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Originally Posted by Endeavour333

You underestimate my passion for 4x4 Vikram

Never do I underestimate your passion Vishnu - Its the vehicle I doubt especially on the terrain you want to challenge me on !!

Originally Posted by Endeavour333

In about a month or 2 I'm also getting the Ironman Bullbar + 9000lb winch. Can't wait for everything to be done.

Go for a higher capacity winch!! 9000lb is ok for gypsy not otherwise

[Grace]

Hi Vishnu,

It was nice talking to you other day.

IMHO, instead of spending $$$ to monster-ise your Endy, would be wise and $$-wise economical to go in for a used 540/550 and beat the multi terrain inside out. Not long ago, I used to take my Double cab 4X4 variant long chassis to OTRs and would be the lame duck for rest of the day. Owing to its weight close ~2 tons, the vehicle is not meant for kind of OTRs, we do.

No offence meant, but.. No doubt your Endy is at its best what with all mods and a doting owner. There are a lot of chances of scrapping paint and other collateral damages, My two cents: Why don't you go in for a cheaper ' bash-around ' vehicle. Just as I did - a humble but very reliable MM540.

Regards
Andy

[Endeavour333]

Originally Posted by Grace

Hi Vishnu,

It was nice talking to you other day.

IMHO, instead of spending $$$ to monster-ise your Endy, would be wise and $$-wise economical to go in for a used 540/550 and beat the multi terrain inside out. Not long ago, I used to take my Double cab 4X4 variant long chassis to OTRs and would be the lame duck for rest of the day. Owing to its weight close ~2 tons, the vehicle is not meant for kind of OTRs, we do.

No offence meant, but.. No doubt your Endy is at its best what with all mods and a doting owner. There are a lot of chances of scrapping paint and other collateral damages, My two cents: Why don't you go in for a cheaper ' bash-around ' vehicle. Just as I did - a humble but very reliable MM540.

Regards
Andy

Andy, many many people have told me exactly what you just said
Issue #1: I dont come anywhere close to fitting in a 540... trust me I have tried in the Bangalore OTR (I am 6'8" tall and the Endy is just perfect). I did however fit into a Thar (painfully) and even drove it for most of Trail 3 and LOVED it. Had even convinced everyone that I was going to sell my Endy, buy a Thar and mod it to the MAX but then after I thought about it a bit, realized that would be a stupid move considering everything I need a large and relatively comfortable vehicle like the Endy for.

Issue #2: I leave to the U.S for my higher education in 2 years and wont be back until about 6 years later. So dont want to spend that much money on a used Thar right now.

#3: I love the look of a modified Endeavour and it serves me well as a tourer and off roader. I go along with the Chennai guys for almost every single one of the OTR they do and I do only whatever obstacle I can. Even if I cant do an obstacle without risking damage, I watch and really enjoy the experience and the company of the guys. Not much more to spend on the Endy now, just some protection in the form of steel bumpers, a winch for those times when I got exploring without another vehicle to pull me out, and a rear locker for that extra traction. All in all about 2 lakhs left to spend to have a monstrous daily drive and a pretty capable off road machine.

When I'm back from the US, I shall certainly buy myself a Thar or its equivalent and modify it into a truly capable machine.

Thank you for your advice though, I totally understand what you mean.

[Grace]

Vishnu,
Now I understand your wisdom, thanks for a patient explanation. Must inform you that I am 6'4". I pulled out crappy seats that came with the 540 and put in Xylo seats by cutting the tub area (original mount on tool box was very cramped). Now I sit like a king on the throne. Down side is that I am seated next to B pillar and window is ahead of me.
THAR will totally fit your requirement once you are back. Hopefully, by then THAR should offer many offroad options by then.

Warm Regards
Andy

[SPIKE ARRESTOR]

Slightly OT

Originally Posted by Endeavour333

Issue #1: I dont come anywhere close to fitting in a 540... trust me I have tried in the Bangalore OTR (I am 6'8" tall and the Endy is just perfect).

Ok, I am posting a few pics for you from Arka's FB page (hope he won't mind ) . I hope this gives you some inspiration, btw have you noticed Arka / Deep drive the CJ3B?

Issue #2: I leave to the U.S for my higher education in 2 years and wont be back until about 6 years later. So dont want to spend that much money on a used Thar right now.

