Lorenzo Candelpergher

It was a very nice and relaxing drive, with a pleasant pace, decent temperatures after sunset and very few stucks and refusals. Coming from a very demanding morning ride on small technical dunes, this afternoon exploration ride magnificently prepared, led and briefed by @Ale Vallecchiwas a very refreshing one, with a beautiful scenery at sunset. Besides getting crested in a moment of hesitation, the ride was super smooth, thanks to the enormous improvement in my driving conduct since I followed @Wrangeld's suggestions about using higher gears (and even D when it makes sense) and much much much less power. I really enjoyed the extended ridge-riding and criss-crossing, for which the briefing by @Ale Vallecchi was a useful prepping. Thanks also to @Frederic and @Wrangeldfor their prompt interventions in the occasion of the very few stucks (including my cresting) and refusals, which really minimized the idle time. Spending 11.5h ours in the sand in one day was the best way for me to get prepared for my summer break, as I will be (sadly, as far as off-roading is concerned) heading to Europe for a few weeks. Consider me already booked for the August 28th rides and don't churn up the sand too much in my absence!!

Very nice drive today! I followed the recommendations by @Wrangeld, trying to drive in D whenever was possible, and in any case trying to keep my RPM below 2000 almost all the time. I then switched back to manual gears from time to time, having realized that most of what I would do in 1st gear until last week I could now easily do it in 2nd or even 3rd gear, with a much smoother / lighter ride and with more momentum as I could go a bit faster. It felt as if I were driving a totally different car, honestly much easier to deal with, less brutal and churning much much much less sand. What a surprising change!! Today I feel I made my greatest progress since I started off-roading. Driving so comfortably, I really enjoyed @Jeepie's nice track for the day. Over 30km (see track data below), starting with a very nice sunrise unveiling the skyline of Pink Rock over the horizon and then ascending the rock itself and turning all around it clockwise, which offered very nice views. The path was very interesting, alternating small technical dunes and larger ones with a few nice sideys, criss crosses and ridge riding. With my "brand new" driving technique (ahah) it all came very natural and I never had a single moment of serious difficulty, despite being quite at the end of the convoy. Thanks also to @Brette and @Ale Vallecchifor the speedy recoveries which minimized our idle time due to stucks, significantly less than the last few rides. See you next week!

Dear @Shamil, due to some business commitments I had to cancel my RSVP and move to the morning Fewbie drive. Sorry about the inconvenience. L

Perfect. Thanks a lot!!

Dear @Chaitanya D, this would be very kind of you, thanks a lot for your availability! If you were aiming for a Fewbie drive instead of a Newbie one, I don't want you to give it up for me..

Excessive speed made him fly and land nose down, and wrong angle made him partially flip in the air with front left side diving down more. However the worst part, in my opinion, is that the guy should have never approached the crest while another car was stuck there, even less driving along a line so close to it! If anything, he should have approached slowly and stopped nearby to see if help was needed..

Anyone willing to swap this drive with the afternoon Fewbie one? I am booked for the afternoon but due to last minute business commitments I may not be able to attend.

@Wrangeld, I don't think I was told not to drive in D by any Carnity senior. I think it was in some other group or some youtube videos I watched, but I definitely see the benefits of driving in D based on this discussion. I'll definitely try as I am fully focused on improving my skills. Thanks for the insights, it is great to have a chance to have feedbacks and suggestions from the whole group. I love these exchanges.

Hi @Wrangeld, I always thought I was the one that had to learn and for this reason I was told not to drive in D in order to understand how different gears play in different situations. I'll give it a try, from what you write I understand you suggest D everywhere except when climbing uphill, so to be able to concentrate on other driving matters (power / line).

Dear @Chaitanya D, I have no intention to do any other upgrades/modifications than changing the wheels/tyres, after having already installed skid plates. Regardless of budget implications, I am indeed against upgrades such as suspension lifts, wheel spacers, etc. as these imply a deviation of the performance of the vehicle from the intended one on-road as per the manufacturer. Even the inner beadlocks are something I may consider only if they are fully approved by RTA for on-road use. I chose the Nissan Patrol as a good compromise for normal on-road / off-road family use. Should I become an off-road freak, really willing to push it to the limit (which I doubt as I am driving in the desert for fun, it doesn't have to become an obsession about the car specs) I may venture, in the future, into buying a 2nd hand small and cheap car with proper off-roading specs, but I'd say this is way beyond the horizon now. What @Wrangeld says is what I am more and more realizing: I need to develop my skills in maximizing momentum and being more proactive in assessing the best line ahead. I hadn't thought about imposing to myself a limitation to the RPM, which I may do since the next ride. Another point I need to figure out is the right gear, as I tend very often to get down to 1st just to have the max response, which is probably not the best way to handle a 400hp / 560Nm torque car.

