM, that Rear-Left tyre will get 25rpm and might just nudge the car forward a bit... slowly but steadily, you might self-recover! Calculatively:
Front-Right: 50 rpm spinning
Front-Left: Zero rpm not spinning (refer to disadvantage of diff in Point #4)
Rear-Right: 25 rpm (due to Rear Diff Lock)
Rear-Left: 25 rpm spinning (due to Rear Diff Lock + Center Diff Lock)Yes you have to do Double-Locking: press Center Diff Lock first, then Rear Diff Lock.
6. Press that Front Diff Lock!
That situation in Point #5? Well you have a higher chance of self-recovery if your beloved 4WD also has a Front Diff Lock. Refer to illustration below:
Calculatively:
Front-Right: 25 rpm spinning
Front-Left: 25 rpm (due to Front Diff Lock)
Rear-Right: 25 rpm (due to Rear Diff Lock)
Rear-Left: 25 rpm spinning (due to Rear Diff Lock + Center Diff Lock)You can now do Triple Locking: get out of the car, assess the situation, then press the magic 3 buttons: Center Diff Lock On, Rear Diff Lock On, and Front Diff Lock On.
7. Cars with Triple Locking from Factory
If you made it to this point, then you may want to now look for second-hand 4WDs that have triple-locking from the factory 😊 Here are 3 that I know of (please add if you know more):
7.1. Land Cruiser 80 Series: just look at the diff lock indicators on that dashboard. No custom aftermarket buttons to show if your car is triple-locked 😁
7.2 Mercedes Benz G-Wagon. Do you know why I said the order is Center Diff Lock then Rear Diff Lock then last is Front Diff Lock? It's because Mercedes Benz labelled it in that order too!
7.3 Land Cruiser 300: well, this one you have to wait, and there's no second-hand market yet, so this is the most expensive triple-locked currently 😅
Sources:
The nice 3D Illustrations are from the Land Cruiser Cool Project.-
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5 hours ago, Wade Pat2 said:
Will start my hunt for an OEM TRD supercharger that I hope to find before leaving Dubai and exporting it (2024). One of those if it happens great and if not still great things. haha
@Wade Pat2 the OEM TRD brand is a rarity, those who have it want to keep it forever since TRD only produced a few before discontinuing it due to warranty concerns. BUT it was made by Magnuson, and the model is Magnuson MP90, so it may be easier to find the non-TRD branded version. However, if you try to find MP90 SC, usually it's in a solo and not the whole kit, example this listing on eBay for MP90 selling for only 6000 AED / USD 1700 (get it before it disappears 🔥). Then you need to find other fitting parts (pulley, belt, hoses, piggyback ECU, etc.). Picture of the complete TRD kit at the bottom of this post.
a. You can read this Installation Guide of 2UZ-FE TRD Supercharger Kit to find the parts that you need to source.
b. There is a post on iH8mud from a guy in Sharjah selling his unused SuperCharger for AED 20,000. Try contacting him so you don't have to import from States. Recommend to negotiate & haggle since the post was from 2019 ☺️
c. There are garages in Dubai and Abu Dhabi who can do the sourcing for your. One garage quoted AED 15,000 for a second-hand supercharger, but most quote AED 30,000 to import new from Australia. Ping me on WhatsApp if you want the addresses of these garages 😁
As for me, due to the pricing, SuperCharger will be next year or the next, saving like AED 2,000 per month for it! 😂
TRD Supercharger complete kit:
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On 7/13/2021 at 2:04 PM, Hardik Mody said:
@Zed I have downloaded the drawings and will get the Brackets fabricated.
@Hardik Mody is this your X-Terra 👇🏻? I see Two Red Rated Recovery Points like from the 3D Printing file 😁
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Pull that traction fuse @Kailas! Kidding, hope you'll get it fixed easily... take care of the car and it will take care of the driver 😊
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@Frederic if you combine this with a Short Bottle like below, it will be a usable mod 😊
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@Wrangeld looking at this DIY Jack Rebuild Instructions, it seems:
a. Good quality brands sell a "Rebuild Kit" with instruction diagram in case it needs to be repaired.
b. Cheaper brands don't bother as they want you to buy new one.
c. A floor jack contains a bottle jack inside it laid sideways, so maybe you can replace the bottle jack that's hidden inside with a spare or second-hand bottle that's working fine... Else you gotta open up that bottle jack and dig deep.