By 2015, there are 99 % chances that the Thar will not survive. It won't be available off the shelf.

Spike

[Endeavour333]

Originally Posted by Grace

Warm Regards
Andy

Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR

Slightly OT

Ok, I am posting a few pics for you from Arka's FB page (hope he won't mind ) . I hope this gives you some inspiration, btw have you seen Arka driving the CJ3B?

By 2015, there are 99 % chances that the Thar will not survive. It won't be available off the shelf.

Spike

I see Arka every OTR (I have missed only 1 thus far) and Deep whenever he's back on land so I know how big those two are but people say that I make them look like midgets. I have actually sat in Arkas 540 but couldn't fit in that either. My leg's were pressed against the steering wheel so I couldn't turn it or operate any of the pedals. His 540 has been modified for more leg room too. On top of being 6'8", I am a very leggy one at that! even in the Endy with the seat all the way back I can't get my knees under the steering wheel. If I was a spider I'd be the daddy long legs spider. Know which one I'm talking about?

If not the Thar hopefully the Jeep wrangler will be here by then. That would be fantastic. A Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited (5 door) with a 6 inch lift and 35" tyres. Dream machine.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by Grace

Vishnu,
Now I understand your wisdom, thanks for a patient explanation. Must inform you that I am 6'4".

I am surprised you two didn't meet in the Bangalore OTR, considering I met both of you there. You two were the tallest out there.

[Grace]

I was in the Marshal team, so slogging out in the trails, did not have time to meet up with people. Hope to meet up with Endy333, before he goes abroad.

Regards
Andy

[Endeavour333]

UPDATE and some PROBLEMS mentioned below:

I've been to a couple more OTRs and the big Ford is performing admirably. The most recent OTR was the first recce for the palar challenge and this time it was more of a long drive through farmlands and the palar sand than a real hardcore recce. This was mainly because we had a few wives and children with us this time. We did do some small obstacles along the way though. In palar, the sand is actually so soft that the entire palar river bed should be considered an obstacle. Very unlike moist beach sand.

This was the first OTR I was doing with my newly fitted maxxis bighorn MTs so was really looking forward to seeing how they would perform. New MTs are actually not the best for sand because unless they are significantly deflated their lugs tend to dig into the sand rather than float. Just before we entered the sand I deflated them from a standard running pressure of 35 psi to 20 psi. I thought this would give me sufficient traction. Had I not deflated I would have gotten stuck in about 2 minutes.

All the jeeps and gypsys except one did not even bother deflating their tyres and some were struggling as a result. My Endy however was doing very well in the sand with deflated tyres and did not get stuck or need to back up even once! I was quite surprised. Arka also seemed to appreciate the improvement in the offroad performance of the Endy after 8 months of me starting on the modifications! Finally!

I also had a small incident in palar actually that I forgot to mention. A small step down in the sand was ahead of me and although a few jeeps went ahead, I did not pay attention to how they went down it. It seemed extremely simple and was only in the sand so I didn't see any reason to worry. The top of the step turned out to be really hard sand or rock and I ended up not going over it slow enough causing me to take a good hit on my transfer case skid plate and subsequently on my rear bumper. The rear bumper definitely needs to be fixed now and the transfer case skid plate is slightly bent. I'm very glad that the Endy comes with solid steel skid plates all around in stock form! Do not need to get any additional skid played installed at all. Planning to get a custom fabricated steel rear bumper with the help of Arka and the other guys after the Palar challenge is done.

Anyway apart from the OTR, I am having a few issues after fitting MTs and negative offset alloys. I'm not sure what the cause is exactly but maybe someone can help me. Here are the PROBLEMS I am facing:

1. Steering needs to the held about 15 degrees in the turning right position in order for the car to go straight.

2. When I let go of the wheel the car and steering are pulled to the left. The steering is constantly pulling to the left actually and I have to hold the steering slightly firmly to prevent it from veering off to the left.

3. Tyres scraping something only when turning right and the sound only comes from the right side wheel well. This is happening not very close to full lock. I'd say at about 75% lock whereas while turning left I am having no issues even at full lock.

