[vinod_nookala]

Hi all
Haviing not able to make it to the technical session i thought i should make it to the OTR the following day atleast. Driving to palar and coming back the same day is very tiring and i never thought i would do it, but the 4x4 bug bit me hard and i was ready on road with my jeep at 6.15 a.m early morning on sunday. Was a pleasent drive till kalpakkam on ECR and from the palar river bridge i took right towards major roys camp site which was further 28 kms away. All in all it was about 90 kms i did to reach the camp site. All the jeepers who had come the day before were having breakfast and i joined them by 7.45 a.m. 90 kms in 1 hour 15 mins not bad for a jeep! i quickly fueled in and then we headed to the palar river bed in a convoy of about 10 4wds.

The entry greets us with soft sand and LC 70 bogs down. Patrik sir reduces pressure and fro then there was no stopping for this big machine.Proceeding on flat surfaces itself was hard. Engines were over heating. We lot of sand manevouring and atlast few climbs. Headed back for lunch damn tired, exhausted by heat. It was amazing to see few guys do adventure sports at major roys camp after a grueling OTR. For me i had to head for lunch and then straight back home.
I took very few pics but did take some videos.

Enjoy!

[vinod_nookala]

This was at the entry point-
Note people reducing the tyre pressure.

YouTube - 29032009 Palar otr

This was a minor obstacle where we had to cross boulders. soft sand posed problem but later slight deviation in course saw all 4wds clearing it easily

YouTube - 29032009 JT 4A palar

YouTube - 29032009JT 4A palar

check out the soft sand. Arka driving the CJ 500 D stuck big time. Needs to be pushed out. LC 70 also finds it tough to get out after a minor bog.

YouTube - 29032009JT 4A palar

Vikrams awsome Gypsy was the only one to clear this 60+ degree climb in least run up and in minimum number of attempts! Jai ho Gypsy Mg413 W!!

YouTube - 29032009JT 4A

Now watch this 7 mins video. Patrick sir made 4.2 litre inline 6 cylinder in excess of 2 tons monster climb the sand wall. Watch it bouncing. MM550 also made it, nearly made it. My MM540 made it almost till top well almost! No video of this though.

YouTube - 29032009JT 4A palar

Well thats it from me folks. Arka has few more pics. Lets wait for them to flow in:-)

[headers]

Pat's LC was great. The engine seemed to have grunt and Pat knew how to exploit it completely.

This climb was tough and wish Arka's Petrol Jeep was there. Would have been a good learning experience. The videos dont do justice to the incline!

[ex670c]

Hello TBhpians,

The Tech session was followed by lunch and then all the JEEPers headed towards Maj.SR Roy's Adventure Zone Campsite for the night stay.

The Next morning we headed out towards the Palar River bed.

It was followed by 2 hrs for crawling through thick sand, tires digging in almost 4-5 inches.
The most exciting obstacle was a 30ft climb which we all tried with a short run up (40ft) and long run up of 60-100ft).

Vikram's Gypsy performed extremely well and was the only 4x4 to manage the climb in the short run up.

Patrick gave us a superb display in the Toyota Land Cruiser PZJ75, handling it effortlessly and doing every obstacle.

For the first time we got to see a restored ex-Indian Army MM550XD in action and that did quite well, moving effortlessly on the sand.

After the climb we headed back to the campsite for some Rappelling and Rock Climbing on a Artificial Wall, followed by lunch and drive back to Chennai.

It was a very exciting weekend.

Regards,

Arka

[esteem_lover]

Thanks vinod & arka for those beautiful pictures & videos.

@vikram...your gypsy with the esteem engine rocks. Very short run up & a steep slope. Fantastic show.

[ex670c]

Hi Guys,

Some more pictures.

All the vehicles would have made it with a long run up, but after a few attempts; engines heating up and the sun bearing down on us mercilessly, we decided to leave it for TPC2009 .

Regards,

Arka

PS - This year is going to be HOT....and really tough

[hillram]

This is pure Jeep thrills...jsut like one we had on Hyderabad

[vinod_nookala]

Yes Arka,
It was bloody hot !!! Two things learnt a camera cannot show 1. heat 2. gradient!! It was a true learning experience. If you observe the Vikrams (smart)Gypsy climb, he couldnt do it when-

1. when he was in 2 nd low, too much of wheel spin!!
2. I think he did that in 2nd high!! Can you believe?

Gypsys peak torque arrives at about 3000 rpm. He made full use of it. Light weight, michelin tyres, powerful engine was a right combination.