If the brand doesn't sell Rebuild Kits, it looks like a hassle and maybe you can call each of these guys to make assessment how much money it will cost to disassemble and repair:
Refill & Bleed
For others already on this thread, if it leaks or losing its mojo, do not deteriorate further by replacing Hydraulic Oil with Brake Fluid, Motor Oil or other types of oil (not even Vegetable Oil!) :
1. Buy Hydraulic Jack Oil with these characteristics
2. Bleed the air out after refilling the oil
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3 minutes ago, Kailas said:
Good job @Zed.
This post is already tempting me to try one of these for my upcoming Sweihan drive this Saturday.
That's why the Meeting Point is still TBD!!!! 😂
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8 hours ago, Niki said:
@Zed @Gok Krish - yes that what I remember … a puff of white and as mentioned only for a short amount of time just like the video!
in that case the white smoke is probably due to blow-by, but this assumes there were lots of going uphill / climbing during the trip...
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Congrats @Lakshmi Narasimhan, well-deserved bro 👍
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dear @Kailas kindly add me to Waiting List for 2nd Drive this weekend, i'm joining Anish's FB+ for my 1st Drive ☺️
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2 hours ago, M.Seidam said:
, it’s time to browse the internet for camping stuff seriously now before prices hits up approaching the season peak 🤣
@M.Seidam According to Al Sadeem Astronomy below, the Sunrise is coming later approaching 6am and the Sunset is slowly coming earlier approaching 7pm. Daytime is definitely becoming shorter, in the words of G.O.T, "Winter is Coming!!!" 😁 so yes let's start our camping gear shopping now before everyone else jumps in and hike up the prices 😂
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Now that we have more Fewbies in Abu Dhabi and even coming from outside, plus to help the R&D / Exploration Department of @Frederic, @Chaitanya D, @Kailas , I'll list here the tracks that were endorsed by DCTAD (Department of Culture and Tourism) and mentioned in VisitAbuDhabi page (just in case the page is offline in the future).
I've only tried one-and-half of these tracks: Remah to Nagrah route and that's because it's marked "Easy". I didn't find it that "easy" since Remah is soft sand + technical up-down & criss-cross; maybe a good warm-up before reaching Nagrah and playing with power & speed. The other half is Al Fayah South to Khaznah, maybe we can do that for Al Fayah Part 2 Fewbie+ next time 😁
Anyways for the rest of the trails, I prefer someone more senior to guide me and hopefully these will be inspirational for future Abu Dhabi drives:
1. Remah to Sweihan (Easy according to DCTAD, but I would categorize it "Fewbie")
One of the highlights of the Al Remah Route is an authentic Camel Racing Track. Close by, you will find the Telal Nature Reserve with the possibility of spotting some deer. Other highlights include beautiful desert trees near Tawi Naqara and an amazing selection of high dunes, beautiful Gaff trees.
Remah Google Maps Track / KML file that can be imported to GPS app here
2. Wagan To White Sands (Easy according to DCTAD, but I haven't ventured here, maybe Fred will start this trip for Fewbie 😁 )
Regularly driven by Bedu (local farmers), there are often tracks to follow. Can be done in reverse, however in some areas it will be more difficult. Be mindful of water pits, as the groundwater table is very close to the surface. Look out for camels, including camels training for racing, usually later in the day and early morning.
Wagan Google Maps Track / KML file that can be imported to GPS app here
3. Al Fayah to Al Khazna Route (Advanced according to DCTAD, cc @Frederic this is the "southern" side of Fayah that I was talking about in our Faya Exploration Fewbie+ trip)
This advanced route takes three to four hours to complete, with steep climbs, sharp drops, deep bowls and highly technical dunes.
Khazna Google Maps Track / KML file that can be imported to GPS app here
4. Umm al Oush (Intermediate/Advanced according to DCTAD, near the border of Oman)
Advanced moves required, like side-sloping and side-cresting. Easier to tackle with a long wheel-based car that has a 2” lift. Can’t be done in reverse. Sights include enormous dunes, starfish dunes (cc @Frederic), and incredible scenery.
Umm al Oush Google Maps Track / KML file that can be imported to GPS app here
5. Hameem Loop / Tropic of Cancer (Intermediate according to DCTAD, near the Saudi border, save this for Winter-time driving)
Expect slipfaces and deep bowls. Can’t be done in reverse. Sights include plenty of gazelle, an abandoned Nissan Patrol and solar power bank, and camel and goat farms.
