Mahindra XUV500: Having some AWD fun

[Tanveer_2558]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

Wow, nice to see the XUV's heading out. Nice way to enjoy the weekends.

Hi, Indeed, Getting up in the morning at 5.50am on a weekend for such things to do, Absolutely worth it.

My own car too has been through a lot of offroading action in last month. Luckily despite being too adventerous and trying keep up with Ironman Fortuner and a Gypsy, the car has not seen damage till now. Thanks of Years of experience with her, i know the underbody and clearance well.

One thing i too have noticed the XUV takes abuse pretty well, My trip to Hyderabad and back included 200kms of..Very bad road, No roads, Rocks everywhere, Went in and out of huge deep portions of roads with only big and small rocks around (I got lost actually) Still was surprised to see XUV did not give up a single issue after that journey too.

• Get a proper tow rope, and learn proper recovery techniques, do not use that metal tow cable and please use the proper tow hooks and not the bull bar.
• Know your car's underbody and clearance well, it will go a long way in keeping the vehicle damage free.
• Try experimenting with ESP on and off, some situations its a boon, at other places it plays spoil sport.
• Learn using Hill descent, with the lack of low range, this is your only help at steep descents.
• At the time of tire change, opt in for A/T tires, i have upgraded to Pirelli Scorpion ATR, even on the road these are way superior to the OE Bridgestone Duelers, the downside is they dont squeal(OE Bridgestones) so corners are not that fun anymore.
• Lack of low range is not much of an problem, master the art of using the clutch properly without damaging, 5 minutes is what it takes to damage the clutch.
• Although the stall control is nicely tuned and even the low end torque is good but again with the lack of low range, at places you will find the engine bogging down, especially the steep climbs and sand, I have added a few more horses with the RD Tuning box now the car charges up like a cheetah makes 400nm+ of torque, its a big help.
• Try to take along experienced offroaders, you will learn a lot, especially with safe recovery techniques.

Awesome points there, Noted all of them, If i keep the car for more than 6 months, I will surely swap them with the pirelli, Stock tyres are a big no no for such adventures, But still till i don't swap, I won't stop either.

Originally Posted by Ace F355

My take on -

Video 1: I think you got stuck because you seem to have lost your momentum a bit (around 0.23 seconds into the video), causing the heavy vehicle to bog down. OEM tyre treads must have been filled with mud, causing the tyres to lose traction, leaving the vehicle stuck.

Madhu the guy holding the phone for recording wanted to get a proper video and hence he asked me to take a turn early instead of going very faar, I was skeptical about it since i know turning early would result in loosing momentum but i still gave it a shot, And well the result can be seen.

Video 2: Very gentle approach to the slippery patch by SDP. Good throttle control resulted in no issues whatsoever.

Indeed, SDP made it look so easy, But trust me it wasn't.

I agree with all points .anshuman made in the post above. Invest in a snatch strap, it isn't very expensive either. We are having a 5 tons capacity/4 meters length, made by Ferreterro with supportive D Shackles. It is a good basic strap. Costed us INR 1800 inclusive of D Shackles.

Noted.

Also, another thing to keep in mind is Momentum. It is the most important key in off-roading. The trick is to be fast enough to cross the obstacle, while being slow enough not to damage the vehicle some way or the other. Its a delicate balance which I am still learning. Plenty of 4 wheeling advice on our Forum, do read upon these threads which are essentially hidden treasures! Also, nothing can beat the presence of a couple of experienced off-roaders on site whose guidance will be the best thing available to you guys during your adventures. Looking forward to more stuff in this thread!

Totally agreed, I had done around 3-4 rounds before i got stuck, I had kept the momentum going, And i was also turning on the surface which was less slippery and where i was getting some traction so that i can again gain some momentum, Anyways, Learnt a lot, Will go in again soon, This time maybe with more people and better videos and more fun.

[Aniket6]

@Tanveer,
Thanks for this upload, seems lot of fun.

@Anshuman,
Thanks for the tips!

@All XUV owners in Bangalore,
Lets have something like this here in Bangalore on a weekend? Anybody knows a place? By the way, Is there a whatsapp group for Bangalore XUV Owners?

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by Aniket6

@Anshuman,
Thanks for the tips!

@All XUV owners in Bangalore,

Why only XUV owners, and why not anyone with a AWD crossover or 4x4 SUV?! Trust me you would have much fun softroading with more variety of vehicles.

[Aniket6]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

Why only XUV owners, and why not anyone with a AWD crossover or 4x4 SUV?! Trust me you would have much fun softroading with more variety of vehicles.

Sure, that would work too!! Are people in Bangalore listening??

[ajayclicks]

Originally Posted by Aniket6

Sure, that would work too!! Are people in Bangalore listening??

Hessarghatta grasslands is out of bound, and for all the right reasons. Even the potholes in the service lane outside RMZ ecospace have been fixed (for now). Not sure if there are opportunities down Kanakpura Road- say near Ramanagaram etc. where Sholay was shot. Would defnitely be interested in joining for a day-trip soft roading exercise.

