Dear Sharath and all - my reply to your absolutely logical question on whether the Thar would have cleared everything the Bangalore OTR threw at it without difficulty, with difficulty or not at all is as follows. But before I start replying to this question, let me make one thing very clear. I am neither pro IFS nor anti IFS. I think I have told everybody very clearly why IFS is there. IFS shall remain as IFS only. Also, I am neither pro catcon nor anti catcon. Without catcon, there is no Thar.
That said, let me put it this way. Driven by a representative operator, the Thar would have cleared the Bangalore OTR with a fair degree of difficulty. All of us will understand and appreciate that OTRs are not completed on the track, they are completed in the mind. It is this mindset that brought us all there in the first place. I provided some sort of a clue in my post dated 25th January where I mentioned the exact details how the CJ340 crossed the ditch. CORRECT startup stance, CORRECT startup gear, CORRECT changeup midway through the obstacle, CORRECT accelerator pedal position at any given time through the obstacle, all TOGETHER help to clear the obstacle. The only way is PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE. I have been fortunate that I could very quietly pursue my PRACTICE during those 2 days that I tried to spend everytime on the track before each Great Escape in my CL340 MH01P2540, which has today enabled me to type this post so frankly. Not many get such a fantastic opportunity.
Now coming to the Bangalore OTR, there were the following obstacles:
1 ----- the first one where I met Arka. It was rock left + rock right + more rock left etc. The correct way to tackle this obstacle would be to initialize the vehicle stance to the right of the obstacle and use the obstacle to position the vehicle in such a way that the IFS was always on top of the rock to clear it out of harm's way (it would have necessarily required LSD / MLD), therefore the Thar with LSD / MLD would have done this, the Scorpio would have probably got a little weighed down if it had tried to do it. But let us not forget the most important thing, that is, nobody wants to break his car just for the heck of it. I am totally against doing something which my mind is not comfortable with, so I won't do it. I recall that somebody told me to do it, I quietly declined. So, it must be left to every individual vehicle owner who must finally decide what he wants to do. I saw one MM540 quietly making its way out of this obstacle through undergrowth, shrubbery et al, without trying to break his car (if you break it, you repair it, nobody else does it for you). If I owned my Thar, I would not have tackled this obstacle at all. It is a concious decision and it must be respected by all as such in right spirit. Believe you me, senseless manoeuvres have got me into deep trouble numerous times. The intention is to enjoy, not break the car.
2 ----- Then we walked with the convoy. There were a series of ditches which would have been a cake walk for the Thar. The sheer torque would have pulled it out of everything. Low range would not be required, 4WD would have ensured a higher peace of mind. Probably in 2WD also it would have got over these things.
3 ----- There was this huge rock and we were to go down (the one we had lunch on). No sweat here at all. Low range would have avoided me using the brakes so I would have done it but in correct gear. I would have merrily driven through. Prople were going very slowly which was good from safety point of view. I appreciate the marshalls' efforts. Maybe in the Thar, I would have gone up this rock rather than down, obviously in low range with LSD / MLD.
4 ----- There was some meandering into a trail where we got lost. This is where I drove the MM540. The starter had bust so we push started it and I had to stand behind the convoy holding the brake pedal which was sinking (some small leak somewhere), so I cross axled in reverse, pulled out of the track, reversed into a plain area and stopped. I know that some jaws dropped out when I did this. Normally people would not imagine that this could be done, but I did it. For the MM, this was in low, for the Thar also, I would do it in low just to prevent my clutch from burning. Remember, I want to enjoy, not break the car.
5 ----- The final CJ340 ditch. This was simple. I am revealing something for the first time. Stand outside the car. Just look at the trail. The trail will talk to you. You will see invisible paths, exactly where you are going to position your left / right tyres. This thing was not sharp, going down was to be done by keeping the trough in the centre, going up was to be done by positioning the car exactly in place taking datum from the left side, not the right side. For this to happen, it was necessary to reverse a little bit which I did, then it was into the datum which was partially on the vertical face but you must throw the car into the datum or you won't get through. People are not used to throwing the car into a vertical face. It is for us to guide them. Then it was just a matter of "up and over". Thar here? No sweat at all, even with the higher track width.
One more thing. PRACTICE has taught me to use my driveline expeditiously. I use all sorts of combinations between 4WD high and 4WD low. Therefore, most of the time, I am driving only in 4th and 5th gears (Thar has NGT530R). A simple combination of transmission ratios (remember, we talked alternate transmission ratios?) and transfer case help will provide you with the perfect enjoyable combination. Just don't break anything please, its just not worth it.
If I had come as a Thar owner, I would have certainly enjoyed my OTR, provided I understood and follwed what is written here. After all, enjoyment of our passion for OTR is what its all about, isn't it?
My final comment - Fazalbhai has driven it. Fazalbhai, thanks for waiting patiently all these months, you may please give your comments now.
Best regards,
Behram Dhabhar MAHINDRA THAR - "GO ANYWHERE". |