[Aroy]

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

Thanks for the post Pawan. Great to see that you took the Duster on a proper trail that it deserves and not just some weekend soft-roading



This is a concern. When I had created this thread I was concerned only about the steepness of the slopes. It had not come to my mind that width can be a factor as I had always taken the Bolero to Sandakphu and never faced any issue with the width. I don't know the numbers but it seems that the Bolero is quite narrow compared to the Duster. There was only one place while going to Phalut where I had to get past a rock with very little gap between it and Bolero side step.
BTW, is the Pajero SFX wider than the Duster?

Most of the popular 4x4 are quite narrow
- Gypsy
- Land Rover Defender
- Pajero
- CJ-3

The reason is that they were designed go go up narrow trails both in hills and forests, where a wide trail is a luxury. Modern 4x4 SUV are designed primarily for comfort followed by bad roads mostly for Deserts, Savannah or open plains, rarely for narrow mountain trails.

[AJ-got-BHP]

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

When I had created this thread I was concerned only about the steepness of the slopes. It had not come to my mind that width can be a factor as I had always taken the Bolero to Sandakphu and never faced any issue with the width.

Sumitro good point there by Papa Bravo !!

Originally Posted by PapaBravo

The width is a big issue. Width stats below :
Duster : 1822 mm
Bolero : 1745 mm
Scorpio : 1820 mm
Pajero SFX : 1775 mm
Fortuner : 1855 mm
Storme : 1965 mm
Bolero is approx 3 inches narrower. That is good cushion in such narrow roads. I doubt that a fortuner will pass thru. Also, thing don't loo too bright for Storme.

Good Data Compiled there Pawan. You seem to be superly charged up after the trip.

However, where we are comparing the width of the vehicles, I guess a closer look at their respective turning radius(s) shall also come in handy; specialy when it comes to Sandakphu !!

Over to the experts !!

And btw Pawan .... why bother about the brownie points anyways !! Just go with the flow as the age old saying goes "If you have it, use it".

[GhostRider28]

Originally Posted by PapaBravo

Stage 2 : Rocky & Muddy road to Sandakphu. The tarred road ends just after Chitrey & the rocky road starts. The terrain looks like it has been made only for leafsprings. The road is quite narrow with some very steep hairpins. After some point we encountered this.

Bravo Pawan! It is really commendable that you went up to Tumling even in such inclement weather conditions!

Originally Posted by PapaBravo

Some points to be noted :

1. The handbrake performed perfectly. It has the capability of holding the vehicle in place at steep inclines.

2. The reverse gear is powerful enough to a reverse climb. We encountered a LR from the opposite side while we were climbing down. We had to reverse up to a point where we could give it some space to pass.

3. The Hill assist work on reverse too. If you are on an incline nose down & want to reverse up, the brakes hold the vehicle for 3 seconds.

4. There was one very steep hairpin where we encountered an LR stopped just after the turn (Not a very wise thing to do). We had to brake midway on a hairpin. On the first recovery try, felt for the first time that extra power would be required. The engine couldn't pull up & died. Restarted & got through by slipping the clutch with high revs.

5. There is no scope of error. Provided you have a 4x4, it all depends on the driver skills. My respect for all those who have done this trail including Blackpearl, 1100D, mr.sinha & himadrimondal. It is quite taxing to your brain.

6. Vehicle width is one major issue. Duster is quite wide, It is even wider (although marginally) than the new gen Scorpio. I doubt anything wider that Duster can make it up due to that rock.

That's a nice comprehensive coverage of all critical points. I was concerned about the ratio of the reverse gear. I hope one wouldn't need to burn the clutch in the sleepest inclines during the last 3 KM from Bikeybhanjan - particularly when coming down in case of 3 points turns. I am particularly concerned about these last set of swictbacks - (captured by 1100D)!
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attach...d-img_9383.jpg

Originally Posted by PapaBravo

The Hairpins
Pawan

Good snaps of the hairpins!

Originally Posted by PapaBravo

Thank you gearhead_mait.
Duster : 1822 mm
Bolero : 1745 mm
Scorpio : 1820 mm
Pajero SFX : 1775 mm
Fortuner : 1855 mm
Storme : 1965 mm
Pawan

Nice Stats - for the Scorp this is for the new one right?

[PapaBravo]

Originally Posted by Aroy

Most of the popular 4x4 are quite narrow..............mountain trails.

True.

Originally Posted by AJ-got-BHP

Sumitro good point there by Papa Bravo !!



Good Data Compiled there Pawan. You seem to be superly charged up after the trip.

However, where we are comparing the width of the vehicles, I guess a closer look at their respective turning radius(s) shall also come in handy; specialy when it comes to Sandakphu !!

Over to the experts !!

And btw Pawan .... why bother about the brownie points anyways !! Just go with the flow as the age old saying goes "If you have it, use it".

Correct AJ. Turning Radius is quite important. Specially on the switchbacks.