[greatgyan]

Originally Posted by Aniket6

@All XUV owners in Bangalore,
Lets have something like this here in Bangalore on a weekend? Anybody knows a place? By the way, Is there a whatsapp group for Bangalore XUV Owners?

On a lighter note, driving on the roads of Bangalore during this rainy season is an adventure in itself, quite close to off-roading!

[Tanveer_2558]

Originally Posted by greatgyan

On a lighter note, driving on the roads of Bangalore during this rainy season is an adventure in itself, quite close to off-roading!

Its the same here in Mumbai actually.

In planning process for another adventure on 31st of this month (Sunday) Any more xuv's wants to join please drop me a PM, Also if anyone wants any specific kind of photos or videos do let me know will surely try to capture.

[Zahoor23]

Made my day Tanveer! Brilliant one. Pics of your orange XUV looks smashing with mud on it. Comes at the right point when there are many prospective buyers who are curious to know about the AWD capability of XUV.

Interestingly, I spotted this XUV near my place. Notice the Roll-over bars, Snorkel, Winch and the monster truck inspired Mud Terrain tires and yes, It was an AWD. For those who want to get the maximum out of their AWD

[SDP]

Originally Posted by Zahoor23

..
Interestingly, I spotted this XUV near my place. Notice the Roll-over bars, Snorkel, Winch and the monster truck inspired Mud Terrain tires and yes, It was an AWD. For those who want to get the maximum out of their AWD

The pics of this particular XUV have been doing rounds of the internet for couple of years now. I am no off-roader, but in my opinion, I believe the modifications are mostly cosmetic than functional. XUV's ground clearance is already low (by SUV standards) and the stepping-boards on the side and the low-mounted winch would make the matters worse. The winch and the orange hook (is that part of the winch?) protruding out so low would most likely affect even the approach angle. The aux-lamps mounted next to the winch are also too low and would get damaged early on if the vehicle is taken off-road. The roof-mounted lights, the windshield-mounted (LoL) LED bar, cosmetic changes to rear door panels, the fake hood-scoops and the outrageous changes to interior (search for the images on teamBHP) hint at this being a 'show-off' rather than a true off-road machine. The over-sized tyres and off-set wheels are another thing. I am somehow pretty sure that the front tyres are scraping the wheel-wells at every turn. I wouldn't be surprised if we find out that the snorkel is not connected to anything inside.

[Sheel]

SDP, how were the Latitude Tour HP's wrt stock OE Bridgestone Dueler H/T?

[SDP]

Originally Posted by Sheel

SDP, how were the Latitude Tour HP's wrt stock OE Bridgestone Dueler H/T?

My XUV did not come with Duellers as stock. I got JKs, which were pathetic. The only good thing about the JKs is that they last really really long. I have lost traction (partially) earlier with JKs in very mild road-side-mud scenarios. Had experienced serious aquaplaning also couple of times. The Michelin Tour HPs, although highway tyres, seem to do better in mud and water.

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by Zahoor23

Interestingly, I spotted this XUV near my place. Notice the Roll-over bars, Snorkel, Winch and the monster truck inspired Mud Terrain tires and yes, It was an AWD. For those who want to get the maximum out of their AWD

Its a poser, the mods are not going to help it much.

1. The side steps are ruining the GC.
2. Snorkel is mouted on the wrong side, I doubt if it would really be connected, being a crossover it anyways isn't designed to go that deep.
3. The tyres will foul with the body, the already limited travel due to road biased Indepedent suspension all round is going to get worse.
4. The winch is mounted so low, in sand/mud its going to get damaged.
5. The LED bar mounted on the windshield is blocking visibility.
6. He forgot to install the other pieces of external roll cage, just a poser.

[Zahoor23]

Originally Posted by Aniket6

Sure, that would work too!! Are people in Bangalore listening??

Would love to be a part of the group. If such a group doesn't exist, Lets create one!

Originally Posted by SDP

The pics of this particular XUV have been doing rounds of the internet for couple of years now. I am no off-roader, but in my opinion, I believe the modifications are mostly cosmetic than functional.

Originally Posted by .anshuman

Its a poser, the mods are not going to help it much.

You got it spot-on! This is definitely a poser only. The side steps are going to do more harm than good for this particular XUV. The inapropriate mounting of snorkel and roll-over bar made the matter worse. Nevertheless, He would have opted for a THAR if the vehicle was subjected to some serious off-roading

[e4gleeyez]

Guys I have XUV FWD and am from Navi Mumbai maynot be able to get into slush but would love to tag along with my ride

[Tanveer_2558]

Originally Posted by e4gleeyez

Guys I have XUV FWD and am from Navi Mumbai maynot be able to get into slush but would love to tag along with my ride

Hi, Even if you have a FWD you can enjoy in the slush, please drop in a mail at torcmumbai@outlook.com with your cell number so that i can add you to our whatsapp group, Anyone else would who would like to join, Ride shotgun, Just watch the fun, Please do let us know and join in!