Hameem Loop Google Maps Track / KML file that can be imported to GPS app here
6. Liwa Crossing (Advanced according to DCTAD, near the Saudi border, save this for Winter-time driving)
This is an advanced route with huge dunes, some of the largest in the UAE. There are some very tricky crossings and this remote route may take 1.5-2 days to complete. Make sure you take everything you need with you - early exit from this route is not possible.
Liwa Crossing Google Maps Track / KML file that can be imported to GPS app here
Source: Visit Abu Dhabi page - Offroad Driving
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Having a 2.5" lift gives me the confidence of not getting crested 90% of the time. Well, this trip jinxed that thought and after looking at the scratches made on my cross-members, I'm thinking of getting a full underbody skid-plate next... just in case our Marshals ask to cross a "railway" again 😂😂😂
Thanks to @Frederic for leading the adventure, @Xavier Treasurer for 2nd lead and @M.Seidam for sweeping and capturing those moments 👍🏻
Also kudos to my new friends from Dubai who took the extra mile of crossing the border @GauravSoni @Lakshmi Narasimhan @Humayun Ghias and finally get to see my dream car VTC SWB Patrol @Mario Cornejo 😊
Until next time!
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19 hours ago, Abdul Hannan said:
In case of any roll over or any damage to the car do we need to call police to the desert
@Abdul Hannan what happened after my Y62 rolled over, this happened in Sweihan Abu Dhabi, so might be different for Dubai.
1. Magically the Y62 was in the upright position, but otherwise you need to fix the car so that it's not upside-down.
2. Call 999. In my case since no major injuries, there was no need for ambulance. You will get SMS asking to click link and share your current location. Saaed (Abu Dhabi Accident Patrol) will then call you to confirm location.
3. Call Insurance if it provides Free Tow Truck Recovery. Otherwise by standing near the highway, usually there's always a few passing by like taxis...
4. While waiting for Saaed, we fixed our 2 pop-outs because the car anyway needs to travel a bit later to go closer to highway onto a tow truck.
3. Saaed came, asked what happened. Explain. He took lots of photos using iPad and put into accident system. This is your CHANCE to ensure Everything is covered! You don't want insurance to tell you that the police report didn't mention Rear Bumper, and you have to pay 2000aed for original bumper 😅 Speak politely to the police and ask to see the damage report. Show him all the parts that are broken so he can enter it into the system.
4. Saaed will give you receipt with accident report number. You need to go to website and print the report to show the insurance receptionist (or some you can email/whatsapp the accident number and they will print it before you come).
5. Drive slowly towards the highway, find a Landmark (sign saying Sweihan KM10 or something), then wait for Tow Truck to come. Put the car onto the truck, then sit next to the driver in front and guide him to go to the Agency Workshop (Nissan Body Workshop in my case), or your insurance's appointed garage if it's not Agency Repair.
6. While in the truck, call Insurance again to tell them you're on the way to the Agency / Appointed Garage and to start the Claim Process.
7. Once checked-in to Agency / Garage, they should have all the paperwork ready if the Insurance has started the Claim Process.
8. Pray... A LOT. I waited 2 months to get my Y62 Patrol back but was happy that it looked brand new, everything was replaced original, I mean EVERYTHING: Bent Roof replaced new, Broken Windshield replaced new, Broken side windows replaced new. Even the Front and Back Bumpers that I broke during earlier Carnity Newbie drives were replaced! 😊
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Congrats @Chinthaka Ruwan, looking forward to driving FB+ with you 😁
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Just to build suspense for tomorrow about the potentially-hostile desert of Al Faya Abu Dhabi... 👇🏻😊
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1 hour ago, Mus_hus78 said:
Zed how are you bro , hope wel , I checked on google map to see the size of that mini lake , it looks like a black hole 🕳 bro , make sure we all come driving our car not carrying our car 😄
as more senior member, you'll be 2nd lead and i'll pull you out of the black hole Interstellar-style... hope you don't grow a beard while waiting to be pulled out tho 😂
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Yes, Nascar mandates this Windshield "A" bar called the Earnhardt bar.
In desert offroad scenario, if a car was to nosedive into our windshield, this Windshield "A" bar would protect the driver to a degree.
1998 Dave Blaney's survival of a wall-crash was attributed to the Earnhardt bar:
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Diff Lock Simplified: Center, Rear, Front Explained :)
in Discussions
Posted
@Zixuan Huang - Charlie this is why for desert we prefer SuperChargers compared to Turbos, it's powered by the Crank Pulley like Clutch Fan & Timing Belt, so the power increase is instant 😁 Turbos depend on Exhaust, hence the lag 👇