Cha

8 minutes ago, Frederic said:

For daily driver who needs these ?

- Bluetooth (you can easily install after market  radio with Bluetooth and apple carplay
- Fog lights (in UAE, hardly ever used)

My point is that these can be added but at extra spendings, and cruise control is a must-have function to me ( staying on the speed limit accurately 😈)

Agree on what's said above, 40k is more resonable, in summer you can get it down to 35k if the car is a moderate condition

As i remember from your previous y62 post, you want the car to be daily driving as well, the basic Xterra is too basic for a daily driving car, no cruise control, no bluetooth, not even front fog lights (altho they can be added). Get one with offroad package is better in long run it has most of the specs and diff lock with bilsten shocks.

Diff lock is not game changer, but 30% of scenarios it gets useful.

I have visited Al Futtaim automall once, every single car I tried were with signs body work, minor and major.

 I could have bad luck that day but check closely the body if you decide to close it on this one.

11 minutes ago, ZULFIKHAR NAIYAR said:

Thank you for the quick feedback.. just curious if the diff lock can be installed  at a later stage? If its a possibility! 

yes it's possible, I guess the cost is 3k at least

Sad to see you leaving as well @Jeepie, wish you the best in all, stay safe!

It's really sad to see you leaving @Lorenzo Candelpergher,

I didnt have the chance to drive with you more often, but the FB+ Faya you led on a weekday morning remains as one of my all time favorite, true enjoyment.

I wish you the best in your new adventures!

Congrats @Charbel!

Congrats @Marwan Haddad!

51 minutes ago, Nathan said:

he stock ‘bash plate’ has taken a beating and I’ve been quoted around 8k

quote of 8k for bash plate is a joke....  even a full steel offroad bumper wouldn't cost you this figure

you should not spend more than 1.5k for just the front one, 8-10mm aluminium, try to call up more workshops.

but dont get into the bash plat yet, with what you mentioned, 4L transmission high temp, 4wd disabled after a tug, unable to disable side airbags.

if you cant solved them anyhow, perhaps looking into something else is a better option, those will definitely annoy you in more challenging drives, especially in summer heat that is coming not so soon.

58 minutes ago, sertac said:

I personally dont think you can find a nice condition Patrol on that price range. You can get a Pathfinder 4.0 very low km 2014-2015 model. It will come under your budget. If you make a 2 inc lift and small trim on front bumper you will have an amazing off road and daily car.  

that's exactly what I did lol😄. bumper trim, 2 inch lift, cheap yet powerful VQ40DE.

I will give you some pros & cons as a pathfinder (R51) owner for half a decade:

Pro:

1. Really powerful engine, and you can push the rpm to red zone without worrying about auto upshifting

2. cheap price but reliable in its category

3. the models from 2013-2015(6) are made in Spain, I dont see overheating issue even the Spanish removed the extra transmission cooler. (Mine is 2010, made in US, I have both coolant & transmission overheating issue during summer.)

4. full independent suspension, comfortable on road, and the highway handling is remarkable compare to other rivals

5. Second & third rows can be put down completely, It's all I needed during house shifting

Cons: 

1. the 2013-2015(6) ones only come with basic option, no cruise control, no center screen, and no all other buttons, it feels like a utility car.

2. Second & third rows are tight, Nissan has squeezed the second row space to accommodate third row

3. Stock ground clearance isn't enough, you probably will need 1.5-2 inch lift to be more comfortable driving in bushy terrain.

4. full independent suspension + no rear/front diff lock = less articulation, and more difficult to get yourself out once you have 1 wheel front and 1 wheel rear are airborne.

5. Power to weight ratio 122hp/ton, a bare passing score, but enough to get you on top the hills, I haven't failed any straight hill climbing yet, but its weight is indeed heavy

@ZULFIKHAR NAIYAR

Honestly if you are into Patrol, you can find some 320 HP Patrols with your budget, early y62 come with 2 engine trans options, 320HP (VK56DE)+5AT and 400HP(VK56VD, mentioned by Rawad)+7AT. Fuel efficiency & offroadability are similar, the only (probably) differences are power and ride comfort.

I recently have witnessed a 2010 320HP Patrol sold at 4X,XXX AED (below actual market price), with just 100k mileage, incredible condition, so dont give up just yet.

Congrats @Chris Wing!

Just with skid plate you will be fine for fewbie.

I did bumper cutting till just below the fog light, great for approaching and departing side ways. I havent had any bumper damage since the cutting. You can see from my profile picture

HT or AT is debatable, we have members and marshals using HT as well. read the below thread to see their perspectives,

https://carnity.com/forums/topic/16910-buying-a-car-no-off-road-experience-doubt-about-tires?tab=comments#comment-98494

My most satisfied modification is the 10mm alu front skid plate, shielded countless damage that could have be done to the car directly.

1 hour ago, Karthik Raptor said:

 

I have beening reading some reviews on the 4 cylinder ones for a while, it appears to me that most of the consumers are happy with its performance after 1 year, more reliable than the 2 cylinder camel one.

BTW its sold cheaper in UAE than China's online retail website.....

it was such an eventful drive for me, heavy drop from a ridge end, broken inner fender, broken AUX fan, radiator cap leakage, and 2 stucks, but with the support from the entire convoey I made it to the end, oh ofc an almost fire alarm.

