Niki

Hi @Tbone unfortunately I cannot join tomorrow’s drive. Sorry for the notice and am hopeful someone from the waitlist can join in time.

That is xxxxtreme !! And I lol about the 3m headphones!!! these pics makes me nostalgic about the 90’s and hot hatches ... I loved my Peugeot 306 (even though it was a diesel 🤣🤣) ... those were simpler days being a kid in Europe...

😱🤯 if I start going down this path please stop me before it’s too late and I spend my kids school fees on this!! That’s one incredible setup and addiction! Would have loved to have experienced that! I cannot wait to try this in the car tomorrow!! In the family car it has an awesome Meridian system and will test it out with this!

😂 what are you doing @Frederic ... a link to the sub is like dangling a chocolate covered carrot!!! 😳

Lol @Frederic ... I have a worrying feeling the sub is going to arrive as my bass obsession seems obvious (at least you called out hip hop and not 80’s power ballads as my listening preference) I was just hoping a little more from the 8” in the front via the amp however I had some horrible eq setting without the amp so need to re-educate my ears to a well tuned set up. thanks again for the guidance here... 100% the right choice to add the amp!

Stage 2 of my install complete! 🎉 I decided to stay with one family of product and have added a ground zero amp (and also changed the rear speakers at the same time) Amp: 4 way Ground Zero https://www.ground-zero-audio.com/en/produkt/gzta-4125x-b/ Rear : 2 way 4” Ground Zero (plus sound deadening) https://www.ground-zero-audio.com/en/produkt/gzrf-4-0sq/ The Amp is Being calibrated and sitting at a low gain whilst wearing in for 20-40 hours So far the addition of a decent rear 2 way has really filled the car. The amp has definitely brought an immediate improvement being able to power the speakers easily at lower volumes (thank you @Frederic for the encouragement) The low end is still disappointing however I suspect some further tuning and wearing in will help. The store is still adamant that my headunit is the limiting factor here! Doing incremental improvements has really made me appreciate every enhancement (similar to how you are advising we approach Offroad upgrades)! They attempted to replace the Mic however the 12.3” Chinese headunit has a proprietary mic harness vs a simple 3.5mm so I am currently stuck with the poor mic performance. Massive thanks to all that provided their guidance on this thread! I am looking forward to paying this forward!

@MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ I really look forward to that and make sure not to wait 3 months to join us fewbies again ... I wish your son success in his exams and look forward to him joining you again on these drives... you both are father-son goals as I cannot wait to bring my boy when he gets a bit older!

Hi all, Though initially a little sad to see, i have now considered this a badge of honor and maybe my first war-wound from offroading. The bonnet on my car came out of the weekend drive with 2 small stone chips that removed the black paint. I also have a tiny crack on the plastic bumper (less of a concern). My ask for advice centers on - Do I need to get the stone damage that chipped away the paint repaired? (i suspect that's an easy YES) Does it need to be done asap? (I park the car indoors, its not the daily driver) DO you recommend just doing a DIY/Home touch up vs taking it anywhere special. I am not concerned by the visuals (I bought the car to offroad so am proud this happened on the sabkhas and not the malls ) - its more to ensure i do not risk greater damage over time from a tiny chip. Thanks in advance! Car: Toyota FJ Cruiser (Black)

Was a pleasure @varunmehndiratta! Made it a fun challenge!

@Ale Vallecchi another special drive - many thanks for what was a fast, long and a fewbie +++ experience 😃 @Rizwanm2 @Mehmet Volga @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ. Appreciate all the support throughout as seniors! Thank you all for the help with digging and guidance! @Yusuf Esaf I truly appreciate your support shoveling my crest in the smallest dune of the drive!! I was ready to return the favor however you didn’t get stuck even slightly! @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ I have decided I no longer want to be a ‘forever-fewbie’ .... after this awesome drive I am now applying for the ‘forever-fewbie-plus’ position! Again @Ale Vallecchi massive thanks for today especially the bonus extension into Faqa!

