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Old 6th July 2010, 15:20   #181
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Quote:
Originally Posted by xtreme power View Post
dont get me wrong rahul
drivers skill 100 percent counts

if say an "X" very experienced driver manages to do it with my gypsy does not mean he will mange it with a 1 litre
he might get further up the slope then a newbie in the same 1 litre

what arka meant if im not wrong is that a non skilled driver may not have managed it

power plays a significant role but there has to be skill involved
I agree to certain extent. But lets say the very first obstacle at Lonavala, where every vehicle was stumbling, including the Thar, and even Gogi's 3b and no Gypsy could make it, Gurkha came in and went out so easily that I was not able to click more than 3 pictures, it made it look as simple as plain road and not every one even remembers that Gurkha crossed - since no fuss. That vehicle was driven by a person who started off-roading in April this year.

So does that means in 3-4 months he was able to gain skills to kill all the big giants over there.

I do believe Vehicle counts. Without a proper tool, even the best workman cannot produce the best result.
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Old 6th July 2010, 16:03   #182
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rhandle View Post
But lets say the very first obstacle at Lonavala, where every vehicle was stumbling, including the Thar, and even Gogi's 3b and no Gypsy could make it, Gurkha came in and went out so easily that I was not able to click more than 3 pictures, it made it look as simple as plain road and not every one even remembers that Gurkha crossed - since no fuss. That vehicle was driven by a person who started off-roading in April this year.

So does that means in 3-4 months he was able to gain skills to kill all the big giants over there.
Which first obstacle in Lonavala?

This one?

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Old 6th July 2010, 16:31   #183
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Rahul - I think you are over-analyzing the skills vs. vehicle conundrum. Just leave it be. Sometimes a novice can pull through with guidance and a vehicle with diff-locks and all that good stuff. Sometimes it may be down to natural skill and talent.

Lets just focus on having fun for now
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Old 6th July 2010, 16:33   #184
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OT- Does anyone remember how a novice did the climb at Sawarsi on UBS Sirs Jeep. He climbed pretty well and messed it up in the end.

Spike
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Old 6th July 2010, 16:35   #185
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Gurkha

Quote:
Originally Posted by rhandle View Post
I agree to certain extent. But lets say the very first obstacle at Lonavala, where every vehicle was stumbling, including the Thar, and even Gogi's 3b and no Gypsy could make it, Gurkha came in and went out so easily that I was not able to click more than 3 pictures, it made it look as simple as plain road and not every one even remembers that Gurkha crossed - since no fuss. That vehicle was driven by a person who started off-roading in April this year.

So does that means in 3-4 months he was able to gain skills to kill all the big giants over there.

I do believe Vehicle counts. Without a proper tool, even the best workman cannot produce the best result.
Hi Rahul,

There were quite a few vehicles and quite a few driver's do did it with out a fuss.

The driver of the Gurkha, showed good sense and did the obstacle effortlessly, and he had a good vehicle to do it in.

IIRC, one of the attempts with the Thar (Vinay Driving) was; in Total Annihilation Parlance - FLAWLESS VICTORY.

And what happened to the competent tool on other obstacles.

Regards,

Arka
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Old 6th July 2010, 17:08   #186
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pdev29 View Post
cool we will go once it starts pouring, we will try it in your 1.6
....and i can try in my CJ !!



Quote:
Originally Posted by rhandle View Post
I agree to certain extent. But lets say the very first obstacle at Lonavala, where every vehicle was stumbling, including the Thar, and even Gogi's 3b and no Gypsy could make it, Gurkha came in and went out so easily that I was not able to click more than 3 pictures, it made it look as simple as plain road and not every one even remembers that Gurkha crossed - since no fuss. That vehicle was driven by a person who started off-roading in April this year.

So does that means in 3-4 months he was able to gain skills to kill all the big giants over there.

I do believe Vehicle counts. Without a proper tool, even the best workman cannot produce the best result.

