Spoken as a swift guy - most scorpios can just amble through most places. As someone whose clutch finally gave up (rather is in the process) after 71k of good fun - and alot of it in
places where most swifts don't go.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dadu To elaborate on point 10, always let few heavy vehicles/ buses, trucks to go first, they will settle the loose mud and leave a firm wide track behind.
Now drive on those tracks. |
Horrible advice. Truck will create deep ruts. Your advice will take out the car's underbody. Just let the sumos/mahindra max go. They are enough for cars. If you let an army stallion go 1st, then a swift for sure cannot drive in the ruts. The way to do it is one wheel in the ruts, one in the middle (if the stones aren't too sharp). in ultra clayey, drive in the ruts but get out.
Been there and gotten screwed, so thanks but no thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by dhanushs
The thing is you need to be consistently quick (not fast), and absolutely avoid any jerks or sudden acceleration. The soil will be loosely packed and any abrupt changes in power, WILL cause it to collapse more |
Good points by dhanush except this - i'd say just keep a bit over idle. The problem is not soil collapse - the problem is that the mud is clayey and wet i.e slippery, so strong braking or steering can cause the tail to step out and then god knows where your car will stop. Actually, libran said it in pt 6.
For small cars, on roads settled by
such bulldozers, your power cannot collapse the road. Please! (unless it was collapsing anyways)
Quote:
Originally Posted by libranof1987 2) Obey the Supervisor at the land-slide site : These guys know the mountains well; they know when rocks/mud will slide and when it won't. So, if you're told to drive, don't worry about rocks; let it to them. Take a quick glance and get out of the land-slide zone ASAP.
5) Keep windows rolled up; ask co-passenger to keep vigil on the mountain. |
If you're specially lucky like we were, to drive through smaller landslide zones without BRO being there - the rule is to park nicely to the side, wait for the local sumo/max to turn up (else observe for 2-3 min). Let them strategise and go first. Then you go - of course, dont be afraid to go and pick up the stones between their tyre ruts. It will not be seen by their vehicles but your car will scrape. So make sure the landslide is not moving - then remove the in-rut stones (your car will thank you), then drive across.
Once you are driving across, then tell the co-passenger to Shut the Hell up, and drive across as fast as you can, without being unsafe. Honestly, if you crawl through a landslide zone while your navigator is scanning the hillside - you become a sitting duck. My strategy was to blitz through the sections - wait and watch (even let others pass), and then zoom across.
We crossed amidst a hail of flying tennis ball sized stones at Pipalkoti past 7pm and ditto for Pandukeshwar at 8pm. Precious little the navigator could've done. I just bit my lip, and floored the accelerator rally style. And no, my life didn't flash before my eyes!
Another little pro tip - a small car will get streams where water will wash over the engine and cool it thus shutting it off. Normally, you should not drive too fast into such areas and do it in the daytime. There are only two things you should do:
- Stop/pause to see the best attack angle and enter with a decent momentum & hope to power through (no steering btw)
- Wait for a local sumo/max guy to turn up before you try step 1
Because if you don't do it right or sometimes it too big - water will shut off the engine. Relax. Its okay - no damage, just sudden cooling. Its happened to me enroute Badrinath at 845pm without cellphone coverage and not one other vehicle in sight. But if you
follow rule 2 - there will always be someone to immediately help u. That is critical.
After the event, wait a min and then start the car and let it idle for 5-6 mins (pref outside the water zone). Then only drive out - else clutch will be screwed. And before that, the car will simply die so don't waste your time/clutch either - wait.
Here's a sample. Notice the max's rear wheels - that tells u the depth - and it had approached this one gingerly. This was Rudraprayag-Khirsu where there was no BRO, nothing. Just occasional taxis, this mean stream and a 15odd foot drop on the side. And yes, the car stalled as it almost cleared it.
PS: For lightweight vehicles, think Eeco. It should be loaded. Carry sacks or move pax to the rear if required. else the unweighted rear loses traction real easy.