Reggie Landicho

Its amazing to see a variety of car make, model and year joining the community. I am looking forward to meeting you all and learn from each other! Cheers!👍👍👍

32 minutes ago, Looper said:

For Jeep JL the first and must do upgrade or mod for desert driving is the rear bumper. Change to a AOR or cut off the rear bottom part and relocate the number place. Many a bumpers have been lost to the sand scooping.

Hi @Looper this is interesting. I didn't expect this on a Wrangler.  Thanks!

2 hours ago, Sunil Mathew said:

OK, first of all ..Thank you @JAISROCK for shaking up this , otherwise dormant Jeep Wrangler forum  👍..

My "upgrades" are quite cheap, as i am a firm believer in the Carnity Philospohy of "Keep it stock" ...so no lifts, no reservoir and bypass shocks, no large tyres, no re-gearing etc. mainly because i dont have the money 😂😂

 

1. Auxillary Fan -300AED - Added a fan in front of the radiators - This helps a bit in technical drives where the car speed is very slow and the radiator doesn't get enough air draft.

2. Low temp thermostat (open at 75 Deg) - 250 AED - This helps in making the best of  drive breaks and lets the coolant cool down below 95 deg , which is the temp at which the stock thermostat closes.

The above 2 semi-mods gave me a lower coolant temperature by at least 5 deg , and some breathing time until the stock fan decides itself to switch to high speed (i think somewhere around 116 deg??..not sure)

 

3. Tyres - This one could be termed as a "downgrade". I bought the car with 285/70-17 tyres on it. It was rubbing against the sway bar and i felt there was loss of power when you needed to do steep climbs in short distance. I changed to the so called Carnity tyres - Yoko Geolandars - 265/70-17 and i could feel a marked difference in the grip as well as power.

 

Thanks @Sunil Mathew! Appreciate all your suggested points. Point #1 is the first thing I have done on Wrangler. Driving an old car, i think its a must to have for desert driving. For the point 2, I'll definitely ask my mechanic on this, though after installing the transmission cooler and aux fan, I don't see any fluctuations on my temp.

Anyone have installed wheel spacers? Your experience please?

13 hours ago, Brette said:

Welcome @Omar ElGamal @Umar Yaqoob @JAISROCK @qaiser ijaz @Sandra Mrad @nr51mes and thanks  for joining this Absolute newbie drive, we will have a relaxing fun desert drive coming Friday and I look forward to seeing you all.

Please share your vehicle details - Make, Model, Year.

Do you have any prior off-road experience?

Confirm your vehicle has front and rear tow hooks / eyelets.

Confirm your vehicle has minimum of 8 inches of ground clearance.

Please also make sure you go through the briefing video on the drive post as it is mandatory to do so before arriving at the meeting point. 

10 minutes ago, Frederic said:

Good question, I would advise the following: 

Before the drive:

- All fluid levels (coolant, oil, etc)

After the drive:

- tyre pressure (35psi).

- engine bay, look for any loose hoses, leaks.

- air filter. Remove the sand by tapping it gently on the floor. Replace the filter every 15-20,000 kms

 

If you take the car to a carwash (no need to do this after every drive), but when they lift the car you can have a look underneath to see for any leaks or broken rubber bushings. 
 

Most important of all: get to know your vehicle better and talk to your mechanic and tell him you are off-roading with this vehicle and he should inspect drive shafts, suspension, and fluids more often.

 

 

Many thanks here @Frederic! Actually when I started off-roading, I begun to get interested on knowing more on maintenance, transmissions etc. All stuffs that makes my rig off-road capable at least. i have never done this before on my Pathfinder family car. Didnt even check the fluids unless the mechanic tells me every 5/10 maintenance period. I even liking this car better than the new primary family car Nissan Exterra. I dont know, i feel off-roading is addicting?;) do you share the same?

3 minutes ago, Gaurav said:

Shamil is no longer here with us.

This testing centre seems like ras al khor Tamam. 

Tamam Vehicles Testing and Registration Centre - مركز تمام لفحص وتسجيل السيارات
04 706 9901
https://maps.app.goo.gl/eAAxxA8nAqxCyzSv5

Thanks @Gaurav as always.

On 12/24/2019 at 10:20 AM, Shamil said:

I recently passed my Xterra with the metal bumper and offroad lights and I thought i would share my experience so that others with modifications/considering modifications may learn from the same. I stuck masking tape around my offroad lights and I attached rubber pads on my metal bumper which made the truck compliant enough for passing. So people with similar modifications could try these steps.

May you kindly share the branch you've been? Thanks for sharing your experience @Shamil

Dear team, experts,

may you kindly advice what we need to check after every off-road drives.

Thank you and looking forward for your advice.

Hello team, can you share the upgrades (interior & exterior) you have done in your car and the benefits you're getting from it? As a newbie, this will really help us guage the pros & cons of that particular upgrade and may help us decide to go for it in the future.