1st obstacle, no Gypsy made it. My report says it all. I was not there to see Khan's Spidey in action but that looked like the only Gypsy that would be able to do it. I am not aware of it did that obstacle or not.

All the three petrol CJ's did it with relative ease and no fuss. Mine, Soumya's and Deepaks. The Brown CJ with a funny windscreen and with a diesel heart had a tough time and when i left with the last batch, Arka was still struggling to get it up the slope. I dont know if he managed. So if you're talking about the 1st obstacle, all the Cj's did it including mine, and that goes for all the Khandala obstacles. There was not a single place where my Cj got stuck, be it a climb or a descent or even the mud pitches. All cleared in one go with minimum fuss and all credit to all the people who guided me.(Arka, Ubs, Jaggu, Patrick, Sharat) I say this because i am a relative newbie and have been undertaking OTRs since a little over the past one and a two years. Only two Otrs as driver, rest all as co passenger and trying my hand at an obstacle or two.

Having said that, even Soumya, in his CJ did a brilliant job as a first time participant. I know for a fact that even he attempted most of the obstacles at Lonavala and cleared all those in one go.

Quote:
Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR View Post
OT- Does anyone remember how a novice did the climb at Sawarsi on UBS Sirs Jeep. He climbed pretty well and messed it up in the end.

Spike
I saw two people attempting the climb and one almost came crasing down in an unbelievable speed. I dont know if he engaged the reverse in mid slope where he was stuck but lucky for him he kept the steering straight. the second one was the young guy from Mahindra who almost tippled over then he was coming from the easier descent. Oblivious to the potential danger of cartwheeling down he kept driving amidst our screams and shout to take care but God is great. GS, Arka me and the others were standing down with our hearts in out mouths. I dont think he attempted anything after that.

I remember Arka boosting the confidence of one of the above youngsters, trying his hand at UBS's Jeep with Arka sitting beside him for a few attempts and then after that Arka jumped out saying that he was not going to sit beside him as he was not following instructions and reversing down in the wrong way inspite of the directions given. Remember Arka..

Here i made three or four unsuccessful tries and was perturbed when every time when my CJ reached just inches away from the top, the engine cut off. We figured later it was the low level of fuel in the tank (less than 5 litres-but i made it to gas the station 5 km away)

Last edited by V-16 : 6th July 2010 at 17:10.
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Old 6th July 2010, 17:13   #187
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To put speculation to rest: my underpowered overheating classic with 31" wheels & 4.88 dif did it in first go without spotters, etc. Hell, it went up so fast that not one pic could be taken!

I rest my case! Now let the compliments on my driving skills flow...!
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Old 6th July 2010, 18:15   #188
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ok so now we are debating on two different obstacles, first where we guys started and now you guys came up with second.

i think this calls for RE-EXAMM for few vehicles, lets burn some clutch and have some war to prove our points
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Old 6th July 2010, 18:34   #189
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR View Post
OT- Does anyone remember how a novice did the climb at Sawarsi on UBS Sirs Jeep. He climbed pretty well and messed it up in the end.

Spike
Spike - I was in a tizzy when I saw how close, and even slightly OVER, the edge that kid went in UBS' jeep. I really thought he would be the first serious injury of the event. I think it was more down to the jeep and it's inert steering that he wasn't able to put himself in any more trouble than he already was.

Earlier in the morning on the drive up to the first obstacle he was ahead of my Gypsy. I wanted to get ahead to the obstacle so I asked him to reverse back a bit. Next thing I know UBS' jeep's fender was 2 inches away from the side of my Gypsy and I just closed my eyes waiting for the crunch of metal against metal. Soumya was standing a little further ahead and he asked me to gas it and come ahead which I did...probably the only thing that prevented a minor crash.

Quote:
Originally Posted by pdev29 View Post
i think this calls for RE-EXAMM for few vehicles, lets burn some clutch and have some war to prove our points
Ha ha ha AT-KTs
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Old 7th July 2010, 09:03   #190
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Another pic from another angle about the climb in question.
Attached Thumbnails
EXAMM Report Card-climb.jpg  

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Old 7th July 2010, 10:28   #191
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Pre-examm Paper 2 Study--10 Most Likely Obstacles!!!