I would think that problems 1 and 2 would be fixed with a proper wheel alignment but despite doing the wheel alignment twice on a pretty advanced machine with lasers and computer software it is still exactly the same. Wheel alignment guys are saying that everything is correct and the pulling left is due to the tyres but I'm not so sure. Planning to try to switch tyres/rims or switch the spare with the front left or right wheel and see what happens. Maybe it's a fault with the rim? Not sure. Any idea what's going on? Please give me some advice. Planning to leave my car with Raghav at Ignite garage to sort all this and a little more out.

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Originally Posted by Endeavour333

someone can help me. Here are the PROBLEMS I am facing:

1. Steering needs to the held about 15 degrees in the turning right position in order for the car to go straight.

2. When I let go of the wheel the car and steering are pulled to the left. The steering is constantly pulling to the left actually and I have to hold the steering slightly firmly to prevent it from veering off to the left.

3. Tyres scraping something only when turning right and the sound only comes from the right side wheel well. This is happening not very close to full lock. I'd say at about 75% lock whereas while turning left I am having no issues even at full lock.

I would think that problems 1 and 2 would be fixed with a proper wheel alignment but despite doing the wheel alignment twice on a pretty advanced machine with lasers and computer software it is still exactly the same. Wheel alignment guys are saying that everything is correct and the pulling left is due to the tyres but I'm not so sure. Planning to try to switch tyres/rims or switch the spare with the front left or right wheel and see what happens. Maybe it's a fault with the rim? Not sure. Any idea what's going on? Please give me some advice. Planning to leave my car with Raghav at Ignite garage to sort all this and a little more out.

Raghav should be able to sort it out - Looks like a suspension setup issue to me.

1. Simple solution available - Remove steering wheel and refit.
2. How are the tie rod ends?

Correcting 1 and 2 should solve three, but lets the experts solve the issue!

3. I'm not sure how the endy front setup it - If there are stoppers available then playing with them will solve your tyre scrapping issue on one side.

Infact, I had all the problems mentioned above and this is what was done by electra. I had broken my KingPin bearing after TPC09. Replaced the bearings, reset the KPI, front leaf spring suspension was re-cambered, replaced tie rod ends and correct lubrication and cleaning solved the issue, but that was in a MG413W

[Endeavour333]

Originally Posted by headers

3. I'm not sure how the endy front setup it - If there are stoppers available then playing with them will solve your tyre scrapping issue on one side.

Solved the problem of the scraping when I turn right. It was just the tyre scraping against the rubber mud flaps. Cut a bit of the mud flaps off and I can now turn fully without a problem. Took me 2 minutes with a kitchen knife.

The steering issues still persist though.

[Twinn]

Originally Posted by Endeavour333

1. Steering needs to the held about 15 degrees in the turning right position in order for the car to go straight.

2. When I let go of the wheel the car and steering are pulled to the left. The steering is constantly pulling to the left actually and I have to hold the steering slightly firmly to prevent it from veering off to the left.

Definable a wheel balancing problem!!! Check if the rims are balanced. Did you balance the wheels before you put on the new set of tires?

Also if you have the old HT tires, jut put'em on and see if the problem persists. Cuz in MT's the steering is a bit wobbly, you'll kind of feel the bumps on the steering, they disappear when the AT's are on.

[headers]

Originally Posted by Twinn

Definable a wheel balancing problem!!! Check if the rims are balanced. Did you balance the wheels before you put on the new set of tires?

Twinn: Balancing would give you a intermittent wobble..not a constant pull to one side IMO

Also, Unless the MT tyres are badly out of circle, the problem you mention does not arise.

And it is better to scrap such MT tyres than suffer through them

[Twinn]

Originally Posted by headers

Twinn: Balancing would give you a intermittent wobble..not a constant pull to one side IMO

Also, Unless the MT tyres are badly out of circle, the problem you mention does not arise.

And it is better to scrap such MT tyres than suffer through them

Vikram - Balancing would prop a intermittent wobble??? I am confused..

The wobble may not be due to the tire problem, it might be due to the wheel also right?

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Originally Posted by Twinn

Vikram - Balancing would prop a intermittent wobble??? I am confused..

The wobble may not be due to the tire problem, it might be due to the wheel also right?

Amrith: Balancing is always a wheel problem and very very rarely a tire problem

A wobble is different from a drag to one side and I guess Vishnu has a drag / pull to one side