[nerd1200]

An Offroading Photologue

Last weekend few of us met up for some offroading fun. The lineup included a couple New Thars, a Scorpio-N 4WD, an XUV7OO AWD and a Harrier. Here’s a video of the fun we had.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTROtQ6-Dp0

Prologue

Ever since ROG_AK got the delivery of his Scorpio-N 4XPLOR and kitted it out with some beefy BFG K02s, our small Scorpio group was rather excited. Afterall, his was the first car to be delivered in the group. We’ve since been planning an offroad excursion of sorts to pitch it against the mighty Thar, see if it could catch up. Somehow scheduling conflicts kept the idea at bay, until last weekend.

When I realized that our stars had aligned, we quickly created a WAG and drafted up a quick plan. Dropped a text to a few friends and BHPians with offroaders/AWDs to join us – more the merrier! By the end of it, the lineup of cars looked like this:

• Thar D MT (Napoli Black) – soumobakshi
• Thar P MT (Rocky Beige) – Turbonath
• Scorpio-N D AT 4XPLOR – ROG_AK
• XUV7OO D-AT AWD – adneo
• Harrier (FWD, with a fairly good TC) – FK, a friend of ours

Another thing to point out before we start is that apart from soumobakshi, all other drivers were beginners when it came to offroading. I’m certain that this encounter helped them understand offroading techniques as well as their respective vehicles much better.

[nerd1200]

We met-up at a small eatery off Mysore Road, caught up over some coffee and proceeded in a convoy to the location.



L to R: adneo, soumobakshi, ROG_AK, Turbonath, (your's truly) Nerd1200











soumobakshi & ROG_AK are up to something.

[nerd1200]

Obstacle: Slushy track + Water crossing

We started off with a water crossing. It was essentially a large puddle of about a foot-deep water formed during the rains in the week preceding our drive. What made it challenging was the ~200 meters of slush that was followed by the water body.

Turbonath went first and crossed the sections like he was driving on a highway. Similar was the case with ROG_AK’s Scorpio-N – no fret. Although it wasn’t too difficult for the XUV700 either, adneo had to counter steer a bit more than his BOF counterparts to keep the car moving straight ahead. The AWD’s sudden power transfer to the rear axle can affect the composure ever so slightly in such terrain.









Look ma, wheels up in the air.





Articulation check!

[nerd1200]

The Harrier, being a FWD car, got stuck in the slush track. FK wasn’t carrying as much momentum to counter the lack of an AWD apart from the fact that ESP was cutting power significantly at the first instance of wheel spinning.





Self-recovery attempts failed, and we had to resort to a tow. That was a bit more tricky as we realized that there was no tow hook at the rear and the front one was inaccessible at that point. Soumobakshi ingeniously tied the tow rope around the alloys and gently pulled the Harrier out of the thick.





Knowing what went wrong in the first attempt, FK gave it another try, and then another after that and successfully made it till the end of the loop each time. It was quite dramatic to watch though.













And we're out.

[nerd1200]

The Harrier got a proper mudbath - or as some of us liked to call it - a natural PPF coat.







FK was our Dronacharya too!! The amazing drone shots that you see in the video are courtesy of FK.


Couldn't stop myself from capturing all the off/soft-roaders sitting pretty in their natural habitat.

[nerd1200]

Obstacle: Hill climbs/descents/tackles

There were several such sections throughout the drive, some were suitable only for the 4WDs while others were doable by the AWD/FWD with a calculated approach/departure.





The Thar performed flawlessly through all of them.









Scorpio-N wasn’t too far behind either. Although on paper it’s approach, departure and breakover metrics are quite compromised, a thorough recce of the trail and a pre-planned approach would ensure that the car makes it through. The 4WD system works well with the ECU & GB to help overcome most obstacles.

Point in case: During one of the steep inclines, the Scorpio-N’s breakover came into play and almost beached the car at the edge of the slope. Since it was ROG_AK’s first offroad session with the car, he had braked as soon as the side steps/rock slider touched down. He realized that and powered through it and made it to the top.



The seemingly beached Scorpio-N. It wasn't.





We did however wonder if this obstacle could've been tackled on stock tyres.

[nerd1200]

Neither the XUV7OO, nor the Harrier attempted the severe climbs, but they were able to climb up the moderate ones albeit with a bit of momentum. I was quite surprised by the Harrier being able to tackle those obstacles, not without some underbelly scratches though. One just stops to wonder that the lack of an AWD Harrier/Safari is such a lost opportunity for Tata Motors.

Needless to say, for the Thars, most of these obstacles were nothing more than a child’s playground. So much so that soumobakshi and Turbonath resorted to showing off.









The cars were lined up against a cliff to get some more pictures & drone shots.



The Body on Frame 4x4s



And the Monocoques.



The lone Front wheel driven car performed quite well, exceeded expectations rather. Hats off to FK's enthusiasm.



The Sabretooth DRLs looks amazing in this angle!

[nerd1200]

This is the group of guys who had nothing better to do on a Saturday morning than getting their cars all mucky.





soumobakshi's Thar Vs Scorpio-N conundrum.



Turbonath was visibly elated after all that offroading fun..



So was ROG_AK



FK aka Dronacharya performing his duties

[nerd1200]

Parting Shots of the SUVs:



















The drive ended on quite a satisfactory and energetic note as Turbonath and adneo headed over to Swastik Fabs after the drive to buy themselves proper snatch straps, bow & U shackles. Bangalore guys, feel free to contact them for your recovery needs come next monsoon.

[condor]

Looks like you guys had a nice outing there - small group, and the obstacles not too difficult by off-roading standards.

Was this place something that one of you (at least) had been to earlier ?

[soumobakshi]

Originally Posted by condor

Was this place something that one of you (at least) had been to earlier ?

You bet! This is kind of my backyard. It's a natural terrain and what we could explore was not even a quarter to what it offers.

A small snippet
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ck_9E...d=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Time limitation and the lost time due to the rescue mission played a bit spoilsport.
Spent more time to plan the recovery than the actual act. It was truly disappointing to not find a tow hook at the rear end of the Harrier( same with Safari) and the ingenious placement of the front tow hook was at a different level

[XLR8]

Nerd1200- Thanks for sharing the experience with us. Looks like you all had a really nice time.

If you are open to and kind enough, can you please include me too for the next adventure? I have a feeling this group is going to grow. I have been very responsibly doing some solo offroads(albeit mild) as and when I get the opportunity to.

Would love to join you guys, if possible

[Sheel]

Thanks for sharing.

I am interested to know what tire size is the ScorpioN running on? Thanks.

[nerd1200]

Originally Posted by condor

Looks like you guys had a nice outing there - small group, and the obstacles not too difficult by off-roading standards.

True, since it was the first off-road adventure for most participants, the nature of the trails worked in our favour.

Originally Posted by XLR8

If you are open to and kind enough, can you please include me too for the next adventure?

Most welcome, will pm you.

Originally Posted by Sheel

I am interested to know what tire size is the ScorpioN running on? Thanks.

Thanks Sheel. The ScorpioN is running on 265/60 R18 BF Goodrich K02 ATs.

[100Kmphormore]

The Safari would have been a complete vehicle with the 4x4. Are the K02s a part of his daily driving too or just swapped for the offroading?