The Pre-Exam study was very interesting.
Few pictures of these.
Attached Thumbnails
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EXAMM Report Card-paper.jpg  


Last edited by mohan : 7th July 2010 at 10:41.
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Old 8th July 2010, 08:17   #192
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Interesting indeed, the insight into the planning and executing, which is not at all an easy task. Action behind the scene which made the event so interesting and memorable.
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Old 8th July 2010, 15:52   #193
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Sawarsi was more of a site seeing trip for me. Reason i reached Sawarsi with max 5 litres of fuel in my tank Dony ask how, why its a long story and non availability of Petrol in one of the last pumps on the way to the trail.

We left Karjat in the morning having completed the AKC. Got up filled water in the Radiator (hardly any had leaked out so the Haldi was working). Started the engine and it fired in one go, a relief after the episode in AKC the previous day of getting stuck in the water. Amazingly the engine fired in just a touch of the switch. What a machine. Silently it was purring away. As we left Karjat after saying our goodbyes and Thank yous, barely had we left the farm i noticed the water temp meter, fast crossing 100. Thats bad news. I turned back to the farm with Ubs's Jeep armed with his mechanic. Ubs had left ahead with Tejas.

On returning to the farm, we saw no leakage but the water was boiling. We narrowed it down to the Haldi. It had done more than what it was required to do. Probably had blocked some other lines as well so we drained the water out and kept flushing the radiator with fresh water, until the colour of the water turned into a pale pale yellow from the dark deep saffron. Also the previous nights flooding incident had left the radiator chocked with mud and stuff from the outside. Ubs in the meanwhile had turned back as he found us missing in the convoy.

A few more flushes later we left the radiator without a cap and drove behind UBS.

A few kilometers down the road, the Jeep developed a profound "Death Wobble" To know what a death wobble is see the video below.

Death Wobble



Death Wobble Axle View


This was a scary way to drive so we stopped to fix it.
Without getting into the reasons of the problem and cures in this post or thread, we found that a few nuts and bolts from the steering box and ancillaries had gone loose. We tightened them, also adjusted the setting on the tie-rod and poof, it was driving beautifully. Please note that this was also a stop gap arrangement like the Haldi.

EXAMM Report Card-img00059201006261123.jpg

Others had reached Lucky restaurant at Karjat Village and were waiting for us to join in. Sawarsi was awaiting us too.

We noticed here that the temperature was again rising towards 100+ mark. We had to get the radiator hosed to get all the muck out. Enroute we noticed a service station, a blessing in disguise, and pulled in. Rs 200/- (highway robbery) got us a strong flush of water jet on either side of the radiator and you will not believe the muck that came out. No wonder it was heating, the fins were chocked. Minutes later we were on our way to Lucky restaurant for a hot Misal Pav breakfast. The temperature never crossed 80-85 after this.

We reached Sawarsi during lunchtime or way past it. The drive to the top was enchanting and straight out of a movie. The steep inclines (reminded me of old Khandala ghats) surrounded by lush green vegetation and not a sign of any one on the road, except stones, twigs and boulders strewn on the road, showing signs of a very recent landslide.

We met everyone who were enjoying some Biryani lunch and setting out to obstacle two.

I could see three obstacles there.

A huge deep pit

EXAMM Report Card-dsc09736.jpg

Another deep pit filled with muddy water for those who had not had enough at Karjat




And a steep climb

EXAMM Report Card-dsc09731-800x600.jpg

I went in and out of the pit in a breeze and decided against the deep water pit (having had the experience of my life, moreover, i knew what damage the mud had done to my radiator in flowing and visibly clearer water. This pit had still water and it was deep dark brown. I bailed out of this one.


The climb looked relatively easy and i decided to take it on and move to the second trail.

