[dwaraka]

Looks like you folks had some wet surface. Hope to see two safaris again soon. Khan, you entered the sand quarry area. Great!

Missed it thanks to Ganesha bappa

[vinod_nookala]

Folks,
Simple track,few 4x4's and even few real 4x4's. Nice to see safari's trying to do what its grandparents did, but they are a little too sophisticated i believe. My initial analysis of safari not being able to do the same course is lack of sufficient articulation and IFS suspension. Any other SUV available in india would have also met the same fate. Either you need to have loads of articulation or must have diff locks in such terrain.

Kudos to safari owners who dared to try out real offroading!

P.s- Why do i dont see enough scorpio owners doig the same?

[svsantosh]

No vehicle had a winch. Didnt the terrain require a backup winched vehicle? The safari's can be a handful in case they get stuck given their 2+ Ton weight.

[vijaythacker]

wow, awesome stuff guys, beasts finally to work their way out.Gypsy feels like being at home all the way,thats what its built for.good going happywheels, you started giving your redbeast what it wants and urges for.Keep coming with more of those OTR's.
Rudra sir, awesome photography as you already mastered in.WOW.

[Rahulk76]

Lucky You Happy...One of a great shots Rudra.

This is my desktop wallpaper now

[Jaggu]

No winch, just some tow ropes and expert guidance by khan and star_aqua No high funda's just plain ol instructions and lots of motivation. These Safari owners were also really surprised with their vehicle capabilities, how much they need to change the driving style to tackle this terrain.

Recovery plan was simple, one safari at a time, so that we have the other safari, spidey and MM to help, just in case. Once the black safari got stuck, but managed to pull out with instructions and muscle power from the OTR veterans Every time recce was done to ensure minimum trouble. Poor star_aqua even got his foot punctured by a thorn while at this.

Safari main handicap is its weight and loooong wheel base, articulation and tranny are really decent. The 3L will have the added advantage of low rev torque, as demonstrated by our OTR safari guru Hrag's on the previous trip.

Oh i forgot to mention that red beast is just 2 weeks old! kudos to Happy_Wheels for using her as she should be, making its own road instead of roaming around in urban jungle.

[DKG]

Wow you guys are lucky to have Rudra documenting your adventures. Some of those shots look straight out of an offroad magazine.

[dwaraka]

Originally Posted by vinod_nookala

Folks,
Simple track,few 4x4's and even few real 4x4's. Nice to see safari's trying to do what its grandparents did, but they are a little too sophisticated i believe. My initial analysis of safari not being able to do the same course is lack of sufficient articulation and IFS suspension. Any other SUV available in india would have also met the same fate. Either you need to have loads of articulation or must have diff locks in such terrain.

Kudos to safari owners who dared to try out real offroading!

P.s- Why do i dont see enough scorpio owners doig the same?

Vinod,

track seems to be simple to look. Once it get's soaked becomes very much slippery. As was discussed elsewhere, the photos are decieving.

both Safaris are first timers. First few offroadings will experience using clutch, break, accelerator like on highway. They need to learn over few OTRs.

One Scorpio is regularly participating in Bangalore , Rehaan.

[khan_sultan]

Originally Posted by HappyWheels

Had half a day of pure OTR fun today morning. All present at the venue on time and at the spot as schedules.

.....

Yes, it was a very nice Sunday morning spent there. and a first of sorts that we assembled on time, left on time, finished on time as per plan and came back home as per the plan.

Originally Posted by chandan

...The point of debate,of course will be 2.2 or 3 ltr,which one is better in OTRs .

The 3L has ooooddles of torque low down which it seems is not there in 2.2 (relatively). But then this is just base don my observation of seeing them perform. Having said that the 2.2 is by no means a slouch.

Originally Posted by ex670c

...maybe you guys can organize a trailing event in the same area, post monsoon.

Do you mean training event/session? If yes, then this place is vey well suited for such a thing. this is not some hardcore offroad place but a very nice place to have fun for first timers to get grip on things in a relaxed manner. Very less chances of damage to vehicles also.

Originally Posted by dwaraka

.. Khan, you entered the sand quarry area. ..

NO. no sand quary area. too close to the road and lots of people inquisitive there :-)

[vinod_nookala]

Originally Posted by dwaraka

Vinod,

track seems to be simple to look. Once it get's soaked becomes very much slippery. As was discussed elsewhere, the photos are decieving.

I agree dwaraka, i meant simple means- No nonsence track which meant business (though it didnt convey that meaning)! I could guage the slippery nature of the track just by looking at the tyre marks and mud on the tyre threads! True photos are decieving, but kudos to the photographer who took the safari pics, that pic meant some serious off roading

p.s- Having been offroading actively for past few years i cannot make the mistake by commenting on toughness of the terrain just by looking at the pics. You practically have to be there to experience it, though this gap blurrs with experience

[Sha]

I missed the event, last minute I had work otherwise some good photo shot of my Gypsy from Rudra.
Guys you returned before lunch? .

[Jaggu]

Very much we were back by 1130 hrs at Silk board. 4 vehicles and no bogging down fiasco meant tons of fun and timing to the clock.

[svsantosh]

Originally Posted by khan_sultan

NO. no sand quary area. too close to the road and lots of people inquisitive there :-)

Dear Khan Sir,

The dried up lakes offer a rich source of fertile mud for mixing with manure and similar stuff for local farmers. The deep pits you had fun in are all hand dug by people and transported on tractors around the local villages. This mud quarry is not considered il'legal as it is for farming purpose.
EDIT - Its actually called lake "desilting" and encouraged by Govt's - since the capacity of a water body increases.

But end of the day - who is complaining? Free OTR track within 30mins from city is welcome anyday

[HappyWheels]

@SVSanthosh: As Jaggu said, we made sure that one Safari was acting as a backup for the other. Else with the 2-tonner, if it ever got stuck, it would have been a hand full! And yes, the only place that Sandeep's Safari got stuck, it came out with some rocking and sliding. I reckon his HT tires did him in there.

@VijayThacker: Yes, putting the machine for what it was brought for. I was bit sad when we faced the ant-hill and was not able to push thru. But then, later when we did the second and third spots, it was all grin!

@Rahul76: Same here chief! Finally I get the picture of my own beast as the wallpaper! Wow!

@Dwaraka: "...Tracks seems simple to look..." (at the risk of repeating myself) I now realize the FULL extent of that statement! And yes, both of us have a lot more to learn. Left foot going for the clutch is more like second nature.

On Khan's advice I realized the power in 2nd gear in 4L; I had initially started out with 1st gear in 4L which was totally the wrong thing to do.

@Khan: Correct about the training spot. This place, being of mud does not damage the vehicle that much and when a newbie does it, there are bound to be damages (like the way I released the clutch while going down the pit and ending up collecting mud in my grills!). Now if there were rocks or a hard surface, I would be "hurt"Wheels by now.

[HappyWheels]

While the Safari's sat and watched Jaggu had a go at the track on the Spidy.

YouTube - Jaggu at the wheels

This was followed by Rudra, who was completed taken aback with the torque that was present!

YouTube - Rudra first encounter with Spidy

Meanwhile the Safari's were doing what we thought they were good at, sit and watch:



This was what was proving to be the killer. A climb in the front and a drop at the back and the right wheel in air. The vehicle just refused to move any further.

(as can been seen in photo #6 posted by Jaggu in post #7)

While we were sitting with a long face with this, Khan did the track again, but from the opposite direction.

YouTube - Spidy going the wrong way!