Originally Posted by GhostRider28

Bravo Pawan! It is really commendable that you went up to Tumling even in such inclement weather conditions!


That's a nice comprehensive coverage of all critical points.

Thanks Sayantan. Next time we will do it together. This time the weather was really bad.

I was concerned about the ratio of the reverse gear. I hope one wouldn't need to burn the clutch in the sleepest inclines during the last 3 KM from Bikeybhanjan - particularly when coming down in case of 3 points turns. I am particularly concerned about these last set of swictbacks - (captured by 1100D)!

They are quite difficult, but should be doable in the Duster. We will find out on the next trip.

Good snaps of the hairpins!

Nice Stats - for the Scorp this is for the new one right?

Thanks. Yes they are for the new Scorpio. I believe the old gen was narrower at 1817mm.

Regards,

Pawan

[mr.sinha]

This is awesome, Pawan. Too bad the weather didn't cooperate for you to go on further. But good decision to turn back. There will always be a next time.

[sinhsha]

My last posts deleted as photos were not there.

So yes Duster can reach to sandakphu, I think that was the major discussion point of this thread.
We did go to sandakphu by a duster AWD.
The route is really tough as it was full of stones and very steep, the major problem was traction and crawling for any AWD.
We reduced the tire pressure and did it 4WD lock which helped.
Anyone trying to go there in an AWD have to take high level of caution.
I am posting videos and photos to show the situation.

Videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EZ8...8&spfreload=10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJfT...U&spfreload=10

[DriveTrain]

Congrats , this is quite a feat and a testament to the abilities of the driver and the car. What was the pressure you maintained , and was this the same on all tyres ? Noticed the missing driver side ORVM cover , did that happen on the trip ? How was your experience on the turns while coming down ? You mentioned about clutch burn , how bad was that ?

Do keep the pictures and the story coming.

[sinhsha]

Yes mirror was broken in kol to siliguri route in a congested place a bike hit it and ran away.
Clutch burn was little bit not very serious.
While coming down underbelly scrapped due to suspension travel on rocks under weight.
Turns were sharp but not big problem as duster's turning radius not very bad.
In bolero turns could seem very tight

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by sinhsha

Yes mirror was broken in kol to siliguri route in a congested place a bike hit it and ran away.
Clutch burn was little bit not very serious.
While coming down underbelly scrapped due to suspension travel on rocks under weight.
Turns were sharp but not big problem as duster's turning radius not very bad.
In bolero turns could seem very tight

From the video I feel your technique is not right. You are using clutch slip. The first gear has enough torque to do gradual climb without wheelspin.
You are gunning it and slipping tires. If you do it gently, she can climb up without ado.

The Duster AWD is known for exceptional climbing ability.
Also, when climbing was the traction control light flickering?

[sinhsha]

I tried to use the low 1st gear torque. But in some places like in the videos that was not enough. As it was around 11000 ft altitude i suppose car was not responding as it does in lower altitude. I tried to use torque but car was not moving an inch. The major issue could be rocks and the wanderars tires.

[Dry Ice]

Has anybody taken a Gypsy up to the top yet? Seems like a good fit for this trail, small, lightweight and nimble.

[BlackPearl]

Sorry for not updating the thread earlier. sinsha had already updated though.

Here is the video of the first Duster AWD to have made it to Sandakphu -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CylXrG0TdIg

More details can be found here -

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ndra-thar.html

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

Has anybody taken a Gypsy up to the top yet? Seems like a good fit for this trail, small, lightweight and nimble.

Yes Dry Ice, one of my friends, a veteran rally driver has taken his Gypsy 1.3 mpfi to Sandakphu. He was complaining about the huge turning radius, the lack of low end grunt and the horrible ride quality of the Gypsy.

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

Yes Dry Ice, one of my friends, a veteran rally driver has taken his Gypsy 1.3 mpfi to Sandakphu. He was complaining about the huge turning radius, the lack of low end grunt and the horrible ride quality of the Gypsy.

Woah, and I thought the Gypsy had a tight turning radius and wouldn't need to do 3 point turns on the switchbacks, unlike the larger 4x4s.

[ManuMacher]

@BlackPearl ... Kudos to Duster awd for this climb. Kindly comment. From the video it looked like Duster had to struggle and do a speedy climb compared to Thar which was able to climb slow and cool.

[BlackPearl]

Originally Posted by ManuMacher

@BlackPearl ... Kudos to Duster awd for this climb. Kindly comment. From the video it looked like Duster had to struggle and do a speedy climb compared to Thar which was able to climb slow and cool.

@ManuMacher, the Duster was struggling due to several reasons as mentioned by sinsha who was driving it -

1. Lack of Low ratio GB
2. The driver was unfamiliar with the terrain and hence was stopping to check the exit points of the steep turns. As a result it required quite a lot of effort to get moving in those steep slopes after coming to a complete halt
3. The lack of torque of the 110 ps Duster at lower RPMs was causing a problem as well