Do you have an idea in which gear did PAT finally manage to climb the dune??? I was wondering how come 4.2 litres were falling short of moving this heavy troop carrier. But he made it.

I really pray it must not be this hot in August. Dont be so sadist yaar

[headers]

Vinod: I think Pat made it in 3 Low. That engine is amazing and silent for a diesel.

I think I had three attempts for the climb.

1. 2 L - too much of wheelspin bogging me down.
2. 1H - almost made it and ran out of breath
3. 2H - the trick was to start of like a rocket - thanks to Pats advice. It was really good to do that in the short run up.


Guys, the sand was like soft powder and that meant driving with caution and sensibily. I was surprised to find that NDMS tyres dug and didnt not have traction as expected.

The Palar terrain changes each time we visit it making it a real challenge for us to conquer it.

Lets hope this year we get to see more off roaders join the event.

The accomodation at Adventure Zone is 5 star and so is the organising committee. But please inform in advance as last moment bookings will not be entertained.

And guys, this is a perfect terrain to test and build your vehicle as sand pushes you and your vehicle to the max!!!

[trammway]

Oh accommodation and Adventure Zone… here are the pics

[vinod_nookala]

Originally Posted by headers

Guys, the sand was like soft powder and that meant driving with caution and sensibily. I was surprised to find that NDMS tyres dug and didnt not have traction as expected.

headers,
Remember Raja mohans green MM540 in palar 2008? That had NDMS 7.00- 16 running on it. It was the only MM540 to have successfully completed the timed run event at the end. Arkas 550 beat your Gypsy then but failed to cross even the half mark this time. How come NDMS on MM540 did the magic and failed now even with LSD up front and rear??

May be the sand is much softer now...may be!!! What say?

[khan_sultan]

Hey guys, looks like a lot of fun in blistering heat. I just wonder how the track day will be this coming Sunday.

Originally Posted by vinod_nookala

.... Vikrams awsome Gypsy was the only one to clear this 60+ degree climb in least run up and in minimum number of attempts! Jai ho Gypsy Mg413 W!!...

Originally Posted by ex670c

...
Vikram's Gypsy performed extremely well and was the only 4x4 to manage the climb in the short run up.
....

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

...
@vikram...your gypsy with the esteem engine rocks. Very short run up & a steep slope. Fantastic show.

Originally Posted by vinod_nookala

...
Gypsys peak torque arrives at about 3000 rpm. He made full use of it. Light weight, michelin tyres, powerful engine was a right combination.

....

Vikram: Great . So the Gypsy rules -- the only one. Music to my ears

Originally Posted by headers

...
Guys, the sand was like soft powder and that meant driving with caution and sensibily. I was surprised to find that NDMS tyres dug and didnt not have traction as expected....

Well, even my Mud Terrain tyres did in on soft powdery sand. I found this out this sunday.

[Alfa_Kilo]

Tyres with mild tread patterns are much better in fine sand than those with deep lugs, because they disturb the surface less and displace less sand while spinning.

MRF makes a dedicated sand tyre called the Sandmaster (not the Sandgrip) which has a rib type pattern.

[DirtyDan]

Looks like great fun. How can it be "hot"? I thought you Southern boys thrived on having your brain pans cauterized.

Lots of that powdery sand up in Ladakh, too. It can destroy mobiles, cameras etc. Three layers of plastic bags help. I can imagine what that abrassive stuff does to the moving parts of a vehicle.

[headers]

Originally Posted by vinod_nookala

headers,
Remember Raja mohans green MM540 in palar 2008? That had NDMS 7.00- 16 running on it. It was the only MM540 to have successfully completed the timed run event at the end. Arkas 550 beat your Gypsy then but failed to cross even the half mark this time. How come NDMS on MM540 did the magic and failed now even with LSD up front and rear??

May be the sand is much softer now...may be!!! What say?

Thats exactly my question. BTW, Arka was running worn out sandgrips then and is running 7.00x16 NDMS now. Guess Sandgrips grip the sand better!

Originally Posted by khan_sultan

Vikram: Great . So the Gypsy rules -- the only one. Music to my ears


Well, even my Mud Terrain tyres did in on soft powdery sand. I found this out this sunday.

Well, Khan, The Gypsy was good last weekend on Sand. Guess it was more of petrol power versus diesel engines.


Wonder how the Petrol 3B of Arka would have performed. It also revs up pretty fast.

One more thing I realised on soft sand is that if we dont power up, the vehicle moves faster. i.e NO PEDAL TO METAL..

cheers