Niki

@PaoloMaraziti I do recognize the experience you mentioned about the car holding the gear longer than needed and forcing us down vs taking the full slope or climb. I did manage climbs okay in D, doing Iftar Bowl relatively straightforward in D however i found for climbs, momentum lost with bumps was the killer. So better suspension helps, subtle left-right steering and also doing a first pass to find the bumps and second run to slow just before a bump and then floor it. Flooring it on the approach for climbs doesn't always help as the moment you hit air or start the bouncing, you likely have lost the climb. I do suspect being in manual will help me with larger climbs but haven't had that opportunity yet to experiment! For slide sloping - if you were further up the convoy (near the front) then it gave a better chance find a higher line and therefore able to run longer. further back, even with good intentions to make it up higher on a dune, the previous cars tracks and the slipped sand made it difficult. and ridge riding mid dune i always accepted exiting earlier... i have felt the gear-hold experience a lot on these side slopes but am looking forward to AD dunes to keep practicing. I have heard the Pedal Commander @Hisham Masaad - addresses the lag in our cars and potentially allowing a more controlled shifting. I have also heard that feathering the throttle between 4-5k+ rpm can help keep you on a slope... but i have never tried this.

many congrats @GauravSoni - well deserved!!

@Janarthan what a treat! Thanks for the challenging and fun drive! Lengthy periods of radio silence tell of the challenge and concentration needed! Learnt loads from you and @Foxtrot Oscar 🙏🏽 … felt like a student throughout! @TT_Dubai great to see you again and flawless SL. @Abdul Rafay-S making these drives look effortless! The convoy was superb throughout.. and the breaks to cool down the cars were welcome and in beautiful spots! @Enrico Biscaro your drive report shows how self aware you are and humbling to see self reflection and learning published for all to benefit from! Thankyou! @Hilal Sharafudeen & @Gilbert Khalil your first FB and you both were flawless! Text book self recoveries, such a positive and fun energy and cannot wait to join you all on a ride again soon. added a few pics to our gallery - Enrico love your landscape shots and I have been expirementimg with monochrome in the gallery. The one below reminds me of that feeling when your sibling dresses better and works out more than you!

Perfect advice from @PaoloMaraziti when you look at the cars, the stock tires are Dunlop Grandtrek AT22 - these are highway tires and not Offroad even though they carry the AT label. So don’t be put off if you see these on the car (or if the seller attempts to claim these are All Terrain tires). Don’t change to genuine AT until you have driven a few times with stock tires - the leads when setting the convoy order do also consider your tires and position you to compensate. @Wrangeld @Ale Vallecchi and @Emmanuel (edited ) are the infamous Marshals going everywhere in highway treads!! Showcasing skill/experience/control over mods is real!

@Chinthaka Ruwanmany congrats indeed!! 🎉🎉

@Alain Canivet-Abikhalil many congrats and well deserved!! 🎉🎉

many congrats @Dodi Syahdar - what a great recognition and look forward to joining a drive with you again soon!

Absolutely well deserved!!! Congrats @Alex Raptor !! we are a better convoy whenever you are part of it!

we Japanese car owners see this as 'features' that highlights our cars 'serviceability/repairability'

thanks for all these tips guys. @topgear also see this from the video i sent https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/1005002434786686.html?spm=a2g0o.cart.0.0.7c403c00TqqX7G&mp=1

Hi @Ale Vallecchi - can you pls add me to the waitlist for a 2nd drive

@Mehmet Volga you are absolutely right - I was able to watch over both from the back and knowing at the end this was actually there first full FB drive - even more impressive! Every refusal was self recovered and I'll share some further feedback: @Adam James initially you had a few minor refusals and what I could see, this was due to 'easing' off the throttle as you climbed to cross a dune (maybe you didn't want to carry to much speed once at the top which is natural) = Immediate lost momentum.. That said as the drive went on - not a single further refusal and i could see you really used the throttle further up each climb and easing off at the right time! Throttle management practice for 4 hours is going to help you massively for your next drives. (ps. stick to the FJ for these drives and keep your pinup defender for the overlanding ... ) @Jason Grima due to the line you took and limited momentum climbing, it meant you couldn't make the ridge of a few dunes. Perfect was how you stopped at the moment you felt you had missed the chance to make the ridge, not forcing your car up (the learnings from your first pop out). this meant you never fishtailed, you had an easier self recovery option and no risk of a further pop-out. To correct this, try and take a higher line up a dune you want to cross so as you approach the ridge, you have natural momentum to ride it and cross. This is made harder further back in a convoy as tracks are churned however with a bit of extra momentum its def possible. Don't change how you reacted as that's textbook! Both of you will keep hearing the importance of 'momentum', 'throttle management', 'steering control' and 'lines to drive' - the drive yesterday was a 4 hour master class on building on these skills and you both were 'brilliant' ..

@topgear not sure if you resolved the rattling … I found this video that may be helpful if still investigating https://youtu.be/ptGmKzmkrtg