TT_Dubai

Well done Mr Huang! You are a true petrolhead! See you soon!

3 hours ago, Warren Flay said:

Come to Sweihan mate!

The dunes in Little Liwa scare me! Hope to drive soon @Warren Flay!

3 hours ago, Zixuan Huang said:

@Yousef AlimadadiPlease add me on waitlist, I was just 7 mins late man... @TT_Dubai

Yep these spaces go like a flash! @Zixuan Huang hope you and @Chris Wing all get spaces😊

3 hours ago, Russ said:

Fastest finger first 🤣

I guess that applies in more than one circumstance. 😆 I am learning from the best mate..! @Russ

Wow wow wow that was quick. Can I pls join the waitlist? Thx!

Large but well organised convoy this morning. Thanks Vanessa for organising and leading!

The morning drives get earlier and earlier and darker and darker... I managed to lose my valve whilst deflating in the dark and thankfully a spare was offered by @Hisham Masaad and the kind offer of a powerful torch. @Vanessa8580managed to locate my original valve and we were soon on our way. Thank you both!

Drive warmed up at a gentle pace as we all enjoyed a particularly cool and breezy morning accompanied by a stunning sunrise. We drove up and down some small dunes as we weaved towards Pink Rock. Bumped into Brett's drive too - I realised when I heard @Russ Raptor before seeing it!

Every one drove really well and climbed Pink Rock with no problems. Unfortunately @Talgat Mendibaev suffered a puncture at the top of Pink Rock hitting a sharp rock on his low profile tyre but amazingly a spare spacesaver was put on in 15 min. Hope this experience does not put you off. I have had many issues myself in earlier Newbie drives (clutch exploding coming down  Faya, overheating issues, check engine light and limp mode when trying to climb Fossil Rock)  but I still wake up early and come back for more (but I leave my temperamental Jeep at home 😅) - hope this is the same for you and you won't be left alone!

We had a couple of stucks as the pace picked up after Pink Rock but nothing too serious and most were self recovered. @Luc Khaldoun experienced a trickier recovery but made it out from the soft sand pocket with Vanessa at the wheel! Really liked your discrete mods on your Y62 and hope to have the chance of a closer look in future!

Always nice to see and catch up with  @Zixuan Huang@Alfred Alinazar@Anoop Nair and @Gaurav Soni on the drives.

Nice to meet @Rjducos @Goutam@Ivan Pironi@Shaz Shah@Paolo Pellegrini and @Hisham Masaad (who was happily walking around catching up with drivers while his tyres were being simultaneously inflated via his iPhone app - as per the other thread!) Love the mods on your FJC - you clearly mean business! 

A couple of pics in the gallery.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Congratulations @Anish S! Super news!

@Anish S with apologies from me too I added my name without checking whether an engagement in Sat pm could be moved. I also have removed my name. Trust everyone will have a great drive !

Enjoy guys, I was secretly hoping I could join but my colleague has gone for a Covid test this afternoon so I need to cover for him!

Morning everyone and thanks for the drive yesterday afternoon/evening. All drivers did very well and I thought that area of Big Red was stunning. We had some tourists and safari operators at the beginning but we could still enjoy the dunes and the magnificent sunset. This stuff never gets old. 

Thanks @Tamas Hoffmann@Chaitanya D and @Ale Vallecchi for leading and supporting the drive! Tamas I really found your advance warnings of steps and pockets really helpful - thanks!

And everyone drove really well - see you soon @Thomas Varghese@Russ@Darren Brooke

A couple of pics uploaded in the gallery - sorry I didn't get everyone, the convoy had good progress yesterday and not much chance to take snaps!

Wow, what a jump from a newbie drive. Lots of tracks and sabkhas where you can get the speed up, bowls to have fun, hill climbs to test your torque and momentum, ridge riding and criss crossing at high altitude to test your ⚽. Did I mention I have vertigo? 😄  

Very nice drive and we covered a lot of ground from Big Red to Faya. Thanks for the route and leading @Luca Palanca Falsini and to the seniors @Dodi Syahdarand @Mehmet Volga

Car of the day was definitely the Jimny, respect for revving the nuts off the 1.5 litre at every hill climb!

Well done @Pierre de Maigret! See you soon for a drive!

Thank you friends, thanks so much! It's been great to have an opportunity to drive with you all! See you soon in the sands and have a great week! 😃 @Lakshmi Narasimhan @Rawad Bahsas @Chaitanya D@Anish S @Hisham Masaad@Danish Mohammad@Abdul Rahman AK@Brette@Gaurav Soni@Ale Vallecchi@Frederic@Zixuan Huang@Russ

Thank you @Vanessa8580for leading an early drive. Delighted to support as your second and thank you for kindly asking 😀

Was a very enjoyable morning with lots of side sloping and traversing the dunes. I am still getting used to the LC as it's very different to the lighter and much more nimble Wrangler. Lovely convoy and everyone did well with good humour! 

Hope to see everyone soon! A couple of pics in the gallery. Cheers! 