I think @Ale Vallecchi should take this as an invitation to extend the drive ‘slightly’ to save us being parked on qudra road ...

I found this idea online that I thought was a very smart way to secure a large box whilst still allowing easy access to our gear by securing the box NOT the lid! <<edit this is not my car (pic taken from FB, so I feel guilty taking credit or praise for being this tidy>>

@Frederic - i can no longer classify my rig as 'old'! not having OBD2 interface is like my kids not comprehending a time before internet!... i am in awe of you 'old rig' owners! thanks for sharing this setup - i love how you have DIY'd this - Frederic you remind me of one of my fav youtube channels Let me know if you have any recommended OBD2 Bluetooth setups as Amazon is flooded with items and difficult to make my way through that. no worries if not as i now have a topic to research in my spare time!

@Gaurav you may have caused an avalanche of messages to @Frederic for a similar set up as there is many of us in love with our old rigs (mine is just ‘new’ in price as inside it feels I have stepped back in time). Thanks for sharing and @Frederic we may need a new analog to digital thread to learn experiences setting up these gauges and how best to use/program .. will reach out for guidance when I take the step.

@Gaurav have you any experience with https://www.scangauge.com/products/scangauge-ii/ it seems a relatively affordable and comprehensive way to bring digital readouts to our old school rigs. its deliverable to Dxb via Amazon Now! i have no idea what to do with the information i am looking at so a needle that moves from 'good' to 'bad' matches my level of knowledge however i suspect i will want to (and need to) learn more specifics especially as the car ages. if you/others have any recommendations for digital gauges that would be great discussion topic. thanks

@Ahmad Shaker i was nearly a jeeper before picking up the FJ and attached is the breakdown between Sport vs Sahara (trim and aesthetics). i didnt request the Rubicon specs at the time as it was out of budget however that Model definitely brings more mechanical upgrades - from what i recall a sway bar release + front locking diff (and a standard lift that allows larger tires and enhanced bumpers) hth Jeep Sport vs Sahara.xlsx

@Wrangeld @Jeandre Bezuidenhout @KalahariThank you for a super drive today! The trip felt like we were supported by 3 marshals!! I know you didn’t sign up for a workout @Kalahari @Jeandre Bezuidenhout however you left us feeling a complete comfort/confidence at the back of the convoy -thankyou. I didn’t say much during the whole drive, I was concentrating as the route was challenging and a faster pace for me, however the main reason was I was enjoying the @Shehab Alawadhi and @Arman show! You two are a gift to any convoy as you both really do make it a laugh the whole ride! My personal favorites ... @Shehab Alawadhi offering his washboard abs as a jack-board, being branded the bridge maker for his unselfish and consistent flattening of dunes and both of them doing pull ups and dips on the TJ as one of the group was being recovered! ... there were many more hilarious moments and thank you both for the energy and great vibes throughout! @Wrangeld drives are famed for being technical torture (my motivation for joining them ) so massive kudos to @Shehab Alawadhi for being a SL with the boat and managing it with such poise and control... seriously impressive! I was excited to have a chance to use the ATRAC butting at the beginning of the ride ... it felt like a magic button!! It was great to be with some old newbie/fewbie friends @Danish Mohammad @N@ved ... And my favorite Jeep has been the TJ so to be sandwiched in the convoy by @Arman and @N@ved made me feel like I was cheating on my FJ at times! Thanks again @Wrangeld for what was a challenging, technical, fast and fun ride! I’ll try and speak up a bit more on future drives (and write less)

@Frederic @Gaurav - starting back this thread to continue the discussion and collect further advice. i mentioned having completed my stage 1 work (sound proofing and upgraded speakers) my next step was to add an Amp. well i have been advised by the store that installed my speakers & sound proofing that my head-unit (Dealer fitted 12.3" Android with custom software ... by Belsee) is such a weak link that adding an Amp would increase volume but not benefit the sound quality. (a sincere recommendation as they could easily have sold me an amp :)) What are your thoughts and more so recommended options - @Gaurav once covid restriction loosen i really want to take up the offer to listen to your setup without the sub as it will likely give me the reassurance to stop my pursuit of a dedicated Sub. I am also struggling with the poor quality built in Mic and the head-unit supposedly doesn't have a terminal at the rear to attach a dedicated/external Mic. i love the 12.3" screen for its size but have thought about going down a size but up in quality (however that cost is significant as i would also have to source trim etc) ... if i can improve the performance whilst keeping the current head-unit - that would be ideal. I feed music via Apple Music or Spotify (hard wired to the Phone) - i download the music offline at the highest bitrate (just to try and give the best quality source) thanks in advance