Thank you @Shaaz Sha for bringing us there and showed us a whole new level of ridge riding, I still remember that I did my first ridge riding right behind your wrangler in the same area. I think the smooth, one straight line kind of ridge riding wouldnt bring me much excitment now!

@Gregory I hope that I didnt make track too difficult for you, by lots of mistakes that I did. I didnt really have the time to check on your at mirror but I guess you were all fine, and thank you for saving my ass too~

@Matt.T @Thomas Varghese thank you for supporting the drive, really flawless, and your presence assured the whole convoy's safety

See you all another time on sand!

7 hours ago, Andrew McCarthy said:

I went to Dragon Mart (BA section) last week. Every shop was quoting AED 320 for the Golden Camel twin cylinder. I got one for 280 but my haggling skills are terrible so I am sure it is possible to pay less.

After 2 drives I am very pleased with it. It fills each tyre from 15 to 35 psi in less than a minute. The gauge doesn’t seem too accurate though so I check with a decent gauge afterwards.

I can’t be 100% sure it is a genuine golden camel but the logo is on the box (not a sticker) and the carrying case, and it hasn’t burst into flames yet.

In the same area of DM I bought a shovel (AED 30) safety gloves (AED 5) and a flag with suction cup attachment (AED 75 - to my surprise this has lasted 2 drives so far. The flag slipped off the pole after about 30 seconds of the first drive but some superglue sorted it out).

I bought recommended Baofeng UV-5R also from DM but online for AED 105 + 20 for delivery to Abu Dhabi. It arrived less than 24 hours after ordering.

Dragon mart is a very racist place, vendors price you base on your skin color/ethnicity by look. Go with a Chinese/South Asian for better pricing. 🙃One of the best battle field for negotiation master class in UAE

Congrats @Rsjiv Samuel 

Congrats @Russ

Congrats @Shaaz Sha! 

Congrats @Zed! its time to bring the 62 to IM drives 😈

5 hours ago, Sergio Negri said:

I have a question here on the "how to utilize its power". Here is the graph of the engine performance of the TB48DE in question:

By "good utilization" do you mean I should stick around 3k-4k revs to benefit from the higher torque? Imagine I'm climbing uphill, around 4k rev, I feel struggling, should I step more on the gas or let the torque due the magic and hope for the best? It seems to me that stepping on the gas in this scenario will make the situation worse instead of better.

Thank you for your advice in advance

I believe the key to climb is momentum and momentum = mass x velocity. 

Before you start climbing, you will need to push your rpm to its peak of horsepower delivery, which is right before the red rpm zone, to have the maximum amount of momentum from velocity.

As you start climbing all the resistance and gravity start to consume momentum and you will see rpm dropping, then you will need to keep your rpm in the peak torque delivery zone to make sure horsepower is delivered for maintaining velocity. 

When the amount momentum left doesnt allow torque to maintain the horsepower delivery, which is when rpm doesnt respond to your pedal and the car starts refusing moving more, thats when you end the climb by steering down and give in to gravity.

In real scenario, we use technics to obtain velocity when we don't have the space to obtain velocity from car itself

Base on my understand above, the strength of TB48DE is that it has big torque to maintain the velocity and the peak torque comes in much earlier, which makes velocity handy?

 I hope my understanding is correct in physics, I dont major in physics 😁

I have been to numerous drives that @Hisham Masaad supported since newbie, always impressed by your knowledge, guidance and ability. And yesterday I am honored to be in the first of your leading drive,  and thank you for trusting me as CF in such difficult terrain. 

This is also my first time being the CF and the convoy requires my attention, bit exhausting but great learning experience as well.

7 hours ago, Hisham Masaad said:

One test, checking your car capability to cross pockets, but looks failed 🤣 

Guess I could have made it if ever Nissan put a rear diff lock for Pathfinders, blame goes to Carlos Ghosn then 😎

The first half of the convey did really amazing job completing this drive, some refusals that self recovered. and the only major stuck which is from myself 😛.

@eldose baby @Waqas Parvez well done for completing this demanding drive, and I could visibly see your improvements in later part of the drive, I am sure you will feel your future fewbie drives easier than this one. Few point to address: Momentum is your biggest help. And trust your Toyotas' power, which both you will learn more in the drives to come.

@Naim Aoun  @Damien Ranjit both of you excellently completed this drive, good job! Just one thing to address: Technics in obtaining momentum, that you will more likely to learn from drives in Bidaya/Area 53, Big red and Faya.

The guys in the second half of the convey didn't require much attention, as they all quietly conquered the terrain like bosses.

@Rsjiv Samuel I must compliment you for always keeping enough distance from me, very well done!

Finally thank you @Frederic for saving my ass and watching us, the Pajero indeed feels much larger than it looks! and @Rawadfor helping out and the support throughout the drive, always feel safe with you sweeping!

See you all after a while, I will be travelling to Peru for 3 weeks (Just got my visa this morning 😉), definitely I will be missing the sandy fun afar.

Congrats @Ruan van den Heever

Congrats @Shahid Mehmood

Congrats @Karthikeyan Govindarajan

Congrats @Ben84

Congrats @Salim Akhtar

Congrats @Alain Canivet-Abikhalil ! more tugs please 😁