Thomas Varghese

The car is back in action and we both are ready for the next adventure.

Thanks & confirmed

Yes you are right.

i have completed the mandatory drives after intermediate promotion and is waiting to apply to advance level. My car had a differential problem and is now ready with a new one. End result of a private adventure at iftar bowl.

please waitlist me as my car is ready. If possible add me to manage tab as I can apply for advance after completing the required support drives. BTW I have good offroad lights on the roof.

We made use of all the recovery techniques taught to us from @Carnity. Leading the drive is a different case altogether and as we r not trained we dared not do it. If @Gaurav or @Rahimdad will teach us then why not?

enjoy the drive @Rizwanm2.

Thanks, the car will be in action tomorrow itself. Probably you are right @Rizwanm2 about someone placing loose rocks deliberately. In our country puncture shops used to sprinkle iron nails on roads so that people will get a puncture and visit them. Same maybe here. Recovering an immobilized car from an area like that is next to impossible unless u shell out lot of money. Thanks to friends who didn't leave me alone to fend for myself. I would have done the same for them too if any of their cars had been disabled. Not at all a good option to leave your car unattended for even a day in those areas. God knows what all will go missing. It was not possible to recover the car without the aid of a mechanic who knows how to disengage the drive shaft and the axle and to have the tools to do so. Thanks to my mechanic who took a taxi to reach Madam from Ajman and made the recovery possible. The wheels had locked up after the differential broke and wouldn't move.

not at all. it was a friend. How can I lead a drive without knowing the basics of leading a drive? You got to teach me @Gaurav.

Dear @Frederic the wow part of this experience is there is no terrain unconquerable when you have like minded friends who stand with you come what may. That's the moral of this experience. I was not stressed or worried when my car broke down. I knew I could count on my friends for the needful. We didn't do anything stupid and we all came out unharmed. I have to thank all you marshals and the absolute newbie briefing @Carnity for this.

@GauravSoni you are one of that one of a kind friend who stood like a rock and @Shaaz Sha

It was a very uneventful day. 1st the differential hit some rock and broke in the middle of no where. I had gone for a short drive inside the desert to check out the car before your fast and furious drive. We were playing in iftar bowl and doing the climbs. I think the differential hit a rock while coming down in one attempt and the front wheels locked up. Me and my friends tried to figure out a way to get the car out of iftar bowl somehow but as you know we are not mechanics and we don't have all the tools. Finally my mechanic agreed to come from Ajman with all the tools as I was reluctant to leave the car inside the desert for a day or two. He arrived by 11.30 pm and in half an hour he disconnected the drive shaft towards the front differential from the transfer case and one of the axels to immobilize the broken differential. Once it was all done then it was superb display of tugging the car out with a Y 61 by a friend as my car was struggling to find its power on 2H in the dark. Back on the tarmac by 2am and all re inflated we returned back home by saying good bye to each other. I really appreciate the friends who stood with me from the beginning to the end. Well the misfortune didn't end there. The mechanic in his sleepy mode forgot to tighten the left front wheel after removing the axle and off it came while driving back home. Luckily the entire wheel didn't fall off and we didn't topple as speed was less. After borrowing a wheel nut from each wheel and putting the runaway wheel back we continued and reached home by 5am. It was a very uneventful day. Waiting for a front differential to arrive on Saturday to be fixed so that I can continue my adventure's with @Carnity. The silver lining of all this was my friends who stood with me during all this ordeal and left me only after getting the car on to tarmac. Be wary about the rocks lying at the bottom of iftar bowl. Thanks @Frederic for the timely advice to remove the axle which initiated the whole process and finally got us out from an impossible place. Note: My new lights are awesome and light up the desert.

The differential broke.

Dear @Kailas. I cannot join this drive. My car is broken down at Iftar bowl with a differential fault. Sorry for that.

Sorry @Lorenzo Candelpergher. I have excuse from the drive as my car differential is damaged and is lying at iftar bowl.

I have driven with @Lorenzo Candelpergher before and as it is he has a fast pace even for a fewbie drive. You can imagine what it will be for an IM Expert drive. Hope me and my car can cope with his pace. Its difficult to catch up with him when he is in full flow drive. Hope @Ahab Shamaa will not wonder where my marshal disappeared in a flash.

Dear @Lorenzo Candelpergher kindly clarify as u mentioned that drive is tomorrow ie. Friday but my understanding is this is on Saturday.

To make the drive less stressful on my car engine I changed the radiator to a slightly bigger 3 core one, put new fan clutch as old one looked weak and removed the thermostat valve as engine will get constant water circulation. Right now at garage doing the works and will be tested during tomorrow's drive with @Kailas. I don't want me or my machine slowing down the pace of the drive.

congrats @Anish S. Loved your 1st drive as trip lead. Will join other drives with you in the lead in future. See you soon.

With my cost effective solution for night drives. These are 4 halogen headlamps borrowed from a vintage motorbike model supported by high wattage halogen bulbs . They have the low & high beam with total power at 660 Watts at high beam and 320 watts at low beam consuming 55 Amps at high beam & 27 Amps at low beam with all 4 lights switched on during demanding times. I have aimed the low beam straight ahead and the high beam should show more dune when the car climbs as its aimed up. If it doesn't help I can push the headlights down and make it normal. Hope the alternator can cope up with this much demand. Can switch the lights on and off as pairs. Anxious to test the contraption on the next night drive in the desert. The center pair are convex glass with a parabolic reflector which acts as a long range spot light and the side ones are flat glass with parabolic reflector which I think will work as a side shooter.

You can exclude me as I forgot I had RSVP'ed for the intermediate drive with @Kailas at the same time.