Dear @Chaitanya D, If I change the rims, it will be only with the ones recommended by Nissan, ie 18" with 265/70R18 tyres, as I totally agree with you that nothing should be done on the car that may void the manufacturer's warranty (also for insurance reasons). Many have advised the move and even @Gaurav was suggesting me to consider shifting to a high prifile tyre some posts back to reduce pop-out risks. Meanwhile I have also discovered the existence of "inner beadlocks" (see https://ok4wd.com/inner-air-lock-inner-air-lock-pneumatic-inter-ina208100). They seem quite an interesting solution, for which I would be curious to hear some advice from anyone who had any experience with it. Having said this, I totally believe my problem, as you suggest, is mostly about using too much power instead of momentum, which is something I am trying to improve. I think I got much better than in the beginning, but I sense it is mostly a matter of accumulating a sufficient number of driving hours, in order to gain confidence on going a bit faster and learning to let go when momentum is lost rather than flooring the throttle... For this In the next rides I was considering the possibility to ask someone behind me to accept mounting my GoPro on their bonnet so I could see my own driving from behind and be able to assess what I am doing right or wrong. See you on the sand. L

Dear @Wrangeld, dear @Gaurav, This was my 3rd Carnity Fewbie drive, 1st time at Solar Park. I was quite disappointed when I got crested at the very beginning of the ride: I still have to figure out why my diff lock didn't engage while trying to self-recover. I tried later multiple times and it always kicked in. When we eventually managed to drive a bit for real without stopping for some time it was quite enjoyable, until a moment of distraction made me lose control while sliding on a big dune, with the rear of my car literally falling downhill all of a sudden, causing a pop-out on my rear right wheel. My son, a pop-out freak, was excited as usual.., this time I really didn't feel the same way! After the 5th pop-out I am starting to consider shifting to 18" rims with a high profile tyres 265/70, slightly thinner than my current 275/60 but surely better when deflated off-road. I was told there are tyres with a particular shape of the inner edges of the shoulders which may help prevent pop-outs: recommendations would be appreciated. The biggest challenge of the day, for me, more than the soft sand, was the difficulty I experienced in reading the bright sand, despite polarized sunglasses. My latest drives were all in Mahafiz, Pink Rock, Fossil Rock, Area 53, Al Badayer, etc were the sand is much darker and much simpler to read. @Gaurav was amazingly relentless and patient in an abnormous number of recoveries and has all my gratitude for helping me out in the two instances above. I was also amused how he could ride all over the place while everyone else was getting stuck... The path was interesting and, when we had the chance to ride without stops, fast enough to have fun. @Wrangeld and @Jeepie did a great job in leading and routing, thank you both. Find today's track details below. Thanks to the whole convoy for the nice time spent toghether today.

Hi @Wrangeld, thanks for the recommendation. I believe have come to terms with my tyre pressure concerns, having done a few more rides in the last weeks and having understood what I was doing wrong (too much power while wheels are turned or while sliding at very slow speed). I'm now deflating at 13psi for rear tyres and 15psi for the front ones, which seems to work pretty well (I was on 16-17psi before, due to pop-out concerns), along with a bit more attention to keeping more momentum.

Hi @Asif Hussain, no I won't be able because of current restrictions, but I just realized I didn't opt out. I'll do it now.

To enter Abu Dhabi, now authorities require a COVID19 test not older than 48hrs..

It seems the ban will be extended, the announcement is expected for today or tomorrow... 😭

Thanks @Javier M, this was indeed the latest news I had too, but I was told by my PRO that also this restriction was going to be lifted this current week. I'll double check and revert if I find out more.

Yes, sure, I know, I fully understand. That is why, as said, as these are the rules, I opted out of the ride. I had missed it in the ride description when I first read it. Thanks.

Dear @Asif Hussain is this ride accessible for Dubai residents? Have the trans-emirate transfer restrictions been lifted now. I joined the ride, but want to make sure I can actually make it through the Dubai/Abu Dhabi border. Thx, L

@Emmanuel I will unsubscribe, no problem at all, as these are the rules 😥. I indeed do not have enough fewbie drives with Carnity, that's correct, even though it should be said that, with the latest ones done with other groups last saturday, I have totaled 18 drives (335km on the sand) since Feb' 20. Enjoy the ride and see you next time.

Yeah, I just realized 😂

@Ale Vallecchi can I be placed in the wait list for this drive? Thx

Dear @Wrangeld, due to a change of plans unfortunately I have to unsubscribe this ride: family first, this weekend. Luckily it is early enough for someone else to take my place. I wish you all a beautiful ride, see you next time! Ciao, Lorenzo

Dear @Wrangeld and @Jeepie, While this was your first drive as Leaders (kudos for your excellent performance) it was as well my first one as Fewbie, so some of your excitement was also mine. When he noticed that @Rahimdad was not in the lead, my 6 years old son asked a ton of questions why someone else was leading, as in his mind only someone wearing a Superman T-shirt would be fit for the role.. Afterwards he admitted the ride had been a lot of fun and concluded you can be leaders even if you aren't dressed as super heros. I'd say this means you passed with flying colors! Letting aside a few stops for refusals and recoveries from stucks (which I used for a few photo shoots more than usual), we kept a fairly fast pace, which was indeed the greater difference I noticed from previous newbie drives. And great fun too, a totally different ride compared to my 1st time at Fossil Rock two weeks ago. Following @Foxtrot Oscar wasn't always easy, as she was surprisingly faster than I would have expected. Towards the end I feared my tyres (which I had deflated only to 16 psi) would gain too much pressure with the heat, but I managed to avoid further deflate and ended without trouble at 17-18 psi. I climbed and descended Fossil rock with somehow a heavy foot, which caused a couple of jumps too many on the way up (where I slightly damaged the rear left inner mudguard plastics, fixed by hand for the time being). On the way down @Wrangeldquestioned whether I was actually on 1L, as I descended too fast, probably again with a little throttle in excess. Next time I'll pay more attention. Overall a great ride, thanks to the whole convoy members. See below ride track / details from Pathaway.

@Rahimdad, I just read the messages (busy days at work, no time to check my personal email until now). I have reacted to both posts, it should be fine now. Thanks for the reminders