munkybizness

I had the same issue plague my 2021 Y61 for the first year of usage. My ABS lights would randomly light up if I drove a little aggressively, and would disappear if I repeated the maneuver. I traced it through inspections to a faulty Wheel Speed Sensor. Have that sensor inspected. OEM wheel speed sensors for the TB48DE were not hard for me to source but this is over a year ago.

There’s so much to enjoy in a night drive that I almost always sign up for them. The serenity of the desert calm, making out the light silhouettes sandwiched against the horizon and a tunnel vision that brings even more focus when in the seat. It’s easy to take in all of this and enjoy it to the core, when you’re following behind good leads. For that, and the overall experience, thank you @Davie Chase ✨ Baring the early exit, all of the breaks were perfectly timed and gave enough time to take it all in. In between you chose both the technical and the flow. And it was evident in the very minor re-loops. Thank you for a great night out, and always a pleasure to be among familiar faces and new. [ 🐵 ]

You're not going to get "great quality" anywhere here. The majority of the components whether you get it from the shops, Dragon Mart, or AliExpress will all be of similar quality standards. But I wouldn't think this hard about it. They are simple lights. If you are willing to pay top dollar for great quality, I would recommend looking at specialty Australian auxiliary light makers. I know Stedi and Lightforce stock premium LED "festoon" lights with advanced heatsinks and great build quality because they have a sizeable market of "GU" Y61 Nissan Patrols there. But you're going to be shelling out a serious amount of dough (+ shipping) for lights that have a very short operation cycle. My dome lights are rarely on for longer than 15 mins unless I'm trapped in an argument with my partner in the car 😛

I got a rechargeable LED under cabinet strip pretty cheap off Amazon and put a Velcro patch on it and one to the rear top lining. It’s motion activated, and I get plenty of light in the rear end. It’s especially useful when I camp and sleep inside the cabin too.

I was told that the TB48DE has a Nissan CANBUS which is how the MaxxECU programming can be done for certain components. But you’re the expert here so I may have been fed garbage too 😂

@Bravoecho, @SamyB - you need to get 2x Front Dome/Map lights, 1x Rear Dome/Map light (Second row), and 1x Trunk Dome/Map light (third row). Look for CANbus/Canbus-compatible LED lights. You can choose them in White (6500K) or warm white (3000K) color temperatures. They are easily available in car mod shops (Deira) or Dragon Mart. Canbus compatibility is key as most dome lights have three settings - Always on, Always off, On-when-door is open. For the switch lever to activate the light in these three modes, the light must be compatible to take the signal message from the CAN bus. As @Gaurav has suggested, popping off the dome of the in-ceiling lights is quite pain-free. For best results, I recommend always keeping a plastic/rubber scraper or pick so you don't accidentally damage internal parts or your roof lining with scratches and/or color transfer from the tool.

An upgraded Steering Damper is a crucial upgrade on the Y61, and I'm glad you made the leap @Vladimir BMS. Even on the bone stock Y61 that I picked up from the showroom, there was a noticeable wobble between 82kmph and 100kmph. It would disappear above and below that range. Even regular check-ups with Nissan & Arabian Automobiles gave me no answer. And it's all over the internet as the "Y61 Death Wobble". And it's an issue that has plagued this series. When I upgraded to the All-Terrain tires, and added front bumper spotlights, and welded protection to the front differential (a very important upgrade), it only became worse, because the additional weight further stressed the stock solution. Everybody told me that my wheels weren't balanced and aligned and that it was to be expected because god forbid anybody sully the reputation of the Y61 An upgraded Steering Damper fixed this issue entirely for me. And I'm glad you've made the same decision.

