ChrisW

Yesterday’s drive took us deep into Al Wiqan, one of those places that once you get inside it still feels untouched and fresh. We set out early, led by @GauravSoni and joined by @Sam Selim for what turned out to be one of the most rewarding desert runs I’ve done in a while. The plan was simple enough: reach a star dune we had been eyeing on satellite maps for the last week. On the ground though, it was anything but simple. The terrain out there is raw, with soft sand, steep slipfaces, and long winding ridges that test both driver and machine. This drive was the perfect opportunity to apply what we learned in the earlier masterclass sessions with @GauravSoni. The ridge-crossing techniques he taught, such as throttle control, alignment, and positioning, were put to the test many times over. The complexity of the terrain made it an ideal setting to consolidate the skills we have built at the Intermediate level…definitely not a first-IM trip, but an excellent consolidation and trial of these skills. After several hours of careful progress, we finally reached the centre bowl of the star dune. It is hard to describe the feeling of standing there, surrounded on all sides by tall arms of sand, completely silent except for the wind. We beached our cars in the small bowl, sat on the ridge and soaked it all up for a while. We covered 117 km in total over 7 hours and 18 minutes, with an average moving speed of 31 km/h. A full day’s drive, but one that reminded me exactly why we love this kind of adventure: remote, challenging, and absolutely stunning. Final push to the top of the star dune: Taking it all in: Ridges for days: Fast switch: Downhill switch: Sharp ridge:

Big beautiful bowls to be visited by a big beautiful convoy!

I’m really looking forward to this one! Car is ready, equipment packed and last night’s drive with Luke was my shakedown test run - all is good. See you out there…

Last night was great, thank you @Luke K P for leading - and I really enjoyed driving with all of you. Some good paced driving with a couple of patches of sand to test our skills, and a nice social break off the end.

Morning guys - large convoy just after the gate. I’ve gone further up the track and to the left side.

Hey @Ale Vallecchi- just wanted to confirm you’d seen that I withdrew from the driver earlier today. Looks like you have a small but perfectly formed convoy!

The artefacts have been recovered. We can close the file on this anomaly. For now.

The biggest variable in getting stuck is probably me! The most common cause of my stucks is basically being too ambitious in the moment. Once you have a feel for your car and some time on the sand, you often have a gut feeling for whether a manoeuvre is going to work or not - and this is usually quick judgement based on a combination of speed/momentum, slope and condition of the ground, and the direction you’re going to steer in. The times I get stuck are usually when I ignore that gut feeling and press on. The other major factor is fatigue and alertness. If I find myself getting complacent while driving (letting myself get distracted with some menu on the car dashboard or basically not giving all of my attention to the driving), that’s a great signal to drink some water, sit up straight in the seat and turn the focus back on. Most of my “incidents” in the desert have been attributable to this. Very, very rarely my car will surprise me and be the cause of getting stuck. The Jeep JL can in some unusual circumstances disengage 4H and fall back to 2H but not tell you. Whilst confusing it’s obvious when this has happened - the car fishtails readily and at low speed will usually just dig in at the back and halt you in your tracks.

I was sure we’d driven through here before, but no record on my Garmin…it’s like a half remembered dream now.

Really good fun - and I can’t say much more than that! Safe, considerate and fun driving from everyone. A proper Carnity drive.

Got some good footage of the side-slope practice too…

It turned out quite nicely @Rajiv Sam!

…is it who can do the best Sean Connery impression on the radio?

Morning @Ale Vallecchi - just wanted to confirm that this is the meeting point: https://maps.app.goo.gl/82PXCJd1v8omJxru5?g_st=ipc

Congrats @Mike M. - looks like that lighting modification you had in mind (beacon going straight up) could be useful after all! 😂

Great news @Imran Asghar, congrats - looking forward to you sharing your enthusiasm with Carnity drivers new and old!

Great news @Mark B - look forward to seeing the Gladiator leading the way!

@Steve Farmer Just noticed your picture in the gallery…those cameras are a right of passage! I have a very similar photo of my old Jeep…

So it’s been about six months since installing the ARB brushless compressor and I thought I’d follow up with a longer-term review. Basic summary is…great performance but it is fussier than the old-school ARB twin compressor! Pros: Great performance - it is roughly 50% faster than the brushed twin compressor, and in combination with the ARB pressure control I always have very accurately inflated tyres. Simpler wiring and install - the wiring loom is a bit simpler than the previous install, and the quick release mount makes it easier if you need to pop the compressor out to get access, clean etc. No more randomly popped fuses! The electrical setup and fusing seems a bit more reliable. Longer-Term Lessons: It’s a lot more temperature sensitive! I have the compressor mounted in the rear cubby which isn’t very well ventilated. The brushed compressor would soldier on regardless, but the brushless has throttled itself back a few times due to the heat (it beeps a certain number of times to communicate error messages). I’ve since added some venting and remote air intakes (so it draws in cooler air from inside the cabin), and all is well. The flip side to this is that it’s also smart enough to protect itself - which should pay off in time. The increased cost vs quicker inflation is still in my view marginal. It was an interesting project but if you already have a brushed compressor I wouldn’t prioritise this modification. So all in all…great performance, good install and smarter operation…but it will need some careful thought on installation location given our hot weather conditions.

Thanks to @Luke K P and @Davie Smooth_Operator for putting your heads together and working out a drive for us all today! A nice prompt start in the cool air this morning got us away well, with the convoy soon warming up to a good flow. A nice mix of terrains, with some longer open dunes to stretch our driving and engine revs on, and then some tighter more technical patches. Some great skills on show today - good convoy discipline, helpful radio work and everyone managed to self recover without any dramas. I think we also exited at just the right moment - good call, Luke…and thank you for the karak!

Thanks again @GauravSoni, I enjoyed the session - both as a skills refresh on driving technical dunes at a consistent pace, and I got to learn and practice some further recovery techniques. Thanks for taking the time to talk me through a few of them. Good work from the convoy. We had an interesting mix of issues…soft sand, some good and proper sticks and a few technical issues. Everyone kept cool, followed directions and up a good team spirit.