Thanks @Foxtrot Oscarfor leading a very nice sundowner drive this afternoon/evening. The sunset was spectacular (so thanks for organising that!😀).  It was a windy afternoon and very happy to have been able to experience a variety of interesting challenges during the drive. 
 

The gung ho convoy that joined us in the bowl clearly wanted an audience. However I have new found respect for that Lincoln Navigator that pretty much kept up with the FJs. 

Delighted to support as a second and thank you for the opportunity! 

A couple of pics uploaded in the Gallery. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Hi @Foxtrot Oscar FYI and in case it matters for your convoy list, I will be taking the LC200 for the Friday afternoon drive as the Wrangler is getting HOT🤒 ... Thanks and see you then! 😃

Thanks @Vanessa8580and looking forward to an early start tomorrow! I still have temperature issues in my Jeep (the thermostat is hovering uncomfortably near the red section after a while in idle) so need to get it checked out after Eid and prefer not to risk it in the desert tomorrow.

Will be in the family LC200 for tomorrow's drive. Hope that is still okay for your convoy list. Thanks!

@Cornelius Wessels I had the same issue. The previous owner put 35s on and man it made the car handle terribly. The tyres were heavy so it was a struggle to get momentum and on the road it makes the brakes work harder too. Plus it affects the speedo (needs to be recalibrated) and to run 35s properly you need to regear the axles. And the extra weight will eventually wear out the tailgate unless you have it reinforced.
BUT on the upside they do look good 😂 

As Niki said they are easy to sell. Plenty of people want 35s. There are lots of Jeep UAE groups on FB and I sold mine easily. 
 

Below are the pics with 35s. Now I am running 285 BFG K02 and compared to the 35s it looks as if the Jeep skips leg day 😄

Absolutely loved the themed drive yesterday and thank you @Wrangeld and to all senior drivers for a very entertaining drive with the lyric references! 

You learn something new on every drive. This time round I took the LC as I had a concern that my Wrangler would stop play in the first half (as it did on more than a few occasions), this time with overheating concerns. Handling a bigger and heavier car in the sand definitely requires much more momentum and and forward looking to see the obstacles ahead. I learnt that with my first stuck today requiring shovels out (or should I have taken my sand wedge instead?) (thanks again @GauravSoni!) whereas a lighter SWB would have ducked and dived and floated over the same.

@Niki super action shots! I know what you mean about reigniting the passion for photography - I now take my SLR out on every drive 😃 I'll try and post the pics up to the gallery later today. 

Lovely to see familiar friendly faces and to meet new people yesterday in the convoy. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

So pleased to be a part of your promotion drive Angela! Looking forward to many more 😊

Looks ok for the drive as it is. It’s just a piece of plastic to enhance aerodynamics and give a token protection to the transmission case. Many opt for an aftermarket one on and some just run their Jeep without it as it’s more aesthetically pleasing. The easy way to remove it completely is just go over a biggish rock and hit reverse 😆

Hi Lucas you from Singapore right? Nice to see a fellow countryman. 😃 Have you got a pic you can post? I think this is an easy drive (even for newbie standards) so as long as you have the regular ground clearance I think it should be okay. 

Ciao@Ale Vallecchiit is fab that your drives have themes running through them and I am looking forward to seeing this new side of Qudra. It will give me a good excuse to dust off the SLR and the telephoto lens! p.s. my Wrangler has been non cooperative on a few drives (i) clutch disintegrated coming down Faya on Rahindad's drive requiring a flatbed to the workshop and (ii) went into limp mode climbing Fossil Rock last week at Frederic's drive requiring an early exit. It's at the workshop (again)... Therefore, am taking my wife's LC200 this weekend (in case it matters for your convoy list). Cheers!

Hi Convoy 1! Thanks @Fredericand great report. So sorry again to the rest of the convoy for the detour as it is becoming very apparent that having a manual Wrangler comes with it's own set of unique issues. On climbing Fossil Rock I made the error of shifting into 2nd at around 5k rpm whereupon it started to lose momentum fast. Then came the refusal and I tried to get out of it but the clutch was protesting... Anyway, second attempt (and a good runway) gave me good momentum in first gear halfway up Fossil Rock when the car stuttered (almost as if the TC intervened) and the check engine light illuminated. I felt as if I had 50% of power as the car went into limp mode. That's when @Wrangeld thought it best to exit as it would not be possible to carry the bowls and other climbs in a reduced capacity. It was definitely the right call and I would not be able to commit to each challenge.

Back on E102 the car was fine and happily cruising at 100kph but I still dont have full torque. Am keeping it under observation over the weekend and will get the ECU reset next week if the check engine light is still illuminated.

Always had a love affair with a manual Wrangler but our relationship is in urgent need of marriage counselling.... 😊

Hi @Brette thank you and very pleased to confirm that I am in for this Friday! 

1 hour ago, Pmaraziti said:

I have one as well ! great ride. 

@Pmaraziti- it's a really nice car with some very tasteful mods. Thanks for letting me check it out at the last drive.  The exhaust note is beautiful! 

Hello @Brette- may I be added to the waiting list please.  The availability for Newbie drives are going like hot cakes! Many thanks.