Very much so…

@GauravSoni, I’ve just managed to lose my wallet this morning and I’m running about trying to hunt it down and deal with all the ID issues. Will have to bow out until I resolve this. Thanks so much for trying to accommodate me though 🙏🏽

Apologies @Ale Vallecchi, I’ve just come down with a flu and debilitating symptoms. As such, I think it would be unwise to take on this trip. I was much looking forward to a classic operatic Ale drive, but alas my body has other plans. Will be back soon. Good luck with the hunt 🐵

@Gaurav and the rest of the convoy, it is with sincere regret that I need to bow out of this drive. Having been away from the desert for 6 months, I was really looking forward to being out and gazing upon the arrays of solar panels and The Chimney. Alas, urgent medical conditions at home with my partner have forced me to skip out. We could still be there but it would mean my mind would be more fixated on dealing with the passenger in my cabin than with the needs of the convoy and the thrill I had hoped to return to, that too under the sprightly leadership of that stunning silver bullet Pajero. Guess I must wait one more week. Catch you all on the sands very soon. [ 🐵 ]

@MisterPoet only Paint Protection Film (PPF) can give your paint serious protection in the long run. However, it is expensive and very difficult to install (depending on how the panels of the car are formed). It must be applied by an experienced professional. Having used it on my race track car to protect door sills and fenders from debris and stone chips, it is the only thing I would recommend. A less invasive way is to apply a Nano Ceramic Coating which forms a glossy layer on top of your paint. This doesn’t protect the paint too much from chipping but it does support in reducing the harmful yellowing that will happen from sun rays and any tree sap and bug residue that can remain behind. You need at least three coats of it and a curing time of at least 24 hrs for it to bond. As @Frederic has stated above, please don’t coat the surface with sprays. The chemical formulations may not remove if they adhere too deep. Secondly, paint on your car’s body is not evenly sprayed on. It loses its layers over time. A master detailer usually tests the thickness of paint before evening out high spots to give you consistency. An even paint base will make an even base for anything else that goes on top as protection. Lastly, I wouldn’t think this hard about paint protection unless you’ve just had your car resprayed or you think that your paint is one of a kind that needs special protection, in which case PPF is your best bet. Your car (if driven correctly) and not enduring damage won’t get so destroyed in driving long distances on open highways even if you passed through a sandstorm, which could happen if it was sitting still in the UAE. Have it waxed to remove surface contaminants, detailed and polished by a professional and get a regular ceramic coating, and you’ll be just fine.

@Frederic put the Safaris up front to let the villages know we come in peace, and the ‘Muricans in the rear because they always leave chaos behind 🤓

An amazing and insightful post as always. Nothing less to be expected from you @Frederic! This is an important point that I learned when I was just starting out. When you're driving in wet sand (post rain) areas. Sand also sticks to the under chassis - axles, transmission, sump guards etc. Hence, when you've done about 4 to 5 drives, it's a good thing to also get your under-chassis pressure washed to remove any sand that's caked on. In my case, it was so thick that kerosene had to be used to loosen the grime and re-primed.

@Mark B, you also have to take into account what your needs are. Beadlocks we’re designed for rock crawlers so they could air down large tyres (35s) so they could wrap around larger rocks and boulders and increase surface area and use the sidewall. Rock crawlers also go very slow. They are torque drivers. Then there’s dune bashing where if you get to a certain extreme level, a beadlock will give you that same peace of mind that your vehicle can air down and not pop out as you tumble from ridge to ridge, bumps and all. This is why you’ll also see Baja drivers use them. But, if you look at the Dakar rally which is the pinnacle of endurance that crosses many terrains, you’ll see that almost no teams use beadlocks. This is because, you can’t fix a beadlock on the go. Endurance and overlanders would rather have a forged and heavy load tyre that can be beaded on the go. They worry less about pop outs because a non-beadlock will enable them to fix it easily. Put it up on a jack, seat, air up, air down, go. So, I would look at your driving use case and where you intend to draw out the performance. If you’re planning to do high speed desert driving or rock crawling, a beadlock will give you peace of mind and allow you to air down without debeading if you suddenly land with too much impact. On the other hand, if you are planning to do long distance travel and want endurance and ease of operability, then a forged off-road rim that is load rated for your rig is the way to go.