If you have photos, much appreciated

Looking forward...

1 hour ago, qaiser ijaz said:

Hi. 

I read few comments and wanted to make sure I am joining the right drive. I have driven offroad drives before. Total 4 in last last. But with other group. Should I be joining this drive or other drive. If other drive which one plz. 

Thanks. 

Ijaz. 

Hi @Ijaz the absolute newbie drive is mandatory for anyone new in Carnity community. Yes you are in the right drive looking on your profile. I'll probably see you then. After this we can join the newbie drives. Cheers!

Hi @Wrangeld, this is a must for newbies like me.

Just a question, I'll be driving an Absolute newbie drive on Friday 15th and will join this drive with you on 16th. Is this fine, since ill be completing the Absolute newbie drive?

I have done 4 drives with other group.

Hi @Gauravim looking forward for the Absolute new drive schedule to meeting all some of you🤘

WOW! Many years to come! Haven't driven with you Guys & Gals yet looking on the Forum, I can see you're effective and helping a lot of people to be efficient on this passion. Well Done Admin! Keep it UP!

Gentlemen, I got a chance to drive privately in Qudra last night and I have tried to stay on 4HI but really, I am running out power with D/2/1, and it is only light trails huh.

So, If I will just keep using 4LO with gear D/2, will it break anything in the long run? What can happen? I have transmission cooler and fan installed, so I feel this will stay cool, and I've never had heating issues ever since they were installed.

I would appreciate your advice, Thanks

22 minutes ago, MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ said:

I see you drive a 2009 SWB, so do I. 2009’s 200Hp 3.8L engine is renowned to be under-powered. It’s the reason they switched to a 285Hp 3.6L post 2012. 
Nevertheless, with the same 3.8L, I have been able to scale Iftar Bowl, Super Bowl and several other mighty hill climbs. But I was able to do so only after failing countless times. It took time for me to learn my car, and I believe it’s exactly what you have to do to overcome your issue, Learn your car. Through trial & error, learn the sweet points of your car, such as the tire pressure etc.

Here’s what I do that allows me to scale such tall dunes:

1, Tire pressure: 8 Psi rear, 9 Psi front. I have Geolanders (a bit lighter than BFG)

2, Remove the J6 fuse to completely switch off Traction control and ABS (Now I got a Kill Switch, easier)

3, I drive in 4H, in D. Switch to 2, when I see an oncoming climb, switch to 1 several seconds into the climb.

Since it’s under-powered, it needs a run up to get that torque to kick in. That’s why, keep ample distance from the car in front and keep a lookout what’s coming ahead. 
When approaching a climb, 50-70 Meters prior to it, switch to 2 and press throttle to the floor (Safely ofc, watch out for Bumps!!). This is done to get those RPMs up high (I usually go 4.5k+). Once you get onto the climb and your car faces the sky, and the RPMs start to drop, shift to 1 (Timings should be precise, make sure RPMs don’t drop too low, I shift at around 3.5k, you can only master this through practice). It’s the 1st gear that keeps you going throughout the climb. Wiggling the steering wheel also helps a bit with traction. And thats pretty much it, after mastering the techniques, you won’t face any such hill climb issues.

Oh and switch off AC compressor before the hill climb for some extra Push 😂

This is really valuable information!!! Directly from the same car/ year model owner. I was puzzled on this really for many months now. I couldn't find this information from YouTube. The group I was driving with before, I was the only one with wrangler so there's a bit of disconnect in that aspect if you know what I mean. Well done Guys! Looking forward to meeting and riding with all of you!

Deflated my tyres to 10-12psi, i have size 285/70/17 on BFG. I dont know, it just i was running out of juice on hill climb. Lets see how i progress with your help and the whole team.

Hello team, my first 2 drives, i used to set on 4HI with 2/1 gear. I felt the car does not have much power specially desert hill climb. My 3rd drive, I tested 4LO with D/2,  I had more torque and obstacles were easily conquered. My question is, is this safe for the transmission or gear? Experts please advice. Thanks

Im driving a 2009 JK and my first drive was same, transmission over heating. I just installed an aux fan on top of the transmission cooler. I even added an additional engine oil cooler. Now everything is fine.

Ok @Frederic, understood. Will join on 15th. Cheers!

Good morning @Gaurav& @Frederic, thanks for the welcome!

is there a chance to organize a Saturday Absolute newbie drive? As I am mainly available on Saturdays. Please….

I have driven before with other groups and the next drive will be my 4th drive. I think I’ll benefit more on the structured way of learning as those 3 drives I’ve had, conquered Pyramid and pink rock in Badayer.

Looking forward for your advice.

Many thanks 

Hello @Foxtrot Oscar, hope you can add the max number of riders here, id like to join the group if possible. Thanks