@Foxtrot Oscar i apologize for the hijack of this thread.... glad i did it at the end once you are all sorted! @Ahab Shamaa @Mohamed Seidam @Rahimdad i am feeling the love .... let me learn from you all and your experiences and drop my fear/anxiety ... what an awesome community this is! on the topic of upgrading head-units.... stay away from these Chinese ones as i have been told that the Microphone is built into the headunit without an option to add an external Mic!! they are also telling me that adding an Amp will not improve the sound quality i may set up a separate thread on this topic to get some more opinions and maybe find a better AV specialist @Ahab Shamaa not feeling it for the company i used for the speakers now!

@Ahab Shamaa will do and look out for feedback from that Audio store on options! @Mohamed Seidam happy to share my experience and setup. I have a stock (from 2021 models onwards) 12.3" non-branded Android powered Head-unit that offers Android Auto (and mirroring for older phones) plus Apple Car Play (this is the only reason @Ahab Shamaa agrees to be a friend) From my research its a Chinese brand called Belsee for the headunit My experience and learning: 1. DO NOT pair with Bluetooth AND a cable . If you are connecting via a cable for Android Auto / Apple Car Play delete your Bluetooth connection to the headunit. This confuses my unit with regards which mic/speaker/signal to process for different inputs (music, maps, calls, whatsapp, siri, etc). 2. if like me you do not have a manual for your head-unit - there are a few menus and setting that can make a massive improvement to the phone-connected-experience. for mine i learnt it via the dealership sending me a short video of a 'hidden' menu (it was less obviously located vs hidden) @Mohamed Seidam I am likely to remain a 'forever fewbie' based on my lack of desire to have the adrenaline rush of Intermediate drives SO if you ever feel like stepping back into a Fewbie drive and we are together i will happily share the way i have set up the headunit and the menu/settings that made a difference. I do have an older Android phone (Samsung galaxy 8+ which i will set up and share experience with this weekend - look out for a follow up including pics of the settings etc) My general review and experience with an aftermarket, non branded Android powered head-unit is below: (my recommendation is don't buy non-brand Chinese head-units and stick with the Pioneer, Sony, Alpine, Kenwood, etc as you may compromise on screen size but the listening experience is a different league) The sound processing and amp quality is 1/10 I would have been better off with the stock head unit for processing and amplification of sound as the Belsee is very weak) I upgraded the speakers and added sound proofing a few months back (very happy with the work they did) I plan to add an amplifier as a next upgrade to address the weak audio performance created by the head-unit 12.3" screen is 10/10 Size is a game changer vs stock/smaller screen as no matter what mode you run the display the maps look great and easy to read i can imagine using a true GPS app on this will be an amazing experience touch screen works well screen quality 8/10 it has a screen protector that i thought was an anti-glare layer however soon realised due to the poor visibility of the FJ, its like we are always sitting in the dark no matter time of day ... lol.. so glare is never a real issue its plenty bright as a result (likely benefiting from the 'basement' lighting experience of an FJ Microphone quality 1/10 Audio for others calling me is very poor - difficult for them to hear me. Siri is a poor experience Explaining my excitement to hear Angela was able to make Siri understand Scotish led me to believe i should keep faith that microphones can be improved!

👍🏽 Thank you! Great setup and thanks for sharing all the details.

@Foxtrot Oscar did you add any additional Microphones or how did you set up the mics with this upgraded headset. @Ahab Shamaa and I are keen to upgrade the mics in our FJs as they are useless (for calls and siri) thanks