EXAMM Report Card-dsc09732-800x600.jpg

Reaching this point, just inches away from the top as you can see, the engine stalled. I though i was doing something wrong by just tapping the gas wanting it to crawl, so i slipped back for another go and the same thing repeated itself. The Jeep would effortlessly climb up and then get stalled. One more try later i figured it was the lack of fuel in my tank, way below reserve which was the culprit. I beg to differ with anyone who says this climb needed more momentum from my machine cause the last try was with a huge run up and i thought i was there till the engine stalled, again, inches from the top.

Using a makeshift twig dipstick, i saw that the level was almost 1 to 1-1/2 inches, that meant around 5 litres or less. Sacre Bleu

But i had to get t the top so i took the other way which was not so steep and decided i must come down crawling again.

Crawling Down

EXAMM Report Card-dsc09733-800x600.jpg
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The CJ is best in its natural surroundings

EXAMM Report Card-dsc09739-800x600.jpg
EXAMM Report Card-dsc09740-800x600.jpg

The only guys who had a pipe were Soumya and someone else but they had left for trail two. Guru and Paras graciously offered gas but how to get it out from their tanks. Next time i must remember ti carry a pipe for such situations. Guru couldn't believe i had come up here with this quantity of fuel. I decided i must not waste any more time and leave immediately for Bombay, fully aware that i might get stuck en-route to the pump which was only 5 kms away. Guru also asked me to call him if i got stuck without gas somewhere and he would come promptly to rescue me. Thanks a ton Bro!! Thank God i never needed to call him. I reached a pump safely, tanked up and left for Bombay.

Around Vashi, the "Death Wobble creeped up again and it got so worse that at times it was impossible to drive. Somehow i managed to drive till Sion circle and upon immediately crossing it, the clutch cable went kaput. No clutch but car in top gear so i had to stop and call my Mechanic who reached within 20 minutes to my rescue and driving me home, he took the CJ to the workshop.

Some pics of the casualty:

A broken glass of the rear fog

EXAMM Report Card-dsc09744-800x600.jpg

A detached LHS rear tail lamp assembly (lying in the ca and since repaired and put back)

EXAMM Report Card-dsc09743-800x600.jpg

A bent drivers side side step.

EXAMM Report Card-dsc09749-800x600.jpg


Otherwise, the CJ is purring and is ready to face another challenge, not so far off in the day. MGE perhaps? Who knows??!!itself today

Proudly Wearing its Challenges. Another feather in its cap.


EXAMM Report Card-dsc09745-800x600.jpg


Im ready to give my next EXAMM already!!

Some Random pics from EXAMM!!
Attached Thumbnails
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Old 8th July 2010, 21:37   #194
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Gogi get the timing checked too and next time am flicking this plug wires, looks super kewl
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Old 8th July 2010, 22:49   #195
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Gogi I've discovered a brilliant solution to the death wobble - Radial Tyres !!

I have done 1700 kms on this recent trip and believe me the Sholapur Pune road was pathetic with potholes galore. Not once did I encounter the wobble. Regardless of the speed the front stayed firmly planted with no wobble. I think the radials on account of superior traction on tarmac act like natural dampers inhibiting the wobble.

The problem with the NDMS is they offer low lateral grip and so the shimmy faces no resistance from their slick centreline.

The radials worked so supremely that I almost forgot this entire trip to tighten the bolts around the suspension, which had become a ritual on NDMS !!

The other bit is I drove from Sholapur to Hyderabad in pouring rain for 8 hours and the radials gripped the road flawlessly. For long distance travel I strongly recommend fellow Jeepers to switch to radials.

I use 185/85 R 16's which are thin and have a zero detrimental effect on steering. The only mistake I made (and that too because I decided a day before the trip to buy radials) was to pick up the JK Brutes. I figured if they come OE on Commanders they should be the right tyres. They apparently last a zillion miles but are not finely balanced tyres. I had to use a lot of weights to balance them. I don't know if Bridgestone offers a 185/85 R 16

Last edited by DKG : 8th July 2010 at 22:55.
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